That's what I've always suspected, although the brain damage aspect rings true too. My father had some similar issues and as his mental decline intensified, so too did his conservatism.
Lucy Lawless claims Sorbo has always been an ass, but there does seem to be less restraint since his injury. Empathy seems to require more more brain function then cruelty. I've never heard of someone becoming nicer after a traumatic head injury.
He has changed since he was Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania. He has been treated for a stroke and depression. I applaud his candor and openness in discussing his treatment. Getting medical treatment is not weakness.
However, his political positions have shifted since his term in Harrisburg and Senate election. Each day it seems like he less represents me and shares my views. I'll be pushing for Malcom Kenyatta to run against him in the 2028 primary.
What is more upsetting is that even if he "changed his mind" his current ideals is not what the voters thought they were voting for. It is still unethical for him to completely change his stance after getting the job.
The plausible deniability is there, I admit. But not apologizing is what makes me think he was always like this. The stroke just made it so he no longer had the capacity to hide it.
It’s not ablest to discuss a brain injury affects one’s cognitive function. Especially not when it’s in regards to a public figure in power. Your next door neighbor? Maybe inappropriate unless they’re causing trouble. A senator? Totally appropriate.
I had a TBI as a teenager and went from moderately liberal to full blown anarcho communist.
You meet one person with a brain injury, you’ve met one person with a brain injury. We’re all very different because the brain is barely understood by science and our injuries even harder to quantify.
Also if you look at sufferers of CTE most become aggressive and violent until they end up taking their own lives. See boxers, football players, combat veterans. I think there’s a link between aggression and right wing ideology.
Do you know which exact type of brain damage he suffers from? Because it states while damage in one affected area can have an effect on your political opinion, damage in different areas show no difference whatsoever. It wouldn't surprise me to see if other types of brain damage could make you more liberal too. We do know liberal and conservative brains show some differences, so different damage in different areas could make you swing either way. I mean neuroscience is still in it's infancy, so a lot of this is just observing and trying to see patterns. Saying "brain damage makes you conservative" is too broad of a claim. It's certainly not backed by this study.
EDIT: One more thing I don't really understand is what this argument is trying to achive anyway. Do you want to take voting rights from people who had a stroke because they can't decide for themselves? This topic is really thin ice and it's usually fascist groups that propose such things.
I would have to agree with the guy above You. When he was pretending to be left wing, the right blamed his stroke and the left said it had nothing to do with that. Now that he turned around it's suddenly a problem? He was just always a grifter. Watch Some More News on him.
It's not ableist to point out the verifiable facts as we know them. It's also not ableist to discuss real world adverse effects from medical conditions. There was a marked change in many of his stances after the stroke.
Money in politics is a massive issue, and the root of a lot of our current problems... that doesn't mean we ignore history or we simply ignore possible reasons why a politician's stances change.
I'm sure if you had a stroke and suddenly turned into a bigger asshole you'd want the benefit of the doubt for your opinions until that stroke instead of being lumped into always having been a giant douche.