From Pine View Farm

Hate Sells category archive

Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Dark Brandon debunks de bunk about the “great replacement theory.”

Share

Republican Thought Police 0

Trump maladministration to California cities:

_________________

*Such as (quoting from the report) “any mention of gender, abortion and other inclusive” terminology.

Share

“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

It seems that one of those “responsible gun owners” has a notion of immigrants.

Guns and hatred and bigotry–what a delightful ste–oh, never mind.

Share

A Question of Identity 0

Honest to Betsy, you can’t make this stuff up.

Share

A Culture War How To 0

David makes a strong case that the culture war can–methinks maybe even should–be viewed as a conscious tactic to stoke division and distract the polity from what’s going on behind the scenes. He summarizes the process as follows:

      1. You identify a perceived threat to traditional values.
      2. You exaggerate the threat.
      3. You demonize the “other.”
      4. You use that to galvanize the base and distract from everything else.

Watch the video for his explication. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)

Share

Dis Coarse Discourse 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Soren Kaplan looks at the polarized state of dis coarse discourse and reminds us that “(i)t’s an inconvenient truth. Polarization feels good.” He notes that taking polarized positions feed emotional needs that inhibit efforts to reach across differences, in particular (emphasis in the original),

Choosing sides in a polarized debate gives us:

      Belonging — Feeling accepted, valued, and connected to a group of like-minded people.
      Control — Feeling agency and certainty in the face of a complex and unpredictable world.
      Meaning — Seeing ourselves as part of something bigger, that includes a sense of purpose, significance, and moral clarity.

He goes on to list several techniques for bridging divides in a polarized environment.

Methinks it a timely and worthwhile read in these times where so many sell divisiveness–often for reasons unrelated to whatever issue may be at hand.

Share

Republican Thought Police 0

Robert Reich dissects the duplicity.

Share

“But It’s the Only Possible Explanation” 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Sam Goldstein explores how evolution has predisposed us to be susceptible to conspiracy theories. Given the current state of dis coarse discourse, methinks it a timely and worthwhile read. Here’s a tiny bit:

While our ancestors faced immediate physical dangers and had limited data, modern society presents complex problems with abundant yet ambiguous data. Yet, we still rely on outdated intuitive heuristics.

This creates fertile ground for pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Considering the role of the “illusion of causality,” where people perceive non-existent causal links, especially in areas like alternative medicine and superstition, is critical (Blanco & Matute, 2018). These illusions persist because they exploit our evolved cognitive tendencies.

The rise of social media further worsens this problem.

Share

All the News That Fits 0

Sam Goldstein, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, looks at how fiction can masquerade as fact. He notes that

Take crime, for example. Television dramas and true-crime documentaries constantly bombard us with images of serial killers, elaborate heists, and endless shootouts. As a result, many people believe that crime is spiraling out of control. However, violent crime rates have declined significantly in many countries, including the U.S., over the past few decades (Gramlich, 2020). The disconnect between reality and perception can be traced back to how stories are told—and the power of repeated exposure. When a dramatic narrative is repeated often enough, it becomes a “truth” in viewers’ minds.

He goes on to discuss how this effect also manifests itself in “social” media and “news” coverage.

In this age of mis- and disinformation, his article is well worth a read.

Share

“GOP Jesus” 0

Mrs. Betty Bowers explains the RRV–the Republican Revised Version–of the Bible.

Share

A Notion of Immigrants 0

Seth notes that Donald Trump’s pogrom against immigrants appears to be less popular than he might have expected.

Share

“But It’s One of Them 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, psychology professor Todd Nelson considers why persons are so susceptible to prejudice–that is, prejudging others–and offers some suggestions as to how not to fall into the prejudice trap. Given that dis coarse discourse seems flooded by merchants of hate, I found it a timely read.

Here’s a tiny bit:

We are born with an innate tendency to automatically categorize things (Gardner 1985; Ramsey et al, 2004). That is very helpful and helps us move through life by not needing to analyze every object we see to determine what it is and what its function is. Automatic categorization helps us instantly make those judgments. The problem comes when we bring that to people. People aren’t homogeneous, based on a single feature or even several features. If I see a skinny man with glasses, I can’t assume he is an introvert who likes to read.

Share

MAGAttributes 0

David offers a theory to explain Donald Trump’s appeal to his base. Methinks he makes some good points. (Warning: David does a short promo for his book at the end.)

Share

The Middle-East Misdirection Play 0

Kenneth Obel and Jennifer Obel are Jewish parents raising two daughters. From that perspective, they write at the Philadelphia Inquirer about the Trump maladministration’s efforts to dictate to universities what they can and cannot teach.

In particular, they submit that right-wing operatives are disguising efforts to restrict freedom of speech and learning under a cloak of fighting antisemitism. Here’s a tiny bit from their article:

Under the guise of protecting Jewish students, the Trump administration has launched a sweeping campaign to penalize universities and stifle dissent from students who express views it opposes.

This includes rounding up and incarcerating foreign students and misusing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to make drastic cuts in federal funding to universities. These actions do not protect Jews — they endanger the very freedoms and institutions that have made Jewish life in America possible.

Their piece is worth the few minutes it takes to read.

Share

A Notion of Immigrants, Catch-22 Dept. 0

He went for a walk, got lost, got arrested by ICE, was incarcerated for over a week, and nearly got deported exiled.

ICE claimed that he did not have “proper immigration documents.”

Not being an immigrant, of course he didn’t.

Catch-22.

It’s the best catch there is.

You can read the full news report here.

(Broken link fixed.)

Share

Real Big Men 0

Emma and the crew discuss the factors that may be feeding toxic masculinity and misogyny that is a trait common to many far-right groups.

Share

Facebook Frolics 0

Glibertarian frolics.

Share

Defensive Driving on the Disinformation Superhighway 0

Sam Goldstein, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, offers some tips.

Share

Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

At The Philadelphia Inquirer, Faye Anderson takes issue with Donald Trump’s attempt to white-wash (I use that term advisedly) America’s history. Here’s a tiny bit from her article; follow the link for her reasoning.

With the troubling, revisionist, and narrow-minded executive order he signed last month called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” President Donald Trump isn’t trying so much to kill the past as cover it up with as many layers of lily-white paint as he can.

Share

What’s in a Name? 0

According to the Republican thought police, a firing offense.

Share
From Pine View Farm
Privacy Policy

This website does not track you.

It contains no private information. It does not drop persistent cookies, does not collect data other than incoming ip addresses and page views (the internet is a public place), and certainly does not collect and sell your information to others.

Some sites that I link to may try to track you, but that's between you and them, not you and me.

I do collect statistics, but I use a simple stand-alone Wordpress plugin, not third-party services such as Google Analitics over which I have no control.

Finally, this is website is a hobby. It's a hobby in which I am deeply invested, about which I care deeply, and which has enabled me to learn a lot about computers and computing, but it is still ultimately an avocation, not a vocation; it is certainly not a money-making enterprise (unless you click the "Donate" button--go ahead, you can be the first!).

I appreciate your visiting this site, and I desire not to violate your trust.