Best books about dementia according to redditors

We found 63 Reddit comments discussing the best books about dementia. We ranked the 15 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top Reddit comments about Dementia:

u/Buffalox · 30 pointsr/politics

I warned that Trump is a sociopath already during primaries.


The most common response was "Are you a professional?".


Then came the arguments that you can't diagnose without having examined him professionally in settings.


The denial was absolutely astounding even into his presidency. Of course many could see it as easy as I could, but there were many that simply refused to see it, even when it was pointed out with numerous examples, and even after a book was published by professionals that warned about it too.


https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459


Trump is delusional, and he is a malignant narcissist and sociopath. But not just that, he is a very bad form oof one. I've met many diagnosed criminal sociopaths, but very few are as bad as Trump.


And yes he is absolutely dangerous, and there are alarming rumors that are absolutely believable, because Trump has zero empathy and zero decency or regard for norms or the law.

u/sculptedpixels · 19 pointsr/PoliticalHumor

https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

read this a few months back. it's fucking terrifying. it's actually outdated, but when you read it, you start comparing those events to present day chaos, and it magnifies the conclusion: the man is a dangerous combination of textbook narcissist and pathological liar. And his performance to date has done absolutely ZERO to detract from this conclusion, if anything, reinforced it's validity at every turn.

so here we are today. an entire party aligned behind this man who's not only wacky af, but actively working with foreign powers to subvert our own goals and destroy our historic alliances.

mueller save us, please.

u/smellygymbag · 6 pointsr/Alzheimers

Ditto checking out your local dept on aging. It might also be dept of elderly or eldercare or something like that. They may have info for you on website, in hardcopy, in person.. It varies by state. Some will have waitlists for help, some wont.

You can also find out if theres an Alzheimer's Association, Aarp, or similar near you, because they sometimes have free education seminars (sometimes to advertise services, but sometimes just info). Alz assoc also has support groups, which maybe you could use, for emotional support but also to find out about options near you. If there are care homes near you they sometimes host educational events there too. You could see if they have some kind of events calendar.

You might consider learning about elderlaw issues and getting an elderlaw lawyer. No doubt there will be free workshops featuring those. But theres a great deal of financial planning you may have to do, and sometimes you need stuff set up years in advance.

Finally, if there is a law school near you, they might have free information or downloadable publications to get you started. If you are really lucky maybe they have low cost options for law help bc they might have fresh students who need experience.

The classic text on Alzheimer's is the 36 Hour Day. https://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-Alzheimer-Disease-Dementias/dp/1455521159
Tbh i never read it. But i know its like standard reading.

Get started on getting a lot of photos and videos and recordings of her. Its easy to not even think of this now. But id start now.

Ask her questions about what advice shed give you about stuff in your future, your life.. Ask about her past, her parents, her childhood.

If shes got old photos, find out about them. Its kind of a bummer to find an old album of people you don't know and have no one to ask. :p

Find out her favorite songs. Id be sure to get stuff from her teens to 30s. Try to compile at least 1 playlist. It may be helpful later, if shes in a bad mood.

If you wanna get really nuts you can look up clinical trials on trialmatch or clinicaltrials.gov and see if you feel like jumping in.

Don't beat yourself up if/when its time to make tough calls. This disease will put you guys in lose-lose situations, but you're not alone. It's going to suck, but you and dad and family can get through this.

Good luck.

u/seagazer · 5 pointsr/Alzheimers

I recently read a book, The Validation Breakthrough, which I found helpful in understanding my husband's behavior. The book focuses on very old people (I don't know how old your dad is), and theorizes that the particular behaviors that a dementia patient falls into are expressions of issues he's never been able to work through over the course of his life.

It might be a worthwhile exercise to play amateur psychiatrist — not to your dad but as a thought experiment for yourself. Your dad must feel great shame for having nearly drunk himself to death, and he must be relieved that you are limiting your alcohol intake. It could be a double relief for him to think that migraines are what caused you to stop drinking, since migraines were the reason he drank (even though they weren't — here's where the confusion comes in). As for the standing issue, perhaps someone was always telling him to "Stand up straight!" (moms are notorious for this). He may feel guilty about not being the obedient child, and the guilt comes out as pain when he stands too long. Explanations like this may be completely far-fetched, but mulling them over might give you some insight and compassion for your dad's increasing helplessness in holding himself together.

