General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCan you ever forgive MAGA voters?
Many of them know they did wrong. They knew Trump was a con. They knew his past. They knew he was not a good person. But they voted for him anyway.
And now, they are hurting. Not just financially, but emotionally. They have deep regret and they want off the ship. But there is no land in sight.
If they think Trump has done them wrong, they should recognize what he has done to the rest of America.
It is said "better late than never". But sometimes, late is too late.
There are numerous reports of buyer's regret with Trump. They are begging for forgiveness. True Christians, we are taught, are able to forgive trespasses. Many MAGA voters have deserted Trump because of the economy - the issue they thought he was the strongest. But they were wrong.
They were terribly wrong. And now they want to integrate with the sane people of the world. They had their little crazy fling and now they want to be "normal" again.
They sense the great damage they have helped to ignite. And they want out.
They want to be your friend again.
Do you have that much forgiveness in your heart.
hlthe2b
(114,843 posts)I will say it depends on a lot of factors especially how much they actively used their MAGA views to hurt others and relish Trump et al doing so.
ProfessorGAC
(77,399 posts)Forget. No.
Plus, i want some of these people say they'll be voting D from now on. But, I barely read or hear that.
Junipercity
(115 posts)No, no, no.
MineralMan
(151,707 posts)Lucky me, I guess.
I'll talk to them if they want me to. Mostly, though, they aren't interested. I have some relatives who are or were Trumpers. Can't talk to them about politics. "How are the kids?" "How's the new job going?" That I can do.
If they tell me they're voting for Democrats, though, I'll congratulate them for figuring it out. But I don't try to convert Trumpers. It's a waste of my time.
COL Mustard
(8,435 posts)I tried and failed miserably to convince her after the pussy-grabbing comments that she couldn't vote for him; she just gave me the stink eye like "Oh hell yes I'll vote how I want". I eventually stopped following her on FB and other social media sites because it just got more and more extreme. Of course she voted for him in 2020 and again in 2024, but I'd stopped even trying to discuss politics with her by then. I knew she didn't have a lot of time left and didn't want to waste that time on him.
Last fall, when Hegseth et al wanted to have Mark Kelly executed, I happened to be at her house while that was going on. She said she was outraged and I told her she should be, and by that I meant outraged that someone would have to spell out for people to follow the law. That was the last time we discussed politics at all before she passed early this year.
It's hard to have a relationship with people whose mindset is "he can do nothing wrong" in spite of all the evidence that's right in front of them.
some_of_us_are_sane
(3,735 posts)I do get a small amount of satisfaction telling them they are getting exactly what they voted for and reminding them that people have been trying to tell them for over a decade now exactly who and what trump is.
FAFO
Ritabert
(2,673 posts)And I hold a grudge like you read about.
Alpeduez21
(2,079 posts)Coventina
(29,980 posts)bluestarone
(22,481 posts)NEVER.
SSJVegeta
(3,247 posts)I care about what you are going to do from here on out.
thomski64
(974 posts)..they own his scheisserei as much as the media and sicko-phants
IzzaNuDay
(1,351 posts)I have a rather cynical view on forgiveness. Its like an emotional bank account. Forgive too much and then its like your personal emotional state is overdrawn. Why should I withdraw from my personal emotional state to someone who didnt give a shit about my needs as a citizen?
I say Forget about them. Let them experience the consequences of their actions. Peace out.
catrose
(5,379 posts)Thats not to say I will ever trust them for anything. Its a good thing our party is a big tent. I am going to stay on the opposite side from the ex-MAGAs for my own safety.
AStern
(935 posts)It's astonishing how much damage right wing media did to this country.
underpants
(197,380 posts)My folks watch Fox. They bring up what they think are normal news items and I often have no idea what they are talking about.
FHRRK1
(159 posts)Every time I have to state, I dont speak Fox Newsese.
