#it's on youtube and it lays out just how easily propaganda from ANY source can slowly chisel away at someone

[butmakeitgayblog]

different anon here, and I want to acknowledge that you could be right… and your feelings are 100% valid

in all honesty, just casually looking at her overall “following” list on IG, she follows Obama, Biden, Harris and “potus” accounts… nothing overtly trump or his ideologies…

I just think it *feels* like a big jump to say she might be shifting away from those views. not everyone validates their beliefs on social media. but sure, there could be clues anywhere in there.

me personally? i don’t see how anyone who previously or may currently support obama, biden and harris can swing to supporting the exact opposite in such a relatively short period of time.

i may not be vocal online lately against so many keyboard warriors and bots, but i am very vocal in my personal life. frankly it’s exhausting to try and defend things online all the time and i’m not even famous. half the time you’re arguing with idiots or AI.

just my thoughts. absolutely understand yours also!

I mean it's not a jump, because I didn't jump there.

I said it looks odd. I said I hope she's not being swayed that way. I said she should get the trumpy tradwife stuff figured out.

I never once accused her of being a Trump supporter, and I didn't do that very pointedly because that's not something I know about her.

Pointing out oddities and making overt accusations are two different things, and I'm sorry if I sound gruff, it's not personally at you, but I just am starting to feel like I'm being misinterpreted here. As if my words are being used as an insinuation and launched off of and followed through to a conclusion that I am personally not making.

I'm not saying she's a Trump supporter, I'm saying it's odd that she follows a few Trump supporters. I'm not saying she's an ~aspiring tradwife~, I'm saying it's weird that she follows and likes tradwife content. I'm not saying because she doesn't post as often about political activism anymore it must definitely mean she doesn't still hold the same ideology, I'm saying it's weird that she's fallen silent at such a dangerous time in society. These are not outlandish things to note when they seem to differ so far from previous things she's shown.

I mean it wholeheartedly when I say it could be nothing. I'm not being cagey here! I'm saying exactly what I think! It's just weird!

As for flipping values, unfortunately that's simply just untrue. In a purely broad sense and forgetting ADC entirely, it's extremely easy to have your views changed through propaganda and coercive content. It's easy to have success or lack of success change your world view. Most everyone who has MAGA people in their lives will tell you that those people did not used to act like that. TT and IG is filled with stories of people who voted Trump and are now crying because their family has cut them off. You think their family knew they were Trump supporters? If it was shocking enough to cut them off, you think they had previously stated they supported him or his ideals around their family? Like. Assuming just because someone was one way, therefore they will stay that way, is part of what's gotten us into this mess. I know that's not what you're out and out saying, but it's still a point that needs to be made in general. People change, views change. It happens. And it usually starts with small things that get bigger and bigger and more encompassing. (Again, not an insinuation! Just a broad statement)

[horizon-verizon]

Huh so people are using Hill's Alive videos in arguments now? Why, her videos are out of context and biased as hell. Even her ASOIAF ones.

Because she affirms their hatred of Dany and the Targs, or just their affirmative biases and bigotry. and she is hot right now with many followers, so she has to be correct, right? That's basically it.

A more credible YouTuber who I personally follow is Phoenix Ashes, or you may know them by their current Tumblr name "ozymalek".

Here is one of their videos:

This is from their pinned comment:

Every single comment in this video thus far has proven that HA's army of trained, yapping chihuahuas could easily fall for every single propaganda imaginable as long as it was their favorite Internet personality saying it. They repeat claims that have been throughoutly shredded to pieces IN THE VIDEO PROPER and think that I call that liar a "liar" because I disagree with her "interpretation" of Daenerys. In reality, I call her a liar because I have substantially proven that she lied to her audience in her videos and built arguments around those lies.

Hill's Alive said at least two times that George RR Martin has DIRECTLY STATED that the show's ending matches the broad strokes of the ending that he will write, but there exists no video or an interview in which he makes such a statement, definitely not DIRECTLY. Hill's Alive did not include any link or a clip in her videos of him saying it, because that statement does not exist. The only thing that I was able to find (even though it should be HA's job because proving the claim lays on the one making it), GRRM revealed broad strokes to D&D, but has never confirmed that D&D followed them. I also included two sources of him claiming that the ending will not be the same: Not a Blog post from 2019 (right after the show ended) AND a statement from summer 2022 where he claimed that the ending will be QUITE DIFFERENT. And I even said that I don't hold HA accountable for not knowing the most recent statement because that particular video was from a year before it was made. Nevertheless, there is no direct confirmation from GRRM about broad strokes, and even if there was, GRRM's recent statements prove that even if that was the case, he changed his mind. I suspect that in 2019 GRRM was still binded by NDA's and now, that he has wrote so much of "Winds", the differences in endings has become even more apparent. I linked both of those and even read it out loud for those who may have trouble with reading comprehension.

