This Daily Beast interview with Dr John Gartner is a great watch to discuss Cheeto’s advancing dementia(https://bit.ly/47TyuxN) which is more and more noticeable as the symptoms are clear As Gartner notes we have digital tracking over the years to compare where he was 20 years ago and now how his functioning has deteriorated that is not explained by advancement of age And the stress of the presidency is obviously accelerating his dementia and psychopathy
The interview exposes the reasons why we are making many of the observations of Cheeto who is clinically described as a malignant narcissistic who is a sadist, unable to love, and having no remorse of past criminal behavior Epstein shared the same psychopathy
I understand your reasoning more now. I still think that IF we could mobilize 50 million Americans - bipartisan from left and right - to migrate off Facebook and X - we could make real progress in the fight against rising authoritarianism.
That said, as you pointed out, the numbers so far haven't been large enough to impact power structures. And if those leaving are mostly from the left, it risks creating a vacuum that concentrates even more hate speech and manipulation.
But concerns about toxic social media concerns are not just coming from the left. I hear it echoed by the right, including people like MTG and Marsha Blackburn.
Personally, I find Facebook a cesspool of nonsense, a dangerous platform that harbor child predators and being used to surveil people illegally. It feels like such a dangerous place to be on so many levels. And anyone seeking clarity and safety online should seriously consider leaving.
If we could build a high-visibility, bipartisan boycott of Meta, I still think it could be powerful.
Thanks for the thought-provoking essay — it’s given me a lot to consider.
I hear you. And I hope that there can be a time when we can take Meta and X down. But here's sort of how the math plays out in my head in terms of order of operations:
Until we can get people who currently use social media to wake up to the fact that we're undergoing a fascist takeover, which should be obvious on its face and terrifying enough to jolt people into action, we have exactly 0.00% chance of convincing those same people of the dangers to mental health related to social media consumption, or of all the other issues you point out — all of which I completely agree with — given that all of these issues are much more nuanced and less obvious than the fascist takeover.
So, I think that however unfortunate it might be that we can't snap people out of social media directly, that it is nevertheless the case that the only way that we will ever be able to meaningfully deliver a convincing message to enough people to be able to effectuate the meaningful change we both want will be to do it from the inside. Like it or not, that's where the vast majority of people are, and whatever is going to convince them of anything, will come from those places because you can't be convinced by messaging you don't see or have access to.
I don't like this reality. I did not have a social media account — aside from my Facebook account that I created back in high school that I have barely touched in some 20 years — until after the 2024 election. Not twitter, not Instagram, not even WhatsApp. For years I made the exact same arguments you made when we discussed this on another thread. And yet, now I'm on every platform trying however I can to be a voice against the regime because I see exactly the game they are playing, how good they are at it, and not only how effective and terrifying their strategy can be but what it has already achieved and continues to achieve.
You're right. I've written already about how protests seem to have become costume parties & best-sign competitions. We need to DO something, & you are providing us with the best road map I've seen so far.
But that's only half the strategy when you think about it. The other half is to get those of us who don't want us to become a fascist dystopia to go into silence. And if we choose self-exile, then we're just doing their work for them.
Dangerous Demented Cheeto Who Is Just Plain Evil
This Daily Beast interview with Dr John Gartner is a great watch to discuss Cheeto’s advancing dementia(https://bit.ly/47TyuxN) which is more and more noticeable as the symptoms are clear As Gartner notes we have digital tracking over the years to compare where he was 20 years ago and now how his functioning has deteriorated that is not explained by advancement of age And the stress of the presidency is obviously accelerating his dementia and psychopathy
The interview exposes the reasons why we are making many of the observations of Cheeto who is clinically described as a malignant narcissistic who is a sadist, unable to love, and having no remorse of past criminal behavior Epstein shared the same psychopathy
I understand your reasoning more now. I still think that IF we could mobilize 50 million Americans - bipartisan from left and right - to migrate off Facebook and X - we could make real progress in the fight against rising authoritarianism.
That said, as you pointed out, the numbers so far haven't been large enough to impact power structures. And if those leaving are mostly from the left, it risks creating a vacuum that concentrates even more hate speech and manipulation.
But concerns about toxic social media concerns are not just coming from the left. I hear it echoed by the right, including people like MTG and Marsha Blackburn.
Personally, I find Facebook a cesspool of nonsense, a dangerous platform that harbor child predators and being used to surveil people illegally. It feels like such a dangerous place to be on so many levels. And anyone seeking clarity and safety online should seriously consider leaving.
If we could build a high-visibility, bipartisan boycott of Meta, I still think it could be powerful.
Thanks for the thought-provoking essay — it’s given me a lot to consider.
I hear you. And I hope that there can be a time when we can take Meta and X down. But here's sort of how the math plays out in my head in terms of order of operations:
Until we can get people who currently use social media to wake up to the fact that we're undergoing a fascist takeover, which should be obvious on its face and terrifying enough to jolt people into action, we have exactly 0.00% chance of convincing those same people of the dangers to mental health related to social media consumption, or of all the other issues you point out — all of which I completely agree with — given that all of these issues are much more nuanced and less obvious than the fascist takeover.
So, I think that however unfortunate it might be that we can't snap people out of social media directly, that it is nevertheless the case that the only way that we will ever be able to meaningfully deliver a convincing message to enough people to be able to effectuate the meaningful change we both want will be to do it from the inside. Like it or not, that's where the vast majority of people are, and whatever is going to convince them of anything, will come from those places because you can't be convinced by messaging you don't see or have access to.
I don't like this reality. I did not have a social media account — aside from my Facebook account that I created back in high school that I have barely touched in some 20 years — until after the 2024 election. Not twitter, not Instagram, not even WhatsApp. For years I made the exact same arguments you made when we discussed this on another thread. And yet, now I'm on every platform trying however I can to be a voice against the regime because I see exactly the game they are playing, how good they are at it, and not only how effective and terrifying their strategy can be but what it has already achieved and continues to achieve.
You're right. I've written already about how protests seem to have become costume parties & best-sign competitions. We need to DO something, & you are providing us with the best road map I've seen so far.
Steve Bannon’s “Flood the zone with shit” is an open embrace of Goebbel’s “Big Lie” and Russia’s “Firehose of Falsehood”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/16/media/steve-bannon-reliable-sources
100%
But that's only half the strategy when you think about it. The other half is to get those of us who don't want us to become a fascist dystopia to go into silence. And if we choose self-exile, then we're just doing their work for them.
Agreed. We must be relentless. It won't always be easy. Nevertheless, we'll persist!