Real talk, we have to figure out how to handle this kind of chronic fear and paranoia, because this shit ain’t normal, but it is frighteningly common.
Like yeah this is a hilariously over-the-top example, but the amount of people you and I both know who go through life genuinely thinking that they’re going to be the victim of a kidnapping or worse at any given time is astounding. And it’s not without impact either, because this is exactly the unfounded sense of fear that conservatives/fascists seize on to manipulate the population.
I don’t know the solution, but a world where everyone is afraid of their own shadow is a literal hellscape.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager this woman spends a lot of time scrolling through right-wing posts on Facebook about the “invasion” of Britain. A Brexit type, if you will.
That’s just speculation in this specific case, but the amount of fear-mongering right-wing content on social media is absolutely a contributor to this kind of worldview more broadly.
There were people who went out and shot at water towers during the radio airing of War of the World’s. Floridians will routinely try to make hurricanes go away by shooting at them. Police get hundreds of calls about Venus every year.
There’s no fixing this type of stupid. All we can hope for is to keep it from spreading too far.
God damnit, stop making the case for eugenics already. Let RFK’s absurd health advice do its thing, weed them out, and we can hand out the Darwin awards in a few years.
The solution is multi-factorial and will take a generation to implement. Expand the social safety net, expand public education to encompass critical thinking skills and researching skills, restrict private media monopolies that hold public consciousness in a deathgrip.
Real talk, we have to figure out how to handle this kind of chronic fear and paranoia, because this shit ain’t normal, but it is frighteningly common.
Like yeah this is a hilariously over-the-top example, but the amount of people you and I both know who go through life genuinely thinking that they’re going to be the victim of a kidnapping or worse at any given time is astounding. And it’s not without impact either, because this is exactly the unfounded sense of fear that conservatives/fascists seize on to manipulate the population.
I don’t know the solution, but a world where everyone is afraid of their own shadow is a literal hellscape.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager this woman spends a lot of time scrolling through right-wing posts on Facebook about the “invasion” of Britain. A Brexit type, if you will.
That’s just speculation in this specific case, but the amount of fear-mongering right-wing content on social media is absolutely a contributor to this kind of worldview more broadly.
A contributor? I would call it a primary source, tbh.
There were people who went out and shot at water towers during the radio airing of War of the World’s. Floridians will routinely try to make hurricanes go away by shooting at them. Police get hundreds of calls about Venus every year.
There’s no fixing this type of stupid. All we can hope for is to keep it from spreading too far.
God damnit, stop making the case for eugenics already. Let RFK’s absurd health advice do its thing, weed them out, and we can hand out the Darwin awards in a few years.
That’s still eugenics, just as side effect
When I said no fixing I meant it. Not even genetic manipulation can fix this kind of stupid.
The solution is multi-factorial and will take a generation to implement. Expand the social safety net, expand public education to encompass critical thinking skills and researching skills, restrict private media monopolies that hold public consciousness in a deathgrip.
The way to handle it is to find the “The Architects of Fear”, getting rid of them, and making sure no new ones take their place.
I don’t think you’ll ever be able to get fully rid of religion and terrorists