i’m still a liberal at this stage of my deprogramming with theory and, yes, it’s not what i expected since things like cointelpro made me assume that it would be more subtle. watching colbert rail against authorian trump and then immediately & unapologetically bring out a propaganda gov’t spokesman was mind blowing; watching jon stewart compare luigi to a caveman was surprising; watching the daily show poke fun using the same propanda i saw on the liberal lemmy instances was surprising and i genuinely don’t believe any of them are aware of it.
As many have commented over the decades along the lines of “The CIA/FBI no longer needs cointelpro. People undermine themselves now.” They already succeeded in absolutely eviscerating all leftist movements in the US decades ago and have rewritten history so that groups like the Black Panthers were “terrorists.”
There’s no need for infiltration and internal sabotage of groups that don’t exist. Beyond that, the state propagandists on TV are not viewed as such by people who lack a critical eye (majority of Americans and Westerners). They would view a Chinese official (perhaps appropriately) as someone they should at the least question their biases and motives. They will never view someone who aligns with their worldview with such critique. Not unless they actively undergo the process of “unlearning” the bullshit and biases they spent a whole lifetime learning even if they didn’t know it.
In any case, I really wasn’t trying to be a dick, but there’s no way to say it that doesn’t come off that way.
I think the only “predictive advice” (phrasing… I dunno) I could give to people who are able to see through the first layers of bullshit but are still horrified daily by what you see is:
That feeling won’t (or shouldn’t) ever go away. If it does, you probably need to refocus somehow. Nothing these ghouls do should be normalized to you.
But in the same vein, you must always be aware that whatever is in your mind for the absolute worst, most plainly evil thing they could do will be done. And probably worse.
See: The last 15 months in Gaza. As much as it sucks the soul to be aware… that behavior is only the beginning (well, an escalation) of probably decades upon decades of continuous destruction which will inevitably find its way more and more to the “homeland.” First it will be propaganda and laws (we see this now). Eventually it will be harsher and harsher crackdowns. The ultimate trajectory seems clear, but of course the trajectory can be interrupted. We will see…
The more you know and see, the more you want to not know. But at the same time, hopefully, whatever drove you to learn in the first place ensures you can never look away and be passive
In any case, I really wasn’t trying to be a dick, but there’s no way to say it that doesn’t come off that way.
i think that this is true and i suspect that this is what’s fueling the liberal-leftist divide on lemmy
The more you know and see, the more you want to not know. But at the same time, hopefully, whatever drove you to learn in the first place ensures you can never look away and be passive
i wasn’t driven to learn, i was forced to learn due to my existence at the intersection of several vulnerable visible & unmistakable minorities within this hegemony and reading this makes me i wonder if that’s why my deprogramming is happening as such a slower rate compared to the other lemmings who started after me. on the bright side, however, it ensures that i’m incapable of backsliding and i will always be forced to see it whether i want to or not.
You’re in the right place for learning. If you want suggestions, we can recommend things to get a start on theory in relation to many topics. Doesn’t have to begin with old, difficult texts. Just ask, when you’re ready.
@cowbee has been instrumental for this and they’re created a reading list of audio books to help; but i’ve stumbled onto the black panthers and malcom x audio books and i’m starting there since they’re both very american like me.
i’m still a liberal at this stage of my deprogramming with theory and, yes, it’s not what i expected since things like cointelpro made me assume that it would be more subtle. watching colbert rail against authorian trump and then immediately & unapologetically bring out a propaganda gov’t spokesman was mind blowing; watching jon stewart compare luigi to a caveman was surprising; watching the daily show poke fun using the same propanda i saw on the liberal lemmy instances was surprising and i genuinely don’t believe any of them are aware of it.
As many have commented over the decades along the lines of “The CIA/FBI no longer needs cointelpro. People undermine themselves now.” They already succeeded in absolutely eviscerating all leftist movements in the US decades ago and have rewritten history so that groups like the Black Panthers were “terrorists.”
There’s no need for infiltration and internal sabotage of groups that don’t exist. Beyond that, the state propagandists on TV are not viewed as such by people who lack a critical eye (majority of Americans and Westerners). They would view a Chinese official (perhaps appropriately) as someone they should at the least question their biases and motives. They will never view someone who aligns with their worldview with such critique. Not unless they actively undergo the process of “unlearning” the bullshit and biases they spent a whole lifetime learning even if they didn’t know it.
In any case, I really wasn’t trying to be a dick, but there’s no way to say it that doesn’t come off that way.
I think the only “predictive advice” (phrasing… I dunno) I could give to people who are able to see through the first layers of bullshit but are still horrified daily by what you see is:
That feeling won’t (or shouldn’t) ever go away. If it does, you probably need to refocus somehow. Nothing these ghouls do should be normalized to you.
But in the same vein, you must always be aware that whatever is in your mind for the absolute worst, most plainly evil thing they could do will be done. And probably worse.
See: The last 15 months in Gaza. As much as it sucks the soul to be aware… that behavior is only the beginning (well, an escalation) of probably decades upon decades of continuous destruction which will inevitably find its way more and more to the “homeland.” First it will be propaganda and laws (we see this now). Eventually it will be harsher and harsher crackdowns. The ultimate trajectory seems clear, but of course the trajectory can be interrupted. We will see…
The more you know and see, the more you want to not know. But at the same time, hopefully, whatever drove you to learn in the first place ensures you can never look away and be passive
i think that this is true and i suspect that this is what’s fueling the liberal-leftist divide on lemmy
i wasn’t driven to learn, i was forced to learn due to my existence at the intersection of several vulnerable visible & unmistakable minorities within this hegemony and reading this makes me i wonder if that’s why my deprogramming is happening as such a slower rate compared to the other lemmings who started after me. on the bright side, however, it ensures that i’m incapable of backsliding and i will always be forced to see it whether i want to or not.
You’re in the right place for learning. If you want suggestions, we can recommend things to get a start on theory in relation to many topics. Doesn’t have to begin with old, difficult texts. Just ask, when you’re ready.
@cowbee has been instrumental for this and they’re created a reading list of audio books to help; but i’ve stumbled onto the black panthers and malcom x audio books and i’m starting there since they’re both very american like me.
That’s where I’d have said to start lol.