3 ms·

Useful Idiot

11 points by _Microft 3y ago

johndunne 3y ago
I'm seeing a lot of this now in relation to the current Israel/Hamas and especially the Ukraine invasion. I see it mostly in younger people who perhaps don't have the time or interest to really delve into the details of something. And, being honest, I think I was a useful idiot in most of my 20's; failing to keep my bias in check and being a little too self-righteous when I felt there was a deep injustice.
- reportgunner 3y ago
  If you were still the useful idiot you claim to might have been in your 20s, how would you know you are not one any more?
  - johndunne 3y ago
    Good question and I arrived at this conclusion myself through experience. Consider this example (I'll keep it brief), I have 3 friends who are 'Pro Palestine' and have attended some recent protests in London and Belfast. We discussed if they chanted 'from the river to the sea' and they all said yes. I explained the sensitivity of this statement. They balked saying they chanted it meaning 'from the river to the sea, all will be free" but I showed them a video from a telegram channel (free gaza/Hamas owned) where the video of protesters chanting and text had an anti-Isreal/antisemitic slant to it. This video, along with showing them the Hamas charter (their first time seeing it!) which calls for all of Israel to be destroyed. I managed to convince two of them that the slogan is culturally sensitive enough that it doesn't belong at a Pro Palestine/Pro-Peace rally. This particular conflict is of a magnitude, riddled with heartbreaking injustices for both sides, that getting involved (by protesting/being pushy on Facebook/Twitter etc) at all is almost impossible without becoming someone's UI.
medo-bear 3y ago
Not a very profound term. I think useful idiots exist for all sides [0] ... I mean ... obviously. Moreover, everyone should ask themselves, "whose useful idiot am I?" [0] https://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/03/cnna.spears/ https://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/03/cnna.spears...
sertbdfgbnfgsd 3y ago
In this threads, examples of useful idiots. I'll start. Elon Musk, for Russia.
- medo-bear 3y ago
  Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for US
  - sertbdfgbnfgsd 3y ago
    I mean... I believed that until Russia invaded Ukraine and bombed its cities. "usa bad" sounds self-serving when you're bombing cities.
    - medo-bear 3y ago
      Osama bin Laden, for US Saddam Hussein, for US
amadeuspagel 3y ago
This is an insult with only the tiniest veneer of an explanation. I wonder how many people would upvote a wikipedia article for "asshole", thinking that there sure are lot of assholes and that it's a good idea to have more awareness of this concept.

11 points by _Microft 3y ago

I'm seeing a lot of this now in relation to the current Israel/Hamas and especially the Ukraine invasion. I see it mostly in younger people who perhaps don't have the time or interest to really delve into the details of something. And, being honest, I think I was a useful idiot in most of my 20's; failing to keep my bias in check and being a little too self-righteous when I felt there was a deep injustice.

reportgunner 3y ago
If you were still the useful idiot you claim to might have been in your 20s, how would you know you are not one any more?
- johndunne 3y ago
  Good question and I arrived at this conclusion myself through experience. Consider this example (I'll keep it brief), I have 3 friends who are 'Pro Palestine' and have attended some recent protests in London and Belfast. We discussed if they chanted 'from the river to the sea' and they all said yes. I explained the sensitivity of this statement. They balked saying they chanted it meaning 'from the river to the sea, all will be free" but I showed them a video from a telegram channel (free gaza/Hamas owned) where the video of protesters chanting and text had an anti-Isreal/antisemitic slant to it. This video, along with showing them the Hamas charter (their first time seeing it!) which calls for all of Israel to be destroyed. I managed to convince two of them that the slogan is culturally sensitive enough that it doesn't belong at a Pro Palestine/Pro-Peace rally. This particular conflict is of a magnitude, riddled with heartbreaking injustices for both sides, that getting involved (by protesting/being pushy on Facebook/Twitter etc) at all is almost impossible without becoming someone's UI.

medo-bear 3y ago

Not a very profound term. I think useful idiots exist for all sides [0] ... I mean ... obviously. Moreover, everyone should ask themselves, "whose useful idiot am I?" [0] https://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/03/cnna.spears/ https://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/03/cnna.spears...

sertbdfgbnfgsd 3y ago

In this threads, examples of useful idiots. I'll start. Elon Musk, for Russia.

medo-bear 3y ago
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for US
- sertbdfgbnfgsd 3y ago
  I mean... I believed that until Russia invaded Ukraine and bombed its cities. "usa bad" sounds self-serving when you're bombing cities.
  - medo-bear 3y ago
    Osama bin Laden, for US Saddam Hussein, for US

amadeuspagel 3y ago

This is an insult with only the tiniest veneer of an explanation. I wonder how many people would upvote a wikipedia article for "asshole", thinking that there sure are lot of assholes and that it's a good idea to have more awareness of this concept.