OldTimeHockey said:
I think they distill down to ignorance and irrational fear.
And yes, you are correct, some people are "educated". Perhaps lack of intelligence is the proper term.
Bullfrog said:
Probably that. I just don't know because I can't put my head in that space.
My father-in-law is very intelligent with a really well-rounded knowledge set (both intellectually and mechanically), but yet...... chemtrails! And his electrical smart-meter is wrapped in tin-foil, literally.
I just don't get it.
Identity politics, perhaps?
People just want to belong to a particular group/identity and will find ways to feed that sense of belonging with confirmation bias, especially if their identifying groups are intertwined with their value system. e.g.
white Evangelicals getting co-opted by the GOP + 2nd Amendment folks.
Someone, somewhere, extrapolates their identity system to a piece of information that resonates emotionally and it just cascades from there. Even if educated (academically), how near and dear to your heart (core values) is your bachelors of science degree?