[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 39 points 1 year ago

In philosophy, it’s called Pasta’s Wager.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 55 points 1 year ago

Your position is impossible to argue against in good faith when you start with "any Estonian who is critical of both of their occupiers is a holocaust denier".

I mean this with greatest respect: pointing out Double Holocaust Theory is not arguing in bad faith. It's arguing that there has been an organized push by antisemites to trivialize the Holocaust by equating it with crimes committed by the USSR. This mostly comes from 20th century anti-communist propaganda efforts. The forces that are trying to push the equivalency narrative are aligned with Nazi ideology or similar. Liberals may not care about the distinction because they figure that they can point at both communists and Nazis as being bad and move on, but doing so only assists the antisemites in their efforts. Point being, regardless of how you feel about the USSR or communism, you are effectively carrying water for Holocaust-deniers by failing to recognize the difference.

To be clear, I am not calling you an antisemite or a Holocaust denier, because it is very clear you are here in good faith trying to sort out this mess, and have been doing so respectfully. I am only trying to explain the argument so that you and others can attempt to make sense of the obvious dissonance between viewpoints. It's akin to unknowingly using ableist or misogynist language. If you're ignorant of the issue, then no one should ascribe malice to your language, but upon being made aware of the issue, it's expected that you should be more careful going forward.

Posting "[hammer and sickle] 10 reasons why we need communism..." is clearly not Kremlin propaganda. Posting "[hammer and sickle] Ukraine shouldn't even exist, long live CCCP" is clearly Kremlin propanda.

Again, with respect, I don't think this addresses the issue. I appreciate that you are open to the idea that advocating in favor of communism isn't de facto Russian propaganda (the current Russian state and ideological bent bears no resemblance to communism). Hexbear users are, at most, critically supportive of Russia for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with Putin or Russian nationalism, and much more to do with criticism of NATO and the US, in particular.

I think what we're trying to figure out is how to engage when anything that doesn't explicitly agree with the Western narrative is immediately dismissed as Russian propaganda. As an example, the Snake Island incident last year smelled fishy, but to call the Ukrainian government's statements about it into question at the time would get one accused of being a Russian shill. We now know that the Ukrainian government lied about it. That's fair pool, as far as I'm concerned. It's how you wage an information war. I don't care if a state wants to lie about things (and states will do so regardless), but I do want to get as close to the truth as possible, and that means critical analysis and skepticism. If there's no room for that analysis and skepticism then it's effectively declaring not just an anti-Russian-propaganda position, but rather an active preference for Western propaganda over everything else. That, by the way, is a valid choice, but if that's the party line then it should be made explicit. It's valid to say "anything pro-Russia or anti-NATO is banned" but that needs to be said, rather than hinted at. "Kremlin propaganda" isn't a self-explanatory phrase.

All of that said, I empathize with you in your attempt to make sense of all of this. While there is a lot of friction here, I think most of us are earnest in trying to reach understanding, if not agreement. The above is an attempt to shed some light on what might be causing dissonance. You're very patient to try and work through this, and I hope I and my fellow hexbear users haven't caused you too much stress. Most of us really are trying to play ball.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 19 points 1 year ago

I'm surprised more politicians don't go in for stuff like this. Even cynically, you're forcing your opponents into a tough spot. "We should make sure that children don't starve" is a brutal thing to have to argue against.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 32 points 1 year ago

He’s so bad at this. No wonder they barely let him say anything in public.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 37 points 1 year ago

They probably hired some consultant who worked with the US Democrats to help them come up with it. It’s such a joke, like on the same level as the Kamala Harris’s loan forgiveness for Pell grant recipients who start a business thing.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 39 points 1 year ago

We want you to remain living and growing and learning, friend ❤️

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 63 points 1 year ago

A smooth, voluntary, nonviolent transition to peace and harmony would be every leftist's dream, but there are institutions with power who have used, are using, and will continue to use violence to prevent it from happening in order to maintain their material interests. Call it whatever you want, but the process of transitioning from our status quo to something better will require dismantling institutions that are capable of defending their existence with violence. It sucks.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 64 points 1 year ago

midwest.social is also an explicitly leftist server

Then I guarantee you that there are plenty of really smart, thoughtful, genuine individuals on hexbear with whom you will find common cause ❤️

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 44 points 1 year ago

Sorry for the confusion, but thank you for bearing with it (no pun intended) and engaging in good faith. I promise you that, at the very least, hexbear users are real people who are being sincere.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 22 points 1 year ago

It’s important to fight against the evils of communism, like sharing, or riding a bicycle. I am very normal.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 27 points 1 year ago

Forget State and Revolution, they haven’t even read any of the liberal shit. You know more about the basis of their own ideology than they do. They don’t have a language to describe their own beliefs to themselves, let alone the means to test those beliefs against literally anything. It’s absurd. I don’t know how to have a conversation with someone about a topic that they insist they understand through pure osmosis.

[-] EnsignRedshirt@hexbear.net 17 points 1 year ago

I don’t even see it as cringe. It’s like when children believe in Santa Clause. There’s a point where you put the clues together and figure it out, but it’s not embarrassing to admit that you believed in Santa when everyone you love and trust and rely on tells you that Santa is real your entire life. Imagine how many people would never stop believing in Santa if the vast majority of the media and political and academic apparatus were tripping over their own dicks every day competing with one another over who can more vigorously insist that Santa is real.

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EnsignRedshirt

joined 4 years ago