ive never managed to build community/be part of community even in "good" times or for fun things so thats probably a moot option. but how do you even do #2
I wonder, could AI help? I know it's a bit of a bugbear in some ways in some circles, but isn't cutting through confusion from multiple sources what it's actually supposed to be good for?
1/ “The extent that propaganda is based on current news, it cannot permit time for thought or reflection. A man caught up in the news must remain on the surface of the event; he is carried along in the current, and can at no time take a respite to judge and appreciate; he can never stop to reflect.
2/ We already have mentioned man's inability to consider several facts or events simultaneously and to make a synthesis of them in order to face or to oppose them. One thought drives away another; old facts are chased by new ones.
3/ Under these conditions there can be no thought. And, in fact, modern man does not think about current problems; he feels them. He reacts, but be does not understand them any more than he takes responsibility for them. He is even less capable of spotting any inconsistency between successive facts;
4/ man's capacity to forget is unlimited. This is one of the most important and useful points for the propagandist, who can always be sure that a particular propaganda theme, statement, or event will be forgotten within a few weeks”
I had a few bosses who acted the same way. After some years you learn how to treat with them to identify the pattern and cut the threat with a polite but contundent no just in time. Just when they feel stronger, that always shocks them.
Also, I think social networks do much more to deactivate people than they do to motivate them to do something. Here we all vent about this and that and how unfair is everything, but after that no one takes the streets. The rage is already canalized here instead of on the real world.
Ukrainian here. no longer feeling anything. the “don’t look up” attitude leads to shock from getting a reality headbutt one day but it’s okay, i’ve been there. it’s best not to waste time on articles and consider what *you* can do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe in the worst-case scenario
He was doing this in his first term. Every time you turn around a new incident, more news covering it. By the time of his first year in office there was already a "We didn't start the fire" parody of as many events they could cover as possible. By the second year people didn't care as much.
They know we, as individuals and collectives, have limited mental bandwidth. It's most insidious in issues like "the culture war", as they're fully aware if we're kept busy fighting tooth and nail for trans rights, we won't have as much time for other topics like rampant inequality.
I think they may have miscalculated on the "overwhelm" bit, though, and instead of getting people to tune out, they have cranked up the "pissed off" knob to about 7.5.
I think they've cranked up that knob for people who are already highly engaged. But most people aren't following that closely. The non-politics people I know are basically sticking their heads in the sand because it's too much too fast.
people like my mom are definitely like this yeah. people that arent chronically online (i am kinda chronically online so not judging just being real). She works constantly and cant keep up with the bad news so she intentionally avoids the news cuz shes overwhelmed and its all very upsetting
NPR said people will likely be so overwhelmed, they want to stay under the covers and hide. They suggested focusing on one or two issues. I've seen a site promoting a protest at Wikipedia to get the Gulf of America name changed back.
Also, remember: they are Nazi's. There is one way to deal with Nazi's.
Never give them any chance to feel human again. Make them fear you. Make them fear life itself. They chose to be unhuman, make them feel that way until their rotten hearts stop.
If this approach is to have any effect, people need to be able to resist the urge to "police" each other's 2-3 issues to really focus on. I've seen this circulate before and resisted the urge to say that, but it's true, and if we can't resist that urge, our empathy will be weaponized against us.
Ah crap. I am one of those who got overwhelmed and tuned out. I started limiting myself to Saturdays to look at news. Based on this, I may need to amend my approach. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, this advice is awesome. I heard similar advice in the podcast Wochendämmerung (Week-nightfall) from Holger Klein. Once a week, the Wochendämmerung summarizes and pins down the most important topics.
If I may say so, even better advice from the studies of Dr. Erica Chenoweth. The time to rise up was sometime back, but it may not yet be too late. https://www.ericachenoweth.com/research/wcrw
Yes! I love her work (but I don’t consider myself liberal or conservative). Erica did a talk in November that was very help and Erica has an article out that can really help in this moment. Great stuff! Erica’s upcoming book Bread & Roses is about women on the front lines of revolutions!
This was the tactic of the UK tory party over the last 10 years... the encouraging thing is that when you have so many playground bully narcissists all wanting to be top dog, they turn on each other and everything falls apart. Let's hope that happens before the damage is irreparable
i think my mom watches the news so much to the point where its actually become a problem. My dad thinks logical about everything and tries to consider things fairly, but my mom has become so anti trump its effecting their relationship. Its sad to say that she acts like MAGAs but without being one.
Honestly wondering about a semi-weekly furry talk show where subject matter experts from various fields give context or useful info on whatever the current confirmed thing is. Have them appear in suit or in avatar form if necessary.
Comments
It's merely "easier to destroy than to build".
you can always throw a brick and accept the consequences
Thats the heart of freedom afterall
Outsourcing your own cognition to a machine is EXACTLY what the tech oligarchs in league with destroying our government want.
- Jacques Ellul
Thanks a lot for the advices. Wish y'all the best.
Organize, baby.
I think they may have miscalculated on the "overwhelm" bit, though, and instead of getting people to tune out, they have cranked up the "pissed off" knob to about 7.5.
you know there's that..
Never give them any chance to feel human again. Make them fear you. Make them fear life itself. They chose to be unhuman, make them feel that way until their rotten hearts stop.
I'd also read Debord's The Society of the Spectacle https://libcom.org/article/society-spectacle-guy-debord
& watch Adam Curtis' HyperNormalisation here: https://archive.org/details/HyperNormalisation
Maybe in addition to picking a topic to focus on, use and keep track of hashtags to keep object persistence?
Are #Deportation or #NaturalBirthCitizenship or #Musk'sAtItAgain things yet?
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