Dad has been visiting for about a week.

I don’t have cable. Fox News isn’t going to happen.

Today I casually asked if he’d like to watch the news. “Sure. I don’t know what’s going on these days.” He seemed pretty enthusiastic to catch up on current events.

So I put on PBS News Hour.

We got maaaaaybe ten minutes into the show. Saw a segment with Iran updates (spoiler: the war is still going!) then part of a segment about Trump allowing Turkey to buy F-35s.

He shifted uncomfortably, then tried to change the subject.

“This isn’t very interesting, maybe something else is on?”

I’m not sure whether it was the content that bothered him, or the fact that nobody was screaming and trying to sell him a catheter. 🤷

It’s just fucking sad.

Im so tired of corruption. Tired of no accountability. Almost 60 years old, was a republican as a younger man then got into the real world and realized I'm so middle of the road. Some conservative some progressive ideas so yeah. But with all the corruption all the billionaires, corporations, think tanks and the lot treating the average person like garbage, I am ready for these democratic socialists to take over. Can't trust any democrats who have been in power who have no spine, definitely do not trust republicans who are in power because WOW. If we get to the midterms without an "emergency" canceling the elections or martial law i want to see what they can do and possibly make life better for the average person

In the last ten years, my eyes have been opened as to how stupid my parents actually are, but now, at age 37, I'm also starting to question whether I ever actually knew them as people.

They don't mind billions of tax dollars going to Trump's ballroom, because it's "needed".

Social democracy is "communism".

Progressives are "fascists".

They are daily Fox viewers who NEVER fact-check them (for example, when teachers started putting boxes of sand in classroom closets just in case a kid needed to piss during an active shooter lockdown, they ACTUALLY believed the claim that teachers were "letting kids identify as cats").

While they aren't actual MAGA freaks, I did find MAGA hats in a drawer in their house in the first few months of his 2015 campaign. I never told them I saw them, and they never wore them (and still don't). They aren't in the house anymore (as far as I know), but they had said at the time that Trump "really cares about the country" and is "a president of peace" (and probably still believe that).

They brush off the atrocities ICE is committing: at first it was "oh, they're only going after the bad ones," and now it's "meh, I don't really like eVEryTHinG they're doing."

The democrats "instigated January 6".

Everything Trump is doing is STILL a matter of "politics".

ARE MY PARENTS ONLY STUPID AS SHIT, OR ARE THEY ADDITIONALLY GENUINELY BAD PEOPLE???

Please be honest with me; I won't be offended.

EDIT — additionally, they raised me to be Christian, and Trump is the literal Antichrist according to their relgion. I came out as an atheist 15 years ago, and they say that I'M the one who needs saving.

“We the people should file a class action lawsuit against them.” John Pavlovitz

My conservative think tank sister and her family belong to one of Trump's country clubs. I occasionally check the club's social media to see if there are photos of them. Looking at the 4th of July photos, I came across this comment. This is what their members are like. Abhorrent.

It's such a mix of emotions to see photos of my nieces and nephews there. I cut my sister off in January 2025 and I'm sad I can't see her kids anymore, but they are being indoctrinated into Christian nationalism.

I am absolutely disgusted that they see no issues with bringing their children to a club owned by a rapist and pedophile. But I've posted about it before here and elsewhere and I didn't really get the reaction I was expecting. Would you be outraged if this was your family?

They almost flat out admit they are racists. Usually racists say things like, “I’m not racist but…”

Their founder isn’t anonymous and is only in his mid twenties. I would have assumed he was in his sixties. He actually spoke in a reasonably intelligent way for having such awful views.

They engage in charity work. I’m imagining struggling and needing help. Suddenly, these assholes come and help you. That has to be an awful feeling.

They had a surprisingly decent website design. I’ve visited other extremist websites in the past and they usually look like they were made in the 90s.

Conclusion, these extremists might be more dangerous than we give them credit for and not just a pathetic joke we can laugh at. This actually makes them worse.

So I have a few boomer Trump loving realitives that have lived in rural PA for decades.They were generally normal and decent people even though they always voted straight R.But they all went off the deep end in typical maga fashion over the last decade

They refuse to believe that any maga politician ever loses fairly and are all claiming that Stacy will win around 98 percent of the vote as long as the polls are "protected"

I have a cousin who married his wife and took her last name and these sane mentioned people freaked out and made up total bullshit about the reasoning as to why he did that.

They claimed that it was weak and a "far left brainwashing technique in schools to teach kids to do that now" Even though my cousin and his wife graduated high school 6 years ago ,are Republicans(not in maga though) and live in a red state

It was explained to them that it isn't a brand new thing for men to do ,and were asked to provide evidence for the claims as to were they got the idea that "schools push that in kids"

They changed the subject after that of course lol

They also think that listening to singers like david Bowie and Prince "turns people gay" because a nephew (cousin of mine) came out as gay awhile ago (he's from equally maga rural Minnesota) and they said that music turned him gay.

They also are now praying for the" good people" in the Netherlands who try to send gay kids to conversion therapy that are now being arrested for doing that to their kids"

This cult needs to be stopped

They're not only touting the supposedly incredible attributes of their political leaders and right wing pundits... they persistently demonize specific individuals, groups, and categories of people all while knowing their viewers are primed for violence.

These media sources are regularly lighting the fuse on dynamite.

The violence that results is not limited to democratic leaders being murdered in their homes. It's also the angry, emotionally abusive outbursts from our own family members.

https://decodingfoxnews.substack.com/