They should move to Alabama and experience the conservative rule they want. Then they should stay there.
Don’t bother engaging. They will not change their mind, you will not change yours. All roads lead to friction.
And friction leads to heat, and heat to higher AC bills.
Yes, I also don’t talk to my parents much.
“Have the day you voted for.”
I’m genuinely curious. What does the California state gas taxes have anything to do with any recent elections?
It sounds like the complaints are about the difference in gas prices between California and the rest of the U.S., not gas prices in general.
The complaints are because of the recent spike (or rather bump, as spike implies it will go down).
California prices are still cheaper than what rest of the world pays.
Those people purchased gas guzzlers because gas (even in California) was cheap. Now those gas guzzlers cost them much more.
Do they live in California? If they don’t then ask them about the high gas prices where they actually live. If they do live there, then ask them how much gas was with Biden was president, but overall speak to them like you would a child with a learning disability.
Tell them your hurt to learn that they are capable of unconditional love and support. Ask them if they’d have loved you more if you raped a few children, or was racist AF.
It’s not going to work, but I’d just show them the data:
- Current gas price divided up into cost of raw material and taxes applied on it
- Timeline of raw material cost and events affecting the costs
Let them decide what to believe.
Did they bitch about gas prices under biden and solely blame him? If so, ask what’s different now. See if they can point to state level changes that affected gas prices.
This is assuming they would at least attempt a good faith argument. If not, I’d just laugh and imply they have the mentality of a child thinking they figured out the world and are dead wrong. Like listen to their inane rants and just kinda chuckle as if it’s impressive they built such a convoluted plot in their head.
You can’t logic someone out of something they didn’t logic themselves into.
Well as a left progressive who has looked into California gas, and also lived there for 4 years, yeah, there are some ridiculous fees, but also some very high standards that cause higher prices, and some of it is to pay for legitimate improvements and upkeep in the state - but tell them that everyone is starting to get high gas prices that the US used to be immune from, largely thanks to oil and gas bribing politicians to keep us addicted to oil and gas and stifle modern energy production, thereby bribing politicians to keep our prices high and climbing ever higher as oil production becomes more problematic, as the world transitions away from gas and moves to electric, causing less demand eventually that would also cause higher prices just like these war related production issues do. If politicians had invested in and encouraged investment in modern energy production we would have increasing numbers of jobs in those energy sectors, not decreasing and seasonal, and prices would be lowering as solar and wind and battery tech get cheaper and cheaper. Solar is now the cheapest, and that includes compared to oil and gas.
Get an EV!
Just kidding… unless…? >.>
Since there seems to be a divide between your views and your parent’s, ask yourself if you think you could have a constructive discussion about the causes for high gas prices on a level playing field.
If no, do not engage. Maybe ask them to not discuss politics around/ with you to avoid building tension between each other.
If you think you can discuss this with them, go for it, but stay on topic. There’s a lot to be upset about in politics no matter where you stand or what you vote. If you realize that you can’t close the gap, cut your losses and change topic.
But additionally, ask yourself why it is so important to you to discuss the topic with them. Knowing where you are coming from and what you want out of this might help to protect yourself from stress.
Tell them “Don’t you understand that they are doing it especially for you. If they didn’t do it, the you would not have anything to whine and moan about.”
Tell them that gas prices are based on the laws of supply and demand. Thus they are going to go up faster than inflation for the foreseeable future because no new oil deposits have been found since the 1970s and all known oil deposits are heading towards depletion. Anyone who could find new viable deposits would make trillions but it appears that with over 8 trillion dollars spent on that; for profit businesses have not found any solution.
Recommending an EV and supporting renewable energy sources is the most likely solution to preventing them from dying poor.
Well, personally I would break off contact with my parents if they openly supported fascism, but other than that you can suggest they just read a book about economics or some such. Rich countries all have far higher taxes on petrol than California, and with good reason.
There is no solution here.
In my own similar situation, I have come to the conclusion that it’s bigger than any single issue. You can’t reason any of these folks out of it, because a major factor is their belief that they are always, always right regardless of what the truth may be.
You can show them the math. You can cite paper after paper. You can try whatever you want and none of it will stick. Even if they claim otherwise, they think they’re right and you’re wrong. The closest you’ll get is appeasement.
I agree, based on my own experiences,.that no logic or reason can reach these people. I think we can move the conversation forward by admitting that there is a strong human instinct toward fascism. It’s in our DNA to salute the tallest thing in the room because ancestors that didn’t were purged. Those of us who can reason and maintain values are the exception to this flaw.
But is there another way to reach them on an emotional or instinctive level? Hope springs eternal in me, and I can’t help but feel the solution involves denying them their group identity and making a mockery and shaming them as pariahs for their bad behavior.
These days, the fact is that no MAGA scum is a conservative. They are radical revolutionaries, more naive than the most extreme patchouli scented hippies of the 1960s, who have abandoned their Christianity to worship a man who said the constitution should be dissolved simply because he lost a court case. I think this is the key, but I must admit, I’ve never been able to turn one of them. Sagan was right about the deep seated human instinct to ignore shameful evidence when one is tricked.
These days, the fact is that no MAGA scum is a conservative
Fuck off. No true scotsman bullshit
Also why is someone labeled “bot” coming in with, “I agree…”
Fuck off
Where is wt:thon labeled a bot?
I dunno what wt:thon is
Fuck off. No true scotsman bullshit
He is right though. This isn’t some defense that real conservatives are better, this is saying that they no longer conservatives in any definition of that word.
They are not fiscally conservative, they are not family values conservative, they aren’t there to preserve democratic system (in fact they are actively trying to destroy it).
At this point Democrats are the conservatives. I mean even the ones we like to think are progressive (like AOC, Bernie Sanders) are saying that were widely supported in the 50s by Republicans.
The Overton window shifted that much.
Agree, the best thing to do is to say something like “I have a life beyond politics, and I don’t want to sit here talking about politics all day”. Then if they insist on talking politics, leave.
The sad thing is that most of these people don’t have a personality anymore, it’s been completely lost to the dopamine drip that is facebook feeds. Engaging them on politics only does the same thing as on their feeds, and that gives them excitement and dopamine. If you get them to disengage they start to feel agitated, because they suddenly realize they’re bored.
it’s been completely lost to the dopamine drip that is facebook feeds.
Yup. Social media is also a common thread. (Pun intended)
The same people who told their children not to believe everything they read on the internet are now the ones constantly believing it, to catastrophic effect. Regardless of what they feel about themselves, it really does look like many or most of these “conservatives” are basically addicted to that dopamine kick. Such addictions have just never been so impactful on the world at large before.
“Believe whatever the fuck you want.”
Two options.
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Remind them that they are stupid and that California’s air quality used to be way worse before stricter fuel refinement and SMOG laws. As a Californian I can literally confirm this within my own lifetime.
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Stop speaking to them like I’ve done with all the dipshit conservatives in my orbit because you’ll never change them so why waste your time on lost causes? The only possible catalyst for change is them losing their loved ones due to their own ignorance but, realistically, that same ignorance will prevent them from accepting that it’s their own fault.
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