sanity_is_maddening

Sure. Lemmy like any platform will have some echo chambers with idiots that say something like “I don’t care about facts just as long as it takes my side or it matches my ideology”. Block those users and move on. That is triage right there and sanitation too.

But I gotta say I’ve never encountered a statement like that. Not even on reddit which was way worse. But again, it’s about where you go too.

To me even circlejerking can be fun but I’ve reported people in circlejerk communities when they’re clearly not jerking around and are just taking vitriol as a given permission.

But I don’t really register posts that link to daily beast or rawsthorne either. Among other outlets. On the European and world news communities on lemmy that doesn’t show up much or at all to my recollection, only here on this community that is American centered only (if I’m not mistaken?) Where they also show up with stuff like “meidas touch” which is very tabloid too. I won’t go as far as to call them misinformation like Fox News but they’re click bait and sensationalist shrivel, that’s for sure.

But I do also find problematic that you shared a post from “political memes” as a representation of your argument. That is slop and nobody that I know takes memes as a news source. There is a place for that though and a community called “political memes” sounds about right for it. I don’t follow that stuff and never shows up as shared in what I follow. We’re in a platform that doesn’t have an algorithm and dumb suggestions or ads. Which is phenomenal and the correct approach. But the hygiene you seek is your responsibility here. Even in this community that would never be allowed as a post. You have to distinguish where serious discussions are to be had, but yes, moderators and even general commenters should also have a responsability as well.

So, you can acuse me of bringing a humorous take into a more serious discussion based community. But I was indeed commenting and not posting. But you know what? I’ll be more mindful and conscientious of that in the future when commenting too. So thanks. I guess I needed to be reminded to be more aware of the community I’m commenting on as well.

Oh, of course it wasn’t all roses. I was being humorous. But there’s a before and an after “algorithmic driven platforms maximised for engagement”. The nastiness that was always there that you speak of climbed that ladder. And derangement was encouraged as a feature towards success.

I remember as soon as 2008, media experts and a lot of other people saying “keep the platforms but kill that algorithm”. Only when Gamergate happened that a lot more people finally got it. Sadly, it wasn’t listened to either and now here we are.

About Lemmy… yeah it is very much a bubble, I agree on that but not on misinformation. At least not on the instances that I hang out on. I don’t follow any communities of lemmy.ml for a reason. Lemmy is a bubble, but it is a bubble full of middle aged dudes with no patience for nonsense. Myself included. The science communities will lose no time in crushing any form of nonsense.

As to the news… a LOT of The Guardian (click bait yeah, misinformation no), AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera and mocking the NY Times for sanewashing. But these are all some of the most reputable international news sources around. When people post the misinformation is a lot of the times to expose it and say “can you believe this shit that these idiots are putting out now?” And sometimes I see the downvotes of people who don’t get that or didn’t even got in the post to read it and see that it was shared as raising awareness of misinformation being spread not disseminating it as true.

Lemmy has a lot of Anarchists and very true Left leaning people in general, which means knowing how to doubt everything corporate media puts out into the world. As it is status quo maintenance and reinforcement of its resiliency to benefit the ones that are already being benefited. Having said that, facts are verifiable, it’s the way that they’re being presented or the opinions they sneak along with them that should be analysed regardless of publication. But doubting all forms of media and seeking verifiable information is healthy and should be encouraged. It should just be basic literacy.

But I’m on piefed since the shutdown of lemm.ee and it’s even more of a tiny bubble with even less patience for nonsense. It has very aggressive moderation and circlejerking and trolling doesn’t even arise at all.

Anyway, no place is perfect but this is still a lot better than reddit. Most of the problems we see here is people migrating from there and bringing their usual toxic habits in the process. The ones that don’t adjust and think “lemmy is too quiet” end up going back to it, and I’m glad to let them go back to rage typing against bot farming and trolling. Aren’t you?

As an European I can always feel the waves of Americans that come here enraged as a boycott during mass migrations. And this year has been non stop. Hmm, I wonder why?..

This all sounds like the beginning of a horror flick.

Paranoia and jokes aside, if you feel like there are red flags or that you’re just feeling uncomfortable, don’t go. There’s nothing weird about being the only girl or the only guy in a group, it’s the people themselves and their character that should be under judgement, not the ratios.

About not having internet. I’m too old to answer this question with a straight tone. But I’ll try…

I can go weeks without internet. Without electricity, I would find inconvenient but still doable. Take in the scenery to begin with. Don’t keep snapping photos at every chance. Scotland is gorgeous. Take it all in. Then books, playing instruments, biking, playing cards and games in general, and learn how to identify fauna and flora and you’ll never run out of wonders to contemplate.

Another advice, one with a paternal tone if you allow me… Asking strangers online if you should go on a trip that has a lot of strangers to the point that makes you go ask the strangers online… that is worrying. It’s one of the ailments of the new generations. Having this subservience to the abstraction of the internet as some form of counseling is a huge mistake. The internet is full of terrible people and terrible advice. You should treat the internet as cautiously as you treated the idea of going on this trip with strangers.

Having said that, I hope you consider the judgement of your parents and the people closest to you for this purpose more than anyone in here or anyone on the internet in general.

And if nobody finds anything wrong… then I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Remember some good old usenet times? That wasn’t that long ago and it was basically us all around the world learning that no matter where one was from we shared somewhat similar views. We even laughed at the trolls back then. The 90’s. Even the incel community was nice. It still had women in it. Then…

Well…

We’re basically internet refugees here on Lemmy.

