"lol nothing matters" is basically learned helplessness and effectively just another species of anticipatory compliance - ThreadSky

chrispolpsych.bsky.social • 43 days ago

"lol nothing matters" is basically learned helplessness and effectively just another species of anticipatory compliance

One noticeable aspect of this website is people always want things to be worse: Roberts stood up to Trump - you fool, don’t you know he has already sinned; Trump’s polls are cratering - you fool, do you really expect elections… etc. Take the wins! There haven’t been that many.

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natekelly.bsky.social•43 days ago

I totally agree. But I also think interpreting the Roberts statement in light of his past behavior is important and may undermine the most hopeful interpretation - "the normal appellate review process exists for that purpose" could go a few different ways.

chrispolpsych.bsky.social•43 days ago

none of this is to say that I trust Roberts

natekelly.bsky.social•43 days ago

I'm definitely not making that accusation! :)

chrispolpsych.bsky.social•43 days ago

oh, I know -- I just want to make it explicit

natekelly.bsky.social•43 days ago

On balance, I think there is reason for optimism since if Roberts was trying to send some subtle message it could have been done privately. But this public statement could be about bolstering legitimacy rather than countering Trump. We will see!

chrispolpsych.bsky.social•43 days ago

yeah, at best I am glad that he said and said it publicly; but I am long way from believing that it is necessarily a game-changer

alpinemigrant.bsky.social•43 days ago

Apathy and disorientation is indeed what they are counting on.

mcopelov.bsky.social•43 days ago

I hear you both, but this is a false dichotomy & we’ve spent decades doing the “see the guardrails held” thing & not taking the authoritarian threats seriously. Taking Gerald Ford wins is necessary but not sufficient. It’s how we’ve gotten here since at least Iran-Contra.

chrispolpsych.bsky.social•43 days ago

I am definitely not taking a "see the guardrails held" position here. Nor am I saying that Roberts has done enough or that he hasn't egregiously contributed to where we are now. I agree with you on the 'necessary but not sufficient' point.

mcopelov.bsky.social•43 days ago

And I agree with you on “lol but nothing matters.” Just not sure it follows from doubts about Roberts’ sincerity, the state of future elections, etc.

will99.bsky.social•43 days ago

I think folks on here have had their hopes dashed too many times since 2015 - particularly by the hopeless American judicial system. And there are still large segments of the population in America that do not realise that democracy has already been trashed. This is realism, not nothing matters.

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