These people are what's really wrong with America today.

[Vic]

An excellent article from WaPo. I would strongly encourage people to read the whole thing before commenting (open in a private browsing tab to get through the paywall).
But cliffs notes are a liberal guy who makes a living by trolling conservatives, believing that he is educating them by doing so, and a conservative lady who believes the trolls because she lives in an internet fantasy bubble of her own making, and lives in fear of things that will never happen, to the detriment of her real life.

‘Nothing on this page is real’: How lies become truth in online America

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amph...d44cc8-e85a-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html

 

[Thebobo]

Assholes.

 

[Perknose]

“No matter how racist, how bigoted, how offensive, how obviously fake we get, people keep coming back,” Blair once wrote, on his own personal Facebook page. “Where is the edge? Is there ever a point where people realize they’re being fed garbage and decide to return to reality?”

I truly wish I could say I was astounded or even just surprised, but sadly, I am not. Excuse me while I go weep in the corner for the Republic.

 

[Moonbeam]

“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.

Imagine being afraid of everything when what you really fear has already happened and can never happen again.

 

[Perknose]

"He noticed a photo online of Trump standing at attention for the national anthem during a White House ceremony. Behind the president were several dozen dignitaries, including a white woman standing next to a black woman, and Blair copied the picture, circled the two women in red and wrote the first thing that came into his mind.

“President Trump extended an olive branch and invited Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton,” Blair wrote. “They thanked him by giving him ‘the finger’ during the national anthem. Lock them up for treason!”

Blair finished typing and looked again at the picture. The white woman was not in fact Chelsea Clinton but former White House strategist Hope Hicks. The black woman was not Michelle Obama but former Trump aide Omarosa Newman. Neither Obama nor Clinton had been invited to the ceremony. Nobody had flipped off the president. The entire premise was utterly ridiculous, which was exactly Blair’s point.

“We live in an Idiocracy,” read a small note on Blair’s desk, and he was taking full advantage."

Meanwhile, on the other end:

Shirley Chapian, 76, logged onto Facebook for her morning computer game of Criminal Case. She believed in starting each day with a problem-solving challenge, a quick mental exercise to keep her brain sharp more than a decade into retirement.[...] She spent an hour as a 1930s detective, interrogating witnesses and trying to parse their lies from the truth until finally she solved case No. 48 and clicked over to her Facebook news feed.

[...]

She had lived much of her life in cities throughout Europe and across the United States — places such as San Francisco, New York and Miami. She’d gone to college for a few years and become an insurance adjuster, working as one of the few women in the field in the 1980s and ’90s and joining the National Organization for Women to advocate for an equal wage...

it was only on Facebook that Chapian had become a committed conservative.

She signed up for a dozen conservative newsletters and began to watch Alex Jones on Infowars. One far right Facebook group eventually led her to the next with targeted advertising, and soon Chapian was following more than 2,500 conservative pages, an ideological echo chamber that often trafficked in skepticism. Climate change was a hoax. The mainstream media was censored or scripted. Political Washington was under control of a “deep state.”

Her number of likes and shares on Facebook increased each year until she was sometimes awakening to check her news feed in the middle of the night, liking and commenting on dozens of posts each day. She felt as if she was being let in on a series of dark revelations about the United States, and it was her responsibility to see and to share them.

“I’m not a conspiracy-theory-type person, but . . .” she wrote, before sharing a link to an unsourced story suggesting that Democratic donor George Soros had been a committed Nazi, or that a Parkland shooting survivor was actually a paid actor.

[...]

“President Trump extended an olive branch and invited Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton,” the post read. “They thanked him by giving him ‘the finger’ during the national anthem.”

Chapian looked at the photo and nothing about it surprised her. Of course Trump had invited Clinton and Obama to the White House in a generous act of patriotism. Of course the Democrats — or “Demonrats,” as Chapian sometimes called them — had acted badly and disrespected America. It was the exact same narrative she saw playing out on her screen hundreds of times each day, and this time she decided to click ‘like’ and leave a comment.

