Meanwhile, 44 percent backed the American tradition of competing branches of government as a model, if sometimes “frustrating,” system.
Why would people want to live under an authoritarian’s thumb? It’s rooted, experts say, in a psychological need for security—real or perceived—and a desire for conformity, a goal that becomes even more acute as the country undergoes dramatic demographic and social changes. People also like to obey a strong leader who will protect the group—especially if it is the “right” group whose interests will be protected. Recall the Trump supporter who, during the 2019 government shutdown, complained, “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
One of my gramps fled fascism in Italy. Always warned me that a lot of people want someone to tell them what to do, primed to receive commands. That side is filled with rebels, flexible and rational people that operate in shades of grey.
On the other side, I have a cousin who had a strict dad, retired military guy, good soldier, no doubt. Cousin loves Trump. That side is more blue collar, less education, less financial means. Cousin never had to deal with emotions, couldn’t have done so in a safe environment with her dad around anyway, yelling at her all the time, telling her exactly what to do, why to do it, how to do it.
She would get harshly punished for very specific things and her folks would make sure she understood the just desert of it clear. She’s never led anything of her own, never started anything for herself. She’s very attached to the idea that people get what they deserve and has a hard time related to anyone different from her, which are defense mechanisms and marks of her emotional immaturity. Like, she cannot fathom that there are innocent people in prison who have pleased guilty. Her ability to think for herself is as stunted as her compassion for others. She needed serious education and travel, exposure to other cultures and ideas, she got a certificate, a job, and an apartment instead. Super attached to her personal property. Cannot fathom the idea of not being angry if for example something was stolen from her that she was fully insured for. Obviously she has a gun and feels like it keeps her safe.
She has authoritarian sympathy engrained in her. It is her attachment style. Loud shouted orders are her love language.
Dumb as a brick.
The people who dont want to be told how they live desperately want someone to tell them how to live.
They don’t want to be told how to live while simultaneously having someone force others to live like them.
The people who don’t want to be told how to live want other people to be told how to live thinking they’ll be left alone.
They want their opinion mirrored back at them by someone in power so they don’t have to take responsibility for their own opinions.
A close friend of mine is a woman of color and her bosses want the same things from her. They wants to hear their opinion come out of someone with her skin tone so they feel justified and not responsible at the same time. I imagine these are similar phenomenon.
You just perfectly described the Candace Owens and Dave Rubin phenomenon.
Nailed it, this 💯
Sounds like they’re just looking for a daddy.
To have others be told how to live, which is how they prefer to live already.
Exactly.
They support him because they believe he is like them, so they won’t need to change anything. It’s everyone else that will be forced to be like them that they want…
I hope I’m not spreading misinformation, but I believe one of the victims of the assassination attempt had a flag on his Facebook page that was a play off of “don’t tread on me” and in it’s place was a tank with “tread on all of them.”
I fucking hate these people so much
32 percent of americans have chowder for brains
Civics, politics, and world history classes. Is nobody taking these anymore? Sheesh.
Not anywhere the Republicans can control the school curriculum
32% is all you need. Thanks to the perpetual minority rule established by electoral college system
Probably should have rewrote the constitution every 20 years like Thomas Jefferson said we should.
Here they go through Europe biggest fuck ups 90 years later. I’d say enjoy the ride but they’ll pull the whole world in.
This country is cooked that number is way too high.
The nation built on native American burial grounds using slavery didn’t work out? Say it ain’t so!
How very in-American of them. I thought those conservatives were all about 1776 and independence from a king/dictator. I guess it’s more like they want their king is charge to crush anyone who has slightly different views.
The conservatives during The War of Independence were The Loyalists. The progressives were The Patriots
32% of Americans want to be Nazis? Sad to see.
Well then we know that 32% of people in America are not fond of America. I’m fine with the whole Trump bullshit of “kicking them out”, but let’s make it about these assholes and not the people who are here to have a functioning democracy.
Hmm I wonder what 30% that is…
I also wonder if there is any overlap between that 30% and people that have a bones for “freedom” and “liberty”
If you check the poll it’s not what you’d expect. The self-identified left had 25% support. The self-identified right had 29% support. The self-identified center had 37 PERCENT support. There’s apparently a thirst for some strong authoritarian radical centrism.
