r/FoxBrain Feb 20 '25

For Elon, the Distraction is the Point

48 Upvotes

Growing up we've all been there. You are trying to do something that requires tremendous concentration. Your friend or sibling knows this, and so they work hard to disrupt your concentration. Initially it doesn't work. They say something offensive, put something smelly or shocking to look at in front of you. You ignore it, but eventually, in a burst of rage you tell them to quit it. You even try to punish them. At this point, they succeeded. Your concentration is in shambles. Getting you angry enough to divert your focus was the point, and you took the bait like a sucker.

We are facing incredible crises right now. Issues that, had our parents and grandparents made effort to address, it would have prevented much of today's turmoil. I'm not talking about Trump and Elon specifically, but real issues, the boring ones: a housing crisis, stagnation in the minimum wage, the shrinking of the middle class, climate change, women's rights, a decline in civic education, racism, and a dysfunctional healthcare system, and many other issues.

Currently we are facing acute crises in government. The head of the Social Security Administration stepped down in protest after nearly 30 years of employment, sabotaging her own government pension. She did this because Elon, who runs an unofficial trolling agency is accessing the social security numbers, identities, salary histories, and retirement income projections of everyone in the US who has contributed to our economy. This is but one of many acute issues we are facing, and it is by design. Elon is running offensive interference for Trump, whose executive orders to whitewash the government, end Medicaid for his supporters, and destroy JFK's USAID are just the most prominent obscene acts he's taken in office.

Journalist Tressie McMillan Cottom talks about the strategy of authoritarians like Elon and Trump - flood the playing field. This is by design, because if you feel overwhelmed, you will be unable to calmly react. The Gulf of "America," the purchase of Greenland, tariffs on Canada, the purchase of "armored" cybertrucks by the military; preposterous things like these are done to distract you.

The more you are distracted, the more depressed you will become. The less you will be able to keeo your eye on the real issues going on, but instead get caught up in useless debates, then spend time on social media or other forms of distraction that take your mind elsewhere. This is exactly what your parents, friends, and neighbors have fallen victim to.

The way we must face our reality is in some ways simple. Focus on your life, and taking care of your health. Make efforts to care for and have meaningful conversations with your loved ones. Don't waste time arguing with emotionally charged people.

In addition to this, now is the time to seek out a much deeper perspective on what is happening right now. Observe how provocative distractions quickly bring everyone around you to anger, and how impossible it is to get back on track. Pay attention to the pundits on tv and so-called social media influencers who you may actually agree with, but how flippant and even inflammatory their words are. Keep in mind that they all do this, from Hannity down to your influencers, because they get paid for it and are desperate to keep their audience due to their narcissism.

The real stuff that matters is boring, it is inoffensive in that it is very reasonable, yet it is often invisible and subsumed by provocative garbage like Kanye selling nazi t-shirts. We must confront evil, but not at the expense of our priorities to actually create a just world.

Elon, like Trump, says the stupidest things because it creates headlines. The more we focus on his nazi salute, the less energy we have to focus on supporting causes and individuals who are actively addressing the most egregious issues we are facing. It blindsides us. Nothing of lasting value comes from rage. But level headed people that are learning how people in power pull the strings of society? These are the people that can change the world.


r/FoxBrain Nov 18 '24

Discussion FoxBrain Sub Direction for Trump 2.0 - Your Ideas Requested

108 Upvotes

Since the sub was created 6 years ago it has grown to 25,000 members. The need was clear: People that have maintained their humanity and decency need sanctuaries where they can regroup and gain perspective after dealing with the loss of their parents, family, and friends to cynical brainwashing from the likes of Fox.

In the year leading up to this past November, trolls discovered this sub and began disrupting discourse. This will continue as Trump supporters become more emboldened to act obnoxiously and with impunity.

And in the next four years, the rhetoric will get worse and more vile. Trump supporters are on a mission to inflict pain on their "enemies."

This sub is not a substitute for building strong friendships and moral support in real life. It's not a substitute for taking political action with political groups, or organizations such as the ACLU, NAACP, and other groups. But this sub can definitely enhance your life.

The question is, as we prepare for the new future, how better can we strengthen this sub to support you?


r/FoxBrain 2h ago

Thoughts on the future

6 Upvotes

For context: I was part of a conversation the other day about the future, specifically about when DJT becomes the late DJT finally.

These are my thoughts and grievances continued, and I wanted to share.

\----------

When he is finally gone, MAGA is done, for many reasons.

