Absolutely true. The propaganda that says “Everyone in government is crusty old white men and all equally the problem, it’s not worth even trying to improve things, just be unproductively bitter and angry instead, while we’re taking all your stuff”
Is very much of a piece with the propaganda says “All the poors and immigrants are the problem, it’s not old white men in government, just be unproductively bitter and angry instead, while we’re taking all your stuff.” The target audience is just different.
And you know what? They both work real real fuckin’ well. See, look all the problems.
it goes back to the intentional removal of critical thinking skills from an early age onward. it’s not “believe what you’re told to believe,” it’s “believe what WE tell you to believe. everything else is fake news”
I was very very lucky in terms of getting a good education (both from my parents and from the schools I went to), and it was absolutely shocking to me when I first started doing political arguments with some people I’d known for quite a while and realized they had no idea how to think for themselves.
Like even the basics of, if source X says one thing and then later on in the same article says some incompatible thing, then that source is not the truth. Never mind about even comparing one day’s statements to the next day’s, or against real science or anything like that.
They just go with who’s real confident and forceful in their presentation and sounds like they have firm authority over what’s going on, and then they go all-in on believing whatever crazy shit that changes day to day that that person is saying. Like I say it was real shocking (and also, how if I tried to break down inconsistencies with what their source was saying, they’d just get confused and upset and disoriented, and ultimately reject what I was saying.)
Absolutely true. The propaganda that says “Everyone in government is crusty old white men and all equally the problem, it’s not worth even trying to improve things, just be unproductively bitter and angry instead, while we’re taking all your stuff”
Is very much of a piece with the propaganda says “All the poors and immigrants are the problem, it’s not old white men in government, just be unproductively bitter and angry instead, while we’re taking all your stuff.” The target audience is just different.
And you know what? They both work real real fuckin’ well. See, look all the problems.
it goes back to the intentional removal of critical thinking skills from an early age onward. it’s not “believe what you’re told to believe,” it’s “believe what WE tell you to believe. everything else is fake news”
I was very very lucky in terms of getting a good education (both from my parents and from the schools I went to), and it was absolutely shocking to me when I first started doing political arguments with some people I’d known for quite a while and realized they had no idea how to think for themselves.
Like even the basics of, if source X says one thing and then later on in the same article says some incompatible thing, then that source is not the truth. Never mind about even comparing one day’s statements to the next day’s, or against real science or anything like that.
They just go with who’s real confident and forceful in their presentation and sounds like they have firm authority over what’s going on, and then they go all-in on believing whatever crazy shit that changes day to day that that person is saying. Like I say it was real shocking (and also, how if I tried to break down inconsistencies with what their source was saying, they’d just get confused and upset and disoriented, and ultimately reject what I was saying.)
It goes back to bipartisan suppression of any leftist movements of any consequence.