264 Comments

I can not thank you enough for this. I posted something to FB critical of Harris and your post here is effectively the conversation that came out of it.

People who I hadn't heard from in 30 years figured it would be a great time to come out and insult me and call me names. One thing that I've noticed is they like to use the "vulnerable" as their excuse for all of this. I consider this to be using at-risk people as ideological human shields - unable to support their choice to endorse genocide, they foist the precarity of queers, blacks, the handicapped, fill in the blank - on me for the thoughtcrime of thinking independently of the DNC talking points.

It really does help me to feel slightly less insane to read posts like this from you, Caitlin, to reorient my interpretation of what is going on. Thank you.

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Those people were never your friends. Here’s to another 30 years of not hearing from them!

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Respecting your justified emotional reaction here, I'm confident that is not the best response if we are to [re]gain a functional democracy. We are currently being carefully taught to shun others who disagree with us, and that is not at all healthy for a democracy. Instead, I'd take the (apparent) opportunity to engage with them, no matter how painful. It keeps minds from becoming drones.

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Democracy is gone,except as a marketing slogan.

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Hey! That's a pretty good slogan! LOL

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I know, but it's *ostensibly* still here -- and that's part of the only leverage we still have left.

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@anti-hip, I did my best to engage with these people. I set aside feelings of resentment and disappointment for as long as I could and made a good faith attempt to stay focused on issues. In response I was attacked personally repeatedly. Yes, there was also some support that I as grateful for, but there is so much that one can take. @susan Mercurio, it sounds like you know exactly of which I speak.

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I appreciate that. You have to accept your own limits -- but do what you can to put up a fight, and you won't regret it. I guarantee you that you will be remembered favorably by many of your opponents when the storm finally passes.

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Still they are not friends nor would anyone with a brain want them as friends.

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Easy for you to say. Wait until it happens to you and we'll see how your brave words stack up.

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And what if they don't want to engage with you, unless by "engage" you mean continuing to listen patiently to their insults?

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Doesn't matter. In my experience, (at least) intelligent people will hear what you say, even though it disturbs them and they have to resolve on their own the cog dis that's behind that disturbance. Point is, they're getting a rare dose that isn't Big Brother.

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I think they are telling you they are not intelligent. First order, intelligent people are not pro Genocide.

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"intelligent people are not pro Genocide"

LOL. Really, you need to get out more.

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According to Josef Goebbels, smart people are more easily propagandized.

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I'll add, per Jackrabbit's note below: Just do what you truly can. The war against us is out there, not here. Your grandchildren and future generations will thank you.

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On the other hand we need to keep our sanity and if your friends and family are anything like mine; they'll try to get you committed or enter one form of dementia or another, to get your thoughts buried in the same grave as yourself; Gaza and the Ukraine are examples of extreme propaganda.

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We can do all of that without considering them friends, they are not friends.

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Fair enough.

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You can try reading this "letter" to your acquaintances to let them know how you feel and your hope that they'll see things differently: I Want To Remember You As A Nice Person… (...but you’re making it very hard because of your support for genocide) https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com/p/i-want-to-remember-you-as-a-nice

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Same here. I am apparently a pariah for rejecting the entire two-party incinerating babies government.

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"the thoughtcrime of thinking independently of the DNC talking points"

Thank you. Just recognize the level of propaganda and otherwise hybrid war we are dealing with is absolutely unprecedented, with the perps' thorough awareness of how to psychologically (not logically) steer even highly intelligent people toward the POVs favored at the top of our food chain, beyond even those peoples' cowardly hive mentalities. (I have several active debates going myself, and it's jaw-dropping.) They are even being encouraged not to engage *at all* with their (perceived and actual) opposition, a reversal of democratic theory. It is quite depressing to figure out how this will actually be stopped.

I actually wish I got opposing views on FB, because the alternative to me seems worse -- your POV can be made completely invisible. (But at least then you know your idea really IS dangerous.) I stopped using FB in 2020 when I got sick of incessant shadow-banning. I would post something on a popular thread that was carefully but pointedly inquisitive of establishment views, and respectful of them. It would get a like or two within a few minutes -- but then absolutely *nothing*, neither 'likes' nor opposing responses, with my observing for at least 24 or so hours. But I would see it still posted there.

