I laughed every time trump said Biden was losing “radical left” votes. As a radical leftist living in Seattle, I will happily be voting for Biden.
I appreciate your posts on our politics, it helps having someone from the “outside” looking in. And I’ve learned far more about Aotearoa than I expected!
That's cool to hear, Jesse. I am hoping that my little country can offer a little microcosm into what is going on in a wider sense. I really hope people on the fence with Trump leant away from him yesterday. I really hope so.
Also, I remember the moment my ISIS shirt became too awkward to wear. If the next terror organisation could refrain from calling themselves Black Flag I would be eternally grateful.
I wonder if the moderator realised at the time, what he'd said. Or if Mr Trump did.
The liars are an issue, but the real problem is that for a generation, our education system has been turning out "human resources", previously known as "units of production", previously known as "wage slaves." Give them bread and circuses. There is a myth that we are trying to educate children better: the reality is that we are trying to produce more efficient workers who will man the businesses of the wealthy to make them more so, while paying the workers just enough that they have discretionary income to buy the trash that they are producing. The primary role of education is to teach children to ask questions and to seek answers. Or it used to be. Universities used to encourage a sceptical (totally different from cynical) approach to received wisdom. "Ask questions: don't simply accept." However doing this in the 21st century can only lead to unpleasant outcomes for "Big Business" and so there has been a tendency to protect status quo by effectively discouraging independent and original thought in our centres of education. If no one has taught you to think critically, then you follow your emotions rather than your reason, and conspiracy theories are vastly more entertaining and engaging than the fact that many politicians started out wanting to make things better and just got ground down by reality. Like so many of us.
PS. Did you notice that Judith Collins said, in effect, that our universities need to turn out more people to help businesses make money. More people to help us sort out the mess we are in would be a better outcome, I should have thought!
I missed the debate here. So sick of Judith and her talking points, though. Brownlee, too. Get in the bin, imo. As for your statement on human resources, you're on the money. It's incredibly sad and frustrating how we are living our lives.
Disinformation has been around forever, and was well utilized by political leaders throughout history. The fake news phenomena is basically disinformation on steroids...gaining exponential reach because of technology and social media. I can’t listen to Trump anymore, I roll my eyes so much it gives me a headache!
You’re so right about the state of truth right now and how it doesn’t matter. Everything that comes out of Trump’s mouth is a lie, and according to him everything that doesn’t come out of his mouth is a lie. More and more people are losing faith in doctors and scientists, traditionally thought to be pillars of truth. Librarians and information professionals like myself used to be the objective finders of truth, but many are not even trusting of academic sources anymore.
And now a pandemic is thrown into this mess and it’s just a crazy, effed up time. Sigh.
Sending out positive vibes to everyone! I find hope in little community David has created.
I have to read transcripts or reports of Trump's words now because I find him so objectionable, I seethe anytime I listen to him mouthing his lies in real time.
You don't get the full impact because publications are forced to paraphrase/edit so heavily due to general incoherence. So I'm not forced to imagine his voice.
It's infuriating and depressing. How do you fight it when people refuse to face the facts? They can always find some obscure article or something to support their beliefs and give them validation.
That's my big question - when reality is off the table, what the fuck do we do? It feels like we are close to a turning point - where social media is at maximum volume, as is the disinformation it's taught us to embrace. It can't go on like this forever. It can't.
These people just have so much stamina for bullshit. Every time I make the mistake of logging into Facebook the only ones left are the ones spouting out this misinformation.
Totally agree. I feel like what we are missing is organisation and possibly community. Conspiracy theorists, the extreme right and the like all get together and plan and actively try to recruit more people to their cause. While for the most part, as far as I’m aware, we tend to sit back with deep concern while hoping that somehow the human intellect will prevail. I think we need to be actively trying to promote the truth if we want to see things change for the better.
I agree but I think it's somewhat counterintuitive to want to promote something that seems like such common sense to us. Like why would I try and convince the world I have 2 ears, it's obvious right? Why should I need to convince people that trump is batshit? Unfortunately it seems it's necessary. Meanwhile they think they have some secret insider info so they very active in getting it out.
Haha wasn’t about to critique anyone’s grammar anyway! For sure I feel the frustration but maybe we could at least encourage things like critical thinking classes in schools in NZ? Even the conspiracy headcases should be on board with that since they think they’re all critical thinkers. But of course these classes would be taught by actually educated teachers following a curriculum hopefully devised by university professors who are experts in the field. It won’t stop the pain now but it could save our future.
