Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
Thursday, July 23, 2020
The Loons and Their Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories
Think of it as a marriage made in dementia - a pandemic and a group of people who have persuaded each other that anything and everything bad is the sinister handiwork of the Illuminati.
The world is a complicated place and we are faced with information overload. Many people cannot process the realities of the day due to the influences of this. When I first tuned in to CNN, news many years ago, It occurred to me that there was lot of hype,exaggeration and perhaps a twisting of the truth. That was years ago and now we have FOX 'news' and the internet that like CNN, massage the truth to create hysteria ,fear and insecurity because it sells advertising! Extend this influence upon our lives for a generation or two and it becomes reality!
You know, normally I try to understand why right wing people end up believing stupid shit. You know, I think about the environment they're in and the media they're exposed to and try to figure out why, although they're totally wrong and harmful and would be much better off believing differently, it's sort of understandable that they end up believing the things they do.
But QAnon . . . sorry, I got nothing. These people are crazy fucking morons.
TB, Yuval Harari contends that with the onset of artificial intelligence the comprehension of most people to the world that surrounds them will diminish. We'll become increasingly less cognizant. Hence our votes will be more loosely anchored in reality. Perception will replace knowledge.
PLG, are you familiar with the "Know Nothing" party in mid-19th century America? They were a nativist, xenophobic and bigoted bunch that fed on conspiracy theories of the day. The parallels are interesting.
I've heard of the "Know Nothings" a fair number of times, but I don't know that much about them. The US does seem to sort of repeat various kinds of social movements, though. Like every so often they have another religious revival movement which rises like an irresistible wave and then at some point sort of crumbles.
Wait, wait, wait. "holds Donald Trump as the saviour of the world. They also hold some disturbing views"
ReplyDeleteAlso??
GG
The world is a complicated place and we are faced with information overload.
ReplyDeleteMany people cannot process the realities of the day due to the influences of this.
When I first tuned in to CNN, news many years ago, It occurred to me that there was lot of hype,exaggeration and perhaps a twisting of the truth.
That was years ago and now we have FOX 'news' and the internet that like CNN, massage the truth to create hysteria ,fear and insecurity because it sells advertising!
Extend this influence upon our lives for a generation or two and it becomes reality!
TB
You know, normally I try to understand why right wing people end up believing stupid shit. You know, I think about the environment they're in and the media they're exposed to and try to figure out why, although they're totally wrong and harmful and would be much better off believing differently, it's sort of understandable that they end up believing the things they do.
ReplyDeleteBut QAnon . . . sorry, I got nothing. These people are crazy fucking morons.
Yeah, well...
ReplyDeleteTB, Yuval Harari contends that with the onset of artificial intelligence the comprehension of most people to the world that surrounds them will diminish. We'll become increasingly less cognizant. Hence our votes will be more loosely anchored in reality. Perception will replace knowledge.
ReplyDeletePLG, are you familiar with the "Know Nothing" party in mid-19th century America? They were a nativist, xenophobic and bigoted bunch that fed on conspiracy theories of the day. The parallels are interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the "Know Nothings" a fair number of times, but I don't know that much about them. The US does seem to sort of repeat various kinds of social movements, though. Like every so often they have another religious revival movement which rises like an irresistible wave and then at some point sort of crumbles.
ReplyDelete