'Murica! (63 Viewers)

swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
83,373
General identity politics and assigning value/ merit to people based on oppression points
I kind of have to go back to the original question then:

Can you name one conspiracy theorist on the left who is as popular, damaging and dangerous as Qanon.
1) No single conspiracy theory, 2) no single theorist/follower group

Identity politics and the Oppression Olympics are problematic in their own right. But they're not exactly taking hostages in the Capitol. They just "seem" or "feel" threatening. "Oooh, they called me a bad word." "Oooh, they circled the wagons and decided not to listen to my podcast or pressured their sponsors to drop them." They are idiotic, but we're not in the same league with insurrection.

Nice citation today of Cliodynamics again:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...own-a-data-scientists-take-on-trump-and-biden


Interesting suggestion that a lot of overeducated young people will lean left -- and into identity politics and oppression points -- because that appears as their lone recourse to being locked out of the power hierarchy and having limited career prospects.

Do you really think someone of relevance takes Qanon seriously?
They may not believe it, but they goad the followers into thinking that they've created the space for them to believe it. They encourage it. They've made a cynical choice to expand their political tent by courting dangerous deluded people.

I may take up a lot of left perspectives, but do not mistake me for some socialist (even if I do live in Portugal and like it here). I've been encouraged by a lot of the postings of late from moderate conservative publications like the American Conservative and the National Review who are actively calling out the cancerous courtship of cults and rioters. They've done a far better job than the left has in calling out "rioters of common cause", even if the left has hardly egged on and encouraged rioters the way that the right has done.

In this sense, I have some common thinking with the general public. You know why so many House seats turned red when Trump was simultaneously losing re-election? It wasn't because "The Steal" mixed up parties for House races. It's because voters tend to favor a balance of power. When one party or ideology has too much of a power and gets it in its head that it has a mandate, bad things usually follow. Maybe not right away, but soon after. Not only were so many anti-Trump votes legitimate, so were many simultaneous votes to throw out Blue legislators in state House elections.

My sister thinks Democrats rigged the elections, that Trump is the shit and Joe Biden is Nicolas Maduro.
She's almost Cuban. :lol:

(This also underscores why so many House seats turning red this election refutes the rigged election theory.)

I still say this was one of my favorite memes of the whole election:

4w7e0nrscnk51.jpg


This is what I thought at first, but it has gone on so long and spread so far that I almost feel as if it's sanctioned by some foreign government.
Not bad. There is political power in seeding that kind of hysteria. The Internet Reseach Center proved how divisive they could be with Facebook ads and misinformation. Why not take down a foreign enemy one better by planting conspiracy stories to keep large swaths of the public rabid and delusional. Now THAT is a conspiracy theory I can get behind. ;)
 
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Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
111,315
The left in general and their conspiracy that everyone on the right is a Qanon conspiracy theorist, KKK sympathiser, and a fascist.
Well, that's their entire platform now. A much bigger conspiracy than the 2000 KKKtards around the country.

- - - Updated - - -

@ALC @Post Ironic
But but those radical leftists are forcing me to use pronouns.....
By the way, they just had the suspect on the local news. He does private security. CNN tried to lead people to believe he was killing Biden. More fake news from the foreign election meddlers CNN.

The only real crimes going on now in DC are being led by MS13, black gangs, and government "officials."
 
Aug 26, 2014
2,495
They may not believe it, but they goad the followers into thinking that they've created the space for them to believe it. They encourage it. They've made a cynical choice to expand their political tent by courting dangerous deluded people.

I may take up a lot of left perspectives, but do not mistake me for some socialist (even if I do live in Portugal and like it here). I've been encouraged by a lot of the postings of late from moderate conservative publications like the American Conservative and the National Review who are actively calling out the cancerous courtship of cults and rioters. They've done a far better job than the left has in calling out "rioters of common cause", even if the left has hardly egged on and encouraged rioters the way that the right has done.

In this sense, I have some common thinking with the general public. You know why so many House seats turned red when Trump was simultaneously losing re-election? It wasn't because "The Steal" mixed up parties for House races. It's because voters tend to favor a balance of power. When one party or ideology has too much of a power and gets it in its head that it has a mandate, bad things usually follow. Maybe not right away, but soon after. Not only were so many anti-Trump votes legitimate, so were many simultaneous votes to throw out Blue legislators in state House elections.
That's what all politicians do if they fear that they might lose their position or want to gain a better one they divide the people and stir controversy. I'm not saying that's good but that has been going on for decades with various movements, they use them and they throw them out like condoms. I get what you are saying that the QAnons and the likes don't even deserve a platform to speak and spread their beliefs (that's hard these days with the Internet) and I agree but same goes for the radical left and their agendas and I don't see that happening right now.

