Today I stopped to grab replacement frames for my daughter’s glasses. The lady asked about my daughter’s name (Hermione).

Me: Like the girl from Harry Potter.

Clerk: Oh I’ve never seen those movies, I don’t believe in the witches and warlocks and such.

Me, jokingly: Well it’s all make believe, nobody actually thinks that witches or warlocks are real.

She then informed me that they are indeed real and she’s a member of a missionary group who “casts them out” all the time…

This is a fully grown (looked to be 45-50ish) adult woman, who is allowed to vote and reproduce, who straight up believes that magic, witches and warlocks are real, and not only that, she is a member of a larger organization of people who go out on “missions” to “cast out” these evildoers. And she works in a business where she holds at least some authority over an aspect of peoples’ health and well being.

The crazier thing is, she’s not the first person in this area I’ve met who thinks witches and warlocks are real life people out there casting spells and shit.

And that is why Trump won re-election.

Edit for clarification: Around here when somebody says they “don’t believe” in a thing, specifically in this context, what they mean is they “don’t support” that thing. I’ve also heard people say they “don’t believe” in guns, despite them being very real. What they mean is, they don’t “support” a thing, not that they literally don’t believe it’s real.