I struggle to trust numbers nowadays. After being on Reddit for 11 years and now here on Lemmy, and around the Internet my entire life, lemme tell you about why people would self-identify as something else for a moment:
Because they are anonymous.
There are a huge amount of people who are on the Right on Lemmy trying to pass off as Blue, or blue-leaning.
Even without active deception there’s plenty of self-deception. People like the aesthetic of “I’m my own person, not beholden to left or right” while voting left or right every election.
As someone who is quite left, I find myself less radically left than many on Lemmy. My beliefs basically fall exactly with Bernie Sanders, which is more left than probably 95% of the entire country, but that isn’t left enough for some people.
If you ask people about policies and not self-identification, Bernie’s ideas have massive support from all Americans. It’s political discourse that has swung right, not the views of typical Americans.
That would be the ‘benevolent dictator’ crowd. Strong amongst the military and business/tech investor class.
This coming from the “if you exchange freedom.for security you will enjoy neither freedom nor security” folks.
Just a quick question: give me one, ONE simple example of a successful military dictatorship that didn’t take the country to hell and left damn near all its citizens poor, suppressed, and suffering?
Thailand regularly has military coups.
Also… Do you really want a military dictatorship run by right wing Christian extremists with an obsession with the end times with access to nukes? Just something to ponder about.
Would you accept a US military coup to remove bunch of right wing Christian extremists that have taken things too far?
It might actually get to that point. Not hoping for it but it wouldn’t surprise me
Sparta
Maybe the citizens weren’t suffering but their massive slave population definitely was. Heck, the reason they trained so hard was to put down slave revolts.
Sure, but that wasn’t the question.
There is no country, democratic or authoritarian, on this planet that currently doesn’t rely to some extent on exploited, indentured, or enslaved non-citizens, either domestic or abroad.
We need a robotic slave force.
Slavery? Really? That’s your example?
Well yeah, they asked for a simple example, I gave one. What’s wrong with that? The discussion is already in the realm of “military dictatorship” which aren’t exactly known for respecting human rights/freedoms of non-citizena. The question was about the sustainability of such systems for those deemed citizens.
I hate a military dictatorship but to play devil’s advocate: South Korea and Taiwan?
I’m not saying their transition to democracies was bloodless or clean but they managed. Those two are extreme examples and not models, one country built after a war that split the country in two, the other fleeing the mainland to create its own state. But I’m stretching to find a better example.
I’m not saying their transition to
democraciesliberal democraciesFTFY - so-called “liberal democracy” is about as democratic as “social darwinism” is Darwinist. And those are two terrible examples to use - they only went pretend-democratic after the fascist regimes murdered and tortured any elements in society that could be called democratic with a straight face.
If that’s what you want for the US you might just as well start marching with the fascists.
Taiwan probably fared better than Korea in that regard.
Arent both democracies now?
That was my point, these hand-picked examples didn’t end up as hellholes. That said, it wasn’t always smooth, lots of blood in SK’s hand. I was playing devil’s advocate.
In any case, the USA is not in the desperate situation these countries were in.
Whoa, that last question would require historical knowledge, and education is Satan, didn’t you know?
France under DeGaulle?
Edit to add: It’s not an assertio, it’s a question I don’t know the answer to.
Not really. There certainly was a concentration of levers in the government, but while it certainly had authoritarian traits, it wasn’t militaristic and was still quite free. There was a healthy opposition.
That was not a military dictatorship, was it?
The Founders were ONLY CORRECT when they said we’re allowed to Shoot Up Elementary Schools. Everything else was WRONG!
-Pro Life Republicans.
One step closer to: “We forgot how to make cheese, y’all!”
At this point, I would be unsurprised if a third of Americans voted for an industrial meat shredder for President, even after it had been repeatedly and clearly explained they would be marched into it at gunpoint if it won. The lower part of our bell curve is… well… very, very low.
Maybe Republicans would pick a more moderate candidate if they weren’t shackled by First Past the Post voting to a giant flaming turd.
Maybe democrats would pick someone who doesn’t support genocide.
But capitalists hate competition… thus FPTP voting remains.
So you’re saying trump could shoot his supporters in the middle of Fifth Avenue and they’d say “Nice shot sir!”?