As for change I agree it's good, but balance also can be detrimental in a way that nothing really gets done. But as I said politicians tend to hang on to their seats with everything they got whether that is good or bad.
 

swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
83,373
That's what all politicians do if they fear that they might lose their position or want to gain a better one they divide the people and stir controversy. I'm not saying that's good but that has been going on for decades with various movements, they use them and they throw them out like condoms. I get what you are saying that the QAnons and the likes don't even deserve a platform to speak and spread their beliefs (that's hard these days with the Internet) and I agree but same goes for the radical left and their agendas and I don't see that happening right now.

As for change I agree it's good, but balance also can be detrimental in a way that nothing really gets done. But as I said politicians tend to hang on to their seats with everything they got whether that is good or bad.
Politicians do what they have to do. This is why many people are not cut out for it, and generally that's probably a good thing for character. Still it is a necessary business. One of the most racist politicians in 20th century America, Alabama governor George Wallace, originally ran and lost his first major election run by not taking a stand on segregation -- because white supremacy wasn't his thing. He never made the same mistake again. A most cynical kind of racism was the result: what was politically prudent.

Well, the National Review and American Conservative aren't politicians... they're policy wonks and idealogues.

As for QAnon, if you court the crazies, you court disaster. As Voltaire put it, "Any one who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices" (or atrocities). I wish there were more sane voices from the left when people went into hysterics over the Kavanaugh hearings and tried to paint the guy as the Golden State Killer. The left also needs to learn more from the Spanish Civil War and leave history to the historians and focus policy and politics more on the here, now, and future.

And both what qualifies someone for political work and the fact that too much is done to maintain power, I'm more and more liking anti-democratic lottery system ideas to kill off the entitlement class.
 

Suns

Release clause?
May 22, 2009
21,927
Exactly what springs to mind, a bunch of serious losers. They've all watched too many movies.

"Guess what? America showed up!" Absolute cringe.
Besides abortion and the 2nd amendment, these people have no idea what they're actually protesting against. It all comes down to cute words like 'omg communism China' and 'taking away our rights'. As if a neoliberal like Biden will become the new Mao.
 

IliveForJuve

Burn this club
Jan 17, 2011
18,363
I always found it amusing that Americans use the word "liberal" as a synonym for Democrat, socialist or left winger. It makes absolutely no sense to me. It's actually contradictory.

Have they never heard of John Locke or what?
 
Aug 26, 2014
2,495
Politicians do what they have to do. This is why many people are not cut out for it, and generally that's probably a good thing for character. Still it is a necessary business. One of the most racist politicians in 20th century America, Alabama governor George Wallace, originally ran and lost his first major election run by not taking a stand on segregation -- because white supremacy wasn't his thing. He never made the same mistake again. A most cynical kind of racism was the result: what was politically prudent.

Well, the National Review and American Conservative aren't politicians... they're policy wonks and idealogues.

As for QAnon, if you court the crazies, you court disaster. As Voltaire put it, "Any one who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices" (or atrocities). I wish there were more sane voices from the left when people went into hysterics over the Kavanaugh hearings and tried to paint the guy as the Golden State Killer. The left also needs to learn more from the Spanish Civil War and leave history to the historians and focus policy and politics more on the here, now, and future.

And both what qualifies someone for political work and the fact that too much is done to maintain power, I'm more and more liking anti-democratic lottery system ideas to kill off the entitlement class.
As I said few pages back todays media is very bias and panders to it's audience, giving wider audience to the nut-jobs from both sides and dividing people on more and more subjects. Not saying court the crazies(only the ones that deserve it) but I'm all for non-bias media exploring both-sides of the story and presenting the facts. Maybe this will stop the divide. Also the few real journalists that are left that "dare" speak openly and with facts get instantly attacked, even if they are presenting facts and that's just ridiculous. The most of them don't want to risk their jobs and tend to not stir anymore trouble for themselves and who can blame them. This is also happening to a lot of professors across the US, this lynch mob mentality "cancel culture" is crazy.
 

campionesidd

Senior Member
Mar 16, 2013
15,141
I always found it amusing that Americans use the word "liberal" as a synonym for Democrat, socialist or left winger. It makes absolutely no sense to me. It's actually contradictory.

Have they never heard of John Locke or what?
It’s also funny how liberalism is associated with Venezuela, China and Cuba but not with countries like Denmark, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands.
 

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