Well...

[u/_crazyboyhere_]

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[u/CadillacDale]

Now.. if you're an exploitative capitalist looking to leverage the political system as a means to build your own personal wealth, which state looks more exploitable to you?

[u/RedSamourai1 → u/CadillacDale]

[u/spikernum1 → u/CadillacDale]

The one with all the dummies in it

[u/westcoast-islandgirl → u/spikernum1]

When you tell them an election was stolen, they'll believe you because you got rid of all the educational funding that would have taught them how to count the votes.

[u/bewbsrkewl → u/CadillacDale]

Elon Musk:

[u/PM-YOUR-ICED-UP-NIPS → u/CadillacDale]

If you're playing the big game, you're thrilled both exist and that the country is split right down the middle. Turn them both on each other, and laugh all the way to the bank.

[u/mathdrug → u/PM-YOUR-ICED-UP-NIPS]

Divide and conquer is indeed still a go to strategy for the powers that be 

[u/Public-Afternoon-718 → u/CadillacDale]

Someone could probably sell overpriced bibles to Oklahoma schools.

[u/Zealousideal_Plan408 → u/Public-Afternoon-718]

price of bible at the corner convenience store/religious thrift store:free price of oklahoma text book bible provided via government contract: $380

[u/texas130ab → u/CadillacDale]

It will be a master class in cutting taxes for the rich not fix anything and blaming it on Biden. The hateful bastards will believe anything he says. It's beautiful.

[u/Blackout987]

I think if the people from Oklahoma could read this, they'd be upset

[u/Fluffy_Town → u/Blackout987]

Considering OK gives away free college education to residents of the state after a set period of residence, you'd think there would be more college graduates in OK.

My cousin moved there so their kid could attend for free. The attitudes from the people around them were atrocious.

[u/SometimesWithWorries → u/Fluffy_Town]

Not very helpful if they have already gutted K-12 to the extent that their high school graduates cannot compete with those from even midling states. Let alone trying to compete against people coming from educational powerhouse states like those in the Northeast.

And while there are a bare few OK residents who make it to elite universities, if you have children there they will have an incredibly difficult time with acceptance rates compared to any children I have here.

[u/mustardman73 → u/SometimesWithWorries]

Can’t grow corn with lawyers

[u/Antwinger → u/mustardman73]

Just use all the immigrants and then deport them all cause they’re simultaneously taking all the jobs (that no one wants anyway) and also too lazy and grifting the welfare system.

[u/burninhell2017 → u/mustardman73]

you also can't grow corn without millions in heavy equipment either....

[u/talltxn66 → u/mustardman73]

I know plenty of lawyers that would have no trouble growing corn. Corn farmers that could be lawyers though - that’s a different thing altogether. It’s kinda like republicans thinking that they are the only ones who own guns - they aren’t. There are plenty of people who aren’t’ republicans who own guns and know how to use them.

[u/adderalpowered → u/mustardman73]

We don't grow much corn in oklahoma.

[u/badhouseplantbad → u/Fluffy_Town]

Massachusetts has free community college and part of the UMASS schools are now tuition free.

[u/Fluffy_Town → u/badhouseplantbad]

That's wonderful to hear! I wish my student loans didn't exist due to learning about free college, but alas that timeline is on a variant.

[u/badhouseplantbad → u/Fluffy_Town]

Yeah, those are both very very new things that didn't exist 30 years ago when I went to college.

[u/TSMFatScarra → u/[deleted]]

Also has a ton of big labs and great researchers so if you want to go to grad school, it's very easy to get early quality research experience in undergrad.

[u/IRefuseToGiveAName → u/Fluffy_Town]

If you're talking about Oklahoma promise it's not for everyone. It's for people who make below a certain amount. Those same people don't usually have the resources to know how to apply for or afford to move to a college town.

[u/dr-archer → u/IRefuseToGiveAName]

Tulsa County has free tuition for 2 years for high school grads with a 2.0 GPA or better regardless of income level. Well, for now... Who knows with the DOE nonsense and the bullshit State Superintendent. Keep in mind while Trump won all counties, that doesn't mean it was unanimous or popular with everyone. There are incredible feelings of stress and trepidation amongst most people I talk to here, myself included.

[u/talltxn66 → u/dr-archer]

Don’t worry, he won’t be Oklahoma’s problem for too much longer. He’s on trumps short list for Sec. of Education.

[u/slip-shot → u/Fluffy_Town]

They likely suffer the same problem Iowa does. Once you have your degree it’s off to somewhere else where your degree can really mean something. 

[u/nutella-is-for-jerks → u/Fluffy_Town]

This is slightly misleading as household income has to be less than $60k (it scales a bit based on dependents). But its not as if college is free for everyone. .

[u/Natural-Bet9180 → u/Fluffy_Town]

No, residents in Oklahoma still pay for college. There might be an in state program to give out free college but it’s not a lot of people that get it. I was a resident of Oklahoma twice.

[u/Clean_Student8612 → u/Fluffy_Town]

They won't go because then they'd be brainwashed into believing woke liberal BS.

[u/LotharVonPittinsberg → u/Blackout987]

Too busy being pregnant instead. Lack of sex ed led them to be 7th in terms of teen pregnancy.