Hill's Alive said that "Westeros has never been particularily peaceful, but it has never been as chaotic as it's been under the Targaryens". This is a lie because it contradicts canon: a) F&B directly says (contrary to some other "direct statement" that doesn't exist) that before the conquest, wars in Westeros have been such a common occurrence that if there weren't wars for a year, that was a success b) all of Jaehaerys' reign, which was exceedingly peaceful and prosperous, contradicts that + the Targaryens brought limited progress to Westeros, too, for example by outlawing the right of lords to rape newlywed women. By nature of feudalism, wars could not be eliminated, but there objectively was progress. [I am inserting this here link where ozymalek calculates peace years under the Targs here on Tumblr]

Hill's Alive has built an entire theory on how Daenerys will be killed by Arya based on Daenerys' talking about Maegor right before she walks into the funeral pyre. Except, Daenerys does not bring Maegor THEN. She does it much earlier, after Eroeh is killed. And while I can, to some degree, accept someone mixing two scenes, especially if they read the books a while ago, I am not willing to do this when a) the person in question talks to a substantial audience and misleads it in the process b) this is so easy to check. All you have to do is google "A Game of Thrones" pdf, click Control+G and search "Maegor". This is what I did.

[scavengedluxury]

The police have been desperate to build a narrative of valiant officers defending Bristol from dangerous thugs, but the truth is very different, and they have started to trip over their own lies.

In our report of Bristol's first #KillTheBill protest we spoke about how the police lie in order to build a false narrative. We described how the corporate media facilitates this by printing their lies as undisputed fact, and how the police's cheerleaders both professional and amateur will take these lies and run with them. The past week has proven us right. Here is a run down of just a some of the lies police and their supporters have been caught out on.

7. Protesters Attacked The Cars Of Bystanders & Other Emergency Workers This was an early quote put out to portray the protesters as hell bent on mindless destruction. Reports were that vehicles that had nothing to do with the police, and were just unfortunate enough to be in a neighbouring multi-storey car park had their windscreens smashed. In later media coverage the police admitted these were unmarked police cars, the video footage shows that this was made clear by the ‘reserved for police use’ parking bays.

6. My Poor Bones! Following a police statement this story was repeated everywhere. The police said, as if a confirmed fact, that one officer had a broken arm, and another a punctured lung. Other people would elaborate further, the punctured lung was due to a police officer being knocked to the ground and repeatedly stamped on was a common story. Can you imagine who could possibly attack someone already on the ground like that? Suspicious at the number of alleged ‘injuries’ the police had suffered, activists submitted a Freedom of Information request for details on them. Shortly after this Avon & Somerset Police quietly retracted the claim, and confirming no bones were broken or lungs punctured. It was only after a lot of noise on social media, and articles in the radical press, that some mainstream outlets reported this change in story. Many original articles quoting it as fact remain online and unchanged.

5. Protesters Are Responsible For Hurting Horses And Dogs If someone told me there was a riot, and I said ‘ok, I’ll bring my dog’, and then I took my dog to a riot; I would be rightly accused of animal abuse. Yet for some reason the police expect a free pass. Let’s get one thing straight, the police don’t bring animals to protests because they love and value them. They bring them because they view them as weapons and want to use them to hurt people. At all three protests this week, police repeatedly deployed dogs and horses for hours, without caring about the risks. Luckily they also reported none were hurt. The most violence we saw towards the dogs was officers dragging them by the collar to keep them away from dropped food. Yes animals are spooked by fireworks, but better spooked and taken away than kept on the front lines as a risk to themselves and others.

4. The Protesters Struck First! An important part of any narrative, as any Star Wars fan will tell you, is who struck first. This is because few people would randomly hit someone in the street, but many of us would hit back in self defence. Early police statements in the press on Sunday night said that officers had ‘stood back’ until a police van was set on fire. These were clearly fabrications right from the start. There was footage of the police using batons to strike protesters whilst it was still day light, where as the burning van was pictured after dusk. In even clearer evidence there was footage of police hitting protesters next to the van that would later be burned, while it was very much not on fire.

3. They Made Us Do It In an echo of the language of abusers the world over, the cops insisted that they were ‘forced’ to violently attack the protest. According to them nothing else would work, as the crowd was so volatile, dangerous and aggressive. Even if the police had ‘started it’ (which they would never admit) they insisted it only escalated due to protesters. Were that true then, the expectation would be that a crowd that remained passive and peaceful would have been treated with a far lighter touch. Tuesday proved this to be yet another lie. Hours of people being hit by batons , horse charges, dog attacks, and people dragged by their hair. All whilst the most violent resistance put up was the laying of daffodils.

