Hi, I'm from Oakland County in Michigan. It's in the Metro Detroit area/media market. Obviously, we've been inundated with political ads. I usually see TV ads at the gym, though the TVs are farther away from me and muted. Today, I saw a new political ad I'd never seen before. I could make out the words on the screen "punishment for the woman" (quoting a Republican candidate), and then there was a woman talking about (what seemed to be) pregnancy complications she experienced.

Even now, my first thought is still that this is a standard right-wing view, so why bother attacking it? It's not extreme, it's normal, it's what I was raised with, what I was required to believe at home growing up--

Then, I remember that I was raised by parents who were - and still are - deep in the right-wing base and media ecosystem. I remember that these ideas only seem "normal" to me because I heard them from my parents since I was very young (< 10yo). I remember that the median voter wasn't raised by my parents. I remember that the median voter supported Reproductive Freedom for All (Michigan's Proposal 3 in 2022), and it passed in a landslide.

Growing up, my parents were of the opinion that girls and women deserve to be punished, e.g.:

• To begin with, my parents told me numerous times that "girls are born to suffer" and that girls should be given punishments simply for being girls. Yes, my mother enthusiastically believed this.

• My parents frequently told me that menstrual periods are a "natural punishment" for being female.

  • At 16, I finally worked up the courage to ask my parents if I could take Advil for menstrual pain. My parents screamed at me for wanting to "shirk" my "natural punishment". My mother threatened to hit me if she caught me with Advil.

• My parents told me several times that rape was a justifiable punishment for being female, and if you got raped, you better keep your mouth shut, because if you talk about it, you're advertising your punishment. You're advertising that you were loose.

  • Oddly, they would also talk about punishments for being raped, and specifically, that pregnancy was a "natural punishment" for being raped.

• When I was 16, I faced a situation in which an adult man threatened to sexually assault me. I knew my parents wouldn't care, and I was on my own. Thankfully, I was able to put the scare into him, at least enough that he backed off and didn't try anything further.

I'm 34yo and have been in therapy for years to deal with several issues, including trauma from my childhood. I envy those of you who were raised by good people that got radicalized much later. My parents weren't radicalized; they've been this way as long as I've known them.

I love my dad. He's a good man who's always ready to step up and help his family, his friends, and his neighbors, but I'm starting to feel some pretty deep contempt for the fact that he's just so duped by Trump.

I can remember listening to Rush Limbaugh in my dad's truck regularly when I was a teenager. I guess I never thought much about my dad's politics as an adult until after 2016.

After that election he said he would have considered voting for Sanders, but disliked Clinton so much that he chose Trump. Back then I agreed that Clinton was not the best choice in the primary, but I could never vote for someone like Trump. He's just so obviously a bad man. Back then, he said, "You just don't like him because he says mean things."

Fast forward eight years, and our discussions (on Facebook) are somewhat heated. I come with facts and well-considered, well-presented arguments. He comes with other people's memes, obviously-clipped videos, and crappy articles from sites named things like "PatriotGrifterJerkoffDotCom."

I'm just starting to feel so contempt ful of him and any other MAGA supporters who feel like chiming in with whatever stupid horseshit they' re swallowing. When I posted about Trump's "enemy within/use military on citizens" garbage, they came back (days later) with a conspiracy about the DoD releasing clearance to use deadly force on civilians. Super simple to counter: A. Does a DoD directive have the power to grant that sort of new power or does it clarify the rules for exercising an existing power. B. What possible benefit could the govt gain by releasing their nefarious an publically?

I used to hold back out of a desire to keep things civil. I was also super afraid to alienate him and the MAGA argument style was always so upsetting. Now, I give zero shits whether my arguments hurt anyone's feelings. I'm not disrespectful, but I always make my position clear. My position being: Trump and the entire Republican party tried to overthrow the government - you're insane if you think I'll support those freaks.

My fervent hope for this election is pinned on fact that Trump lost the vote before he had his worshippers attack the Capitol.

Election College fuckery is a real problem of course; but his vote share can only go down after that, right?

