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It's of course not: believe science. It's: obey authority. That's what they really mean when they say it. It's philosophically very wide, it represents a much
by adventured 5y ago
It's of course not: believe science.
It's: obey authority. That's what they really mean when they say it. It's philosophically very wide, it represents a much broader spectrum for the person using it than just science. What you're witnessing is a coward's soul laid bare, when you witness someone shut down discussion with bumper sticker regurgitations.
When you read the history of any given authoritarian regime of more recent times, there is a large fraction of the general population that tremendously assists the monsters into coming to power, through endless acquiescing. They're the gray moralists, the fence sitters: who am I to have a brain, who am I to have an opinion, little me, who am I to do anything, who am I to hold an opinion separate from such and such important person, I do what I'm told when I'm told without asking questions. They're zombies and they're terrifying to observe in action.
- dghlsakjg 5y agoExcept it’s not the introspective people that have nuanced opinions driving this. Right now (on the right and the left) it is being driven by people with absolutist opinions based on contempt for authority and facts.
- AYBABTME 5y agoI think calling them cowards is wrong. These people probably are just as spread out on the anti-authority front as any other group. They just appeal to different authorities, and in this case the Gentile Society's authorities were saying that a lab leak is unacceptable belief. Also at the time, there was huge reactionary responses to Trumpism, BLM was in full fling, and there wasn't much mental space (and time) left for most people to make clear informed decisions. The trustworthy-looking authorities were saying it's not a leak... and wink-wink if you think it is, you're a Trump supporter. Now that US internal politics is a lot less saturated with crazy stuff, it seems like there's more breathing room for people to sit back and requestion their prior beliefs. And the audience is more receptive, more ready to hear, less occupied with anti-Trumpism.
- jerry1979 5y agoWith regard to this particular personality axis, I often wonder if companies like TikTok, Facebook, Google, etc have a propensity score (or similar) associated with each user.
- stjohnswarts 5y agoSorry man I'm gonna believe Fauci on how to deal with a virus rather than a random person on the internet. I don't have decades of experience in virology and infectious disease. And guess what? He was right, and the republicans were wrong. do I believe he is always 100% right? Of course not. There was nothing in what he said that seemed illogical though, unlike Trump and his fellow republicans and whackadoodle online conspiracists.