2. If You Don’t Do Anything Wrong, You Have Nothing To Fear A statement older than policing itself. The people who are attacked are, if not ‘yobs’ or ‘thugs’ at the very least ‘trouble makers’ and ‘criminals’. No Law abiding citizen need fear police violence. Well unless they decide something currently legal, such as protest, is a crime. So, then the police used violence on law abiding citizens. In chilling scenes on Tuesday they assaulted two journalists from The Cable, despite them showing press passes. They then detained the editor of Bristol 24/7, only releasing him thanks to the support of a near by photo journalist. On Friday they attacked a reporter from The Mirror, and ‘confronted’ a photographer. A short time after they arrested a ‘citizen journalist’ who had been streaming the protest on YouTube, first coaxing him over for a chat before grabbing him. They didn’t stop at journalists either, they attacked medics and the people they were treating, forcing them to relocate repeatedly.

1. I’m A Postman Yes, you read that right. We’ll let the victim of this particular incident speak for themselves by quoting from their social media post, which we have independent confirmation of. “This morning… I got out under arrest and handcuffed by 5 undercover police who barged into the house no masks initially claiming to my flatmate I needed to sign for a parcel (dressed as a postman) but followed her up yo my room. They told me I had been disorderly / violent which I knew I hadn’t. I was partially undressed and they were all big men and they wouldn’t let me call anyone and told my housemate to go to her room whole I was having actual panic attack and shrieking. They told me I was going to be out in a cell at keynsham police station but they needed to get a female officer over to help me dress first. I was clearly so distressed and confused BC I wasn’t even where they had placed me. Eventually they brought up a photo of a girl who clearly wasn’t me and then eventually dropped the arrest and left me but its so incompetent they could mistake me for this girl and actually get a warrant for my arrest when they can’t even catch real criminals My mental health has been pretty shit lately, especially anxiety so now this has happened and the police are responsible through treating me like a criminal and giving me no respect when I wasn’t even the person in their photo.So no I don’t have faith in the police or British justice system“

These are just the most easily provable lies that the police have told. There are many more, nearly everything they say has been an attempt to deceive. We hope both readers and writers, of the news will continue to remember that the police are not trustworthy sources.

As one commentator on twitter put it, Police statements are a lot less mystifying when you read them as what they are – propaganda by violent agents of the state.

[weditchthemap]

Scientists Search Externally While Yogis Search Internally for Meaning, Truth, & Purpose

A Scientist (Western Trained Mind) Searches Externally for Meaning, Truth, & Purpose

Searching for Meaning Externally is Fundamentally Flawed and Destroying the Country

Many years of travel has taught me more about life and what really matters than my entire education from pre-school up through and including engineering graduate school. The western world, largely led by the US, devotes its energies on searching for answers through the only method our culture values, through the use of external lenses. Through the use of logic and reason scientists set out to explain (or try to) the world in which we live. Some may argue and say that we also study neurotransmitters and stress reduction techniques in the office, which counts as an inward look. Do not be confused—these are still very much external reductionist explanations for our infinitely unknowable world.

Our constant external search for truth and meaning is not bad in and of itself.  However this single-mindedness has led without the tools to search inwards for these same things (e.g. truth and meaning). We unconsciously refute lifestyles and claims that draw upon inward looking tools—we do so as a self-preservation defense mechanism against the great unknown as these ideas do not rely on science. America’s credo may as well be “If it cannot be measured it doesn’t matter!” This may sound trivial but it has had profound effects on our society. We have shunned inward “unmeasurable” realities in favor of constantly pursuing material truths. This has bled over from pure scientific inquiry into our everyday lives and I believe it is a primary source of our country’s depression, stress, suicide, obesity, gun violence, racism, and so many other issues that plague our nation. Are we spending our time measuring or mattering?

We Have Created a Society Where Money is on Top of Our Value System

Money has become the ultimate external goalpost and all lenses are focused on the almighty greenback.  When we aren’t sprinting for the end zone we distract ourselves watching mindless TV, playing stupid games, and using social media so that we do not have to actually confront who we are on the inside—because most of us in America are completely empty when you scratch away at our curated façade. Cultures that value looking within to develop “inner peace” (or what some call spirituality) do not suffer from the massive amounts of depression, suicide, gun violence, mass shootings, violent crimes, etc.