It's great that you "don't call him out on anything and just smoothly move past it." The Validation Breakthrough would take it a step further and suggest that you actually go along with — validate — his lies, not in a phony, pandering way but to help him resolve any issues that still might be resolvable. The author provides a list of specific communication techniques to try. The idea is to prevent the person from withdrawing, which will only accelerate the progression of the dementia.

I hope this helps a little. Alzheimer's will try any caretaker's compassion and patience.

u/Lordica · 5 pointsr/Alzheimers

This disease beats you down so hard that practically any acknowledgment of your hard work and dedication is received with pitiful gratitude. I found this book helpful while I was caring for my dads.

u/crappydew · 4 pointsr/Maher

Godddamn, can you not be such a sucker? "A fountain of psychological information regarding this administration." LMAO. trump and his followers are absurdly simple organisms, and trump's mental instability has been examined and explained AT LENGTH by very well-qualified experts.

There is absolutely nothing complicated about the trump phenomenon. Each faction within the republican party is fueled by their primary ideology, be it abortion, racism, xenophobia, corporate greed, preserving power, etc... and trump, a colossally corrupt con man is simply lying about absolutely anything and leveraging their hatred, fear, greed and stupidity to rip the country off, stay out of prison and avoid the repercussions of displeasing Putin, who has a staggering amount of kompromat against him. That's pretty much it, dude. You don't need some slimy Wall St. fuck to tell you what should be painfully obvious.

u/jmatthews2088 · 4 pointsr/The_Mueller

This book breaks it down well, from a variety of psychological perspectives.

u/dimitrov1 · 4 pointsr/AskTrumpSupporters

>No they aren't.

Yes. They are.

https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

https://www.salon.com/2019/02/22/yale-psych-prof-if-trump-werent-president-he-would-be-contained-and-evaluated/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/09/does-donald-trump-have-dementia-we-need-know-psychologist-column/3404007002/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-trump/480771/

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/dan-rodricks/bs-roughly-speaking-a-psychologist-warns-trumps-narcissim-could-lead-to-fascism-20181109-htmlstory.html

https://psychcentral.com/lib/donald-trump-and-the-narcissistic-illusion-of-grandiosity/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/donald-trump-not-well/597640/

You might call these sources biased or the psychologists in them unethical, but that doesnt change the fact that the presidents menthal health is in question by professsionals.

I wont pretend to know as much about clinical diagnoses and the ethics of psychological evaluations, especially if you are who you say you are. But cant you admit that there are signs that cause concerns? Especially in regards to his narcissistic personality disorder? Dont you realize that inherently people with narcissistic personality disorder dont seek help, how can you diagnose it if they never actually sit down in a clinical setting?

u/unidan_was_right · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

Apparently, there's a lot of influential people saying he is crazy/dangerous.

I wish I was joking.

u/UltraMegaMegaMan · 4 pointsr/PoliticalVideo

I hate Trump a fair bit, and that goes back to well before he was elected. He's a garbage human.

That said, there is really good body of evidence that he is just not well physically, and most likely has dementia or Alzheimer's. The anonymous op-ed in the Times is only the latest confirmation of it, not the first time it's been pointed out.

I mean, there have literally been books written about it. As much as it pains me to say it, Donald Trump is not completely to blame for every horrible thing he does because some of it is caused by a medical condition that affects him mentally.

What's important about that is that he shouldn't be serving as President because he's not able to do it, and everyone paying attention, especially everyone who interacts with him, knows it.

The other thing is that people shouldn't mock someone for medical problems or mental illness, even if that person is Donald Trump. I have great confidence that Trump would be just as shitty even if he didn't have dementia, but since he does I just want him to stop endangering the country, get help, and be taken care of. Get him out of office, let him watch as much Fox & Friends as he wants and rant on Twitter all day. It's what makes him happy, apparently.

I know what it's like to see people disappear slowly over time due to dementia, and it's horrible beyond imagining. I would not wish it on anyone. Not even Donald Trump.

