Never believe that anti-Semites [read: fascists] are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
Comment on Trump, 79, Rants Incoherently About Robots and AI
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoThis is not “pettiness”. This is all part of a multi-generational psychological warfare operation to brainwash the working class and implement totalitarian dictatorship — started by the Koch Bros, Roger Ailes, and Rupert Murdoch several decades ago — and the fascists are winning; facilitated by “liberals” who are mostly a manufactured opposition, financed by the exact same corporations/oligarchs.
dukemirage@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
NoForwadSlashS@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
- Charlie Kirk RIP
Passerby6497@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Who was an embodiment of the quote above.
NoForwadSlashS@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
This guy gets it
Mihies@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
I’d say educational system, or better, it’s downfall through decades, plays a significant role in making population dumb enough to not see through these constant lies.
edwardbear@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s easy to control sheep. Machiaveli wrote a literal guidebook in the 1500s. If you dumb them down and destroy free thought, you can rule as you see fit.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The multigenerational operation directly involves the defunding of, and attacks on, education. This isn’t a this or that situation. ALL conservative and neoliberal policy since the 1970’s is about destroying the socialist/liberal/democratic advances made pre-1970’s, and returning the working class to ignorance destitution; much easier to control mentally-ill morons (see MAGA).
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The rhetoric that politicians are idiots and they don’t know what they’re doing is also damaging, because it makes people assume stupidity rather than malice.
But it is malice. The incompetence is real, make no mistake, but malice is in fact the end goal.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When profits are involved, always assume malice.
The only time you should assume stupidity is when dealing with family, friends, colleagues, frontline workers, etc; basically anyone you interact with who wouldn’t profit off the malice (eg the sales person will lie to make a sale).
tomiant@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
The rhetoric that all politicians are corrupt and evil is also extremely damaging, and is parroted strictly by conservatives and the daft-right who then go on voting for the most corrupt and evil ones every time.
Passerby6497@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Its also parroted by the left because we can see the corporate backers funding the various politicians.
Citizens United was the greatest coup the ruling class could have gotten (before social media anyway), and its made it trivial to corrupt our politicians. And we can see how stances change or how there’s always juuuuuust enough politicians to vote for some horrible bill to pass or kill a bill good for the people. Its kinda sad how many people don’t see this.