Like I’m sorry I don’t want another four years of the orange idiot. She’s the one who’s bugging me to vote in the first place and telling me my vote matters. But I literally get my head chewed off because I didn’t vote the way she wanted. Why are Trump supporters so nasty? I really don’t think I wanna talk to her for like a week now. I’m pretty pissed. She basically said if we get into World War III it will be my fault partially. Kamala Harris is not my favorite person either, and she was not my ideal choice of a candidate, but I’m willing to take a chance on her over that stupid moron wannabe dictator.

(For the record I am an adult halfway into my 30s.)

I’m unsure if it was Fox News, Newsmax, or a local republican station. Didn’t recognize the voice. It was saying that project 2025 has been “debunked” and that if Trump wins and most people are allowed to get abortions or contraception they will look in the mirror and say “I fell for that?”

He went on to say what was very concerning. He said white liberal woman(idk why he specified white), are mostly conservative even if they vote democrat but they live in fear of their rights being taken away in regards to sex stuff so they vote democrat because “the Democratic Party is a synthetic husband, if they had husbands they would feel secure and financially stable so they wouldn’t need to kill the baby.” He said that it’s all about security and that if they were married they’d be more open to raising it because they wouldn’t have to worry about money. He then went on to say “I’m not saying women should get married I’m just stating the facts.” He then said something like “if you don’t wanna get an abortion just don’t have sex. You shouldn’t risk murder and being financially unstable over 15 minutes of fun and horniness”.

I also noticed that whenever she listens to this kind of stuff she drives more recklessly and twitches a lot. Coincidentally everyone who I ever knew who listened to this kind of talk radio would drive and twitch the exact same way.

I've told my mother that my husband and I will not be coming to family thanksgiving. Of my family members, she is the most sensible. She understands, but is very disappointed. She keeps saying my grandmother is getting older and we don't know how many Thanksgivings we may get together, and has promised there will be no political conversations at thanksgiving. The thing is, I don't believe this for one second. My family is very big on 'respect your elders' but the same courtesy does not go both ways. I know there would be talk of Trump and probably election doubt, calling Harris 'a bitch' which was recently said in a family group chat. I just don't want to hear it, I don't want to be disrespected, and I don't feel the same need to spend time with my family members anymore since they have fallen so deep into the MAGA cult. It is becoming harder and harder to excuse them and love them just because they are family the further we get into this election and the more I see them supporting and excusing the hideous things Trump has said and done. My mother has also brought up the fact that we received a small 'loan' towards our home down payment from my grandmother (less than $5k) which we are paying back. Not that it matters, but this is an extremely small amount for my grandmother. My Mom claims I had no problem accepting the money and keeps throwing this in my face. We are paying back the money as agreed upon, and to be fair it was a desperate situation and I would have taken the money from anyone. Also, I feel while my grandmother has been a Trump supporter I didn't think she was a Nazi sympathizer until the last 12 months when she has stood by all the things he has said during this election cycle. I have explained my choice is not to punish my family but to protect my own mental health. I just don't know how to deal with these people. It's damned if I do, and damned if I don't.

18F. My dad has been in the MAGA cult since 2020. He's constantly glued to a screen, waiting for Trump's next Truth Social post, Elon's next tweet, Steven Crowder's next upload, etc. For the most part, I avoid talking politics with him because I know the conversation will never be intelligent on his end. He knows that I'm not a conservative, as I've pushed back against his insane talking points multiple times throughout the past few years. However, he thinks that I'm a lot less politically aware or active than I actually am because of the fact that I avoid political discussions with him and I don't see him that often. Nonetheless, he still sends me his "findings" and recommends me whatever weird conservative influencer he's into at the moment. I think he's under the impression that I'm, like, a right-leaning centrist. Pure wishful thinking there because I've never once said anything to give him that impression. I didn't tell him when I registered to vote a few months ago and I definitely haven't told him that I voted for Harris/Walz a few days ago. I don't want to talk to him or visit him right now because I know inevitably the election will be brought up and I'll have to hide the fact that I voted, or, be honest and deal with his meltdown. Seeing my friends have supportive parents, going to the polls with them and stuff, it hurts. I'm probably naive for still loving him and thinking that he'll be normal again one day. I just miss the person he was before all this bullshit. Feeling very alone and kinda hopeless right now 😞

The logical brain in me is 100% sure in my opinions of Trump and MAGA as a movement. But sometimes they gaslight so much about every single thing that it starts to make me feel insane. Like I’m living in a different reality from them. All of the deflection and “he didn’t say that” or “he didn’t mean it” or “that’s out of context” EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Trump says something. I just feel crazy. Especially living in a red state and being in a red family.

