Most definitely. He lied a lot, for fun. Unless you are trying to imply that we are doing the same perhaps finding another analogy would be in order because the one you are currently using is very insulting.
For some reason, he thinks insulting people is going to lead to them wanting to take his advice. I don’t get it.
How would I know? I can’t read people’s minds. If somebody’s saying something that’s untrue, I can’t know if they are aware that it’s untrue or if they really believe it.
I’ll also once again say that we’re talking about the future. I won’t pretend to know with certainty what will happen in the future. Maybe Trump is planning on launching nuclear weapons in order to trigger the Christian Rapture. I don’t think that’s likely but I can’t say it’s 100% certain not to happen.
I do believe that if you go around telling people that Trump is planning on launching nuclear weapons in order to trigger the Christian Rapture, they’re not going to take you very seriously when you tell them that Trump is also planning on overturning civil rights legislation.
Yes. In this story, people who are aware that there are wolves about appointed a boy to watch for wolves. He cried “wolf!” so often when there wasn’t a wolf that people tuned out his warnings.
In our story, people are NOT aware that there are fascists about, and we are self-appointed to watch for fascists. We cry “fascist!” because they are among us, so if people tune out our warnings, it’s for a different reason—becaause they don’t want to hear; their identity doesn’t allow the notion of fascists among us.
If you don’t know, why are you presuming ill intent?
How about this. Instead of telling people who are concerned about Trump going genocidal that they’re liars (which, you might note, has been persuasive to exactly 0% of the people in this thread) maybe you’d make more headway putting forward an argument for why you think Trump isn’t going to commit genocide?
Oh, and also maybe address what people are actually saying, and not strawmen like
Because that’s not really the genocide scenario anyone (except maybe Der Trihs) is concerned about.
I’m not presuming ill intent. (Except on the part of Trump and the Republicans.)
I’m saying that we need to fight Trump and the Republicans in the most effective way possible. And I’m arguing (persuasively or not) that people can fight Trump and the Republicans more effectively by accusing them of things which we can actually prove they are doing or are planning on doing now rather than accusing them of more serious charges that we can only speculate that they plan on doing in the future. And that’s true even if people sincerely believe those more serious accusations.
Then maybe you should work on your communication, because it’s coming across as ill intent. And that’s going to prevent you from being effective in this tactic.
So which is it? A strawman or something which somebody (yes, it was Der Trihs) actually posted on this board?
I will concede that Der Trihs may have said it was conservatives who want to start a nuclear war in order to trigger the Christian Rapture and that Trump’s plan was to launch a nuclear war against Mexico because he wants to kill all the Hispanics.
To you, yes. But you don’t know what other people are thinking. Maybe there are people saying “Nemo has a point. Maybe I should dial it back a notch in order to reach more people.”
Then stop calling people who disagree with you “dishonest.”
Then address your complaints to him, instead of acting like this is something a bunch of people are doing.
Would you rather be more effective at this, or just assume you are doing great so you don’t have to change your approach?
Why don’t you try expressing your ideas in some different ways, based on advice from others, and see whether or not you get a different reaction?
I haven’t called people dishonest.
You sure have insinuated it hard, though.
I’m not.
You’re coming across like the book banners: you’re trying to curtail a certain type of communication because you’re worried about the effect it might have on some hypothetical people.
You have no evidence that your worry is grounded in reality. This prevents you from making a convincing case. Is there evidence to support your position?
Here’s six times in this thread where you’ve done precisely that:
Has it really been that long that folks have forgotten how to Pit Der Trihs?
…the thing is:
You don’t know how to fight.
The battle is nearly lost.
MAGA hold the executive, the senate, the house and the supremes. In the UK the equivalent have taken of the Labour Party. Here in New Zealand, it’s a coalition of NACT. They all got into power largely because the primary opposition didn’t treat them as the threat that they were.
So where’s your fight? You want us to talk about climate change? How many threads have you even started about that?
You aren’t ever going to be able to control what every person on the internet says. That’s just reality. Random people are going to say random things. Everybody has a soapbox.
Trying to tone police everyone on the internet is a losing strategy. It isn’t going to work. It didn’t work in the past. It isn’t going to magically work in the future.
And the thing is: the Straight Dope Message Boards are not the front lines of the battle. Many of us aren’t trying to “fight Trump and the Republicans in the most effective way possible.” Not here. Many of us are just fucking ranting. It’s the fucking BBQ Pit. We rant here. Or we answer factual questions. Or we have a great debate.
But this isn’t a political rallying point. Nobody cares what we say or do here. We aren’t trying to save the world. We are largely just arguing with each other here. Calling each other doody heads. I think you are a great big doody head. You aren’t going to fight Trump and the Republicans here. Just a bunch of doody heads.
Of course I’m not going to fight Trump or the Republicans here. This thread isn’t directed at Trump or the Republicans.
This thread is me reaching out to fellow opponents of Trump and the Republicans, so we can discuss the best strategies to use against them.
…you aren’t reaching out to me or anyone else at all.
You are ranting. Its a rant. Someone peeved you off. So you are ranting about it.
There is absolutely fuck-all in this thread that is going to do anything at all about Trump and the Republicans. The only suggestion you’ve got, which is asking people to literally shut the fuck up, has never ever worked.
In the ideal world, I would only have to speak and all would recognize the truth of my words and follow their direction.
Unfortunately, we do not live in that ideal world. In this imperfect world, all I can do is offer my message and realize that some will heed it and some will not.
It helps that I’m so humble.