Me: [Describes my assignment this term. It concerns a current supreme court case.]
Him: Wow, they’re teaching you real ideas! That’s something. That’s how you make something of yourself in your field. What do you think about that?
Me: Uh? Regarding my brief or something else? My brief was just assigned. I haven’t started researching it yet.
Him: No, that they’re teaching you real ideas. Do you have an opinion on that?
Me: um, no? I like the assignment. It seems interesting.
Him: That’s not good. You should have a take on that. If people don’t believe in what you’re saying, you won’t be worth anything. You need to have a take and be able to argue for it, because that’s what your field is paid to do.
Me: Well, no, the law applies to you whether you believe in it or not-
Him: No, it doesn’t! Those systems were set up by globalists and Trump destroyed all of that. It’s all worthless now. You need to convince people to believe in good ideas that make society better.
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Sorry, your father is a jackass. It happens sometimes.
Sorry to hear your dad has been brainwashed into a cult. There was a good documentary about this called ‘The Brainwashing of my Dad’ in 2015, which shows the mechanism of how it happens.
likely watches fox 24/7 and listens to radio owned by conservatives. theres loads of stories like this on reddit the past few years.
he’s worse. he likes Russian propaganda blogs and OAN. he used to have gay friends.
Did your dad experience any traumatic event before really falling into the deep end with that stuff? I’m curious if Andrew Callaghan’s radicalization theory as to why this happens holds up in this instance.
I don’t think so, but he has never been willing to explain into why he got into the stuff with me. I tried asking years ago and he just gave some dumb “both sides are propaganda, I read everything” answer.
If you’re interested in street epistemology, you could use those tools to have some impossible conversations with him.
It’s an interesting toolset people usually use when they want to plant seeds of doubt and make Christians squirm, but it can be used for much more than that. If you do it right, you’ll understand why he believes the way he does, and the conversation will remain calm and respectful regardless. It’s borderline magical if you know what you’re doing.
Could you elaborate? What is “street epistemology”?
It’s a method for helping people explore their beliefs, understand the foundations of their reasoning, and inspire critical reflection.
SE isn’t about debate or winning arguments; it’s about meaningful exchanges that usually end with gratitude and contemplation. By asking the right questions, Street Epistemology helps uncover the reasoning behind our beliefs, resulting in the kind of reflection that can lead to real change.
Step 1: Build and Establish Genuine Rapport
Step 2: Identify a Specific Claim to Explore
Step 3: Gauge Confidence
Step 4: Explore Reasons
Step 5: Examine Quality of ReasoningStep one might already be a bit of an obstacle.
Never said it was easy. You have to set your own emotions and opinions aside, and that’s why most people can’t have SE-style conversations. If you’re able to approach another human being with a friendly, open attitude, they’ll feel more willing to have an interesting conversation with you. It needs to feel like a safe space, without judgement, no matter how messed up their opinions might be.
Authoritarian followers frequently have poor reasoning skills. Though I’ve rarely heard anything quite that stupid.
reading and writing skills, the less they know, the easier it is to manipulate them to be grifted or scammed.
“Trump did away with all of that”
I never know what they mean. But neither do they, so that’s ok I guess.
He’s basically right though. The “law” was established in service of the rich, to persecute the poor. The only thing that matters in a courtroom is whose lawyer can either convince a jury or bribe a judge - those are the skills that get lawyers paid.
It’s not that Trump got rid of the old order. He just ripped away the veneer of “equality” it’s been wrapped up with for a while.
Or in more direct terms: money talks, bullshit walks.
That’s just reverse Trumpism.
And? The truth of the matter is that it sucks. I hate that Trump revealed that, but I’ve seen a pattern of behavior from him of showing off that money and bullying work.
He blew up a priceless art piece in the subway at Columbus Circle because he randomly decided the City moved too slow. The punishment wasn’t throwing him in jail for destroying public property, it wasn’t revoking his building’s access to the subway. It was a minor fine for vandalism, and an accelerated timeline to build his subway access.
That’s what he’s always done. For him, bullying and paying people off has allowed him to do everything he ever wanted.
MAGA? That’s the Make America Go Away group in Greenland isn’t it?
Fuck I’m so ashamed of (most of) those in charge of the USA anymore, along with the blind cult following… ☹️
Magats are why I’m always carrying
You need to convince people to believe in good ideas that make society better.
If he’s right in something it’s this very part
He’s not right though. The law is the result of hundreds of years of thought conducted by people much smarter than me. It’s stupid to argue over things that are well-settled, like the right to not have your home searched without a warrant.
To a degree you’re correct, but something being “well-settled” is not, in itself, reason to disregard the idea of reexamining it. Many bad laws and concepts - like slavery, disenfranchisement of women, and hazardous child labor to name just a few - were well-settled ideas right up until they stopped being so because the people disagreed enough to start the fight, fought that fight, and the majority realized they agreed with the fighters and decided to change things.
Challenging something that others think is “well-settled” is one of the most important moves any activist can make.
Tell your dad to choke on a fat cock.
There are so many fun ways to tell someone to choke without bringing homophobia into it.
Okie dokie. Wasn’t. But maybe you’re making a joke I’m too stupid to see.
I wasn’t making a joke. The suggestion that someone should perform a homosexual act as punishment is pretty homophobic.
Those systems were set up by globalists and Trump destroyed all of that. It’s all worthless now. You need to convince people to believe in good ideas that make society better.
If by “globalists” he means Jews, then obviously he’s just being insane. But there is an underlying truth here if he means “capital”. The legal and financial systems that the world is built on have been set up by international capital interests. Trump didn’t destroy any of it, not really. Throwing a wrench in things with tariffs and such, but that’s about it. Billionaires and CEOs still have lavish dinners at the White House to court special treatment. Capital interests are still influential in politics. If you want to overturn all of this and build a better society, then you do have to convince people to believe in good ideas, but I have a feeling your MAGA father’s “good ideas” are not, in fact, good ideas.
He really thinks the law doesn’t apply if you don’t believe in it? Is he some kind of freeman?
Removed by mod
You really think that’s what OP wants to hear?