He does a lot of horrible things, but he's also old and sick. If he was just some guy in a nursing home it would be just another Wednesday. The difference is he 's in the highest office in the land, so that needs to be removed from the equation.

u/idlevalley · 4 pointsr/The_Mueller

He's unfit and has dementia.

Also a whole boatload of psychiatric conditions.
''The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President'' Hardcover – October 3, 2017

u/kusuriurikun · 4 pointsr/TopMindsOfReddit

(continued)

On the other hand, an actual, real-life exit counselor who works with actual walkaways from actual cults has in fact pretty much formally declared MAGAts to be a coercive political cult of personality, using actual characteristics common across pro-Trump groups and comparing to evaluations of groups like Scientology and the Moonies. (It's worth noting here that said exit counselor actually has written one of the more thorough evaluation scales of the "cultiness" of a coercive group.)

And apparently he's not alone on this; the former head of psychological profiling at the CIA pretty much has completely separately identified MAGAtism as a classical political cult, and literally the person who defined the term "brainwashing" in English and wrote the very first book on coercive groups and thought reform tactics has in fact just written a book on political extremism that also in part defines MAGAtism in the exact same framework of being a coercive political cult as Maoists during the Cultural Revolution. (Considering Dr. Robert J. Lifton's initial studies were of persons involuntarily interned in Maoist "thought reform" camps during the Korean War up to the beginning of the Cultural Revolution...yes, as in the guy has literally written the books on the subject--methinks he'd know exactly what he's talking about when he's comparing MAGAts and Trump to the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong). Both Hassan and Lifton have also been contributors to a book that notes that Trump shows all the signs of being a malignant narcissist in the technical sense and which also include OTHER psychologists who have expressed concerns a personality cult exists around Trump (and feel strongly enough on it that they feel an ethical duty to warn a potential target of violence by a person, well, (pardon the expression) trumps the Goldwater Rule). Rick Alan Ross, another exit counselor, has likewise explicitly noted MAGAtism has all the characteristics of a coercive cult of personality--and Rick Alan Ross is actually a Republican (though very much in the "Never Trump" court).

(Pretty much the only major exit counselor that has NOT outright called out MAGAtism as a literal personality cult is Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer, and that's because she's dead.)

And we're just talking the redcaps posting MAGA and KAG memes on Twitter and Facebook--we're not talking members of Certain Subreddits Soon To Exhaust The Reddit Community Patience, or even sub-movements within (like QAnonsense--at this rate, pretty much almost universally regarded as a literal coercive New Religious Movement by every exit counselor that's evaluated it and which heavily cross-recruits with older cults like Ramtha--or the New Apostolic Reformation, which has heavily embraced QAnonsense and which (in a remarkable sea change from even fifteen years ago) is also pretty much universally regarded as an extremely coercive religious group within "Charismatic" Christianity).

u/oosetastic · 3 pointsr/Alzheimers

Look into your local Alzheimer's Association - they have meetings for family members, as well as activities for the person diagnosed, depending on how severe their condition is. Click on the "in my area" tab to find your local chapter.

I also always recommend The 36 Hour Day - it's a great primer on what to expect, and it gives some advice on different options for paying for care. Good luck, and we are here for you and your dad!

u/Damburamb · 3 pointsr/relationship_advice

I am very sorry for your difficult situation and while I can't offer much to help how to solve (save) your relationship issues directly I would be so brave to recommend you a book (insert adds are getting more clever meme). It is about a lifestyle and diet that promotes neurogenesis. Throughout the book there are countless examples of significant breakthroughs in brain recovery rates (to some cases reversing Alzheimer's) in people who follow even a portion of these tips. I haven't had a brain injury or surgery myself (other than very clearly being dropped on my head couple of times as a child), but by changing my diet, excersise and subtle changes in lifestyle have brought me a clear state of mind. One of the important things to improve your brain health is reducing your stress levels so perhaps you want to start by tackling what's right in front of you, your husband. Either way if you get a chance, do check it out and a I wish you a speedy recovery from the operation and from your relationship.

