- Joined
- Aug 7, 2016
- Messages
- 7,489
- Reaction score
- 2,913
- Location
- Florida.
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
This will be a more concise thread wrapping up my thread here.
debatepolitics.com
That thread focuses more my journey out of the conspiracy theory world. In this thread, I'll focus more on my shift from the right. I'm writing this as a way for those starting to question their own allegiance to the right to ask questions and get a better grasp of their own journey.
To wrap up my previous thread, I had to shed my beliefs in conspiracy theories before I was able to shift left. The prominent question I kept asking myself was "am I so arrogant to believe I know more than those who spent years studying the subject I have an opinion on?" That led me to seek out articles and videos countering my previously held beliefs. That led me out of the conspiracy theory realm of the right and into more mainstream conservativism. Now with mainstream conservativism, I was more staunch on my social conservative views than I was on my fiscal conservative views. I was more open to change my opinion in regards to healthcare and the minimum wage than I was on homosexuality and abortion largely due to my then religious beliefs. So when political commentators like Phillip DeFranco talk about the economy and provided evidence and sources as to why universal healthcare is far better and cheaper than private healthcare, I was more inclined to agree. With social issues, I was honestly far to busy pursuing my career field to care that much. At the end of the day, as long as you're a decent person, I really didn't care what you did or believe. That changed with COVID struck in 2020.
By this time, I was already not feeling too great about voting for Trump again because of his actions and statements regarding the second amendment (banning bumpstocks and saying "take the guns first and then due process"). The fact that mainstream conservatives were adapting the very conspiratorial ideologies I once held and then shedded really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was under the impression that conservatives were the party of facts and logic and to see large swaths of conservatives adapting views once reserved for the fringe Alex Jones types was rather disheartening. What finally sealed the deal was J6. At the time, I couldn't bring myself to vote for Trump, but I wasn't going to vote for Biden either. Instead I voted third party for Jo Jorgensen since she aligned with my 2A stance more than the other two. The election came and went and I thought that things will largely blow over until J6. It wasn't so much of the event itself, which was unprecedented on its own, as it was the fact that many conservatives denied what I was seeing right before my eyes. From claims of ANTIFA being the actual perpetrators despite no one in the mob dressing or acting like ANTIFA (and again to go back to my conspiracy theorist days how would a bunch of people with presumably no tactical knowledge manage to all dress and act like MAGA supporters) to saying that it was a peaceful protest. That event and the conservative's response to the event was one of the final nails in the coffin for me to leave the right altogether.
I'm a former conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter. AMA
Title pretty much says it all. A quick back story about myself. I used to be an advent conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter. In fact, you can see my pro Trump posts and some of my conspiracy theories on this forum. I used to believe in false flags, was skeptical of vaccines, and even lizard...
debatepolitics.com
That thread focuses more my journey out of the conspiracy theory world. In this thread, I'll focus more on my shift from the right. I'm writing this as a way for those starting to question their own allegiance to the right to ask questions and get a better grasp of their own journey.
To wrap up my previous thread, I had to shed my beliefs in conspiracy theories before I was able to shift left. The prominent question I kept asking myself was "am I so arrogant to believe I know more than those who spent years studying the subject I have an opinion on?" That led me to seek out articles and videos countering my previously held beliefs. That led me out of the conspiracy theory realm of the right and into more mainstream conservativism. Now with mainstream conservativism, I was more staunch on my social conservative views than I was on my fiscal conservative views. I was more open to change my opinion in regards to healthcare and the minimum wage than I was on homosexuality and abortion largely due to my then religious beliefs. So when political commentators like Phillip DeFranco talk about the economy and provided evidence and sources as to why universal healthcare is far better and cheaper than private healthcare, I was more inclined to agree. With social issues, I was honestly far to busy pursuing my career field to care that much. At the end of the day, as long as you're a decent person, I really didn't care what you did or believe. That changed with COVID struck in 2020.
By this time, I was already not feeling too great about voting for Trump again because of his actions and statements regarding the second amendment (banning bumpstocks and saying "take the guns first and then due process"). The fact that mainstream conservatives were adapting the very conspiratorial ideologies I once held and then shedded really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was under the impression that conservatives were the party of facts and logic and to see large swaths of conservatives adapting views once reserved for the fringe Alex Jones types was rather disheartening. What finally sealed the deal was J6. At the time, I couldn't bring myself to vote for Trump, but I wasn't going to vote for Biden either. Instead I voted third party for Jo Jorgensen since she aligned with my 2A stance more than the other two. The election came and went and I thought that things will largely blow over until J6. It wasn't so much of the event itself, which was unprecedented on its own, as it was the fact that many conservatives denied what I was seeing right before my eyes. From claims of ANTIFA being the actual perpetrators despite no one in the mob dressing or acting like ANTIFA (and again to go back to my conspiracy theorist days how would a bunch of people with presumably no tactical knowledge manage to all dress and act like MAGA supporters) to saying that it was a peaceful protest. That event and the conservative's response to the event was one of the final nails in the coffin for me to leave the right altogether.
