@SethCotlar That's what I meant when I wrote that social media isn't conducive to civil discourse and debate. I had been noticing and following strange activity on social media dating back ten years or more. A lot of patterns that added up to more than mere happenstance.
@SethCotlar One day, I created a faux right wing account and was quickly invited into some strange corners of Facebook where everything terrified me: lots of violent, racist stuff. I've been keeping an eye on that activity with varying degrees of scrutiny for the last decade.
@SethCotlar Before media began reporting on the "troll farms" that are operated out of Russia, Arizona and elsewhere, I was convinced there was some sort of group coordinating online to influence public opinion in the comments sections of Facebook. So I interacted with those accounts . . .
@SethCotlar Those accounts aren't interested in civil discourse. Those accounts pose as Liberals and Leftists to confuse audiences. Those accounts change their character to suit their objective. They're constantly tweaking their strategy and there's lots of them. They move in packs.
@SethCotlar That's the battlefield, the obstacle and the challenge. If you've attracted this sort of negative attention, perhaps you're doing something correctly, such as reporting on the modern history of fascism and white supremacy in the United States. They don't want you to do that!
@SethCotlar I'm not sure how to counter this phenomena . . . a multi-pronged approach is likely needed. Personally, I've decided to lift parts of their strategy, augment it with my own devices, and use it against them.
@SethCotlar Content creation is THE FORM of debate on social media, so maybe content creation is now debate. Period. And it appears one is as likely to influence the public narrative with a post as one is to influence it with a comment. That's demonstrably true.
@SethCotlar I'd prefer to live a simpler life, but I'd also prefer to live in a real democracy with healthy local economies supported by actual communities. 🤷♂️ When we're given lemons . . . throw them at fascists.
@SethCotlar One thing I've noticed: they create mnemonic devices, language-thought anchors, their own lexicon. This helps draw in converts. If you search "Beta cuck" on Google and follow that rabbit hole, it will pop you out in some Nazi Hell. That's why I've created my own lexicon of motifs
@SethCotlar The Liberal/corporate media does this as well with additional intent to obfuscate and obscure. They refer to oligarchs as "elites," for example, tho we know there's absolutely nothing "elite" about being born into money.
@TXWomenRESIST@DoctorDarienMD@POTUS "As soon as the necessary information about the virus that causes COVID-19 was available, scientists began designing the mRNA instructions for cells to build the unique spike protein into an mRNA vaccine."
🌻 Sunflower update 🌻 Solon is approaching 10 feet in height; I was forced to build a whole new structure to support him/her and his/her peers. I call this strata of the patch, "The Atmospheres."
Anais suffered an injury that resembles a laryngectomy, and I destroyed two of her flowers while trying to save her in a flurry of despair and anxiety.
Her main flower was either too heavy or I fussed with her supports too much. I'm guessing a little of column A and a little of column B. I can see how the support I created could have yanked her around in a stiff wind, which is common here.
Our song of the day is a twofer since I was negligent yesterday. We will examine one meditation/song interpreted by two different groups: "Gilak," by "Gong Keybar" and . . .
I not only found information online regarding Gamelan, I found a site that emphasizes our use of flashcards!🧐 I love flashcards because I'm a huge nerd.
For the record, we have no affiliation with @OptimismMovers@Centre4Optimism or @victorperton, but we find it all very intriguing and will be following them closely since they share a name with our collaborative.
For starters, @Centre4Optimism equates pessimism with "cynicism," whereas I consider Optimism to be the logical conclusion of Classical Cynicism.
"Optimism" was my response when I asked myself what a Classical Cynic would do with her back against the wall, surrounded by enemies, when it seemed all hope is lost. "She would fill herself with Optimism," I thought.
@ConceptualJames There's nothing about communism that suggests it must be "hermetic" or "gnostic," and "materialist" is a word that requires you to define your terms, but is likely outright false.
@ConceptualJames Original Christianity is likely the foremost example of communism to emerge from post-indigenous Eurasia, and they preached a return to Nature while emphasizing an abandonment of property and marriage in favor of community.
@ConceptualJames The Adamites, for example, lived on nudist beach colonies and procreated freely while eschewing the marriage tradition. Hardly "materialistic."