Quote:
Originally Posted by cokeboy99
Apparently people still believe in Trump. This was posted on facebook earlier by a friend.
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How can this be believable??
The gist of it is that you get a foot in the door through some proposition that people agree with, then you slowly raise the stakes. Almost always you make it about identity "As patriots", "we the people". You also introduce an enemy, something that wants to destroy you and your new in-group. If it takes hold, you can start making it about the group. Make outsiders an out-group "We will be bring the truth to", "So many are fooled by", "We stand strong together", "We will shepherd the mob".
Use attacks against the groups and its beliefs as part of the belief system. "They will attempt to", "They will send their corrupt agents to", "Armed with the truth you will see through". People trying to show that you are wrong will therefore become part of the prophecy and affirm it.
Dogma must be from a source that can not be questioned. "Anonymous sources at the top most level", "a friend who can't come forward due to fear of his life", "He knows more than we ever will". Trust in the group brings safety and comfort. "Follow the warnings and you will be okay", "We are fighting for you". The flip-side of the coin is that abandoning the group is dangerous or sinful. Eventually you can isolate people from the outside, and then you can turn the volume up to 11.
The alternate truth is always relatively simple. This provides a sense of control. Abandoning the alternate truth is therefore chaotic and feels like losing control. People almost invariably seek comfort and control.
Once these things are established, you can ramp it up to levels almost unfathomable to people on the outside. The best known example and probably the most dramatic one is still the
Jonestown Massacre. None of these things are unique. They are social phenomena that apply to almost all humans and can be recognized in many facets of our lives. It is the combination of potent factors that distills it all into a particularly insidious concoction.