Shadow1980 said:
I live in the southeast U.S., which is conservative central. I know people who are devout listeners of Fox News and right-wing talk radio. They are true believers. "Dittoheads" as they are sometimes called (a term that originated from Rush Limbaugh's radio program). They have been made fearful of most forms of government intervention in the economy and are absolutely 100% convinced that global warming is a literal hoax perpetrated by some grand left-wing conspiracy to do all sorts of nefarious things (claims range from "it's a global wealth redistribution scheme" to "it's a plot to take away our freedom and control people" to Trump's claim that "it's a plot by the Chinese to make the U.S. less competitive and harm our economy," among other outlandish claims). It's not about "making the world healthier for future generations." They think the world is just fine and will continue to be fine no matter what we do to it. They have been convinced by conservative opinion leaders that even the idea that humans could harm the environment is sheer hubris, despite all the evidence to the contrary. What they hear when someone says "maybe we ought to protect the environment" is literal communists plotting the destruction of America and the eradication of our freedoms. They've descended into conspiracy nuttery a long time ago on this issue, and in my experience once someone has drunk from the conspiracist Kool-Aid, there's no amount of evidence that will convince them that their beliefs are false. The only thing that would convince them that the scientists aren't lying to them is if we had a 3-meter rise in sea levels, they never saw snow again in any place south of the Yukon (because any amount of snow, even in the Wyoming mountains in the dead of winter, is evidence that AGW is a hoax to them), and if the high temps in Atlanta stayed above 110°F from March to November. Essentially, the worst-case scenario would actually have to come to pass for them to believe it. Even then, it wouldn't surprise me if they might try to find a way to blame "those damn commies." |
Yeah sadly some folks have been brainwashed beyond the point of no return.
As I say, it boggles the mind frankly, that the simple notion of "hey, let's not completely fuck up the world for our kids and grandkids" has become a controversial issue. Still, I try to be optimistic, and it's good to see companies showing some leadership on the issue.
Last edited by curl-6 - on 03 October 2019
