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Ridiculous. There is one reason I read news, and it is stronger now than ever. I started reading news when I was about 14 and this was my reasoning: "There wer

Ridiculous. There is one reason I read news, and it is stronger now than ever. I started reading news when I was about 14 and this was my reasoning: "There were Jews in nazi germany who could have escaped the horrors but didn't. Some, not all, but some had the resources to emigrate, to run, but they either didn't see the danger coming, or didn't believe it will get as bad as it got, or had too deep roots to move themselves. I will want to be like the Jews who escaped, who kept their eyes open and realised what is coming and went and saved their life and their loved ones life." And that's why I started reading news. In case there are people thinking about killing me and mine I can bolt. Now excuse my 14 year old self's naive understanding of history. It is never as easy as just that. But certainly there are dangers in life. I want to avoid those dangers. I want my loved ones to avoid those dangers. And here I don't mean the dangers of idk toxins in this and that normal foodstuff, or the dangers of strange man hiding in the dark. Those are catchy images, but statistically speaking they are not worth worrying about. So what kind of dangers do I mean then? Normally I just say "i will know when I see it", but sadly we have a very clear and present example. I heard about the possibility of the Russian invasion first thing last November. I did recognise that it has the potential of being very bad and if I would have had family and loved ones in Ukraine I would have tried to make them move to a safer place. And increasingly as the signal grew I would have exerted more effort to make that happen. I hope that if I would have had family in Ukraine they would not be there by the start of the invasion. (And I know this also has a component of not just being well informed, but also having resources. I recognise my privilege.) So that's why I'm reading news. To gather the temperature of the pot I'm swimming in with my loved ones. And I also understand that this makes me prone to overreact, and that is fine. I would rather be the pigeon who nervously flitters about than the pigeon who got eaten by the cat.

pdonis 5y ago
Did the Jews who escaped Nazi Germany know to do that because of what they were reading in the news? I get that we all want to avoid dangers and that knowing about them in advance helps. I just question whether reading the news is a good way to do that.
- krisoft 5y ago
  Are you asking about the historical facts? I don't know. Not my speciality, and I don't want to say something which might be not true. Are you asking about the younger me's understanding of this question? I can answer that. Understand the following in this light: My understanding that their persecution was not a bolt from the blue. Politicians were agitating against them. There were speeches, there were marching demonstrations, then there were aggression against individuals. Shops burnt down etc. It wasn't like yesterday was everything A-okay, and today you are sitting in a cattle car heading to a gas chamber. > I just question whether reading the news is a good way to do that. I understand that. And I agree with you it is better to be skeptical about these things. But on the other hand with Ukraine I had a good 5 monthish heads-up. Maybe 2 month if i'm calculating from the "my spidersense is tingling enough that I would start walking out with nothing but the clothes I have on my back if I must" moment. So in the present day it's hard to convince me that it's not a good way to do that. One of course also needs a head solidly attached to their shoulders, and a good mind in it, but that's always needed for everything.
  - pdonis 5y ago
    > Are you asking about the historical facts? Yes, because that's what's relevant to the question of whether watching the news is or is not a good way to get advance warnings of the kind of danger you might need to take drastic action to avoid. My understanding of the historical fact is that Jews who left Germany to escape the Nazis did not do so based on anything they read in the news; they did so based on word of mouth about where things were heading and based on the declared intentions of the Nazis, which anyone who had read Mein Kampf could have predicted. > their persecution was not a bolt from the blue That's correct, it most definitely was not. There were warning signs years in advance. My understanding is that the biggest obstacle to Jews fleeing from Germany was not lack of information but the simple fact that it's very, very difficult to uproot your entire life and flee to a foreign country you've never seen where almost nobody speaks your language, so convincing yourself that it really, truly is necessary to do that is something people will have a very difficult time doing even if they already have all the information they need to see the necessity. > with Ukraine I had a good 5 monthish heads-up Based on what you read in the news? Or based on information you got other ways, that you would have gotten whether you read the news or not? Putin's intentions towards the Ukraine have been clear for years, certainly since the annexation of the Crimea. I don't think this was a bolt from the blue any more than the Nazi persecution of Jews was.

pdonis 5y ago

Did the Jews who escaped Nazi Germany know to do that because of what they were reading in the news? I get that we all want to avoid dangers and that knowing about them in advance helps. I just question whether reading the news is a good way to do that.

krisoft 5y ago
Are you asking about the historical facts? I don't know. Not my speciality, and I don't want to say something which might be not true. Are you asking about the younger me's understanding of this question? I can answer that. Understand the following in this light: My understanding that their persecution was not a bolt from the blue. Politicians were agitating against them. There were speeches, there were marching demonstrations, then there were aggression against individuals. Shops burnt down etc. It wasn't like yesterday was everything A-okay, and today you are sitting in a cattle car heading to a gas chamber. > I just question whether reading the news is a good way to do that. I understand that. And I agree with you it is better to be skeptical about these things. But on the other hand with Ukraine I had a good 5 monthish heads-up. Maybe 2 month if i'm calculating from the "my spidersense is tingling enough that I would start walking out with nothing but the clothes I have on my back if I must" moment. So in the present day it's hard to convince me that it's not a good way to do that. One of course also needs a head solidly attached to their shoulders, and a good mind in it, but that's always needed for everything.
- pdonis 5y ago
  > Are you asking about the historical facts? Yes, because that's what's relevant to the question of whether watching the news is or is not a good way to get advance warnings of the kind of danger you might need to take drastic action to avoid. My understanding of the historical fact is that Jews who left Germany to escape the Nazis did not do so based on anything they read in the news; they did so based on word of mouth about where things were heading and based on the declared intentions of the Nazis, which anyone who had read Mein Kampf could have predicted. > their persecution was not a bolt from the blue That's correct, it most definitely was not. There were warning signs years in advance. My understanding is that the biggest obstacle to Jews fleeing from Germany was not lack of information but the simple fact that it's very, very difficult to uproot your entire life and flee to a foreign country you've never seen where almost nobody speaks your language, so convincing yourself that it really, truly is necessary to do that is something people will have a very difficult time doing even if they already have all the information they need to see the necessity. > with Ukraine I had a good 5 monthish heads-up Based on what you read in the news? Or based on information you got other ways, that you would have gotten whether you read the news or not? Putin's intentions towards the Ukraine have been clear for years, certainly since the annexation of the Crimea. I don't think this was a bolt from the blue any more than the Nazi persecution of Jews was.