We are so detached with what actually matters that many of us take a personal interest in the lives of others simply because they have money (e.g. CEO ‘A’, basketball star ‘B’, movie actress ‘C’, etc.). We idolize athletes and celebrities—Not only is it trivial but I think it demonstrates a real deficit in our current culture. A young child can throw a ball into a hoop and perform in an elementary rendition of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” but for some reason we think that people that do these thing well are worthy of praise and idolization? I’m really good at playing roller-coaster with my 3-year old niece, where are my endorsements? I understand that people enjoy various types of pastimes and that is all good and fine. As a side note: It wasn’t until very recently that athletes and actors were paid more than a lower-middle class wage. Our incessant search for all things external has led us to live a sheepish life where we value distracting entertainment above all else. Thus the money has flowed into these areas. Don’t even get me started on how individuals can make millions of dollars playing video games on YouTube.

Money Has Become Our Primary Motivator, Leaving Us Empty Inside

The people that actually matter (and I mean people trying to make the world a better place) go largely unnoticed. How many people have ever heard of Sophie Scholl, Thich Nhat Hanh, Liu Xiaobo, or W.E.B. Du Bois? Athletes and celebrities are measured in RBIs, # of Golden Globes, along with their ridiculous annual salaries. Americans actually spend their time consuming media about how these people spend their money, what diets they use, where they vacation, what they wear, and so on.

Now you can chastise me and say, “Scott, it’s a free country and we are lucky enough that people can choose how they want to spend their money”. I would counter that argument with, “Sure, and they can choose to spend it on the metal detectors at their children’s schools, pharmaceutical drugs keeping them alive, depression clinics, paying off their college debt, all while enjoying their measly 2 weeks of vacation a year”.

Consumption and Buying Brings Us Fleeting Pleasure But Happiness Comes from Within

I have worked with pharmaceutical executives with Harvard MBAs that earn a quarter million dollars a year—before their annual bonus. At the same time I have taught reading to inner city adults who have only a kindergarten reading level and who have never held a job. Would you believe me if I told you that the executives were more miserable than our adult learners? What if I told you they were more miserable than the people of Turkey, Myanmar, or Laos who earn in one year what these executives earn in a handful of hours? Well they are both true. It’s not that money is evil, it’s that if that is your aim in life you will miss EVERYTHING that actually matters!

For thousands of years we have known that happiness and purpose are found in helping others and being part of a community but we continue to ignore the wisdom of our elders—both living and long deceased—in favor of our trivial external pursuits of pleasure. 

Ask any mother who has given up a career to be a full-time mother and she’ll tell you that what really matters cannot be measured.

Pleasure vs Happiness

Let’s be clear, pleasure and happiness are not the same thing. Status, 2-Car Garage, Tesla, Omega, Apple, All-Inclusive, Business-Class, Shopping-Spree, Birthday Cake, Samsung—These are external things that bring people pleasure. None of them have ever brought a person happiness. People who constantly seek pleasure will never be happy—not only are they looking for the wrong thing but they are also using the wrong tools. External pursuits bring one pleasure, which is impermanent, never satisfying you long-term. 

America’s Propaganda Machine is Easily the Worst in the Developed World

Our culture routinely demonizes and punishes people who do not drink the proverbial “American Kool-Aid”. If one does not value the acquisition of wealth then that person will most likely go down in history as an Anti-American threat. Despite the constitution’s right to free speech our country punished countless individuals who just had a different value system. One period that comes to mind was during the 1940s and 50s—during McCarthyism several states passed laws enacting life imprisonment and the death penalty as punishments against individuals who didn’t agree that the acquisition of wealth was the most important thing in life. People spending their manicured lives looking outwards render their inner state devoid of any real substance, thus leaving their fragile psyche vulnerable to fear what they do not understand. McCarthyism was a prime example of just that. Pure fear because deep down, under their shell of external pursuits, they were uneasy, scared, and deeply empty.

The Hippie Counterculture movement of the 60s comprised of a community of individuals that valued peace, love, and equality above all else. Propaganda has led to portrayals of hippies having being lazy, unemployed, unwashed commies with long hair. Many hippies were in fact successful business owners, teachers, pilots, surgeons, chefs, nurses, and engineers. Remember history is always written by the ‘winners’. A culture that values money over inner-peace has trivialized an entire and deeply profound movement into a negative and fundamentally inaccurate stereotype.

