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the problem with studies like this, and what makes it useless practically, is that right at the outset it's premised on the liberal-conservative dichotomy, a ma

the problem with studies like this, and what makes it useless practically, is that right at the outset it's premised on the liberal-conservative dichotomy, a made-up linearization of the complex sociopolitical positions of complex sociopolitical beings. that's about as meaningful as tarot cards or horoscopes for understanding said sociopolitical beings. it's performative and coercive rather than expository and informative. when we break out of such dichotomies, we realize that people hold all sorts of views, and each and every person is a bundle of contradictions, pride, and ambition, all mixing together in strange and unpredictable ways to form our sociopolitical environment. there is literally no true 'liberal' or 'conservative' out in the world. these are constructed poles of a false dichotomy. and as such, this is junk food for people who want to believe they're better/smarter/nicer/whateverer than those 'other' people, and for the powerful, this kind of dichotomization collapses complexity to simplify their work of holding and expanding power, principally as a distraction from those machinations.

kelseyfrog 5y ago
> that's about as meaningful as tarot cards As a non-supernatural tarot practitioner, binary political labels are objectively worse than tarot. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I came to tarot by way of procedural narrative generation. In that vein, tarot is a fantastic way of providing a space to temporarily reframe psycho-social conflict and construct compelling narratives within a consistent framework of narrative-semiotic objects. I'm more than willing to admit this is likely a minority opinion, but it has helped me in re-examining things like perceived intentions, what is the true conflict, how would I feel about particular outcomes in a way that checks my gut instinct to reactively reach for the most convenient answer or one that makes me feel the best.
- clairity 5y ago
  that's an interesting application of tarot. hopefully my comment didn't come across as belittling such a novel, non-supernatural use.
  - kelseyfrog 5y ago
    No, not at all. It's a small group itself within a niche community, so I don't expect anyone outside of maybe 50 people to have ran across that particular framing. :)

kelseyfrog 5y ago

> that's about as meaningful as tarot cards As a non-supernatural tarot practitioner, binary political labels are objectively worse than tarot. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I came to tarot by way of procedural narrative generation. In that vein, tarot is a fantastic way of providing a space to temporarily reframe psycho-social conflict and construct compelling narratives within a consistent framework of narrative-semiotic objects. I'm more than willing to admit this is likely a minority opinion, but it has helped me in re-examining things like perceived intentions, what is the true conflict, how would I feel about particular outcomes in a way that checks my gut instinct to reactively reach for the most convenient answer or one that makes me feel the best.

clairity 5y ago
that's an interesting application of tarot. hopefully my comment didn't come across as belittling such a novel, non-supernatural use.
- kelseyfrog 5y ago
  No, not at all. It's a small group itself within a niche community, so I don't expect anyone outside of maybe 50 people to have ran across that particular framing. :)