Just a complete waste of time trying to get through the B.S.
some_of_us_are_sane
(3,735 posts)3_Limes
(592 posts)The ONLY reason they changed their tune is that they personally were harmed. When others were being harmed, no matter how badly, ot was A-OK with them. Some of them were glad to see their fellow Americans harmed! But now that it's them, suddenly it's a problem. Hell no. Let 'em rot.
CanonRay
(16,286 posts)Quiet Em
(3,082 posts)They knew and they voted for him anyway.
obnoxiousdrunk
(3,121 posts)if they ask for forgiveness .
Aristus
(72,630 posts)If they voluntarily shoot themselves in the foot, am I obliged to sympathize with them in their pain? They did it to themselves, and the fucking bastards dragged us along with them.
If I believed in Hell, I would wish them in it up to their eyebrows.
The Roux Comes First
(2,363 posts)Who for years thrived on cruelty to others and lib-owning, even if they rarely had the courage to be out front and visible with it. The mockery and sneering aimed typically at folks in my experience far more humane, tolerant, and kind than these supposedly converted selfish bigots has gone on for far too many years to simply be conveniently erased.
Soul_of_Wit
(166 posts)...but they hurt me and mine. I can hold a grudge for a very long time. I won't frequent your business. I will actively give you negative word of mouth. I'm a good neighbor, in the live and let live sense, but that is it.
dalton99a
(95,666 posts)And then voted for him AGAIN to give him another term?
NO.
MontanaMama
(24,765 posts)MAGAts will say this should all be swept under the rug with no accountability because theyre bored or embarrassed or they fixate on some other racism focused activity. These crimes against our country cannot be forgiven or itll all just happen again. We didnt punish the confederacy and now weve got this mess.
Ponietz
(4,462 posts)They were conned because drumpf couldnt deliver; but nothing has changed about the things they voted for the hate, greed, dishonesty, gaslighting, racism, cruelty and violence are still there. They are enemies to the United States of America. They are oath breakers. They followed a traitor. Fuck them.
chicoescuela
(3,243 posts)bucolic_frolic
(56,016 posts)They thought if they voted for him they'd all stand a good chance on Celebrity Apprentice. Trump was their path to power and riches. It gave them someone to hate.
Scrivener7
(60,143 posts)try to make us believe this isn't the whole story, it is
I don't think in terms of forgiveness if them. But I know I'll never trust them.
Chasstev365
(8,218 posts)I can understand the desperation of the German people in the 1930's more than the American idiots between 2016-2026 who supported Trump.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,981 posts)There would be very, very few exceptions to that. Very few.
I heard what they said about other human beings.
They haven't changed those views, they've just decided to put on a mask, they are pretending to be something they are not.
So, they can't be trusted and forgiveness requires trust that the behavior will not happen again.
It 100% will happen again.
Aviation Pro
(15,809 posts)Not ever.
zanana1
(6,554 posts)Blue Full Moon
(3,693 posts)Not punishing bad behavior and just forgetting it for the good of the country. Is exactly how we got here. Along with not repealing any of the terrible republican bills and making it right for American families.
underpants
(197,380 posts)
Grim Chieftain
(2,129 posts)After his first reign of terror, they should have known what they were getting. His Project 2025 laid it all out, the worst was yet to come. They are complicit in the destruction of this country, and I have no forgiveness or empathy for them.
BH liberal
(178 posts)do research on candidates and their stances on issues, etc. before deciding who deserves our votes. Too many Trump voters in 2015/16 failed to find out what Trump had been during his adult life...a man unworthy of serving in public office, especially higher office. His eventual supporters failed the rest of us. That, in itself, is hard to forgive when the consequences of a poor choice for president are so dire. As for the "willfully ignorant" whose self-serving actions, whatever the motivations, contributed to his election...well, they are even harder to forgive. Too many Trump voters allowed themselves to be swayed by Republican Party wedge issues and culture war strategies. As for the flat-out haters and bigots who flocked to him, they are impossible to forgive.
