Are Republicans a different species than the rest of us?

[Cyrano]

Will science, someday, uncover a "Republican gene?"

I'm only half serious here, but who can deny that there is a vast difference between the emotional/psychological makeups of Democrats and Republicans.

Do they have consciences? Do they give a shit about the declining health of planet Earth? Do they care about the poisonous political system and the unlivable planet they're leaving their children and grandchildren? I think not.

I've done mind experiments in which I've tried to see the world the way they do. And each time I've done it, I've considered that suicide is a preferable alternative to that mindset.

These are a couple of broad generalities, but, most Republicans seem to thrive on hatred and greed, while most Democrats seem to thrive on tolerance and sharing the world's resources.

So are we talking about two different species of beings here? Who knows?

You can take what I'm saying here with a huge grain of salt. But can anyone really explain why Republicans see the world and other humans as things to be exploited, while Democrats long for a world of good and plenty for all?

[mnhtnbb]

1. Yes. Our brains are different.

http://thescienceexplorer.com/humanity/neuroscience-reveals-differences-between-republican-and-democrat-brains

[Dem2theMax]

3. That was an interesting read. Thank you for posting it.

I absolutely know I was born a Democrat. Every fiber of my being is Democrat.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. This is gross.

[Cyrano]

6. What can I say?

Some people are capable of theoretical analysis. Some aren't.

Some people are capable of abstract thinking. Some aren't.

Some people can post varying concepts of reality. Some people can't grasp them.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. Right, and that doesn't mean they're different species.

We're all human. Some humans are terrible people. That doesn't make them not human.

[tandem5]

4. This was in the news recently...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/the-yuck-factor/580465/

[k2qb3]

5. Disgust is the conservative moral axis...

Liberals tend to use well-being primarily. Justice tends to be under-represented in our two-party political landscape.

There's also the radically different infospheres we live in now.

The really BIG divide though is between science and dogma, if you hold onto your fundamental premises dogmatically you end up spending all your intellectual capital rationalizing paradox. It's a malignant cancer of the consciousness and rationalization is how it metastasizes.

The GOP has become extremely good at manipulating people with dogma brain, that's really the explanation for Trumpism IMO.

[yonder]

7. Species hell. Class at least, maybe Phylum

Wait, they have no class. Phyum it is.

Shit, let's just call it good at Kingdom.

[Cyrano]

13. Thanks, yonder. You taught me a new word today.

I'd never heard the word Phylum, but I looked it up. (Others should do the same.) Beyond that, I hesitate to use that term regarding my OP. (It takes me a while before I can fully understand the context in which I'm using a "new" word.)

[yonder]

14. ...

[lunatica]

9. There is no reason to think all members of a species are perfect samples

It will all come down to chemistry and DNA. It’s like the book Brave New World where human embryos are fed carefully mixed chemical cocktails to determine their social status by manipulating the brain. Only instead of scientists doing the mixing, it’s the vagaries of life hard at work.

[Cyrano]

15. Can Fox "news" be considered a cocktail that manipulates the brain?

Love "Brave New World." Who would have ever conceived that an asshole like Trump would try to become "Big Brother?" And that millions of people would buy the snake oil being sold by this ignorant, malicious conman?

Perhaps this era should be labeled "Brave New World" version 2.0.

[lunatica]

16. It's the other way around

The vagaries have pre-fabricated the MAGATs and Fox News, et al, including Trump, are there to put the scientifically manipulated brains to good use. Why go to all that trouble if you don’t have an ulterior motive? Once you manufacture the product what better way of keeping it relevant, than to keep it refreshed?

I’m a little surprised we haven’t seen a formal nascent organization named Brave New World and it’s leader named Big Brother. The MAGATs probably have no clue who Aldous Huxley is.

[Javaman]

10. They are actually the reptile people the tinfoil hat wears always yell about. nt

[dubyadiprecession]

11. Republicans have more than their fair share of mental problems.

The ones I’ve talked to have no compassion towards their fellow man. Instead they have greed, jealousy, and hatred (to name a few defilements) that comes out, if you listen to them.

[Cyrano]

18. Sorry, but I believe that "mental problems" is not the right term

Perhaps mental attitudes would be more appropriate. And I do agree with you as to the really horrible traits with which far too many people are inflicted/infected.

Now, let me say something that may get this entire thread deleted.

I really believe the world would be a better place without today's Republican ideology. (It's an ideology that has too much in common with the world's dictatorships.)

That's not to say that Democratic ideology is "saintly." However, it seeks a better, more humane environment than that which has existed throughout the world's bloody history. We've been trying. And we've been losing. And we'd have to be pretty arrogant to think that we'll win this current round of barbarism. Nonetheless, we must keep trying. There's always the possibility that we will outgrow our adolescence before we destroy ourselves. (With a nod to Carl Sagan regarding that last sentence.)

[cutroot]

12. We are all carrying neanderthal genes within us

It is more prevalent in some.

[LastDemocratInSC]

17. Yes, they are Neanderfuckheads.

[ElementaryPenguin]

19. I'm beginning to wonder.

[Caliman73]

20. Generalizations can be problematic.

Conservatives tend to see the world through the lens of authority and order, while liberals tend to see the world through the lens of curiosity and individual expression.

There is significant overlap.

Though there are differences as another poster stated, which may even be expressed biologically but they are still traits that are present in all people, just more typically expressed in people with certain belief structures.


I don't think that Republicans/Conservatives thrive on hatred and greed. I think that, as I said, they see the world through authority and order, which can manifest itself in wanting the world to be ordered in a certain way that they are used to and for authority to have a continuity.

They are more susceptible to see outsiders with fear. Anger and Hatred are some of the expressions of fear. Thus they are more likely to be manipulated into hating people who are not like them and who make them afraid.

It is difficult not to put judgement into those distinctions, but for the sake of understanding and possibly reaching out, we need to know the difference in a non-judgmental context.

I am as dismayed about the differences as you are. I am also dismayed that some people eat brains and liver of other animals and like them but we are still the same species.

Also remember that people are capable of great beauty and kindness but also great cruelty, the circumstances and motivations are important. Hitler was able to convince some portion of the German population to systematically kill other people. So did Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, The Ottomans in WW1, The pioneers and conquistadors also had few qualms about the destruction wrought on native populations.

We need to find a way to short circuit the fear.

[Cyrano]

21. I understand you, Caliman73, but

I don't think the vaccine will arrive in time to save humanity from fascism and/or ecological disaster, both of which are rapidly advancing.

[Caliman73]

22. That is the problem.

They need to be out of power for awhile, while we figure out how to deprogram them, like members of a cult.

The good thing is that there are more of us then of them. The bad thing is that the people manipulating them represent the current power paradigm. They have the money and a lack of morals and ethics.

We have the numbers but a lot of us are numb.

[alittlelark]

23. Watch 'The Arrival' with Charlie Sheen - get back to me

Thing similarities with Barr, crazy first doctor, and Banon.

I have a very open mind. Kinda sux