A news article about the Sep 4 school shooting in Georgia says the shooter was frustrated about the acceptance of trans people. LibsOfTikTok reinterpreted this to mean the exact opposite of what it says, and blamed trans people for the shooting, so all the twitter chuds were baying for blood all day yesterday.

They’ve done this for every major shooting in the US for the past few years

  • Ram_The_Manparts [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Not a fan of this quote really. It seems to be built on the premise that humans are somehow incapable of sincerely believing in nonsense because, I don’t know, we’re just inherently rational or something?

    It does fit obvious grifters like Jacob Wohl (or whatever his name is) and Alex Jones, but it’s definitely not universally applicable. Just look at someone like Jordan Peterson, the guy clearly buys all of his own bullshit and so do most of his fans.

    • KobaCumTribute [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      Not a fan of this quote really. It seems to be built on the premise that humans are somehow incapable of sincerely believing in nonsense because, I don’t know, we’re just inherently rational or something?

      I think it’s just observing a sort of nihilistic troll behavior that’s probably a thing that some people have always done, where the contents of what’s being said doesn’t matter so long as they’re at once inflammatory and self-serving. It shouldn’t be taken to conclude that everyone who is awful is just maliciously pretending, but that there’s a certain sort of bombastic troll who just makes up shit on the spot and says it with a shit eating grin and complete conviction, knowing that it’s bullshit but enjoying the harm it causes and the way it furthers their own goals.

      It’s like a less formalized, more intuitive version of neoreactionary meme magic bullshit, just saying things you just made up over and over until people believe them.

    • heggs_bayer@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      It does paint with too broad of a brush - kind of like the essay Masses, Elites, and Rebels - but in the case of Chaya Raichik it’s %100 true.