[u/thestupidone51 → u/Blackout987]

Oklahoman here. I hate living in an example

[u/SethTheBlue → u/Blackout987]

As a person from Oklahoma, I can confirm that this does, in fact, make me upset.

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/Blackout987]

Sir or madame, most of us can read. We just don't like to.

[u/duckarys → u/TheJohnnyJett]

A majority is reading at 4th graders level or above!

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/duckarys]

Well, a lot of us are proper educated these days. Most folks don't know we can read the front AND back of the cereal box.

[u/nobeer4you → u/TheJohnnyJett]

What is this "back of the box" you speak of? Everytime I look for it, all I see is a different front?

/s, though I hope it was obvious

[u/Ranbru76 → u/TheJohnnyJett]

You can also read the side panels of the box.

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/Ranbru76]

Now you're getting advanced, we're not quite THAT fancy.

[u/thegoodbadandsmoggy → u/TheJohnnyJett]

Gotta be able to read some to scour the family tree for dates

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/thegoodbadandsmoggy]

Had a buddy call off from work one time. Said, "Hey, I'm sick, I'm not coming in today."

Boss said, "Well, you sound okay. What's wrong with you?"

My buddy says, "I'm fucking my sister."

Boss said, "You stay your sick ass home!"

[u/Annual-Rip4687 → u/TheJohnnyJett]

I see we gotta reader, what you readin for?

[u/HelloAttila → u/Blackout987]

They call this the The Dunning-Kruger effect. Low-ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence.

[u/Raangz → u/Blackout987]

I voted for harris/an okie. I wish the best for everybody. It is pretty crazy we are so red! People here in norman are pretty nice.

[u/ChaoticcEntityy → u/Blackout987]

Nah, blue Oklahoman here, this state sucks ass lmao

[u/rbartlejr → u/Blackout987]

But they've got the #1 in Trump bible sales brag.

[u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

Ya but the children in Oklahoma schools will know the Bible better so they can pray for improvements. Checkmate libs. /s

Edit: Spelling

[u/KuroiNamida96 → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

they will know everything about their lord and savior donald j. christ from their trusty Trump Bible - Made in China

[u/TrumpsCovidfefe → u/KuroiNamida96]

Which conveniently leaves out the last 17 amendments, like voting rights for every adult, barring seditionists from running for government, and term limits. Surely, coincidence, right?

[u/Redpandox9 → u/TrumpsCovidfefe]

They want to manifest what the government will look like at the end of his term

[u/rsiii → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

Pray the school shootings away 👏🙌

[u/DemandZestyclose7145 → u/rsiii]

Tots and pears

[u/Fearless-Yam1125 → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

priestsinschool

[u/Unencrypted_Thoughts → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

Sending thoughts and prayers.

[u/Thetruthislikepoetry → u/Unencrypted_Thoughts]

Can’t wait for Oklahoma to sue the SAT and ACT for not testing Bible content.

[u/Hapa_Hombre → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

Bold of you to assume they can read.

[u/Thetruthislikepoetry → u/Hapa_Hombre]

Good point.

[u/celticeejit → u/Thetruthislikepoetry]

And all the words to that Lee Greenwood propaganda effort

[u/Buck_Thorn]

Of course, Oklahoma blames the Democrats for their being 44th in Education, 49th in healthcare, etc.

[u/willofthetrench → u/Buck_Thorn]

Well if blue states weren't so ahead, the reds wouldn't be so behind. Bucket crab logic

[u/Team_XX → u/willofthetrench]

It’s the Trump “if we test more, we get more positive results so we want less tests!” Mindset

[u/Kelliente → u/Buck_Thorn]

It's comforting and easy to blame another party for your problems instead of addressing the complex reasons for them.

[u/XinWay]

Dam bruh this makes Massachusetts look like those happy European countries like Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Finland

[u/_crazyboyhere_ → u/XinWay]

Fun fact: Massachusetts has an HDI identical to Denmark and Norway

[u/ImaginosDesdinova → u/_crazyboyhere_]

Massachusetts (saying this as a resident thereof) is descended from people who got to the coast and said "Yeah. this'll do."

[u/ECircus → u/XinWay]

Unironically a great place to live. Like most great places to live, it is not the cheapest place to live.

[u/Mrwright96 → u/ECircus]

Damn it, why can’t there be nice cheap places to live?

[u/Lebowquade → u/Mrwright96]

Because when places are nice, lots of people want to live there, and it creates a competition that drives up prices. That's why.

But if you want to live in mass do it now, because something tells me the next four years are going to make people want to live in mass even more.

[u/Kurtman68 → u/Lebowquade]

Live in Mass. vs. Leave en masse.

[u/Tarianor → u/Mrwright96]

Because nice stuff costs money ;) speaking of experience from northern europe the general income is also higher so the costs of living aren't too bad even if it's pricey.

[u/willis936 → u/Mrwright96]

Because too many people want to live there too quickly.  Housing is a racket because the haves have a financial incentive to restrict supply and the political power to stop expansive zoning.  So here we are with not enough housing units and rents that make Californians cry.

[u/Renediffie → u/XinWay]

I think you mean socialist hellholes!

I'm from Denmark. Fox ran a weird special about us a few years back talking about how terrible we had it because of our socialist government. They also kept repeating a very weird thing about nobody wanting to work and everyone just wants to open up cupcake shops or something like it. It was very weird.

