daviddeighton.bsky.social
I fight political polarization using art installed in America’s National Park free speech areas.
My art installations share non-confrontational ways for people to dialogue with estranged friends, family or even strangers when taking about politics.
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Discussion Master
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My take in fighting political polarization involves in-person communication with MAGA. I use art to attract their attention in public spaces then I ask them: “How can a person exit their echo-chamber?”
Works every time
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My experience shows differently
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The MAGA I meet have poor critical thinking skills, so before they can “realize their mistakes” they will need to discover their own biases. And let’s not forget to look at our own biases.
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“Amid the name-callers, finger-pointers, and bad actors stand a majority of good citizens, looking for a better way. Discontent is contagious, but so is optimism."
-- Mary Powell,
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Polarization can be driven by how we talk with like-minded people about those on the other side. Too often, we stereotype, dismiss, or ridicule our fellow citizens who support the other political party, its leaders, and its policies.
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Why do we lack such basic understanding of why people on the other political side believe as they do?
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Why don’t we see MAGA as they see themselves instead of as we choose to see them?
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How do you “denazify” a nazi?
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Question: when are we finished finger pointing at MAGA and offer better solutions so we don’t loose the next elections?
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I should. Too busy preparing the spring series of installations.
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In my case it’s experiential not empirical research. Ive had a few cry saying I was the first person to ever listen to them. Some adjusted their POV. Behavior or voting patterns I don’t know. You can listen to a couple hundred interviews and hear for yourself
youtube.com/@triptych-di...
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You are out there. Real.
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That’s a good point. I’ll make good use of that privilege at my installations. It would interesting to see how the public treats you compared to me. How do you identify?
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You forgot middle aged and foreigner
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No problem. I haven’t figured out you to get back to a thread yet
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I don’t know.
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What did I do?
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I will follow your advice.
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It is not of my opinion that polarization and exclusion are viable solutions in averting irreversible conflict. The program you laid bare I have heard before. The MAGA crowd would agree with it.
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I’m not a good communicator. I am however fascinated by our ability to lodge ourselves into echo chambers. I wonder how we exit them. What if we don’t recognize them? Are we any different than MAGAs in their own epistemic bubbles?
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Can we agree that having a different opinion doesn’t have to mean picking a fight?
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Oh thank you you are so kind 🥰
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What’s your solution?
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100%. No need to debate. It’s not worth the effort unless the setting is made for a debate team. Everyone wants the higher ground, conflict arises from the first trigger word.
How do you deal with exchanges with your political opposite?
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What would you do to spark critical thinking in an irrational person?
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I think you’d agree that rationality is learned. Im finding in my public interactions that with irrational people I need to go to the basics: so I focus on critical thinking. Especially learning to ask questions. Most people get it. I usually only have a few minutes with a person though…
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You’re right. First I show them that they are in an echo chamber and it’s much smaller than they thought it was. It’s a start. Get them to question the box they are in. If I get to that, then it’s a win. If it resonates we keep going. I use an art installation as a guide
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Nope bad choice of location. I use free speech areas in national parks. Fascists also visit old faithful and the Grand Canyon.
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Agree 100%. Not much I can do about that all on my own. I do what I know and that’s art installations that attempt to bring people out of their epistemic bubbles. (And yes I’m in one too)
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I hear you and sorry if I jumped to conclusions. I don’t know what you do to fight fascism. My work is visible if you want to take a look. It’s Triptych Dialogue project
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Thank you for your concern for my safety. It won’t stop me from fighting MAGA face to face though. First let’s stop taking comfort from your social media echo chamber here. It’s time to get out of the cave.
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You aren’t born a nazi. It’s learned. I’m fighting the lesson plan.
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I get it and I fell the same way. When I interview a MAGA there is always a word or two on the emotional level that I can relate to. (Chaotic, liars, corrupt…) I may interpret their words differently from them. I tell them that. It’s a first step for them out of their echo chambers.
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Eco’s writings on Newspeak are spot on. MAGAs aren’t the only ones to use it though. What do find appealing in U. Eco’s work?
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I think you are using the Tu Quoque Fallacy where one avoids criticism by turning it back on the accuser. Correct?
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I’m wondering which logical fallacy you used: Slippery Slope? Appeal to Emotion? Or Begging the question?
Please try a different reply than The Burden of Proof Fallacy.
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All MAGA are nazis now? That was easy. Which bias did you use to get to that conclusion?
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How about we stop scrolling our echo chamber feeds and engage our political opponents in person? I do it non violently and it works for me.
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Your statement is a False Cause Fallacy. MAGAs use them a lot. Already you share something in common. You could use that in an exchange.
(I’m serious: you could join me at an event. Face to face with some MAGAs)
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Staying in a comfy bubble doesn’t help fight fascism, right? Be in their face, in person, don’t give up or write them off.
It ain’t pleasant, you take some punches but in the end you’re the one standing rather than scrolling down a useless algorithm feed
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You got to get the temperature just right otherwise you end up with a shit cake
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I don’t talk about facts. I ask questions, they answer. I actively listen. Take a stated emotion from them that I share, say frustration. Tell them I feel the same and we start from there. I can’t change them right then and there. I can however show them a way out of their echo chamber
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Then let them get stronger?
You should join me someday when I engage someone stuck in their echo chamber. It’s a powerful event
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It was hard not to be triggered at the beginning. The goal is helping them exit their echo chambers and is a great way to exit our own bubbles. It creates bridges. They realize that I’m not as evil as they were taught to think. Some even cry after being heard.
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It’s worse than that: I ask them 3 non confrontational political questions and actively listen to their answers. I try to find one thing in common, tell them I think the rest is shit BUT there is that one thing. I do this in person in art installations I exhibit in national parks.
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I talk to MAGA folks regularly as part of my art project TD. If anything we touch on ways to step down from our political polarization by engagement
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They wouldn’t be too few if we each turned off our digital devices and went outside to talk directly with MAGA folks. Without engagement we are simply feeding the very beast we claim is devouring us.
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All of our accumulated progressive comments won’t change the fact that we need to get out there and engage
MAGA one on one in person. Everybody bitchin in their echo chambers ain’t going nowhere
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Or progressives need to get off their digital polarization devices and go engage with some MAGA in person. Nothing is going to change by just commenting and sharing
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I think we should get off our digital devices and engage people in person. That will be a good step in fighting MAGA fascism