The Ayers lies, the Hockey Mom, facts, and how to win this election.

[mahina]

Aloha DU,

Did you ever wonder why the Republicans buy all those obvious lies? Did you ever wonder why the facts don't seem to make any difference to them, and how the right wing think tanks have so skillfully manipulated the message to fit the recievers, who want to be lied to?

Scholars studying decisionmaking under uncertainty have shown that some simple factors influence whether an individual will think a decision through, or take the mental shortcut known as heuristics.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that people take in an effort to make sense of events and their environment. From the greek, “heuriskein”, “to find”, heuristics is a guiding discovery or method of improved problem solving. (Groner, Groner & Bischoff, 1983) Best understood in response and relationship to the complementary theory by Richard E. Petty and John T.Cacioppo, the Elaboration Likelihood Model, heuristics developed in the 1980s with the research of Shelly Chaiken at NYU. (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986)


These shortcuts, "he's a Muslim", (he isn't and so what if he was,) "She's like me", (she isn't,) "She's Christian" (so is he, and deeply, but see 1) etc., will persuade them only if:


a. relevant information is not readily available,
b. the individual does not take personal responsibility for the information,
c. if there is no perceived need for cognition,
or d.the individual is not able to process the information that is available,
then the individual’s attitude will be affected more by peripheral cues, or heuristics. (Eagley & Chaiken, 1993)

Hard to do when we're criticized for being know it alls for knowing anything. But with an eye out for maintaining the relationships, what we have to do immediately is to stop ignoring or arguing with these people, and make it
a. easy to find out the facts, without making them feel stupid, and
b. important to them to do so.
c. socially uncomfortable to be too lame to take a few minutes to look the facts up.

Ask them what's important to them to protect about America. Ask them if they would want to be sure they were making the right decision.

If we do that individually with the Republicans and McCain leaners that we know, we will win, no matter what slimy lies they tell in the next month.

If we don't do that, I'll come back and post once again about 'The Anti-Coup" by Gene Sharp. You can download it here, http://www.aeinstein.org/ "Advancing Freedom Through Nonviolent Action"

But I would be much happier, and you will too, if you get out there and love you some Republicans. Make it easy for them to change their minds.

With aloha and gratitude for our AWESOME candidates.

[BlooInBloo]

1. (facepalm)

[mahina]

2. How so?

[mahina]

3. What's working for you?

I'd love to hear how you've persuaded someone who disagrees with you.

[mahina]

4. Okeydokey, but I find the information useful enough to try to understand, to study and write about.

If you don't, good for you, hope your persuasion methods are effective. I sure won't mock them.