4 ms·

> No one wants to spend time on the Internet listening to a bunch of randos talking about how the Jews are secretly lizard people manipulating the elections exc

> No one wants to spend time on the Internet listening to a bunch of randos talking about how the Jews are secretly lizard people manipulating the elections except other such crackpots. I don't think that is representative of users of Parler. I would agree with you if you said Gab. This may surprise you but the vast vast majority people are joking about the likes of the lizard people. It is a bit of fun because of how ridiculous the idea is. > Let these people go there and convince each other of their fringe conspiracy theories. Freedom of association and all that. If they will stop polluting normal places with their crackpottery we're all better off. From "Anatomy of the State" by Murray Rothbard pages 27 and 28: > It is also important for the State to inculcate in its subjects an aversion to any “conspiracy theory of history;” for a search for “conspiracies” means a search for motives and an attribution of responsibility for historical misdeeds. If, however, any tyranny imposed by the State, or venality, or aggressive war, was caused not by the State rulers but by mysterious and arcane “social forces,” or by the imperfect state of the world or, if in some way, everyone was responsible (“We Are All Murderers,” proclaims one slogan), then there is no point to the people becoming indignant or rising up against such misdeeds. Furthermore, an attack on “conspiracy theories” means that the subjects will become more gullible in believing the “general welfare” reasons that are always put forth by the State for engaging in any of its des-potic actions. A “conspiracy theory” can unsettle the system by causing the public to doubt the State’s ideological propaganda. When large news organisations that are owned by the rich or the state are telling you that they need to "stop mis-information and conspiracy theories" on platforms where anyone can post anything that means some of those theories might not be as soo fringe as you like to make out.

renewiltord 6y ago
Nah, I don't need large news organizations to do anything. If you walked up to me today and gave me the latest spiel about how Kamala Harris was born in Kenya to a two-headed alligator man, I'm going to walk away. Online it's not so easy to walk away, so I prefer that you have alligator man conversations with other alligator man enthusiasts.
- forest_dweller 6y ago
  > If you walked up to me today and gave me the latest spiel about how Kamala Harris was born in Kenya to a two-headed alligator man, I'm going to walk away. Except most of the so called "conspiracy theorists" don't talk about that stuff at all. They normally talk about how "this information Y is being supressed from the public because this will undermind the governments policy on X". People always bring up the crazy the stuff to discredit the other things that could be legitiment. It must be some form of strawmanning. > Online it's not so easy to walk away, so I prefer that you have alligator man conversations with other alligator man enthusiasts. I don't have alligator man conversations at all. I just don't strawman the other side position to feel morally superior like you appear to be doing.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    I'm sure this is how they perceive themselves and I'm sure they spend at least a few hours to talk about this stuff. But in my experience, the SNR is low. It's hard to find the new MKULTRA hidden in the pizzagate, qanon, and birtherism. And ultimately, that's it. But be my guest: go be informed about subtle government interference by the guys who are convinced that Democrats are injecting old people with SARS-CoV-2 so they can steal their identities to vote. And obviously the 'you' is a "generic you"¹. It doesn't mean you specifically, dude. Substitute with "one" m.m. if you find it confusing. It's not an insult targeted at you. It is an insult targeted at the loons that seem to populate every one of these "free speech" sites: voat, gab, whatever. ¹ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you
    - forest_dweller 6y ago
      I didn't know that strawmanning is the way to the truth /sarcasm. I put conspircy theorists in quotes because the news organisations label people as such when they look away from an official narrative. This is known as dissent. If you are an American your country is founded on dissent. That why I gave you the the Rothbard quote (not a conspiracy theorist btw but an Anarcho Capitalist) because it specifically talks about how dissenters are dismissed. You are doing exactly that. You should be very worried when large media organisations and news are talking about "fact checking" and "stopping mis-information". What they are really saying is that they wish to silence dissenters.
secondcoming 6y ago
> This may surprise you but the vast vast majority people are joking about the likes of the lizard people. Exactly. Today's social media is a humourless place. No-one can take a joke, or perhaps even see one.

renewiltord 6y ago

Nah, I don't need large news organizations to do anything. If you walked up to me today and gave me the latest spiel about how Kamala Harris was born in Kenya to a two-headed alligator man, I'm going to walk away. Online it's not so easy to walk away, so I prefer that you have alligator man conversations with other alligator man enthusiasts.

forest_dweller 6y ago
> If you walked up to me today and gave me the latest spiel about how Kamala Harris was born in Kenya to a two-headed alligator man, I'm going to walk away. Except most of the so called "conspiracy theorists" don't talk about that stuff at all. They normally talk about how "this information Y is being supressed from the public because this will undermind the governments policy on X". People always bring up the crazy the stuff to discredit the other things that could be legitiment. It must be some form of strawmanning. > Online it's not so easy to walk away, so I prefer that you have alligator man conversations with other alligator man enthusiasts. I don't have alligator man conversations at all. I just don't strawman the other side position to feel morally superior like you appear to be doing.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  I'm sure this is how they perceive themselves and I'm sure they spend at least a few hours to talk about this stuff. But in my experience, the SNR is low. It's hard to find the new MKULTRA hidden in the pizzagate, qanon, and birtherism. And ultimately, that's it. But be my guest: go be informed about subtle government interference by the guys who are convinced that Democrats are injecting old people with SARS-CoV-2 so they can steal their identities to vote. And obviously the 'you' is a "generic you"¹. It doesn't mean you specifically, dude. Substitute with "one" m.m. if you find it confusing. It's not an insult targeted at you. It is an insult targeted at the loons that seem to populate every one of these "free speech" sites: voat, gab, whatever. ¹ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you
  - forest_dweller 6y ago
    I didn't know that strawmanning is the way to the truth /sarcasm. I put conspircy theorists in quotes because the news organisations label people as such when they look away from an official narrative. This is known as dissent. If you are an American your country is founded on dissent. That why I gave you the the Rothbard quote (not a conspiracy theorist btw but an Anarcho Capitalist) because it specifically talks about how dissenters are dismissed. You are doing exactly that. You should be very worried when large media organisations and news are talking about "fact checking" and "stopping mis-information". What they are really saying is that they wish to silence dissenters.

secondcoming 6y ago

> This may surprise you but the vast vast majority people are joking about the likes of the lizard people. Exactly. Today's social media is a humourless place. No-one can take a joke, or perhaps even see one.