Battles Fought
 

A few of the posts in the "Are You Old Enough..." thread have me thinking about a war which is currently being waged against western countries.
The current social climate is frought with division. There are many who divide people into "us" and "them ". How many recognize these divisions are nurtured by bot farms facilitated by the Kremlin?
The modus operandi is simple enough. Scan the web for a story, comment on an image and pass it on with a bit of fabricated narrative calculated to raise the ire of one side or the other.
There is an old expression "If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't."
Somehow we have to get people to question the terrible accusations which seem to be thrown around almost daily.
We might smirk at the notion of chemtrails, but there are too many who believe.
The sudden mistrust of vaccines has not only created societal friction, but exposes these same societies to medical vulnerability.
A joke about people who seem different suddenly becomes repeated as truth by a person with a broad audience and the result is strife or threats.
I received an email one day claiming abuse of the system in schools in the UK. Ten minutes of research allowed me to debunk the statement and others who had received the falsehood thanked me for the correction. But what if no one checks?
How do we fight a disinformation war being waged against us?

Best
Les

Kids these days are so afraid of having a different opinion and not being part of the team, that they are so easily taken in by peer pressure, or believe everything their socialist school teachers tell them.

then you get adults too. My sister would spend all day on conspiracy websites. She even went to a preppers evening class and was asking me about gas cookers. I had to politely explain to her she wouldn't last one evening in the mountains. Whereas she lives in a quiet house in a quiet street in a quiet town in a quiet country - stay home, no is out to get you. She believed Bill Gates was paying off all the doctors and politicians with the covid vaccine. And one day he would flick a switch and everyone vaccinated would die to depopulate the world LOL

Well, look at how the left loves to make criminals into victims, based on their skin color, completely ignoring the criminal actions and resisting arrest and fighting law enforcement.. By design, they are driving a wedge into communities.

PARF this bull**** please

Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A.
This is exactly the type of vitriol which has been promoted by foreign operators.
A perfect example of "us" vs "them".

Thank you, Byron.

Best
Les

Byron trashes another thread. :(

Off to PARF we go ....

You could just trim the BVD post

OT,it is an effective tactic, so people use it

truth

Why is it that those who, through their actions and words, create the division, then turn around and ask that we all come together?

It used to be related to a sense we are all Americans and will always come together no matter what.
245 years of history has said so, BUT now its different for reasons to discern in PARF.

Before this gets moved, which one of you folks that wants this thread moved will volunteer to Moderate?

That's what I thought.

The original thread was a polemic, sorry: Vaccine issues and medical vulnerabilities, "Foreign operators"? Sure. It was simply a matter of time before someone took the bait.

Byron responded.

Enough of the soft, let's not take this to PARF crap when the OP knows that is exactly what is going to happen...and, OBTW, I think the OP is great.

Also BTW, "misinformation" is as old as human communication, verbal or otherwise. The issue now is the access to differing opinions is more than most, comforted by the old MSM, can tolerate.

Seahawk, I know the topic is controversial, but I believe Western societies and democracies are under attack. The methods are not unlike those of a judo master who will use the movements and momentum of their opponent to win. We are almost constantly bombarded by claims of terrible things done by "others ". Each claim may have a tiny grain of truth, but is expanded into a divisive issue through fabrication and amplification.
My concern is how do we, as a society arm ourselves against such attacks.
Sorry if my concern triggers some. But I think that sort of reaction is exactly the aim of those who would seek to weaken Western unity and resolve.

Best
Les

I do not agree with your position but I completely understand it. If you had just posted the above, the thread would have landed better.

Let's leave the thread here and see.

People with no critical thinking skills are one of the greatest threats the U.S. faces today. Back when we were young, People with no critical thinking skills were harmless. Generally, they kept themselves and had zero impact on society and culture.

The Internet changed that. The effect of the web, specifically online forums and social media in general, allows people with no critical thinking skills to have a voice, one with near unlimited volume. And they can build communities of like-minded people with no critical thinking skills that self-reinforce lunacy through conspiracy theory mythology, pretty much the same as early Man creating myths to explain things they didn't understand like the sun rising every day. Their "facts" are authenticated by sheer volume alone.

The Web as a welfare state for people with no critical thinking skills applies in the same way a government handout does for lazy people. It makes you feel intelligent and your opinion valued without ever having to do the work/research/reading to earn those qualities. In the process, truth is marginalized in favor of artificial self-esteem, so you have a positive reinforcement for negative qualities.

Opinion media has turbocharged this effect exploiting people with no critical thinking skills for massive profits. Talking heads create entire soap opera style narratives and storylines that allow people with no critical thinking skills to be part of a distinct Us vs. Them community and culture. It mixes reality TV with soap opera with news creating a groupthink culture where like-minded people fit in and feel comfortable in their echo chamber. It's more participatory, which is a critical key attribute, than as portrayed in the movie Idiocracy relying on a continuous cycle of peer reinforcement that makes a group think it is one thing (intelligent with a significant depth and breadth of knowledge matched with critical thinking abilities) that it clearly is not.