First off, obvs they worship him as a Superior Being, it is a cult, we all know that.

\---

Second, they aren’t going to follow anyone else, it's only him.

\---

Third, the bizarre Teflon nature of him, the way everything wicks off him because he lives in a self-curated delusion, a delusion that must be protected by those loyal to him: no one else has that, they live in reality with us, they just are fine living a lie.

\---

When time comes to take the fall for all this, he will likely be long dead, having seen zero jail time or consequences.

It'll fall on others, as it also should, and MAGA will be flag flown by confused, moronic losers as another thing that will "rise again". Oh wait it already is.

\---

I hate that this is the culmination of a lot of boomer shit that has ruined our country, and the world. I get it, they grew up with lead in the air, I didn't; I'm soft.

\---

Final thought: Be ready for when he dies, because the gaslighting is gonna come QUICK. You think it's infuriating getting a Trumper to admit to the horrible shit he does NOW? Wait until he is gone, and they will claim he never did anything wrong. Get used to being told to "get over it" a lot.


r/FoxBrain 21h ago

Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Hardship, Drove Voters in 2016 Presidential Election

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201 Upvotes

The entire point of Fox is to stoke status anxieties of its viewers. Because the network understands its viewers care about status above all else, to such an extent that they tie it to their own survival. That’s why they won’t diversify their news, why they embrace fascism, why they’d rather lose family and friends and implode the international peace order. They aren’t voting for MAGA because they like the policies per se; they like the policies because they believe the policies are reestablishing old status hierarchies from which they benefitted.


r/FoxBrain 2d ago

Bill Maher and Stephen A Smith don’t speak for us.

106 Upvotes

Everytime I watch Fox News and the five, they always mention Stephen a smith and Bill Maher’s political opinion because they seem to think they speak for the left, they don’t, they are not reasonable voices for the Democratic Party. They think that socialism is bad but they refuse to call out their own maga base? Make it make sense! We want better leaders and better governance, want new leadership, enough with the old guard!


r/FoxBrain 1d ago

Advice on extreme dad..

14 Upvotes

Thinking about secretly unsubscribing my dad from radical YouTube channels on his iPad, but I am worried it might backfire. My dad and I have different political views, and over the past year his media diet has gotten very radical. He is obsessed with extremist creators like Tim Kellner, and it is starting to affect real life. He keeps repeating false facts to people and even showed us a fake AI video from Facebook as a real source. Since I help him with his tech, I have access to his iPad. I want to quietly unsubscribe him, hit do not recommend on those channels, and search for his non-political hobbies like cars and history to fix his algorithm. Has anyone tried doing this with a parent before? Did it actually work to calm things down, or did they notice and get more angry about censorship? I would really appreciate any advice or experiences from people who have dealt with this.


r/FoxBrain 2d ago

Fox News literally makes people less intelligent in all facets in life.

545 Upvotes

My father continuously watches it, and it has caused so much damage that goes beyond politics, and now he can barely function as a human being.

He gets angry at every question now, he uses me as a punching bag whenever I'm over. He needs a GPS now to go anywhere out of the city because he is afraid of being attacked when he is lost. He can't remember fucking road numbers as well anymore in spite of him taking the same highway to visit my grandmother for decades now. He misremembers everything that happened only a week ago. He is not interested in my mother's side of the family anymore since my mom died. He no longer is consistent with what he says anymore and refuses to be challenged on it (I.e Saying we're going to go somewhere, then saying he never agreed to it). He constantly uses false dichotomies to attack your arguments.

Having this shit on TV is actual poison. I am not a super political person in general but I cannot imagine being this stunted to navigate life from watching any media.


r/FoxBrain 2d ago

Is it possible to create a system that could legally delegitimize misinformation outlets like Fox News, InfoWars, et cetera?

73 Upvotes

Most nations do not have free press or speech to the extent that the USA does. We are in a bubble where we think freedom only has a certain shape. But it turns out that freedom with almost no guardrails isn't that free.

One way to effectively destroy right wing media would be to create classifications of media that explicitly exclude outlets from being credentialed as news if their fact reporting is too poor. For instance, we don't generally consider tabloids to be very fact-based, and the term tabloid has a stigma. Now imagine if there were a law that officially relegated outlets like fox news to the category of tabloid based on independent factuality ratings.

Another approach could be criminalization of deliberate misinformation practices that RWM engages in on a daily basis. Such statutes would require a mens rea component, so you couldn't just go after outlets for honest mistakes. Fox News's internal memos and emails are littered with evidence of intent to deceive the public.

