I was SO Stupid to Vote for Trump’s Third term! I PROMISE I’ll learn my Lesson after his FOURTH Term because it only takes FIVE Terms of Trump screwing me over to see that he DOESNT deserve a SEVENTH!
i remember there was one jan 6 that regretted her mistake and did not accept a pardon. everyone else was a brownosers/bootlicker.
Getting your record cleared allowing you to get jobs again while also still living in the same places with the same people who enabled and or supported these people it’s very unlikely there would be any benefit to not accept the pardon. Nothing gained but a moral high ground. The person who accepted the pardon already was done with their sentence and was retired in her 70s
no.
An unreasonable reply if ever I saw one.
:/ mb. I spent a few hours (basically all night x.x I still haven’t slept) typing a bunch of stuff then like gave up and went to try to sleep. A part of me still wants to connect and build those bridges but imo I feel that we already gave out a lot of second chances ( third, fourth, fifth, etc). Some of those stories or emotions of regret might be real but having to constantly rebuild those bridges almost feels like we are talking to a wall.
If they’re actually fighting back, yeah. People growing is always a cause for celebration.
There’s also just a large swathe of people that will follow the most viable power they can see, and who are sometimes duped by powers that aren’t viable. The tables actually have to turn, and then they follow.
True. Though, as a side note, if the tables are turning, that’s a pretty substantial win in and of itself. But I’d rather be tricked than think the worst about people who are honestly trying their best.
Absolutely a pretty substantial win if so. …and it is indeed very important not to turn people away wh genuinely reaching out. Do your best not to get tricked, but don’t take a cynical stance. When investing in people, we can afford some losses.
At this point, given the all the sexual misconduct cases, Epstein, the felonies and jan 6, I have problem imagining people didn’t know exactly what they were getting into when then voted for the pedonald. I highly doubt this is more a “growing” case then a “the wind is turning, let’s switch team so I don’t have to face consequence” case. Pretty sure a lot of Nazis had a sudden change of heart when they realized they wouldn’t win the war. Sorry, but you won’t get my trust just because you said you’ve change, not at this point.
this 100%. I have spent probably like 5 hours drafting a paragraph in my original comment only to realize that Im just sick and tired of it all. My friends are affected by these policies. I have had some negative experience with these maga followers ( had a boss 5 years ago who was maga, same with their kid) and recently, I had a roommate “flip” over the last year and pretended that they never supported it (even though I still have some nasty texts from them).
I used to really try to meet people in the middle and legit a month ago still believed that second chances (the more the better) should be a thing but honestly… it’s getting to the point where a lot of it feels fake. Even if it’s genuine, the damage has already been done and is still going. When MTG started distancing herself from MAGA, I genuinely supported it. Even at this moment I think she is sincere but it is just too late.
Have you guys even tried to have a conversation with these people? Not a debate but a genuine attempt in making a connection? Sometimes the connection does get made and good conversations happen… but other times it just goes straight into some form of hatred with a smile on their face.
In the end, if you think that someone does genuinely regret their decision and/or vote, then good for them but the damage is already done and somethings cannot be recovered. People do learn from mistakes but the mistakes are costing all of us. Deep down I still want to help people out but I can’t pretend that the people who wanted to hurt my friends and community will magically stop just because they said a specific sequence of words.
I don’t disagree with most of this. But I would also rather be “tricked” by a grifter than be cynical of people really changing. Trust will have to be earned back, and I don’t think I’ll ever want them to (for instance) teach my kids, but if they’re just seeing where the wind is blowing, isn’t it a win that the winds have shifted?
Have you guys even tried to have a conversation with these people? Not a debate but a genuine attempt in making a connection? Sometimes the connection does get made and good conversations happen… but other times it just goes straight into some form of hatred with a smile on their face.
Yeah, I have. It’s tough, I agree.
Deep down I still want to help people out but I can’t pretend that the people who wanted to hurt my friends and community will magically stop just because they said a specific sequence of words.
Agreed. That’s why actual trust is going to take a while. But I’d be glad to see any amount of change that would let me start that process.
Trust? No. That’s earned over time.
