******Official politics thread ******

[Irulan]

I bet it's possible to identify individuals who have an unhealthy obsession with and identification with memes. Parents and friends and family should step in at that point and get them some help.

[America]

Are people in cults driven to heinous acts by the cult, or is it allll their own fault?

How much willful ignorance can you muster?

Social media is social. It's not Doom. It's not a violent movie. It's not a photograph with a swastika on it.

[Zeush]

Originally Posted by Caldwin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Exactly. That's the same BS they were saying about video games back in the 80s or was it 90s... oh the video made me do it. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] Or twinkies made me do it. Or the devil made me do it. No, the shooter only has himself to blame.

The 80's it was Music. Heavy metal, glam metal, hair metal. 90's was video games when the music theory didn't quite pan out the way the establishment wanted. Yes, they got their labeling in place but, after that, the music got to a whole other level. Death metal, gangsta rap, sexual innuendos etc... Video games, the same thing. Shoot, kill, destruction. Put a no-no label on it and BOOM, profits!

Humans are information sponges. They absorb and become what they surround themselves with. Surround yourself with destruction you can become destructive. Surround yourself with love and happiness, you can become happy and loving. The older you get, the more solidified your "beliefs" become.

[misterbonkers]

Originally Posted by rebeccablack [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

its not even a good metaphor, video games are not a vehicle for violent ideologies in the way that memes have been

i don't wanna really write it off entirely. i don't think it's a zero sum game, i think it can have some kind of an impact that others can prey upon. it's not as direct, or effective, but it's still there. its why the armed forces advertise so hard on marvel films. they want association with feelings of heroism and the like. the idea that something "makes" someone violent is a wrong way to frame the problem. i think media can influence people into positions where they will be more susceptible to committing acts of violence, but its not as direct as the discussion is framed

[Wonkie]

Originally Posted by America [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Are people in cults driven to heinous acts by the cult, or is it allll their own fault?

How much willful ignorance can you muster?

manson didn't technically kill anyone /s

[Irulan]

Originally Posted by DinoTriz2 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

No, it's not True.

It's fucking retarded to blame memes for making someone kill 49 people.

I was saying it's true that it is a poor comparison. Sorry if it implied memes were killing people.

[Wonkie]

Originally Posted by DinoTriz2 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The IDEOLOGY could've motivated him but the MEMES didn't do fuck!

i·de·ol·o·gy
/ˌīdēˈäləjē,ˌidēˈäləjē/Submit
noun
1.
a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
"the ideology of republicanism"
synonyms: beliefs, ideas, ideals, principles, doctrine, creed, credo, teaching, dogma, theory, thesis, tenets, canon(s); More

memes are ideas

[America]

Originally Posted by DinoTriz2 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The IDEOLOGY could've motivated him but the MEMES didn't do fuck!

The ideology indoctrinates people; you are right. The illusion of a broad consensus legitimizes the ideology. The harnessing of the brains and posting fingers of 2016 chan dimwits like yourself to produce content and that illusion of broad consensus contributes to the power of the ideology. So stop it!

NOTE: I am pretending here that you are posting 100% ironically, as if ignorant of your unironic call to civil war earlier. Very generous.

[d3r14k]

Originally Posted by misterbonkers [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

you're wrong in that regulating by platform won't work. deplatforming works, and they know it. it's why they push so hard for "DEBATE ME IN THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS" because if they get their message out to a large enough audience, it does not matter how well you debate it or try to shoot it down, the message is there. it's how propaganda works.

I'm going to have to concede that you're correct here, at least by traditional means. For example, if we're talking about Alex Jones being deplatformed from iTunes, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, et cetera, or the instance of Gavin McInnes and the Proud Boys, or the British First group on Facebook... then yeah, it works to some degree.

However, if we're talking about memes, how do you deplatform that? There are simply too many outlets and options to do the same thing. 4chan, 8chan, 9gag.... there are literally hundreds of sites made by millions of creators expressing a variety of different opinions. You can't deplatform that. At least I wouldn't know how. If 9gag, for example, started cutting content because it may have offended someone, people would flock to the next site.

[Caldwin]

Originally Posted by America [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Are people in cults driven to heinous acts by the cult, or is it allll their own fault?

How much willful ignorance can you muster?

Social media is social. It's not Doom. It's not a violent movie. It's not a photograph with a swastika on it.

I'm not totally discounting influences, but ultimately it's the individual's choice what he does with that influence.