In case you can’t tell, I’m passionate about rationality and critical thinking.

However, I still appreciate a freshly-baked π.

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Joined 2 months ago
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Cake day: September 22nd, 2024

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  • You’re right that Dems need better messaging and to stop catering to the ultra rich. At the same time, we can’t discount the propaganda messaging that the article mentions. Not being in their echo chambers means not being exposed to the bulk of it, and that is great. At the same time, it means being disconnected from what a lot of people are basing their opinions on.

    For a few years, up until the start of this year, I had a job that required interacting with families in people’s homes. If I had a choice, I would’ve preferred to avoid the right-wingers… but gotta do what you gotta do.

    Some households were pure poison: hate-driven parents who constantly belched up Fox news topics. These parents normally communicated with their kids through complaining and screaming. But if a kid made some quip about “Biden sucks,” they got a brief moment where their parents would actually laugh. The reinforcing power of that toxic dynamic cannot be understated.

    It’s no wonder that a lot of kids in those circumstances end up eager to repeat the same crap their parents say. In the time that I worked that job, a lot of the commentary was Biden-centric, making him a convenient punching bag that even the smallest fists could reach (even if they had no idea what they were doing/saying.)

    Dems have a lot of improvements to make, but it would take a lot more than “improved messaging” to overcome the sheer power of this propaganda culture.


  • At some point they’ll start shutting down internet access to prevent recording of their actions

    This is an interesting viewpoint. I think the internet is where the modern GOP has their strongest control over people. Yeah, there is traditional media, but the internet echo chambers are where a lot of their people go to express their beliefs. Shutting it all down would be severing a link that directly guides the populace’s minds. (Especially for the younger folks who don’t know a life without internet.)

    Imagine no more Xitter propaganda, no more ignorant Facebook posts, no hate-inspiring memes propagating at the speed of light… Conspiracy theories and gossip would become localized again, and since the people inclined toward those things can’t independently determine reality, over time their viewpoints would inevitably diverge from each other.

    I mean, a lot of things could happen, ranging from violent reactions, to increased empathy (from being forced to interact with diverse neighbors in-person.) But without a central command link, a brain to tell them what to believe, the tribal nature of their supporters would invariably cause fractures within their own base.

    (At least, one can hope.)






  • I thought that too and immediately went, “If he’s trying to lessen the political divide, that’s too little, too late.”

    Surprisingly, he does come close to that approach:

    Vance asked rally-goers not to discard lifelong relationships “because people vote the wrong way,” saying, “Here in our movement, we love every citizen of this country. We want their prosperity because we love this nation, and that means loving the people who live here.”

    That’s not how MAGA operate. They are fueled by hatred and anger. Besides, Vance doesn’t have the power nor immunity from criticism that their dear leader has. Asking people to “love each other” is close to hippie-talk, which MAGAts despise.

    Not only that, but telling their own followers “not to discard relationships” is a weird take. I get the feeling it’s mostly the anti-MAGAts that are cutting the haters out of their lives, not the other way around. People who define themselves by their social status are unlikely to cut off benign contacts - they like keeping followers of lower status around, both for the power and so they can punch down to lift themselves whenever they feel like it. They only cut off those who threaten their higher status, like those who speak up or fight back, or who can “tarnish” their image, such as family members who are LGBTQ+, who date interracially, or do whatever else they disapprove of.

    If Vance is expecting that group to listen to him, he sorely misunderstands everything that’s going on. The only way to reconnect such family is to take the hate out of them and get them to honestly redeem themselves to those they have hurt. Which… yeah, that’s not happening.



  • It’s interesting how this is only being reported now - the day before election day. When the early-voters already cast their ballots, and when the campaign no longer has to worry about keeping up the charade.

    How many people signed onto this thing only because they thought they could be the lucky winner? It’s not like they can take it back now. Musk got exactly what he wanted - tons of signatures of support from registered voters in swing states, that can now be trotted out as some kind of “proof” for his preferred candidate when he loses.

    On the one hand, some people do not know about, or even would believe, this news. Like die-hard MAGAts and/or people who don’t pay attention to current events.

    But for the people who signed the petition for the hell of it, hear about this now, and who are capable of accepting bad news? Oh, they will be pissed. I wouldn’t put it past such a person to respond, “Well, fuck you, too” by not voting tomorrow, or by specifically voting for Harris.

    I can’t expect the number of such people to be very high, but I do think that spite is a powerful force. Those who were on the fence before now have a personal reason to distrust Trump. And right in time to express it at the voting booth!