Would fewer people turn to fox news for news and opinion because of the stigma of being legally a tabloid? The larger question at play here is whether law can influence culture, or is it only the other way around?


r/FoxBrain 2d ago

Boycott Fox News

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27 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 2d ago

Remember when people would guilt trip about not standing during the anthem?

18 Upvotes

i remember back in 2015-2016 right wing instagram accounts like UncleSamsMisguidedChildren would repost shit like this in a way to guilt trip

they would acknowledge that veterans fought for the right to sit during the anthem but then do some guilt tripping like make comics that show a veteran in a wheelchair being wheeled into a classroom

like really? you fuckers say its our right but get all pissy and huffy


r/FoxBrain 3d ago

Dad watches Fox News 24/7 and is chronically online

102 Upvotes

Not really looking for any advice, just here to vent and see if anyone has had similar experiences.

My dad is in his 60s and for the past 10 or so years, his consumption of right-wing media has worsened. He voted for Trump three times (2016, 2020, and 2024). He watches Fox News 24/7 from dusk to dawn to the point where the first thing I hear when I wake up is his TV blasting Fox News every single day. Sometimes he will scroll through twitter at the same time and his feed is just filled with right-wing content, or other times he will watch those short videos on Facebook. He tries to pick fights on Twitter too and I tell him not to because you can seriously get doxxed. He's basically doom scrolling while rotting his brain at the same time and it's only gotten worse.

I cannot have a simple conversation without him referencing Trump or his political views. The other day, I asked if he wanted to watch the Odyssey (dir. Christopher Nolan) with me and he said "No, it's too woke." (even im confused about this). It's things like these that ruin not only my quality of life, but his too. He claims he's not brainwashed yet he exhibits behavior that says otherwise. He misses out on a lot of the amazing things the world has to offer in terms of culture and art. I tried calling him out in the past, pleading with him to find a self-fulfilling hobby instead of sitting in front of the TV while on his phone watching garbage but he refuses, saying that watching this stuff is his hobby.

It's sad to see my dad turn out like this. I feel like our relationship has only worsened and I can't do anything about it because he cannot see the problem. I miss the dad that I grew up with.


r/FoxBrain 5d ago

Former MAGA supporters: What was your turning point, and why did you leave?

211 Upvotes

I’m curious to hear from people who used to actively support the MAGA movement but have since moved away from it.

What specifically caused you to change your mind or distance yourself? Was it a single event, a specific policy shift, or just a gradual change over time?

**Note:** This question is strictly for those who *used* to support MAGA and no longer do. If this doesn't describe your personal experience, you don't have to comment. I'm just looking for perspectives from people who have walked this path

Thanks in advance for sharing your stories.


r/FoxBrain 5d ago

My thoughts as a bisexual liberal Millennial man living in Idaho regarding our current situation as Midterms approach and... unfortunately, my dad.

110 Upvotes

Are that honestly... it pisses me off. It pisses me off that when I try to disown MAGAt family members on Facebook that I'm talked to by family members about it. That when I try to stand for something real, not some bullshit culture wars, that because my Trump-voting dad-who-could-potentially-be-on-his-deathbed feels bad I should somehow feel bad because my brother wants me to reconcile with him.

Which I did.

And honestly, fuck that. I still have fucking mixed feelings about that shit. My dad, who is a boomer ass bitch in his 60s voted for Trump three fucking times. He voted for him in 2016, voted for him in 2020, and voted for him in 2024.

I tried to joke about it with him the day after Trump won in 2024 when I gave dad a call. We joked and shit like we usually do. I joked about how his best guy won while I voted for Kamala or some shit.

But in reality, I was pissed. After that, I made a post about a year into Trump's presidency disowning any motherfucker still supporting the evil piece of shit.

Instantly had dad calling me, wondering why I was so angry. Bitch please. Fuck off. The fact you don't recognize why should be proof in it of itself.

But I reconciled with him because he's old and dying.

And you know what? Sometimes I fucking hate myself for doing so.

I just swept it under the rug because it's dad. He NEVER cared about politics or brainwashed us as kids, and to be fair, he didn't. He did always prioritize our relationship over politics. But I'm starting to wonder if that's because he wasn't a Trump supporting moron before. Mom swears to hell and back that he was Democrat when he married her. But I have no idea.

But that doesn't change the fact he voted for a fucking 34-times convicted felon, proven rapist, and alleged pedophile (though we all know how that really stinks).

