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.”

  • Album
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    1832 months ago

    The people who dont want to be told how they live desperately want someone to tell them how to live.

    • @[email protected]
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      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.

    • Billiam
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      312 months ago

      They don’t want to be told how to live while simultaneously having someone force others to live like them.

      • @[email protected]
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        172 months ago

        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

    • @[email protected]M
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      52 months ago

      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.

    • @[email protected]
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      432 months ago

      Also fun fact:

      Every tabletop scenario he ran (think like a UN version of Risk) in which the Authoritarians had control, they wiped out everyone with nuclear war including themselves.

      • @[email protected]
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        162 months ago

        I don’t think we’ll go out that way, but I do 100% believe our greed will be our “great filter” that we do not pass. :(

        • qprimed
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          152 months ago

          with dwindling resources on a warming planet, I think the likelyhood of a significant nuclear exchange is dramatically increased - perhaps even inevitable.

          agree with the great filter. it makes me think that humans, having acted as a great filter for our hominid family tree, are about to reap what we have been sowing for the last 200k+ years.

          or this could be a one of many catalysts for speciation. I sometimes feel that some people are already a different species. not better, not worse (not willing to engage in subjective morality) - just different, with different goals, problems and problem solving tools.

          • TimeSquirrel
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            72 months ago

            the likelyhood of a significant nuclear exchange is dramatically increased - perhaps even inevitable.

            Yes. Never has anybody used a weapon only once forever. As long as nukes still exist, they WILL get used again someday. We can’t help ourselves.

      • @[email protected]
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        122 months ago

        If I remember correctly, even after giving the authoritarians a do-over, they still fucked it up.

        Meanwhile, the people in the other group who scored low on authoritarianism like solved the climate crisis and world hunger.

        Some people are legitimately bad at politics and stuff, and it’s not the people the authoritarians are mad about.

        • @[email protected]
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          42 months ago

          Yep lol. Every chance they got they blew themselves and everyone else up. It was quite the crazy read on a flight from Boston to Chicago lol.

    • @Grandwolf319
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      12 months ago

      I’m glad at least they aren’t hiding it anymore

  • @[email protected]
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    32% of americans are chickenshit responsibility abrogators that want everything they do to be dictated to them. Religion has been a major primer for that mindset

    • @[email protected]
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      122 months ago

      At some level, people just want a particular policy. It’s silly to pretend a democracy where I never get what I want is going to be more attractive than a dictatorship where I get to unleash my libidinal id.

      And you can’t just blame this on religion. Religiosity has plummeted over the last 40 years, but we seem to be as accommodating towards fascism as ever.

        • @[email protected]
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          122 months ago

          Yes, one of the reasons for this movement being started decades ago, and coming to a head now, is the decline in what people considered to be the correct values, aka their values. Religion is in decline, conservative political positions are getting less popular, mainstream culture is slowly moving away from catering, pretty much, exclusively to white, straight, christians. They are being backed into a the proverbial corner. The only way they see a future for their dominance is by force.

    • @[email protected]
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      112 months ago

      32% of people know their preferred way of doing things are unpopular and will not get their way unless a regime that agrees with them is in power, because democracy would favor the majority.

      Religion can of course drive an entitlement that’s very dangerous (people asserting a higher power justifies their particular view), but more mundane motivations can easily drive people to demand they are right over the majority).

  • billwashere
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    582 months ago

    TIL 32% of Americans are idiots.

    Wait … I knew this already. Never mind.

    • @[email protected]
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      You can pretty much ask almost any insane thing and it somehow always comes out to at least 30% of Americans.

      I sometimes wonder if it’d always the same 30% and there just 30% idiots, or if that 30% spans multiple topics and groups of idiots and its actually higher like 60%

      • @[email protected]
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        12 months ago

        I wonder if it’s something like 25% of survey respondents are just picking the most outrageous thing and 5% actually believe that way. I remember a while ago on a survey about being ok with political violence, they tried to control for that kind of thing and it dropped the numbers a lot.

    • @thatKamGuy
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      72 months ago

      I mean, I imagine if someone like Bernie Sanders became Dictator for Life; the quality of life for 99.999% of Americans would improve; so purely in a thought-experiment kind of way, it works.

      The issue with even the most benelovent dictatorships is the matter of succession.

      • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
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        132 months ago

        Yup, that is the exact problem of benevolent dictatorships. No matter how good it is in the short term, the long term will always end in disaster at some point or another.

    • @[email protected]
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      32 months ago

      Braindead, or supremely selfish and would love a regime that enforces their unpopular desires over the democratic choice?

      • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
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        12 months ago

        Which is still braindead. What happens when their perfect leader can no longer serve? Even if a dictator 100% aligns with you, you’re a fool to support them.

    • @[email protected]
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      402 months ago

      Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.

      • Karl Marx

      If you go far enough left, you get your guns back!

      • @[email protected]
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        262 months ago

        That’s not far left, that’s just left of center. Don’t buy the American bullshit that socialism is an extreme, it honestly isn’t.

        • @[email protected]
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          22 months ago

          No shit, Democrats are right leaning moderates these days. Too bad a third party has no chance at getting anywhere because I’d be all for a socialist party.

      • @[email protected]
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        2 months ago

        The ballot box still works AFAIK (as shit as First Past The Post voting is)

        Are you an accelerationist?

        • @[email protected]
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          22 months ago

          It sounds like the person you’re responding to is saying the accelerated option isn’t being effective?

          • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)
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            12 months ago

            Yes it was, but honestly if I make a comment that a pro-gun American can see as negative against, I am aware I will be downvoted heavily.

