Rhewin
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After the Capitol riots dad finally started to think the MAGA movement went too far. He even started to say Republicans had put too much faith in Trump and it backfired. I was able to make a lot of progress with him and at least get him to admit the attack was wrong and the people involved should pay.
But a couple of weeks ago he stopped watching Fox (too moderate, don’t you know) and picked up OAN.
Now he refuses to even say “riot” when talking about that day. According to him it was just a peaceful protest where people went in and then voluntarily left 20 minutes later. No amount of video or testimony from the cops on the scene will convince him otherwise.
The Proud Boys? Just Trump supporters that the evil media made the bad guys. Parler? A bastion of free speech that wasn’t involved despite whatever the FBI says (he’s even boycotting AWS now). Insurrection? Nah, it can’t be an insurrection, they didn’t have guns! Heck, I could barely get him to admit they were trespassing.
Dad was always stubbornly conservative and could never admit when he was wrong about anything, but now he’s gone full blown conspiracy theorist. And worst of all outlets like OAN train them to not trust anything else.
For those of you with older parents, keep an eye on what media they are consuming. Try to help them tell the difference between reality and whatever this alt right narrative is becoming.
mondomar
Cult de-programming takes months if not years to heal. I hope your family is okay.
fly4runner
My 70 year old dad was at the 68’ DNC in Chicago as a radical teen and is more liberal today. I’m happy I will never have to deal with this.
makeitadouble
I read that as MANGA, why wouldn't you want your parents into MANGA?
Rhewin
Unfortunately he is and I am not, but he keeps trying to get me into it. And it’s always fucking harem manga.
ProChoiceBaby
I'm thankful that my dad wasn't around for the Trumptard years. I have a feeling our relationship would be broken because of trump, and my
ProChoiceBaby
father's own conservative stubbornness.
MadCat221
I count my lucky stars every time I read one of these that this doesn't apply to my folks:
Rhewin
Seenmeb4
So fuckin sorry. I have a parent in it deep too. It disgusts me and I can barely tolerate speaking to them.
yikesaroni
does he worry about the white percentage? is he a religious fundamentalist? these traits are usually at the heart of trump/GOP support
Rhewin
Very much a fundamentalist evangelical. He won’t outwardly say he’s worried about white percentage/genocide, but yes.
qyrriqat
If it gives you any hope at all: raised as a Baptist PK, still attend a fairly conservative church, but Trump was the last straw 1/
qyrriqat
to me noping my way out of the GOP. Since Jan. 6, never going back. 2/2
MoschopsUK
Boomers were never ready for the internet. They breathlessly rush to believe everything shoved into their heads.
Cat3508
Slight misconception there old chap. I've just turned 78, and never take anything at face value, especially so called news on the TV
TsubakiTragic
I'm only a couple of years behind you and support your statement. "Boomers" is just a convenient metaphor these days.
SubtleOrc
That's not a boomer fault. It's endemic. The majority of Millennials have no better critical thinking skills.
ADDGirl
Man, I hear you. My dad also subscribes to fb pages with videos of cops being attacked so he can justify any retaliation. >
ADDGirl
> He just sits and watches that crap and then talks about how anyone beaten or killed by cops had it coming.
MyPasswordIs1234
What you see and hear determines your perception of reality. It's sad how people willingly skew their own perception.
boywiththebeanz
No point trying to help them if they don’t want it. My parents believe theyre in a cultural war with the left. Everything is dems fault
Rhewin
I actually would leave well enough alone, but he tries to bait conversations. I’ve learned to shut it down quickly as it’s useless.
JackalopeElope
If he believes charlatans over his lying eyes, there isn't much you can do. Does he have any actual allegiances? Truth, reason, scripture?
Rhewin
Evangelical, so scripture yes, but truth no.
4TheSDMB2C
Is he a veteran? The age fits.
Rhewin
Nope. Though he does support the military until he doesn’t. Dying for us? Fine. Getting medical/financial help after serving? Nope.
ClericOfTheProsperityGospel
Oof. Sorry man. Best of luck in yalls relationship. Maybe it'll get better one day. Evangelical is rough enough all on it's own imo.
