So I was reading Twitter today, just minding my business, when a Trumpster sent a random attack to David Hogg. It said: But not to non citizens! DemoRats are really bad about that!
(Note, I won’t be using screenshots here because I don’t want to reveal the guy’s identity etc.)
Me: Show me an actual proven instance when that happened. I’ll wait.
Him: Random links. (Note: I mainly used Snopes here. Not that it is the end all and be all or arguments, but I find they do a good job of getting to the point of exactly the point when the train went off the rails and Faux News/Info Wars etc. distorts a point.)
Some of the links: Cities and states are passing laws to let illegals vote.
”Hmm, I thought — let’s see what these people actually are arguing”
!st up: San Francisco — They are letting illegals vote! Well, no, they have a measure that will let residents of the city with children enrolled in school vote for school board — that’s it.
Well, there’s Maryland: Nope, one city’s measure to let immigrants vote in city electionswas defeated!
Well, there’s Chicago! Nope, that measure allows immigrants and other marginalized communities to use the cards for transit and libraries, not for voting.
So with most of those arguments exhausted, we move on to a video showing Obama is a traitor! He said illegals should vote! Or not. As the article states
In the full interview, it’s clear Obama is urging Latino citizens to vote in order to give voice to members of their community who are precluded from doing so by lack of citizenship, not urging non-citizens to vote illegally.
Ok, so now we have Wikileaks. Wikileaks showed Obama’s perfidity. Or not. As the article points out
No e-mail from John Podesta said that Barack Obama had "directed his supporters in Colorado to engage in a little all-American voter fraud."
and
Misinterpretation and misrepresentation of WikiLeaks documents is rife, and the phrasing about “a little all-American voter fraud” came not from the actual text of one of the released documents but from a blog post about the WikiLeaks documents
So as you might guess, the Trumpista is getting hot under the collar! We’ve established residents of SF can vote for the school board!
Him: She called Dreamers, who are not citizens; citizens, and Obama did also call them citizens, of which they're not! My wife is a documented immigrant, and she can not vote until she becomes a citizen! So don't lie, I KNOW! Obama is a TRAITOR!!!!!!!!!!
Me: Dreamers cannot vote and Again, take a look at the link debunking this. And by the way, the number of !’s in your text don’t make your argument stronger.
We then progress to the 3 million who allegedly voted illegally. Hundreds of articles debunking that.
Me: So far, I’ve shown the Maryland measure was defeated. SF allows certain city residents to vote on a school board. So very little substance. Your other links are verifiably wrong.
Him: Give an inch, take a mile! Non citizens have right to VOTE FOR DOGCATCHER!
Me: You’re drifting. Most of your claims have been disproven. So far, we’ve established residents in SF can vote for school board. You haven’t demonstrated anything else. Maryland, Chicago, Dreamers, 3 million? All false.
Him: Do some research on your own! Here's a start! (Google link to www.google.com/...)
Me: And the very first entry! False! Ha ha ha!
So that leaves him with: Like trying to teach a pig to read! I'm done with your stupid ass. I've got other things to do!
He cited a few other rightwing sources that try distort the Chicago and San Francisco measures. But if you are just going to one source, it is so easy to be manipulated.
Someone else chimed in: Snopes! Sheeple to the 9th power. (Not disputing any of the content)
And this, friends, is how these narratives get built. Normally I don’t engage in this way. But I was curious to see what is informing their arguments. Very often it is a distorted FAUX NEWs report that gets repeated again and again. Or sites that intentionally leave out important details.
Personally, I think we should all have arsenals of useful links available. I’m sure I won’t change this idiot’s mind — but when the namecalling and the !!!!’s are fast and furious, you know you have hit a nerve. I’d LOVE to debate Roseanne one day, but she hides behind Hannity’s/Qanon’ skirts.