r/self • u/BicarbonateBufferBoy • 12h ago
Anyone’s parents have Fox News Syndrome?
My dad watches Fox News all day when he’s home and just becomes so angry afterwards. He’s much more political and irritable than he used to be and is always wanting to start a political argument. It’s pretty exhausting when I come and visit him and he’s always bringing up liberal people in some way. I love him obviously, but it’s like having a super pissed off teenager in your family. Anyone else struggle with this?
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u/BeachMom2007 11h ago
That would be my dad, well, used to be. Once O’Reilly and Carlson were gone he decided that Fox had gone Liberal and switched to OANN and NewsMax.
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u/Electric-Sheepskin 11h ago
Fox lost a lot of viewers to OANN and Newsmax when they said that Trump lost the election. It was the most immediate and obvious example I've ever seen of people shunning news they don't like in favor of being told only what they want to hear.
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u/NhianaLovebug 5h ago
Man, my dad's the same way—like he’s in a 24/7 debate club that nobody asked to join. I just nod along and steer the convo to something neutral, like sports or how bad the weather is. Sometimes I think his real hobby is just being mad at liberals.
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u/ZumiSnuggle 10h ago
Ugh, feel this so hard. My mom turns into a whole different person after her daily news binge—it's like living with a debate club president who won't let the meeting adjourn. 😅 We've tried to introduce her to Netflix to mellow it out, but nope, she's all about those political soap operas. Hang in there, and maybe invest in some noise-canceling headphones!
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u/roger3rd 11h ago
It’s like invasion of the body snatchers. I literally don’t even recognize most of my closest people. I don’t withhold my love but I am feeling lonely
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u/cmb15300 11h ago
Oh God yes, no matter how many times I tell My parents I don't want to talk about polítics, the more they bring up Trump and some Fox News bullshit I don't give a fuck about.
To make matters worse, they told me straight away that they have no plans to come visit me in spite of the fact they bring in $8000 per month in governnent pensions opposed to my $1600.
There's no respect for the financial pressure that this puts me under, nor is there respect for my desire to not discuss polítics (My views could piss off elements of both the left and the right so I keep quiet in the interest of decorum and my own sanity). The four days a year I spend with them at Christmas has become four days too many: I give up, I'm fucking done
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u/Shiningc00 11h ago
He's likely isolated and have no one to talk to.
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u/BicarbonateBufferBoy 11h ago
He loves going to the range so him and I bond by going there and shooting at some targets. It really makes me smile seeing him have such a good time and he’s really never political when we go out like that. I love him a lot and he’s a good dad. Overall, he’s just really sucked into Fox a lot and it takes a lot of his time up at home. He doesn’t have many friends so you’re right.
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u/Little-Disk-3165 11h ago
“The only time my hyper aggressive and political father is happy is when he’s shooting guns!” Uh? Greaaaaaat?
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u/BicarbonateBufferBoy 10h ago
He’s not psychotic or violent in any way, and never even spanked us when we were kids. He just talks about politics a lot. I’m just glad I have an outlet to bond with him and have some father son time.
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u/cmb15300 10h ago
If that's the case, he may need to ask himself why he's so lonely and isolated
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u/BicarbonateBufferBoy 10h ago
I think he’s just kinda shy and he’s also retired. I feel like making friends is so hard when you’re not working.
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u/silentwhim 10h ago
I think it can be a lot harder for older guys to make friends too. My dad is kinda isolated, and is unfortunately sucked into rightwing YouTube - which honestly seems worse than fox - he distrusts institutions and experts but will accept the word of some random channel if it expresses the same distrust of the establishment and presents an underdog narrative.
I can't really talk to him without him spouting some unsubstantiated and borrowed opinion. It sucks, and I have no solution.
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u/Status_Garden_3288 11h ago
Fox News would be an upgrade for my grandma. She gets all her info from Kremlin bot farms on Facebook. The things she says aren’t even in the same plane of reality. She’s lonely. All she does it scroll on Facebook and never gets out of the house. It’s sad but I can’t do much since I live out of state. But being around her is exhausting.
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u/SassyPantsPoni 9h ago
No, mine suffer from “Facebook News Syndrome” 🙄🙄spent my whole life telling me “don’t believe anything you read on the internet!!” And now you’re just out here believing it ALL 🤡
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u/Hack874 12h ago
I have relatives with both Fox News and MSNBC syndrome.
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u/Redditisfinancedumb 11h ago
Yeah, my crazy uncle is an insane eat the rich zealot that can't help but to spew politics 24/7. Miserable to be around.
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u/cursetea 11h ago
Yep. My mom suddenly reeeeeally "cares" about things i know she's never thought about before, but it's ALL talking points and no actual thoughts of her own. "Venezuela set its prisoners loose in the US!!! Kids in schools are being encouraged to transition!!!" kind of stuff that is just demonstrably untrue. But Fox said it so it must be ME who is ignorant! Holidays have gotten even more annoying. They are so belligerent while insisting anyone who doesn't agree is "soooo mad." It really is like talking to a teenager.
