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Fear not, I haven't been hacked by some multi-level marketing promoter. I'm not even sure that "It Works" is still an ongoing thing; one benefit to checking out of most social media is that I miss out on a lot of stuff that I'd otherwise be subjected to in one way or another.
I'm also not talking about magic or astrology, which also work. Since I write on few topics that I obsess over relentlessly, that leaves my least favorite but still strong obsession, politics.
In a lot of ways, my own personal level of political polarization has lessened a bit with the more authoritarian phase of "pandemic management" seemingly behind us, although I still have grave concerns about the draconian censorship and methods of social control being unleashed on us. I've noticed that I'm becoming more polarized on other issues, though, and that a lot of that does seem to fall along the partisan lines of the media I consume.
As I scroll through the newsfeed my computer helpfully provides, I regularly encounter material custom designed and curated to make me feel anger, disgust, and hostility toward people who have different opinions than I do. I know this, I'm aware that it is all cynically created to manipulate me, and that awareness does basically doodley-squat to stop it.
I suppose the obvious answer is to just quit consuming "news" products, which is something I struggle with because I have always thought of myself as being an informed person. I've looked for news sources with less bias, but I haven't been able to find any. Even sites that claim to have "just the facts" have become politicized and partisan, and you can determine the editorial slant fairly easily just by seeing what stories they cover and what ones they don't.
Another aspect of the problem is that some of the differences of opinion I have with my political enemies are pretty serious and are about issues important to me. I've noticed, though, that I become pulled more into identifying with the political right even on issues that I don't care about very much. I'm guessing that I'm being drawn into an egregore or groupmind, which isn't necessarily bad but also isn't something I'm doing intentionally, either.
The divide and conquer polarization slime being churned out by the cacomages of the media works quite well, even if you know damn well what they're doing. I'm trying hard to stay balanced and in my center, because I think things are really to get very ugly very soon.
I'm also not talking about magic or astrology, which also work. Since I write on few topics that I obsess over relentlessly, that leaves my least favorite but still strong obsession, politics.
In a lot of ways, my own personal level of political polarization has lessened a bit with the more authoritarian phase of "pandemic management" seemingly behind us, although I still have grave concerns about the draconian censorship and methods of social control being unleashed on us. I've noticed that I'm becoming more polarized on other issues, though, and that a lot of that does seem to fall along the partisan lines of the media I consume.
As I scroll through the newsfeed my computer helpfully provides, I regularly encounter material custom designed and curated to make me feel anger, disgust, and hostility toward people who have different opinions than I do. I know this, I'm aware that it is all cynically created to manipulate me, and that awareness does basically doodley-squat to stop it.
I suppose the obvious answer is to just quit consuming "news" products, which is something I struggle with because I have always thought of myself as being an informed person. I've looked for news sources with less bias, but I haven't been able to find any. Even sites that claim to have "just the facts" have become politicized and partisan, and you can determine the editorial slant fairly easily just by seeing what stories they cover and what ones they don't.
Another aspect of the problem is that some of the differences of opinion I have with my political enemies are pretty serious and are about issues important to me. I've noticed, though, that I become pulled more into identifying with the political right even on issues that I don't care about very much. I'm guessing that I'm being drawn into an egregore or groupmind, which isn't necessarily bad but also isn't something I'm doing intentionally, either.
The divide and conquer polarization slime being churned out by the cacomages of the media works quite well, even if you know damn well what they're doing. I'm trying hard to stay balanced and in my center, because I think things are really to get very ugly very soon.
From:
no subject
It's because there isn't any. Not anymore. 99% of "news" content is now either left or right flavored rage-bait. Deep into the internet era, revenue-starved media companies realized the only real way to make any $$$ was in stories with sensationalist clickbait headlines, and if it's culture war red meat, all the better. Most people don't read news stories past the second or third paragraph (some only read the headline), and very few seem to be interested in dry, factual reporting that doesn't show a clear partisan bias. Sad, but true. Here in the US, there's now only maybe a small handful of journalists who have retained some semblance of integrity; they tend to be independent, i.e. not work for corporate outlets. I'm thinking of people like Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald.
I too identify more with the political right, though it's mostly because the left veered so far left over the last 15 years and and I refused to get with the crazy program. The swift overton window shift left me in a political no-mans-land. So my "friends" now are the right-populists who are now the proponents of free speech/expression, and constitutional rights in general. There's a few people on the left who have retained their contra-establishment views on important issues but they seem to be massively drowned out by the shrill woke chorus.
From:
no subject
If for some reason you feel you need reading material that connects with the wider world, I recommend just subscribing to a couple of substacks that have regular interesting essays - the impact of the Zeitgeist will permeate them somehow or other, but at least you will get interesting takes on it.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Greenwald and Taibbi are a level above the current variety of degraded "journalists" for sure. I wish there were more. Sometimes it blows my mind that more mainstream journalists don't seem interested in breaking big stories anymore. There are a lot of them being neglected.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I found it very helpful to clear my browser history daily, or more often. Newsfeeds are cesspits, in my experience.
Your last paragraph: 100%
Thanks
From:
no subject