Support during the change, though? Look, these people were part of a cult. It doesn’t matter what you and I know, the fact is that they were told for over a decade now that the man is practically a deity; for them to even entertain reality is a huge sign of growth, and if we’re going to get our country back, the options are to either deprogram or imprison an appreciable percentage of seventy million people. I’d really rather work with than against them, if it can be done.
Everyone who’s ever been actively in the administration needs to be tried in court, of course. But the people who were duped are victims, too.
Are there going to be grifters in the crowd of those who say they’re repentant? Certainly, but it’s a huge win in and of itself that the winds are changing, and as long as they keep playing by the rules I don’t think I honestly care what their deepest motivations are. I’d rather be tricked than think the worst about people who are honestly trying their best; cynicism has never worked for me.
Good for them I guess, but does it have to be like some grand profound life changing soul cleansing event to simply admit you were wrong?
It is surprisingly difficult to admit when you were wrong when doing so means you’re severing yourself from the community you’re a part of, and you stand to lose friends, family, or even your own identity from a simple change in ideology or a realization of one’s own mistakes. It’s how cults trap people (because maga is a cult, of sorts,) and it’s how people get trapped in abusive relationships. It’s easier to brush off evidence and morality as lies or whatever when you stand to lose much more than an argument if you admit you’re wrong.
It’s a toxic cycle that maga, like all cults, preys upon. Cognitive dissonance is surprisingly hard to overcome when you have so many voices telling you to remain complacent.
As for it being some grand soul cleansing or whatever, I doubt people would buy it if that’s what they’re trying to portray it as, but it is better than nothing. In my opinion, the more people we have leaving maga and the more we normalize, perhaps even reward overcoming cognitive dissonance, the better.
I guess that’s true. These people didnt simply drink the kool aid, they injected it directly into their bloodstream. Shit went straight to the dome.
Biologically, yeah, kinda. We’re wired that way, and it’s unusual for it to come naturally to anyone.
Charging $85 for cheap printed shirts is a crime in itself. I gaurantee this website is run by someone who is still a HUGE MAGA supporter and just wants to grift some people.
They will literally collect names and addresses for shipping merch.
All 6 items in their store being the same price also makes this feel like a low effort scam. MAGA are susceptible to the grift, as proven by being maga to begin with.
Also, why the fuck make this shit red‽ pick literally any other color.
All that said, I do fully support the IDEAL of embracing people who feel that they are no longer maga, or are coming around to the leopards-ate-my-face kind of realization. They are primed to believe us the next time we warn them.
It’s not a matter of choice at this point.
We’re in literal Gestapo shit. Only stupid people would care about the politics of people willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against it.
I get that people don’t want to help them.
Because the odds are the eaten suddenly didn’t grow a conscience.
They were fine with all the other shitty things being done. That’s the problem. You help them and odds are they’ll continue to throw people in cages, hand massive money to rich people, keep supporting the Orange Idiots tariffs, invading [insert pretty much any country], wrecking the government, anti-vax, anti-science, turning America into a dictatorship, etc.
So maybe they feel wrong about trump because he made their heating bill too high, or their groceries cost too much, or maybe because a couple people got executed, but the rest is still ok because they’re self-centered idiots.
I’m not sure “enemy of my enemy…” applies. They seem pretty determined to fuck everything up, and have bitten every time someone extends a hand.
I think a lot of them.have known they were wrong fo or a long, long time, but they’re too prideful to admit it. And I’m not entirely sure that’s their fault.
As a society, we don’t put enough value in recognizing people admitting when they’re wrong or that they’ve made a mistake. We don’t celebrate people who change their minds. We don’t recognize that admitting you don’t understand something is good and an early step in making correct decisions.
When people change positions, they’re riddiculed for being a flip-flopper or for being weak-willed.
And then we’re shocked when people entrench themselves into support of a political party they’ve voted for for decades even when they recognize that they’re wrong.
Shunning for a while is the only way to make them realize. Accepting is enabling.
My Mom recently left MAGA. Rest her soul.
My Mom recently left MAGA. Rest her soul.
