Versatile_Hunter

Airedale has fallen beneath Phantom on the unhinged nut spectrum...

I was actually hoping @Chef would read this and whip up a batch for the next gtg edit: to be clear, a batch of lobster quesadillas, not kisses. Well maybe kisses too but definitely lobster quesadillas.

Wait what??? Who said anything about a genocide? ...So you do understand analogy

I actually had lobster quesadillas with the Nobel Laureate who contributed to the discovery of ozone depletion in the atmosphere. This discovery led to policy changes in aerosols, which have proven to be extremely beneficial. You see, it's not about running around like a headless chicken in fear of impending doom. It's about identifying the real and actionable risks and then taking the proper measures to address them.

Lizard people had more traction during the Obama administration. Now it's cannibals. It's no secret that Russia wanted Trump in power. He is a greatly destabilizing force and he's fond of foreign strongmen. Russia played a major role in election disinformation campaigns and they're implicated in the leaks the hurt Ms. Clinton. Furthermore, multiple Trump campaign officials have been convicted for their inappropriate activities with Russia. There is no question that Russia helped, but so did right-winged American stupidity.

How dare you utter Fauci and Oz in them same breath! NB See my remedial blurb for more on climate change.

This special insight you claim to have to history and to how the world actually works has a name. It's called delusion.

This is remedial stuff... yes, the earth cycles slowly through great temperature fluctuations. Contemporary changes in temperatures and climate patterns cannot be accounted by these natural cycles. Human effects, via greenhouse gases, ride on top of these very slow cycles to give rise to the current unprecedent rise in global temperatures. The debate isn't whether human mediated climate change is real. Rather it is how best to enact local and global policies to slow down human contribution to global warming.

The first dose does offer some degree of protection so hopefully not a waste in these cases.

Nope, these right wing nuts are real, but mostly sad rather than scary. You should look elsewhere for your saviors...

And this is why expertise matters...

I see your confusion. It’s not unlike the whole widespread voter fraud lie. You see, there are most certainly isolated events of error and fraud in the election, as there is in everything touched by man. That is not equivalent to an orchestrated plan to overturn an election via widespread voter fraud. In my post, I wrote that deep state conspiracies that conjure a cabal of pedophiles is emotionally destabilizing to the MAGA crowd whose imagination been captured by this terror. Child predators surely exist at all levels of the economic spectrum - this hardly contributes a cabal.

Looking at the numbers, a child is much more likely to get raped at church or at the boys scouts or by a relative than by a random rich guy.

We may be on the verge of actually having a discussion here... I agree it is easy to make a caricature of QAnon believers. The article I shared does infuse some humanity into the matter.

It's a spectrum, right? For instance, if you've ever used the term RINO to refer to a conservative, life-long Republican because they didn't kowtow to fringe ideologies, you're part of the problem.

I really do hope those whose feelings were hurt by the article I posted actually do read (and listen) to it in full. But let's bring it back around to hunting. One of the most critical aspects of being in the woods is the ability to exercise good judgement. Not only is this necessary for finding game and for figuring out where to post, it's also imperative that one acts judiciously when carrying a lethal instrument. Every year we hear of numerous hunters that are accidentally killed by other hunters who failed at this test of judgement. This nation was founded under the premise that disagreement and debate will make her better and stronger. But when a subset of individuals exploit people in need by feeding them false narratives and conspiracy theories, one wonders whether these afflicted folks are fit to walk around in the woods with a loaded rifle. If you sincerely believe in deepstate conspiracies that promise martial law and a return of Trump or that threaten your emotional stability by claiming that your children are at risk of being predated by a cabal of elite politicians, to what extent does the impairment in judgement that is necessary to fall victim to these lies spill over into other aspects of your life? I personally do not think that it exists in a small vacuum within your mind. Thus, QAnon and hunting do not mix.

Complete shock? You need to get out more. (but don't forget your mask!)

Assuming that all Republicans believe in lizard people is no different than suggesting that all Democrats are radical socialists. Nevertheless, I do not actually believe that. Most Republicans are not right wing populist on a race to the darkest corners of society. In fact, many voted for Biden last November...

A medical pun??? You're waaaay out of your depth - tread carefully

It's pretty clear that @airedale suffers from some form of dementia... and I don't say that derisively

It can be difficult to understand the appeal of unhinged conspiracy theories that appear to gain traction. Below is an article written by a reporter who followed an online QAnon community. It’s 1 part sad, 1 part funny, and a dash of scary. It’s a great read that humanizes these cult followers by touching on some of the pain they feel and the support they obtain from such communities. Let’s hope that whatever replaces the conspiracy theories that are collapsing right before their eyes is rooted in a closer approximation of reality https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/26/opinion/trump-qanon-washington-capitol-hill.html

Nothing wrong with @Nomad getting to know himself better a bit later in life

I think you missed the point. The analogy extends to the false-narrative emerging in the south after the fall of the confederacy. Trump has fallen - what will the ensuing (and enduring) narrative be? This selection from the article I linked to summarizes thesis: “The threat he sees isn’t that there will be another literal war: It’s the threat of two rival stories about America taking root, as they did after the Civil War. One of them, a heroic “Lost Cause” narrative of a noble Confederacy whose soldiers sacrificed themselves for honor and tradition, flourished for decades, justifying the fight for slavery and continuing to distort American politics to this day. As Donald Trump’s more extremist followers cling to his bogus claims of a stolen election, wrapping Trump’s complaints into a nationalist counternarrative driven by racial anxiety and anger at the government, they risk creating a legacy that will divide the country long after the man himself leaves the stage. “In search of a story—in search of a history, in search of a leader, in search of anything they can attach to—lost causes tend to become these great mythologies whose great conspiracy theories tend to explain everything,” says Blight... “At the heart of a lost cause, if it has staying power, is its capacity to turn itself into a victory story,” says Blight. “Can Trumpism ultimately convert itself into some kind of victory story? We don’t know that yet.””

Your premise is incorrect.