Russ's Ravings: Don't Bother Engaging With The 'Pro-Me' Voter

Editor's note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini's, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

The upcoming Nov. 3 election is getting close, and unless you have been living in a fallout shelter for years you are probably aware of that, and with it comes the fighting over whose candidate and political party is the best.

Lawn signs are being stolen, social media posts are getting increasingly hostile as people continue to fire figurative shots from their opinion silos in some vain hope that they will be able to change the minds of their entrenched opposites.

Spoiler alert: it isn't going to happen.

Sure, moderate and undecided people will be open for discourse. And that really is the majority of our voter base. People who have no allegiance to a dogma, but wait to decide what individual candidates speaks to their particular vision of what the nation should look like.

But those are not the people I am talking about. I am talking about the people who will do extreme calisthenics to justify their position while demonizing everyone else's. These people are the pro-me voters.

And you have no chance of changing the mind of a pro-me voter.

A pro-me voter doesn't actually care for the larger concepts or the larger issues at play for the local, state and federal government. A pro-me voter does not bother to consider the greater good that could be represented by a ballot choice.

No, a pro-me voter is exactly what the name implies. They are only concerned with what directly benefits them. And voting against what might be their own self-interest is a lot to ask. So if their bottom line is impacted, or there is a new restriction or tax on a purchase they cherish, they are a brick wall. Even if the rest of the platform for their candidate is damaging to others, they are unmoved.

Their value system, their moral line of demarcation, their allegiance to a deity or ideal that benefits them will always win out.

Now, this is not a partisan thing for one side or another. There are pro-me voters all over this nation. Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated.

And that is fine and that is their right.

But no amount of social media shaming, mocking or counter article posting is going to change the mind of a pro-me voter. They are starting from their pro-me position and therefore anyone and anything that could shake them that stance they need to dismiss. Otherwise they are threatened by cognitive dissonance. So they believe conspiracy theories, follow sources that confirm their bias and reject anything that would threaten their worldview.

They practice "whataboutism" and generally project their worst characteristics on others.

So stop wasting your time and your energy fighting to change people who fall into this myopic category. I see in on my personal social media, in the comments in our Patch articles and on my work social media accounts. People fighting as if they will be able to change the mind of someone diametrically opposed to their position.

But honestly those aren't the people you should be engaging with. There is a large, vast, diverse majority of people who are unaffiliated. They vote not for parties, but for people and ideals and candidates that speak to them. Not only that, but they speak to a vision of what is better for the whole. Whether it is a municipal, county, state or federal posting they have a vision that jives with what the voter believes is best for not only them, but for all constituents. And often times what might not be best for them personally, but better for the majority.

These are the voters you can connect with, share ideas with and possibly even get them to see your way of thinking.

As we get closer to the Nov. 3 election things are going to be increasingly contentious. Focus your energy, and keep your sanity, by having dialogue with those open to ideas and concepts outside of what is best for them.

And regardless of your position on anything, vote.

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com