Provocative title, I know. Maybe it isn’t as bad as my anecdotal experience would suggest. I hope not.
I have a sister in Illinois who identifies as a Green Party member. She has a vehement hatred towards Hillary Clinton (and the Democrats, in general) so strong that it has made her a target for those that share that common “enemy,” the alt right. She has been sharing their anti-Hillary and anti-Democratic Party posts. She put down as hypocrites anyone objecting to the family separations—“Where were you when Obama separated families?” She regularly posts things dripping with contempt towards anyone who still votes for Democrats.
She has shared articles supporting Trump, e.g., how hypocritical it was for liberals to object to his summit in Russia when it was a peace-keeping mission, same thing with North Korea; Trump isn’t any worse than Clinton, etc. Of course, she thinks the entire Russia investigation is complete bullshit.
I’ve tried gently pointing out the distortions in what she has posted. I’ve posted links either to a fact-checking site or that exposed the author of the piece she shared. It was about as successful as posting such a thing on a true believer Trump supporter’s post. She answers in memes peppered with phrases in all caps. I had made a decision to just get her political posts out of my feed and not comment. But when she posts videos and articles from the alt right, I periodically feel compelled to let her know. Her response is that the source doesn’t matter if what they are saying is TRUE. She is is one of those that does not know the difference between opinion pieces versus news reporting. I’m certain she was being targeted by the Russian meme factory. Perhaps she still is.
Is she a closet racist? Does hatred of Hillary Clinton trump (so to speak) her values? Is it something about the politics of Illinois? I don’t know, but it scares me that so many people are thinking with their brain stems instead of their frontal cortex. I’ve gotten used to it from Trump supporters. But somehow it hurts more coming from the left.