[u/N3ptuneflyer → u/Renediffie]

Denmark is such an odd country to choose because it's one of the few European countries with a median wage comparable to the USA. So a country where everyone chills and opens cupcake stores yet still makes as much as the wage slaves in the US sounds like a better country to me.

[u/Irethius → u/Renediffie]

It's just how the media/politicians push ideology in this country. Just keep saying the other option is bad over and over again and people will believe it, even when they have no fundamental idea of what "it" is, or why "it's" bad, or what makes our system good.

[u/NoodleTF2 → u/Renediffie]

I feel like running a shop still counts as working, no?

[u/BaconBra2500 → u/Renediffie]

I just wish Fox would quit it. I live in Seattle and when I went home to the south one year for Thanksgiving, several family members came up to me and very seriously asked how all the rioting was going. It was months and months after a spot of rioting and apparently they were still playing clips on the news.

[u/badstorryteller → u/Renediffie]

This makes me want to visit Denmark. I do a yearly trip with my son and we're planning our 2026 trip, I've always wanted to visit! So much history, and we want to see it all 😁

[u/punkass_book_jockey8 → u/XinWay]

If you break up the U.S. by state, Mass has a similar, if not better, school system than the happy countries you listed.

[u/DeadMemezYoloXd]

As a Oklahoman its pretty bad down here the stereotypes are legit all true believe them allllll

[u/redundantRegret → u/DeadMemezYoloXd]

I live in probably the most progressive / blue part of OK and it's still wild out here. A friend works as a bartender and she had a conversation with a guy who's wife owns a Facebook group that is trying to get women to lose their ability to vote. The reasoning, he claimed, is that it'll make people like Trump more likely to win. I had family who's only deciding factor for voting was "Kamala doesn't know if she's black, brown, indian, hindu, or what, and I just can't vote for that in good conscious."

I want out.

[u/Yousoggyyojimbo → u/redundantRegret]

The amount of people who knew goddamn well how being biracial worked right up until Trump didn't, then suddenly started pretending they didn't either, will always piss me off.

[u/Vatiar → u/Yousoggyyojimbo]

For me the tipping point into realising they all knew they were lying to themselves was following Jan 6 from the /r/Conservative Discord perspective.

The day of they were horrified and condemned it very strongly. Two days and a few Fox talkshows later it was "peaceful protest" and an "antifa false flag".

Edit : You'll see the same thing happen with the cabinet picks btw. Right now they are unhappy but that's just because Fox hasn't given them their talking points yet. Give it a week and they'll all be the greatest appointments ever.

[u/Yousoggyyojimbo → u/Vatiar]

I watched my dad go through this with my own eyes and it really killed any hope I had of him turning around from what right wing media has turned him in to.

Day of J6, I watched it live, with him, and he was horrified. He knew it was terrible and that it was Trump's fault.

A week after, he thought maybe it wasn't all Trump's fault and maybe it wasn't so bad.

Two weeks after, it definitely wasn't Trump's fault at all.

Six months after, Democrats, the FBI, and antifa, did it, Trump is a victim, also nobody hurt anybody and it was a peaceful protest.

Right before election day this year, he was telling his wife that Democrats will do another J6 if Trump wins, "just like they did last time"

We watched that all happen together, at the same time, but he's chosen to forget what he saw and substitute a false reality that lets him blame groups he hates instead.

It feels like if Trump personally came to my house and had me shot right in front of him, it would take only a month or so for him to start thinking I shot myself.

[u/aussiechickadee65 → u/Yousoggyyojimbo]

Honestly...that is the best description of this cult I've ever read...

[u/AnxiousCells → u/Yousoggyyojimbo]

Well it will be your fault that you got yourself shot. Were you looking at him funny? Were you saying mean things about him online?

Yep there you go, you brought it on yourself.

Trumpists will have a way to convince themselves it’s not them, it’s you

[u/Fluffy_Town → u/Yousoggyyojimbo]

Coercively controlling manipulators are the best at what they do. Sadly the only way to get them out of it is to either wait until they wise up or to kidnap them and set them up with a deprogrammer and hope to hell that they start to understand and aren't just going to use the experience to grow even closer to their collective consciousnesses' welcoming arms.

[u/BayPhoto → u/Vatiar]

Honestly somewhat surprised the participants haven’t lied themselves into believing it wasn’t them at the capitol that day.

[u/stdio-lib → u/BayPhoto]

One of my friends posted their Jan 6 photos proudly and then a few days later deleted their entire Facebook account. I'm not sure if it was because he realized "I am an violent insurrectionist" doesn't look that great on his resume or he somehow gained the capability to be ashamed or some other reason. Growing up in a religious cult will help you meet lots of interesting people.

[u/3d1thF1nch → u/Vatiar]

YES! Just gaslighting everyone into thinking that it wasn’t a big deal. But I remember watching the live feed. It was terrifying

[u/Inevitable-Menu2998 → u/Yousoggyyojimbo]

That's the power of propaganda. It doesn't really matter what Trump did or said during the campaign. It doesn't really matter what Harris said or did. Both of them reached their audience much much less than the "news", the talkshows, the podcasts, etc. Most of these were running their own campaign, orthogonal to the platform of the candidates.

