They are not victims nor simply stupid.
If they are victims of liars, then aren't the liars just victims of someone else's lies, ad-infinitum (or at least back the the Bible)?
When a person trying to be honest and reasonable gets conned, they are a victim. That applies to very few of the 25% of eligible voters who voted for Trump. They deliberately avoid sources that might expose the lies because they know they are lies but want to maintain their narrative to rationalize their actions. And despite this deliberate "bubble" most of them still are exposed to more than enough information that even someone of their intellect would see exposes the lies and irrational arguments of those they listen to. 
They deliberately disregard that information, again to protect their preferred narrative. 
But this is not stupidity. It is willful ignorance and intellectually dishonesty in pursuit of an agenda without regard for the harm it does to  others. I'd say that is cowardice and immorality more than an inability to understand.
		
		
	 
What's willful ignorance and intellectually dishonest is that you fail to understand that you are indeed pursuing an agenda without regard for the veracity of your claims or the harm it does to others. 
That is cowardice and immorality and a willful disregard for any attempt to understand.
When any group of people--any group--feels that they are suffering more than other groups, they look to find reasons.  Rarely is that reason their own reflection. It becomes easy to point fingers at obvious, physical differences: skin color, accents, differences of customs, of religion.  
But as you have so aptly demonstrated, it applies just as well to people whose skin color is the same as our own, whose heritage is remarkably similar, if not nearly identical.
Those of us--and yes, it's US because I detest the election of Trump as much as anyone--who decry Trump's election need to look our own reflections in the face and recognize that it's us as much as them who is responsible for (fill in the blank.)  No matter the us.  No matter the them.
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Walt Kelly's cartoon was drawn for Earth Day 1971 but that pile of trash could just as easily represent everything that has gone wrong every single day since.
We allow racism because it's easier than admitting that someone who doesn't look like us makes us uncomfortable.
We accept our own bigotry because it's easier than admitting that our own points of view are imperfect and flawed. It's always easier to point out the splinter in someone else's eye than it is to deal with the log jammed in our own eye sockets.
We accept everything that gives us an advantage because we are certain we deserve our advantages.  We are certain we have a right to resent those who have more or just different advantages than we do.  We are pretty certain we deserve all of the good things that come our way, and very few of the bad.  It's easier to blame others than it is to accept responsibility for our own shortcomings.  It's easier to dole out punishment and condemnation than to extend a hand of equal friendship.
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			You are a symptom of why they didn't vote the way you wanted them to.
		
		
	 
and if that statement is correct, it is indicative of why we have contempt for them.
here's a truth: us bigoted big city elites didn't pick this fight with the sister-fucking hillbillies, because we never think about them or care about them except in a mildly broad-sweeping pity for their poverty and stupidity.
so we voted democratic, generally approved of siphoning money off the well-to-do to help out those poor bastards, socially and economically support policies and regulations that assist them, give them the benefit of a cultural zeitgeist of acceptance and empathy... and in thanks, they vote hard-line unwavering republican and massive contribute to what we consider to be the active and willful destruction of our country.
so explain to me exactly how it's OUR fault that these stupid fuckwits shot themselves in the dickhole, took our assistance to repair the wound and ensure their dick still works, then 2 months later shot themselves in the dickhole again and blamed us for it.
		
 
		
	 
I think Jason's thesis is that it's counterproductive to hold contempt for the contemptible. While I tend to agree with that, I find that contempt for the contemptible isn't really a choice. As you point out, you can give them books and they just chew on the covers. They'll ALWAYS vote for whoever most panders to them, no matter how transparently, because they're willfully uninformed idiots.
		
 
		
	 
But so do we all vote for who panders most to  us. We're all pretty willfully uniformed idiots.
Admitting such is the first step and it's a step that's too steep and too difficult for a lot of us.
The next ones are much harder.