So I've been reading a lot about delusions as part of my job. Very much in line with conspiracy theorists. The person has confusing or distressing experiences and tries to make sense of them. The delusional thinking serves its purpose for a while - it protects the person from the reality of the situation that the person is not equipped to cope with (e.g. the development of severe mental illness). As time goes on the person avoids situations where their delusion is challenged as it brings up unbearable emotions. "If i'm wrong about the aliens planting these thoughts in my mind, then they must be my thoughts, which means I'm bad". For Billy TK and his sheeple, they could think "if COVID-19 is real, I've been spreading lies and putting people at risk... that would make those horrible things people are saying about me true" which would be unbearable. So they cling very hard to their beliefs, even at the expense of real relationships. When I'm working with people with delusions, I never directly address the delusion but normalise their feelings about them and offer tentative alternatives... seems to work better than trying to criticise their beliefs. e.g. "That makes sense you wouldn't want to leave your house if you thought a sniper was waiting..etc" Anyway. Love your work David - this might be my favourite piece yet
Hey Renee. I worry about getting "too political" here, but feel I am amongst friends. Which is nice. So thanks for that.
Delusions definitely factor into this - to varying degrees. My worry is that Billy TK is more of a grifter - he has some level of awareness. Then people fall into his warped view of reality, for real. I hate it all!
David, I haven’t been as involved in commenting on your articles in a while because I’ve been very busy. But truthfully, I’m right there with you. I’m terrified for the future of my country. I appreciate your humor in this “trying” time.
Whenever Biden looked at the camera and told people to VOTE, it felt like he was being held hostage, like we’re all being held hostage here in America.
Also, as an American I am super jealous that you get to use the term “post Covid-19” in your article.
I can't help but look at these debates through a Black Mirror lens. They're just absurd. Watched it last night and all I could think was "this is just outrage entertainment/bad reality TV" because Trump refused to let the debate actually go anywhere useful.
The lying gets me the most. The people in power knowing they are lying, and the people who follow them who don't realise it. If the US re-elect Trump then it is such a sad indictment on the nation, their education system, their electoral system. But I do worry that we are showing tendencies in that direction too with dirty tactics by more than one party. Quite why we would want to follow the US I really am not sure but certain elements of our society do want to.
Comparing Trump to a child does a disservice to children!
And yep, so so frustrated at it all right now. I hope so so much that Biden and Harris gets in and Trump disappears like he said he would. And that the penis pinky promise party also disappear without a trace after the election in Aotearoa.
Couldn't sleep here in the UK so out of curiosity I caught the last two thirds. It was like watching a horrific accident and not being able to look away. I'm genuinely scared for what will happen when Trump wins or loses, either way it seems there will be trouble, in the case of losing, carefully crafted trouble. Unsure what wins as his most despicable statement, there were so many. I remember watching Trump speak and being physically repulsed by his mouth, it seemed to embody all the evil dictators in every dystopian sci-fi story I've read. A loose, diseased arse spewing shit constantly. Also, given the American friends I have are bright, well read and articulate, the same with the Americans I respect in all walks of public life, how did it end up with these two guys running for President? My own country's political shenanigans are a pantomime too, how do we fix it so the shit stops rising to the top?
I think lack of sleep says a lot, huh. It's this background noise and anxiety running along through everything. Also, what a thing to watch when you're half zoned out! God. I felt physically repulsed also - by the mouth, and the words. A lot of shit spewed over an hour and a half. I hope you sleep better tonight. Good luck over there, too - Boris. Crikey.
I laughed every time trump said Biden was losing “radical left” votes. As a radical leftist living in Seattle, I will happily be voting for Biden.
I appreciate your posts on our politics, it helps having someone from the “outside” looking in. And I’ve learned far more about Aotearoa than I expected!
That's cool to hear, Jesse. I am hoping that my little country can offer a little microcosm into what is going on in a wider sense. I really hope people on the fence with Trump leant away from him yesterday. I really hope so.
Its like he was reading his debate prep notes out loud
Last week he was saying Biden *was* the radical left wasn't he?
Make sure you're taking breaks from it all mate. Appreciate the content, but don't invite more stress in than you can take.
I needed to read this today
Yeah, I promise to take the occasional break. Occasionally!
Truly frightening times.