How does everyone else stay grounded and secure in reality when they create such an alternate reality? It feels like being entangled in an abusive relationship where you start to lose all direction and question your own reality. God, I know they are crazy and can be rebutted, but when they then start insisting nothing can be trusted to even disprove them, I just end up at a loss. I feel like I’m going crazy some days 😁

Anyone else?

All of them have failed this basic test:

If Donald Trump and [their spouse’s/child’s name] were hanging on the edge of a cliff and you could only save one, The Good Son style, who would you save?

I am now 3/3 with magats refusing to answer the question or saying things like “I’m too old to save either!”

It’s mind-blowing. They care more about orange Hitler and his legitimizing their hatred/racism than they do their own loved ones.

Does your fox brain immediately look for a video of a person of color explaining how Trump’s not racist then post it whenever there is outrage over Trump’s blatant racism? EDIT: my family is white

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DB1Gj-DxpyI/?igsh=MTg5cHd4d3VkdngyOA==

Recently drove across the country with my Dad who has been lost down the Fox News/conservative media sphere rabbit hole since….Bill Clinton was president. We couldn’t pass a wind turbine without him making a comment about how they don’t produce any energy and are a hoax. This is the same man that encouraged me to take a Logic class in college. Which in the end taught me how illogical his talking points and arguments have become over the years. The smallest comment or bit from NBC nightly news sets him off. He always seems to believe he has to tell me what to think, even though I’m 33. Another recent example: I was showing him some cool black and white photographs I want to frame and put in my office. He enjoys photography, so I thought this might be a point of connection for once. One of the photographs I picked out is of Nelson Mandela speaking at a packed stadium after the fall of apartheid, an iconic photograph capturing an important moment in history. Mandela is a personal hero of mine, someone I look up to and have since I first learned about him. We even took a tour of Robbin Island while on a family trip to South Africa. A moving moment that impacted me, while he just acted bored the whole time. After showing him the photograph I wanted to frame, he spends the rest of the night trying to argue with me about how Mandela was bad and the apartheid government was right. Classic Fox News binary view of the world.

I feel I can only act ignorant of his ridiculous wind turbine comments or most any point of “news” he raises to me. Most of the 4 day drive across the country was in silence. He couldn’t even enjoy an interesting podcast about a Forrest Fenn’s treasure. He’s constantly trying to tell me what to think, and acts like he is the only holder of truth or legitimate opinions. If I voice any of my own opinions or interests, it turns into an argument. Our relationship has become so vapid and empty idk what to do. Any advice?

Especially when it comes to family members, people have told me politics shouldn’t divide but I don’t think I agree. Political values/beliefs and morals go hand in hand. Why should I look past someone’s racist, homophobic, misogynistic, or ignorant rhetoric and views?

I’ve heard “I remember a time when political parties didn’t matter within relationships” but like this is different. this is my first time voting but this election is deeper than any others. Real people, with lives, families, goals, and values are being treated as trash. Their livelihoods are being threaten. I thought this country was FOR the people.

Especially this time of year, where everything I scroll past has a chance of showing something that causes a mini satanic panic or something stupid like that.

It's like, can you please keep your beliefs to yourself and I will do the same?

It’s a special kind of pain when you can’t talk to either of your parents about anything in your personal life because they somehow make it about politics and blaming you for all of the world’s faults because you’re a democrat. The ironic part is my mom hasn’t worked in 27 years because of her “anxiety” and she raised me (24f) and my 2 siblings off of WELFARE. My grandma complains nonstop about her social security not being enough ( it’s probably not enough ) and blames it on “people like me” (democrats), but I probably won’t even receive social security when I’m her age and am having to put aside money in a 401k even though I should be saving for a house right now not that I’ll ever be able to afford one, but I can’t tell them that either because if I do they tell me that voting for trump will solve all my problems. I’m getting tired of getting called a liar and it is plain exhausting trying to explain to someone what a threat trump is. This man says the words right out his mouth and they will do everything possible to say “ he actually meant this.” They’re telling me I need to vote for trump when in reality if Kamala wins their day to day life won’t change at all meanwhile if trump wins my life will most likely change drastically as I’m just finishing my school psychology degree and will be working in special education this time next year.

