• disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    They’re force-fed propaganda by their favorite media sources. They’re far less to blame than those generating and disseminating the propaganda. Pointing the finger at them is exactly how we divert our focus from the problem.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Well, no. They’re wilfully ignorant, i.e. they deliberately ignore reality in order to maintain their twisted world view. The yokels are absolutely to blame.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Some are. Most are skeptical of anything outside their own understanding. It’s more of an issue of fear-induced loyalty than a choice made with the understanding of both sides. How often do you read Truth Social or Fox News? They’re heavily drenched in fear-mongering.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Most are skeptical of anything outside their own understanding.

          Not true. They will readily agree to a lot of things that they don’t understand as long as the “right” people tell them to agree.

          You’re right about the fear motive, but pure authoritarianism is a huge part of it too: if the leaders say it, they’ll tend to not even consider disagreement an option.

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Exactly. They only implicitly trust their select media sources. That still puts the blame on those sending the message in my opinion.

        • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Let’s not forget that their poor understanding starts with poor education. I wonder if anyone in particular is working towards making education worse…

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Absolutely. School vouchers will only make things worse for the affected areas. All the more reason we should be focused on those sending the message over those repeating it. Their goal is to keep us fighting with one another instead of focusing on those creating the problem.

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          No they’re skeptical of anything that doesn’t confirm their hate and resentment. They’re willing to believe any nonsense as long as it does that.