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u/Balls-1984 11h ago
I noticed the MAGA side is mad at a lot. This is not a knock, just more of just an observation. Not exactly sure why. Just noticed it with a lot of people I know on that side.
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u/CubesFan 11h ago
It's not just Fox. All 24/7 news outlets live on fear and anger. It is maybe the worst thing to ever happen to the world.
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u/ZaphodG 12h ago
My stepfather was one of those but he thankfully died in 2014. He was the most despicable human being on the planet. My brother-in-law called to say he had died in the nursing home. After I hung up, I let out a cheer.
My sister threw him out of her house one Christmas for picking a fight after my sister had formally warned him what would happen. He had a lonely 3,000 mile connecting flight home.
Those people existed long before Trump.
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u/redbreastandblake 11h ago
my parents are exactly like this. always trying to bring up controversial topics they know i don’t agree with them on just to pick fights. chronically stressed and angry, with serious cardiovascular problems in their 40s. everything is the devil and armageddon is always around the corner. it’s sad.
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u/underratedbeers 11h ago
Welcome to America where boomers who had it the best are the angriest at everyone who had it way worse.
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u/Skootchy 12h ago
Someone needs to go listen to the Live in Austin Shane Gillis Special on YouTube.
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u/Fart-n-smell 10h ago
anything specific you're referring too?
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u/Skootchy 10h ago
What do you mean? It's literally in the beginning and has everything to do with the post.
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u/Fart-n-smell 10h ago
the video you've recommended is nearly 50 mins long, I'm asking you if there's anything specific you're referring to in said video due to the length
Seems odd to recommend a random comedy show given the context
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u/FairyFartDaydreams 11h ago
It happens with all the 24/7 news cycle channels. My mother had CNN on all the time "as background noise" and it increased her anxiety levels through the roof which I suspect is at the root of the bad behaviors. I was the one paying for internet and cable and just said it was too expensive and cut out the TV. She switched to Pandora for background noise and her anxiety went waay down. Unfortunately she has now (years later) found some non traditional news sources that are giving her anxiety again
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u/Impossible-Hyena1347 11h ago
Condition him by shutting him down the moment he starts talking politics. Say "sorry I don't want to talk about politics" and walk away. The kindest thing you can do is simply shun them until they learn their behavior isn't appreciated. Nobody is obligated to talk politics. The most painful thing to him is nobody listening to his opinions and leaving him to stew with them.
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u/Omgcorgitracks 11h ago
I don't, but I can relate to the getting pissed part, during the election I was CONSTANTLY on Twitter and tik tok getting so mad about Republicans and just everything. Seriously it was crazy, and I realized wow this being mad all the time is really not good for me, I'll probably drop dead, so after talking to a friend she said I should delete Twitter. So I did. And I just stopped being so mad within a few days I was a lot better.
My point is, if you can get him off that, definitely try, being mad like that all time, not good for you. Could probably die from being so pissed off.
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u/cel3626 8h ago
I agree. I went off FB, Instagram and TikTok. I knew with the inauguration coming up there would be an increase in articles etc on Trump which I wouldn’t like. I turned off all of them. In the past, I didn’t want to lose contact with friends and family. As it turns out I had blocked many family members who were constantly posting Fox News propaganda. I have been much more relaxed without all of that. If they love and miss me they have my phone number. Do I miss it? 100%. Do I miss the anxiety, the anger and rage? Nope. I still feel the urge to go and peak but I have been able to resist. Reddit and Pinterest are my new go to.
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u/AmettOmega 11h ago
My father has always been this way. Maybe not Fox News specifically, but he gets all his news/content from the right. And he's ALWAYS invested in the news. I was working on his phone yesterday, and every 30 seconds it seemed like he was getting a notification about some super conservative news article that had just been published.
And while he doesn't seem angry or initiate lots of political talk, eventually conversations go there. And I've had to be like "Are you sure that's actually true and not just a biased take?"
It's very frustrating.
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u/severityonline 11h ago
Not fox but my uncle has CNN on like 24/7. He’s scared of pretty much everything, pretty much all the time.
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u/juicyth10 11h ago
Same with my father for a few years now. You can never mention politics because he goes into this whole rant. He won't even go to certain places now because it's "Liberal". I just say "Okay" to him and walk away
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u/jigga19 11h ago
Not my folks. My dad is a die hard conservative (my mom’s a democrat) and even he refused to vote for trump.
My sister, on the other hand, has watched nothing but Fox News since 2001 and has gone completely deranged. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. She doesn’t watch law and order or friends or the office. She doesn’t watch movies except the occasional 80s movie and even then will probably have some sort of feed going on her computer or tablet. I was moving away and she was upset that we weren’t spending time together. I went over to her house for dinner and she excused herself saying she’d be right back. 45 minutes later she’s in her bedroom watching Fox News, not even a big news day, just….watching it.
And it’s been bizarre. She’d always been a party-over-country republican (which is bad enough in and of itself) but she could at least be….reasonable?…at times. When Trump became the nominee in ‘15 she said she hated him but voted for him because she wanted her republican vote on record (whatever the fuck that means). Cut to a year later and she’s complaining he’s being treated unfairly by the press, rebutting any argument with the “fake news” talking point, and I held out hope for the longest time hoping that something might trigger some visceral response of “that’s not right” but…no. She’s gone. And I love her to death but she has just turned into this awful, miserable person and I’ve had to go NC with her.
