Political Memes

I know damn well that I could've gone down a much darker path save that I had an extensive family support system

What's that got to do with you being ignorant though. Not that I'm implying you're ignorant. But that's kind of what we're discussing. You're proving my point. It wasn't "education" that pulled you out. It was want of approval and respect from those you love and respect that did it. And thank goodness you were surrounded by good intelligent people. But it can and does go the other way too. People will reject facts and evidence to stay in the good graces of those they seek approval from as well. Being made aware of facts doesn't change them. Only a desire to take it to heart can change a person.

You see, I don't disagree that there are a great many shitheads like that. But you're missing a very large section of the GOP base there - people who are simply vulnerable

Yes, but if you let peer pressure goad you into say, shoplifting or even trying to overthrow an election. It's still a bad thing, even if you're vulnerable. And if you're unrepentant, as the party is. You aren't a good person. The majority of the party is literally chomping at the bit to elect him again and a lion share of the rest is not going to call it a deal breaker. You wouldn't say Nazis were good people would you? Lots of them were vulnerable too. Lots of them were just following orders. Refresh my memory. Did we let all them go with a slap on the wrist? Saying next time don't ruin hundreds of people's lives? Or did we imprison and punish them? Don't we generally call them bad people? Keep in mind good and bad aren't binary, just rather exclusionary.

I mean when it comes down to it wasn't Hitler himself vulnerable in some ways. What if someone he had respected or cared about had spoken to him in the way your family did to you? Set him straight, got him help. What if people didn't enable or excuse his behavior. What if he wasn't given the chancellorship of Germany because, what harm could he possibly do? Hitler and plenty of the Nazis were smart enough to know they were all bullshit and bluster. And the vulnerable people were let down not because of ignorance etc. But because society didn't act in responsible ways. Enabling him till the problem came back to bite them in the ass.

We as a society are doing it all over again. Instead of actually trying to help people and stop the rhetoric and hate. We're allowing the vulnerable to be corrupted and manipulated into being bad people. And honestly it's probably too late to stop it. But it's never too late to try. And we start by acknowledging what they are. Help the ones that seek help. And stop enabling the unrepentant to corrupt.