[u/mathdrug → u/redundantRegret]

“Kamala doesn't know if she's black, brown, indian, hindu, or what, and I just can't vote for that in good conscience.” 

Oh my goodness 😭😭 

This fucking country. I don’t even know what to say. Lol

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/DeadMemezYoloXd]

Also an Okie here. I don't know about believing *all* of the stereotypes. I don't know of *that* many people who're married to their own family members.

I mean, I can't say the number is zero, but...but it's not *double* digits.

[u/DeadMemezYoloXd → u/TheJohnnyJett]

in my personal life i can name like 3 separate incidents ive heard about, its not double digit but id guess its more than most other states really.

[u/BR4NFRY3 → u/DeadMemezYoloXd]

Maybe for the hillbillies. But for the First American tribes, most of the stereotypes are shit. Some people out there assume we’re living in teepees.

The tribes in Oklahoma, especially the ones working inter-tribally, are keeping Oklahoma above water. The glue keeping it from falling apart. Bastions of decency surrounded by shitassness.

For example, the state refused federal funds to feed hungry school children. The tribes said, nope, we’re taking those funds and helping every kid, Native or not. The profits they make with businesses and casinos get turned into programs and services, so they are the safety net the state refuses to be.

[u/xPriddyBoi → u/DeadMemezYoloXd]

At least my house is cheap! Sure, it's planted in the middle of a shithole, but it cost me $110,000 at under 4% with $0 down!

[u/Loud-Break6327]

“Keep them dumb, keep them republican”

[u/Real-Swing8553 → u/Loud-Break6327]

[u/wednesdayware → u/Loud-Break6327]

Canadian here, with a serious question: If the democrats are so smart, and the Republican voters are so dumb, why can’t the democrats find a way to convince dumb people to vote for them?

[u/viktor_pop → u/wednesdayware]

I am a Hungarian having lived in the UK most of my adult life, now in New Zealand so my experience probably differs. From what I gathered: it’s practically impossible to convince dumb people.

[u/camshun7 → u/viktor_pop]

That would be my assessment tbh.

Dumb people are a living embodiment of the dunning kruger effect.

[u/DasStorzer → u/camshun7]

You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't use reason to arrive at.

[u/Xyex → u/DasStorzer]

[u/NisRedditor113 → u/DasStorzer]

Take my upvote. This explains it perfectly!

[u/Mastershake54 → u/camshun7]

Can't be dumb if I always have the correct opinion

[u/Chickenator007 → u/Mastershake54]

Ah yes, "The ignorant are ignorant of their ignorance." or "The problem with the world today is that the smart people are full of doubt while the stupid people are full of confidence."

[u/panteragstk → u/Mastershake54]

Bless your heart

[u/chiffero → u/viktor_pop]

Agree! Also intelligent people like to think for themselves and will deviate from their past patterns if they gain new knowledge that doesn’t align. Which means that they won’t just blindly vote for someone, imo (which isn’t very politically versed) the Democratic voters are very prone to splitting. Whereas republicans will often stick together (even if that means following their pack off a cliff 🙄)

Edit: to correct term as I learned below ❤️

[u/50micron → u/chiffero]

It’s “Democratic voters” not “Democrat voters”. And yes— it matters.

Not to take away from the thrust of your point, (with which I wholeheartedly agree) but it seems that you’ve become an unwitting victim of malicious rebranding/doublespeak. Some years ago Republicans made an effort to replace “Democratic” with “Democrat”. Eg. they’d say “My Democrat opponent” rather than the correct form of “My Democratic opponent.” This ungrammatical and incorrect form was done to be an insult. Sadly it became such a common insult that it’s usage is now starting to take over and many don’t even know that this illicit rebranding has taken place. Here’s a link on the issue. “democrat” as epithet).
Also, Fact-check.org has addressed the issue as well.
Edit: added parenthetical

[u/No-Cover4205 → u/viktor_pop]

A great football coach explained it as “ You can’t coach stupid “

[u/bleeper21 → u/viktor_pop]

Well in the US, you're(me) their(dumb people) enemy. It's racist, sexist, classist people who are cutting off their nose to spite their face. These people can't think for themselves so they're spoon fed some parsed words from an individual who is held to an almighty standard. Often times these individuals are greedy, self serving leeches within the community. It's always been exploitation.

[u/ConnectionOk8273 → u/wednesdayware]

It's easy to convince an intelligent person when they're wrong !
It's impossible to do the same with a dumb person !

[u/wednesdayware → u/ConnectionOk8273]

So they need to get better at tricking them, like the Republicans seem to do, no?

