James_Goodlet

I'm a fly-fishing Presbyterian minister at First Presbyterian Church in LaGrange, GA.

[Pastor Patti Sue @PastorPattiSue1]

The Roman soldiers looking for Jesus in the tomb…

#HeIsRisen #Easter #HappyEaster

[NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners @NCAABuzzerBters]

Side-by-side:
Braylon Mullins game winner UConn vs Duke 2026
&
JP Pegues game winner Furman vs Virginia 2023

[Bobby Reagan @BarstoolReags]

WE ALMOST LOST BILL RAFTERY

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

@JarvisD90 Preach #expandmarta #trainsnotlanes

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

One of the great March moments in my life. Good to be back where @FurmanMBB belongs!

[The Field of 68 @TheFieldOf68]

Just thinking about Furman in the NCAA tournament for no reason in particular...

[Pew Research Center @pewresearch]

Southerners tend to be more religious than other U.S. adults – but less religious than they used to be. https://t.co/GAsOhxNFAv

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

Easily one of my favorite ads of all time.

[RedditCFB @RedditCFB]

We remember Steve Irwin on what would've been his 64th birthday: 🇦🇺🐊

[AnthroVet50 @spooked75]

Why is MAGA so hateful?

I get asked this a lot. The short answer is: because hate is the point. But let me break it down.

Grievance as identity

MAGA isn't a political movement built on policy. It's built on resentment. The core message has always been "you've been wronged" — by elites, by immigrants, by cities, by universities, by the media, by women, by minorities, by anyone who isn't you.

This isn't a coalition that comes together to BUILD something. It comes together to tear things down. Hate isn't a byproduct of the movement. It's the fuel.

Zero-sum thinking

They genuinely believe that if someone else gains, they lose. Rights for gay people? That's an attack on Christians. Immigrants succeeding? They must be stealing from "real Americans." A Black president? He must be illegitimate.

There's no concept of shared prosperity or expanding opportunity. Just winners and losers. And they're terrified of losing.

The dominance hierarchy

A lot of MAGA is rooted in evangelical and authoritarian psychology. There's supposed to be a natural order: white at the top, Christian at the top, male at the top, straight at the top.

When you've been at the top of a hierarchy your whole life, equality feels like oppression. Giving others a seat at the table feels like theft.

The media ecosystem

Fox News → OANN → Newsmax → podcasts → Twitter/X. It's a 24/7 rage machine. Every algorithm rewards outrage. Every host competes to be more extreme than the last.

These people are literally addicted to anger. Neurologically. They get dopamine hits from feeling righteous fury. They wake up and immediately check their phones to find out what they should be mad about today.

Turn it off for a week and they go through withdrawal.

Economic anxiety — weaponized

Here's the thing: a lot of the underlying pain is real. Deindustrialization gutted their towns. Opioids killed their families. Wages stagnated while costs exploded. The American Dream stopped working for them.

But instead of blaming the corporations that shipped jobs overseas, or the billionaires that rigged the economy, or the politicians that deregulated everything — they're taught to blame immigrants. To blame welfare recipients. To blame Black people in cities. To blame trans kids.

Classic fascist playbook: take legitimate economic anger and redirect it at the vulnerable.

The permission structure

Trump didn't create the hate. He just gave it permission.

For decades, these people were told to keep the quiet part quiet. Be polite. Use dog whistles. Then Trump came along and said the loud part loud — and nothing happened. No consequences.

He showed them they could be openly racist, openly cruel, openly contemptuous of democracy — and not only survive, but win.

"He fights" doesn't mean he fights for them. It means he's mean to people they don't like. The cruelty is the point.

Community built on enemies

This is the part people miss: MAGA is a community. For a lot of these people — especially older, rural, isolated Americans — it's their entire social world. Their friends are MAGA. Their family is MAGA. Their church is MAGA.

The hate is the membership card. The shared enemies are what bind them together. Leaving the movement doesn't just mean changing your politics. It means losing everyone you know.

So they double down. And double down again. Because the alternative is being alone.

The bottom line

Why is MAGA so hateful?

Because scared people + relentless propaganda + permission to be cruel + community built on shared enemies = hate as a lifestyle.

They're not going to be reasoned out of it. They weren't reasoned into it.

The only thing that works is making it socially and politically costly to be part of it. Outvoting them. Out-organizing them. And building something better that gives people a different place to belong.

[Shooter McGavin @ShooterMcGavin]

Dads returning to their families after football season ends tonight

[Dan Graca @DanGraca]

At this point, I'm surprised John Harbaugh just didn't pick the Dodgers also

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

I can’t stand MLB.

[Robert Murray @ByRobertMurray]

Free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a four-year, $240 million contract, according to sources familiar with the deal. It includes an opt out after year two.

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

So, maybe... um... trains?

[Everything Georgia @GAFollowers]

Georgia’s $2 billion traffic‑relief plan is currently in the proposal stage.

It aims to add express lanes, upgrade highways, and improve local roads, but it will take several years before commuters see the changes.

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

@JarvisD90

[Curry Hicks Sage @CurryHicksSage]

Give Curt Cignetti a year in charge of America and we'd be ahead of China in the construction of high speed rail.

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

@JarvisD90 Interviewed him for president and GM simultaneously.

[Test Chamber Defect @LathburyJason]

I have a WAY better idea.

[Shooter McGavin @ShooterMcGavin]

Underrated Movie Villain:

Peter McCallister

- Let’s his brother call Kevin a jerk without any repercussions. Zero backbone.
- Forgot to close the garage. Car batteries are dead for sure.
- When flight landed, couldn’t have cared less about forgetting Kevin. Just wanted to get to hotel and relax
- Calls losing kids a “family tradition” in front of the police and laughs about it
- Gets mad at Kevin for room service bill. Sorry your kid didn’t want to die from starvation.
- Questionable Mob ties and where his money comes from

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

@Kelly_Quinlan And by that you mean Simit Shah.

[Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis @RevJacquiLewis]

Violence is NEVER the way. We can and must disagree passionately about politics and theology without resorting to hate or harm. #CharlieKirk

[James_Goodlet @James_Goodlet]

@CorkyKell @Dylan_Barber_12 Let's go @Julian_Jones5!