Same with both my parents.
While I was helping with my father’s home hospice care he told me that he likes watching Newsmax because “it’s pretty much in the middle”. FFS. He was about 5% conspiracy kook already but really took the bait once he started listening to Rush Limbaugh. Then it was anti-Clinton bumperstickers everywhere, and stuffing crank political into every conversation he could. Went downhill from there.
The first thing you notice when visiting the site is a fucking shopping cart icon. Not a great sign if we’re looking at this like it’s a serious support site for people trying to tackle their own issues. It’s like selling collectible shot glasses at alcoholics anonymous.
I mean I guess you got to respect the hustle… MAGA is chock full of the easiest to fleece people in the world, and you’ve got a website to run. You’re not here to help them with their shopping addiction that’s for sure!
Literally everything on the site is $85, the T-shirt the hat everything. I mean are they including the tariffs in that price? 🤣
Here’s a link to the guy’s free ebook so other people don’t have to put in a fake name and temp email
https://leavingmaga.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/E-book-Leaving-MAGA.pdfIt also came with a guide to talking to magats
https://leavingmaga.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Reaching-Out-Guide.pdfNeither seems very compelling, but good luck to the guy I guess.
I mean, it’s no dissertation, but that guide is not wrong at all.
It doesn’t really give good follow up questions though. So when a MAGA spouts something incredibly racist and you ask “where did you hear that?” and they just respond by saying “probably from the news, or an article, or podcast somewhere. Lots of places are all talking about it. Even CNN is saying that!” Where do you go from there? Do you stop the conversation to Google shit to try to refute them only to see that, yes, CNN is saying that same thing? Do you try to explain that the media has been captured by rightwing billionaires, or that their sources are problematic and unreliable? Do you think that will go over well? Or do you think that you’ll sound just like they do to us when they talk about the “leftist controlled” media?
Like, how the fuck do you expect that kind of question to go? Does the author expect their answer to “Where did you hear that?” to be something along the lines of “My God, I never once stopped to consider the sources of my prejudices. I will certainly reexamine my biases now. Thank you for shining a light on my ignorance.” They will either hand wave it away by saying they heard it somewhere, or they will give a source and then the conversation becomes about the reliability of that source rather than the actual topic at hand.
You, and many other people in this thread, sound like you’re mentally defeating yourself before you even try. Just because it MIGHT go the way you say means you shouldn’t try to reach people who might just need that hand an excuse to take it?
PS, talking about the reliability of sources actually is a pretty good way to expose the cracks and break down the shitty beliefs.
The guide basically reads, “Treat them like idiots and pretend to be one yourself.”
Surprisingly effective from my experiences.
Good on people who come (very late, granted) to realize and denounce their own stupidity, but:
- Absolution requires effort. If these people don’t actually attempt to unlearn the bigotries that led them here, then they just want to slide back into communities that are nicer and avoid consequences
- Do not financially support them. The money spent on this shitty merch is better used on their victims, there are many food banks in your community that can often triple whatever money you donate to them.
I will never forgive or help these people. Fuck them.
I very much understand you anfd feel you
Having said that, let me play devil’s advocate for a second.
A very simple point: we still have to live with these people. They’re our neighbors, our families, “friends” and co-workers. Is it wise to hate them all forever? We still have to live with them, we can’t “simply kill” every Republican in the country (as many magas would like for all the Democrats) as it’s dozens of millions
These people are not victims, but they have been
misledbrainwashed by literally decades of Republican propaganda through Fox News and others. The US government allowed that. For decades. Fox News suing to be able to lie as a news organization should never have passed, but it did. Citizens United effectively ended your democracy, it should never have passed. But it did.I think this is like the Stanford prison experiment. Some became prisoners, others guards, but all played by the rules set by those in control
I think our hatred should be reserved for those that really caused all this shit, not your every day maga. Republican law makers (on federal, state, and local levels) caused this. Billionaires funded all of this for their own gains. Those are the ones that should be locked up forever, those are the real Nazis. Take ALL possessions and money away from all billionaires and the setup a hard cap of 1-10 million dollars, anyone having a networh of over that gets 100% tax on their income untill they’re below again
No more millionaires no more people with the single handed power to fuck over a country for their own gains
Then require news organizations and journalists to always be truthful, by law. Fund them from an independent foundation that only cares about factual news
Then you’ll have to rebuild your democracy from the ground up. American elections are a shit show, and have been since WWII. Get a parliamentary democracy, get rid of your presidents
Hell, while at it, let’s end super powers. Right now is a great time for that. Russia is on its last legs before death, the US is shooting itself in the face multi times now, and China is about to feel the real force of the demographics freight train hat is about to hit it. Split all super powers up into small states, te US included, with it’s 50 states. Form a United nations with teeth that can smack any non democratic government down as replace it with democracy world wide.