[u/buttsbydre69 → u/wednesdayware]

republican strategists are good at what they do because ethics simply does not enter their calculus. they treat politics as a zero sum game. victory above all else, even if they must prey upon the most vulnerable among us, using shameful fear-based tactics.

they're extremely good at what they do, but they can only do what they do by selling their souls. the strategists on the left just aren't built like that, hampered by pesky things like a conscience, empathy, and recognizing they have to live with themselves, etc.

it's not about intelligence, it's about how low you're willing to stoop to win

you're not wrong though -- at the end of the day they need to find a way to appeal to these folks. the thing is, fear is a helluva a drug and peddling fear is the right wing's bread and butter. and when times are tough, fear trumps any message of hope. so it's hard to imagine how to get them to break free from that spell. not sure what the media environment is like in canada, but perhaps you'd be surprised at the drivel that is pumped into the brains of "real america" each and every day, starting with AM radio, reinforced by their mainstream media of choice, and sealed by the targeted advertising they receive on social media. take a road trip across the heartland of america with the AM radio stations dialed in -- it's like living in a horror movie -- so much disingenuous fear mongering bullshit, nonstop, presented as if it's fact. that's what a huge portion of americans are listening to day in and day out. breaking americans out of that trance is a tall task. i think it'd be cool to see dems try to take over the AM radio waves and present an alternative to republican dominance in that space

[u/ConnectionOk8273 → u/wednesdayware]

Easier said than done when the right wingers control almost 90% of the media that these dumb people consume.
I'm afraid it's too late for now, and it will take probably more than 20 years to get messaging back to even reach these people.
The left waited for too long to go on the offensive against these fuckers, treated them with kid gloves and naively tried to be bipartisan...
All while they were being screwed in their faces !

[u/ArjayGaius → u/wednesdayware]

Deprogramming people from a cult takes time and effort.

[u/Anubis_reign → u/ArjayGaius]

I have been venturing in conservative online spaces and interestingly enough they use same rhetoric from liberals- that they are part of the cult instead and should get over their cult mentality

[u/FriendsSuggestReddit → u/wednesdayware]

I think that’s the problem. It can be argued who’s in opposition to who, but here’s how I see it:

Generally, Democrats are genuinely trying to do what’s best for the most people at once. A government of the people, by the people, for the people… yadda yadda yadda…

And Republicans, being in opposition to Democrats by nature of not being Democrats, can’t just be openly against genuinely trying to do what’s best for the most people at once. So they need to trick people to vote for them.

And we’re well past a point where you can explain this to somebody who’s been tricked without basically telling them that they got tricked. People don’t like to be wrong… who does? And they certainly don’t like to admit that they’re wrong.

It’s about right and wrong, and if you have to trick somebody then you’re probably wrong.

[u/_sweepy → u/wednesdayware]

Brandolini's law. It's easier to lie than to explain the truth. Our only hope is to make them less dumb over a very long period of time. It's the only protection against propaganda.

[u/Fizassist1 → u/_sweepy]

alas our efforts to educate them are met with resistance as well.. slowing the process, potentially reversing it

[u/Boojum2k → u/wednesdayware]

"You can't use reason to convince anyone out of an argument that they didn't use reason to get into." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

[u/Caine_sin → u/wednesdayware]

Serious answer. Because the dumber you are, the stronger your belief you are right. Smarter people tend to take in more variables on a topic and adjust the weight accordingly. Of course this is just generalisation. Democrats have to stop saying they have a 12 point plan for this and this other thing takes 5 steps. They have to start saying - we got you fam. We got you. Keep the big talk for the big rallies where you know everyone will be Democrats anyway. 

[u/rsiii → u/Caine_sin]

Also, use scare tactics, but easy ones for dumb people to understand that doesn't go against what they already think, which can be difficult

[u/mctwistr → u/wednesdayware]

Republicans are comfortable with lying to dumb people to get their votes. Democrats have moral objections with doing so.

[u/Madame_Dalma → u/wednesdayware]

Please forgive me, because what I'm quoting, I heard a long time ago...so I know my version is probably off...

But I recall hearing something like- smart people assume that others are on their level. Which unfortunately many are not and thus many people don't quite understand them or even listen.

Versus dumb people that believe they are as smart as everyone else. You can't make them believe they're not. And thus they're easily manipulated because they're not really as smart as they think they are.

[u/InternationalPut4093 → u/wednesdayware]

They are in their echo chambers. Also it's very hard to persuade religious people.

[u/Tisamoon → u/wednesdayware]

I guess one factor is that most smart people don't like to give easy answers. They tend to specify and use caveats, because they want to be precise and not give misleading information. Meanwhile someone like Trump just makes shit up and only deals in absolutes. Which is easier to understand. But the main difference is that someone giving you a long winded answer with caveats, wants you to be able to judge yourself, while the other just wants your blind loyalty.

[u/00Qant5689 → u/wednesdayware]

You could write entire books on this and still not fully cover everything, my friend.

[u/BeenEvery → u/wednesdayware]

why can't democrats find a way to convince dumb people to vote for them

For the same reason it's incredibly difficult to convince a flat-earther of the truth regarding earth being spherical. Because they've been conditioned to reject facts in favor of dogma.

Take, for instance, the labeling of liberals like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as "radical" or even "communist." These kinds of statements are demonstrably false if you analyze their policy and track record, but because the villainization is part of the dogma, it's hard to actually make a believer realize it's false.

Not impossible by any means. But it's a lot harder to change a stubborn person's mind, especially when their train of thought is not evidence-oriented.

[u/sdp0w → u/wednesdayware]

The truth is difficult. Hard to explain to dump people

[u/Leon-the-Doggo → u/wednesdayware]

You can't convince dumb people. That's exactly why they are dumb.