I voted for the first time today. My aunt came over (not just to see me) and wanted to talk to me about voting and started spewing right wing rhetoric. At this point I know arguing with them is poinless so i didn't say anything. I just hate that my family have become so deranged. Honestly its hard to care about them when they are all so awful. This election has definitely cemented my decision to go low to no contact with them once I'm able to safely do so.

hi all. I'm Fortesa, a journalist who has written about qanon in the past, like this story about the conspiracies driving families apart

right now, I'm working on a story for teen vogue about young men who have been sucked into the manosphere (andrew tate, joe rogan, etc.). if this describes you or someone in your life, I'd really like to talk to you. this especially includes young men who have been able to come out of this universe

comment here or email me at Fortesa_Latifi@condenast.com if you'd like to chat further and thank you for your time

It’s that time of year that people I haven’t heard from since last year are expecting me to spend family birthdays, thanksgiving, and Christmas with them.

They’re all MAGA/Q….. I feel like this election is a lose/lose. If he wins, fuck. But if he loses, YAY (but their reaction = fuck).

Is this enough of a reason to not see my family this year? I hate knowing this is who they all are….

I’m 52 years old and live in a red area. My mom’s brother was always one of the few people around here to whom I could truly relate.

He was always kind of conservative, but he was the kind of conservative you could understand. He grew up dirt poor. Our family was a pack of migrant farm workers when he was a kid, back when white people still did that. When he was a teenager they settled down where we live now and he finished high school, spent a few years in the Army, then learned a trade. He turned that trade into a successful business he still owns runs today.

So yeah, he griped about taxes and government spending and waste. He has balanced his own books for 50 years, they should too. I get it.

But he was also fairly progressive. He was staunchly non-religious so that took quite a bit of bigotry off the table. I had never heard him say a disparaging word about gay people or any other ethnic group. Obviously I can’t read the man’s mind and it may just be the pragmatism of a small business owner (their money is just as good as some redneck’s) but he never seemed to think he was better than anyone else. He remembered where he came from.

Now…

I had to stop following him on Facebook some time ago. But I saw him commenting on another person’s post. He was raving about immigrants and foreign aid and the horrors of cities (this guy has been all over the world, too). And abortion.

He’s a 70+ year old man and an atheist but he was up in arms about abortion. On a thread where nobody was even talking about it.

And it’s 100% Fox News.

If you go to his house or place of business Fox News is blaring. Constantly.

And it started with Trump. I don’t know if he voted for Obama but I do remember him saying he was glad to see a Black man could get elected in this country. But when Trump hit the scene Obama became a sinister secret Muslim and away we went.

This man is pretty well off. Everything he has is paid for and he actually doesn’t need to work anymore. He has had some health problems, serious ones, and couldn’t work for a long time and he was fine financially. His kids are grown. He owns a nice house and a great piece of commercial real estate. His net worth is easily in the low millions. And he’s miserable.

He is absolutely miserable.

And it’s 100% Fox News.

He’s far from alone, too. Most of his generation around here is just like him. They are wasting the few years of life they have left watching that bullshit and regurgitating everything they hear on it.

The thing is, with my uncle, this man was SMART. He read books. He traveled. He was always level headed and sober. Hell… he was NICE. Like I said, even after he became successful he was still that guy who picked cotton in Arkansas as a kid.

But now he literally eats ivermectin every day and ties himself in knots over drag queens. I’m not even joking.

I know there’s no changing it. And I know it’s common across the country. I was even one of the people interviewed in “The Brainwashing of My Dad”. But I did that interview over a decade ago and my uncle was still sane then.

I never would have guessed the fear and loathing would have gotten him.

Would anyone else find something like this at least cathartic? I don’t think it would change anyone’s mind but it might give some people a little insight into how hurt some of their loved ones are and why.