“Well, they never did have any class,” she wrote.

[...]

Chapian saw the comments after her post and wondered as she often did when she was attacked: Who were these people? And what were they talking about? Of course Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton had flipped off the president. It was true to what she knew of their character. That was what mattered.

Instead of responding directly to strangers on America’s Last Line of Defense, Chapian wrote on her own Facebook page. “Nasty liberals,” she said, and then she went back to her news feed, each day blending into the next.

A Muslim woman with her burqa on fire: like. A policeman using a baton to beat a masked antifa protester: like. Hillary Clinton looking gaunt and pale: like. A military helicopter armed with machine guns and headed toward the caravan of immigrants: like.

[...]

A picture of undocumented immigrants laughing inside a voting booth: like.

“Deep State Alive and Well”: like.

She scrolled upon another post from America’s Last Line of Defense, reading fast, oblivious to the satire labels and not noticing Blair’s trademark awkward phrasings and misspellings. It showed a group of children kneeling on prayer mats in a classroom. “California School children forced to Sharia in Class,” it read. “All of them have stopped eating bacon. Two began speaking in Allah. Stop making children pray to imaginary Gods!!”

Chapian recoiled from the screen. “Please!” she said. “If I had a kid in a school system like that, I’d yank them out so fast.”

She had seen hundreds of stories on Facebook about the threat of sharia, and this confirmed much of what she already believed. It was probably true, she thought. It was true enough.

“Do people understand that things like this are happening in this country?” she said. She clicked the post and the traffic registered back to a computer in Maine, where Blair watched another story go viral and wondered when his audience would get his joke.

^^^ Thanks, Vic, for posting the link to this article. Our situation is . . . deplorable.

 

[Greenman]

The internet is a Godsend for the narrow minded. You can tailor the experience so you only see what you want to see, and have like minded people constantly reaffirm that your own views are the right views. Or you can attack relentlessly without ever having to face the person you're belittling.

We even have buttons to express our agreement or our dislike without even having to respond. For those of us that are exceptionally needy, we can measure our acceptance by the number of "likes" we get and adjust our rhetoric to achieve the maximum emotional return.

 

[Jaskalas]

And some posters here would claim that woman was being purposefully ignorant.
But the ENTIRE POINT of being ignorant is that the person does NOT know any better.

Enter this article regarding the ugly truth of social media.
They identify with fake news. Their ego feeds the delusion. Reality can GTFO.
The human mind is literally meant to work this way.

Magical sky beings is simply what we do. That's human.

• First step is recognizing the problem.
• Second step is to stop hating the victims of it.

Because then you might actually want what comes next.

• Third step is figuring out how to help them.

Can you, dear posters, stomach that last part?

 

[dank69]

And some posters here would claim that woman was being purposefully ignorant.
But the ENTIRE POINT of being ignorant is that the person does NOT know any better.

Enter this article regarding the ugly truth of social media.
They identify with fake news. Their ego feeds the delusion. Reality can GTFO.
The human mind is literally meant to work this way.

Magical sky beings is simply what we do. That's human.

• First step is recognizing the problem.
• Second step is to stop hating the victims of it.

Because then you might actually want what comes next.

• Third step is figuring out how to help them.

Can you, dear posters, stomach that last part?

You let me know when you figure out a way to help millions of conservatives just like that woman.

 

[fskimospy]

This is why I say that no one has more contempt for the intelligence of conservatives than conservative media. You can tell them anything, even if you’re deliberately trying to make it absurd, and so long as it tells them what they want to hear they believe it. They are the most easily duped people on the planet and no while liberals are not immune to it there is no equal group on the left.

I don’t know what the answer is but this is the root of the sickness that has infected our country. We have the base of one of our two great parties that has gone insane.

 

[Perknose]

You let me know when you figure out a way to help millions of conservatives just like that woman.

And please, @Jaskalas, don''t portray this woman as a hapless victim! She is actively complicit in the bullshit political bigotry she avidly consumes. She sought it out. The right wing lies spoke to her inner political bigot.