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
I've realized a lot of people in that generation, despite claiming Millennials have no attention span, seem to have a pathological need 1/
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
to have chatter to listen to. If they're not on the phone, they've got the TV on in the background. And then it ends up on Fox News. And 2/
aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk
then they start hearing the repetitive attacks and it slowly sinks in. Then when it hits OAN or worse... it's terminal.
LoneBoot
I got a cultist parent whose 4 kids are her retirement plan. She in for a rude awakening as we've all decided she'll be on her own. 1/2
LoneBoot
30 years of working against our health/education/friends/safety net? Let her precious free market take care of her.
PainGwen
Preach
thevortexmaster
What's OAN?
chasingatrailofsmokeandreason
John Oliver has some words about OAN. https://youtu.be/UnSILVWDKL8
Rhewin
One America News. Take Fox and remove the last shreds of reality. A pure alt right shit show.
thevortexmaster
Ahhh, thanks. Sounds brutal
qyrriqat
Current headlines include "One-on-One with Donald Trump Jr." and "Joe Biden is a dark money puppet".
thevortexmaster
Dear lord
Cutthroatlemur
There are two types of republicans, the rich and the rubes. Which one is he?
Rhewin
1000% a rube. The rich ones don’t actually believe this stuff.
stimpsonjcatt
Had a friend recently recommend I go on my mom's devices and read/watch actual reputable news sources. I'm hoping it'll populate actual
stimpsonjcatt
articles that aren't so slanted for her. I've night even gotten her back at all yet. Hoped t**** leaving office would help. Fingers crossed
Rhewin
What’s scary is he isn’t being fed articles; he seeks out sources like this on his own. He’s been trained the real news is all lies.
Alaska9O7
What is real news?
Rhewin
News that is factual and not alt right propaganda? I don’t mean just a right-wing spin, I mean literal lies.
alisa2089
I gave up with my parents years ago. If they bring up something in conversation I can level with them pretty easily, but it never changes -
alisa2089
their overall views. It is what it is. *shrugs*
azazyel
My FIL was pretty much quite during Trump...now he's back to Dem bashing 24/7
commentsivehadafew
OAN must have some kind of liability exposure for promoting lies
Xenarion
Ha, that's a funny joke.
Subsound
Sadly less than one would think
HereticsAllOfYou
Your dad sounds like my dad.
nopost
Boycotting AWS? Good luck. They host a lot of shit.
sturmhauke
Here is a non-comprehensive list of sites using AWS on the backend: https://www.contino.io/insights/whos-using-aws
LaffertyDanie1
Yea so like 1/3 of the internet? How would you know anyway? I mean I'm sure you can but I sure don't know how
Rhewin
I know, it’s laughable. He’s trying to convince me to convince my boss our data isn’t safe.
anActualHumanPerson
Hey OP. This might help... https://whois.domaintools.com/oann.com
anActualHumanPerson
OAN's website uses AWS. Do with that knowledge what you will.
Rhewin
Hilarious but he won’t care. They “arbitrarily” removed poor Parler.
anActualHumanPerson
I mean, sure, Amazon telling Parler to remove posts calling for rape and murder of specific people and calls to destroy Amazon facilities
Articate
Holy shit. That’s just too perfect.
a1b3117
Just tell him OANN, infoWars and newsmax all use AWS. Who cares if its true
Rhewin
He won’t. Facts and reason aren’t in play here.
anActualHumanPerson
https://whois.domaintools.com/oann.com OANN definitely does. So...
a1b3117
*snort* figures
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
OAN? You mean the network that knowingly employs Russian registered FARA agents? That OAN?
HaloArchitect
Would upvote, but you are appropriately at 666.
Superkraut
Come back now, it's almost at 2,500
HaloArchitect
Thanks friend. It's down to 967, err 968, now.
Narwhilian
https://youtu.be/UnSILVWDKL8 John Oliver's bit on OAN is fuckin gold
Jeffraffe
That’s painful to watch
Clostridiumbotulinum
Affirmative!
DoubleRainbowGuy
.
SomeGrayFox
Tried to show my parents this. They dismissed it entirely "put something other than this dumb ass British person on." Ugh.
4friedchickens1coke
I wonder if the US counter intelligence will ever do something about it
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
The agencies that were *shockingly* neutered the day Tramp took office?
