Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the amount of bad encounters I've had driving post-2020, and interacting with strangers, I think it's seeping into the real world as well. The way people act and speak in public feels noticeably different than even a few years ago, let alone 10-20. People are very short with each other now. Even more disturbing, I think I can feel the change in myself too at times.
I have a theory that the covid experience is behind this. We all got used to being implicitly afraid of people because of social distancing. We also became so incredibly angry about people either forcing us to do things like wear masks or about people not doing those things. On top of that we were encouraged to drive our personalities into the internet even further, and we became even more used to being isolated from…
The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
301–310 of 412 posts
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's so simple. Support for fascism can seem sensible and logical if you let yourself think that between you and greatness stands a minority whose sole purpose is to prevent you from becoming great. You could argue it's not emotion but a calculation coming from struggle and an easy explanation for that struggle. Not every wrong assumption comes from emotion and we have the whole history of science to pr…
If you reduce fascism to "let's genocide everyone else", of course the ideology doesn't make sense. I would say the idea of fascism is more about doing what's best for the nation or people, guided by a strong centrally led state, and a belief that imperialism and war can be appropriate tools to further this goal. It's adjacent to ultranationalism (though it doesn't have to be about the nation). For example to name th…
In fact, all sorts of eugenic and racist ideas were popular in the West until the Nazis took them to their obvious conclusion.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#303Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can’t think of a single fact on its own that presents any danger. If anything, facts through the lens of ideology may become dangerous, but data on its own is like technology. Neutral without application, good or evil depending on situation.
Hypothetically if the world's scientists were to all prove that blacks were inferior to whites, what good would come out of that? I can't think of a single good thing that would come from that- the world would be worse for knowing such a fact.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#304I'd wager it's more like we don't think at all and feel only anger. At least online that is.
I feel in my heart a deep sense of empathy after watching that. Like the quote from National Treasure, “People don’t talk like that anymore.” But the response from Nicolas Cage is, “But they feel it”. As I understand it, Hitler used an economic narrative to build his team of supporters and eventually, desperate times cause people to vote with their wallets. Does anyone else feel like the advent of modern online inter…
idk about that. I remember being appalled at the political atavism on Usenet in the 1992 election. Douglas Adams was right to describe telepathy as 'that most cruel of social diseases.'
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#305Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a theory that the covid experience is behind this. We all got used to being implicitly afraid of people because of social distancing. We also became so incredibly angry about people either forcing us to do things like wear masks or about people not doing those things. On top of that we were encouraged to drive our personalities into the internet even further, and we became even more used to being isolated from…
I think it certainly exacerbated it, but the trend started long before.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
> we may be too often missing the important part of being a decent human being. "decent human being" is too vague and easily manipulated term, so it could be better to follow hard metrics and data.
Showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Will that do as a definition? Be altruistic.
Selfless altruism is a red flag. Be suspicious of anyone who wants to apply a different standard to you than to themselves—even if they think they’re being altruistic about it. The golden rule is better: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#307"Greed has poisoned men's souls" Greed used to considered a sin. Now it seems to be seen as a virtue by some. It's not enough to have a Ferrari - you need to have a whole garage full. It's not enough to have a yacht - it's got to be a super yacht.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#308Charlie Chaplin did not say that 'it depends on the context'. i think that the fact these five words were said is a sign. It shows that the collective memory of these events is waning.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#309Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hypothetically if the world's scientists were to all prove that blacks were inferior to whites, what good would come out of that? I can't think of a single good thing that would come from that- the world would be worse for knowing such a fact.
Does “inferior” mean statistically less likely to be good at logic games? Because I don’t believe people’s claim to humanity is defined by that.
Re: The Final Speech from The Great Dictator (1940)
#310It would be really cool if people stopped being gullible marks for psychopathic pedophiles. ‘Perverted, degenerate and indecent acts’ http://archive.today/2020.07.25-172048/https://www.telegraph...