Georgia’s Republican governor praised Democratic President Joe Biden for reaching out to him in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s deadly devastation as the state and surrounding areas scramble to recover from the disaster.
Former President Donald Trump told a different story when he landed there to survey the damage.
“The governor’s doing a very good job. He’s having a hard time getting the president on the phone,” Trump told reporters. “The federal government is not being responsive.”
It wasn’t true.
Here’s what Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had to say about Biden and the feds:
“The president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and called him right back and he just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, ‘We got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process. He offered that if there’s other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that,” Kemp said.
“We’ve had FEMA embedded with us since a day or two before the storm hit in our state operating center in Atlanta. We’ve got a great relationship with them,” he said.
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Oh man, if you’ve never worked in an environment like that where you’re outnumbered, you probably don’t understand why this is would be really tough.
I’m a non religious, non regressive person in a southern state. I know how to make them think once. That usually leads to them thinking twice. I’ve worked in those environments often. You can’t fix stupid but you can at least correct ignorance.
It’s easier said than done, for many people. A lot of people prefer to avoid potential confrontation. It’s sensible to the individual, but it does end up enabling the spread of disinformation as a result.
A good tip for these situations is to make it seem like you just figured something out. Go, “Wait…” and look like you’re confused and thinking about it. Then slowly mention each point, laying out them out like puzzle pieces. Finally, and carefully, put it all back together to make the logical result.
Personally, I’ve dealt with these conflicts throughout my life (yay for autism!) and have had to learn how to handle them through trial and error. In my experience, having a positive reputation with whoever you’re talking to makes your words much more powerful. Those of you who’ve stayed quiet (or at least, apolitical) til now may already have a big leg up on this. Also if you’ve never stepped in when a group is spreading disinformation, you may end up making a bigger impact than you expect. It’s like when a quiet character in a show suddenly speaks up - you pay more attention, feeling that they’re about to say something important.
One last thing - don’t expect to change minds immediately. It takes time to process things, especially when one is confronted with logic that contradicts their beliefs. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes it takes a few years. Nonetheless, the more seeds of reason we sow, the better the chances that some will sprout.