IMO, they have been brainwashed into thinking that ALL the child-trafficking is a Democratic operation, and throw in some cannibalism and blood-drinking. Check me on this, as I don't go to those conspiracy theory posts and threads.

"He" promised to expose it all, even though the plain truth is that Epstein's customers were all rich folk among the privileged class, not subject to laws like the unrich masses.

They got away with it, because politicians are deeply in debt to them and covered up.

And you know who was all over everything, like stink on a skunk.

'FBI agents were told to 'flag' any Epstein records that mentioned Trump, Sen. Durbin says'



But there was a panic when their hand was called. Withholding anything was seen as protecting "filthy libs", since it was UNTHINKABLE that any in the republican party were party to the partying.

And they feel betrayed. That's one of the few exit points of a cult member ... from the "leader" if not the cult itself.

A lie turned around and bit itself.

Seems there's only poetic justice in this world, since real justice is either ignored or perverted by the perverts.

I heard a really good NPR feature on it years ago. For centuries people, whether the have kids or not, have been eager to help. This has been used to
manipulate in some circumstances.

Two of the most recent examples before QAnon were the heavy metal Satanic hysteria of the 80’s and an ABC Geraldo documentary on the metal thing or missing children or both. Geraldo’s documentary is still one of the highest rated (if not still the highest) documentary on network television. Local stations will go to stories or elements of it when they need content for their local news airing.

actually nothing but a cruel manipulation.

There was a notorious case in eastern NC that helped get our worst Democratic governor elected. Nationally, everybody became convinced that Satanic child rapists were drinking babies' blood.

The sad thing is that the mass hysteria ruined innocent peoples' lives, while Epstein, Trump, and other powerful people really were running sex trafficking rings.

I thought it was in California for some reason.
I remember a short news story or documentary on how the whole happened. Everyone wanted to jump in.

Remember the DC Sniper in a white minivan? It was a black or blue Buick sedan.

It might have given the highly ambitious DA in eastern NC the idea.

The white vans!! Don't get me started. Laci Peterson was supposedly abducted by what "eyewitnesses" described as "Hispanic people in a white van." Her husband was convicted of killing her in their house. She was mot abducted.

The DC sniper and the kid shot at someone coming out of a Shoney’s in Ashland just north of Richmond. We had actually been in Ashland that night out for dinner with friends I think. A couple days later the sniper made a call from a pay phone (it was a while ago) from a gas station on West Broad. They were gone before the call was traced and cops could get there. They were definitely in Richmond. White van white van white van.

A couple days after that a mini van of construction type guys (painting roofing drywall not sure) stopped there to call for their job that day. Cops swarmed them. The van still had a 30 tag in it. This was a new van to them I’d guess which means they were doing pretty well. Probably hadn’t been watching the news much. Hondurans maybe Guatemalans. No documentation of any kind. They were gone in a week. Deported. Pure bad luck.

I think the director or actor turned out to be involved in sex trafficking themselves.

And while I don't doubt many of them experienced violent beatings at the hands of abusive or drunken parents, a not insignificant number among them will perpetuate the practice. Not just a problem among rural areas of the country, of course, but historically easier to hide (along with he sexual abuse). With the closure of rural hospitals, violent abuse--whether sexual or not-- is only going to become less reported, responded to, and perhaps even treated.

So, apparently, the global "they" actually DON'T care about and understand child abuse--at least and perhaps, especially, beyond the sexual abuse.

Of more child abuse in rural areas.

It addresses the disposition of reported cases, concluding that more are substantiated in rural areas. But without knowing the reporting rate, it says nothing about the relative frequency. There could be substantially fewer reports per capita, so that even with more being substantiated the number of substantiated cases still happens less frequently in rural America.

(I don't know one way or the other . . . But the claim struck me as confirmation bias, so I followed your link to see where it came from.)

That might be true, and it might not. Observers expected the "grab em by the pussy" audio to sink Trump in 2016 and it did not. In fact, his hardcore base doubled down on their support of him.

I think the reason MAGA cares about Epstein is because Trump and his campaigns have made a very big deal out of the issue of child sex trafficking ever since 2016. It was used against Hillary then. Films have been made about the issue, marketed heavily to fundamentalist groups. It's been a steady drumbeat of propaganda aimed at smearing Democrats.

All while Trump's behavior toward his daughter and friendship with Epstein - documented in decades of photos - were being ignored by MAGA. Not to mention the obvious disappearing of children and young people via ICE.

I am not hopeful that MAGA will wake up. But at least some of them seem to have noticed that something is a little off.

is to dismiss it. Just look at the thread (I've lost where it is) on the video of an "entitled woman" being arrested - I was appalled at the tone of the responses to the comment about people who have never been told "no" when they were children. Many were along the lines of, "If I'd done that as a child I'd have been smacked across the face," with little suggestion of any awareness that what they suggested they experienced was abusive. I expect members of DU to have more, not less, awareness.

I suspect your explanation is closer to the truth - they expect top Democrats to be in the files, and Trump's refusal to release them (and lying about the existence they have touted) doesn't pass the smell test.

Having been conditioned to believe that a shadow conspiracy is running the world, controlling the weather, stealing elections and kidnapping children, it's probably pretty easy for people to decide "they got Trump now too."

I hear you. Really I do. A solid portion of MAGA voters will never be reached.

But I bet 10% can. That's all we need. The reasons people vote can get complicated but at the end of the day, we are all Americans. The 99% are all on the same side.

Any "us vs them" should be saved for those 1%er who actively work against everyone else. My humble opinion... which I know gets me flamed on DU.

There's been zero reporting that the victims were 10 yr old kids or something. MAGA's don't view Epstein Maxwell Trump whatever victims as "children." In their minds they're women "girls" and they shouldn't have gotten themselves in those situations, blah, blah, blah. They don't give a shit.

But they ARE enraged because if the "Epstein files" aren't true and maybe just a big conspiracy....then what about Pizzagate, or Clintons, or.....OMG

Those are children.