(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Recruiting Volunteer Therapists to Aid Trump Cult Deprogramming [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-06 Deprogramming is long and difficult work and these are times where speed and urgency are needed. How do we break people free from the omnipresent, Russian-created Trump cult fast enough to have any noticeable effect on the election? The good news is that close districts in elections are usually won in the field. While definitions vary, a "field win" normally means winning by anything from one vote up to about three percent. Within that margin it can be argued that the field campaign made the difference. So if we can peel away a few dozen to a few hundred people per district in close districts and deprogram then we can make an impact. We couldn't rely on numbers alone, the people being deprogrammed would have to be volunteers or voters in swing districts that are also crucial to their side (for example, someone who makes phone calls for Trump three days a week). They need to be influencers in local campaigns: volunteers in field offices, activists campaigning on social media, even paid campaign staffers. Many of them will be unreachable but some will be burned out and doubting their cause, especially as the campaign goes on and pressure increases. Some will be fired by the campaign, and that brief disillusionment will present opportunities. We can start work on deprogramming people, and despite how hard that will be, it has to be done. The catch is that we have to use licensed and qualified people or we're liable to do more harm than good. So what are the logistics of getting a qualified volunteer therapist in as many of our field offices in critical districts as possible? The basic organizing work can be done in a few steps that will take time but aren't difficult in and of themselves. If anyone reading is interested in trying this, the first thing is to open up a new spreadsheet with a tab for each district the volunteer is working on. Second is just to start Googling therapists. Third, decide on a uniform way to contact them. This can be an email template if their emails can be located or with a call or text, but whatever the case it's important to make sure that the message has the same basic structure. This way, no important details are left out. Fourth and most importantly, be sure to follow up. Let the people who have said yes know where their closest local field office for the Biden campaign or for Democratic Congressional campaigns is (they're likely one and the same). Get the field organizer's information and introduce them to the potential new volunteer. Let them know the volunteer's qualifications and that they're showing up to the office to help talk to savable people and vulnerable enemy activists. This is likely something that the campaigns are not doing themselves. Lastly, continue to follow up regularly if possible. This is necessary but not easy. Field organizers probably won't see the value in what you're doing right away. Campaigns have started to believe that there are no persuadables left in politics at all, even as data and experience show the opposite. But there are, and we will have little chance with them unless we can defang some of the enemy activists coming after them and fortify them against cult programming. Make sure to volunteer yourself if you can to show your commitment and monitor the program. If you're successful in building a relationship with the local office, consider setting up a weekly call with the organizer to go over how deprogramming and therapy is going. With any luck, the district you're in will get a little less toxic and a little more persuadable. No one said this would be easy, and this year's election is already the longest and toughest feeling of our lifetimes. But with hard, local, and targeted work, we can defeat the people who would see our country shatter. To help, I’ve built out a spreadsheet for keeping track of therapists contacted by anyone who wants to take a crack at it. it’s very simple, just a place to put their contact information and track results, including if you got a hold of them, if they agreed to volunteer, and if they got to speak to anyone they think they can help. People they can talk to wouldn’t just include cult members. The volunteers and staff working field in this election will need all the support they can get. Campaign work is a bitch in a normal cycle, much less one where every human achievement since the Enlightenment might very well be at risk. Every single person involved in this fight will need therapy, if by some miracle they don’t need it already. I can definitely tell you I do, and I don’t think anyone who says they don’t is being honest with themselves. Good luck with the contacts, and be careful out there. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/6/2245142/-Recruiting-Volunteer-Therapists-to-Aid-Trump-Cult-Deprogramming?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/