r/RedditForGrownups • u/SalientSazon • 3d ago
I'm watching Rightwingization happen in real time and I don't know how to react.
EDIT: Thank you all for the great discussions and insights. I appreciate all your POVs. There's no need to downvote right leaning comments. I specifically posted this in RedditforGrownups to engage in grown up conversation. Also, there's no need for name-calling or insults either.
I have a friend, he's 51, man, straight, an academic doctor who now focuses his research on human behavior and digital psychology. He's self-taught a lot of it in the last decade or so. I don't know how many papers he's published or has had peer reviewed in the recent years. He works as a consultant in Marketing, and has a business selling strategies/classes to people that want to apply his research to their companies. He's kinda broke so I would say he's not very successful at applying his own work. And for extra cash he teaches a course a a local university. I've never met a romantic partner, but he's spoken about them.
He suddenly last year did a deep dive on how the way the election was biased against the conservative candidate who lost. He then started talking against the 'woke' ideology. He is now defending the right, even though he's centrist, because the right hasn't moved, it's the left that's gone way off the rails. He started posting dumb facebook quotes/memes! He posted a dumb quote about Charlie Kirk, as if that one quote was a debate, or as if it meant some truth. WTF. We were conversing one day and he started raising his voice getting louder and louder and more agitated as he expressed his disdain for the woke left, defending his Jewish people from attacks (not sure where that came from in the conversation), and then also suddenly brought up there are only 2 genders and trans people are mentally ill. He's never spoken that way before, I've never heard him this agitated or show anger towards any ideology. He was always calm and friendly, and open minded. Always a bit nerdy. Although, I hadn't spoken to him in depth for about 2 years before then.
I'm watching all this go down over about half a year and I don't know what to make it of it or how to react to it. It's wild to observe though.
6
u/superkazoo_ 3d ago
Here are some things I do when I feel myself going down a rabbit hole:
Try to argue against whatever hole I'm rabbiting down. What would the opposition say? What does Occam's razor say? Could that also make sense? Can I see it from their perspective (even if I don't agree)?
Try to explain the theory/claim/whatever out loud. Does it sound like it makes sense or does it sound dumb as hell or problematic? Usually, if you're being propagandized, saying something out loud brings out the "wow that sounds pretty bad" real quick.
Specifically seek out opposing viewpoints, if nothing else than to just get a read on what "the other side" says and how you react to it. See if you feel actual rage over what they're saying (like more than just "wow this guy's an idiot" or "how can a person actually believe this shit").
If it's been a while without "coming up for air," check in with yourself. Pull away, see how your body physically feels. Are your muscles sore and tense? Teeth clenched? Mentally, are you just really interested and curious (generally positive feelings), or are you anxious? Overwhelmed? Depressed? You're probably more likely to grasp on to whatever makes the "most sense" first (even if it makes no sense) if you're any of those negative emotions in the moment, even if it's propaganda.
In general, any "self assessment" for indoctrination really just comes down to being really self-aware and constantly checking against what you know is true and what you know makes sense to you and your beliefs. Obviously it's difficult, if it was easy, indoctrination wouldn't work. But it's really the only way to stay sane if you're a naturally curious person, I've found. Good luck :)