• miz [any, any]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      recommend reading the whole thing, but here’s a good pull quote (emphasis mine)

      In trying to combat the P&G slander with nothing more than irrefutable facts proving it false, I was operating under a set of false assumptions. Among these:

      • I assumed that the people who claimed to believe that Procter & Gamble supported the Church of Satan really did believe such a thing.
      • I assumed that they were passing on this rumor in good faith— that they were misinforming others only because they had, themselves, been misinformed.
      • I assumed that they would respect, or care about, or at least be willing to consider, the actual facts of the matter.
      • Because the people spreading this rumor claimed to be horrified/angry about its allegations, I assumed that they would be happy/relieved to learn that these allegations were, indisputably, not true.

      All of those assumptions proved to be false. All of them. This was at first bewildering, then disappointing, and then, the more I thought about it, appalling— so appalling that I was reluctant to accept that it could really be the case.

      But it is the case. Let’s go through that list again. The following are all true of the people spreading the Procter & Gamble rumor:

      • They didn’t really believe it themselves.
      • They were passing it along with the intent of misinforming others. Deliberately.
      • They did not respect, or care about, the actual facts of the matter, except to the extent that they viewed such facts with hostility.
      • Being told that the Bad Thing they were purportedly upset about wasn’t real only made them more upset. Proof that the 23rd largest corporation in America was not in league with the Devil made them defensive and very, very angry.

      from https://redsails.org/false-witnesses/

    • Diuretic_Materialism [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      there are people who believe this?

      Not really no. They know it’s bullshit but it’s bullshit that’s good for the cause so they do a collective kayfabe for each other to keep the bit going.

      • TemutheeChallahmet [none/use name]@hexbear.netOP
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        4 months ago

        That has been the conservative movement since Clinton but nobody wised up to it. Hillary even had a bunch of generals speak at the DNC to “prove” the troops supported her because conservatives were doing this feigned outrage about Dems being anti-troop.

        That, and a lot of Americans are aimless so some stupid understimulated suburban dad will hear something from talk radio like “George Clooney mocked American hero Charlton Heston’s Alzheimers so we must boycott his movies” then just takes it up as a cause, because then at least they get to perform some sort of crusade participation.

          • TemutheeChallahmet [none/use name]@hexbear.netOP
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            4 months ago

            As odd as it sounds, the Dems need to just make their own stuff like this that rouses the potential reactionaries toward something more tolerant (making liberalism into the thing to conserve/retvrn to), that or create a society where people have the means and community to focus their energy on more positive preoccupations. But I also believe the lead gas poisoning of boomers permanently made them more inclined to anger, malice and resentment. Did you know that church attendance is dropping significantly among conservative men? They favor the sadism of culture war over gratitude and hope when presented with the choice.

  • FlakesBongler [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    This is like when PT Barnum would take out articles in local newspapers under a false name saying that PT Barnum’s traveling sideshow was too amazing for any of it to be more than a fancy parlor trick

    “He has dancing whales, which must be some sort of automatons, and his world’s oldest woman must just be leather stretched over gears and debtor’s bones!”

    The doubters would take the articles and run around saying “Look, all these fantastical attractions are fake!” and the people who heard them were like “I want to see these dancing whales”

  • kristina [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    that black trans doctor better kick the fetus into the audience who then tears it apart so they can keep parts of it as a souvenir

  • pooh [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    A little off topic, but anyone else notice how chuds adopt fashion styles of non-chuds years too late? Like all these male chuds now look just like the same early 2010’s urban microbrewery enthusiasts that they would have called “soy boys”.

    I think in general they tend to adopt things from the people they hate because they are generally a bunch of talentless hacks who have no creativity or drive to try new things socially.

    • TemutheeChallahmet [none/use name]@hexbear.netOP
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      4 months ago

      Yeah they need the aesthetic to feel like a welcomed, known quantity before they take it on, that’s why you see MAGA rappers rapping like outdated early 2000s lyrical miracle rappers, or some people calling themselves “goth right.” The daring to unleash something unprecedented that they speculate will resonate en masse due to having base level empathy and sense-of-vibes is not there for the reactionary brain.

    • HamManBad [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      I know that the small town I grew up in has been consistently 15-20 years behind the times when it comes to aesthetics. I bet that’s related, since conservatives like to larp as being from a small town

    • axont [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      Maybe? That could be a lot of things. I think what you’re noticing is that the political aesthetic of what used to be greasy basement dwellers have now also become the politics of wealthy grifters.