slate - Trump Supporters Refuse to Believe Their Own Eyes

[NRaleighLiberal]

They still think Trump’s inauguration crowds were bigger, despite the evidence. Here’s why.

By Alan Levinovitz

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/01/trump_supporters_think_trump_crowds_are_bigger_even_when_looking_at_photos.html

The most frightening part of the otherwise ridiculous story about Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd size is not whether he believes his lie that his crowd was the biggest ever. It’s that a portion of his supporters bought it—and seem to still support it even when directly presented with photographic evidence to the contrary.

There’s actually good reason to think that at least some Trump supporters really do believe there are more people in Trump’s inauguration photo.

Brian Schaffner and Samantha Luks asked 1,388 Americans questions about inauguration crowd sizes after showing participants two pictures—one from Obama’s 2009 inauguration and one from Trump’s. They asked half of the participants which (unlabeled) photo was from which inauguration and found that 41 percent of Trump supporters picked wrong. That was not terribly surprising. But the question they asked the second half of participants revealed something scary: They asked these people to just assess which photo showed more people. A full 15 percent of Trump supporters said his inauguration displayed more people, despite looking at direct photographic evidence to the contrary. (Read the researchers’ full write-up in the Washington Post.)

In the analysis of the research, the authors suggest that Trump supporters don’t actually believe the photo of his inauguration shows more people. “If there were no political controversy,” they write, “any respondent would see more people” in the Obama inauguration picture. Instead, Trump supporters are engaging in “expressive signaling,” where people purposely give the wrong answer as an ideological gesture.

snip

really, really scary

[Wellstone ruled]

1. After reading comments sections in our

local Adelson Rag,just can not believe how ignorant people are.

[Vinca]

2. Trump has become like a cult leader to them.

They're going to need to be deprogrammed somehow.

[Mariana]

8. There's no way to do that.

Even if you get through to one of them, they promptly go watch Faux or listen to Limpballs or read Freak Republic and Boom. They're right back there. I've gone through this with my father many times.

[struggle4progress]

3. Don't waste any time with folk like that: you can't get through to everybody

[hibbing]

4. Just like Iraq

Majority of Bush voters still think Iraqis attacked NYC. Tell a big enough lie over and over and.....



Peace

[KittyWampus]

10. If this ends like Nixon, these people won't admit voting for Trump.

[Solly Mack]

5. Fuck those people.

They're probably cheering on the travesty taking place today, so they don't deserve anyone's compassion.

I am beyond livid. Beyond sickened.

Boo-fucking-hoo for their problems. Being poor or uneducated is not an excuse for being cruel jerks.

[mobeau69]

6. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[Amaryllis]

7. A friend just told me that Fox etc. hypnotizes people. THat explained it to me. And she

meant that very seriously, not as a joke, and I believe it is true.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. They are liars for the sake of their "side" and that's why Trump's lies...

mean nothing to them, and never will.

There's currently very few people who believe in Bigfoot. If Trump and Kellyanne suggested Bigfoot was real, you'd suddenly see a big jump in Bigfoot belief among Trump's supporters in polls.

In about a dozen years, those same people would return to saying Bigfoot is a myth.

[dawg]

11. Bigfoot may be a myth, but ...

the Orang Pendek is real. I saw it on the History Channel.

[dawg]

12. Hell, now that I think about it ...

I think it got elected President.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. LOL! I had to Google it.

With a trim in the back, the hair looks similar too!

[dawg]

15. Be careful about googling shit that I say.

Very careful!

[voteearlyvoteoften]

14. Not good

[hunter]

16. 2+25

And none of the stories in the Bible are metaphor. Adam and Eve were the first humans. Noah really did put all those animals on the ark and left the dinosaurs behind. Jonah got swallowed by a great fish. Etc..

That's the way the authoritarian mind works.

They are taught when they are small children to accept punishment and nonsense, and to follow the leader, no matter how vile that leader is.

If Trump says there were more people, there were more people. If their religious community's bizarre interpretation of the Bible claims you are going to hell, then you are going to hell. No argument possible.