A die-hard Trumper in Florida says he was discriminated against by a right-wing political advocacy group, claiming he was called a “slave” during his 12 days with the organization before it fired him for complaining.
Carl Baxter, who is Black, is suing Americans for Prosperity, the nonprofit “grassroots” conservative operation established by Charles and David Koch, the billionaire siblings and hard-line climate change deniers.
Baxter serves as president of the Republican Club of North & East Fort Myers, and is not at all shy about his outsized affection for Donald Trump. He can be seen on social media at Trump appearances, waving a MAGA flag at a “Trump Truck Parade,” at charity galas giving the camera a Trumpian “thumbs-up,” and donning a red MAGA hat and posing with, among others, a county tax collector who has come out as a vociferous opponent of critical race theory.
I have no sympathy for opportunists like this guy. I just don’t buy that they don’t know who they’ve gotten involved with. They know full well, but are so unscrupulous that they would sell out their own mother for the prospect of power and influence. It was people like this that helped Hitler to power in his day: The Nazi terror regime was only possible because Hitler was supported by conservatives and influential businessmen who saw him as a means to an end and thought they could control him. We all know how that went.
What you are saying is a reasonable take on all points. I do think that there are those people who sign on to an idea or cause and can never shake it. Similar to a gambling addiction or conspiracy beliefs like Flat Earthers. Being called a slave by his conservative mates isn’t enough to break through, I hate to think how much pain is required before his reality shifts.
Yes, this attitude is also widespread among cult members, who often allow themselves to be excessively exploited by their leaders. I assume that the “teachings” they adhere to have somehow become part of their personality, an identity-forming factor. Realizing that they are being taken advantage of would mean that they have dedicated their lives to a lie, which is of course difficult to admit. These mechanisms are certainly complex and often built on elaborate scams. Nevertheless, I have to say that I also have little sympathy for such obviously instrumentalized people when they actively and often aggressively try to recruit others for their misguided ideas - all the less so when it comes to ideas that seek to restrict other people’s personal freedom, as is the case with the racist and mysogynistic beliefs of the Trump cult. These people are dangerous, even if they have no insight into what they are actually doing.