This kind of thing appears to happen on Substack occasionally as well, so I am confident there are certainly saboteurs everywhere. If you're not naturally paranoid, you will be pushed into it, as you will certainly be laughed at and accused of it. But FB case has been proven and admitted.

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Cults always forbid their members to engage outside of the bubble.

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Yes, I'm certain that most of my posts are shadowbanned. I've pretty much given up on it, which was why I was so surprised to see the response to this post I'm referencing. I think it was because it included an image I'd found on Twitter someone had generated via AI of Kamala looking like the head of a south American junta with US flags behind her. I knew I was asking for it, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the people I know are full throatedly cheering on genocide.

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Facebook, in the words of the late, great George Carlin: it's bad for ya.

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It really is. He's a full-fledged commie now

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You are not alone my friend. I would suggest they were not your friends nor would I want them. I have discarded a number of friends that value Blue over Genocide of innocent people. The good news, israel has committed suicide morally and financially the world has ended israel. Palestine is Free.

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I am now 71 yrs old and have been objecting to eg the steady erosion of Palestinian existence for 50-60 yrs . Also supporting other sneerworthy causes which might be described as 'bleeding heart liberal' or 'dangerously revolutionary' depending on the critique's origin . Voting is the least useful thing I have ever done ! Thus , as usual , Caitlin is spot on .

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Supporting causes is true political activity. Voting once every five years is the lowest form of political activity.

Contributing to legal defence funds for those you believe are being wrongly prosecuted is political activity.

Marching on behalf of Palestinians is political activity.

Reading what Russians have to say about world affairs is political activity, especially if Western hegemons try to deny you the right so to do.

Confronting corrupt politicians in ways that causes them to lose office, as an unelected citizen, is political activity.

Organising your spending choices to avoid purchases with organisations whose global actions you disapprove of is political activity.

Standing up for any group of unjustly-discriminated-against people is political activity.

Confronting those who claim to represent people whilst blatantly feathering their own nests serving others is political activity.

Exposing scientists who distort reality to bring in millions of grant income is political activity (it is also engaging in scientific discourse).

Exposing doctors who prescribe dangerous 'medicines'/''vaccines'/'biologics' to be politically correct is political activity.

Exposing Deep State lying about events such as 9/11, Saddam Hussein having nuclear weapons, the Biden family engaging in global criminal activities, Zionists behaving like murderous racists; is political activity.

I came to a conclusion that joining a political party is actually a way of neutering your capability to act politically. When you join a party, you have to do what you are told, be loyal to those deemed superior to you etc etc.

I've yet to discover a group of 'senior politicians' I was able to look up to in my country.

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"Reading what Russians have to say about world affairs is political activity, especially if Western hegemons try to deny you the right so to do."

Well, they're certainly hard at work here in US chipping away at the First Amendment (even though we're still currently behind the shocking and sad totalitarian transformation going on in, for example, UK and Canada) -- and this to me is a good example of how psychologically fucked up it is.

People take a face value here that Russia is "the enemy", and -- somehow -- we are not to listen to anything they have to say, because we might be propagandized. But this argument is blatantly a reversal of a fundamental point of democracy: That, given an open political discourse, *the people* are ultimately the arbiters of whether something is true or false (the positive), and what should be done about it (the normative), and perhaps most importantly, who/what we will trust in helping us make those judgments, as no one is omniscient and very few are geniuses. In fact, in times past, MSM did exactly that service, supporting the airing of opposing views -- including those we were at war with. That intelligent people *accept* this argument is beyond depressing.

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This didn’t just start happening. Governments have controlled narratives probably since tribes became nations. We are just noticing it more and the facade is crumbling

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When I was young in the 1960's all points of view were allowed. Communist newspapers would available in the streets of Ann Arbor. The CIA office was bombed and the perpetrators got off because the gvt bugged them illegally. Today it all seems like a hallucination.

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Agree with all except the following two:

(A) >>"Exposing Deep State lying about events such as 9/11". The (real) conspiracy here is the "cover-up" of the influence of Saudi Arabia on US (and politicians) and how both the Goverments and global capitalists (elites, corporations) in the US and Saudi have a highly symbiotic relationship (despite all the media propaganda to the contrary).