Also, I remember the moment my ISIS shirt became too awkward to wear. If the next terror organisation could refrain from calling themselves Black Flag I would be eternally grateful.
I remember that time in my life too! Really sucks. What a weird, weird life this is.
I wonder if the moderator realised at the time, what he'd said. Or if Mr Trump did.
The liars are an issue, but the real problem is that for a generation, our education system has been turning out "human resources", previously known as "units of production", previously known as "wage slaves." Give them bread and circuses. There is a myth that we are trying to educate children better: the reality is that we are trying to produce more efficient workers who will man the businesses of the wealthy to make them more so, while paying the workers just enough that they have discretionary income to buy the trash that they are producing. The primary role of education is to teach children to ask questions and to seek answers. Or it used to be. Universities used to encourage a sceptical (totally different from cynical) approach to received wisdom. "Ask questions: don't simply accept." However doing this in the 21st century can only lead to unpleasant outcomes for "Big Business" and so there has been a tendency to protect status quo by effectively discouraging independent and original thought in our centres of education. If no one has taught you to think critically, then you follow your emotions rather than your reason, and conspiracy theories are vastly more entertaining and engaging than the fact that many politicians started out wanting to make things better and just got ground down by reality. Like so many of us.
PS. Did you notice that Judith Collins said, in effect, that our universities need to turn out more people to help businesses make money. More people to help us sort out the mess we are in would be a better outcome, I should have thought!
I missed the debate here. So sick of Judith and her talking points, though. Brownlee, too. Get in the bin, imo. As for your statement on human resources, you're on the money. It's incredibly sad and frustrating how we are living our lives.
Disinformation has been around forever, and was well utilized by political leaders throughout history. The fake news phenomena is basically disinformation on steroids...gaining exponential reach because of technology and social media. I can’t listen to Trump anymore, I roll my eyes so much it gives me a headache!
You’re so right about the state of truth right now and how it doesn’t matter. Everything that comes out of Trump’s mouth is a lie, and according to him everything that doesn’t come out of his mouth is a lie. More and more people are losing faith in doctors and scientists, traditionally thought to be pillars of truth. Librarians and information professionals like myself used to be the objective finders of truth, but many are not even trusting of academic sources anymore.
And now a pandemic is thrown into this mess and it’s just a crazy, effed up time. Sigh.
Sending out positive vibes to everyone! I find hope in little community David has created.
I have to read transcripts or reports of Trump's words now because I find him so objectionable, I seethe anytime I listen to him mouthing his lies in real time.
Me too.
It reads better like scrambled word salad it is too.
Not a bad method. Slightly less anger-inducing - although his voice is so distinctive you can still sort of hear it in your head when you read!
You don't get the full impact because publications are forced to paraphrase/edit so heavily due to general incoherence. So I'm not forced to imagine his voice.
It's a comfort.
It's infuriating and depressing. How do you fight it when people refuse to face the facts? They can always find some obscure article or something to support their beliefs and give them validation.
That's my big question - when reality is off the table, what the fuck do we do? It feels like we are close to a turning point - where social media is at maximum volume, as is the disinformation it's taught us to embrace. It can't go on like this forever. It can't.
These people just have so much stamina for bullshit. Every time I make the mistake of logging into Facebook the only ones left are the ones spouting out this misinformation.
Totally agree. I feel like what we are missing is organisation and possibly community. Conspiracy theorists, the extreme right and the like all get together and plan and actively try to recruit more people to their cause. While for the most part, as far as I’m aware, we tend to sit back with deep concern while hoping that somehow the human intellect will prevail. I think we need to be actively trying to promote the truth if we want to see things change for the better.
I agree but I think it's somewhat counterintuitive to want to promote something that seems like such common sense to us. Like why would I try and convince the world I have 2 ears, it's obvious right? Why should I need to convince people that trump is batshit? Unfortunately it seems it's necessary. Meanwhile they think they have some secret insider info so they very active in getting it out.
They're*
Where's the edit button? 😁
Haha wasn’t about to critique anyone’s grammar anyway! For sure I feel the frustration but maybe we could at least encourage things like critical thinking classes in schools in NZ? Even the conspiracy headcases should be on board with that since they think they’re all critical thinkers. But of course these classes would be taught by actually educated teachers following a curriculum hopefully devised by university professors who are experts in the field. It won’t stop the pain now but it could save our future.
