Why people are gullible doesn’t just have one simple explanation but I believe the answer rests mostly on the idea that many of them want black and white solutions. They want to be led by someone else and told what to do.
Religious cults wouldn't exist otherwise.
In the US the Trump base would jump off the nearest cliff if told to by their leader which is frustrating for many of us. They will repeatedly vote against their own intetests because a simple message full of empty promises sounds better to them than reality.
Democracy is naturally messy as is life and not everyone gets what they want. However, when it works the most people possible gain benefits from its structure. In other words, there is some form of collective winning however imperfect. This means no one gets everything they want but at least most of the basics are covered through some shared discomfort.
Gullible people very much like simplicity which is why Trumpism was so appealing to them. They heard the grocery list of promises without reflecting on whether all of it was even possible.
These are grown adults we are talking about.
It is hard to feel sorry for MAGA voters once they wake from their stupor only after having been personally affected because you just know that they would do it all again in a heartbeat when the next used car salesman comes along.
Why are people so gullible. Some are simply not that smart, and repeat what they have been told in their community and their uprbringing, because it gives them - as you point out - black and white solutions. That is all they can compute.
ReplyDeleteBut there are also quite a few smart bigots, and I think these are using their intelligence in any way they can to buttress the beliefs that give them and identity and a sense of beloning:
The most dangerous ones, however, are those who know perfectly well what they are doing and do not believe in what they are saying. They are manipulating the masses for their own benefit. And that is pure evil
That last bunch is far from gullible but instead tactical and shrewd
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