Because it was really about serving red meat to the MAGA base. My relatives in Kentucky cheered because they believed the “all those lazy blacks are getting fired” narrative.
It’s so strange to me as they are deeply religious and some of the kindest folks I know, but also the most racist.
Religiosity, egomaniac libertarians, racists, etc. all suffer from an identity based cognitive bias revolving around their own or groups well being. These tribal members dont think critically about the $symbol related to their own or group identity, and the scary part is, these symbols could be anything and not just define their own ingroup but their opposing outgroup too, like eg. being vegetarian, riding a bicycle or showing broad empathy.
IMO in severe cases it requires serious therapy to teach them to face social media or group gatherings with a different/critical mindset, that naturally comes after some unpleasant disillusionment but is needed before mistakes are made. If your realtive is not treatable, completely shut, you will talk to a brick wall.
I hate to say it but Musk had a point, when he talked about twitter and his attempt "to cure the mind virus" (but as usual, he was clueless or biased). This identity based cognitive bias or identity politics is present on both political sides. The right/conservatives are just more susceptible, thats why religion, racism, libertarianism, etc. are often comorbid.