So I've been reading a lot about delusions as part of my job. Very much in line with conspiracy theorists. The person has confusing or distressing experiences and tries to make sense of them. The delusional thinking serves its purpose for a while - it protects the person from the reality of the situation that the person is not equipped to cope with (e.g. the development of severe mental illness). As time goes on the person avoids situations where their delusion is challenged as it brings up unbearable emotions. "If i'm wrong about the aliens planting these thoughts in my mind, then they must be my thoughts, which means I'm bad". For Billy TK and his sheeple, they could think "if COVID-19 is real, I've been spreading lies and putting people at risk... that would make those horrible things people are saying about me true" which would be unbearable. So they cling very hard to their beliefs, even at the expense of real relationships. When I'm working with people with delusions, I never directly address the delusion but normalise their feelings about them and offer tentative alternatives... seems to work better than trying to criticise their beliefs. e.g. "That makes sense you wouldn't want to leave your house if you thought a sniper was waiting..etc" Anyway. Love your work David - this might be my favourite piece yet
Hey Renee. I worry about getting "too political" here, but feel I am amongst friends. Which is nice. So thanks for that.
Delusions definitely factor into this - to varying degrees. My worry is that Billy TK is more of a grifter - he has some level of awareness. Then people fall into his warped view of reality, for real. I hate it all!
I don't know how I made it.
Thanks for hanging in there with us in America.
(Finally subscribed -- I need the support.♡)
~Kris
Thanks, Kris. Zero offence taken if you ever opt out - the free stuff will keep coming. But it's appreciated, as long as you're here! x
😊
David, I haven’t been as involved in commenting on your articles in a while because I’ve been very busy. But truthfully, I’m right there with you. I’m terrified for the future of my country. I appreciate your humor in this “trying” time.
Thanks Eri. It's just nice to know you're reading. But thanks for stopping by x
Whenever Biden looked at the camera and told people to VOTE, it felt like he was being held hostage, like we’re all being held hostage here in America.
Also, as an American I am super jealous that you get to use the term “post Covid-19” in your article.
We are pretty lucky over here. I felt for Biden - it's hard talking when someone is barking in your ear like a rabid dog!
I can't help but look at these debates through a Black Mirror lens. They're just absurd. Watched it last night and all I could think was "this is just outrage entertainment/bad reality TV" because Trump refused to let the debate actually go anywhere useful.
Yeah, it's almost a parody to say it now, but we really are living in a Black Mirror universe.
The lying gets me the most. The people in power knowing they are lying, and the people who follow them who don't realise it. If the US re-elect Trump then it is such a sad indictment on the nation, their education system, their electoral system. But I do worry that we are showing tendencies in that direction too with dirty tactics by more than one party. Quite why we would want to follow the US I really am not sure but certain elements of our society do want to.
It's definitely leeching in... because Trump's proven it works. It worked in Brazil, too, with Trump 2.0. Gross.
Blatant lying is so, so frustrating to watch.
Comparing Trump to a child does a disservice to children!
And yep, so so frustrated at it all right now. I hope so so much that Biden and Harris gets in and Trump disappears like he said he would. And that the penis pinky promise party also disappear without a trace after the election in Aotearoa.
Fair. Children are much more civilised. Good point.
PS genuine lol at "penis pinky promise party"!
Couldn't sleep here in the UK so out of curiosity I caught the last two thirds. It was like watching a horrific accident and not being able to look away. I'm genuinely scared for what will happen when Trump wins or loses, either way it seems there will be trouble, in the case of losing, carefully crafted trouble. Unsure what wins as his most despicable statement, there were so many. I remember watching Trump speak and being physically repulsed by his mouth, it seemed to embody all the evil dictators in every dystopian sci-fi story I've read. A loose, diseased arse spewing shit constantly. Also, given the American friends I have are bright, well read and articulate, the same with the Americans I respect in all walks of public life, how did it end up with these two guys running for President? My own country's political shenanigans are a pantomime too, how do we fix it so the shit stops rising to the top?
I think lack of sleep says a lot, huh. It's this background noise and anxiety running along through everything. Also, what a thing to watch when you're half zoned out! God. I felt physically repulsed also - by the mouth, and the words. A lot of shit spewed over an hour and a half. I hope you sleep better tonight. Good luck over there, too - Boris. Crikey.
I'm right there with you David.
Watching this debate made my brain quiver in disgust.
Understandable reaction.