I don't even want to talk about forgiveness for anyone voting for him the second time around!
EastBayGuy
(164 posts)CousinIT
(12,800 posts)...I have to suffer with WHAT THEY DID. It won't ever be rectified in my lifetime, and it is already causing my retirement to be WAY MORE STRESSFUL than it ever had to be.
So NO!
Not goddamned ever.
orangecrush
(31,344 posts)If they vote for Democratic candidates.
Even if they stay home and refuse to vote for MAGA candidates.
It's called a teachable moment.
Purity tests weaken us, much to the glee of MAGA.
It's about winning, and controlling the political agenda afterwards to make things better, not about my need to punish or feel self righteous.
And I don't purport to speak for anyone but myself.
Luciferous
(6,607 posts)him the second time knowing that he was a traitorous, felonious, piece of shit rapist.
Liberal In Red State
(465 posts)haele
(15,636 posts)And then there's BFFs and Family you trust with sanity and life.
MAGA can never really be trusted, because even if they'll give you the shirt off their backs, share a laugh with you, lend you money, move your stuff, or let you crash for a couple months while your life needs to be put back together, you personally will only be seen as one of the "good ones"...
MAGA, or their Church, or their personal desire to be comfortable with Nazis around them will always be a wall between you and them
I can't really forgive, I just need to accept - but I certainly don't ever forget.
I can always just be polite, but the level of complacent acceptance and trust I used to have with them is forever gone.
Because even the nice MAGA won't interfere if I get hauled off for "thought crimes" due to my political stance; they're the types who will stand by and wonder what I did wrong - just like they stand by now and watch "those others" get dragged off, even if they privately don't agree with what's going on.
They might throw you a life vest if one is easy for them to pick up - but they will never rock the lifeboat to reach in and save anyone, much less you.
Emile
(43,511 posts)sagetea
(1,563 posts)It's hard to forgive somebody with as much hate as they have. Their hatred is so strong in hating other people...women, POC, dis abled, animals, and this country, they voted for a pedophile to appease their hatred.
They make us beg (pleading they have changed and never again, please tell people to forgive me so I can fuck them over again!) to put on a facade that we are OK with their treatment of us? No. To people like MAGA, we are weak when we forgive. They see themselves (maybe unconsciously) better, braver, stronger than us. I will never give them the opportunity again to ruin our laws, our democracy, our land, and our immigrants again.
They knew what they were doing. They lie when they say they 'didn't know'.
Personally, no, I don't think I have it in me to forgive them, at all.
sage
kairos12
(13,736 posts)yankee87
(2,873 posts)Parent of LGBTQ children, and no I will NEVER FORGIVE. I gave up on some family members. Screw them, voting to kill my children.
Escape
(534 posts)Not just a cancer for them, but for all of us. Hard to forgive that.
aeromanKC
(3,976 posts)Easiest poll ever.
Old-8643
(28 posts)They are all complicit, IMHO. I could go on and on, as we all could.
Canceling a women's health care rights. LGBTQI rights. Racial inequality. Veterans left out in the cold.
Oh and it is OUR NATION not some stinking homeland. George W Bush started that crap in 2000-2008. the only ones who can call our nation homeland are the indigenous people already living here for countless generations.
Nobody called the USA a homeland prior to 2000 and the "W" regime and his 2 phony wars.
Nothing frees up cash like a war.
Its fascism plain and simple.
I have never heard a repuke apologize for saying things like "the only good democrat is a Dead Democrat"
they will not get forgiveness from me
ihaveaquestion
(4,840 posts)They need to say they're sorry and keep saying it. It's their fault, so they must atone.
TheProle
(4,135 posts)I don't deal in vendettas and grudges. We are where we are. If a former MAGA voter is open to joining even a fragile coalition that results in Democratic control of Congress and the White House and gives us a path to restoring sanity to the USSC, I will take it.
