T0rrent01

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

You're right. I suppose that this could fall under "conditioning", but it would probably need to be expanded to specifically refer to and call out "propaganda".

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry, I originally had 12 but decided to get rid of 2. The first one was "Status Quo", which I merged into "Conditioning." The second was "Religion", but I ditched that because it would be very unfair to yoke them with religious people, or even just Christians, in general, and I couldn't think of a way to reword it to specifically refer to only those kinds of Christians.

Thanks for helping me come up with further reasons, though!

 

For context I want to make these into little flashcards. I'm thinking something a little bit like https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/.

Thoughts on how good this is as it currently stands, and how I can improve?

1. Conditioning

From cradle to grave, white America is the only America we know. At school, we are made to learn about primarily white events and history. Through history/social studies class, we are drip-fed trivial stories meant to convince us that white men are "good guys". Conservatives are the product of state-sponsored propaganda.

"Because we've always done it this way" are the most dangerous words you'll ever hear. Look at George Floyd. Look at all the school shootings that occur on a seemingly monthly basis. Clearly, the status quo isn't working. The fear of change is holding us back. Conservatives fear change.

2. Blind patriotism

American exceptionalism is dead... and that's a good thing. Conservatives use rose-tinted spectacles to look at our history. They see racism and oppression as a key part of our "glorious past". To criticize progressivism is oblivious to the fact that just because an institution is centuries old, doesn't mean it's fit for purpose in the 21st century. Conservatives are stuck in the past.

3. Cognitive dissonance

Excuses, excuses. "But they do so much for charity", "both sides have the same problems", "but they seem so nice". Supporters of Trump and similar demagogues happily turn a blind eye and make whatever excuses necessary to justify their beliefs. FOX and other conservative pundits have dismissed Trump's racism as "politics". Trump loves his golf clubs full of rich white men, completely denying the decline of the old order. Conservatives are in denial.

4. Pressure to conform

"Soft" conservatives may only support the GOP due to the pressure to conform. Consider the example of a parent who might not want their children to take part in a celebration at school even though everyone else seems to be involved, so the children stay silent.

Another factor is that living/growing up in a conservative community, like a small rural town, can also create pressure to "fit in" and not ask questions. Conservatives are conformists.

5. Ignorance

Ignorance is bliss: many conservatives demonstrate a remarkable inability or refusal to question what they are shown, e.g. they see evangelical pastors posing for photos with homeless/impoverished people but don't wonder or want to think about the context: they're unlikely to have spent over an hour, and then they go back to their million dollar megachurches and sports cars in a jiffy. Pastor Johnny doesn't really care about helping the poor, he just did a PR stunt to improve his image. Conservatives are blissfully ignorant.

6. Servility + low self-esteem

Servility is the tendency to act as if you don't share equal basic rights with every other person, i.e. the government. Conservatives have low self-esteem, believing those with the surname Trump are better human beings. Servility is also a fear response: the fear of being outcast for having different views. Conservatives are fearful.

7. Establishment profiteers

The Establishment describes the dominant social group or "elite", e.g. private schools like Phillips Exeter Academy, the local megachurch, media pundits, business elites, Congress, etc. It is a system of self-preservation and self-enrichment. Those who benefit from it have no reason to undermine it, no matter what the different parts secretly think about the GOP. Conservatives are determined to protect the Establishment.

8. Misconceptions

Conservatives have misconceptions, e.g. they believe conservatism is good for the economy and that Democrats want socialism/communism. They believe white male straight cishet supremacy is part of American identity and that it represents Americans values. They often ignore evidence that challenges their beliefs.

9. Magical thinking

Conservatives only dare to dream of having that much authority, wealth and privilege. They watch FOX and absorb the carefully staged narratives, viewing the Trump family as respectable celebrities. Conservatives find the idea of rich men in suits hopping between DC and Mar-A-Lago romantic. They're dreamers who only see what they want to see.

10. Underestimating the influence of the GOP

"Soft" conservatives and the apathetic don't know enough about the GOP. They believe "we're in the 21st century" and don't know about things like tax havens, filibusters, gerrymandering, media influence, etc. And so, the GOP often subverts the law goes under the radar as Trump refuses to be questioned and conservative media provides lots of distractions.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Better for yourself, worse for the environment.

