Michael

Our produce and ingredients suck here in the US. It’s all devoid of nutrition and usually gamed to look better than it actually is. Lots of things taste funny to me, and if it’s not flavorless, it tastes like chemicals or metal. There’s simply no regulation or oversight. Our soil practices also are only viable for approximately 60 more harvests.

When I have food that is grown or produced locally (and ethically) or food that is imported from Europe or even Canada, the difference is stark — I feel like I can actually digest and the flavor is night and day.

If I was there, if I was involved in law enforcement, if I had access to the crime scene and raw footage and evidence, I might be able to speculate. Armchair speculation is insufficient for me.

There are plenty of events that raise legitimate questions and concerns - like suspicious, high profile deaths that are immediately ruled as suicide. Everybody is free to hold their own positions and perspectives as far as I am concerned. Question on, sate your concern and curiosity, you’ll get no arguments against that from me.

Of course, a true conspiracy unfolds because the masses are unaware. The masses are gaslit if they start catching on.

But in the absence of compelling evidence, it’s pointless to wildly speculate about from my perspective.

Thanks for the response, I enjoyed reading it and our sentiment largely aligns.

I’m not making an argument for chemtrails. It’s pointless to speculate about, there is no evidence or smoking gun.

I’m just suggesting that we be kind and empathetic towards individuals that do believe these sorts of things. Is it out of character for the US government? Nah, not really.

Many of these people probably were living in or around 1969. In their lived reality, the US government was doing shit like this. Have things really gotten better?

These are the people voting Trump in, dude, you cant actually be this dense

Of course these individuals share responsibility for potentially voting for him, but we ALL share responsibility for him rising to power.

No, but I do try to make the world a less stupid place when I can

We don’t need to call out stupidity to make it a better place. Expressing yourself with clarity and confidence of thought is infinitely better.

If they’re too stupid to learn basic science then I reeeeally don’t care

You don’t need to care about any of this.

Ok? They’re also very stupid individuals, I don’t care at all what makes them believe the blatantly stupid thing, only that they refuse to accept reality

If somebody you love is frightened (in a general sense), what would you do? Calming them down and helping to see the truth would be one potential path to ease their suffering. What would making fun of them do?

You’re doing an awful lot of defending of people who are choosing to behave the way they do, it’s weird. Gonna file you in with them and call it a day, you don’t seem to be too far from them in the ol’ comprehension skill

Do what you want, I’m not going to apologize for my behavior or take it personally. If my crime is being too empathetic, guess I’m guilty.

The Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee called for using far-right candidates “as a cudgel to move the more established candidates further to the right.” Clinton’s camp insisted that Trump and other extremists should be “elevated” to “leaders of the pack” and media outlets should be told to “take them seriously.”

Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and mainstream media played a pretty big role in Trump’s rise to power. Everybody is responsible for his rise to power, but the facts are facts. They intentionally elevated him.

They’re willingly living in stupidity. If we just let people do that we get people like Trump, so Id rather avoid that

These people don’t have power over others like Trump.

Neither can I, but as I said you’re purposefully ignoring a big part of what’s being discussed: the part where they don’t ever tread back out of delusion. There’s 0 defense for that

You aren’t responsible for other’s beliefs. You are loosely reveling in their suffering, whether you realize it or not. They are very concerned and are likely vulnerable individuals.

Plenty of things happen in this world that each respective populace doesn’t consent to.

Seriously, why single them out for going a little crazy? It’s not like I haven’t pointed at somebody and laughed in the past, so no judgement here, but the whole system and world order is nuts and we need something new.

If you are worried about people holding factually incorrect or wrong beliefs, e.g. delusions, then advocate for decentralized media, unbiased news organizations, etc. Help elevate voices that help others to climb out of their delusions and fear.

Why go out of your way to disprove them, laugh at them, or name-call them? You can just empathize with them.

For me, I’d rather address why the government HAS felt it had the right to experiment on us. I can NOT blame these individuals for treading into delusion with our current system being the way it is, especially considering the history.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sea-Spray

From the page:

Between 1949 and 1969, open-air tests of biological agents were conducted 239 times.

239 open-air tests of biological agents in a 20 year period. Remind me again why people have no reason to be paranoid? This wasn’t that long ago.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States

These aren’t conspiracy theories.

Is there something real behind these people’s paranoia and suspicion? Do our government, military, and our corporations inspire trust?

Can you blame them when the US government has directly experimented on the American populace in past?

e.g. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sea-Spray

From the page:

Between 1949 and 1969, open-air tests of biological agents were conducted 239 times.

239 open-air tests of biological agents in a 20 year period. Many, many people are still alive from that time period. It’s not that long ago.

Or more broadly, just look at this page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States

Do those pages inspire trust in the government and military? Would you know if you were being experimented on and gaslit?

Corporations engage in similar unethical behavior, like putting ingredients that are known to be toxic or harmful to human health in products we consume or put on our bodies.

Instead of blaming or name-calling people who are paranoid or suspicious, we need a society with a greater focus on human rights — with more regulation and oversight. A society that inspires trust, with the facts, ethics, and independent review to back it up.

Some people need floaties to stay afloat. Some people need a life jacket. Some people need a solid platform to dip their feet in. Some people fucking melt when they touch water. Whatever accommodation they need or whatever their situation, it’s all perfectly acceptable in my book.

We can help them to thrive without breaking a sweat with our empathy, technology, and ingenuity.

Social skills is another way of saying the abilities required to function in a society. You might as well ask why do you need to learn to swim to get in the pool.

Even if one is uninhibited socially, it’s unrealistic to expect them to be able to function how society often dictates or requires.

Last I checked, this world is pretty cruel, especially to those who are vulnerable.

Why do you need to be forced by society to develop social skills? Why isn’t putting your best forward enough? For various real reasons, some people just aren’t able to meet the standard forced upon them.

Trauma plays a big role in some that have trouble communicating. Instead of blaming people for being “raised by a screen”, practice kindness and compassion. Do your part to make this world more inclusive, accessible, and less traumatizing for all individuals, or don’t - up to you.