Opens to a girl child sitting in the back seat of a car. It’s filmed in that hazy way that indicates the scene is set in the past. Mom is driving and looks back tenderly at the child. Their eyes meet and they smile at each other. There’s a strong mother/child bond. Note that they are clearly middle class and white.

Next scene: The child’s family is at church, listening to the preacher read verses from the Sermon on the Mount. The child looks up at her dad sitting next her and they smile at each other.

Next scene: Mom and kid are in the parking lot of the grocery store and someone has put a flyer for some sort of rally promoting bigotry on the dashboard and the mom rips it up angrily and tells her kid, “This isn’t right. You judge people for their character and nothing else.”

Shorter scenes: Parents volunteering at a soup kitchen while child watches. Dad helping an elderly Black neighbor carry in her groceries. Parents reading bedtime stories. Dad coming in late after working long hours to support the family. Mom studying for some sort of exam and dad kisses the top of her head and says “I’m proud of you, Honey.”

Next scene: Kid is older and notices her dad is listening to some sort of intense rhetoric on the radio as he works on his car.

Next scene: Mom has the tv on and is watching a news program showing a Trump rally and the now young adult child looks on.

Clips of MAGA cable news pundits repeating talking points, Trump doing his typical thing, talking heads defending him. Rhetoric about how the “other side” is evil. Clips shown directly contradict the values the parents demonstrated to their child.

Final scene: Adult child hugs her older parents and gets in her car, waving as she backs out of the driveway. Her attention turns to the Trump sign in the front yard. Adult child looks deflated and disappointed, then turns and looks to the back seat where she meets the eyes of her young child. She smiles at her kid with love and some sadness.

In the driveway one older parent says to the other “I can’t believe she isn’t voting for our guy. I thought we taught her the right values.”

Black screen with text: You did.

Camera goes to car bumper with a Harris/Walz 2024 sticker as daughter drives away.

Then the tagline at the end would be something like:

Where did we get our values? From you.

So perhaps my best friend of like 20 years is slowly turning MAGA.

She and her husband recently converted to Catholicism, which I didn't mind I got no problem with religion or her choosing to become religious.

But the Church she's going to is notorious in my area for being very conservative alt-right Trump supporters. The priest and the Congregation had a big pro-Trump rally recently.

She's been posting a bunch of anti-trans rhetoric on her socials.

She recently invited me over for a movie night to watch Matt Walsh's Am I Racist, which I totally declined.

Honestly it's like watching her suffer through cancer treatments. It's heartbreaking 🥺

This is a church in my area. It just gets worse and worse everyday. Really disheartening to see so much support and PRIDE in thinking this way.

Hello all. I have been struggling with my parents moving further and further right wing for the last few years, and my god does it hurt. It all came to a head last night when I realized they'll both probably be voting for trump again despite everything, and it just fully hit me that they don't have the same values and don't care about my friends or my rights.

I want to say something to them, preferably via text, because I won't be able to be coherent and not cry if I say it out loud, and preferably tomorrow or ASAP before they go vote, (they typically vote day of or a few days before). I want to make them realize that the way they think about politics is harmful, and that my respect for them is dwindling. I don't know what to say. My mom really cares for me, and I think she voted to codify abortion into our states constitution in 2022, but she also sees trump as a business man who will bring us a great economy. My dad is more right wing, and votes solely for economics and gun rights, which he attributes only to trump at this point.

I think it will hit them harder if they realize how they are negatively affecting me, because they both do really care for me, which is why this hurts so badly. Like I won't feel comfortable having children if I don't have safe access to abortion if I need it, or if there is no secular schooling near me. I have friends that are PoC and LGBTQ, and I want to be able to afford a home, and have access to healthcare without paying an arm and a leg.

The part that gives me hope is that when I talk about more left-wing talking points, but without using buzzwords or names, they actually agree with me! I was talking about all of the recalls and safety warnings lately and how the government needs to do more to regulate business, and they agreed with me. Its just if I share anything that's remotely in support of Harris or any left-wing politician, they brush me off and disregard what I say for the most part, so I'm really confused as to how to go about this effectively.

