It’s not a new thing. The same issues were the case for television, radio, and newspapers. They had to teach media literacy before the internet too. You go back into the archives and you’ll see some wild misinformation that’s very reminiscent of what we see on the internet. We did have a brief few decades where we had a more consistent and adhered to set of standards, but these were by no means universal. The perception of reliable information is also skewed the combination of being less aware of misinformation when younger and by a unique period where mass reputable media were all saying the same thing… But that also meant they were leaving the same things out.

But the internet did change things. Standards have been blown up, misinformation is much faster and the volume of it is much higher. Our brains couldn’t keep up with 24hr news channels, let alone the cesspools of social media we have now.

Here’s a psychological discussion that expands on that idea: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X22000719

That’s why you teach philosophy and critical thinking. Science will follow if that’s the kid’s interest. But learning to be being self-aware of your own position amongst others, including the position of Science, is key.

Maybe in your bubble it’s common parlance that “electric cars” = “electrifying mass private vehicle infrastructure”, but from the outside, that’s not a straightforward interpretation.

Electric cars are a type of vehicle. Public transit is a type of transportation system that include many different types of vehicles and can include electric cars.

You’re comparing apples to orchards.

Star Wars

Yes, that’s a good analogy worth elaborating on. That places Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups in the position of the numerous WW2 resistance movements like the French resistance, Polish Home Army, and Jewish resistance who were attacking Nazi forces, sabotaging infrastructure, and sometimes more terroristic tactics involving civilians.

Philosopher Quassim Cassam recently wrote an article examining the idea of justifiable terrorism as part of armed resistance. He provides a framework and engages with the most generous possibilities of the idea. While he’s not the first to explore justifiable terrorism, he does examine this very comparison of WWII resistance and other movements like al-Qaeda and the recent Oct 7 attack by Hamas: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12115-024-00975-9

I understand you’re angry at all the injustice happening in Palestine. It’s a lot, and I can see how any disagreement with your perspective feels like a malicious attack, causing your reactions toward me. I’m sorry my disagreement has added to that feeling. While I do think my beliefs have been deeply misconstrued, I regret not having a chance to hear more of your beliefs rather than what you’ve decided on me personally. I suspect we’d have a fair amount of common ground, though I’m sure that thought chafes you in this moment.

So in good faith, I will be fucking off from you.

Peace and love be upon you. Free Palestine.

I think I’d be glad to see Smotrich and some others go too. However there are plenty of people in the Israeli government who are against this war and pro two-state solution, which I believe is the only humane goal in this conflict. This, I think might be the crux of why you see me as Zionist. There are other Palestinian approaches to Palestinian Nationalism and anti-Zionism that I support instead of Hamas, such as modern Fatah’s.

I think Palestinian armed resistance is legitimate and I think the disproportionate power matters in how Palestinians can hit back. I think Hamas’ attack on IDF targets on Oct 7 were legitimate. However, I will not condone their attack on villages and the music festival, which were not military targets, and were clearly meant to sow terror and to take civilian hostages–even as leverage to exchange for the Palestinians civilians unjustly and illegally imprisoned by Israel.

Hamas’s mandate and long term goal has always been the pursuit of Islamic sovereignty over all of mandatory Palestine, which is not an ideology I support. Just as the Israeli government is not a monolith, I don’t assume Hamas is one either. But current leaders like Izz al-Din al-Haddad certainly are malicious and culpable, just as leaders in Likud and the IDF are. I will not be berated into subscribing to Hamas as the only legitimate form of anti-Zionism.

You and I probably have different definitions and applications of the term “evil”. We can agree the campaign is unethical, immoral, inhumane, unjust, horrific, beyond the pale, criminal, heinous, outrageous, and I’m sure there are many other synonyms of “bad” we can fully agree on that describes what they’re doing.

No, I think Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza is more heinous and more outrageous than the Oct 7 attack. If Netanyahu mysteriously fell out of a window, I might be a little outraged and worried by the implications, but I don’t think I’d be unhappy he’s dead.

In all honesty, blood is not my first choice, nor my second or third. I would much prefer bloodless peace from now on, but reality has taken us way way way down the list of my preferences.

I am extremely outraged by the ethnic cleansing Israel has been conducting in Gaza. I am very outraged by their ongoing colonization of the West Bank, I am a little outraged that they are hitting military targets in other countries with impunity. The planned and deliberate slaughter of civilians on Oct 7 was heinous and I won’t be unhappy when the leaders who planned it die.

For comparison, if for whatever reason they decided it was in their interest and Mossad or some other third party managed to assassinate Putin at one of his “peace conferences”, I might be mad about the implications, violation of international law as a war crime, and consequences of the act, but I don’t think I’d be unhappy he’s dead.

Thanks for the Jacobin article, it’s thoughtful, powerful, and I completely agree with it re: Palestine, though I may disagree on the role and culpability of Hamas on some things. I’ve used the same Wikipedia article to summarize the occupation dynamics. To be clear, when I said “they have a right to defend themselves”, I was referring to Palestinians.

Israel’s current campaign in Gaza has been beyond horrific and outright evil in some aspects. It’s by far the most outrageous thing they’ve been doing. And if there’s any credence to Smotrich’s statements, they’ll follow through with complete ethnic cleansing through forced expulsion while annexing the rest of the West Bank.

Not really, no.

Nope.

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Neither side has been negotiating in good faith IMO, both are culpable for prolonging and perpetuating the conflict unnecessarily at the cost innocent lives. They’re both negotiating like Putin. Again that’s my hot-take based on what I’ve seen. I may well be wrong and missing key information or contextual perspective.

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It’s up to you if it helps you to think of it that way. However, if everyone is on the spectrum, then “autism” is less useful as a term for categorizing a group of people with a shared condition that may need help/accommodation in specific ways. How do you provide special services for autistic people when everyone is “on the spectrum”. There’s a solution, but requires a different way of categorizing people.

“spectrum” is a useful analogy to the EM spectrum, which is a literal spectrum. The autism spectrum is not a literal spectrum, we call it that because it’s a useful way to understand neurodiveristy. However, like any analogy, it eventually falls apart as you go deeper into applying it. It’s not the complete way to understand autism nor is it the only applicable analogy.

Autism is not fully understood, but it is characterized by several dimensions that each involve variation from the norm due to a complex of causes. This is why the “spectrum” analogy falls apart–it reduced autism to one dimension. Another analogy might be a crystal that grows in multiple directions, with more growth from the centre being divergence from the norm. Some crystals grow a little bit in all directions, some grow only in a couple directions, and every other combination of amount x direction.