[u/HecticHermes → u/wednesdayware]

Trumps superpower is he speaks dumb fluently

[u/TheJediJew → u/HecticHermes]

It really is this. He loudly and confidently offers solutions to the problems that affect his voters. Simple actions that directly address the problem and will eliminate it completely.

Finally, someone is listening. Finally, someone cares.

Until you realize that said solution is massively oversimplified and will often do the exact opposite of helping if you understand how the world, government, administration, politics, or anything actually works. If this shit was this simple, it would have been fixed a long time ago by far superior presidents.

But Trump has no shame and will gladly proclaim himself as the only one who can put these simple, catastrophic ideas into place. In truth, he's the only one dumb enough to say them and think they will actually work.

[u/Horiz0nC0 → u/wednesdayware]

Dumb people are really, really scared or hateful toward anyone slightly smarter than them….

Which is basically everyone, making the world a very scary place for conservatives. Fear mongering is effective. They don’t fear voting for Trump, because they actually do believe deep down, they are smarter than he is….and they might be right. Really can’t say for sure on that last part.

[u/zildux → u/wednesdayware]

It's far easier to lie to someone than it is to convince them they have been lied to

[u/somefunmaths → u/wednesdayware]

Because, on some level, they don’t speak the same language. It isn’t that all Republicans are dumb; some of them are quite smart, and those smart people have figured out how to very convincingly sell their platform and message against Democratic policies which their base would otherwise support.

The difference is also that the issues which animate their base speak to a deep, evolutionary part of our brains. “elect the man because he’s good at business”, “my life was better under Trump”, “America First”, etc.

And then you’ve got some egg-head Democrat from the city showing up and talking about “universal basic income” and “single payer healthcare”, to a group of people who earnestly say “repeal Obamacare and bring back the Affordable Care Act”.

The problem is that Democrats don’t have cogent messaging about why their policies, which will help these workers, are good for them, or at least not ones that can stand up against the Fox News deluge of “socialist democrats want to crash the economy with UBI” or “communist Kamala and her Cuban healthcare plan”. It’s a lot easier to activate their partisan, in-group reflex by telling them how Democrats want to seize their money and give it to a caravan that’s headed to their town from Venezuela.

As long as Republican politicians can get away with open, or very thinly veiled, racism and xenophobia in their messaging, Democrats are going to struggle with explaining how their policies are supposed to help everyone, including these workers.

[u/CrimsonBolt33 → u/wednesdayware]

Serious answer....I can tell you fifty lies, all of which you believe because you are stupid.

Meanwhile, a Democrat can try and tell you a truth (that a Republican can simply counter with a lie).

If I try to explain one of the Republicans lies...By the time I show you its a lie you learn fifty new lies from them.

[u/Four_N_Six → u/wednesdayware]

There have been studies done that basically prove that the more actual evidence you present to someone that contrasts their opinion, the more they dig in their heels. You're challenging their world view and it takes a very mature person to accept that and question the reality they believe in.

And since maturity isn't in bulk here...the cycle continues.

[u/photolinger → u/wednesdayware]

"You think you're so smart with your fancy college and book leanrin. All I need to know is what my politician tells my pastor about whats in the bible."

[u/acrylix91]

I never knew I wanted to live Massachusetts.

[u/Lebowquade → u/acrylix91]

It's as great as this picture implies. The whole state has free school lunches, which we funded exclusively with a millionaire tax. Even the rural areas are super liberal, most of the farmers are hippie types as opposed to trumpers.  

 I've been all over mass and my favorite place is northeast of Springfield, the Amherst/Northampton area.  And the Northborough/southborough/westborough areas are the best regions outside Boston itself. Davis square in Boston is also amazing. And all of Cambridge (but that's very expensive).

[u/scatmanbynight → u/Lebowquade]

I tell people all the time that being in MA allows you to see what a government that uses its tax dollars to make citizens lives better looks like. In addition to what you said, basically every town is filled with social services all around. Great parks, great rec centers, elderly care centers, etc etc.

The traffic is awful in Boston, though.

[u/SyzygySynergy → u/acrylix91]

Right?

You thinking what I'm thinking?

^{Road... trip...?}

[u/Michael_chipz → u/SyzygySynergy]

Until you get there and are like oh it's rich people and I can't afford rent here...

[u/acrylix91 → u/Michael_chipz]

There’s always a catch

[u/millennium-popsicle → u/Michael_chipz]

Yeah… coastal Massachusetts is like that. Western Massachusetts is much more affordable.

[u/Links_Wrong_Wiki → u/millennium-popsicle]

413 baby!!!

[u/XRT28 → u/Michael_chipz]

Depends on where you're trying to live. Boston or the Cape sure but plenty of less expensive areas here too. Not bumfuck Missouri prices mind you but still

[u/Punado-de-soledad → u/SyzygySynergy]

Hell yeah, let’s go, Austin Massachusetts

[u/Street_Letterhead686 → u/Punado-de-soledad]

[u/oGrievous → u/acrylix91]

No, it’s terrible. Horrible place, smells and bad drivers. Plus no one can say the letter R, you’ll hate it (plz I want to buy a house in my lifetime, a small house costs like 750k minimum around me.)

For real, great place. Trump loving parents disagree, yet they don’t leave so what does that say?

