• prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 month ago

    We are careening toward the “end-game” for the rampant anti-intellectualism, anti-science, anti-critical thinking mind virus that plagued this country for at least the past 80 years.

    This is what happens when you condition people for nearly a century, to get angry and defensive when someone who’s more versed on a subject tries to teach them something (or god forbid, correct them). It has become a kneejerk reaction for so many Americans (mostly conservatives). They are so insecure that they view any type of education as a direct insult to them or some stupid bullshit like that. Like deep down, they know how ignorant they are, but for some reason they’d prefer to stay that way, so anyone who challenges that (regardless of how pure the motive), is a “smug piece of shit talking down to them.”

    And instead of even retaining what the person said, let alone learning it, they become even more radicalized against… well, reality.

    I truly have no idea how something like this can ever be fixed at this level. We’re talking over 50 million people give or take tens of millions (unsure how many have regrets).

    And this is nation-ending shit.

    Edit: Slightly related, but something I just thought about… Imagine if we ever have a prion-based pandemic (if that’s possible?). That could straight up be the end of humankind. Prions are terrifying.

    • yunxiaoli@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      It’s a simple problem, the lack of trust; and a relatively simple fix.

      But you will have to abandon liberalism, capitalism, and all such tools of the rich that only exist to oppress the poor. While those systems of oppression exist, anti intellectualism is a natural defense mechanism.

      There’s a reason black folks in the US tend not to trust doctors, a good one, one of the best. It’s the same reason native Americans tend not to trust the law, immigrants tend not to call police even if they’re legal, and smart poor people don’t trust vaccines. It’s all the same reason, all the same cause, even with different incidents from that cause.

      And you can’t fight it and keep the systems that spawned it, it is impossible.

    • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Don’t forget the “liberal” (closed minded in their own way) hippie types who think cancer can be cured with some magic herb or something. They are just as likely to be against vaccines and science in general. I know too many of these people.

      They are so insecure that they view any type of education as a direct insult to them or some stupid bullshit like that. Like deep down, they know how ignorant they are

      They know deep down inside that they are dumb and uneducated but think their “instincts” and gut feelings are equivalent or better than years of studying and analytical thought. They also are jealous of people smarter than them and instead of raising themselves up they prefer to pull them down.