Honestly, the only thing I think we can do about it is to remain as intellectually honest as possible. I know that can annoy people (even on these forums) sometimes but the truth is sometimes just the truth.
The truth is, sometimes people lie. And the truth is, sometimes people get so lost in the lies that they make insane decisions. Heaven's Gate is an example of this. The UFO and other 'New Age' stuff all seems like love and light and then people lose track of what is demonstrably true vs what could be true vs what is just insane. And then people get hurt or die.
In my experience most people don't even know what it means for something to be true. They equate it with anything that agrees with their belief or point of view. I found out the uncomfortable way that simply presenting the facts backfires more often than enlightens.
This field is not at all different than the conspiracy thinking that brought on QAnon. Not at all. The only difference is that we have had fewer people use the nonsense to seek power at the cost of other people's lives. But that's non-zero given the UFO cults and Bennewitz. Those are the warning shots.
Q Anon is a murky social phenomena. My guess ( and that's all it is - a guess ) is that it wasn't simply a bored teen in his parents basement, but that it was either someone with anti Republican Party affiliations doing some way "out there" guerrilla campaign support, or a foreign interest with designs on Western destabilization. Or maybe it really was a bored teen in his parents basement
I profoundly disagree. That strategy is simple appeasement. I've seen it with Trump supporters I know - you get told over and over again to be polite and hear them out otherwise you'll alienate them further.
And that has been my experience as well.
This is the wrong approach. The right approach is a complete and total denial of the falsehoods, the conspiracies, the nonsense. Even if it's impolite or anti-social. Non-voilently of course, but it must end.
Perhaps we might distinguish here between the "right" approach, and your own particular approach, which you might have more luck with than I do.
I don't care about getting through to them.
I do.
I don't care about reaching out.
I do.
They don't want to be reached.
I strongly suspect that they do want to be reached, because being reached is the same as being acknowledged. So here we have a group of potential agents for change who simply need acknowledgement. Once we understand the basis for their need to be acknowledged, then there is a chance that we might be able to connect with them on that level.
They don't want to be reasonable.
I suspect that many of them believe they are being reasonable under the circumstances as they see them. Certainly there are exceptions where there are people who don't care one way or the other so long as it facilitates an opportunity to act-out, but I doubt they all fall into that category.
They want appeasement, because that's the way you slowly move the needle over to insanity.
I doubt that most of them see it that way.
Drunk driving is no longer socially acceptable. Smoking around children is no longer socially acceptable. And so many other things... which have actually moved the needle. Simply because it's no longer socially acceptable.
Social acceptability isn't something I'm too not terribly concerned about. Large segments of society have been socialized to believe in things or behave in ways that aren't true to reality, and those who disagree with them have been outcast or worse. The examples you give are cases where things that were once socially acceptable changed over time ( for good reason ).
Wear a MAGA hat around me now, and I'm not going to be any quieter about it than I would be a Nazi symbol.
I suggest countering with a "Make Marduk Great Again" t-shirt.
Hmm... very cool idea. Any idea about the time commitment?
It all depends on how organized you are and what your role would be.
Same for that one. Covid and work has really driven my life nuts - working a lot more hours for a lot less money - but this is something I'm fairly passionate about as you know.
I understand. If I weren't retired I couldn't do all of what I do. We should probably talk about it further in-person ( phone or Skype ), or if we get a really nice day, we could grab a coffee at Good Earth and chat outside. There are a couple of benches over at the Safeway that get full Sun. probably the most comfortable and easiest under the circumstances would be Skype. Just check to see if my green dot is on, and feel free to call any time.