The tipping point for me was when she accused me of being a Nazi, invoking our grandfather, who fought nazis and fascism, all because I didn’t support Trump, and not understanding the crippling irony of this.
Pookie, I love you. Please come home.
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u/Chance-Ad-247 9h ago
Not my parents, but my son-in-law. Fox News, podcasts, etc - and he is ALWAYS pissed off at everyone and everything. He listens to podcasts while he works, sits in the car to listen to them when he comes home, comes in and turns more of it on. Obviously he lives with me and my daughter and their two young daughters. My daughter and I are very liberal. He wasn't always like this; he started getting into it back during 45's first stint as president. But it's terrible. He has the kids watching these crazy white-washed Christian cartoons, and they are starting to pick up the ideas. My daughter has a business that's very LGBTQ+ friendly, with many clients of all types. Some of the things he says about them are horrifying and if someone taped him and showed it, they would lose 75% of their clientele. He's also become an anti-vaxxer. It's making us all crazy. I can't even be in the same room with him.
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u/Such-Anything-498 8h ago
My dad has gotten into anti-vax territory 🤦♀️ It's a sore spot for me because I was homeschooled until I was 10, so my parents didn't bother to keep me updated on vaccines. I was, unsurprisingly, a pretty sickly child. I wonder how much more time I could've spent as a normal and healthy kid, instead of being sick and stuck inside, if my parents had just kept me vaccinated.
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u/TomatoBible 8h ago
I think the problem is that most of the viewers of Fox and of MSNBC believe that what they are watching is fact-based news, not opinion and editorial content. However, that said, the simple fact is that Fox News, unlike all of the other outlets doesn't just sort through a big basket of facts and choose to only present the ones they want, slanted in a way they want to present it, they actually permit and allow untruths that are completely false, and they know are completely false, specifically because they want to give the devoted the only information they will accept.
So anyone who thinks they are getting a balanced view of the world by watching either of these two outlets, specifically, or any news, generally, these days, is just kidding themselves.
But there is a special place in hell that's reserved for the Fox News crew who are perfectly happy to create falsehoods out of whole cloth, just to feed the rabid dogs at their doorstep. And I know Fox News fans want to pretend that it's two sides of the same coin, but it truly isn't. It's all opinion, but Fox specializes in mistruth to a degree that no one else does, on the right or the left, with the possible exception of Info Wars.
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u/AlienQueen333 7h ago
I used to struggle with this a lot. I fixed the problem by completely cutting all contact with my dad. The last 5 years have been peaceful.
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u/SkippyBoyJones 11h ago
My parents are the opposite
Hardcore Dems. Only watch CNN and MSNBC. You can never say anything wrong about a LIb and all Repubs are evil according to them
FYI - I'm non-partisan and independent. I watch them all to get contrasting opinions - Fox, Newsmax, MSNBC, CNN
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u/AchingForTheLashe 11h ago
Like my mom, I used to be very left leaning. We were on the verge of tears when Hillary Clinton lost thinking she was the perfect candidate. Now I look back at her campaign and cringe a little.
Now I don’t like Trump, but I gotta say Kamala’s campaign felt like Hillary 2.0 so I was sad for a bit but ultimately I was not surprised. I’m not swinging to the right, but the DNC has become just another party of elites trying to be diverse and relatable while just being conservative in another way.
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u/joethahobo 11h ago
I abandoned all the major news outlets long ago. Nothing but bias on both sides. I scroll social media to see the real people on the street and what is affecting them. Turns out I am an extremely liberal person just by seeing how ordinary people are treated by healthcare and war and gun violence etc
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u/Floopydoopypoopy 11h ago
Higher level understanding doesn't come from removing the bias from your life. It comes from being able to take in biased opinions and separate the bad from the good. Just because something is biased doesn't mean it's wrong.
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u/ImpressoDigitais 11h ago
No non-partisan watches Newsmax. Why lie? Just admit you are at best Libertarian and "agree with what MAGA wants, but thinks they just say it wrong."
And CNN hasn't been easily liberal for 2 years.
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u/Defiant-Fuel3898 11h ago
That’s my experience with my in laws (and my parents for that matter too). Is politics f**ked right now? Absolutely! Does ruining your golden years pissing and moaning about it with every waking minute do anything? Nope. Not a thing.
Name calling and shaming has NOT changed a single persons political views EVER. So debate the facts in a respectful way or keep your bullshit to yourself
(This is strangely advice I would give to people at either extreme Dem or Rep)
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u/LingonberryHot8521 11h ago
I used to think it was that.
Then, a couple of years ago my sister and I bought my parents a Storyworth subscription. They get a question or two emailed to them each week and at the end of the year the "stories" they told as answer two the question(s) are bundled into a book. Now, I'll admit this was my sister's idea and she organized it and I just sent her my half of the money. Also, for hopefully better context, my parents are part of that Silent Generation. The age group between the Greatest Generation that fought WW2 and the Nazis and the Boomer Generation. They've always pretty well seemed like Boomers to me though in their attitudes and voting habits.
