You know what Viktor? Even kids can work out what’s going on in Ba Sing Se. Which makes you dumber than a small child.
Sounds like it’s time for that Sartre quote again:
“Never believe that [they] are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. [They] have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert.”
So, the societal problem is created when bad faith actors are given a platform, right? But bad faith actors tend to be great at generating outrage and division and thus drive engagement and clicks - which makes money for the platforms.
How do we solve this?
Democracy solves it. If people don’t vote in these people, they don’t get the platform.
Now, how do we get people to not vote in bigots and idiots? By not being bigots and idiots themselves. I.e. education and free thinking.
How do we protect education from budget cuts and protect free thinking from corporate and foreign interests that seek to undermine it, especially while the bigots still have a tenuous hold on the population? Now, that is the real question.
Someone should invite Orban to a vacation in Donetsk. Since there is no war, I’m sure he’ll gladly accept.
Is he deliberately trying to be a clown?
So if I kill someone then hide the body and refuse to admit I killed anyone, there was no murder?
I think a better analogy would be if you kill someone and then deny murder while being caught standing over the dead body with a bloody knife and the victim’s blood all over you while you’re still stabbing the corpse.
Carl: Alright, well…I was upstairs…
Paul: Okay…
Carl: I was uh…I was sitting in my room…
Paul: Yes?
Carl: reading a book…
Paul: Go on…
Carl: And, uh, well this guy walked in…
Paul: Okay…
Carl: So, I went up to him…
Paul: Yes…
Carl: And I…I stabbed him 37 times in the chest.
Paul: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarl, that KILLS people!
Carl: Oh! Well, I didn’t know that!!
So…. When do we get to kick Hungary out of the club?