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Fox News brainwash

My mother constantly posts things on Facebook that she directs at me or tries to include me in that have to do with how great she thinks Fox News is and how evil all other news is. I have tried voicing my opinion that I do NOT like Fox News because I find them to be biased and bigoted. However, she is in far too deep. She is one of those conspiracy theorist tea party loving people. Completely brainwashed.

I honestly cannot stand hearing about it anymore. She is not willing to listen to my side, so why should I listen to hers? She is trying to argue, not debate. She comes off as very condescending, telling me I am wrong about everything, and mocking me for being an atheist.

Most of the rest of my family doesn't have FB, thankfully, except my brother. He likes to get into arguments just as much. He also openly admits to breaking gun laws and how he thinks the government is coming for him. He thinks anyone who thinks differently is just uneducated and beneath him.

I really don't know what to do. Sure, they are family, but I am tired of the disrespect.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on January 24, 2013 at 10:05am

just put a wall up in the house.. i did. ; )( so good.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on January 24, 2013 at 10:06am

ah fbook.. i'll friend u there. friend my friends majority freethinkers

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Permalink Reply by booklover on January 24, 2013 at 3:51pm

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this kelly! I don't have anything to add except if you live with them, try and ride it out until you don't. If you don't, put as much space between you and them as you need.

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Permalink Reply by Russell Pangborn on January 24, 2013 at 4:57pm

I hope you can get past this problem with your mom Kelly. I have the same problem from the opposite side - the parent side with a parent/child ideological divide. One of my children is very religious (let's call him Ralph) and when I hear about all the mumbo jumbo stuff Ralph belongs to I want to sit him down and convince him that he is on the wrong path.

But I don't. I try and lead by example and try to show him I respect his choices. From a Christian/Atheist marriage where I thought all three children would figure it out and didn't push and let them all go to church, two are more or less in my camp.

That third one sometimes drives me crazy - but I don't force discussions and never post anything on his facebook page.

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Permalink Reply by Starscream on January 24, 2013 at 6:04pm

No guarantee, but asking her if she is thinks that the 'media' is biased, and is a propaganda tool for the liberals, socialists, etc. She will undoubtably agree, and you can agree to this as well. Then ask her why she thinks Fox News is not also a propaganda tool. How naive could she be to believe that one media source is actually Not biased. Ask her what source or what thing makes her believe Fox News is a unbiased source, and why she believes that source. If its Fox News itself, ask her if she understands circular logic.

Tell her she shouldn't trust anything, that should feed into her conspiracy theory attitude.

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Permalink Reply by James M. Martin on January 24, 2013 at 6:38pm

Hang in there, Kelly! When I go to my oncologist's every six months (gone into remission with leukemia twice because of him) he always has Fox on to entertain and inform the old folks whom he assumes only want to watch Fox. I have not told him my opinion of Fox. I depend on this guy for my life. So I bite my tongue. He has stickers on the walls of each examining room with the words, "Lawsuit Abuse" in a circle with a diagonal line through it -- something we joke about, as he knows I am an attorney. And he is almost apologetic about being a Republican. I think he knows his party is fighting for him, as he surely makes a good living, which he's also apologetic about. Well, I have said too much.....

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Permalink Reply by Earther on January 24, 2013 at 7:29pm

James, you hang in there too. I think it is sad an oncologist finds logic from Fox News.

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Permalink Reply by Earther on January 24, 2013 at 7:23pm

Try to focus on what you need to do to take care of your needs. Family is family and you will alway have empathy for them.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Black on January 24, 2013 at 8:41pm

I thought everyone liked the American version Pravda. They fit in so well with the christian nation.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck in TN on January 24, 2013 at 8:48pm

Sorry for your suffering, Kelly. I would be tempted to just sarcastically agree with everything she says about Fox News.........Yes Mother, Fox News tells it like it is!!!!........they're the greatest!!!!!! Definitely a tough situation if you have to live with one or both of these people. The silver lining is that your "critical thinking skills" are "up and operating" at an early age. You are able to see the world as it is. That is something that a lot of folks don't figure out until much later in life (and many, not at all).

I don't know who has convinced all the 'gun nuts' that the government wants to take their guns away. Must be the NRA. I am a gun owner but I have no delusion that the gov't is going to take mine, or anybody else's guns. It's worth mentioning that, although I support the 2nd Amendment, it was drafted and ratified before modern firearms were even invented - No revolvers, no semi-automatic pistols or rifles, no lever-action rifles, and certainly no fully-automatic rifles.

Hang in there, gal. All of us HERE know that you are on the side of reason and logic, even though your family fails to realize that.

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Permalink Reply by Nathaniel Summers on January 25, 2013 at 8:34am

My father is a bit like this. He's a crazy conspiracy theorist type and very conservative. He lives in the middle of nowhere and mostly watches Fox. First things first, you can only control what you can control. You cannot control her actions or reactions. You can only control your own. As for arguments/discussions, the point isn't really to win. Thinking like that gets you nowhere.

The fact of the matter is that all arguments begin in agreement. That is, you can't have an argument if you literally disagree about everything. You are both humans, with similar backgrounds and similar upbringings. Based purely on that alone, you've got a lot in common. The trick is to find the common ground. Instead of focusing on the things you disagree about, try to find the things you do agree about. Often we tend to argue past one another without realizing that we actually agree. If you can find the common ground, then the places where you REALLY disagree will become more apparent and THEN you can address those issues.

If you really want to get through to her, I suggest finding some lectures of argumentation and rhetoric. If I can convince my dad that Obamacare is actually a step in the direction that Jesus would have us go, then there's hope for the rest of humanity. We just have to learn how to argue our case. The first step, however, is recognizing that we are not yelling at an enemy, but rather trying to liberate an ally from ignorance. At the same time, we have to be willing to admit when we're wrong as well. It's a two way street.