"Come and join us": The new resistance welcomes apologetic Trump voters

I'm really really sorry, now that the leopards are eating my face....

Being cordial with them is fine, working with them to protest right now is fine.
But let's not forget that they are at best temporary allies. That don't actually share any values, they're just upset that the administration isn't hurting the right people.
There will be a scant few that truly not vote for a Republican and that's about the best you can expect, be prepared that they continue to vote hard R in the end.

Shouldn't be turning people away that are apologetic, but don't think the path to victory lies there. All the people that are sitting out elections are the ones that should be targeted. So few of eligible voters are actually doing so.

Disagree if you want, but I've felt this way and have been saying some variation of this (but perhaps not as eloquently) pretty much since November of 2024.
Granted, in the immediate wake of the election, even I didn't think things would be this way, at least not so soon. As soon as he took office, anybody with half a brain cell could see, first-hand sans conjecture, just how much of a disaster we were in for. I was like, at this stage, we're going to have to root for the hamberders to do their thing and in the mean time we're going to have to turn the other cheek and accept those Trump voters who come to regret their vote. If there are enough of them, and they genuinely see an apology as a path out of the cult, there's a better chance of turning things around.

A University of Massachusetts-Amherst poll of 1,000 people from early April found that just 2% of Trump voters say they regret their choice and wish they had voted differently.
Jesus Christ...
- The reality is that a person in a cult leaves it quietly. At the start of the process, they have doubts and fears but repeat the mantras about how they're still absolutely a member of the cult.
  And we're seeing that. We're seeing people upset about what's happening, yet claiming they still support him. That's what a person leaving a cult actually looks like – doubt, self-assurance, and then quietly quesstioning it whilst acting to their peers that they're still believers. They're not necessarily aware that this is the beginning of them leaving, many want their leader to reassure them of those doubts, and get slowly unsettled when they don't.
  If you ask them point-blank if they renounce their faith, they're not willing to admit it publicly. That's too real. They'll just slowly fade away, and try to live like it didn't happen.
  Which means if you want people to leave a cult, you have to let them do it quietly. Even if its hard, if you're angry and want to punish them. If they're giving up a community they know accepts them, it won't be to join a community that never will.
- It's a cult. I'm not surprised.
- Just wait for the store shelves to empty this month. That number will go up.
- I wonder if that 2% was because they were directly impacted by him. Additionally, I assume most haven’t changed their minds because they came in knowing that there would be hard times ahead.
  With that said, I live in a very r area and have been keeping tabs on the flags. My grocery store started selling us flags last month and now there are new houses with flags. They didn’t have them up at all before.

That’s fantastic. This encourages taking personal responsibility over their action. I think it’s important to allow people to learn and grow, without the shame. Shame keeps people locked into their false beliefs. The more apologetics we have, the faster change will come. With that said, don’t forget these people. They still have fucked up beleifs.
- Fucked up beliefs that are rooted in fear of losing what little they have. The class war affects them as much as us, and the more people who realize it, the more well equipped for revolution they'll be
- I agree.
  I feel that on our end, it's going to be more important than ever that it's not just what we say but how we say it that will actually change how those who voted for Trump will feel.
  People are capable of self reflection, but if you don't believe it then you're helping them to have no shot at it.

I think there's a difference between someone who voted trump and realized they fucked up in a like deep , systemic, way, and someone who doesn't like this specific implemention of right wing stuff.
Like, if they regret trump but keep voting R, that's not good.

Appologetic is the key word. There needs to be accountability, not even for a sake of justice or anything, but just due to the fact that they need to have learned a lesson to be an ally of the cause, and not just an eventual traitor.