Which is more important, yourself or the environment?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

The easiest and most effective solution would be to just get Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter/X to crack down harder on misinformation.

Optimally, there should even be a sort of "social reputation ranking" system in place to disincentivize online misinformation and hate speech by tying it to real-life ramifications. We sort of already have something like that for job applications, and I'm proud of that, but if we could extend the enforcement and implementation of this kind of thing to, say, transportation, real estate, or banking, that would certainly be a commendable step in the right direction. Ranted about the mask and vaccine mandates in 2020? Good luck buying that car.

Too bad an increasing and worrisome number of these platforms are being owned by right-wing shrinks. Heil Spez and Heil Musk.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 2 years ago

Fucking carbrains.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I like this. It saves resources. And I think we should all start adapting to it.

 

“OMG, I have an iPhone!” Yeah, you have an iPhone, so what? You’re the best? You can FaceTime your friends, despite you and your friends probably having, like, 7 other apps to do so? And no UI customizability or jailbreaking?

I’m just unable to understand the Apple/iOS hype. It makes my eyes roll. I’m content with my Samsung and Android, thanks.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Incidents like these expose how dysfunctional and unsustainable our current economic system remains in this catastrophic climate crisis.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, I cannot eat at Five Guy's or Chick-Fil-A because I am allergic to peanuts and they use peanut oil.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

The elitist attitudes surrounding Apple products is so unbelievable. "OMG, I have an iPhone!" Yeah, you have an iPhone, so what? You're the best? You can FaceTime your friends, despite you and your friends probably having, like, 7 other apps to do so? And no UI customizability or jailbreaking?

I'm just unable to understand the Apple/iOS hype. It makes my eyes roll. I'm content with my Samsung and Android, thanks.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

They are putting the community in danger by banning masks.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

"Landed gentry", remember?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

And disallowing... everything good.

 

Today I’m introducing a groundbreaking bill - the National Strategy for Social Connection Act.

It creates a federal office to combat the growing epidemic of American loneliness, develops anti-loneliness strategies, and fosters best practices to promote social connection.

https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1681350024200962053

 

Using the former verbiage implies that members of the Blind and Deaf community are "imperfect" and therefore cannot serve as valuable, functioning members of society. This cannot be farther from the case. They are not "lacking", they simply perceive the world differently, and therefore we should treat them as such - human beings just like us, who just take in the world a different way. With decency and respect.

 

Me personally? I've become much less tolerant of sexist humor. Back in the day, cracking a joke at women's expense was pretty common when I was a teen. As I've matured and become aware to the horrific extent of toxicity and bigotry pervading all tiers of our individualistic society, I've come to see how exclusionarly and objectifying that sort of 'humor' really is, and I regret it deeply.

 

Call me a worry wart, but after seeing the damage sustained to Fury 325 at Carowinds on TikTok just now, I'm convinced roller coasters ain't it. Like damn, the track was sagging and the pillars were swaying.

 

I can only see two posts on the front page. (Neither of which are mine.)

 

So YouTube has a lot of problems, there's no denying that. Frivolous and selective (not to mention automated) copyright enforcement, bureaucratic termination appeal system, COPPA idiocy, the whole clusterfuck that is monetization, etc?

In contrast, Odysee is this open-source video platform that fixes many of these problems. It took of, like, I dunno, a year ago? Thing is, it's still very inactive and dead. A lot of YouTubers have pined for a massive exodus from YouTube, which might sound familiar for many of us Lemmings here. Yet, the majority of them can't seem to let it go, since YouTube/Google pretty much exercises a monopoly on the online video sharing industry.

What worries me is that Reddit alternatives, such as Lemmy, Mastodon, or kbin, could see a similar fate to YouTube alternatives like Odysee or BitChute. I'd love to see people quit Reddit en masse and hopefully find a "safe harbor" some place like here, but I'm hearing about realistic concerns regarding even the viability of this site's databases, so I feel like the actual outcome will be more of a small dent than a massive crater.

Which is exactly what Huffman wants and he knows it.

Ugh, I hate this awful corporate creativity-stifling timeline.

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