This is Trump's "genius." He saw right into the ugliness in the souls of deplorables like this woman, and he pitched his whole campaign towards activating and inflaming their primitive xenophobic bigotry . . . to the point that a guy trying to spoof them with OBVIOUSLY fake "right wing" smears doesn't even register as fake to them.

This woman is an educated, fully functioning adult who once worked with NOW . . . when bigotry affected her life. She is responsible for her choices.Facebook is a virulent vector of hate. But this woman was a willing host to that virus. She doesn't get a pass from me.

 

[Atreus21]

An excellent article from WaPo. I would strongly encourage people to read the whole thing before commenting (open in a private browsing tab to get through the paywall).
But cliffs notes are a liberal guy who makes a living by trolling conservatives, believing that he is educating them by doing so, and a conservative lady who believes the trolls because she lives in an internet fantasy bubble of her own making, and lives in fear of things that will never happen, to the detriment of her real life.

‘Nothing on this page is real’: How lies become truth in online America

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amph...d44cc8-e85a-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html

Dishonesty helps nothing.

 

[Indus]

This woman is an educated, fully functioning adult who once worked with NOW . . . when bigotry affected her life. She is responsible for her choices.Facebook is a virulent vector of hate. But this woman was a willing host to that virus. She doesn't get a pass from me.

Except its not just 1 woman. We have 65 million and counting.

65 million and counting people who are willingly being traitors to our republic and willingly following Russian propaganda and commands.

What do we do with traitors?

Only a stupid country would install them in their Congress, Presidency and the Judiciary.

 

[Vic]

Dishonesty helps nothing.

I wholeheartedly agree. The guy in this story is as much a part of the problem as the woman is, if not more so.

 

[Burpo]

Dishonesty helps nothing.

It's working for Trump..

 

[Perknose]

It's working for Trump..

And the reason such transparent dishonesty works for Trump is that it plays to people who actively WANT to believe the nativist, racist lies he trots out. It only works with their ACTIVE COMPLICITY.

W.C. Fields put it best, "You Can't Cheat An Honest Man." Similarly, you can't entice a non-racist with racist lies. You can only entice an actual racist.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

This is a pretty good analysis from Twitter:

https://twitter.com/saradannerdukic/status/1064382632950210560?s=19

 

[Jaskalas]

And please, @Jaskalas, don''t portray this woman as a hapless victim! She is actively complicit in the bullshit political bigotry she avidly consumes. She sought it out. The right wing lies spoke to her inner political bigot.

This is Trump's "genius." He saw right into the ugliness in the souls of deplorables like this woman, and he pitched his whole campaign towards activating and inflaming their primitive xenophobic bigotry . . . to the point that a guy trying to spoof them with OBVIOUSLY fake "right wing" smears doesn't even register as fake to them.

This woman is an educated, fully functioning adult who once worked with NOW . . . when bigotry affected her life. She is responsible for her choices.Facebook is a virulent vector of hate. But this woman was a willing host to that virus. She doesn't get a pass from me.

I don't think "treason" or "its their fault" is sufficient.

Based on, perhaps the public perception of "!@#$ them Nazi traitors", I am viewing your response through quite a lens. I believe you are conflating some very important distinctions here. Starting with the red meat of your post. A reference to Trump's " primitive xenophobic bigotry". As if that is the definitive characteristic involved. But then, to paint the masses with such a broad brush is no better than proclaiming all Muslims as terrorists. To generalize and stereotype the worst things to the greatest number of people. Then naturally follow that up with collective punishment, they'd deserve it, right?

But that sort of collectivism is not how the human mind works. Yes, the masses of the Republican Party have fallen in line behind Trump. But for each person, their individual journey was different. It starts, as it always does, by identifying with Trump. A "smart" Republican sticking it to the party that failed them under Bush, that failed them in nominating "stupid" moderates McCain and Romney. Finally, a TRUE Conservative voice to fight back, stand up for the people, and deliver the economic, anti-PC, anti-Government message they've been dying to hear for... ever. Scapegoats and trade wars for all! Wrapped up in a bow with Merry Christmas on it.

