Thank you, Tux. I will take your advice and create new leftists. Should I tell them about Foss too, or should that wait?
Well everyone's journey is different. I started with just finding out how cool programming is, learned about foss, and then one day said "why doesn't everything follow foss principles?"
my dad bought me a samsung galaxy ace, because an iphone was too expensive. now i run around with a fairphone telling people how great linux is (i never used linux for more than a day)
Delusions of self-confidence in their skills due to having an in-demand job. Once supply meets demand and their wages fall to the norm, tech bros won't have that insane level of confidence in having "won" Capitalism.
You'll never change someone overnight or in one conversation, but every time you say something radically leftist, you're planting a seed in uncle Jim-Bob that will slowly shift their way of thinking. Deradicalizing conservatives, racists, fascists, etc is hard as fuck. The important thing is that when someone goes to you and intentionally starts questioning their ideals, you've been handed the opportunity to change their mind slowly over months/years
There reaches a tipping point though. When you hear something radically right leaning does it plant a seed that slowly shifts you? Or does it annoy you and get immediately pushed away?
The difference is in the truth. People gravitate towards the truth, it takes conditioning to divert people from the truth. "I'm not being paid enough to live comfortably. Why could that be?":
Why do people ever go towards the second one as their answer? It takes a convoluted web of lies being bombarded on the person daily and sucked down a pipeline of outrage.
I agree with everything you've said. I've found however that some people are quite entrenched, and attempting to bring them over just pushes them further away. In those circumstances I find it better to just wait until an opening presents itself. Tactical strikes instead of a constant light shower.
While I like the sentiment, it's not entirely true.
You can't convince people to change their core beliefs. That's not how deprogramming works anyway. Cult deprogramming starts by asking them to explain and asking questions that let them unravel the problem themselves. Pointing out people's internal contradictions tends to reinforce them, but when they run in to their own contradictions those absurd beliefs tend to unravel.
questioning their logic is really effective, ask one good question and don't expect an answer. that question will haunt them and make them realize they're probably wrong a few hours/days later.
actually saved someone from the "immigrants bad, pure germans strong" rabbithole.
actually saved someone from the "immigrants bad, pure germans strong" rabbithole.
I'm curious, how did you do that?
long story short, the whole eugenics thing doesn't make sense. the nordics nor the aryans never actually existed.
i asked questions about what seperates them from their neighbour (who may be an immigrant) besides their mother tongue and what group of people they decide they wanna hang out with.
a lot of what we call "race" is just culture IMO. sure, you have slightly darker skin or better hair growth to deal with enviromental things like sand or the sun. but our brains aren't wired much different.
make them question the little things. then the whole picture doesn't make sense anymore. a lot of what they parrot around is still basically what a deranged nazi on drugs thought up to basically pin the blame on "Ausländer".
Hard to do that when Grandma is already there with a plate of cookies and a special message from Jesus on how to spot the horrible liberal communist in the room.
The horrible liberal commie needs to learn to bake cookies. I did. And I've managed to be the person who is making the cookies that everyone is looking forward to.
Always member when was the only time that JC lost his shit. It was with the merchants and the money changers.
My highly religious uncle that looks like a literal gnome is the most entertaining one to be around, but only if one can mange to sneak away to smoke weed first. Otherwise it's just a lecture about how everything I'm doing with my life goes against god.
My religious family gave up on the "you're a sinner" lecture after I made it super clear that A) I don't care and B) I'm not going to argue with them about it. If I got mad or tried to fight about it, they LOVED that shit, but being like, "yup!" and throwing some finger pistols their way and they don't really have a response besides telling me to not sin. But they can only keep that up so long when you're like, "oh no doubt, Uncle Fuckface."
I mean, I also don't talk to them anymore so that really solved the problem, but the cheerful agreement that I'm for sure going to hell got me through my teenage years/early 20s. Surprise, I didn't get less queer even after all the lectures!
That's okay, everything he did with his life goes against God, too.
Not that anyone knows what God thinks. Even the Pope has admitted as much.
Communist Penguins are a pretty good symbol for most of the users on Lemmy. (Or maybe just the most vocal users.)
They need to learn sandbox rules at that age anyway, and since sandbox rules boil down to:
A) Be nice to everyone
B) Share your toys/the playground with others
C)Having friends is better than having enemies
They'll radicalize themselves for a few minutes at a time till they are about 7, then you'll have to work against the conservative brainwashing. Up till then the kids know what equality means far better than most adults do.
Communism is essentially sandbox rules extrapolated to societies of billions. Though there are case-specific sandbox rules like:
J) In case of emergency, get yourself safe. If you can manage to check on others, get them safe too.
K) Everybody gets a cupcake. If there's not enough cupcakes portion out partials while helping with cupcake production.
L) Do not escalate when someone engages in malicious or hostile behavior, rather gather the community to seek to comfort those harmed and route out underlying problems.
M) SEIZE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION! LET THE BOURGEOISIE TREMBLE BEFORE THE REVOLUTION!
Nah, I don't dine with fascists. I've made that very clear that if fascists are invited to dinner I will not attend, and take it as my family expressing a preference for their company over mine.
That would just give the racist uncle what they want. Fuck that. The racist uncle wants to put you in a low status place like the kids' table so he doesn't have to pretend you're an equal and can regard you as an inferior.
Why do you care what racist uncle thinks though? Is it going to affect anyone in the world other than him?
Because it's not about what racist uncle thinks, it's about what he's doing, but thanks for helping racist uncle by misrepresenting the situation entirely.
You're not changing what racist uncle is doing or thinking no matter what you do. I deal with racist uncle too, you know. I'm busy radicalizing the kiddos ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You're not going to change my mind or convince me what I am doing is hopeless either, yet here you are still talking.
It's almost like we speak and call people out on wrongdoing because of principle and not for results.
It's almost like that's more important and sets a positive example for everyone else around that racist uncle's behavior isn't just silently tolerated out of a misguided sense of hopelessness.
And I'm gonna keep saying it even though it won't get through to you. Aunt Bible Thumper.
Why are you? Why do you resort to personal attacks every time I tell you what you don't want to hear? Why can't you just let shit go? Why does every discussion have to be a battle with you?
I know why: because you're just some petty asshole who's out to win something, and I don't have time for it. Go look in the mirror before bitching about other people.
It doesn't matter. Racist uncle is going to die early from a heart attack and those kids are going to be the people in charge when you're needing to be cared for- invest in them.
It matters to me and literally everyone else.
Racist uncle will live to his high 70's, early 80's on average. And you know what he does? He abuses those kids you're trying to radicalize.
And all those kids will do is grow up to resent your iniquities and cowardice for refusing to stand up to racist uncle, because they know you only address them because they are weaker than you and easier for you to influence. Because it's obvious to them you care more about using them as a political tool than about saving them from racist uncle, who molests them whenever he gets a chance. As in a lot. Their dads probably do, too, statistically.
But have fun defending racist uncle, cousin alt-righter. Don't tip your fedora too hard
Repeat after me kids:
Debout les damnés de la terre, debout les forçats de la faim...
I don't have any family members like that, but I do have an aunt who for lack of a better term believes in pretty insane tankie shit, no one talks to her though, technically we don't invite her for christmas, she just kind of shows up and we let her join because she's already there, if it were up to me I wouldn't but my mom doesn't want to do that to her sister (even though they ignore each other the whole time).