Edit: forgot the link (nevermind guess the book is not working after all)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neurogenesis-Diet-Lifestyle-Upgrade-Brain-ebook/dp/B00VUAK3NI&ved=2ahUKEwiaiLrF7LvkAhU4QhUIHdlLCcQQFjAFegQIChAB&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw16bu9NGBHYubev4phsPP4E

u/not-moses · 2 pointsr/mentalillness
  1. How old is she?

  2. Where is she on this list of the five stages of therapeutic recovery?

  3. Does she have a history of being "difficult" or "dotty?"

    If she is in early onset dementia, you can pretty much forget about logical arguments, let alone expecting her to respond well to your understandable frustration.

    Suggested reading to get your own life back in order:

    Nina Brown's Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents

    Eleanor Payson's The Wizard of Oz and other Narcissists: Coping with the One-Way Relationship in Work, Love, and Family

    Lindsay Gibson's Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents

    Elan Golomb's Trapped in the Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissists in the Struggle for Self

    Susan Forward's Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life (a bit long in tooth now, but still useful) and Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You

    Kimberlee Roth & Frieda Friedman's Surviving a Borderline Parent: How to Heal Your Childhood Wounds & Build Trust, Boundaries, and Self-Esteem

    and especially

    Naomi Feil: The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communication with People with Alzheimer's

    And for your own peace of mind:

  4. ACA, EA and CoDA... where you will find others in similar boats who have found explanations, answers and solutions.

  5. The 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing.
u/bizteacha · 2 pointsr/dementia

This IS the time to mourn, because now is the time you are feeling the loss of her, even though her physical death may not occur for a long time. I have the same getting caring for my husband with dementia. It's like he's already gone in many ways, yet he's still physically here.

I read this book which helped, by giving me the words for what we are experiencing: "ambiguous loss."

The author addresses how difficult it is to cope with these types of losses. I'm not sure if I'm putting this link in correctly, so my apologies if I didn't do it right:

Loving Someone Who Has Dementia: How to Find Hope while Coping with Stress and Grief https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118002296/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aXVACbKPHAZZZ

u/coconut_sorbet · 2 pointsr/rva

Just an FYI, I found this book really helpful, and wished I'd read it a bit sooner than I did. It's now the one I recommend to friends when they start getting the "oh jeez, my parents are getting old" feeling.

Good luck!

u/SuddenNebula · 2 pointsr/science

here we go. This book tells you how to set up a singing group for people with dementia, but the stories in it and her ideas about how music works in a care setting is very informative.

Here is a quick notes version of her book.

u/godmakesmesad · 2 pointsr/exchristian

Thanks. I fear Trump will take us into a war. I even worry a demented narcissistic delusional rage could destroy us all. The fact a president can stay in office even when 27 psychiatrists sign off on him being mentally ill is deeply disturbing.

https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

u/Volorado · 1 pointr/dementia

My mom (late 70s) is well down the road with dementia and is now in a memory care unit of a nursing home. She often asks about her parents and asking when she will get to 'go visit' them. Rather than replying blountly that they are dead and have been for years, my siblings and I just say "Mom, grandpa would be 110 years old if he were still with us." Then she smiles it off. It doesnt do any good to keep correcting her when she doesnt make sense.
There is a book called 'The 36 Hour Day' that offers good advice for those dealing with those affected by dementia/alzheimers.

https://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-sixth-Alzheimer-Dementias/dp/1421422239/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=34+hour+day+book&qid=1574269564&sr=8-3

u/trekbette · 1 pointr/books

My Grandma's Doctor gave me homework when I was suddenly dropped into the role of her primary caregiver... The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss.

This book gave me an idea of what to expect when dealing with severe dementia, resources for care, tips to battle stress. It is a very helpful book!

Here is an AMA I answered about some of my ordeal with my Grandma.

u/Vashiebz · 1 pointr/Alzheimers

As someone in a similar situation to you I doubt any of the people saying you are a bad daughter know what they are talking about.

I would advise picking up the book The 36 hour day it is a fantastic guide to caring for someone with alzheimers. If you do not wish to pay for it you may be able to pick it up at the library.

https://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-Alzheimer-Disease-Dementias/dp/1455521159

Also as a stop gap measure her insurance should be able to provide for a home health aid through patterns in care, personal touch or various other agencies.