That's the right thing to do. Making it easy for people to accept that they were wrong makes it much easier to pull support from the opposing party. If you constantly ridicule, mock or insult them, they are much more likely to stick with their opinion simply because they do not want to accept that you were right.
A vast majority on lemmy should learn this aswell.
- A vast majority on lemmy should learn this aswell.
  from what i’ve seen, yes people are angry but people are willing to accept apologies that aren’t based entirely in leopards eating faces… you don’t get a pass for your shitty ignorant behaviour just because that behaviour comes to bite you in the ass
  you get to apologise and have it accepted if you’ve seen the harm that’s been done to other people and are genuinely remorseful
  
  Getting apologies would be nice, but it starts with acceptance. Right now, if a Trump voter can accept that they messed up or were led astray, and they can be convinced to join the resistance, that's all I care about. I care less about hearing an "I'm sorry" than I do about having more people on the streets today - actions speak louder than words, and to turn down someone who's joined our side over something as petty as "Have you apologized yet?" would do little more than push people away.
  We need a united front right now, and just as former Trump voters have to suck up the bad feelings of having contributed to this mess, we have to hold off on purity-testing our fellow protesters and accept that to fight the oligarchs, it takes all of us, regardless of our feelings toward each other.
  
  people are willing to accept apologies
  Absolutely not, at least not online. People do not accept apologies, they will brand you based on that action, no matter how much you apologize. I mean, just look at some big example like pewdiepie who had a few (admittedly tasteless) moments in 2017, apologized for it multiple times but is still framed as nazi to this day.
- I feel like this is a deep flaw in humanity. That most people would rather continue eating literal shit than admit they were wrong.
  
  Many people would be willing to admit that they're wrong, however, if the "opposing" side is constantly mockign and ridiculing you, yeah, I can see why people don't want to admit that.
- A vast majority on lemmy should learn this aswell.
  The vindictiveness and hate for anyone who slightly disagrees by some on here is only matched by Reddit users. It makes sense I guess
  
  That's exactly it, it's actual hate. It's not just "bro your opinion is stupid, you're a moron, piss off" and be done with it. Nah, many people on here genuinely hate other opinions. They're fully adopting a fascist mindset while thinking they're on the "right side".
  It's genuinely worrying to see that ngl.

Yall maybe forgiving but not i any and all Trump voters are traitors. Because you cannot stand there and listen to this man commit sedition
Say shit like "i have a concept of a plan"
And still slap knee "gosh darn it that is the man I must vote for president what a patriot!"
Fuck that. Cowards all of them. Every single one in gov. And every single voter.
Remember the women who slept with Nazis and after the war? That's Trump supporters.
- Just don't say you used to support the guy and do your part to try to get him legally out of the whitehouse along with his admin buddies.

Hey, so long as they're willing to put the ones who aren't apologetic against the wall

Yet another reason y’all really shouldn’t go doxxing and murdering working class voters: missing the Purple Wave.
Edit: remove named user (community rule)

not hating misled trump voters is actually a really good idea and more people need to try it
not saying that the actually insane ones arent worth hating, but some people are just maga bc everyone they know is
- What should we do with the ones who voted to hurt others but now want to change sides because they're being hurt too? Should we ignore the very likely possibility they'll jump right back to the other side when the Republicans backpedal just enough to no longer look so blatantly shameless? Let them turn against Trump on their own, I just want to keep my distance from these people before they likely disappoint us in the next election cycle.
  
  "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, 'Fool me once, shame on...shame on you.' Fool me—you can't get fooled again."
- Everyone makes mistakes, those that can admit it are rare. Those that can forgive rarer still. And both should be role models.
  
  as long as admitting your mistake isn’t entirely based on leopards eating your face
  “they’re hurting the wrong people” isn’t remorse
  
  those that can admit it are rare.
  They're really not. Maybe among politicians... But it's a basic requirement of being a functioning adult human imo.
  Talk about a low bar...
  
  Be the change you want to see.
  Edit: I mean it as a challenge to the rest of us

Hope the feral and heavily armed ones turn on him

Too bad I don't know any that stop drinking the kool-aid (flavor aid), they still think that hurting liberals makes hurting conservatives worth it.

If they're genuinely apologetic and recognize they made a terrible choice, then yes... Welcome back to reality.

As much as it's fun to say fuck you I told you so, you catch more flies with honey. We need to make it easy to leave the cult and not make people double down just because they feel ashamed or feel like they have to defend something. The goal, while enticing, is not to rub people's nose in the shit they admittedly helped create. The goal should be to get rid of this motherfucker and reverse everything he's done.
- So you still believe voting can fix this?
- I agree with you but put out some honey next to some balsamic vinegar sometime and see which one pulls more flies.
- As much as it’s fun to say fuck you I told you so, you catch more flies with honey.
  How much more honey are you going to steal from the left and give to your buddies on the right?