If you could help me think through what I want to say I would greatly appreciate it, and if any of you have anything that has worked with people around you, I would be so grateful if you could share.

*Long post ahead- slight rant/background info and needing advice*

Hey all! (: I found the Fox Brain subreddit earlier this year as I was really struggling emotionally with my family and our difference in views. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. I grew up in a pretty religious, conservative family. When I was younger, my family attended a Lutheran Evangelical church, and later on, we transitioned to a Methodist church. My mom was raised Lutheran Evangelical, and my dad Baptist. Around 13, I started to question a lot of the principles I was raised on. Around this time, I also realized I was not religious. The amount of disdain my parents had for me from that point forward, while I was a literal child, is truly astonishing. I was told I wasn't conservative because I "wanted to be different". I was told that social media, and/or my phone, was the problem. I was told it was because of the people I surrounded myself with, and how they weren't good people. Never did my parents consider, that I was simply growing up and beginning to think for myself. There were countless arguments.

It's been about 11 years now, and the arguments never really stopped- I just stopped trying with them. Things got markedly worse in 2016, when Trump entered the political scene, and have progressively gotten worse since then. I remember them saying the January 6th riots were democrats dressed as Trump supporters, and that Antifa was involved. They were avidly against BLM. They completely believe the election in 2020 was stolen. They kicked me out of the house in 2021 due to us disagreeing on Covid and how serious it actually is/was (they also believe alllllll the Covid conspiracies). They think everyone is out to get Trump, and that the world is crumbling without him in the oval office. Any time I have tried to present any evidence to the contrary of their beliefs, they whine about how it's all "fake news".

I grew up in a suburban, (very) predominantly white, midwestern town. When I was 17, I got a job in a much larger nearby city. This introduced me to a lot of new people and diversity I did not previously know; I now have quite a few friends in the LGBTQ+ community, friends who are POC, and I'm *very* close to a few immigrants/people here on DACA. I don't go to my parents often at all, and we don't have very many serious or meaningful conversations. I didn't know who they were planning to vote for this election. I was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they would finally see the division in the country and rethink their previous position. Unfortunately, when I was home last week briefly, I saw Trump stickers in their living room. This solidified it for me. I was angry, confused, hurt, you name it. I cannot understand how after everything, they are still supporting Trump. I also cannot wrap my mind around how they claim to love my friends and partner, but are actively voting against their rights. They are also voting against mine- I am bi (and a woman lol), and they would know that if they had ever made an environment comfortable enough for me to tell them about it.

I talk about this in therapy frequently, and my therapist has been pretty helpful. I'm trying to work through the mindset that friends can be my chosen family. I think it really hurts because I have just always wanted my family to love me and understand me, but I've always felt very out of place. It's not just my parents, it's my extended family as well. I do have two younger siblings, and while they both really dislike Trump, they just don't understand how deeply politics affect minorities and marginalized groups around them. It also hurts because, like most kids, I saw my parents as my heroes growing up. I thought they were intelligent, compassionate individuals, and I would like to think they raised me to be that way, too. That's why it's so jarring for them to not even be open to hearing my opinions, which are rooted in helping those around me and loving thy neighbor (something they loved to preach in church). Since 2016, they have become increasingly hard to have conversations with. They're always on their phones, or glued to the TV. Their house is always a disgusting disaster. It's like they're depressed, and blaming the world around them for their woes, but making no effort to improve their lives themselves. All they do is complain. It really hurts, but I think I may have to go extremely low or no contact with them for a while. At least until they get therapy, which they are both against. My partner is here on DACA, and I plan on staying with them and raising a family with them. Everything about this election feels much more personal to me. I'm in my mid-twenties now and have been fighting this uphill battle since I was around 13. To me, it's not just a difference in opinion, but a difference in morals. I would not be friends with people who are voting for Trump, especially still in 2024, so it's hard to keep family in my life that supports him as well. It's painful that the people who raised me seem to love their cult more than me. I still love them, but have lost almost all respect for them at this point. It doesn't help that I didn't have the best childhood/relationship with them growing up, either. I don't really know what to do, or how to do it. I apologize that this post is so long- thank you to those who stayed and read through it. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. <3