Ryebread91
What is oan?
SequoiaHughes
An “American” news network that employees “journalists” registered as foreign agents because they get paid directly by the Kremlin
Rhewin
Yep.
wisher1977
OAN?!
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
The most bizarre thing Ive seen in near 5 decades is the party of "better dead than red" acting like Russia was/is not a problem at all.
Rhewin
Or better yet is an *example* to follow.
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
Srsly. They might have "lost" the Cold War in 91, but they 100% won in 2016 when they planted their groomed statesman in the WH.
kelseysaurusrex
"I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat" because the democrats are dirty socialists
TossABabyYodaToYourWitcher
I've seen people saying "I'd rather vote for a pedophile than a democrat" when Roy Moore was running
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
The cognitive dissonance is bats.
kelseysaurusrex
It is so hard to deal with. I live in the reddest state in the US and it can be rough.
TheresnoDanaonlyZuul
Ugh my Dad too. Always smart, educated man, now 75, retired, bored and getting into these websites. Where do they even find them??
FourScoreAndSevenBeersAgo
Show him a documentary of Hitler's rise to power.
Rhewin
He’d never see the connection. The alt right internet told him it’s not fascism if it’s Trump so it must be true.
theguy28
Are you ok with BLM riots?
Rhewin
Nice attempt at deflection. Enjoy the mute, shill.
94562
Why do you keep repeating the same talking point if you can't muster an answer after someone engages with you past the first few replies?
boywiththebeanz
This shit is wild. I never thought my parents would be radicalized like they are today. It’s fucking annoying
4TheSDMB2C
Years ago my mom repeated an anti-Semitic joke; when I didn't laugh she asked why not. I said, 'B/c my mother raised me better than that.'
Rhewin
And of course they won’t listen because they were taught being older makes you wiser.
IIikethecutofyourjib
My mom was complaining about "not being able to breathe" in a mask even though she's been wearing them for a year. My mom...may be a Karen.
boywiththebeanz
My mom says the same thing. Yet she’s able to shop for an hour with it on just fine
IIikethecutofyourjib
So sorry It really sucks ? I think it's apart of the greek hero story frame that says one cannot live until their parents perish. I believe
IIikethecutofyourjib
The mental passing of my mother lends to that idea.
boywiththebeanz
No need to be sorry, she’s her on person and can make her own decisions. She’ll sleep in the bed she makes
ABoxOfToast
My dad is convinced the insurrection was antifa trying to make reps look bad. It'd take an act of god to educate these people imo
jahupa
I know too many people that think that same thing
Rhewin
Yeah I blocked a family friend over that shit. That’s just pure denial at that point.
Gababu
My grandma was like luis mother from malcolm in the middle Except she loved her family But that still meant she was a piece of shit to other
MKUltraMega
Capnrory
Imagine being so into trump that you storm the Capitol, die in the process and then the other Trump supporters think you are antifa - sad
hotwheeler89
My family believes the same while still not calling it a riot. It's like they know there was no antifa there so they won't say 'riot'.
johnvictor
That's the problem, to deprogram a cultist takes weeks, months, even years. To program one can just take hours.
neverpostsoriginalcontent
Biblically speaking pandemics are apocalyptic allowances by God (apocalypse in the Greek sense: an unveiling or a revealing). Meaning,
neverpostsoriginalcontent
apparently even an act of God isn't enough for them (Covid-19) but reveals their corruption and idolatry.
homoneurotic
Same. It's so sad and there's no reasoning with him.
sadurdaynight
sadurdaynight
Also... this "logic" ...
Greeneyedfox
Even then it would be, that’s not MY God! That’s a false god!
ridetheshoopuf
It is a lost cause. You can't do much really. They are the generation of stupid people (I am sorry if it is offending). They had summer...
ridetheshoopuf
...of love and then 20 years later the war on drugs. Their biggest problem is that due to being boomers and not have any actual challenge...
ridetheshoopuf
...in their lifetime, they always got their way. Their views & motives were never challenged by pre/post generations so they became dogmatic
Rhewin
I mean, they had major social challenges but yes, it was easier to pretend nothing was wrong and USA all the way.