(B) >>"Exposing doctors who prescribe dangerous 'medicines'/''vaccines'/'biologics'" The bigger danger and need here is exposing all the "vaccine" conspiracy theorists, peddlers of alternative cures and unproven solutions and the dangers to consumers of pseudo-scientific "products". - this "alternative-cures" industry and the "global wellness" industry is a multi-billion/trillion dollar industry that is larger than even the Pharmaceutical industry.

(1) Global Wellness Institute Study: $3.4 Trillion Global Wellness Market is Now Three Times Larger than Worldwide Pharmaceutical Industry [https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/global-wellness-institute-study-34-trillion-global-wellness-market-is-now-three-times-larger-than-worldwide-pharmaceutical-industry/]

(2) Alternative Medicine Is a $34 Billion Industry, But Only One-Third of the Treatments Have Been Tested: The traditional medicine industry is just as profit-driven as any other [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/alternative-medicine-is-a-34-billion-industry-but-only-one-third-of-the-treatments-have-been-tested-879411/]

(3) How the public is being misled about complementary/alternative medicine [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586853/]

These "alternative cures" and "untested solutions" market/industry is replete with scams, frauds, charlatans, capitalist profiteers, conmen, grifters, etc. and is very lightly regulated (if at all). That is NOT TO SAY that alternative cures/solutions should be ignored (since there are many safe alternative cures available), but to proceed with EXTREME CAUTION and not simply trust a solution based on "halo effect bias" or perceived "authority bias".

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You learned nothing from recent experiences with Covid vax mandate or before that, opioid atrocity. Buyer beware.

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Everyone needs to do their own risk/benefit analysis as to whether a certain vaccine/therapy is appropriate for their situation, as each case is different and unique. I'm not a MANDATE person, and would NEVER force a Covid-19 vaccine on anyone. If your risk/reward analysis leads you towards not taking the vaccine - that's ok, I'm fine with it. If it leads you towards taking it, then that is ok too.

With easily transmissible diseases, there is an additional "societal" issue and unintended consequences/victims issue to analyze. This "societal" issue will also be different and unique in different parts of the world (including different parts of the same city). In these scenarios, some organized "authority" plays a part. What part they play and how they play it is a subject of much controversy (and there are no simple answers or one-size-fits-all solutions).

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There are those inside Israel who stand for justice and humanity, made up of committed Israelis and Palestinians working together to protect the Palestinians. We need to give them all the support we can. They are taking huge risks.

Work on the Ground: Transforming Lives in Israel-Palestine — American Friends of Combatants for Peace

https://www.afcfp.org

For factual information:

https://www.btselem.org

Teach-in Network educating for justice

https://teachinnetwork.org

Gush Shalom has been on the side of peace for many years:

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

ANERA

https://www.anera.org/

ADALAH

https://www.adalahjusticeproject.org/defend

Christian organisations:

FOSNA

https://www.fosna.org

SABEEL

https://sabeel.org

https://paxchristiusa.org/

Jewish organisations:

JVP

https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org

If now now

https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org

These are only some of the courageous groups working for justice in Palestine. They all need y/our support now, perhaps more than ever. How can we allow this to happen?

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How much worse it must be to be a sane person living in the midst of madness in Israel.

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Just like being a sane person in the madness that is US society

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Yes, this.

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Cultist: "Okay, fine, so the Maximum Leader is a child molester....but he gives the children candy afterwards and he's really nice to his mom!"

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Family values!

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Obedience to your Husband is Godly!

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Why obedience? Why not loyalty???

Is God really a misogynist????

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True!

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Well I have never been 'godly'...............thank the Lord!!!!!

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Godly in that sense is just another kind of slavery!! Good for you Jenny Stokes.

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The leader of The Other.Cult only buys the really cheap candy (Tootsie Rolls? Are you kidding me!?) and is estranged from his sister, besides.

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Thanks, Caitlin. I am sure this exact argument, with names changed, of course, is happening in many families, and friends circles. That is, if the topic can even be raised in the Land of the Free, (TM).

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The best thing Pope Francis could ever do is to go to Gaza, or now, to the West Bank. Make his stand in Bethlehem. He has an opportunity that is unequalled, to say "no" to genocide. Not in our name, not on our watch.