Hang on, good folk. Algorithmic reinforced derangement, A.I. hallucinated information and climate collapse. Surely we’re at least electing leaders that will have the intelligence, competence and virtue to navigate all this, right? Right?

Well, I consent to my murder. Anyone can suicide me from now on.

Why did you stop posting on pixelfed?

I agree. But who the hell is gonna enforce that? Especially right now? Are you seeing the people being elected around the world?

It’s kinda scary when this man, the head of the Catholic Church is more of an ally than most nation leaders.

We need to do what you suggest to the heads of companies and conglomerates too. But again, who is gonna enforce it?

People now are using A.I. that burns more water than a cauldron and more electricity than some nations to spew what these corporate overlords want them to. Just today I read that Google is suppressing AI searches regarding Trump and dementia. I don’t use Google. But most people do.

The odds and stakes are stacked against a just and fair or even livable future.

I’m gonna take what I can get to turn the tide on it. If I fail it will not be because I failed to try. Giving up is not an option.

Tell me about it. I would get rid of all religious groups if I could and that is even without pedophilia on top of it.

But we’re on a tight schedule to a doomed world and these idiots might listen to their cult leader more than the scientific method. Do I like this fact? Hell no!! But I don’t think we’re going to dismantle religion institutions in time to actually solve anything we need to.

We surely can try to do both at the same time. But if you have any religious family members, which I do, and roman Catholic nonetheless, you know that they’ll listen to this idiot on this matter before they listen to the rest of us battling for the awareness to this for decades. It’s insane, infuriating and the sad reality we have to deal with.

A lot of the world only listens to the voices of their in-group. But religious people take that to another level entirely.

I think I might delete my comments, actually, but all I was trying to do is to try to find the silver lining in a shit storm.

This is an olive branch moment if we take it correctly.

What are you suggesting otherwise? Genocide them all?

I hope not.

I was speaking in relation to climate change and the possibility of changing the mindset of conservatives around the world, as Catholicism has a lot of convergence with it.

This is a community for discussions about climate.

I was not defending religion, and especially not Catholicism.

You are absolutely right. Last time I checked, 6% of all Catholic priests have engaged sexually with a minor. That makes them the institution with the higher incidence of pedophilia.

But I can’t deny or claim that the pope speaking in defence of science on climate doesn’t make any difference. We both know that it does. That is why I started my comment with “As sad as it is to admit”…

Because as sad as it is to admit, we need these blind followers that allow their children to be the most molested in the world to listen to him and commit to some changes to a more sustainable future.

As sad as it is to admit this, an American pope is the kind of ally that the world needs right now. I commend his stance to speak so clearly against the grain of his following and in-group, defending facts and science in the process of pursuing a better future to all of us.

Now, we know that the fake Christians of the Maga Cult in the U.S. will dodge this pope as a “woke compromised asset”, but to a LOT of Christians and most catholics around the world this will act as a beacon that will make a diference.

As to if it will be enough of a difference? That remains to be seen.

The pessimist in me doesn’t believe so. But I would love to be proven wrong. At least in minimising the foreseeable outcomes. Which is the game we’ve been playing for quite a while now.

Nice one. Do you have a pixelfed account for any of us to follow?

This is nice. Do you have a Pixelfed account that one can follow?

The “Fully Functional” is something that the most level headed adults that I know, men or otherwise, would refute on the spot. I don’t think I know anyone who feels like a fully functional person. Or an adult for that matter. As that is an elusive concept to begin with. Although, that doesn’t mean one can’t find ways to mature.

I’m 40. And the thing that I’ll say is that kids and younger people have it harder these days. The world is in a state of unprecedented cacophony, in which the previous existential threats that loomed over the previous generations are all stacking up to form a massive sense of unease.

Whichever adult, men, woman or other, that claims they have it all figured in the face of increasing calamity is lying. Possibly to themselves first.

The men who feel the way(s) that you mentioned, are not wrong in feeling the way they do. They can only be wrong in how they act in response to it. Because from time to time, we’re all bound to feel like that at one point or another. And unfortunately in some circumstances and contexts that might be more persistent than others.

The great failure of our time is not that men, young or not, are failing more, but that we are all failing more. Because we are all failing each other. Some more than others, obviously. But even so, we’re failing to reach one another at some point in a growing secluded world.

You can eat your greens. Go to the gym. Earn income that allows you comfort. Find a partner. And even have a child…

And still feel all the things that these “men” do.

The point of maturity is to not make others pay for what burdens you.

And the only escape out of that isolated space is not the “self-improvement” route that the fraudulent will try to coach others. As that is just maintenance.

The way out of loneliness is in service of others. Which has always been the the case and will always be.

Trying to find a way out of loneliness by trying to find a romantic partner to “fix that” is just offloading the burdening responsibility to another person. And regardless of sex or sexual orientation that will always lead to a toxic dependency and a relationship that never ends well.

I’m a 40 year old dude. I have a home. I get to do what I’m passionate about. I have a partner that I live with and I love her. But if anyone comes knocking for advice, I tell them that if they’re looking for easy answers, they’re looking for lies to comfort them out of what they already know to be true… That life is complicated and none of us really know what we’re doing while we’re roaming this earth.

But it sure is a whole lot easier when we’re kind to one another. And that is about the only certainty we’re gonna get before we die.

Everything else is noise.

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