How I feel about their prior voting or their personal level of culpability in the current shitshow is immaterial. What matters is course-correction for future generations.
orangecrush
(31,344 posts)TommieMommy
(3,132 posts)DeeDeeNY
(3,966 posts)Once Trump served his first term, followed by his leading a mob of insurrectionists on January 6, it is inexcusable for them to believe anything he said after that and then vote for him a second time.
Ol Janx Spirit
(1,093 posts)Thanks for the laugh!
BobTheSubgenius
(12,249 posts)Thankfully, I am Canadian, so I don't and won't have to confront this question head-on. There are still some I know personally on both sides of "my divide;" some that realized the pitfall they'd walked into early on and pulled back, and some that STILL cling to that grotesque disaster.
kimbutgar
(27,611 posts)I have a magaloon brother in law who is intolerable. Luckily I only see him twice a year but I will never respect him and feel sorry for my sister in law.
LuvLoogie
(8,954 posts)The side of the family who were Reagan people. I don't engage with them anymore. When I see them we're family. But I don't have the openness with them anymore. It's changed. It's like heartbreak, mourning past relationships.
I am too exhausted to hold onto my anger with them. But I can't fake it with them. I think they know it.
Dave Id
(341 posts)They ignored the warnings about Trump because, God forgive them if they'd ever vote for a Black woman for president. They still haven't forgotten of forgiven the voters for electing Barack Obama, my God! he's Black, president.
drmeow
(6,027 posts)requires admitting wrongdoing, making amends, and agreeing to change. When you leave the confessional, you leave with penance and the instruction to sin no more. Those are the terms of forgiveness.
MAGA wants forgiveness without any of that - to which I say F#$$ to h$_& off.
NNadir
(38,653 posts)hamsterjill
(17,809 posts)Their very existence is a complete contradiction of who I am. As a woman, they would (and have) taken rights away from me and celebrated those acts.
As an American, they have desecrated my sacred country around the world. They have proven that greed and stupidity could be celebrated. They have refused to see facts that were blatantly thrust in their faces. They have applauded acts of absolute cruelty. They have applauded people going hungry and going without medical care. And they have done it over and over and over again.
And they are all just plain stupid. They are in actuality a minority - just a vocal one. It's time that the majority - those of us who have a little bit of sanity left - take back this country. We need to over shout, over rule and over come these fools, and then move forward without them.
W_HAMILTON
(10,451 posts)Nope nope nope nope nope nope
Kaleva
(40,453 posts)Wicked Blue
(9,046 posts)and grovel
CaptainTruth
(8,277 posts)The 77 million people who voted for Trump are responsible for the downfall of America. They are the ones who brought all of this upon us, & I will never forget it. They destroyed literally hundreds of years of work & sacrifice by good patriotic Americans.
Given what they've done, they don't deserve my forgiveness. They don't deserve my friendship. They don't deserve any benefit that this country could provide them.
Honestly, I feel like if they care so little about America & their fellow Americans they should pack their shit & get out. Just leave. Go to another country & stop f**king up this one.
My whole life (& I'm not young) I've been a very caring, kind, & forgiving person, but IMHO what MAGAts have done is beyond forgivable, for me at least.
RussBLib
(10,779 posts)
.if people can forgive a person for murdering their child, I can forgive MAGA, but there should be some kind of probationary period.
https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1
Gaytano70
(1,282 posts)Then just fuck off.
mwmisses4289
(4,845 posts)when they show they no longer hate America so much.
GoodRaisin
(11,101 posts)saying that Trump was a pos.
But he tried to temper his responsibility by claiming all politicians are poss. So, in essence, trying to imply we were both wrong.
No, Im not accepting that. Thats just more bullshit.
The good news is that this ignorant asshole will stop voting now, which is okay with me. But I still dont want him coming back around us again.
