I do think there are an awful lot of people that have bought into it that are not foreign actors - if you venture into Oppression Olympics type of zones of the 'net and you’ll find them. I suppose some of those might be agents looking to put Republicans into power, but in some cases, questioning the ridiculous, childish orthodoxy (all xtian white cishet men bad; virtually anyone else is good) is bound to get you banned or at least your comment deleted in some of these zones, so it’s also moderators.
I fear this kind of stuff is what harms progress in this country so much. I’m pretty sure people adhering to absurd, ivory tower, useless orthodoxy are a very, very tiny minority, but any time they say/do something really dumb (stuff like this, or “defund the police”), it gets picked up by the fascists and all progressives get painted with this brush - which, going by polls on issues, is most of the country.
I think it is a mix. Some of the people you mention might have first heard about this nonsense from some bad actor (fascists posing as liberals) who was spreading lies, and now they are taking up the mantel for real.
When it all comes down to it, the regular Left (not the extreme “liberal guilt” idiots) do an awful job at getting their point across to middle America. They do a terrible job at communicating with average Joes. They don’t understand how to connect with real people. They do such a bad job at it, that they actively push away people who should be welcomed to their fold.
On the flip side, Republicans have done an amazing job at painting themselves as “real Americans” and have commandeered the blue collar, hardworking, cowboy, freedom-loving image all while their number one lord emperor is a billionaire from the bluest of states who shits in a gold plated toilet and wants to over-rule democracy. It is a master-class in marketing and image.
I do think there are an awful lot of people that have bought into it that are not foreign actors - if you venture into Oppression Olympics type of zones of the 'net and you’ll find them. I suppose some of those might be agents looking to put Republicans into power, but in some cases, questioning the ridiculous, childish orthodoxy (all xtian white cishet men bad; virtually anyone else is good) is bound to get you banned or at least your comment deleted in some of these zones, so it’s also moderators.
I fear this kind of stuff is what harms progress in this country so much. I’m pretty sure people adhering to absurd, ivory tower, useless orthodoxy are a very, very tiny minority, but any time they say/do something really dumb (stuff like this, or “defund the police”), it gets picked up by the fascists and all progressives get painted with this brush - which, going by polls on issues, is most of the country.
I think it is a mix. Some of the people you mention might have first heard about this nonsense from some bad actor (fascists posing as liberals) who was spreading lies, and now they are taking up the mantel for real.
When it all comes down to it, the regular Left (not the extreme “liberal guilt” idiots) do an awful job at getting their point across to middle America. They do a terrible job at communicating with average Joes. They don’t understand how to connect with real people. They do such a bad job at it, that they actively push away people who should be welcomed to their fold.
On the flip side, Republicans have done an amazing job at painting themselves as “real Americans” and have commandeered the blue collar, hardworking, cowboy, freedom-loving image all while their number one lord emperor is a billionaire from the bluest of states who shits in a gold plated toilet and wants to over-rule democracy. It is a master-class in marketing and image.