Autittuderp
I'm really sorry, @OP. That must really be hard to take. I see a lot of Imgur shit on ppls parents and it can't be easy to lose them to that
Rhewin
He’s not “lost” per se. it’s weird; as long as he’s not on about politics he’s a functioning person. Once on he’s a raving madman.
Autittuderp
I would find that hard to cope with but I'm glad you can separate the two.
Rhewin
More importantly he respects the boundary I set with my family. If he’s in my home or in front of my kids he won’t bring up politics.
Autittuderp
Thats pretty impressive really. So many families haven't been able to find those boundaries. Good for you guys. Really.
Rhewin
It’s my one ray of sunshine. Admittedly it’s due to sexist reasons (father controls what happens in his own house/family), but I’ll take it.
MoonMoon89
If he isn't tech literate, you could block OAN and Fox from the cable box.
Rhewin
He’s been an IT administrator for 35 years. His biggest problem is he can’t bring himself to listen to anything he disagrees with.
LemonDropmgs
That’s generally the biggest problem with most folks. It takes a lot of effort and strength to willingly concede something you’ve placed 1/x
LemonDropmgs
A considerable amount of faith and energy into. Keep doing your best to sway him. I’m not saying it’ll happen, or that it’ll be quick 2/x
LemonDropmgs
But there’s always potential for improvement. I’m hoping your da sees things right. My pa is a similar mindset..but he’s come down some 3/3
LavaAxe
Sounds like every IT administrator I know.
DocWats
Are you my sibling? You've described my dad to a T.
PianoMan2112
Set the parental controls password; he'll have to factory reset to get it back.
itsallaboutthecones
Yeah, I had a feeling he was high functioning in the tech area if he is able to effectively boycott AWS. Does that mean not use platforms
Rhewin
Well... he tells ppl not to use it. Not sure you *can* boycott AWS at this point
itsallaboutthecones
I forgot to finish my statement. Yeah I wondered how he was avoiding AWS hosted services all together.
MoonMoon89
Dang. It was worth a shot.
TheMajesticHarpyEagle
If he cant be fucked to use his brain as anything other than a paperweight then cut him out of your life.
HaveGinWillBabble
Most of these relatives are otherwise reasonable.
TheMajesticHarpyEagle
Yeah and a person can be decent overall and just have committed a few murders.
HaveGinWillBabble
You don't have any brainwashed friends or relatives?
upthehillandtotheright
Well then hes an idiot
yourbassist
And he thinks he can boycott AWS? JFC.
Rhewin
Because one IT guy working for a local construction lending company will make a difference!
TyPierdol
Why is he so pissed at the American Welding Society?
4TheSDMB2C
Nono, Amazon Web Services.
RackhamTheRed
Isn't it the same thing the other way round? How many ppl can watch oan and not get a coronary 5 min in
ChainmailleAddict
IT administrators are the WORST to convince otherwise. Their job is basically telling people they're wrong and why.
erischilde
When they're old and out of date/out of touch it becomes fucking hell to work for.
Ondradactyl
You could try sending him some podcasts like The Editors and The Dispatch that are center right but very reasonable.
HopelessNecr0mantic
That's about the best plan I've heard. Trying to find some "bridge" sources.
Rhewin
He will not touch anything he doesn’t 100% agree with. He thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room and gets offended at other ideas.
librarianian
Good god this is my mother. Except she only thinks she is smarter because she learns from "smarter" people, like the right wing commentators
Rhewin
If my dad recommends Dinesh D’Souza one more time...
NKato
I'd say it's time to throw down with your dad or throw him out of the family.
Rhewin
Not going that far over politics, but he is banned to talk politics at family events and in front of my kids.
pmjensen22
And that's the heart of the problem. Everyone thinks they're the smartest. And they think this stuff is giving them access to "secrets"
ForseHucker
Morons think they're the smartest. Truly intelligent people know enough to understand they don't know much in the grand scheme of things.
Narwhilian
Wait he works in IT and thinks he can boycott aws??? He knows how wide spread they are right?
zebulorg
As an AWS dev, TBH it would be pretty damn hard to do anything internet related in general. Plus you'd have to check every site/service
Narwhilian
Oh yeah agreed. When I heard boycott aws my first thought was "ok well good luck boycotting the internet I guess"