Ask Lemmy
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
view the rest of the comments
I'm curious how many of these people are truly stupid, or is it just a lack of education? Or lack of interest in education?
These are the same people who don't understand how bad things are in society until they hit at home. Are the not capable of expanding their world view enough to fit in new information, or do they prefer to stay in a child-like ignorance?
I think too many people are encouraged not to use their brains, at least here in the US. Questioning things is discouraged from childhood, while conformity is rewarded. People are terrified of standing out, or at least of having the appearance of "causing trouble." It's drilled into every generation at least til Z (I have no information on how gen Alpha is faring yet.) I'm Gen Y/Millennial and for sure my public schools, in a blue state, were very heavy on punishment and shutting down student dissent, even when the students are objectively right (like when a teacher shares a false idea as fact.) Those who stood back and watched didn't get in trouble, and learned impactful lessons on what happens to those who dare question what they're told. We've been trained for authoritarian rule since our youth, and some people wholeheartedly believe whatever their authority tells them. Their ability to critically think/think for themselves has atrophied.
Even when there's a spark of understanding, pressure to remain in the "in-group" can override it. Cognitive dissonance lulls them back to the apparent safety of their "tribe," where everything is as they believe it is, and some strong ruler is totally looking out for them. New ideas aren't rewarded in this system, so there's little point in trying to learn things. In fact if they learn too much, they could risk being alienated because of it. Again, that's a big no-no. Must remain with the in-group.
The good news is, plenty of people break out of these ~~cults~~ groups. Those who do break out can attest to how bad it is. I really can't overstate the amount of allegiance and deference we're taught to give to others, and I'm not surprised so many people have taken the easy route and straight-up surrendered their brains. It's all they've ever known.