Sounds like a pipe dream? Maybe, but its better than eternal hate
That kind of shit is how we ended up here in the first place. Trying to make peace with the south instead of wiping them from the planet allowed them to come back stronger, like a virus you didn’t take all your medicine for.
How about we don’t advocate for the fucking devil, when the devil doesn’t even have charming British accent, and fight crime, he’s just fat racist asshole who wants you dead in the apocalypse.
I honestly don’t give a fuck ay this point. I don’t want to live with these fuckers they should hanged for what they did to this country and are still doing. They are sadists fuck that want to inflicted as much pain and suffering to the populace as possible.
You can play the devil advocate all you like, but to me this a virus that needs to be destroyed. Magas and Republicans were right Democrats and people apolitical will lie down when it comes to fighting for what is right and it will be a bloodless civil war on their side not on the regular folks side.
Let’s continue letting the rot spread just like we let the “south will rise” fuck boys from the civil war. Let’s not learn from our past mistakes, maybe this time it’ll be different.
Not what I’m saying. I’m not saying that we should allow them to continue being Nazi or Confederate wannabees.
I’m saying we can’t continue with hatred.
In the end we still need to make a living for ourselves, together in cities and all, and we can’t do that if everyone hates each other, for good reasons or not.
You can’t either suggest we execute 70+ million people, not really practical and, you know, not really ethical as well and I fucking guarantee you that that will only breed even more hatred and violence. That sort of attitude will push the US into a civil war and then everyone loses everything. Thought Minnesota this week was bad? Wait until New York is the next Sarajevo. That is a potential future, and I’d think you don’t want that.
But you gotta stop hating man. I fully gettit, I get the feeling, I have it myself but I also understand that tomorrow when this is over we still HAVE to live together
Only alternative I see so far is to break the US up into 50 states (this should happen anyways, same with Russia and China btw, no more super powers, fuck them) and these states likely will split on the red/blue line. Red states likely will turn into theocratic third world dictator banana republics that will barely be able to feed their own population, while the blue states, liberated from the dead weight, will flourish.
I’m guessing that is more up your alley, this will allow the magas to just wallow in their own shit-stan republic states and you won’t have to deal with them anymore
That is the spirit. That makes us lose.
Oh yes let’s have the reconstruction just like the civil war. Let that hate breed and hope for the rise of the South hatred again.
America we love to fuck ourselves over and over. Yay.
Reconstruction failed because we didn’t finish it. You want examples of how it was supposed to work look at Germany and Japan.
Germany, notably free of Nazi influences right now…
Something we inflicted them with, again.
You’re not going to kill hate with guns. Haven’t you learned anything from the War on Terror?
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I feel like most people voting for trump in the last election did it for spite because they hate the other side. Now some are seeing that it was a huge mistake. It doesn’t change the fact that they were willing to throw everyone else under the bus because they didn’t believe what was going on.
They are just assholes. They love trump because he’s an asshole. Fuck them
They may not deserve forgiveness but if reaching out to them can get them to admit their mistake, and in doing so we together can rollback some of the insanity of the last decade, it’ll be better for all of us. Based on numbers alone we’re very unlikely to do that without some help from “reformed” Republicans.
If they realize it’s not just MAGA, it’s all right wing politics. It’s neo-liberal policies as well hurting them. Until they realize that, I doubt they’ll make meaningful change.
