I don’t make political posts because I enjoy being confrontational. I actually hate it. It gives me anxiety nearly each time I hit “publish” because I have people that I love who voted differently than I did, and I know how polarizing this political climate absolutely is. I do it anyway though, because I care about people, and there is a group of people on the right who don’t realize they are in a cult that is hurting people. (Not to say everyone who voted for Donald Trump is in a cult) MAGA culture however, is a cult.
If Donald Trump is a regular part of your wardrobe, if you think owning a “Trump Bible” is fine, and not blasphemous, if another person being critical of the president incites feelings of rage so strong that you laugh when violence happens to them, you may be in that cult.
According to Google: “Signs you might be in a cult include isolation from the outside world, intense loyalty demanded by leaders, and suppression of dissent or critical thinking.”
Donald Trump has attempted to censor the media for a while now, declaring anything that does not sing his praise as “fake news.” He has attacked universities like Harvard, and cut funding to public schools. He has made multiple threatening posts aimed at Democrats or those with whom he disagrees, and sent the military to act against its own people for protesting against his policies.
“Other indicators include financial secrecy, fear-mongering about the outside world, and a belief that the group or its leader hold exclusive access to truth.”
Donald Trump has a long history of financial corruption from shifting funds for a kid’s cancer charity into his own business, to the Trump University scam. (both of which he had to pay a settlement.) He has incited lots of fear-mongering throughout the world, from immigrants, to LGBTQ individuals, to the democrats. As for a belief that the leader holds exclusive access to the truth; There have been multiple times that Trump’s false statements have been disproven, something that frustrated him so much that he created a platform in 2022 for his followers called “truth social.”
I make political posts because I am against hurting other people, and MAGA is hurting people. If you support illegal mass deportations and foreign detention centers, if you think it’s okay that Trump has immunity against crimes, if you think it’s fine when he excuses violence as long as it’s in his name, then you are very much hurting people.
The MAGA cult is rampant in the South, and even reared its ugly head in my small hometown of Burnsville during the “No Kings” protest. A 73 year old man was crossing the cross walk when a man from Spruce Pine, who had been driving around the town square in a vehicle that had a fake person holding a toy assault rifle attached to it, got out of his vehicle and pushed the older man to the ground, cracking his head open. This was witnessed by several personal friends of mine.
This violence is taking place all over the country. MAGA culture involves a truly unhealthy worship of a man who does not even care about them. Donald Trump only cares about himself, and his followers have allowed his suppression of factual information and fear-mongering tactics to brain wash them.
(I’ve attached photos taken at the Burnsville incident)
-Courtney