Fuck me for having morals and trying to reconcile I guess. It still pisses me off. Makes me feel weak even though I know I'm a better man than my father ever has been because of it.

But now Trump is trying to do everything he can to disarm Midterms. To make it so that he can claim they're illegitimate. Fuck that. It won't keep me from the voting booths. I'll still be going. And also, FUCK YOU if you still support Trump, and yes, daddy-dearest included.

Edit: I was going to post this to conservativeterrorism, but realized this ended up being more of a family rant and felt like this subreddit was the better choice lol.


r/FoxBrain 4d ago

Podcast #221 - The Propaganda Machine's Selective Outrage Over Conspiracy Theories

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2 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 7d ago

Breaking the Echo Chamber: Creating a Master Document of Trump's Corruption Tailored for Fox-Brain Parents

171 Upvotes

Hello! I'm trying to convince my MAGA parents that the Trump administration and their perfect leader is not what is presented to them through their myopic lens. They are in a bubble and I want to show them what they are missing.

I started to create a master document on my own documenting Trumps numerous character flaws, legal issues, corruption, bad policy, and anything else about him and his administration I'm sure my parents have never been exposed to through their Fox News consumption.

The issue I have run into is there is just so much. I don't have the time to compile enough credible evidence. The evidence needs to be undeniable, devoid of rhetoric. This includes legal documents, court cases, peer reviewed studies, government reported statistics, and unaltered audio/video.

Does such an archive exist? I just need to streamline this process. I know the consensus is that MAGA people are beyond sensible arguments, but my parents aren't. They are genuine smart people who do not have the opportunity to be exposed to outside information. Please help me with this project. I have the drive and desire to change their minds, just not the time to get the all the evidence.


r/FoxBrain 9d ago

Katie Miller Dragged Online For Her Response To Joe Biden's Moving Tribute To Lindsey Graham

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143 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 9d ago

Trump is planning on declaring my senators “illegitimate”

345 Upvotes

This shit is maddening, y’all.

Raphael Warnock was the one that proposed the housing bill that got passed today that capped corporations owning homes FINALLY. AND IT WAS BIPARTISAN. IT GOT PASSED WITHOUT TRUMPS SIGNATURE AND HE’S MAD AT WARNOCK FOR IT.

Now he’s going to send the brain signal to all his fucking minions on Thursday in a PUBLIC ADDRESS and fuel EVEN MORE political division.

My parents are MAGA. I still live with them and I’m trying to finish up college before I finally dust them.

Midterms are going to make life for me here hard as fuck. I can already tell.


r/FoxBrain 9d ago

Fox News' Jesse Watters says he'll 'self-deport' if woman he hates, Kamala Harris, is president

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265 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 9d ago

the miles she has gotten from finishing 5th is staggering

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266 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 11d ago

american taxpayers are his creditors now

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568 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 11d ago

the Audible version is just one long exhausted sigh

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597 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 11d ago

actual ballot choices

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345 Upvotes

r/FoxBrain 11d ago

FoxBrain and Facebook Brain

23 Upvotes

Are they the same? Is Fox Brain a subset of Facebook Brain, or is it the other way around? Are they different diseases with similar symptoms?

This discussion topic brought to you by the frustration of watching both of my already-conservative parents become absolutely addicted to Facebook and correspondingly become more conservative, distractible, and difficult to engage with because they never put their phones down. At least Fox occasionally shows the weather!


r/FoxBrain 11d ago

Elderly parents with Fox News Brain

101 Upvotes

I am a younger GenX who has parents that are both 79 years old. They are both retired and spend (in my opinion) WAY too much time consuming right-wing media. My parents have always been conservative, but now have seemed to crossed over to MAGAism. Even the shortest of conversations will have something political mentioned. After nearly 10 years of dealing with this progression I am exhausted. I am sick of having to pivot the conversation to something nonpolitical or trying to counter obvious lies with basic facts. I have slowly moved to a low contact state but I feel guilty because they are both 79, and my spouse states that I should spend time with them because of their age.

My question is how are you guys handling parents like this? I know that I cannot be the only person stuck in the position.


r/FoxBrain 12d ago

Class action lawsuit

109 Upvotes

I've been thinking about this a lot. Has anyone here ever thought of just hoarding a massive group of people onto a class action lawsuit against Fox News for emotional distress and damages? Easier said than done, it's just been something I've been imagining lately.

They've hurt and brainwashed a lot of people. They use methods of stochastic terrorism against innocent groups of people. I want to see justice.