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>When public discourse was a physical event, you were forced to hear both sides as they exist in your neighborhood. Were you alive during the 20th century? If

by vba616 5y ago

>When public discourse was a physical event, you were forced to hear both sides as they exist in your neighborhood. Were you alive during the 20th century? If so, can you maybe go into more context for what you're referring to, because this was not my experience in my neighborhood. >instead, listen to a small cult on the other side of the planet if it so suits you. Take, for instance, those few who have left the west to join ISIS There were cults and converts before the Internet. Some were very famous. You haven't heard of any of them? People...uh...found a way.

BobbyJo 5y ago
> Were you alive during the 20th century? If so, can you maybe go into more context for what you're referring to, because this was not my experience in my neighborhood. I'm only in my 30's, but my adolescence was essentially pre-internet. My grandfather, who I lived with, was a very politically involved person. He essentially parroted whatever was on TV, which, since this was pre-internet, was pretty centrist in order to appeal to the most people. The internet had yet to break them into inflammatory niches for what little ad revenue was left. I remember he'd go and picket with various groups, argue on the street with Bill Clinton supporters and stuff like that. He's an extremely nice and polite guy, so talking with people in real life always kept him apprised of the humanity of the people he was disagreeing with. Hell, he had to see them afterwards in the grocery store on occasion. Now he just sits on the computer and parrots whatever spam non-sense made it into his email inbox. The other side is no longer a set of people living much the same life as him, it's a cabal of rich people hell bent on murdering babies and they'll hand out all the money necessary to get whatever power they want. I've watched pretty much my entire family slide from center-right to nonsense-right over the last 20 years. There was a small reprieve recently. He was working with a Black man who was his antithesis, and they got along OK enough. My grandpa seemed to settle down for a time. He's no longer able to work now though, and he's definitely back in the mode of spinning out over non-sense. > There were cults and converts before the Internet. Some were very famous. You haven't heard of any of them? People...uh...found a way. I don't think the internet created the phenomenon, but it, both, enabled more elaborate and large scale lies, and gave people a lot more options for which lies they want to be told. Before, you were limited to who you ran into, or word of mouth from a friend. Now, any kid feeling cast out from their peers can run to a dark haven of any sort, any religion, and political leaning, any take on violence, whether they live in rural Kentucky or a condo in Seattle.

by vba616 5y ago

BobbyJo 5y ago

> Were you alive during the 20th century? If so, can you maybe go into more context for what you're referring to, because this was not my experience in my neighborhood. I'm only in my 30's, but my adolescence was essentially pre-internet. My grandfather, who I lived with, was a very politically involved person. He essentially parroted whatever was on TV, which, since this was pre-internet, was pretty centrist in order to appeal to the most people. The internet had yet to break them into inflammatory niches for what little ad revenue was left. I remember he'd go and picket with various groups, argue on the street with Bill Clinton supporters and stuff like that. He's an extremely nice and polite guy, so talking with people in real life always kept him apprised of the humanity of the people he was disagreeing with. Hell, he had to see them afterwards in the grocery store on occasion. Now he just sits on the computer and parrots whatever spam non-sense made it into his email inbox. The other side is no longer a set of people living much the same life as him, it's a cabal of rich people hell bent on murdering babies and they'll hand out all the money necessary to get whatever power they want. I've watched pretty much my entire family slide from center-right to nonsense-right over the last 20 years. There was a small reprieve recently. He was working with a Black man who was his antithesis, and they got along OK enough. My grandpa seemed to settle down for a time. He's no longer able to work now though, and he's definitely back in the mode of spinning out over non-sense. > There were cults and converts before the Internet. Some were very famous. You haven't heard of any of them? People...uh...found a way. I don't think the internet created the phenomenon, but it, both, enabled more elaborate and large scale lies, and gave people a lot more options for which lies they want to be told. Before, you were limited to who you ran into, or word of mouth from a friend. Now, any kid feeling cast out from their peers can run to a dark haven of any sort, any religion, and political leaning, any take on violence, whether they live in rural Kentucky or a condo in Seattle.