4 ms·

I tend to mistrust the motives of the government warning me to fear the nebulous influence of commie spies lurking around every corner and that I should accept

by krapp 3y ago

I tend to mistrust the motives of the government warning me to fear the nebulous influence of commie spies lurking around every corner and that I should accept government sanction and censorship to protect me from their sinister mind control algorithms than I do the red menace. Dissent is good. It's a vital component in any free society. The first two amendments of the US Constitution exist to preserve the right of the people to dissent, to the point of violence. Theoretically. Legally you can't just shoot a politician in the head, however cool Thomas Jefferson might have been with it. Point being, the US is supposed to be a society in which instability and dissent is always present, threatening but hopefully never toppling the edifice. Of course that requires an educated and informed populace capable of discerning between critical thinking and cynicism, likely truth and horseshit, and a free press that isn't wholly subservient to corporate and government interests, and a lot of civic and cultural traits the US lacks. But that's what we should be focusing on, and that remains the case regardless of whether one is talking about Chinese propaganda or American. It's all the same. Over half of the anti-vaxx conspiracy content spread across social media during COVID came from only twelve people[0], one of whom was a Kennedy. Mind you, i'm pro deplatforming - as long as it's the platform's decision. Platforms should absolutely be free to reject whatever they like on whatever terms they wish, freedom of speech doesn't compel anyone to spread that speech against their will. But when the government steps in and says it's on my side, I assume that eventually they'll just want to send me to the camps. [0]https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-dozen-test-facebooks-twitters-ability-to-curb-vaccine-hoaxes https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-doze...

jfengel 3y ago
and a lot of civic and cultural traits the US lacks Indeed, that feels like the root of the matter. If men were angels we wouldn't need laws. Real people are messy, and bumper-sticker principles don't adequately characterize us well enough to design a set of pragmatic laws. A real compromise leaves everyone mad, and given how mad we are already I'm at a loss to suggest how to proceed. I'll be honest that I'm pretty angry myself; I think we've allowed ourselves to be taken in by some pathetically obvious propaganda. I wish we were at least talking about subtle and interesting problems. Instead we seem to be gleefully re-litigating the obvious.
skhunted 3y ago
As with most things in life moderation is essential. Dissent is good if it isn’t too extreme. Exceptions abound. Hence the intractability of the current threat to the U.S. Disinformation will win out. Look at how many people stupidly don’t vaccinate their kids against polio now. The evidence is so overwhelming that the vaccine is beneficial and good for society that no reasonable person can possibly be opposed to it being mandated. If something as obviously beneficial as the polio vaccine can be made into a divisive issue then there is no hope.

by krapp 3y ago

jfengel 3y ago

and a lot of civic and cultural traits the US lacks Indeed, that feels like the root of the matter. If men were angels we wouldn't need laws. Real people are messy, and bumper-sticker principles don't adequately characterize us well enough to design a set of pragmatic laws. A real compromise leaves everyone mad, and given how mad we are already I'm at a loss to suggest how to proceed. I'll be honest that I'm pretty angry myself; I think we've allowed ourselves to be taken in by some pathetically obvious propaganda. I wish we were at least talking about subtle and interesting problems. Instead we seem to be gleefully re-litigating the obvious.

skhunted 3y ago

As with most things in life moderation is essential. Dissent is good if it isn’t too extreme. Exceptions abound. Hence the intractability of the current threat to the U.S. Disinformation will win out. Look at how many people stupidly don’t vaccinate their kids against polio now. The evidence is so overwhelming that the vaccine is beneficial and good for society that no reasonable person can possibly be opposed to it being mandated. If something as obviously beneficial as the polio vaccine can be made into a divisive issue then there is no hope.