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.
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.
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.
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.
Wait, there are people who believe this? How?
recommend reading the whole thing, but here’s a good pull quote (emphasis mine)
from https://redsails.org/false-witnesses/
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.
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.
So how do normal people stop this BS from spreading?
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.
Yeah I thought this was an obvious bit, but all parties seem sincere in their belief
Imagine owning yourself like this, especially if you don’t actually buy it