• Wytch@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    28
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    Idiocracy is no longer a cute meme, stupidity is how civilizations collapse

    • outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      19 hours ago

      It’s not just stupid. Back in the 90s i knew plenty of ‘im a dumbfuck’ hippies and mountain-people who knew it, and said things like “i don’t vote. I don’t know what the hell any of this is, and my voice wont improve your government” or “i don’t understand that geopolitics shit. I vote for the guy id trust around my daughter. So… I think carter? I voted for carter.”. They would be, like juggalos or something today. Politically speaking. In fact im certain some are.

      Theres also the ‘hood politics’ approach-a podcast explaining politics in terms of high school drama and growing up in a rough neighborhood, with the central vibe being ‘the difference is the distances involved and the outfits. If you understand that, you understand all of politics.’

      The problem is malevolent anti intellectualism. The problem is engineered blindness. The problrm isn’t stupid stupid, it’s weaponized stupid. Its autodehumanization. It’s tribalism and fear and… Things too complex to explain here, but involving a fear or mistrust of understanding and those who do it, and a kind of relentless self loathing you couldnt really do when a dumb guy could just fuck off to his wood shop and make something useful and beautiful given enough time.

    • evenglow@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 day ago

      It’s ok for people to be stupid. It’s not ok for stupid people to be dangerous.

      Wilful ignorance is dangerous. It’s not a difference of political opinion.