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The UFO shows that I see on the history channel and the like are completely disheartening to me. The problem is not the people believe in UFOs or that there are

by zwkrt 6y ago

The UFO shows that I see on the history channel and the like are completely disheartening to me. The problem is not the people believe in UFOs or that there are shows about them; rather it seems the show is intentionally stroking a specific type of right wing conspiracy theory regarding the fact that the government is hiding information from the public and that the government’s power comes mainly from their exclusive harnessing of alien information and alien technology. I see it as a direct and logical continuation, in fact even a normalization, of the conservative tendency to disregard research, experts, and complicated logical reasoning. It is much easier to think that aliens gave us the transistor than it is to realize that there are in fact people out there who are very smart and dedicated. The fact that these types of shows are shown on a channel called “the history channel” borders on criminal irresponsibility in my view.

lihaweawehfm 6y ago
> right wing conspiracy theory > disregard research, experts, and complicated logical reasoning wait, so if right wing is against logical reasoning, and left wing too (see e.g.: pol pot), which political school is actually pro logical reasoning?
- zwkrt 6y ago
  It would be nice to have a discussion about this topic because I actually do agree with you, but I feel like I can’t really engage in whataboutism. If you can’t see the differences between (for instance) people who believe in climate science and Pol Pot, then it is unlikely that we will have a fruitful discussion.
- dudeman13 6y ago
  None. Logical reasoning goes agaisn't what politics is about.
- ookdatnog 6y ago
  It's disheartening to have to spell this out, but the statement "some people on the political right believe in crazy conspiracy theories" does not imply "the entire right is against logical reasoning", and neither does "some subset of people on the political left support or have supported Pol Pot at some point" imply "support of Pol Pot is a mainstream opinion among left-leaning people", or "the entire left is against logical reasoning".
ColanR 6y ago
> right wing conspiracy theory regarding the fact that the government is hiding information from the public You mean information like the existence of the surveilance that Snowden proved?
- retrac 6y ago
  That notion was taken credibly by sensible people even before the Snowden leak. Snowden was hardly the first leak, after all, just the most spectacular. If the US government can't even keep its own spy programs secret without repeated leaks, it's hard to believe they've managed near-100% success with their alien guests since '47.
  - cat199 6y ago
    agreed hard to keep secrets, but compartmentalized research into abstract weapons/physics/non-earthlings is probably easier for employees to digest ethically speaking than breaking the law to exert control over your fellow citizens

by zwkrt 6y ago

lihaweawehfm 6y ago

> right wing conspiracy theory > disregard research, experts, and complicated logical reasoning wait, so if right wing is against logical reasoning, and left wing too (see e.g.: pol pot), which political school is actually pro logical reasoning?

zwkrt 6y ago
It would be nice to have a discussion about this topic because I actually do agree with you, but I feel like I can’t really engage in whataboutism. If you can’t see the differences between (for instance) people who believe in climate science and Pol Pot, then it is unlikely that we will have a fruitful discussion.
dudeman13 6y ago
None. Logical reasoning goes agaisn't what politics is about.
ookdatnog 6y ago
It's disheartening to have to spell this out, but the statement "some people on the political right believe in crazy conspiracy theories" does not imply "the entire right is against logical reasoning", and neither does "some subset of people on the political left support or have supported Pol Pot at some point" imply "support of Pol Pot is a mainstream opinion among left-leaning people", or "the entire left is against logical reasoning".

ColanR 6y ago

> right wing conspiracy theory regarding the fact that the government is hiding information from the public You mean information like the existence of the surveilance that Snowden proved?

retrac 6y ago
That notion was taken credibly by sensible people even before the Snowden leak. Snowden was hardly the first leak, after all, just the most spectacular. If the US government can't even keep its own spy programs secret without repeated leaks, it's hard to believe they've managed near-100% success with their alien guests since '47.
- cat199 6y ago
  agreed hard to keep secrets, but compartmentalized research into abstract weapons/physics/non-earthlings is probably easier for employees to digest ethically speaking than breaking the law to exert control over your fellow citizens