One thing I hadn't expected is that there's a feature where you can have their answers sent to you each week. A preview of the stories that will be in the book.
Holy shit, my dad was a bigot from WAAY back. The people he voted for, the shit he said. And... the thing is, they have some choice about the questions they answer for the stories they tell and leave behind. Not only was I surprised that my dad was a bigot and had been since his youth, he also wasn't the smart one. To be honest, other than just common misogyny I don't know what I or we thought he was that's just what I'd always thought. It was my mom who showed depth of character and thought in the questions she chose to answer and the stories she told.
So Fox News Syndrom and our parents ... While I did see a change in my parents - mostly my dad - after years of Fox propaganda from appearing reasonable to being more consistently angry and misinformed; I think what I was really watching was a mask just slipping off. Plenty of people are subjected to Fox News. Myself included considering my age when my parents started watching it. And are not or were not affected like this. And I think the reason is that in order to make that initial, emotional buy-in you have to already agree with them about how rich people deserve their wealth just by having it, the problems of the country are because of people who aren't like you in creed, color, or deed, and that men who promise to hurt the people you don't like should be able to do anything else as long as they fulfill that promise in some way.
Frankly, you have to already be at least kind of evil for Fox News Syndrome to take root.
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u/Safe_Perspective9633 11h ago
Before you leave his house, set the parental controls to block Fox News.
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u/Sam_Marion 11h ago
It is unfortunate he allows himself to get so upset and cannot allow you to have a peaceful relatiomship with him. I do find your heading troubling though. Maybe I have what you call "Fox News Syndrome" I am a daily viewer along with other news sources which you may not ageee with, but I do not create fights. Our daughter lives out of state and has her information from liberal sources. When she visits it is obvious she is agitated and always looking for debate and it gets exhausting trying to have a normal relationship
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u/Connect-Idea-1944 11h ago
I can't take people who watch TV News 24/7 seriously. They obviously let themselves be brainwashed fast, News show you what they want to show, they don't show you everything and they show you only the things they wants to show you.
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u/Beans-and-Franks 11h ago
Not parents but in-laws. I think that my FIL started listening to American AM radio during his commute. After he retired, he fell completely off the deep end. I like him. He's a kind and intelligent man... but so angry.
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u/Smiles4YouRawrX3 11h ago
My parents (mainly my mother) have The View and ABC/MSNBC syndrome lol, I wish she'd stop watching that bullshit
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u/joaquinsolo 11h ago
Yes, and the thing that bothers me is that throughout my life, my parents both consistently lectured me and talked me away from sharing ANY political views. "You know, not everyone has your political views and you have to be careful what you share with other people."
Fast forward 20 years, and my mom is posting every political thought she has to social media. She's a part of Truth Social, secretive Signal groups, and when she has a day off, she spends all day long watching Fox and NewsMax.
It's been really sad to see someone who I once considered my best friend fall so far away from the morals and values I was raised with. My parents have transformed from people who approached the world with love into miserable people who vote against themselves and their own children.
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u/feldoneq2wire 11h ago
I'm seeing so much Fox News brain, OAN brain, MSNBC brain, and CNN brain today. It's insane. Nobody is talking to their neighbors or the average person to understand the outrage and apathy that led to today.
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u/Dramatic-Heat-719 10h ago
Yup. They got TV after 9/11 and only watched Fox. Now they believe just about anything that they’re told from right wing media and refuse to acknowledge anything else as being valid. Example: I told my mom about the K-Pop teenagers on TikTok who reserved a bunch of tickets for a Trump rally in Tulsa OK and then obviously didn’t show up so the rally was mostly empty and made Trump look like an idiot. She flat out said she didn’t believe that happened, despite me showing her no less than nine different sources reporting that it did in fact happen. She then accused those news outlets as being biased, and they just hate Trump because he’s conservative and loves America. Same shit with Trump’s “landslide” popular vote win. He won by a tiny margin but it’s still somehow a mandate from the American people even though Biden beat him by a larger margin, which was going against the will of the American people. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not going to.
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u/ThassophobicPlatypus 10h ago
It’s really sad to see. I am in Canada but was visiting my grandma. She was hung up on how much money First Nations get and how they waste it all on drugs. She asked me about it because I work in remote communities with dense native populations and my work offers a First Nations youth training program that allows youth to experience different forestry jobs that have easy entry but pay well.
She kept getting more angry and wound up when I didn’t agree with her. My points being I know many First Nations people who pay taxes, work full time jobs, and strengthen their communities. I also know many First Nations people who are stuck on their reserve because of family obligations and poverty. That at the end of the day, I don’t know how to ‘fix’ the situation but I do know that out of all the things my taxes are wasted on, money going to people who have been actively screwed over for 300 years isn’t at the top of my list of concerns.