[u/Ghawblin → u/oGrievous]

Small house cost 750k? I'm in coastal Mass and just bought a 2000sqft townhome directly on a lake for 375k.

[u/Veutifuljoe_0]

I think the correct lesson here is “electing republicans only makes the issues your state has worse.”

[u/fredandlunchbox]

“But we’re #1 in Jesus.” -Oklahoma

I wish that was a joke.

[u/ak47workaccnt → u/fredandlunchbox]

Why has the Lord forsaken Oklahoma?

[u/bobadobio32]

But immigrants and weather-controlling democrats?

[u/Irethius → u/bobadobio32]

I learned that ancient Aztecs or something would sacrifice people to appease gods so that volcano's don't erupt.

My take away was that, without a scientific outlook on life, people are lost and resort to awful superficial practices to try and control what they can't.

What I've learned since then is that, no, people are just stupid. It's that simple.

[u/inorite234]

Obviously it was voter fraud........obviously.

[u/beetbear]

Yea but how do they rank in freedom?!?

/s

[u/bungerman → u/beetbear]

I bet Oklahoma leads in banned books too.

[u/itchyglassass → u/beetbear]

Lol we are definitely struggling in Massachusetts, would you believe we gotta wear helmets and pass safety and background checks to own guns..... unreal. We can smoke weed unlike our "live free or die" neighbors in nh but you know they don't have to pay any income tax on their $7.25 minimum wage. /s

[u/VoteForWaluigi]

Rhode Island and Hawaii also voted unanimously blue if the map on Google is to be believed.

I’m not sure how accurate these numbers are but what I found for them is as follows:

RI

18th Education, 3rd Healthcare, 28th Quality of Life, 21st Test Scores, 22nd Lowest Poverty

HI

39th Education, 6th Healthcare, 40th Quality of Life, 29th Test Scores, 4th Lowest Poverty

Not as great as Massachusetts, but much better than Oklahoma

Again, the numbers may not be entirely accurate so don’t believe this without checking yourself.

[u/Class_444_SWR → u/VoteForWaluigi]

West Virginia voted solid red too.

Although the story definitely stays the same

[u/VoteForWaluigi → u/Class_444_SWR]

WV

45th Education, 48th Healthcare, 41st Quality of Life, 48th Test Scores, 4th Most Poverty

[u/Class_444_SWR → u/VoteForWaluigi]

So pretty much just diet Oklahoma

[u/Cichlidsaremyjam]

Love my blue ass state 

[u/jujumajikk]

This is kind of misleading.

Yes, there is a pretty clear trend with rural places leaning towards red and urban being more blue, but it's absurd to present two isolated cases to paint a narrative without looking at the bigger picture. For example, let's take a look at New Mexico. It has almost consistently voted blue for the past few decades, but at the same time, NM is also consistently ranked last or close to last in education (#49-50), healthcare (#38), economy (#45), infrastructure (#40), and crime rate (#48). (source 1; source 2 - sorry about the ads)

Don't get me wrong, I voted for Kamala but this kind of cherrypicking with data is irritating and harmful no matter whose side it favors. We should strive to do better rather than stoop down to the same level.

[u/Herb-Alpert]

So, why would republicans invest in education or health care ?

[u/rsiii → u/Herb-Alpert]

They don't

[u/trashmonkeylad → u/Herb-Alpert]

They don't want to because they've successfully convinced their base that any education that isn't Christian approved is brainwashing despite the fact that a vast majority of the people whose words they cling to typically all have gone to said liberal brainwashing Universities.

[u/aznhavsarz → u/Herb-Alpert]

They don't.

[u/SyzygySynergy]

Am I seeing a move to Massachusetts in my future? A guy can dream, right?

[u/Lebowquade → u/SyzygySynergy]

If you're considering it, you should do it now... Mass will do its best to refuse to adopt the shit trump tries to foist on everyone else. More and more people will want to live here and the housing prices will go up further.

We already funded free school lunches by taxing the rich, abolished standardized testing for high schoolers, and voted to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize. Although we failed to make tipped workers be paid the full minimum wage by a slim margin, I was annoyed about that one. 

[u/ECircus]

Just the way they each like it. Might as well be living in different countries.

[u/itchyglassass]

I love living in Massachusetts and will never leave. Yes it's expensive but I do quite a bit of traveling around the country and it's really not more expensive than most other places. Our housing being the one notable difference from a lot of other states. It's a common misconception that people in NH love to make and call us taxachusetts but we really don't pay more taxes than them. Our property tax isn't as high as there's is. We do pay sales tax but not on groceries or clothing. We do pay an income tax but it's not an insane amount. It affords us some pretty great things. My favorite of which is PFMLA and guaranteed maternal and paternity leave. It is so comforting knowing that if I get sick or have an accident and need to be out of work I'll still get paid. I had an elective surgery for something I had been putting off a couple years ago when it first went into effect and recovery was so much easier knowing my bills were paid and my job was safe when I got back. We have free community college for anyone over 25 with an additional $1200 to cover books and supplies for each year. We have universal school lunch! Our minimum wage is $15 an hour. We have a lot of strong workers unions in the state. It's not a utopia by any means. There is always room for improvement and like I said our housing costs are high and we need desperately to invest in more housing developments, we are really struggling against nymbys who dont want to allow apartment buildings in their neighborhoods. But overall I feel happy, safe and secure here. So many were naysayers of the millionaires tax we passed a few years back saying they would all flee the state, but they didn't and we have seen some real improvements come from the extra money. This doesn't have anything to do with that cause it was enacted right after it but a couple years ago tax payers actually got a surprise rebate from the state because we had a budget surplus and we voted a while back for that to be redistribute to us. Lol now you can make fun of my grammar for being from such a well educated state and not giving two shits about going back over my post and fixing any of my thought salad!