I witnessed firsthand his appeal to life long Republicans in the family. Hell, the sort of nihilism behind "burn it all down" even reached me at some level "what if...", some specter of my Libertarian roots wondered. What if he delivered on promises to revolutionize things, to actually bring change to a stagnant and broken system. Hack and slash the government? Not so long ago that sort of thing was appealing. What if we could actually do it this time.. No, my better instincts prevailed. I had already moved beyond all that, I had found hope for the future. Wasn't about to let him prevent that. Then, that first debate against Clinton, holy !@#$ he didn't know anything, but promised everything. Very clearly lying about it all. That night I formed a considerable disgust on every level.

But what if a Republican had no hope? What if they weren't smart enough to see through Trump? Thanks to a broken primary system he stood out the most, and it took less than a majority to became the winner. From there the human mind creates a snowball effect. Nomination means Republican. Means winner. Means he is us and we are him. That he'll stick it to our tribal enemy. Hell, that makes him a hero! Victor against Hildabeast?! Astonishing, a victory to be cheered! His victory? Our victory? When do the two lines blur?

For Republicans, adopting such a man was like poison to the mind. The more people accepted him, the easier it was for the brains of others to preform a Coup D'etat. Because they let him worm his way into the Republican Identity. Especially potent thanks to partisan politics where one is either Red or Blue. R or D. Well then, people told everyone else that Trump was a Republican. So open the gates and let the bad man in.

Once a shared identify is formed, that is when the Ego takes over. It's all auto pilot from there. Manufacture any delusion so long as it feeds the Ego the lies it needs to feel comfortable with the new Identity. And given the festering nature of this particular identity, those delusions had to be huge. The Ego works overtime, latching onto everything it can find to lie to the brain. To convince it that this poison is just water. That it is cool and refreshing, good for the soul. "Let the bad man in" the Ego tells the brain, after all we've already surrendered to it. And thus the minds of Republicans are lost in Trump fever.

And he is not that special, aside from just how detestable he is. What I described is my take on the functioning of the human mind. Throw in modern U.S. politics and this is what you get. The con man becomes the leader. And they actually stand by him now. Even those I had convinced to vote against him in the primary. He's "winning", don't you see? "We" are winning thanks to him! Helpless under the weight of those lies, you honestly think they have self control?

You give people too much credit. We are more primitive than that. Educated, fully functional adult? Please... route memorization is a child's game. I hope you'd agree that critical thinking is a skill too few possess. College is no guarantee. And age? People grow infantile in their senior years. That woman may have already lost her mind by age 76. I put no stock in her mental faculty, if for no other reason than the result speaks for itself.

You would ascribe motive? Bull... you don't know her well enough for that. But more importantly you don't know the masses. I can describe the process by which I believe many have fallen... ill. That sheer group politics and group identity have let them fall prey to a predator, and whatever lies are needed to support a partisan agenda. They will believe anything because they cannot believe that Trump is bad or that they have failed by supporting him. Moonbeam will tell you how much people cannot handle the truth. He has always been right about that.

Now we are witness to seeing it in action, in a most terrible way. But lest you have no regard for human life, I would ask you to think of the conditions under which this has occurred. Some of them no doubt deserve your scorn, but many others do not. And unless we are here devising ways to end civility, politics, and the need for words between us, then I feel it us our duty to do the opposite. For us to come to terms with how this happened, and how we can deal with it in a civil manner. That we might speak of a way forward, or at least of finding a way. Certainly the challenge is extraordinary, to overcome human nature adrift in terrible conditions. Yet that remains our charge nonetheless.

 

[dank69]

Dishonesty helps nothing.

Blatant honesty doesn't seem to help either. You do realize this guy specifically put notices all over his site that the articles are fake/satire, right?