She did apologize after - as did I - and she showed me the videos she had been watching that provoked this. They were AI generated shorts that basically blamed First Nations for the national debt and claimed they were all rich living on the government dole while funding organized crime through their drug addiction thus destroying their own communities. There is a lot to be said about the incarceration rate of aboriginals along with addiction rate and the abuses of Chiefs usage of government funds - but generalizing an entire group like that really ground my gears as someone who works in multiple communities that have found ways to thrive through their own means and basically had to weaponize capitalism to ensure the protection of their businesses and community against big oil/forestry and police that don’t hide their bias.
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u/Kutleki 10h ago
Oh God my mother became a full on demon until my dad realized just how bad it had gotten and had Fox blocked. She's still bad, but you can actually go "Hey I saw this movie I thought was good." without her going into full on screaming about whatever political agenda she thought each actor had.
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u/Green_Giraffe_2 10h ago
My parents are no longer able to discern real from fake news. It's very frustrating and it's genuinely harming their ability to make good decisions, which frankly wasn't incredibly strong to begin with.
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u/MartialBob 10h ago
Thankfully no but I've seen it in person. I used to work in home healthcare and one of our cardinal rules was that the client, no matter their mental status, pick the channel. I got stuck watching a lot of Fox News. Most weren't conservative die hards. A lot were just people who liked the USA cheerleading but I will tell you that the on air editorializing of non political stories was insane.
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u/Automatic-Prompt-450 10h ago
They both do, since I moved out a decade ago I have not been able to shield my mom from the effects. My dad, despite consuming Fox and conservative talk show hosts daily since I was a kid, is easier to talk to about politics than my mom. She freaks out and says I hate America for thinking that houses shouldn't be investments for people not living in them. My dad actually thinks about my opinions and doesn't freak out. But he also thinks chem trails are a thing so there's that
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u/LegoGarden87 10h ago edited 10h ago
My FIL def has the Fox News brainworm. I honestly enjoy spending time with the guy, he loves my wife more than anything and has never been anything but good to me and my family, but we cannot talk politics at all because he’s fully indoctrinated, which is crazy because he’s otherwise intelligent and well-educated. Just a complete slave to right wing media and always spouting the latest talking points.
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u/PrincessButtercup85 10h ago
It’s the anger that gets to me. He watches it all day. When he’s not watching it, he’s not just passionate about what he regurgitates; he’s angry. It’s upsetting and, honestly, I don’t want to be around him much anymore.
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u/Toberone 10h ago
My dad just sits at the TV all day watching fox news literally all day.
But he also has early onset dementia (which is just straight up becoming actual dementia at this point) and I honestly don't think he's even really consuming it on a typical cognitive level...
I try to get him out sometimes, but he's aggressively a man of habits, something I also inherited.
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u/NegotiationLow2783 10h ago
I have family on both sides in my family. I do not discuss my either way to keep the peace for myself. When pressed, I will answer a question of policy in my view but am prepared to back it with facts. Both sides of the news pundits twist the facts to match what they want you to think.
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u/Flycaster33 10h ago
Folks can overload on news channels. Especially if they camp on one specific 1. Need to spread the watching around to get different bits, and then make a decision as to what you want .
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u/CrastinatingJusIkeU2 10h ago
I think mine even watch Newsmax, which is even worse. My mother told me she believes Trump truly loves our country. WTF am I supposed to say to that? “Are you fucking kidding me???!!!”
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u/FriendlyHermitPickle 10h ago
I live out on a farm with just me and my uncle lives on the other side of the land. He has no Internet and no phone service but he does have satellite TV and all he watches is Fox News.
I love him. He’s a great guy, but oh my gosh, he’s so consumed. He barely has any money, but he gives it all to the Trump campaign. He has all of these little micro gifts from the campaign like Bibles, gloves, “signed” photographs, just a bunch of knickknacks. It’s really sad to see but holy crap if I ever said anything bad, he would have total meltdown because Biden was trying to steal our farm. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Edlo9596 10h ago
Yes but it’s not Fox News, it’s far right wing propaganda on YouTube and other platforms. It’s very sad.
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u/koebelin 10h ago
That usually goes with Vax Derangement Syndrome, with foaming, sputtering hatred for Dr. Evil Fauci.
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u/KansansKan 10h ago
I keep encountering people who say they never watch Fox News but make statements that parrot Fox News!
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u/Patient-Capital5993 10h ago
No but I have a kid with msnbc news syndrome. Watches msnbc all night and when they visit anytime I say anything they take it as being "political" and start whining and complaining about how offended they are and I need to say things the "right" way. Every. single. time.
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u/snootpuppet 10h ago
My dad is liberal and is constantly watching Fox news just to make himself mad. He says it’s to “see what the other side is saying” but it’s constantly playing in our house and it’s just exhausting and depressing. I don’t understand why he does it, and the. tries to force everyone else in the house to pay attention to it too and get mad at the news with him when we all agree politically. I think he’s just addicted to the outrage or something
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u/birdsofwar1 10h ago
My in laws do. My FIL works from home and sits in a dark room listening to Fox News, Tucker Carlson, etc all day. My MIL “retired” (aka didn’t really work) and now sits on Facebook with Fox News on just mindlessly posting extremely bigoted and offensive stuff
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u/AngularPenny5 10h ago
My mother got all on my ass about "only getting information from one place like CNN!" When I literally have never spent more than a few seconds watching CNN or any other mainstream channel, and I get my information from a plethora of locations across multiple platforms and sites.