Please keep us all informed so we may help you on the journey.

u/mjjdota · 1 pointr/PoliticalHumor

There's also a book in which many mental health experts agree on his mental impairment. https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

u/SnapshillBot · 1 pointr/EnoughTrumpSpam



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u/plasticspatula · 1 pointr/science

In case anyone wants to read a really great book on Alzheimers: David Shenk's The Forgetting was amazingly informative, really touching and very helpful in getting me to understand what was happening to my uncle.

In searching for a link to it, I just found out there's a PBS doc as well.

u/abstract_misuse · 1 pointr/financialindependence

Talk to them, early and often. They will need to work longer and rely more on government programs (Medicare/Medicaid) than they would necessarily want, and they should have a solid understanding of what this looks like for them.

Here's a great book I've read that really helps with a lot of issues (including the financial stuff): https://www.amazon.com/How-Care-Aging-Parents-3rd/dp/0761166769

u/Snufffaluffaguss · 1 pointr/politics

Reading this book has given me so much more insight than I ever really wanted. I'm still thinking it's a personality disorder with a dash of dementia.

u/Nadarama · 1 pointr/politics

Is that quote supposed to support your assertion? The 27 psychiatrists who wrote this book disagree. Trump is the prime exemplar of malignant narcissistic personality disorder.

u/mwhter · 1 pointr/politics

>Are you a psychologist?

https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

These people are, and they think he's nuts.

u/cheap_dates · 1 pointr/CaregiverSupport

I do recommend an Alzheimer's support group for you. www.alz.org. You need the empathy, you need to know what resources are out there, current treatments and you need a break. Meetings are usually once a month and are for family and friends.

I also recommend reading: The 36 Hour Day. Its a classic.

u/AiliaBlue · 1 pointr/TwoXChromosomes

tl;dr click the link, that's a useful book and has all of this, plus some more.

My minor in college was gerontology, and I was going to specialize in dementia care once upon a time. There's plenty of folks with advice in here, but I thought I'd add my two cents from that currently otherwise useless degree. There is unfortunately no reversing dementia, and if you can slow it down at all it's often imperceptible.

This will be awful and hard. Know that she will not know it's awful and hard in the end, and that's okay. Also realize that when it's at it's worst, she's not suffering - she doesn't know this is going on around her.

This is the best book I've read, and it is written in smaller pieces so you can digest one bit at a time - theoretically while caregiving, but it's also extremely useful in general. Most of what I'm saying is in there, and my MIL found it indispensible when she cared for her mom.

"Please affix your oxygen mask before assisting others" is key. You can't help take care of mom if you're falling apart. Neither can your dad, or whomever is the primary caregiver. Take days off.

Don't argue with her about what is real and what isn't when her memory starts to fade more thoroughly. She may not remember who you are, but she will remember you made her feel bad and avoid you. This is a must. Just agree and deflect, if you can. Reassure her and validate her on whatever she's worried about, and then ask about something else important. Comfort is key - go ahead and lie. You'll know when it's time for this.

Let her do as much as she can, as long as she can. This will help hold things together longer, both physically and mentally.

Keep stable schedules and locations for her. The longer she can use familiar context clues (TV in the corner, sun in the window, bathroom's in that doorway) to figure out what's going on, the easier it is on both of you. There may be a point this isn't possible, and that's okay too.

Episodic memory (stories, names, etc) fades long before procedural (riding a bike, etc), and both of those long before emotional memory (how things make you feel). Old ladies who can't remember what their own name is can often still cut up carrots for dinner without cutting themselves; they've been doing it forever. And they know they like the nice nurse with the pretty smile, although that they realize why. (Hint: she doesn't argue)

There will be good days and bad days. Don't feel bad about this, none of it is your fault. It's okay to be sad.

Remove throw rugs from her house as soon as she'll let you (or doesn't notice) - people with Alzheimer's often forget that they're old, and will accidentally hurt themselves. Falls are the most dangerous, and throw rugs the most common way to do so.

