As I've said elsewhere, they're buffoons, but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous. - ThreadSky

scalzi.com • 23 days ago

As I've said elsewhere, they're buffoons, but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous.

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I made a resolution around 2005 to never again believe a politician was only pretending to be dumb.

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Rarely are they ever as dumb as they're seeming. Most politicians get there by working pretty hard for a few months on election year

joeldg.bsky.social•23 days ago

This is from Neal Stephenson's book 'Fall' but it's going to be useful over the next ... years. "Lying is performative" being the one that we just keep seeing, over and over.

thurmanhart.bsky.social•23 days ago

Never be surprised when a fish is wet or when a politician is motivated by politics.

lildvs.bsky.social•23 days ago

What they lack in competence... they will more than make up for with malevolence.

gushi.org•22 days ago

I work in data centers. I can’t even begin to tell you the damages that have been done by squirrels. And if they can fuck things up, anyone with thumbs can.

Intelligence is not a prerequisite to do damage.

gushi.org•22 days ago

Even really tiny thumbs.

crashbanzai.bsky.social•23 days ago

sometimes dumb pretends to be dumber
still vicious and evil and bad

xar.ph•23 days ago

A buffoon is easily used by the smart. I'd prefer a smart politician I'm ideologically opposed to than a buffoon I completely agree with. But neither are an option anymore, and therein lies the source of my depression.

irwinschwab.bsky.social•23 days ago

It’s the brazen idiocy that makes them dangerous.

zeusdad.bsky.social•23 days ago

The #OrangeRapist is a single-minded senile fool. But the 2025 people are not.

angeladh.bsky.social•23 days ago

THEY are who I am most afraid of

rytiger.bsky.social•23 days ago

Stupid uses evil to excuse and continue stupidly. The shittiest oroborus.

stevemcilhatton.bsky.social•23 days ago

A clown with a chainsaw is still a threat not matter how floppy his big stupid shoes are

antelopecat.bsky.social•23 days ago

One of the most useful quotes I’ve heard about this is that extreme incompetence is indistinguishable from malice. E don’t have to figure which one it is (or if it’s both), to recognize the damage done.

oddballpaladin.bsky.social•23 days ago

The GOP long ago lost the benefit of Hanlon's Razor. They can be stupid AND evil, or just evil, but it's never just stupidity with them.

sarahbacon.bsky.social•22 days ago

They are not buffoons at all, and that’s how they have been able to get this far. Dismissing your opponent by underestimating them is the most dangerous mistake you could make.

upstateadaml.bsky.social•23 days ago

That's one thing that 'Jojo Rabbit' did beautifully, capturing how ridiculous the Nazis were while making it clear that their ridiculousness didn't prevent them from perpetrating great evil. It's uncomfortable to realize that buffoonish weirdos were responsible for fascism and the Holocaust.

mazianni.carterhaugh.net•23 days ago

Getting cut with a dull knife hurts a lot more than getting cut with a sharp knife

goldensheepdog.bsky.social•23 days ago

Case in point: Sen John Kennedy (R-La)

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