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One Way to Deal with Right-Wing Lies and Liars [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-22
I have a MAGA relative who repeats lies from Fox News and other sources. Liars use a game playing strategy when lying and it has mostly been a winning strategy up to now.
Here is their strategy and one way to deal with it. Games consist of a series of moves by both players. Here is a common sequence of moves and how to win the game (have an honest discussion based on facts).
They Move (the first move in the game): They lie
You move: You call out their lie (it should be an obvious lie that is easily disproven).
They Move: They ignore your complaint. Before you can deal with the first lie, the liar repeats multiple more lies or accusations. Here, the goal is to distract you (what about …?) and frustrate you (why are you being so “unfair” or so difficult or getting upset?).
You move: Go back to the first lie and try and get them to admit it was a lie.
You move again: Demand an apology. They wasted your time by forcing you to refute their first lie. Tell them about how such lies are harmful and dangerous and cannot be justified (the end does NOT justify the means).
They move: They try to wiggle out of the lie, make lame excuses (everybody lies), and refuse to apologize while adding more distractions or accusations (you are the liar or hypocrite and not them).
You move: If they refuse to apologize (very likely), tell them you are stopping all conversation in the future since they are immoral and have (much like their party’s leadership) embraced lying as a effective strategy. They have no shame or guilt when they lie. So, they do not aspire to honesty. Tell them that you refuse to talk to people about politics who have no credibility or honor. Ask them why you should believe anything they say from now on since you have shown that they are dishonest and will lie without any regret or self-reflection.
You move again: Finally, continue to demand an apology and if you get one, ask them to make a commitment to do fact-checking in the future before they repeat right wing talking points. Only then will you reengage in conversation with them about politics.
Your final move: If they lie to you again after the first apology, repeat the previous four moves.
If the above interaction shows the MAGA person to be incapable of shame or remorse, avoid interacting with them in the future (especially in the area of politics.)
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