OT - Current Affairs/COVID/Vaccines, etc

[SuperSunsFan]

just last ot question, has politics always been this toxic in america like some developed country? everyone is up in arms whenever politics is barely mentioned.

Hard to be a last question with an answer. No. It's as toxic as it's ever been. It got increasingly worse with Fox News and talk radio. If you have Showtime watch "The Loudest Voice" and it will give you an idea.

I think people used to make up their minds a bit more on their own, but at some point a lot of people became indoctrined to believe what a party was behind. There are still a lot of people who are independent...probably close to a 3rd of people, but you have two solid bases who will get very divisive.

I think as the older crowd moves on and the internet prevails with more real information out there, people SHOULD decide for themselves without much influence, but of course the parties and powers and media will probably find a lot of ways to sway people. But the younger crowd taking over the votes of the older crowd should at least leave (for the most part) a more informed vote. Not to say the older crowd is not informed as they have been around a long time, but they typically watch more tv and listen to more radio and here all the never ending rhetoric.

the problem is cnn not fox news. fox news is very fringed and strawman to discredit any legit concerns people might have. i in a way changed my view based entirely on watching cnn's coverage of the zimmerman trial, the amount of bias and halftruth was off the roof. hispanic white supremacist is the term they invented to brand zimmerman in a way to frame a certain narrative. I found that the media wants to discourage political discussions to prevent people from finding a common ground so they can keep manipulating the mass by locking them in their respective echo chamber

[bwgood77]

just last ot question, has politics always been this toxic in america like some developed country? everyone is up in arms whenever politics is barely mentioned.

Hard to be a last question with an answer. No. It's as toxic as it's ever been. It got increasingly worse with Fox News and talk radio. If you have Showtime watch "The Loudest Voice" and it will give you an idea.

I think people used to make up their minds a bit more on their own, but at some point a lot of people became indoctrined to believe what a party was behind. There are still a lot of people who are independent...probably close to a 3rd of people, but you have two solid bases who will get very divisive.

I think as the older crowd moves on and the internet prevails with more real information out there, people SHOULD decide for themselves without much influence, but of course the parties and powers and media will probably find a lot of ways to sway people. But the younger crowd taking over the votes of the older crowd should at least leave (for the most part) a more informed vote. Not to say the older crowd is not informed as they have been around a long time, but they typically watch more tv and listen to more radio and here all the never ending rhetoric.

the problem is cnn not fox news. fox news is very fringed and strawman to discredit any legit concerns people might have. i in a way changed my view based entirely on watching cnn's coverage of the zimmerman trial, the amount of bias and halftruth was off the roof. hispanic white supremacist is the term they invented to brand zimmerman in a way to frame a certain narrative.

Well, I don't watch that stuff. Fox News was the beginning of blatant lies. Watch that show I mentioned. Actually, media controlled by power is always full of blatant lies, but Fox News took it to another level wen Roger Ailles took over.

I will move these posts out of here.

[SuperSunsFan]

Hard to be a last question with an answer. No. It's as toxic as it's ever been. It got increasingly worse with Fox News and talk radio. If you have Showtime watch "The Loudest Voice" and it will give you an idea.

I think people used to make up their minds a bit more on their own, but at some point a lot of people became indoctrined to believe what a party was behind. There are still a lot of people who are independent...probably close to a 3rd of people, but you have two solid bases who will get very divisive.

I think as the older crowd moves on and the internet prevails with more real information out there, people SHOULD decide for themselves without much influence, but of course the parties and powers and media will probably find a lot of ways to sway people. But the younger crowd taking over the votes of the older crowd should at least leave (for the most part) a more informed vote. Not to say the older crowd is not informed as they have been around a long time, but they typically watch more tv and listen to more radio and here all the never ending rhetoric.

the problem is cnn not fox news. fox news is very fringed and strawman to discredit any legit concerns people might have. i in a way changed my view based entirely on watching cnn's coverage of the zimmerman trial, the amount of bias and halftruth was off the roof. hispanic white supremacist is the term they invented to brand zimmerman in a way to frame a certain narrative.

Well, I don't watch that stuff. Fox News was the beginning of blatant lies. Watch that show I mentioned. Actually, media controlled by power is always full of blatant lies, but Fox News took it to another level wen Roger Ailles took over.

I will move these posts out of here.

what lies? tell me one? if you have never watched fox news how do you know they lied?

[lilfishi22]

Damn I forgot we had a current events thread

[bwgood77]

the problem is cnn not fox news. fox news is very fringed and strawman to discredit any legit concerns people might have. i in a way changed my view based entirely on watching cnn's coverage of the zimmerman trial, the amount of bias and halftruth was off the roof. hispanic white supremacist is the term they invented to brand zimmerman in a way to frame a certain narrative.

Well, I don't watch that stuff. Fox News was the beginning of blatant lies. Watch that show I mentioned. Actually, media controlled by power is always full of blatant lies, but Fox News took it to another level wen Roger Ailles took over.

