Not enough question marks in the world for this person’s voting record. Obama –> Not Obama (unspecified) –> Trump –> Trump + rioted to overthrow democracy on Trump’s behalf –> Harris.
Honestly uninformed people with low critical-thinking skills are very easily swept away with whichever way the winds take them but the article gives clues:
But Hemphill said she usually votes for whoever her mostly Republican-supporting family recommends. Her family, drawn to Trump’s rallies and messaging, drew Hemphill in as well.
“I didn’t realize that brainwashing was happening with Trump in 2016…this is how they would talk to me. ‘Pam, you know, the Democrats…are trying to take over. They’re getting more aggressive.’ I tend to believe them. You know, I wasn’t doing my own research.”
Hemphill said that Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on the border appealed to her at the time because he “had us (believing) that immigrants were criminals and out to take over our nation.” Trump called immigrants from Mexico “rapists” in 2015 and would use words such as “killer,” "invasion"and “alien” in his rallies as a way to stoke fear among his supporters and present himself as the prime candidate to solve the border issue.
So in this case:
- Her own gut instinct liked Obama.
- Then Fox News & right-wing family convinced her Dems were bad and became easily duped into the big lie.
- Then she got a dose of reality again when she had to pay for the consequences of her actions.
“It’s like a scar that I have to carry for the rest of my life…it’s gonna be that shame(ful) feeling," she said. "It’s not like I knew I was breaking the law, and I broke it anyway. However, I still was a part of that craziness, that cult. So it’s like something I can’t brush off.”
Credit to her doing what most cannot, though. (Speaking from a family who flipped from Republican to Democrat following Bush’s first term).
100% She fucked up. All of us have at various times on various things. Maybe not as bad. But the fact she can both acknowledged and regret are two things that shouldn’t be so outstanding and rare. But they absolutely are.
This shit was literally 1930’s Germany schtick. It’s how so many German citizens were radicalized to enable and commit monstrous things. And it’s far from over yet.
You know, I wasn’t doing my own research.
Because we all know how doing your own research goes. I mean by all means, but a couple Google searches of fear-mongering terms isn’t it.
It’s easy to explain. You and I are critical thinkers who do our own research and are not easily swayed. As for her, she herself said that she didn’t do any research, but was influenced by her family:
But Hemphill said she usually votes for whoever her mostly Republican-supporting family recommends. Her family, drawn to Trump’s rallies and messaging, drew Hemphill in as well.
And boy that influence of family can be strong. It was funny because I was talking to my mom one day about — at the time — the possibility of Biden stepping down and I just said, “boy, isn’t all this stuff about Biden crazy!?” without even thinking she had a different view and she (fellow Democrat) goes, “Yeah, I can’t believe they’re trying to force him to step down!” I was like, “Aw shit, hold on… I think you and I disagree on that…” and within 5 minutes she at least had the capacity to understand the points and almost immediately switched in agreement. But it’s hard to tell if that’s because I made a strong case or if she just blindly trusts me… For Republican families who are even more patriarchal, that shit can be even worse.
I have a lot of sympathy for this lady. It’s easier than people think to get sucked into cults - even get smart people. And this lady is an example of that. Her involvement in the January 6th sedition riots is shameful. But we all make mistakes, and she was punished for it. Whether it was enough of a punishment is another matter. But the important thing is that she realizes and acknowledges her mistake. Good on her.
If our justice system is supposed to rehabilitate people instead of punish, then it seems like she received the correct sentence.
It’s not though, it’s designed to provide for profit prisons a slave labor work force. Mandatory minimum sentences.
“I didn’t realize that brainwashing was happening with Trump in 2016…this is how they would talk to me. ‘Pam, you know, the Democrats…are trying to take over. They’re getting more aggressive.’ I tend to believe them. You know, I wasn’t doing my own research.”
She said coming across facts by researchers helped her gradually drift apart from the MAGA group. Serving time in prison made Hemphill also rethink “who Trump really was” and the misinformation he spread surrounding the 2020 election, she said, to the point where she lost all support for him.
And that’s why skepticism and critical thinking is important for a healthy democracy: you don’t get carried away by these rhetorics and get brainwashed.
They finally found her. The mythical undecided voter
Highly encourage people to get involved in volunteering because you will quickly learn there are more undecided voters than you might think
There is a path to redemption, and this is what taking that path looks like.