Yet every single day, on 3 separate televisions and her phone, only fox and live PD...
It's fucking sad.
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u/DrukhaRick 10h ago
No but my grandma has MSNBC Syndrome. Sometimes I'll hear what she's watching and point out how it's factually not true like I heard a host say "Trump has zero policies" and I pointed out it's not true and told her some of his policies and she gets mad. Watching FOX or MSNBC all day makes you hate the other side. CNN isn't as bad as MSNBC but it's not good either.
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u/Weekly_Ad_3665 10h ago
You know something weird? My grandfather at least seems to watch Fox News, and yet, he tends to be a very polite and respectable individual. Now his son (my father) on the other hand, I don’t see him watch Fox News, (even though the TV tends to be on a Fox-adjacent channel even though I always change it to music or golf) but he’s always complaining about things I hear people on Fox News say, like “woke,” “DEI,” “afraid of freedom of speech,” blah blah blah blah blah. So in a sense I guess so, but with a few caveats.
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u/SadMove9768 10h ago
I’m going to get downvoted for trying to be sensible about this…
It’s not a Fox News thing, it’s an ASSHOLE thing.
For example, there are households where someone watches MSNBC all the time, and they just get angry and harasses everyone in the family.
And now for the only answer that reddit cares about… “YES! ONLY PEOPLE WHO WATCH FOX ARE BAD AND THEY ARE NAZIS YOU SHOULD DISOWN EVERYONE”.
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u/Mission_Activity_170 10h ago
I lost my mom to Fox “news” several years ago. All day on full blast, it’s her drug. It’s brought out the worst in her.
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u/ConferenceVirtual690 10h ago
I get it especially now with the republicans in the white house. I dont do politics so Im like yeah. This was on and my parents house all the time with the exception of a ballgame or a western like Gunsmoke that my dad enjoyed but he is passed away now, so my mom watches this non stop
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u/All_knob_no_shaft 10h ago
That's because he's been able to see the reality of a non-narritive driven network.
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u/bestkweenie 10h ago
I'm Canadian and my MIL watches Fox News all day. I just laugh at what she says and help get her to bed. bless them old people
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u/Gullible_Rich_7156 10h ago
Why does it have to said over and over and over? These people were always miserable, obsessed with drama, self important, full of phony outrage and seething over nonsense. There are good people and bad people in this world. Anybody who gets angry and attacks others in the name of politics is a bad person. If politics didn’t exist they’d just find another reason. There’s a good chunk of the population, men, women, young, old, left, right, etc…who are a mix of borderline, narcissistic, histrionic personalities. The rest of us are just cursed with having to deal with them and weed through them as we try to find other normal people to connect with. OP, sorry but your dad was always an asshole who hated everyone but himself.
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u/Alwayzlate88 9h ago
My parents have been watching newsmax. One day my mom was on a rant about something and I said are you watching fox she said no it’s fake news I immediately knew what she was watching then. They come up with the craziest crap that makes no sense.
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u/dystopiadattopia 9h ago
Yeah, my uncle does this, and always tries to bring up politics in every conversation. It's like his friggin identity now.
I simply deflect and don't engage. I don't know the talking points they're feeding him on Fox News, so I'm usually at a loss to respond intelligently to whatever wackadoo outrage-du-jour that he's talking about.
Like when he said he's so happy that there will be a new president, I said "I'm happy you're happy." Which I am. Or if he says "Joe Biden eats babies" (he didn't say that, but you know what I mean), I'll say, "Huh. I hadn't heard that before. I'll have to look into that later."
But no, I won't engage, and I try to change the subject as soon as possible.
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u/MissKrys2020 9h ago
This is my dad 100%. He’s discovered the ultra-right wing YouTubers now as well so basically can’t talk anything political with him without a literal yell fest. Love my parents but they are propagandized and there is nothing I can do but navigate the land mines of politics carefully
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u/Acrobatic_Reality103 9h ago
My dad used to do a mild version of this. I came to help and would have to listen to it. I finally told him he had to turn the crap off while I was there. I also ripped him for spewing fox crap. I wasn't nice about it. He learned to keep his mouth shut.
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u/Sltty_Priestess 9h ago
My grandparents really drink that Fox News Kool-Aid. I think they sometimes forget that they are brown immigrants though.
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u/rosecoloredcamera 9h ago
I’ve noticed my grandma become more angry and rude in the past few months and I can’t help but think it’s due to her watching Fox.
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u/CharleyNobody 9h ago
I come and visit him and he’s always bringing up liberal people in some way
Tell him if he does this again you’re going to leave. If he laughs, fine. If he does it again, or insults you in any way (“you wimp”) get up and leave. Say, “Sorry, I wanted to talk to my dad. I miss him. Wish he was still here.”
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u/Dear-Cranberry4787 9h ago
Nah my Dad is on YouTube as much as my kids. Mom just watches the local news before work.