There is a path to redemption, and recognizing your past mistakes is part of that.

And when these trump voters vote for republicans again, democrats will blame the left. Again.

Instead of "if you're not with us, you're against us",
It's "as long as you're against them, you can be with us."
And frankly, that's what we need right now.
First past the post voting is fucking garbage but this is how you're supposed to engage it; it's NEVER EVER EVER EVER going to be good for supporting the lesser of two evils.
Instead, the best thing it can ever do is punish the greater evil
And these are VERY DIFFERENT GOALS.
If people were voting to punish the Trump campaign, Kamala would have won.
Notably, people very much voted to punish Kamala instead. Even the ones on the left. And boy did we show her -_- now we ALL get to suffer.
- It's "as long as you're against them, you can be with us."
  Cool, I'm with 'Nazis, Pedophiles, and Rapists AGAINST drumpf', let's meet up, I'll bring the gang.
  In all seriousness, these people have been cheering on the most heinous shit for years now. Feel free to reconcile with that at your own risk, but leave me tf out.
  
  Listen, if I have a chance to meet up with Nazis, pedos, and rapists, that means they're all gathered to the same place and I can rid the world of a LOT OF SCUM at the mere cost of my own life and some volatile equipment. Not many people have a chance to do so much good in their life or death for that matter. Let them think they're welcome until they're no longer useful. And by that I mean immediately.

It's never to late to do the right thing.

No we don't. MAGAts are fucking stupid. They knew what they voted for and got EXACTLY what they were told they were voting for.
- And? What happens next?
  I acknowledge your feeling at this moment. However, politics are decisions about the future. Will you welcome them then? Will you accept their votes on your side at the next election?
  They're misled idiots for sure, but there's no benefits in keeping them in that position just out of spite.
- This sort of delusional and aggressive thinking just drives division.
  The reality is, most people don’t make educated decisions at the polls. It’s knee jerk reaction to the economy
  
  The reality is, most people don’t make educated decisions at the polls. It’s knee jerk reaction to the economy
  Yes, and that's childish and fucking moronic. Do better. I'm admittedly one to over-prepare in general, but I genuinely cannot comprehend why anyone would CHOOSE to not know anything about what they're voting for. "Oh, I don't like following politics". Well, tough shit dumbass; I don't like feeling like I'm stuck in the geopolitical equivalent of a high school group project with the asshole jock who can't be arsed to do his portion of the fucking presentation but here we fucking are.
  The situation is dire enough that no, I'm not saying we should turn these folks away. We need all the help we can get. But I'll be lying to them when I tell them I forgive them. I don't think I ever truly will.
  
  And "being the bigger man" before got us to where we are now. Give them an inch and they take a mile.
  
  The dude instigated 1-6. He is a felon. The economy has nothing to do with it.
- Perhaps but any kind of effective resistance needs widespread support from anywhere we can get it
- Trump voters love to "own the libs".
  Is the liberal version of "owning the libs" also "owning the libs"? 🤔

Seems to be a division here based on the (ex)Trumpanzee's sincerity vs not.
My thought is who gives a shit if they're sincere? The goal isn't to convert them, it's to defeat Trump and people like Trump - if a former Trump voter can be used against him, I have no issues at all with at least pretending to accept that that person is having an authentic denazification. Whether or not they're truly capable of self reflection is kinda moot

At this point, if you voted for Trump and you regret it, keep that shit to yourself. I would rather not know.

Fuck that. Dems ALWAYS have to be the bigger person because MAGAts are too stupid to see what is actually going on. I’m done bailing their asses out. I’ll NEVER forgive them for doing this, even if they vote Dem in every election for the rest of their lives. I hope they all get exactly what they voted for.
If they’re truly remorseful THEY can fix it first, THEN talk about lessening our hatred for them.
- Fuck that. Dems ALWAYS have to be the bigger person because MAGAts are too stupid to see what is actually going on.
  No, this is the part where democrats have lost because they moved to the right and have decided that what they really need to do as a result is to move to the right.
- Dems are not the bigger person, they are delusional like the Republicans they claim to hate.