Today she was lamenting about Trump and all the havoc.
I reminded her about how she praised Trump around the time of the election, specifically saying she approved of “a strong man” and making a fist gesture as she said it.
But I was corrected. Turns out I mis-remembered. She always supported Kamala, who “listens to people” unlike Trump who “is always complaining”.
Oh this is a thing that happens, and she might not even be doing it on purpose.
I was reading a book about how people change their minds, and it mentioned some study of long term belief. Many people who changed their mind about big things like abortion seemingly legitimately could not remember ever having the opposite opinion.
I think it’s because the ego is fragile, and people don’t like admitting fault.
Far too many people didn’t have a problem with it in the abstract, but I guess that shit cake isn’t so appetizing once it’s actually been made.
You know they’re full shit, they know they’re full of shit.
It doesn’t matter much, it’s the cognitive dissonance hitting her like a train wreck.Different people will use different ways to resolve cognitive dissonance by trying to create some sort of internal consistency.
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Denial: (we’re here 👋 )
Deny ever supporting him or his policies even though she literally did. -
Rationalization:
Argue she was misled, she never believed he’d take such drastic (yet promised) actions. -
Alter perception:
Convince herself he’s not really a fascist and it’s necessary for some poorly defined greater good -
Selective exposure
Seek out info that aligns with her current view, dismiss anything that contradicts.
I mean it all sucks, but I’d rather deal with people doing #1 or #2 than the other forms of doubling down. 🤷
Build your enemy a golden bridge to retreat across and all that.
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Don’t be too strict with these people, it’s better late than never. Pushing them too hard to admit they were wrong might just push them back over to the other side.