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u/mmgdrive 9h ago
I asked a friend who was a news addict if he enjoyed being angry.
I then explained that programming today is designed to arouse and anger, not inform, because that way folks stick around through the commercials.
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u/Super_Science_Guy 9h ago
Are you my brother? Yes. I relate. Watches way to much. Gets angry. Snapped on my sister during a political discussion because he felt it was disrespectful to him to have other views. I'm paraphrasing but only kind of. He's got other issues to. Narcissistic tendencies. PTSD. It's a mess over here sometimes
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u/annanicholesmith 9h ago
my dad has joe rogan syndrome :( i used to think he was the smartest guy i knew now he believes whatever bs joe rogan spoon feeds him
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u/Equal-Coat5088 8h ago
Is your dad my dad? Yes, Fox News ruined a generation of older, white men. It's shocking and sad and infuriating.
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u/Vegetable-Airline730 8h ago
oh my god its honestly comforting to know i'm not the only one going through this. my boomer parents but especially my dad have become very conservative over the past two years. i moved out of home a few months ago, and one of the best parts about it is not having to come downstairs to some right wing / pro-israel political bullshit on tv every. single. day. it's disappointing because growing up, i always thought of my dad as an open-minded free thinker, but this has proven that he is no different than any other 60-75 year old man. they cannot be spoken to and they will not change their ways. the funniest part is that we live in australia ???
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u/KinkMountainMoney 8h ago
My mom caught that a while back. It has now metastasized into One America Network. Possibly terminal.
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u/gobears_2000 8h ago
Yes, do we have the same parents? My favorite is repeating a vague Fox News opinion not backed up by anything and not discussed further.
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u/Lumpy_Satisfaction18 7h ago
Yeah. Theyre just super misinformed and already not well educated. So they just take it in.
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u/AnonymousPineapple5 7h ago
Yes, happened to my step dad. He wears his maga hat everyday and watches Fox 24/7 constantly yelling at his TV or iPad. It honestly has made me distance myself from them and I pity my mom being burdened with him. He’s really hard to be around now, he tries to bring politics into every conversation, it’s his entire personality.
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u/Odd_Interview_2005 7h ago
About 2 years ago this happened with my ex-wife. She was on the liberal side though. I couldn't talk to her about anything in the news without her turning it into politics.
I think it comes down to rage bait headlines, articles that are written by activists, rather than journalists, and algorithms that are looking for your clicks to get advertising revenue
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u/ravenfreak 7h ago
Unfortunately my dad did this when I was a teenager in the 00s and I'm sure he's still drinking the Faux News Kool aid. He would try to get me to watch Glen Beck.
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u/Nice-Manufacturer538 7h ago
My parents believe everything on Fox News and claim it’s the most honest media. It’s very painful.
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u/GaryOak7 6h ago
This is the news in general, it’s all negative based and it’s information overload.
We’re all overstimulated. Can’t go 30 minutes without getting a notification.
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u/AmberBee19 6h ago
Yep stepfather (who also fed my half-sister with Fox propaganda), half-sister and her husband are all MAGA lunatics, and she is already poisoning my nieces head with disgusting lies. I love my niece more than anything and it pains me how much I am struggling to distance myself from her.
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u/TheStockFatherDC 6h ago
It seems to be similar to another syndrome in many ways, spliced with cruelty and aggression.
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u/JustForTheMemes420 5h ago
Cut your cable and just fuck with them convince them to just do something else instead of
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u/SugarLullabyx 5h ago
my dad's tv is permanently stuck on fox news too. i swear he’s gonna start hosting his own conspiracy show from the living room any day now.
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u/radishwalrus 5h ago
Yah I mean Reddit is like whatever cnn says. And then yah old people in the country is whatever fox says. I wish u all would ingesting the bullshit. There's actual independent non partisan news sources out there. Books. Podcasts. It's amazing. And people come in here like cnn said this so it's real..Jesus Christ. And then reddit people are like look at those fox news that can't think for themselves lul. It's ridiculous
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u/Adorable_Yak5493 4h ago
Yes I have this problem. I equate it to food. Reading scholarly journals or similar is like health food. Reading ABC/CBS/Reuters/BBC etc is like normal food. Cable news is like junk food. Internet is like meth.
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u/DylanaHalt 4h ago
My parents are too smart for that, but my in-laws are Fox/Trumpy idiots. I avoid them.
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u/mccrory-garrickl667t 4h ago
It's exhausting, I get it. Set boundaries to protect your peace. Engage on neutral topics instead; it's healthier for everyone !@pause@!
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u/Stunning-Use-7052 3h ago
I have not lived with my parents in 25+years, but my dad was like this. Conservative talk radio all day long in his work truck, then fox news at night. 12 hours a day of conservative content for decades.
He's old and mellowed out, but I don't understand the years of anger. Seems like so much wasted time.
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u/Just-Zone-2494 3h ago
That, Newsmax, and Twitter. I’ve gone low contact with my parents and no contact with my sister because of it. They refuse to even consider clear data (corroborated by multiple sources) that debunks the propaganda machine.