 

[Bitek]

And the reason such transparent dishonesty works for Trump is that it plays to people who actively WANT to believe the nativist, racist lies he trots out. It only works with their ACTIVE COMPLICITY.

W.C. Fields put it best, "You Can't Cheat An Honest Man." Similarly, you can't entice a non-racist with racist lies. You can only entice an actual racist.

Maybe, however that perspective assumes there is some inherent wickedness within that demographic and thus no hope for change.

I actually see this as a symptom of some other affliction, and that one being loneliness, isolation in the need for attention and belief validation.

This woman is interrupting her life to constantly check on likes and reactions to her posting, as well as handing them out herself. I think this is very common in these social media platforms, and I think even on this forum there is an element to that that's built to build Pavlovian expectations for feedback and response. Why else place a like button, and alert system to notify you when you receive a response?

I've been on here long enough to see the difference adding this feature makes. It's hard not to pull your eyes immediately to that response and cause you to react to it. Of course if you are inclined to this attention-seeking behavior (and most people are), this can help shape future behavior so that your content is driven to gather more attention and response.

So is it truly that these conservative ideas are so compelling in their substance, or is it simply what the game is currently rewarding heavily and thus building on itself for further attention?

I think it's far more the latter.

 

[Perknose]

I don't think "treason" or "its their fault" is sufficient.

Who said anything about treason for this woman and her ilk? I didn't.

Based on, perhaps the public perception of "!@#$ them Nazi traitors", I am viewing your response through quite a lens.

Quite the hysterical lens, to boot. Please ask yourself why are you being so hysterically defensive here?

A reference to Trump's " primitive xenophobic bigotry". As if that is the definitive characteristic involved.

But it is. It started with the lie that America's first black President wasn't even American, and went on to "Build the Wall to stop the Mexicans from sending us their rapists." He pitched this to people like this woman, and even though they are both obvious lies/blatant exaggerations, people like this woman EAGERLY bought into them.

Please ask yourself why you don't want to SEE this.

Then naturally follow that up with collective punishment, they'd deserve it, right?

Like the "treason" remark, again, this is YOUR fearful fantasy, not mine. I said nothing about this. Why are you?

What guilty fear button of yours is being pushed here? Please, please, please, ask yourself that.



.

 

[HomerJS]

I wholeheartedly agree. The guy in this story is as much a part of the problem as the woman is, if not more so.

Why is the guy the problem when he is upfront with his disclaimer none of this stuff is true?

Did you ever take a test in elementary school, you get a piece of paper with 20 questions? The first question states "read all questions before answering. The last question says "sign your name and turn in your paper. I got this in the 4th grade and failed like most of the class.

 

[skooma]

You let me know when you figure out a way to help millions of conservatives just like that woman.

I'm really hoping Mueller's team will be able to enlighten some although I have conservative friends who, with the first two rounds of russian indictments, quickly pointed out, "no collusion!!! See???". It's like these stories erode their ablity to think critically or challenge anything so long as it fits their personal politics. Sad.

 

[Vic]

Why is the guy the problem when he is upfront with his disclaimer none of this stuff is true?

Did you ever take a test in elementary school, you get a piece of paper with 20 questions? The first question states "read all questions before answering. The last question says "sign your name and turn in your paper. I got this in the 4th grade and failed like most of the class.

Because even with the disclaimers, he's only increasing the amount of disinformation out there, while humiliating people the way he is doing isn't educating him like he thinks, it's just strengthening their partisanship and cognitive dissonance.

 

[HomerJS]

Because even with the disclaimers, he's only increasing the amount of disinformation out there, while humiliating people the way he is doing isn't educating him like he thinks, it's just strengthening their partisanship and cognitive dissonance.

Well telling them the truth doesn't educate them either. Any better ideas?

 

[Jhhnn]

Well telling them the truth doesn't educate them either. Any better ideas?

I think we need to accept the fact that some hopefully small subset of the population is simply unreachable. For the woman in the article, it may be a new manifestation of dementia.