Her personality may change. Often people become angry, or curse when they never did before, or any number of things. This is okay too. Don't argue, agree and deflect: "Yes, mom, that is a bad f*cking movie, how about we watch the birds today instead, I like the red ones especially." (and then lead her away to the birds)

Alzheimer's patients can sometimes exhibit odd behavioral patterns. They will sometimes pack bags constantly, wander off without adequate preparation, sit at bus stops forever, or other odd repetitive behaviors. This is normal and it's all okay. If this gets dangerous, she either needs someone home all the time or to be moved somewhere with security for this issue.

I can't tell you what it's like - I didn't know my Grandma-in-law until she was already halfway through, so I didn't know she was missing anything. You will do the best you can with what you have available, and that is all anyone can ever do. This may be 5 years or 30 years long, and you will probably want a therapist to help you through it. It will be okay, although it will suck to get there, no lie.

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this and I"ll be glad to help, anytime. If you know the specific disease, I can try and help explain that too, if you'd like. Good luck. <3

u/Ras-Algethi · 1 pointr/Alzheimers

I've started reading The 36-Hour Day and it is a very good book for describing just about everything someone with Alzheimer's could go through. They describe this decline over and over as brain damage - sometimes connections work. Sometimes they don't - like a lightbulb with a faulty connection. The best advice I can give you is don't try to understand why they do what they do. Just roll with it, agree and play along. Best of luck OP. This is a long, hard, sucky road we're on.

u/nutmegtell · 1 pointr/videos

Please please get this book (Linked below) I have had too much experience with this. My uncle had Mad Cow disease, my grandfather had dementia now my mother in law has Alzheimer's. This book has been amazing, easy to read and very very helpful for every stage.

If you have children, dementia is the opposite. Instead of slowly gaining independence, they need to know it's okay to become dependent.

There's a really good Facebook group too, Memory Keepers Its private, but you just need to message them and they will add you. It's good to have a place to share, vent, find help etc.

It's been a great comfort to many of us in this situation. They would love this video.

And this is the best book to help you understand what is happening, will happen, and how you can help her and yourself feel better.

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss https://www.amazon.com/dp/1455521159/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MuAKybN8XTCM6

u/tau-lepton · 0 pointsr/TruePolitics

There are literally books written by expert psychologists on Trump’s mental state.

Here’s one

>27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Case-Donald-Trump-Psychiatrists/dp/1250179459

u/daynasteele · 0 pointsr/IAmA

Spokesperson for Caring.com. Like to say I am the unintentional expert on this damn disease. Was Mom's primary caregiver and in charge of all affairs, decisions, etc through her journey with Alzheimer's. Write a book about it and tried to pass on what I learned to others: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Alzheimers-Friends-Facebook-Really/dp/1519370849/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8.

u/fiztja · -5 pointsr/conspiracy

On the contrary, the article lays out quite clearly the context in which this takes place, and presents a list of actions already taken by Trump. Whether a Trump administration does or doesn't institute more sweeping dictatorial and authoritarian methods of rule remains to be seen, but the groundwork is being laid, and has been laid for some time now. With every successive president we find ourselves closer and closer to living in an actual police state. And your response is: Trump, the duplicitous and stupid pseudopopulist conman didn't explicitly state his intentions, so there's no reason to think he'd do anything so drastic.

We all thought W Bush was a dummy blowhard, too, but that didn't stop his administration from carrying out (probably) 9/11, illegally invading Iraq, the Wolfowitz Doctrine, passing the Patriot Act, illegal surveillance, opening Guantanamo, normalizing torture, and every other anti-democratic measure you can think of.

The point is, this kind of structure isn't erected overnight. It's built brick by brick, day by day, until one day the capstone locks in place and then it's too late. As the article states, presidents aren't flippant with language, and when they are it cannot be ignored or shrugged off as whimsy, or whatever.

Chris Hedges wrote a pretty good article on Truthdig last year called "Signs of Creeping Fascism Are All Around Us", which I think is worth a read. In it, he looks at a book called "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them", by Jason Stanley.