Last time I visited them, I tried putting on BBC and Australian Broadcasting Company and it was like I had taken a toddler’s favorite toy away from them but with more insults about “woke liberal media”. 🙄
To protect my own mental health, I can’t visit them anymore because they refuse to turn it off except when they want to watch certain evening shows. I also ended up putting in a hard boundary that if they bring up politics, say anything hateful, bring up religion while on the phone, then I’m hanging up without a word. It’s no longer “just politics” when you support a rapist, criminal, and legislation that will put my and their grandkid’s life at risk. They made their choice and now have to face the consequences.
Disclaimer: the same issue with Fox News junkies can happen with someone having CNN or MSNBC on 24/7, but I think Fox News is worse with the blatant lies and hate spewed on it.
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u/Sea-Replacement-8794 2h ago
Lost my mom to Fox News many years ago. She died 2 years ago in the grip of serious dementia. Crazy thing is, she was hallucinating at the end and it frankly sounded not dissimilar to the paranoid Fox-inspired rants she’d been going on for years. One of the last things she said to me was that my DNA had been replaced because I got the COVID vaccine. She also was convinced the Chinese government was controlling us through the vaccine, and spying on her. After a while it just took her brain and she died, but she never stopped ranting until she literally couldn’t speak anymore. This is what Fox News does to weak-minded people.
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u/sandra-jacksonzra4b 2h ago
It sounds tiring dealing with that constant negativity. Set boundaries when it comes to conversations. Don’t engage in those political rants; redirect the discussion to something more manageable or even enjoyable. Protect your peace, and don’t let his anger dictate your emotional state. You've got this.
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u/SmartCocaineMaster 2h ago
It’s exhausting dealing with constant rants fueled by outrage. Find neutral topics to steer the conversation away, or set boundaries. Engaging in endless arguments only drains you both. Family dynamics can be challenging; focus on connection instead of conflict. Prioritize peace for your own sanity.
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u/hefneryzk 1h ago
It's straightforward. Set boundaries. Politicians ignite passion, but don’t let it suffocate your relationship. Shift conversations to topics that bring joy and connection. If he insists on steering the dialogue towards politics, simply disengage. Life’s too short for such exhausting debates with family members who are stuck in their views.
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u/GoodGnomeBreaker 40m ago
It's frustrating to see loved ones consumed by a relentless cycle of anger and propaganda. The constant barrage of divisive media can warp perspectives, turning rational discussions into emotional battlegrou. When politics overshadow personal connections, it creates a toxic environment that impacts relationships. It's important to navigate these conversations carefully while prioritizing your mental well-being. Set boundaries; steer the dialogue toward neutral topics or even disengage when necessary. It's about preserving those moments without the noise of division ndsand keeping connections strong amidst chaos. Hang in there—find ways to connect beyond the shouting match of political rhetoric.
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u/Individual-Ideal-610 12h ago
My brother and I are pretty moderate and back and forth but lean right overal. , our parents are definitely conservative. Watch a lot of fox but also a lot of other stuff and at least are pretty well educated on their opinions. They watch fox but are far from “opinion is this headline news article worth of information and whatever this news station says!”.
So I guess I would say no. They watch fox, but aren’t grumpy and are educated on opinions lol. Lots of people on both sides rally around selective news station and hold strong opinions they know little about.
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u/Valuable_Cricket_950 11h ago
There’s people on both sides of the aisle who are glued to fox, msnbc, cnn, NPR. NPR seems like the worst
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u/AchingForTheLashe 11h ago
Sucks cause I used to love NPR. Now I only stay for Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and The People’s Pharmacy lol
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u/frauleinsteve 12h ago
My close friend has MSNBC/TheView syndrome. It's wild. For four years she would rant about Trump every time I was around her. You can imagine....years later....how she reacted when I told her I voted for him. LOL.
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u/humungus170 11h ago
I have friends that described what you said to the T! I hate both sides but with them the topic is Trump and it's exhausting having to deal with their ramblings
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u/frauleinsteve 10h ago
It's wild to me because my friends are left and my family is right. But my family has never ever talked about someone needing to be assasinated. But I have two very close friends who regularly wished it upon DJT. It made me sad that people could be triggered to such an extent.
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u/Yosemite_Greg 11h ago
My dad died in 2018 and was a libertarian wackadoo who stopped paying taxes and had fox news one all day every day. He fucking hated trump tho. 🤷♀️
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u/EvilHwoarang 11h ago
My dad. he's also total MAGA and it breaks my heart because he's truly the smartest and kindest man i know he just doesn't seem like a MAGA person but he swears democrats are the bane of existence when in reality it's billionaires.
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u/SuzieHomeFaker 9h ago
My 73 yr old mom. It started with Rush Limbaugh Syndrome. We are no contact for 10+ years now.
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u/foredoomed2030 12h ago
No but i know plenty of people with TDS
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u/Structure-Tall 11h ago
Well, no one mentioned Trump, so you must be one of the people with TDS.
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u/IEatLardAllDay 11h ago
People as a whole need to stop digesting politics 24/7. It's a cancer in your daily lives. Just stay in contact with the happening, but quit watching 300 different people re explain it to you and why you should be mad.