I don't know whether going on and on about the what you are doing will lead to a productive conversation. I'd ask her in a cordial tone to explain why she hates Biden because of China, and then follow-up with any other reasons she doesn't like Biden, and then what she thinks about Trump. In that first conversation, I would just listen. In later conversations, dig deeper to find out what she believes and why. A few days or a week later, you can ask her follow-up questions about her sources of information, what she thinks about Trump's statement he would abolish Obamacare (terminating health insurance for 20 to 30 million people).. what she thinks about the way Dems limited cost the insulin to $35 and are going to limit Medicare out-of-pocket costs for seniors to $2,500 per year, and similar questions. You have a big advantage because you have many opportunities to talk to your mother, so you can take it slow and easy and gradually get her to question her belief system, usually with questions rather statements, and always keeping it cordial and loving. Good luck!
Hi, Erica, my experience is that after establishing trust and goodwill, and questioning their sources of information, a majority of Republicans do accept information from government data bases and media sources like AP, NBC, CBS, radio stations and other sources that disproves their "facts.". They are more skeptical of NPR and CNN and they are most skeptical of the NY Times and WAPO, because the right wing media has convinced them they are not trustworthy. When I sent one of my Republicans a NY Times article, he wrote me something like "Thanks for that information from THE VERY LEFT New York Times." I had good luck getting the Republicans I talked to to begin to question the accuracy of their sources, although I didn't get them all the way to trusting our sources.
I know your work, and any suggestions on how to improve my analyses or work is very very welcome. I'm going to Arizona soon to doing some more testing to see how my ideas work in a canvassing context in a very different environment than Ohio.
Could you share an example of a falsehood someone came to doubt based on info you shared with them? What did they believe and what did you share witht them? I love these kinds of stories about how a good faith attitude can make all the difference.
Lots of good advice here. The one area where I'm skeptical is whether presenting facts that contradict what they believe is going to be productive, especially if your facts are from sources that they don't trust any more than you trust Fox. But I like that you only get to that in step #6 after you've established trust and goodwill. And maybe if you allow for the possibility that your sources, like theirs, could be fallible, then they'll be more open to hearing about them. Intellectual humility is a door opener.
Actually, I should have taken my own advice and been less professorial and more curious about your experiences with trading news and info sources:-) Sounds like you have more experience than I do!
Sorry I've been slow to respond to that comment. I don't know if I have more experience that you do, because I haven't read Beyond Contempt yet. (I will.) I suspect you probably have more experience than I do. It does seem like our interests overlap a lot. I'm very interested in the Rural-Bridge Initiative. I'm in Arizona now. I'm going to be doing some every door canvassing in Tucson which should results in lots of conversations with Republicans and conservative Independents. I think you are an East Bay person, and I'm from Oakland. If you have time, I'd like to meet you sometime after I get back in town in mid-April. My email is steveschear@gmail.com. Let me know if you have any time after April 11. Regards, Steve
Thank you for these two posts! I've been feeling lately that I owe it to the cause to talk to my mom in Kansas, where most of my family was Red. I suspect she doesn't even know why she's Red, other than her parents were (which was my answer for the first half of my life). She has mentioned in an email that she hates Biden because of "China" (?????), so I've felt this conversation will prove daunting. I feel better equipped now, having read these tips. I had already decided that on our next phone conversation, I will just go on an on about how busy I am writing post cards and letters and volunteering and I'm getting ready to start collecting petition signatures for Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedoms, and hope she asks questions for more information. Baby steps.
I don't know whether going on and on about the what you are doing will lead to a productive conversation. I'd ask her in a cordial tone to explain why she hates Biden because of China, and then follow-up with any other reasons she doesn't like Biden, and then what she thinks about Trump. In that first conversation, I would just listen. In later conversations, dig deeper to find out what she believes and why. A few days or a week later, you can ask her follow-up questions about her sources of information, what she thinks about Trump's statement he would abolish Obamacare (terminating health insurance for 20 to 30 million people).. what she thinks about the way Dems limited cost the insulin to $35 and are going to limit Medicare out-of-pocket costs for seniors to $2,500 per year, and similar questions. You have a big advantage because you have many opportunities to talk to your mother, so you can take it slow and easy and gradually get her to question her belief system, usually with questions rather statements, and always keeping it cordial and loving. Good luck!
You can find Part 1 here: https://grassrootsconnector.substack.com/p/why-talk-to-republicans or in the archives of The Grassroots Connection.
Hi, Erica, my experience is that after establishing trust and goodwill, and questioning their sources of information, a majority of Republicans do accept information from government data bases and media sources like AP, NBC, CBS, radio stations and other sources that disproves their "facts.". They are more skeptical of NPR and CNN and they are most skeptical of the NY Times and WAPO, because the right wing media has convinced them they are not trustworthy. When I sent one of my Republicans a NY Times article, he wrote me something like "Thanks for that information from THE VERY LEFT New York Times." I had good luck getting the Republicans I talked to to begin to question the accuracy of their sources, although I didn't get them all the way to trusting our sources.
I know your work, and any suggestions on how to improve my analyses or work is very very welcome. I'm going to Arizona soon to doing some more testing to see how my ideas work in a canvassing context in a very different environment than Ohio.
Could you share an example of a falsehood someone came to doubt based on info you shared with them? What did they believe and what did you share witht them? I love these kinds of stories about how a good faith attitude can make all the difference.
Where's part 1?
Lots of good advice here. The one area where I'm skeptical is whether presenting facts that contradict what they believe is going to be productive, especially if your facts are from sources that they don't trust any more than you trust Fox. But I like that you only get to that in step #6 after you've established trust and goodwill. And maybe if you allow for the possibility that your sources, like theirs, could be fallible, then they'll be more open to hearing about them. Intellectual humility is a door opener.
Actually, I should have taken my own advice and been less professorial and more curious about your experiences with trading news and info sources:-) Sounds like you have more experience than I do!
Hi, Erica,
Sorry I've been slow to respond to that comment. I don't know if I have more experience that you do, because I haven't read Beyond Contempt yet. (I will.) I suspect you probably have more experience than I do. It does seem like our interests overlap a lot. I'm very interested in the Rural-Bridge Initiative. I'm in Arizona now. I'm going to be doing some every door canvassing in Tucson which should results in lots of conversations with Republicans and conservative Independents. I think you are an East Bay person, and I'm from Oakland. If you have time, I'd like to meet you sometime after I get back in town in mid-April. My email is steveschear@gmail.com. Let me know if you have any time after April 11. Regards, Steve
Thank you for these two posts! I've been feeling lately that I owe it to the cause to talk to my mom in Kansas, where most of my family was Red. I suspect she doesn't even know why she's Red, other than her parents were (which was my answer for the first half of my life). She has mentioned in an email that she hates Biden because of "China" (?????), so I've felt this conversation will prove daunting. I feel better equipped now, having read these tips. I had already decided that on our next phone conversation, I will just go on an on about how busy I am writing post cards and letters and volunteering and I'm getting ready to start collecting petition signatures for Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedoms, and hope she asks questions for more information. Baby steps.