This has been a long standing conspiracy theory amongst right wing talk show hosts and other people. Basically the claim is that FEMA will imprison lots of people especially those with far right views using a emergency as a pretext. This conspiracy theory has been widely debunked already.
The interesting thing is now something like the conspiracy theory may happen in real life except ran by ICE instead of FEMA. I’m curious how people who previously propagated this conspiracy theory feel about Trump’s plan for a mass deportation. If you know anyone who’s into this conspiracy theory would you be able to ask them their thoughts on the FEMA camps and then bring up Trump’s mass deportation plan. I’m curious how’d they’d react. Let’s not assume because everyone is different. While trying to research this question I found one article from the right that showed deep concern about Trump’s plan: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/nov/20/deep-state-wants-terminate-constitution/ but I can’t really find much information otherwise.
The people who hated FEMA were afraid it would harm people that look like them and think ICE will harm people that don’t look like them. That makes FEMA bad and ICE good in their hate filled minds.
Humans are animals…
We need socialized at a young age so our ingroup/outgroup doesn’t form along racial lines.
If it does, it can be overcome with logic, but that takes constant effort, and as we age our minds go on “autopilot” more day to day, which is why old people who grew up pre-civil rights movement “become” racist as they age. Or after drinking or sleeping aids.
For them it’s a conscious effort to remember “they” are really “us”.
This isn’t my opinion or something I’m guessing at, it’s actual psychology.
Like, people laugh at Alabama being so backwards for banning Sesame Street when it became racially inclusive, and they get called paranoid for calling it “brainwashing” but even just seeing people of different ethnicities on TV is enough to blur the line for their entire lives. Banning it helped prolong the next generations forming their in/out groups along racial lines.
I swear to God only the fascist option paying attention to science is the most maddening part of this.
Their voters are idiots, their politicians are idiots, but the people calling the shots aren’t idiots.
If you’re reducing them to “hate filled minds” then history will keep fucking repeating like it always does.
And it’s fucking getting old to have fascists keep showing up.
So I stead of imitating them and dehumanizing them, how about we do something with a snowballs chance in hell of working?
I honestly think it’s lead exposure…There was lead all over until 1978. Baby boomers had this shit everywhere around them, and no surprise, they have chronic issues. I feel like many baby boomers really struggle with empathy… most seem angry at a base level.
You think they’re the only ones with lead poisoning?!
You could be born today and still quickly accumulate enough lead to cause effects, especially living in a city because plants can soak up lead too. If it’s all concrete, that lead just keeps moving around till something alive picks it up.
You have explained a key part of the urban vs. rural divide. My kids are so “race blind” I have to make a concerted effort to teach them about all types of racism, direct through to institutional. Also euality vs. equity etc. It’s way easier to teach them about income inequality.
I totally get what you mean! They think the cruelty is the point and it will never happen to me or my family/friends so I don’t care.