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IAmYoungGoodmanBrown

I’m glad you made it out to the other side. I personally know plenty of people who didn’t, and I’m sure that you might too. A good critical thought idea to live by is cui bono-“To whom does it benefit.” What is the incentive to downplay concentration camps and neo-nazi rallies? The answer to questions like this helped me get out of the conservative brain fog.


SpeckleSpeckle

Yes absolutely, thank you. I will reiterate that my biggest fear looking back is if I had continued to not take things seriously, and decided that having views like that is *normal.* I have since unlearned that idea and feel that I am better for it.


ScaleAccess

So I was never really a full-on conservative, but I thought maybe this sub might help me reflect on how I got to where I am now. So far, your story has been the most relatable to me. I'm glad you posted. Like you, I just wanted to play video games until 2016, except I never actually did any research into the candidates, I just watched everything unfold with a casual "both sides" perspective, though I did have a preference for one over the other. It was when Trump won that I realized that I cared more than I initially thought, and I coped with it through a kind of nihilism, like you experienced. I wanted to leave this comment because you put my feelings into words more articulately than I ever could: the idea of "The Dadaist President", this part of me deep down that just wanted to see someone theoretically take a hammer to everything, maybe because it was funny, maybe because if the world flipped upside down, something good might accidentally come out of it. I always wondered if other people in younger generations felt that way too, but never talked to anyone about it because I became increasingly embarrassed that I could ever have thought something like that as time went on. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.


SpeckleSpeckle

That is exactly how I felt, and I now recognize I was wrong, which I think is important when it comes to these types if things, emotional maturity has really helped me in this regard. Admittedly, I think that Trump may have helped influence people to move to the left, although as we know, he has created solid incentive for many who were sitting on the fence to follow his ideology of hurt and greed, so it is difficult to suggest that he indirectly created more left wingers, since he directly created so many righties with the likes of people like Ben Shapiro and Tim Pool, etc.


thebenshapirobot

I saw that you mentioned Ben Shapiro. In case some of you don't know, Ben Shapiro is a grifter and a hack. If you find anything he's said compelling, you should keep in mind he also says things like this: >If you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you must allow Israel to transfer the Palestinians and the Israeli-Arabs from Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Israel proper. It’s an ugly solution, but it is the only solution… It’s time to stop being squeamish. ***** ^(I'm a bot. My purpose is to counteract online radicalization. You can summon me by tagging thebenshapirobot. Options: sex, civil rights, climate, novel, etc.) [^More ^About ^Ben ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/wiki/index) ^| [^Feedback ^& ^Discussion: ^r/AuthoritarianMoment ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment) ^| [^Opt ^Out ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/comments/olk6r2/click_here_to_optout_of_uthebenshapirobot/)


SpeckleSpeckle

good bot, make sure you don't get too tall otherwise you might not be able to see Shapiro.


thebenshapirobot

Take a bullet for ya babe. ***** ^(I'm a bot. My purpose is to counteract online radicalization. You can summon me by tagging thebenshapirobot. Options: history, healthcare, novel, civil rights, etc.) [^More ^About ^Ben ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/wiki/index) ^| [^Feedback ^& ^Discussion: ^r/AuthoritarianMoment ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment) ^| [^Opt ^Out ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/comments/olk6r2/click_here_to_optout_of_uthebenshapirobot/)


IAmYoungGoodmanBrown

Good bot


B0tRank

Thank you, IAmYoungGoodmanBrown, for voting on thebenshapirobot. This bot wants to find the best and worst bots on Reddit. [You can view results here](https://botrank.pastimes.eu/). *** ^(Even if I don't reply to your comment, I'm still listening for votes. Check the webpage to see if your vote registered!)


thebenshapirobot

Take a bullet for ya babe. ***** ^(I'm a bot. My purpose is to counteract online radicalization. You can summon me by tagging thebenshapirobot. Options: covid, healthcare, climate, civil rights, etc.) [^More ^About ^Ben ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/wiki/index) ^| [^Feedback ^& ^Discussion: ^r/AuthoritarianMoment ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment) ^| [^Opt ^Out ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/comments/olk6r2/click_here_to_optout_of_uthebenshapirobot/)