It's like a train wreck, hard to look away but you know you're going to see some bad stuff. Recently I'm on a kick watching human evolution talks which are just filled with ill informed to vile posts. I know it's best to just not look, but there are some interesting informative comments sometimes.

I saw one the other day, I can't even remember what it was about now. But somebody posted something pretty stupid, and some other people posted back basically telling her why what she said wasn't accurate. So she then started complaining about her first amendment rights being violated. Which then of course then led to responses trying to explain the first amendment to her :)

This^^^

It appears that people's minds and beliefs are easily manipulated, and the new tech makes this easy to do. Is it just about "selling" something? Or is there a deeper purpose of dividing us into violently opposed "tribes"?

The most common response I see when someone is called out for posting poppycock is that they didn't know if it was true or not, they just thought people should be able to see it in case it was true.

The hard part about seeing posts from people you went to high school with is you grew up with these people. You know they are idiots. They didn't suddenly become geniuses in their 40's. Yes you should respect your elders, but idiots get old too.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

I think a big issue is the loss of respect for expertise.

It doesn't matter what the issue or subject is there are people out there who's life work and/or job it is to understand it. Somewhere along the way many people have decided that their "gut" or reading an article someone posted on Facebook makes whatever they believe just as valid.

My $.02...

Generally I like slowguy's approach as an all or nothing attempt to specifically stop receiving propaganda. But that depends on what your goals are.

If you want to help flatten the crazy curve with him, then here's my alternate recommendations...

1.) Don't interact via FB or email.
2.) Don't be an asshole to him.
3.) When/if you do engage him consider the following:
a.) do you care enough to learn his positions?
b.) are you capable of keeping the conversation light?
c.) are you ready to accept that this will be a process and not a lone conversation?
4.) Personally I don't believe in free will, so it helps me not to demonize people. (Only helps! lol)
5.) Given #4, there's no magic, it's just your influences versus all other influences. How can you do?

Either way, best of luck with what you decide.

Some people I agree, I knew they were idiots then and didn't really expect them to change. There are some that I didn't think were idiots saying a lot of this stuff now is what disturbs me.

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TEAM HD
Each day is what you make of it so make it the best day possible.

It's like the guys I grew up around who I know were racists, who now post racist sort of stuff, and then get all bent out of shape when someone calls them on it. I mean maybe it's just a coincidence you use to be racist and now you post stuff that seems pretty racist, but you're not really racist.

Well to be fair, they probably have a black friend. ;)

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TEAM HD
Each day is what you make of it so make it the best day possible.

I like a good conspiracy theory, but the stuff on Facebook it's trash. I know because my wife shows me the silly stuff my Mom posts, including the Bill Gates satan microchip.

Social media is a horrible venue for politics and just about everything else. It's not going to change anyone's mind, except for the adds Russia bought during the last election.

For family, I’d just let it go.

trump is spending today retweet qanon maniacs. Good thing he doesn't have anything better to do.

Our friend who is the anti-vaxxer appears to mostly be occupying himself these days with Covid-19 posts. Half the time I'm not even sure what the point of them are. I guess mostly to downplay the significance of it.

His post the other day with the new fatality data that is in the other thread here began with "We were led to believe that getting Covid was a death sentence..."

Really? From the get go people have been saying ~1% maybe 2% at absolute worst, and likely down around .5% or less, even for the elderly with comorbidities I don't think it ever qualified as a death sentence. You see it here too, where a number of the more adamant vocal people seem to be arguing against some extremist strawman position that doesn't reflect reality.

This is what happens when you have weak political leadership at the national, state and local levels and people have been conditioned to believe what they are fed from many of them who are in reality unintelligent and corrupt.

Sounds like my slutty Trumpette cousin in CT; y'know, the one who's always calling herself a Feminist, but then complains on FB that none of the men in her neighborhood would shovel her sidewalk for her

The one who complained on FB when everyone stocked up on masks from Home Depot, because she has asthma and absolutely needed them more than "regular" people, but now says that a Gov't order telling her to wear a mask is illegal and violates her 14th Amendment

The one who claims to be Christian, but posted "that's right! 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts!' Go get them!!!"

She's not even worth the time nor effort to explain her hypocrisies to

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

 What people post on their own page is their business. I only engage in the posts I care to engage with either with a comment or "like". I don't let people post directly to my wall without screening so they can only interact in the comment section. By and large that has worked out well over the 15 years I've been on FB. I have only had a few people that I blocked from seeing future posts because of the nature and type of comments they were making and I defriended one acquaintance over unacceptable treatment and vulgarity to someone who is a good friend. It doesn't happen often but If I get weird messengers I just ignore them. That has seemed to work fairly well when people see you are not interested in engaging them on whatever they sent you.