Mysterian
(6,672 posts)even as Berlin was reduced to ruins.
kentuck
(115,729 posts)I wonder how many Germans, after the war, believed in much the same way as most of the folks here believe? Did they question whether they could ever forgive those Nazis that followed Hitler to ruin? Is that why they tore down all the monuments to that monster?
There are more similarities than most Americans care to admit, in my opinion.
How many German families were torn apart because of their love for the Fuhrer? How many people were heartbroken when they asked their friends, "Can't you see what is happening?"
Once we asked, "How could the German people, intelligent as any on Earth, let this happen?"
I think we now know.
aggiesal
(10,945 posts)lpbk2713
(43,307 posts)They should be haunted by the decisions they have made and the votes they
have cast.
dem4decades
(14,471 posts)FullySupportDems
(506 posts)I shoulda never moved back to the red area I'm from. But, family with special needs. So I've grown up with the rednecks who were happy to tell a ten year old girl atheist she's going to hell.
Now the maga crowd includes my own family. Even with special needs members, go figure. Forgive them? Hell, if they ever figure out how messed up they are, and what they've done, my forgiveness won't help much. They'll be crushed. But I don't expect it to happen to many of them. They'll just blame t-rump for lying to them and move on, as if the rest of us weren't screaming it the whole time. It's what they do. They have never cared what someone like me thinks. I just feel sorry for them being so damned foolish and easy to deceive. And I don't like them as people.
Warpy
(114,731 posts)because most of them aren't stupid or assholes. Really. Besides, they're kicking themselves harder than I ever would.
The few who are angry jerks who want to burn the whole country down can't exactly bask in forgiveness. I just hope losing for a while will convince them to retreat back into their toxic little groups of like minded assholes, going back to prepping for doomsday. I don't exactly forgive such people, but since I'd rather see them than be them, I suppose there's some tepid compassion there.
Face it, party honchos funked it. They failed to address inflation and the late switcheroo from an obviously ill Biden to Harris was handled poorly and made them look disorganized and weak. I don't fault people or falling for Fatso's crap. Most are not falling for it now.
barbtries
(31,368 posts)some are in my family.
I also struggle with those who were oblivious or too busy or cynical to vote. Some of these people I love! sigh.
It's going to take decades to repair everything that he broke/will break.
H2O Man
(79,322 posts)I've noted before that I played a role in getting Rubin Carter's contribution to a book by a professor at Binghamton University. Rubin wrote about the power of forgiveness. In this context, I'm not talking about "forgiving" any maga individual who still supports the felon. There are many who now realize that they had been fooled into supporting him. They have changed their minds. Rubin's friend Malcolm X said that you have to give people room to change. I find those who insist they will never forgive to be shallow when compared to Rubin and Malcolm. It's not that I don't understand their thinking, for I do see the stumbling blocks that prevent them from becoming fully human. I do, but I hope that they can find their way beyond that, rather than being stuck in an unhealthy way.
Figarosmom
(13,854 posts)They had their second chance long ago too. So no not ever letting them back in my life.
ShazzieB
(22,951 posts)I imagine my ex bil is a Trumper, but I never really liked him anyway, and I wrote him off as a loss when he let my sister die abandoned in a nursing home after she left his ignorant ass. I have a nephew who is a semifamous RW activist, but he lives in another state and cut off contact with me years ago. So there are no Trumpers with whom I currently have a personal relationship.
That said, my attitude toward the faceless mass of red hatted peabrains who voted for him is that if the country survives this, I'll be willing to put this behind me and move on. If one of them should express their regret to me personally, I'll be civil to them. However... if they expect our side to apologize for being "mean" to them, they will have a VERY long wait.
They are the ones who owe a huge apology to everyone in the US and around the world who has been harmed by their poor choices. That includes but is by no means limited to the following:
- all of our erstwhile allies that Orange Satan has alienated
- all of those who have died, been injured, or lost loved ones due to his actions in waging unnecessary wars, blowing up boats in international waters (which he claimed to be drug smugglers with no evidence whatsoever), etc.
