I’m not sure if updating our tools is moving goal posts- what goal are we aiming for? I understand the frustration with seeing the measuring stick change to make the reasonable seem unreasonable, but I would say that the same measuring stick is now misrepresenting where people fall.

If we are talking political spectrums, there already are plenty of tools used: the linear left right, the horseshoe, the fishhook, the quadrant visualisation, etc. I’d say the data is now leaving the paper. We need new tools to make sense of it.

Much to your point though, I think it’s valuable to ask “what are we measuring, who’s doing the measuring, and who benefits from the answer?”

We will never have the satisfying answers to our questions, but hopefully we can find better questions to ask.

Oh I recognize these! We’ve got:

1. The 1978 super Nintendo 5 (alternate universe)

2. Lockheed Martin Bread maker

3. Jeff

4. HP 2400 inkjet Uranium 235 enrichment centrifuge

Well at least you got your shit together.

Where in the immense caverns of your colon did you get that number?

Pretty sure leftists fall in the former camp. They’ll gladly throw Democrats under the bus, and to a leftist there is no difference between the DNC and GOP.

Granted, the take that it’s not a binary is much more reasonable than the assumptions you are making at the top.

If everyone’s political beliefs were something you could see, I actually think it would create more peace. How many people go along with a more extreme take only because they are afraid to be ostracized from their community? Odds are folks would look around and see that the world is more shades of gray than what social media tries to mold us into.

I had someone tell me I was brainwashed because I have a degree in political science. I was taken aback, but then decided to ask myself if I was. I mean, what’s the difference between being educated and being brainwashed? Is it the conclusion that you come to? Is it some physically measurable thing?

Some good questions to ask is “is the information I’m getting geared to make me feel a certain way or to inform me about something?” “Am I learning in a setting where I am afraid that to have a dissenting opinion would get me kicked out of my community?” “Are certain ideas immediately ruled out as false without further discussion?”

At least in my degree, I felt that there were a plethora of opinions in my classroom discussions, and when we approached different lenses, we made sure to have a thorough understanding of them, as best we could. I can think of only one philosophy that an international relations teacher ruled off outright, and that was “ancient hatreds theory”. Even then we spent several classes taking it apart and why it is a poor tool to view conflicts.

That said, I would say I was brainwashed after college when I spent more time on Facebook, reddit, and Instagram. With the perpetual rage machine at my fingertips, I was afraid that if I disagreed I would be flamed and cancelled from groups that I loved. I am very wary of getting information from the socials since things are so over simplified and there is little to no welcomed critical discussion. It’s just a yelling pit with people further entrenched in their beliefs.

As we all know, leftists never disagree with eachother.

On an unrelated note, have you seen any good deals on ice picks on Facebook marketplace?

I think that the left/ right spectrum is outdated, or at least the definitions we give to each.

I mean, originally the left/ right divide was about whether to keep King Louis XVI around or to have him beheaded.

The spectrum we know as a communism vs capitalism scale really was useful in the cold war when those were the two sides of a bipolar world. When we still use this as the measuring stick, things become super confusing in the 21st century. Our world is no longer a communist vs capitalist struggle. Russia and China aren’t communist like the Soviet Union. The United States isn’t the same democratic state that it was in 1960.

I don’t know what our new spectrum is, that’s going to be the research of the next great political scientist, but I do think the old tools we’ve used are no longer helpful. Some are saying “woke vs unwoke”, some are saying “populism vs. globalism”, and some are saying simply “chaos vs order”. Perhaps it’s a little bit of all, or perhaps we should throw spectrums out altogether. Either way, if we use old tools for modern problems, we will end up confused. It’s like how jazz is seen as a super complex genre- it may simply be because we still use the music theory of 18th century European composers to try and understand Miles Davis. Of course it’s going to be a wild ride.

I think the problem you have is you think these two thoughts are coming the same person. It’s like saying “Americans are so hypocritical- one moment you hear someone say gay people have rights and then the next you hear someone say that they shouldn’t- make up your mind!” As if it was one person talking.

The internet isn’t just you talking to one person who is busy creating threads with millions of accounts. There are at least a few dozen people here.

What do you mean “you people”? 🤔

Thank you for all you’ve done! You should be proud of your work.

I had to step down as mod of the mapporncirclejerk subreddit for health reasons too. When I eventually moved over here, I decided to start up [email protected] and now I feel better about moderating having had time to recoup.

If you are like me, remembering to rest can be a difficult thing to do. Just know that taking time off is so important to becoming your best you. ❤️

I hate this so much that I love it

Man Christmas dinner is gonna rock this year. Just like my mom will play dumb and look confused that I used “they” as a singular, I’m going to play dumb and look confused when she says “you”. I see no downsides.

I like to think this person was high as balls, got super paranoid, and had to get the biggest weight off their chest.

I wish them the best BBQ burgers.

Someone correct me, but “you” was originally plural. The correct way to address a singular person is “thou”.

Oh of course, person by person there are folks who wouldn’t hesitate to grab a machete and get to work.

Hell, there are people in leftist camps who decided to join when they heard the word “guillotine”

I mean that’s what I assumed it meant. I didn’t think we were actually going to come out murdering people.

Ah I see.

Maybe this can help.

I’m happy to clarify, what part do you find confusing?

How can we be sure you’re not the secret billionaire!? 🤔

Best eat both of us just to make sure.

Edit:

Also OP and anyone who read my post because they said they might agree with me on this meme. Gotta root out enemies of the people.

Edit edit:

If anyone actually follows the line of any revolution, this is how it always goes. The guillotine will eventually kill the ones who bring it out.