this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2024
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Think of it like a video game HUD where there's just text floating above a person's head where you see all their political beliefs, including the degree of bigotry (if any), or whether or not the person believes in the use of violence to acheive polical goals, basically every little detail that would accurately depict people's political beliefs. Your beliefs are also visible to others. This effect has 1KM radius, including people above and below you.

So, how fucked are you?

(Think of all the authorities in your area that can see your beliefs, including the beliefs regarding the recent incident...)

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

If everyone's political beliefs were something you could see, I actually think it would create more peace. How many people go along with a more extreme take only because they are afraid to be ostracized from their community? Odds are folks would look around and see that the world is more shades of gray than what social media tries to mold us into.

I had someone tell me I was brainwashed because I have a degree in political science. I was taken aback, but then decided to ask myself if I was. I mean, what's the difference between being educated and being brainwashed? Is it the conclusion that you come to? Is it some physically measurable thing?

Some good questions to ask is "is the information I'm getting geared to make me feel a certain way or to inform me about something?" "Am I learning in a setting where I am afraid that to have a dissenting opinion would get me kicked out of my community?" "Are certain ideas immediately ruled out as false without further discussion?"

At least in my degree, I felt that there were a plethora of opinions in my classroom discussions, and when we approached different lenses, we made sure to have a thorough understanding of them, as best we could. I can think of only one philosophy that an international relations teacher ruled off outright, and that was "ancient hatreds theory". Even then we spent several classes taking it apart and why it is a poor tool to view conflicts.

That said, I would say I was brainwashed after college when I spent more time on Facebook, reddit, and Instagram. With the perpetual rage machine at my fingertips, I was afraid that if I disagreed I would be flamed and cancelled from groups that I loved. I am very wary of getting information from the socials since things are so over simplified and there is little to no welcomed critical discussion. It's just a yelling pit with people further entrenched in their beliefs.