I will move these posts out of here.

what lies? tell me one? if you have never watched fox news how do you know they lied?

I told you to watch that show. If you don't think big time media has an agenda and doesn't tell the absolute truth, not sure what to tell you. And if you are arguing Fox News doesn't do it and CNN does, you have answered your own question about why discussing politics is toxic.

I don't get into this stuff. Surprised I even got into it this much here. People waste WAY too much time arguing the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Even though I am a mod on the CA forum, I don't have enough time to look at it a lot, but it amazes me, even between people in the same party discussing presidential candidates, they will post the same stuff every day for as long as I can remember. Two people will go back and forth forever...it's amazing how much time they waste.

I know one could argue we waste a lot of time here, but at least we are pulling for a team and all have the same common goal.

[SuperSunsFan]

Well, I don't watch that stuff. Fox News was the beginning of blatant lies. Watch that show I mentioned. Actually, media controlled by power is always full of blatant lies, but Fox News took it to another level wen Roger Ailles took over.

I will move these posts out of here.

what lies? tell me one? if you have never watched fox news how do you know they lied?

I told you to watch that show. If you don't think big time media has an agenda and doesn't tell the absolute truth, not sure what to tell you. And if you are arguing Fox News doesn't do it and CNN does, you have answered your own question about why discussing politics is toxic.

I don't get into this stuff. Surprised I even got into it this much here. People waste WAY too much time arguing the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Even though I am a mod on the CA forum, I don't have enough time to look at it a lot, but it amazes me, even between people in the same party discussing presidential candidates, they will post the same stuff every day for as long as I can remember. Two people will go back and forth forever...it's amazing how much time they waste.

I know one could argue we waste a lot of time here, but at least we are pulling for a team and all have the same commong goal.

are you accusing me of being brainwashed by cnn into not trusting cnn? there is a big difference between forming an negative opinion on the channel i watched due to my own critical thinking than what you were accusing of the big media was doing, brainwashing people into blindly believe whatever narratives the channels they want.

The fox news lies and conservatives are racist is the popular narrative the big crop media pushes you claimed you don't watch them and somehow you believe exactly what they wanted you to believe.

I am done with this topic, lets get back to discussing about suns only.

[sunskerr]

Fox news is right wing propaganda that has slow boiled their viewers since its inception towards authoritarianism. CNN is for-profit news that results in them altering and sometimes outright lying about the stories so they can keep the viewers coming in.

That's more or less all you need to know.

[lilfishi22]

The problem with discussing politics is that those who are knowledgeable enough to discuss it at length are also those who are most invested in their position and least likely to be convinced. In this day and age, getting in and/or building your own bubble is easier than ever. Tailored search results, suggested news articles from algorithms and social media has put people in bubbles they don't even know they are in.

The first steps of getting out of that bubble is not looking for proof that your'e in some bubble but assuming that you already are in that bubble. The problem is that it's hard to get out of that bubble because there aren't any where else to go these days. News doesn't sell if it isn't selling to one faction of the populace. Whether it's Fox or CNN, it's biased news. There are facts somewhere in there but it's almost always overlaid with some level of biased reporting.

[Revived]

When I was younger I always used to try and find a news source that strictly reported facts without their bias in every article.

As I got older, I realized that no such news media outlet exists. Not just in Americs, but everywhere in the world. I blame it on the media having way too much power.

[Desertfox]

Its not the media's fault. Everyone has a bias and they will bring that bias with them when they write. Some do try to make sure their bias doesn't affect their writing but it will still be present.

What one as a reader must do is be aware that the bias exists and if possible read several different sources to get a more complete picture of any news source. Just like if you see 10 different mock drafts, they will all be different, but by looking at 10 of them you can get a better sense of who is more likely to go were, that looking at one single one.

[suns12345]

Its not the media's fault. Everyone has a bias and they will bring that bias with them when they write. Some do try to make sure their bias doesn't affect their writing but it will still be present.

What one as a reader must do is be aware that the bias exists and if possible read several different sources to get a more complete picture of any news source. Just like if you see 10 different mock drafts, they will all be different, but by looking at 10 of them you can get a better sense of who is more likely to go were, that looking at one single one.

Exactly this, it is not the medias fault entirely and its not society's fault for lacking critical thinking. It's the combination of the two that creates problems.

[lilfishi22]

Its not the media's fault. Everyone has a bias and they will bring that bias with them when they write. Some do try to make sure their bias doesn't affect their writing but it will still be present.

What one as a reader must do is be aware that the bias exists and if possible read several different sources to get a more complete picture of any news source. Just like if you see 10 different mock drafts, they will all be different, but by looking at 10 of them you can get a better sense of who is more likely to go were, that looking at one single one.

It's a combination to both. News outlets ("the media") hire people with a certain style/bias because they want to capture that part of the market and strong opinions (and personalities) sell. The writers are obviously going to write the way they were hired to write.

