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posted by mrpg on Thursday March 01 2018, @05:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-if-I-have-rhinitis dept.

A new study showed a link between strong right-wing views and fear of disease and increased concern about hygiene.

The study showed that people who are more offended by bad odors are more likely to support authoritarian leaders, such as Donald Trump.

In the past, disgust at bad odors was important for survival. The scientists suggested that the disgust at unfamiliar odors may be linked to a desire to keep apart from "culturally unfamiliar" groups.

[...] In the new study, 160 people were rated on their aversion to bodily odours on a scale to one five and their responses compared to their political views. It found that each point higher on the disgust scale was associated with feeling 7.5 points more positive towards authoritarian leaders.

[...] It showed that people who were more disgusted by smells were also more likely to vote for Donald Trump than those who were less sensitive.


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by linuxrocks123 on Thursday March 01 2018, @06:26AM (2 children)

    by linuxrocks123 (2557) on Thursday March 01 2018, @06:26AM (#645634) Journal

    > I don't give the slightest fuck what you think of me or my opinions, so I will tell you in advance you can and should go fuck yourself if you disagree with me.

    Please don't take any part of this as a personal attack -- it's not.

    There are a number of studies like this that find psychological differences between conservatives and liberals. Reductionism is never proper, but it makes sense that people with higher general levels of xenophobia ("they're bringing guns, they're bringing crime...") would become conservatives, while people with higher levels of empathy ("let's make sure people don't die because they don't have health insurance" > "fuck them I got mine") would become liberals.

    The nice thing, though, is people can change. If you want to develop more empathy, you can. If you want to conquer your fears, you can.

    If you don't want to, though, no one can make you. All I can offer is that my life got better the more I started caring more about others and being less afraid of stuff I didn't need to be afraid of. Eventually, after I'd become a far better person than I used to be, God actually reached out to me, to let me know I'm on the right path, to help me help others, to help me continue healing, and to provide the comfort that perhaps this world isn't all there is.

    Politics isn't important to spiritual growth, per se, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that empathy really is part of the key to a better life, and you can't care about others while you're simultaneously focused on how horrible they are for paying less in taxes, or winning an "argument" (really "insult match") against them.

    Another part of the key is respecting yourself -- you are beautiful not because you are better than someone else (like "misfits and losers"), but simply because you have thought, and emotions, and a soul.

    Unfortunately, I think everyone has to find this key for himself. Parents can probably help, but many haven't found the key themselves, and just make things worse. But maybe this post, just maybe, can help you or someone else look. It's worth a few minutes of my time to try, anyway.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday March 01 2018, @08:31AM (1 child)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday March 01 2018, @08:31AM (#645681) Journal

    I've mostly seen atheists and deconverts from the Abrahamic religions go this path, and the more "Christian" someone is, the worse they are as a person, in my experience. This tells me you and said atheists and deconverts have all hit on something fundamental about human nature, but they are predisposed to see it as happening despite some idea of the divine, while you are predisposed to see it as happening because of that idea.

    Now, although not atheist myself, I *do* believe based on research into the religions that the former are correct in their approach; hippie humanist Jesus simply is not Biblical. The right-wingers and haters and fundies mostly have the right idea about him. But congrats on coming to the same conclusions about humanity and purpose and there being more than just animal satisfactions of the impulses and ego. I wish more people would do what you did.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday March 01 2018, @10:26AM

      by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Thursday March 01 2018, @10:26AM (#645707) Journal

      There are many paths to enlightenment. Some folk find their way through via religion. Some via atheism / humanism. Some by meditation, some by politics, some through suffering and hardship, and others by yet other routes. They all go to the same place and I suspect GP has found a good road through the "religious" route. Sadly, every path has its pitfalls and dead ends and switchbacks. Not everybody who travels these paths ends up in a good place.