Please sign the petition and share widely.

https://chng.it/CRQ7qw4Gzn

Let us also support UNRWA. If our governments won’t act in accordance with humanity, then we will. https://www.unrwausa.org/donate

Also we can all support the brave doctors who have gone to Gaza: https://palestinian-ama.networkforgood.com/projects/206145-gaza-medical-supplies-oct-2023

Or

Surgeons to Gaza

https://fajr.org/donate/

Let us make our donations to honor Aaron Bushnell, in memory of Hind Rajab, or Dr Jumann Afra, the mother of newborn twins killed by Israel using US bombs.

Here’s a petition to excommunicate Joe Biden: https://www.change.org/p/excommunicate-president-joe-biden-bf979783-ac08-4576-a53f-c786ea23dc9c

These are a few small things we can do. If we can do more, let us do more.

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I signed the petition and donated a little bit

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Yes I make this same argument daily cause like you it's always front and center: we're killing woman, children, babies. It's my main talking point "we need to stop this killing NOW!" I get a sympathetic look, they agree but it doesn't turn their stomach as it does mine. And the sol'n? Just stop giving Isreal all the weapons they want to continue this killing of babies. How the hell we can support Isreal is beyond my comprehension. But the duopoly doesn't seem to care (other than crocodile tears). As you say: got to feed the war machine so it can keep killing babies. Soon we'll be killing babies in China....lots of babies there.

..yum yum..

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The State is doing the killing!!!

But it is citizens who seem devoted to The COERCIVE COMPULSORY State

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So who's the problem then?

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They both are

Directly , it is The State

People are just stupid to support a coercive and compulsory organization to run and control their society

But that is what they are told from birth that the state is a necessary part of government

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And the state is filled with aliens. Got ya.

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no !

It is filled with humans controlling it as in The Deep State

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Please read the essay A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

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This is a classic. The perfect template for shutting down zombie duopolists.

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Yup.

We're supposed to ignore this, even when there's an excellent third party candidate like Jill Stein.

How this genocide has been normalized is beyond me.

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I was going to write I don't know but then I realised I do know: Racism.

For some unknown reason (in my book) Israelis are considered WHITE!

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I agree, Jenny. It's extremely racist.

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There's a book with the title, "How the Jews Became White", but I never bothered to read it just because of the title (books in print) I sometimes read just it to scan what's out there.

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>>"How this genocide has been normalized is beyond me."

Me too! My opinion of humanity has suffered greatly, and I have become almost disillusioned by homo-sapiens and their as-yet un-evolved psychologies.

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Chang, I understand, but please do not despair or give up hope.

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You work at FedX; right? And, people ship nameless babies all over the US via FedX; right? So how is it that you suddenly find Gaza disturbing?

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??? Lay off the drugs... your comments are full of nonsense.

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don't stop chokaski you've plenty of room to develop. big words you learned how to google now time for allowing big ideas inside what you have for a brain.

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One way is that the U.S. news ignores it after a while making it no longer news

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I wish this was an absurdly, exaggerated parody, but these senseless, futile exchanges are so commonplace now I dread November and its hateful aftermath. I’m no fucking saint, but what the hell happened to our collective morality.

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I am not sure the American people since Reagan actually had any morality?

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Very doubtful; possibly Europeans never did? In hindsight; all the ugliness that plagues the West is due to Snow White and the 7 Dwarves? Seemingly racist to me.

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Morality is easily twisted and sacrificed when faced with fear. Fear created by propaganda has worked since nations existed. We weren’t so moral before Reagan either.

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I agree.

Well the USA has always been greedy.....where is the morality in that?

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I did not know that someone documented my conversation with the Blue Hats.🤷🏻

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heh

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They call this murder Womans Reproductive Rights.

They use this slaughter of innocents as a form of birth control.

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The ultimate form of birth control. The Final Solution.

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And I don't exactly understand why abortionists don't support it universally. Only Israelis seem to wholeheartedly. Well, they're well ahead of everybody in perversions.

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Thank You Caitlin

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I do like the thought of calling AIPAC heretofore "The Baby Incerating Lobby".

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Send a discouraging word to AIPAC, and see what happens, then you'll really appreciate what's happening in Gaza.

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The Moloch Lobby - is out of control.

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