- the millions around the world who have lost their lives or will lose them due to the defending of USAID
- the entire nation of Ukraine, who he has turned his back on and left to the "tender mercies" of Vladimir the Terrible Putin
- the citizens of every country he has threatened to invade or otherwise take over, including Canada, Greenland, Cuba, and/or any I have may have forgotten
- and too many others to mention
I could go on for days, but I'm tired, so I'll stop here and let you all use your imaginations to fill in the blanks. My point is that everyone who voted for him, ever, owes so many apologies to so many millions of people that the idea of any of them ever expecting to receive an apology from any of us is absoputely laughable.
Another thing I will not do is pat them on the head and say, "There, there, you did your best, what a shame that you were taken in by that Orange Hellbeast." When I hear Trumpers proclaim in YouTube videos that they voted for him because he promised no wars or said he would lower gas and grocery prices, all I can do is stare in bafflement that anyone would still believe one word he says.
To sum up, I have nothing to apologize to them for, and they have everything to apologize to everybody for.
maspaha
(751 posts)flvegan
(66,578 posts)surfered
(14,571 posts)sop
(19,507 posts)contrition, confession, penance and absolution.
MAGA penitents must be contrite, express a heartfelt sorrow and aversion for the sin committed, along with the intention of sinning no more. Shit, we all know these morons will vote for the next racist scumbag with an "R" after his/her name, so contrition is impossible for MAGA. Confession, the verbal declaration of our sins, must be honest, but MAGA morons are incapable of honesty, they always lie. Acts of penance are required before forgiveness, but MAGA morons will never atone for their vote. And lastly, absolution being the final step to forgiveness, I'm not absolving any of these fucking MAGA morons.
LSparkle
(12,238 posts)rogue emissary
(3,386 posts)When they admit their racism and misogyny, which is almost impossible for most people. When they actively vote to repair the damage they did to the nation, I'll forgive them.
PatrickforB
(15,545 posts)Let me explain.
A MAGAT votes for Trump. This has wronged me and every other sane American. Because the guy is a total fuck-up dirtbag grifter. Not only is there not an honest bone in his body, there are no decent bones, either.
But Trump is merely a symptom of an end-stage capitalist system that holds profits above human life and the earth itself. A system that encourages and rewards cruelty and sociopathic behavior.
Now, the people at the top of the heap, these modern-day billionaire robber barons are benefitting from a century-long class war that has been waged so successfully that our government has become a government of, by and for corporations and billionaires, and we are getting screwed every which way but loose.
Am I enraged? Not any more. Because I cannot allow these people to have free rent in my head another minute in terms of hating them. Because why? We live in a system of manufactured consent, which is what Trump, Fox, Truth Social, X and all the right-wing talk shows and podcasts do. These people get paid really well by the robber barons and their think-tanks to drive wedges and keep hate and outrage fresh.
We live in an evil system, people. And if Democrats think we can simply go back to the way it has been, with donors ensuring most members of Congress keep this system just the way it is, regardless of what they say, they should think again. If we are ever, ever to recover from this Trump-fascist nightmare, then there needs to be some serious accountability. Trials, indictments, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, child rape and murder, human trafficking.
That is a given.
Now let's talk about forgiveness. The way I see it, forgiveness is a release that helps me. I simply release the people who have wronged me. I just drop it. No attachment, no fear. Just nothing. No feeling at all. No thought about the past wrongs any more.
Because who does it hurt if you are nursing a big grudge? Hating someone? Not them, for sure. They are going to continue to be dirtbag con artists whether we hate them or not, and in fact relish our hatred, and some even claim they like to drink 'librul tears.' Why waste even a nanosecond continuing useless grudges?
Plus, when Reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, it took truth out of news and put yellow journalism back in. Soon, though, with the internet, we had algorithms that were taking people down rabbit holes and keeping them down those holes with conspiracy and 24/7 fearmongering. The algorithms have done something else, too - they are very sophisticated techniques that play systematically on our sense of empathy.