Stanley examines how modern authoritarian and nationalist—“fascist,” if you like (Stanley obviously does)—politicos have used and subverted purportedly democratic electoral politics to gain power. He finds 10 common themes animating fascist ideology and propaganda:

​

>1. Invocation of a mythic national past marked by racial, ethnic, religious and/or cultural purity—a supposedly glorious history to which the nation needs to return.
>
>2. Propagandistic use of outwardly virtuous ideals (including anti-corruption, democracy, liberty and free speech) to advance abhorrent ends that contradict those ideals.
>
>3. An anti-intellectual assault on education, universities, science, expertise and language, accompanied by charges of Marxism and “political correctness” against liberal and leftist enemies and the advance of simplistic nationalist and authoritarian ideals. This is fertile soil for the deadly denial of climate change that has occurred and for such absurd claims as the notion that whites are now more damaged by racism than are black, Latinx and Native American people in the U.S.
>
>4. An insidious attack on truth and on people’s ability to perceive and agree on truth. Regular and repeated obvious lying is combined with the advance of conspiracy theories and the promotion of “news as sports” and demagogic strongmen as “stars.”
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>5. An ugly faith in natural hierarchies of worth and a rejection of equality as dangerous, unnatural, Marxist and liberal delusion.
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>6. An aggrieved and counterfeit sense of victimhood among dominant “us” groups (racial, ethnic and/or religious) that feel threatened by having to share citizenship, resources and power with minority groups (“them”). This ironic victimology feeds an oppressive nationalism devoted to maintaining “natural” hierarchies and uniting “chosen” but supposedly oppressed racial, ethnic, religious groups (whites in the U.S., Christians in Hungary, Hindus in India, and so on.) against the supposedly false claims and unjust demands of “them”—those designated as “naturally” inferior others.
>
>7. A stern embrace of law and order that targets minority others (“them”) as criminal threats to the safety and security of the majority (“us”).
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>8. Sexual anxiety about the threat supposedly posed by minority, criminal and alien others to “our” traditional male roles, status and family values.
>
>9. A loathing of cities seen as racially and sexually corrupt, ethnically impure, sexually perverse, parasitic criminal zones loaded with a polyglot mass of some inferior, nation-weakening “them.” By contrast, the rural countryside is lauded as the noble wellspring of virtue, strength, self-sufficiency and racial-ethnic purity. The rural heartland/fatherland/motherland/homeland is the sacred and foundational “blood and soil” preserve of “us.” It is the noble native soil of the “volk”—the true ancestral people who embody the spirit of a once-grand nation that needs to be made great again through the defeat of liberal and supposedly leftist elites who have been giving the nation’s resources and power away to naturally inferior others (“them”).
>
>10. A sense of the chosen-people majority (“us”) as hard-working, upright, virtuous and deserving, combined with the notion of demonized minorities and others (“them”) as lazy, dissolute, shifty and undeserving.

Is Trump’s narcissism a problem for his backers? Not really. As psychologist Elizabeth Mika noted last year in an essay titled “Who Goes Trump? Tyranny as a Triumph of Narcissism”:

>The tyrant’s narcissism is the main attractor to his followers, who project their hopes and dreams. The more grandiose his own sense of self and his promises to his fans, the greater their attraction and the stronger their support. … Through the process of identification, the tyrant’s followers absorb his omnipotence and glory and imagine themselves winners in the game of life. This identification heals the followers’ narcissistic wounds, but also tends to shut down their reason and conscience.


If that sounds anything like “creeping fascism,” that’s because it is. As political scientist Anthony DiMaggio recently observed:

>There are too many red flags in public sentiment to ignore the threat of creeping fascism. Ominously, one of the strongest statistical predictors of support for Trump is the desire for a strong leader who will ‘crush evil’ and ‘get rid of the rotten apples’ who ‘disturb the status quo.’ Half of Republicans say they trust Donald Trump as a more reliable source of information than the news media—more reliable even than conservative media outlets. Nearly half of Republicans think media outlets should be ‘shut down’ if they are ‘broadcasting stories that are biased or inaccurate,’ raising ominous possibilities regarding precisely who will act on such allegations. … The cult of Trump is not an abstract phenomenon, but one that has real implications. … The danger of fascist creep is also seen in the support from most Republican Americans for shutting down the 2020 election, so long as Trump declares it necessary to combat fictitious voter fraud. Conservatives’ acceptance of this conspiracy theory continues, unfortunately, despite the president’s own ‘voter fraud commission’ being disbanded after failing to find any evidence of it.

You'll have to forgive me if I take these things a little seriously.