I’ve been thinking about your third bullet point a lot lately. I genuinely think that the lack of irl social interaction these days is far more pernicious than anyone wants to acknowledge. I don’t think it’s social media and technology that are the problem, rather, the LACK of third places and irl social interaction is the problem, if that makes sense.

Right, it’s not about evidence.

It probably is some kind of bigotry. Racism (the myth of the welfare queen), ableism (the myth that people en masse lie about being disabled to get benefits), protestant work ethic, etc. No clue how to combat those things, though, other than explaining how these myths came to be, which I have. I’m just at a loss and would like to have at least one family member who isn’t a total reactionary POS.

Yeah, my goal isn’t to convince her that the dems are good. I don’t think they’re good. I just wish she’d quit pretending to be ok with gay and trans ppl, lending milquetoast support to BLM, etc. while also being like “dems give handouts, I’m going to vote R” while also being on unemployment and being on the hook with PLUS loans until 2048! I’d honestly rather her be a straight up queerphobe (like my dad) than the way she is now. I wish she wouldn’t vote Republican, since the hateful rhetoric is just unbelieveable now. I’m a white, cis, feminine lesbian and I feel unsafe…I can’t imagine how it is for people with more marginalized identities.