For many families, there may be another reason for those empty seats at the dinner table: disagreements that are too intense to allow physical closeness. To date, some have entered a world fueled by misinformation where they can no longer converse with people who don’t share their views on issues like public health or politics. treat. A February 2021 CBS/YouGov poll shows 57% Republicans
consider The Democratic Party is not only a political rival but also an enemy. The poll found that 41 percent of Democrats view Republicans in a similar way.
With the holidays approaching, deepening polarization can play out in painful ways, and add another layer of tension to family and social gatherings. Most people I know worry about fractured or strained relationships with friends or family members who get caught up in a spiral of misinformation and indulge in alternate versions of reality. economics, including the popular QAnon conspiracy theory.
I know what it feels like to watch a loved one drift away until they are inaccessible through logic, reason, or evidence. During the pandemic, a family member formerly known for her common sense has become radicalized. She lives in the UK and being locked up there means coffee and lunch with friends of all political persuasion turns into hours sitting in front of the television watching her new favorite source of information, Russia Today. (RT). Kremlin-backed TV station, with wide reach to nearly
two dozen offices worldwide, is the key to the Russian language
information warfare aims to make non-Russians see the world in ways that benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies.
It worked like a charm for her. As her frustration with the pandemic’s disruption to life grows, she needs to find someone, or something, to blame. Our phone conversations turned one-sided as she made a scapegoat to immigrants for the spread of Covid-19 and, starting in January 2021, talked about Joe Biden’s cancellation ruined America, the country she lived in for so many years.
By the summer of 2021, she was no longer asking for information about me and other family members. Months of RT had plunged her deep into a world of misinformation, and she grew increasingly angry. In June, after the Biden-Putin summit, she complained that Biden wasn’t helping Putin expand in Eastern Europe (it’s worth noting that she never mentioned Putin before becoming a consumer). RT’s frenzy).
When I asked her to watch a clip of my commentary live on NBC in which I talked about Putin’s imperialist policies, she became furious and yelled, “You’re a liar. !” before she hung up. Feeling frustrated, I stopped communicating with her. As it turned out, this was a counterproductive move.
Like radicalization, letting go is a process. There’s no quick and easy way to lead someone back to reality, or ease their starting points on issues they care about, even if the evidence becomes overwhelming to show their position. they have no basis.
In fact, followers of authoritarian dogmas and dogmas who begin to doubt the truth of their beliefs may dig deep at first. that they misjudged the situation. Many people like
live in denial rather than experience the shame or humiliation that they were wrong. For some, this urge to save face can be a powerful motivator even in life-or-death situations, like sociologist Brooke Harrington.
Write pandemic and vaccine deniers became ill with Covid-19 and continued to hold their ground while in the ICU.
Here’s why, when we get together this holiday season, we can heed expert advice like
Steven Hassan, who encourages people not to judge or reprimand their loved ones who are wallowing in misinformation. We too can resist temptation
present individuals with evidence about the falsehood of their beliefs; I know from my own experience that such evidence often comes from sources these loved ones consider “fake news” and will be immediately dismissed – even if, in my case, The news was written by a family member.
What we can do is keep them close and
Find common ground on other matters, just as difficult. This does not mean that we accept or endorse their racist or unscientific beliefs, but rather for strategic purposes. After all, if we cut them off or yell at them, we’re simply increasing the likelihood that they’ll stay with like-minded people.
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