In America Having Money is More Important Than How It Is Earned

It’s important to note that in America making money is what’s important, how you earned it is inconsequential. Thus we have created a society valuing professional basketball players more than underpaid health aides. We have a country where bright minds are encouraged to go into fields such as technology and finance while being deterred from paths leading to teaching social/public work. We have a culture where our youth idolizes uneducated thugs rapping about cars, sex, parties, and money. Our culture is very good at looking at the end game, but at what expense? We have no idea how to live in the now! This is why we kill people, have depression, ADHD, suicide, violence, etc…it’s because in real life the end game NEVER COMES. The only time we are able to live is NOW! But hey, who wants to hear about an educated performer singing about working hard, helping others, and enjoying a simple weekend helping inner-city at-risk youths learn to garden? Fuck that, Americans want cars, money, fame, mansions—because they think that is happiness. When will they learn happiness comes from how you live and not what you have/get. It makes me sad.

A Yogi (Eastern Trained Mind) Searches Internally for Truth/Purpose

“Happiness is like peeing in your pants. Everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.”

How to Find Happiness (Stop Looking Outwards)

Science is a great tool but it is just that, a tool. It can answer very discrete and specific questions, but when one takes a purely scientific mind it forces that person to lay down so many other useful tools. A scientist is too busy trying to define emotions through quantifying neurotransmitters, various bioactivity, external stressors, etc. to develop internal searching tools.

I won’t go into depth on what searching internally means and what happiness is because honestly most people reading this are too fragile and unwilling to accept what I have say. Also, once one realizes that searching within is where one truly find contentment your journey will become fully your own. I will leave you with a few things to contemplate however.

Slow down, focus on your breath, help others, stop caring about what others value, and focus on how you feel about yourself. Stop trying to change the world (because you are probably fucking it up for someone else)—focus on trying to leave the planet no worse than when you entered it. Stop letting other people’s opinions influence your values. Question each of your values often and ask yourself “does this idea/practice make me a better person?” Lose the idea that money or education actually make you a better person—they will increase opportunities in life however. Your body is your vehicle on this ride we call life, treat it well and make it last. Be proud of the work you do. Do not idolize anybody—you should listen to their ideas and internalize the ones that speak to you. However you must test everything out yourself—though make sure you have the critical reasoning skills to do so (a nod to science). Beliefs are as steadfast and illogical as religion. Ideas on the other hand are like rivers—they won’t simply change direction but over time they can carve out new paths leading you in different directions.

Karma is Real!

Karma has been used by the west to mean all types of things, most of them being outright wrong. Karma simply means “action, work or dead” in a spiritual sense it can also represent the “principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect)”. I will give you examples of Karma in action:

In the two examples below two people, Sylvie and DonnieT, had almost the same day but live vastly different lives. See their Karma at work!

A person, we will call her Sylvie, walks into a store and greets the clerk, assists an elderly shopper, and then buys a loaf of bread for a homeless person on the way out.  She spends her free time working with sick animals and helping inner city adults learn to read. She always asks about other’s feelings and truly cares about people. Walking back from the store she finds a parking ticket on her car.

Sylvie has been calm and breathing slowly while engaging with the people around her all day. Her stress hormones are low and she feels a sense of belonging in the world. She finds joy in helping to reduce the suffering of those around her but knows her limits—she is only one person. She is happy with what she has and grateful for her friendships and community. She responds to the parking ticket by being frustrated but understands that she was at fault. She realizes the ticketing officer was just doing their job and she will try not to repeat the mistake again. She gets back in the car and tunes the radio to NPR as she looks forward to peaceful session of yoga this evening.

A person, we will call him DonnieT, walks into a store listening to his headphones while ignoring the clerk, he avoids the elderly shopper completely, and reprimands a homeless person on the way out.  He spends his free time playing golf at his exclusive resort and eating at expensive restaurants. He never asks about other’s feelings and only cares about himself. Walking back from the store he finds a parking ticket on his car.

DonnieT has been stressed and breathing shallowly and rapidly throughout the day. He has been avoiding all but essential people. His stress hormones are high and he feels a sense of superiority in the world, though always a bit on edge. He finds pleasure in indulging in luxury and ignores the suffering of those around him and fantasizes about having more power and money. He covets what he does not have and finds little value for friendships and community. He responds to the parking ticket by calling the ticketing officer a “f**king  idiot” and he refuses to accept any fault in the matter. He finds relief in that the officer is probably less educated and makes less money and DonnieT justifies this is why the officer wrote the ticket. He completely dismisses all responsibility and feels the law doesn’t apply because he doesn’t agree with the law. He gets back in the car and angrily dials his lawyer ready to fight the ticket and drives home agitated and stressed.

In this example you see how one’s Karma impacts one’s life.

A Key Walkaway:

Treat everyone (including animals) with kindness and compassion. It matters more than money!

And Ask Yourself: “Are you spending your time measuring or mattering?”

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