Political signs don't really motivate

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 15, 2024)

Imagine if your neighbors stuck signs in their yards telling everyone about the conditions they suffer from. "We're proud of our itchy armpit fungus!" Would you be convinced to get infected, too?

I'm already seeing political yard signs. If people advertise their support for a political candidate, could they be convinced to put signs in their yards proclaiming their diseases and mental problems?

Scratch the part about mental problems; political signs already announce those to the world.

Have you ever seen a political sign and thought "I should hop on that train!"? Or, are you more likely to think "Ugh, one of THOSE people"? It depends whether they share a condition-- support for a candidate-- with you.

In either case, it's something best kept to yourself. Sharing too much isn't smart. In the case of politics, it creates animosity and division among neighbors. No good will come of it.

It's much more likely to hurt you economically than to help you. If you're a decent person who does a good job, telling the world you're on a political side probably won't win you extra opportunities, but in the current political climate, it can cost you. Maybe you say if they'd boycott you over political opinions you don't need their business. That's fine.

There are celebrities I used to have a good opinion of until they expressed their political biases. Suddenly my opinion of them fell off a cliff. I don't consciously boycott anyone, but once I know someone has horrible political opinions, I can't unsee it and I lose interest in things they are involved in. There are actors and authors I will never again be able to enjoy after finding out too much about what they support.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work in the opposite direction. I might discover a famous person agrees with me and form a favorable opinion of them, but it doesn't motivate me to seek out their content. It's better for them if they don't make an issue of it so I don't know.

It's the same with political yard signs. If I agree with you, it's not going to make me think better of you, but if I think you're supporting something terrible, it will make me think less of you.

To be honest, I don't know if it works the same with people who are more partisan than I am. You'll do what you do either way.

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Politics makes people hallucinate

I commented on a hilarious post from “KamalaHQ” after Harris’ interview on FOX, where they had tried to reframe the event to be less bad for her.

A guy in a reply tried to pin “Trump supporter” on me simply because I can see that Harris is an idiot. He kept trying to get me to defend Trump, and he said how brave Harris was for sitting for that hostile interview on FOX and how cowardly Trump is because he won’t be interviewed by MSNBC.

I pointed out that he had gone on ABC for a debate, which was hostile territory, but that I’m still not a Trump supporter, just not an idiot.

He said I was lying about not supporting Trump and he copied my most pro-Trump tweet he could find to shove it in my face as proof:

"If you’re defending people who are eating other people’s pets (assuming it’s really happening), you’re scum. It’s not about who’s doing it, it’s about the act."

That was his proof I am a Trump supporter? It had nothing to do with Trump or any politician.  It wasn't even political.

That's the best he could do. He couldn’t find the multiple places I where said both are bad, but I think Harris is worse? I guess not. He could have at least made a limping argument had he used one of those. But he didn't.

I later looked at his profile and discovered his entire personality is based on hating Trump. Nothing else. So it’s not surprising that anyone less deluded than he is would look like a supporter to him.

Politics makes people stupid. It’s tragic. And these people— on “both” sides— will be v*ting to impose their ignorant superstitions on you and me. Great...

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