[Dr Manute]

The mainstream media's primary goal is not about ratings and profits, like most people think - it is about propaganda and controlling the sheep. More than 90 percent of the media is owned by just six companies. Control the public opinion = control of the people = power. Critical thinking is so important these days - we need to question, look for the facts, and form our own opinion.

[grumpysaddle]

The mainstream media's primary goal is not about ratings and profits, like most people think - it is about propaganda and controlling the sheep. More than 90 percent of the media is owned by just six companies. Control the public opinion = control of the people = power. Critical thinking is so important these days - we need to question, look for the facts, and form our own opinion.

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

[Frank Lee]

SSFan trolling y'all.... playing the curious 'but why' card as if from a foreign country looking in.... yet swinging a pro Fox cat by its tail.

Bravoski

[RunDogGun]

The mainstream media's primary goal is not about ratings and profits, like most people think - it is about propaganda and controlling the sheep. More than 90 percent of the media is owned by just six companies. Control the public opinion = control of the people = power. Critical thinking is so important these days - we need to question, look for the facts, and form our own opinion.

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

Ignorant would be a better word, as uninformed, not stupid. I am more concerned about propaganda being used. We should have learned from WW2.

Watching the impeachment trial last night was quite worrisome. Blatant lies being said in defense of crimes committed by the US president and many within his admin. The US will have credibility issues going forward.

[grumpysaddle]

The mainstream media's primary goal is not about ratings and profits, like most people think - it is about propaganda and controlling the sheep. More than 90 percent of the media is owned by just six companies. Control the public opinion = control of the people = power. Critical thinking is so important these days - we need to question, look for the facts, and form our own opinion.

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

Ignorant would be a better word, as uninformed, not stupid. I am more concerned about propaganda being used. We should have learned from WW2.

Watching the impeachment trial last night was quite worrisome. Blatant lies being said in defense of crimes committed by the US president and many within his admin. The US will have credibility issues going forward.

True, but that was 80 years ago, and Trump and his goons have convinced a large part of the population that they aren't doing their best Nazi impressions (though media will say "white nationalist" to soften it up for them). I mean trump is in love with dictators and would do away with democracy if it were up to him. It's sickening.

[RunDogGun]

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

Ignorant would be a better word, as uninformed, not stupid. I am more concerned about propaganda being used. We should have learned from WW2.

Watching the impeachment trial last night was quite worrisome. Blatant lies being said in defense of crimes committed by the US president and many within his admin. The US will have credibility issues going forward.

True, but that was 80 years ago, and Trump and his goons have convinced a large part of the population that they aren't doing their best Nazi impressions (though media will say "white nationalist" to soften it up for them). I mean trump is in love with dictators and would do away with democracy if it were up to him. It's sickening.

Too be fair, this was happening before trump, he just capitalized on it, and exploited the propaganda. While WW2 was 80 years ago, we all have learned about it in school. We should understand the parallels between then and now. Demonizing a minority group, or in our case, a few minority groups. Blame them for our problems, and then spread lies to continue the hatred and fear. trump is just a horrible human, and he should have never been a nominee for any party. It is pretty amazing to watch republican leadership go from recognizing trump's moral bankruptcy, to embracing it. History will not be kind.

It was saddening to watch world leaders stand around laughing at our leader, from both our allies and our advisories.

[Dr Manute]

The mainstream media's primary goal is not about ratings and profits, like most people think - it is about propaganda and controlling the sheep. More than 90 percent of the media is owned by just six companies. Control the public opinion = control of the people = power. Critical thinking is so important these days - we need to question, look for the facts, and form our own opinion.

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

Ignorant would be a better word, as uninformed, not stupid. I am more concerned about propaganda being used. We should have learned from WW2.

Watching the impeachment trial last night was quite worrisome. Blatant lies being said in defense of crimes committed by the US president and many within his admin. The US will have credibility issues going forward.

Let's watch more of the trial - and look at the facts, not opinions - because I don't think any crimes were committed by the President - Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. When the trial is over lets make our judgement.

[Dr Manute]

Critical thinking is also something politicians attack with federal budget cuts to education. A stupid populace is an easily controlled populace. Stupid doesn't question authority. It's why there's a limit on IQ scores for things like being a cop. Too high an IQ makes you difficult to control.

Ignorant would be a better word, as uninformed, not stupid. I am more concerned about propaganda being used. We should have learned from WW2.

Watching the impeachment trial last night was quite worrisome. Blatant lies being said in defense of crimes committed by the US president and many within his admin. The US will have credibility issues going forward.

True, but that was 80 years ago, and Trump and his goons have convinced a large part of the population that they aren't doing their best Nazi impressions (though media will say "white nationalist" to soften it up for them). I mean trump is in love with dictators and would do away with democracy if it were up to him. It's sickening.

What has Trump done that is Nazi like? What has Trump done that shows he is in love with dictators? Don't blindly believe the Media's Narrative.