The other party perpetrated this latest outrage! We hate this! We want to FIGHT FOR YOU!!!! Pleeeeeeze give us money! That is the formula and it has given the publicly traded corporate media billions in profits over time.
Is any one person responsible? No. It is the Epstein Class of modern billionaire robber barons and their Wall Street cronies. Do I hate them? Why? They are doing their job. They became powerful because our shareholder primacy system of capitalism allows the worst, most depraved, most immoral sociopaths to climb to the top. It actually rewards them for cruelty, greed and unbridaled lust for power.
THIS IS AN EVIL SYSTEM.
So I don't. They don't get free rent in my head any more. I have put aside the constant outrage because I am beyond burned out with it. So I forgave them.
NOW, let's talk about forgetting.
NEVER. I will never forget what these Epstein Class people have done to this once-great republic.
NEVER. I will act vigorously in my state and metro area to build real community. I will act vigorously to support PROGRESSIVE candidates who understand that things cannot go on as they are, and that we literally need to clean house by tearing the whole thing down and rebuilding it from scratch. We must eliminate corruption, pull Wall Street's teeth, tax the billionaires out of existance, hold those who have committed crimes strictly accountable.
Many of you are quite well-educated, and understand that I am saying we have to have a real political revolution here - not just business as usual. We need massive reform.
The bottom line is that WE THE PEOPLE get to choose what we build out of the ashes of MAGA, and the current system we had before Trump is itself evil and corrupt. I mean, when is the last time federal legislation came out that actually helps working and middle class Americans at their kitchen table? We NEED healthcare. We NEED subsidized childcare. People who work providing childcare and in-home healthcare NEED to earn enough to live. Our children and grandchildren need relief from predatory student debt. We need to do something about affordable housing. We need sane energy and immigration policies, and we need to GET RID OF THE FUCKING FOR-PROFIT MEDIA and take the PROFIT motive OUT of the news.
Big work ahead. Will we be smart enough not to be propagandized to hate each other so these billionaire parasites can keep ripping us off with impunity? Will we be smart enough and have the moral strength to KEEP OUR REPUBLIC?
Maybe. It is completely our choice.
Hate is a waste of life force. Organization, unionization, demonstration, and civic engagement are NOT wastes of life force. But we simply cannot apply sufficient force if impelled forward by hatred. How about love instead? How about a simple moral compass - to treat others as we wish to be treated. Bring honesty and fair-dealing back. Bring compassion back.
So FORGIVE, but DO NOT FORGET. Instead be engaged, be progressive, be organized and stop falling for North Korean level propaganda designed to drive wedges and promote hate. All that does is take our eyes off the prize, which is to perfect the republic.
OK long post. Rant over.
jmbar2
(8,214 posts)sarisataka
(22,869 posts)MiHale
(13,211 posts)I used to be polite to them
not anymore.
lame54
(40,213 posts)LOTS of loyal Trump voters still out there
Paxton is lower than a worm and they overwhelmingly chose him as their guy
LilElf70
(1,662 posts)I have been on this planet for many decades. I have NEVER EVER experienced anything like I (we, this country) are going through right now. Specifically because all these idiots fell for the con man of the century. Sadly, many of these morons still think he's the chosen one, as they are getting screwed every day while the destruction of our democracy in occurring right in front of them/us. The corruption is off the chart, The ignorance and stupidity is off the chart. It's sickening.
Will I forgive them? HELL NO........ NEVER.
Shit, I still have neighbors and lost friends that still think the grifting fraudster and felon and ......... (the list goes on and on and on) is doing the right thing. The whole Trump thing and his corrupt admin and Congress are very bad for America. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
DFW
(60,518 posts)At least the Trumpanzees have a chance to vote againand Im betting 90% of them would vote the same way TODAY if given the option. Those of us who had high hopes for the policies espoused by RFK Sr. and future music from John Lennon never had any hope to recover anything.