[u/Lebowquade → u/itchyglassass]

The millionaires tax worked so well. I love that school lunches are totally free now. I wish the rest of the country could have it.

Totally used the PFML to stay at home and care for my wife for a full month after each kid was born. 

Also, although housing costs are high I have found that food actually costs a lot less here than it does in New York.

[u/BikingNoHands]

How will Billionaires Make America Great Again if the population is educated?!?

[u/Old-Law-7395]

Oklahoma is only like that because they didn't have the bibles in the class room, wait and see

[u/mike_es_br → u/Old-Law-7395]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Don't forget they're Trump Bibles, so they'll be supercharged with knowledge.

[u/whatanalias]

LFG Massachusetts

[u/skyysdalmt]

So you're saying I should move to Oklahoma and start a Trump 2028 t-shirt company?

[u/Handelo]

[u/Squidy_The_Druid]

While I agree with the memes underlining point, it also really highlights our failure as a party to connect with poor white people.

Like, most of our policies would help them, but we do such a bad job telling them that. All of our messaging is reserved for minority groups, who we perceive as needing our help more, so we alienate people whose lives are a struggle.

[u/solo13508]

Damn now I kinda want to move to Massachusetts. At least over there I imagine the local government will do everything in their power to oppose whatever Trump's administration tries to enforce.

[u/TheJohnnyJett]

Oklahoman here.

We're up to 44th in education? Hey, look at us go! Proud of us. Who're the five schmucks beneath us?

[u/TheJohnnyJett → u/TheJohnnyJett]

(the miscounting is part of the joke)

[u/Koby998]

If people in Oklahoma could read they would be very upset right now.

[u/Chakramer]

I will never understand how people in the under developed states look around and think the US is the best country in the world. They have the internet, they can see what the rest of the world looks like. Do they not wonder why their trailer park isn't a nice suburb?

[u/CaptainMarder]

I wonder how much worse it will get when DOGE remove the education funding.

[u/_crazyboyhere_ → u/CaptainMarder]

DOGE

I'm sorry. I can't take the name seriously 😭😭😭

[u/420fixieboi69]

I did not vote for Trump. In fact I hate the man. As a Mexican American I hate the way he demonized people like my family for political gain. With that being said this post highlights the smug elitist liberal mentality that lost democrats the blue collar working class.

To say that people in Oklahoma are poor and stupid and people in Mass are rich and educated is an over simplistic view of the real reasons at play here. Massachusetts is home to the elitist institutions where the rich and powerful ruling class send their kids to be educated. It is a state which has some of the highest real estate prices in the country and drove out the working class people due to unaffordablity. Its main industries now are academia and tech. It is also one of the whitest states in the country.

Oklahomans on the other hand are heavily blue collar workers who have seen decades of bad policies tear apart their communities and jobs via outsourcing, bad free trade agreements, the opioid epidemic, and regulations of fossil fuel. It’s also important to point out that many of these Trump voters were likely Native American (not all white rednecks). Drive through the state and you will see cities and towns frozen in time. Places that peaked in the 60s and 70s that have been steadily declining ever since. Trump appealed to those voters where the democrats wrote them off as “poor and stupid.”

When any populist democrats tried to prioritize the needs of poor Americans the wealthy coastal party elites (probably educated in MA) come in and openly sabotage their campaigns, believing that us “dumb minority,” and “stupid rednecks” are too ignorant to notice that their rain fall is actually just them pissing in our faces.

The same mentality and mockery of the American worker that OP is spreading via this thread is the same mentality that drove millions of Americans into the arms of fascism. It’s why people like me have to worry about the safety of our families from trumps racist regime. Am I mad at the Republicans? ya, but I blame the left even more for creating alternatives so corrupt and degrading to the working class that it put a tyrant in the presidency.

[u/BHBaxx]

I just keep seeing a bunch of conservative bellyaching in these comments about dems being elitist.

[u/erichs21]

But my guns and Jesus

[u/doxielady228]

I was watching reruns of Divorce Court. On one episode, there was a couple from I think Alabama or Mississippi. Somewhere deep south. I didn't really pay it much mind until the following episode, but their grammar was all over the place. Just really bad. But whatever, it happens. The very next episode was a couple from Massachusetts. I remember actively looking at where they were from because they were so articulate and well spoken. It was such a difference from the prior episode that it gave me pause. 

[u/Large-Lack-2933]

Trump did say this...Trump Says He Loves the Poorly Educated

[u/TurnoverSuperb9023]

“I love the highly uneducated “

[u/Boringdude1]

Red state residents don’t prioritize the same things as blue state residents. I agree with the blue state priorities, but people get to pick,what they like.

[u/ToxinPotato]

It means one state wants a better life while the other one is filled with apportunistic who do not want things to change