            • @[email protected]
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              22 months ago

              Lol that’s fair. The States IS a country that considers gun ownership a HUMAN RIGHT and doesnt understand how insane lumping gun ownership with being able to access drinkable water is

    • @[email protected]
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      -62 months ago

      An overwhelming majority of California and New York leftists disagree with you and have neutered themselves in order to prevent black people from organizing during the segregation era protests and now the reason is for children’s safety from school shooters.

      What do you say to those people?

      • @[email protected]
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        12 months ago

        Probably the same old electoral reform gobbledegok.

        First Past The Post voting yadayadayada Ranked choice voting herpdederpdeboo state level reform possible yabbadabbadoo

        Then have them acuse me of being a secret Republican Russian because I didn’t suck Joe bidens dick with a big enough smile.

  • @[email protected]
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    402 months ago

    Even well-meaning authoritarians can do terrible things, to say nothing of their eventual replacement. Look what happens to otherwise great companies when the founder dies and is replaced by someone just looking to maximize next quarter profits.

    What short-sighted utter fools.

  • @[email protected]
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    382 months ago

    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”

    • @[email protected]
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      102 months ago

      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.

      • @[email protected]
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        172 months ago

        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.

        • @[email protected]
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          92 months ago

          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.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 months ago

            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.

        • @[email protected]
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          42 months ago

          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.

      • @ZombiFrancis
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        62 months ago

        That would be the ‘benevolent dictator’ crowd. Strong amongst the military and business/tech investor class.

    • @[email protected]
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      02 months ago

      They could but that would be wrong since the split is only 4% between the left and right (L-25% and R - 29%).

        • @[email protected]
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          -42 months ago

          I am literally reading from the article… And even with your numbers democrats are still quite terrible…

          • @[email protected]
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            Dude… I quoted that FROM the article.

            “A PRRI study last October found that 38 percent of Americans (and 48 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of independents, and 29 percent of Democrats) think the country needs a leader who will “break some rules if that’s what it takes to set things right.”

            Stop making shit up.

            • @[email protected]
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              -52 months ago

              Did you notice that your numbers dont match the headlines? The headline and main part of the article is about the pew study which I quoted from.

              Stop making shit up.

              • @[email protected]
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                32 months ago

                So…. You didn’t even read your own article. That’s fucking embarrassing. Maybe read it. See for yourself that I copied those numbers DIRECTLY from it.

                Jesus man…. You really should delete your shit.

  • @[email protected]
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    322 months ago

    a decade later, somewhere on 4chan

    be me
    hardcore Trump supporter
    Trump wins, I’m ecstatic
    world starts going to hell, WW3 kicks off
    married with three sons, trying to keep everything together
    decide to start a construction company, war efforts boost business
    build a bunch of buildings, making bank
    get elected to local office, life is on the up and up

    land a huge contract, biggest yet
    build the place, turns out it’s a gay bar
    fml
    media catches wind, calls me part of the “woke agenda”
    sons get drafted into the war, proud but terrified
    trying to keep the family safe as the world burns
    business takes a nosedive, firebombed by extremists
    every building I’ve ever built gets torched
    house goes up in flames, barely escape with wife

    wife blames me for everything, says I’m the reason we’re targeted
    receive word from the front lines
    “All three of your sons killed in friendly fire”
    caskets arrive the next morning
    wife loses it completely, leaves the country, I’m left alone

    arrested, accused of contributing to “trans agenda”
    just a foreman trying to get by, now rotting in jail
    every dream turned to ash
    life was supposed to be perfect
    now I’m just a broken man with nothing but regret

    tfw everything falls apart because of one misguided decision

    sadpepe.jpg

  • Hanrahan
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    322 months ago

    “Susan Sontag was asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, and she said that 10% of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10% is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80% could be moved in either direction” —Kurt Vonnegut

    • TheHiddenCatboy
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      122 months ago

      Yeah, I like to call that the 10-80-10 principle. That’s why it’s so important to keep the arguments up for why we should vote Blue no matter who. 10% want to fuck everyone over. And they’ve managed to convince another 22% that they are right. We’re all screwed if we don’t get the 68% that aren’t assholes to vote Blue.

      • @[email protected]
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        42 months ago

        Here’s the problem with your partisanship. If you give a party your unconditional support, then they have no reason to cater to your needs. All they have to do is just to be slightly better than the alternative. Which is exactly the current situation and which is also exactly what makes the Democratic party today so unattractive. For the independent electorate it’s feels as though they are being coerced into voting Democrat. That’s not good for anyone.

        • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)
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          12 months ago

          If you give a party your unconditional support, then they have no reason to cater to your needs.

          I believe it’s conditional on the only other option being actual fascism.

  • @[email protected]
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    272 months ago

    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?

    • @[email protected]
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      62 months ago

      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.

      • @[email protected]
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        32 months ago

        I’m not saying their transition to democracies liberal democracies

        FTFY - 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.

        • @[email protected]
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          12 months ago

          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.

    • LustyArgonianMana
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      32 months ago

      Whoa, that last question would require historical knowledge, and education is Satan, didn’t you know?

    • @[email protected]
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      France under DeGaulle?

      Edit to add: It’s not an assertio, it’s a question I don’t know the answer to.

      • @[email protected]
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        12 months ago

        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.

      • @[email protected]
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        22 months ago

        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.

        • @[email protected]
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          02 months ago

          Would you accept a US military coup to remove bunch of right wing Christian extremists that have taken things too far?

      • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod
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        72 months ago

        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.

        • @[email protected]
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          22 months ago

          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.

        • @[email protected]
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          128 days ago

          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.