“We Had to Stop Them”

Ran into a MAGA guy I know, and I tried my level best to not get into anything political, but he was quick to bring it around, one way or another.

He wanted to discuss AI.

“I don’t get it,” I said. “The data center they’re building in Barker is simply massive. I don’t understand what they put in all that space.”

“Oh, I understand ALL of it,” he said. (He’s a brick mason). “We better get control of it before China or we’re done.”

(A straight up MAGA talking point).

“We’ll be gone when the whole new world kicks in,” I said.

“Are you ready to retire?” He asked.

“Who knows?” I said. “My electric bill was $491 this month, groceries are through the roof, and gas ain’t coming down.”

(Okay - perhaps I was attempting to get under his skin by pointing out that this is a mess).

“We had to stop Iran,” he said. “Even if it costs us double to live this year it’ll be worth it because they were a couple of weeks away from dropping a nuke on our heads.”

That one almost made me laugh out loud.

I tried to shift the conversation by mentioning the weather - it was seventy and sunny - pretty much what people would order if they could.

“Yeah, if the Canadians weren’t trying to smoke us out, the dirty bastards.”

“They’re wild fires,” I said. “Doubt they’re doing it on purpose.”

“Oh, they could control it better. Everyone laughs about raking the forest floor, but it works. Climate change, my ass.”

“All right, brother, I gotta’ go,” I said. “Hang in there.”

I was exhausted by a three-minute conversation.

And as I drove away, I considered how much time it must take to twist your beliefs to fit a narrative as you’re barely keeping your head above the poverty line.

“Even if it costs us double this year,” was the line I was stuck on.

Housing costs, healthcare costs, groceries, gas, utilities are all unaffordable.

And there are people who are good with that because someone told them that a nation, incapable of building a nuke, was two weeks away from bombing us.

Exhausting.