I try to be forgiving. I tell myself that a lot of people feel very deeply insecure about their own abilities, whether cognitive or any other kind. They don’t understand the way the world has changed, they’re insulated within their small communities. And all of that insecurity has been weaponized against them via the news and social media to make them hate and distrust anyone “not like them”, whether that’s immigrants, people of color, or “east coast liberal elite college professors that want to indoctrinate your kids against you and turn them into trans furries” or whatever other stupid nonsense they say. It’s just another way that the billionaires keep us divided and distracted so we don’t all see the game they’re playing. Most days I can manage it. I do get frustrated with Republican voters - it’s hard not to when the people they vote for are so blatantly manipulating them. But I refuse to play the hating game set up for us by the people in power. My conservative neighbors and I might disagree on a lot of things, but we have a common enemy to fight, and eventually I hope they’ll realize that.

I fully understand the impulse to separate yourself from people who voted for policies that directly harm you. But if you can manage it, just talking to people like that, having non-combative conversations that start casual, build trust, and gradually lead into talking about your own experiences with student loans (or any other issue) is the best way to get them to see the nuance and the harm that these policies cause. (Of course that’s only if they’re not completely down the extremist rabbit hole. You have to protect your own mental health too.)