QueerDuck
(1,964 posts)... or the "Genocide Joe" crowd,
or the "Killer Kamala" crowd,
or the "vote Uncommitted" crowd,
or the "bowl of shit" crowd,
or the "leave it blank" crowd,
or the "burn it down" crowd,
or the "let's teach them a lesson" crowd,
or the "let's get revenge on the party" crowd,
or the "I don't vote with my vagina" crowd,
or the "both parties are the same" crowd,
or the "don't threaten me with the supreme court" crowd,
or the "there's no way Roe will be overturned" crowd,
or ANYONE who suppressed voter turnout in the general election,
or ANYONE who weaponized complex geopolitical issues to suppress voter turnout among natural allies,
or ANYONE who demanded absolute ideological purity,
or ANYONE who refused to vote for a viable candidate who achieved 90% of their goals,
or ANYONE who uses their vote of immense privilege masked as political principle.
maxsolomon
(39,180 posts)My 90-year old father isn't "MAGA", but he's voted for MFer 3x now. Does he even think about it? Unknown, doubtful.
His 89-year old lady friend isn't "MAGA", but she's a longtime Repuke motivated 90% by Abortion. Regrets? Unknown, doubtful.
My MAGA relatives vote Repuke mainly for Abortion, and MFer gave them what precisely what they've been praying for decades to get. No regrets. They think he's peachy and love the Stigginit. They revel in the cruelty and our unhappiness.
No forgiveness. Never. They know what they did.
sarisataka
(22,869 posts)we are seeing that not only can a person be forgiven, but they can also be embraced and lauded for having changed- based on their word.
3825-87867
(2,026 posts)Choosing to believe something without proof is why there are so many religious wars and hatred among those who believe only what they wish.
RockRaven
(19,802 posts)It was repeatedly, REPEATEDLY explained to them in every possible way and by every possible method, AND they lived through it once, and then they did it again.
There is no believable "oh, I made a mistake, and I understand that now" for situations like that. It just doesn't fit with all of the other evidence/behavior. This wasn't "a mistake" and it wasn't accidental or incidental brief behavior. It was a persistent way of being, year on year, for a decade in many cases.
Regrets are not remorse. They have regrets, certainly. Claims of remorse, genuine fucking remorse (such as characterized by empathetic recognition of having caused harm to others and emotional distress at having failed moral standards), are not plausible. So fuck them, no forgiving and no forgetting.
mgardener
(2,422 posts)They voted for Trump, not once, but twice.
They voted for him AFTER JAN 6th
AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED OF FELONIES.
AFTER Jean Caroll's trial
Knowing about Epstein.
I will never forgive them.
I hope they get exactly what they voted for.f
alwaysinasnit
(5,657 posts)votes, I have yet to hear them acknowledge their role in enabling the harm tsf is causing. Not a single one of them
has (in public) accepted responsibility for their actions, and more importantly, or worked to rectify/remedy the harm
they have helped cause.
CharleyDog
(826 posts)NO. I've considered this over many long hours, as it involves my family. NO. I will never forgive them the ICE cruelty, and the Supreme Court disaster that electing this man has caused. All the evidence was there in 2015. So, they knew, and did it anyway. Twice. NO.
The damage done is immense. (and more is coming, what Trump wants, what he really wants, is Civil War.)
CrispyQ
(41,121 posts)But this? This is beyond repair. There are a few who out of sentimentality, I could be polite to if I encountered them at a funeral or wedding, but sit across from them & catch up? Nope.
biophile
(1,602 posts)And by deserve it I mean change their behavior dramatically and demonstratively for at least several election cycles.
snot
(11,863 posts)we're f---ing doomed.
If we really care about our needs and goals, we need to give up the gratifications of rage and figure out how to embrace those who've come closer to agreement with us.