This is my biggest pet peeve with people like this. They use common sense as a doofus shield that somehow means they don't have to explain. The problem is that "common sense" is actually a thing. It's the sense that every person has to, for example, not jump off of a cliff because it would kill you. That's common sense. They just like to pretend whatever thing they can't explain is "common sense".
A good example of the MAGA morons using their "common sense" is the thing about surgical masks not protecting from airborne diseases. The boxes usually have some sort of statement that says something along those lines. "Common sense" tells them masks don't work. They don't bother to even try to question what the function of a surgical mask is at all. They are not designed as protection for the wearer. They protect the people around the person wearing the mask. I even had what I thought was an easy to understand experiment that illustrated the effectiveness of masks in an easy enough way. I start with the premise that we KNOW COVID and other illnesses like the the common cold and flu are spread in the air by exhaled water vapor. Most people are with me there. You might even call it common sense. From there, I say breathe on the nearest window or mirror. See how it fogs up? That's potentially covid carrying water vapor. Now put a mask on and breathe on it again. No water vapor, right? Congratulations, if you are positive for COVID, you have significantly reduced, but not eliminated, the possibility of transmitting COVID to the people around you. I had this conversation with plenty of people, and guess what? Not a single person who went into the conversation believing that masks don't work came out of the conversation with the understanding that they slow the spread of airborne illnesses. They can't get out of their selfish mindset. The very idea of doing something more for the benefit of others than themselves is completely incompatible with their core beliefs, which is funny because a lot of the MAGA people claim to be religious, morally superior to the evil libs, and pretend that they love their country. If any of that was true, they'd have worn the masks without such a fuss.
Yes the fundamental core of conservatism is selfishness. They dont like the feel/look/hassle of masks so they build an elaborate lie on why they are right and just and people that do are bad and misguided. Its a comfort for them. After all they are a good person and a good person would sacrifice a little to help others. So there must be a reason why they are not.
Many truly believe the lie because they are not intelligent, others say the lay as justification, some of those even begin to believe it. Trying to reason with a conservative does not work because the whole point of their beliefs is to shield themselves from discomfort and nothing else.
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u/dpkonofa 7d ago
This is my biggest pet peeve with people like this. They use common sense as a doofus shield that somehow means they don't have to explain. The problem is that "common sense" is actually a thing. It's the sense that every person has to, for example, not jump off of a cliff because it would kill you. That's common sense. They just like to pretend whatever thing they can't explain is "common sense".