I recall being on a friend's houseboat (around 1978) in the Honolulu Harbor where he had invited several different people of political persuasions. The college professor and his wife started talking about the first 9/11, the coup that overthrew the Allende government in 1973. Certain members of that government were assassinated in Washington DC in the next couple of years. I would not accept their story. My faith in the USA was so strong that they were forced to leave the party.
I sincerely regret that action. I hope that they will read and accept my apology.
Still it wasn't until 9/11/2001 when I was called early in the morning (PST) to turn on the TV and watch the towers burning. My immediate reaction was "Bush Did It." Nothing since that moment has changed my mind.
I finally understood what happened in Chile and the terror that the USA, along with Milton Friedman, inflicted upon Chile's citizens.
My family still doesn't recognize these events.
How can I blame them. It took me 20 years to figure it out.
They believe that I've gone down a "conspiracy rabbit hole". They acknowledge many of the facts (ie the lead up to the Ukraine war for example) but they just can't view the situation as being the responsibility of the "oligarchy" (or whatever you want to call it. IMHO we need to find one definition). Somehow they still can refuse to acknowledge that the politicians work for the billionaires, something that didn't become obvious to me until the 2000 election.
The history of Black Rock vs Black Stone is related to this.
Think about the "grandfather image" that Warren Buffet has and how he has appeared on TV talking about how he should be paying as much in taxes as his employees. Looks like a nice guy doesn't he.
But look at the history of the railroad that destroyed East Palestine, OH. Buffet sold his share of the company (Norfolk Southern) a few years before the derailment. I'd be a fool to think he wasn't aware of the fact that he was getting rid of an asset that was going to cost him a bundle. The current owners have been reading Naomi Klein's book about Disaster Capitalism.
Like the folks in Flint Michigan (recall Obama's sip of water that barely touched his lips) the folks in East Palestine have been abandoned.
I know this to be true.
How do I explain this to my family who just cannot believe it.
John, I went through the same process and it took me about as long. In 2001 I was a Neocon Dupe.
I was subscribed to a site called DNI, Defense and the National Interest. One of the contributers who's site was linked is fabiusmaximus.com. He had a unique take and I initially challenged his views. He engaged with me and challenged me back. Over the 20 years I followed him he patiently guided and mentored me. When he went inactive his son started writing and eventually led me to his site readingjunkie.com. His son is a US Marine vet who served two tours in Afghanistan. He became very disillusioned to the point of having such a severe identity crisis he ended up in a psychiatric ward. I went through a similar experience but didn't require hospitalization. His son has been living in Moscow, learned Russian and acquired his residency permit. He has a lovely girlfriend who is a professional linguist.
You are right about that party. I blew it at gatherings when I was so badly propagandized. You touched me deeply with your comment.
Best regards John. I'm very happy to meet you online.
I have a very similar problem with my remaining family member. He is brilliant but blind to the truth and to go down that rabbit hole is just not possible.
Well, it is important that we recognize the failings in ourselves and try to be patient. I know that I can see my in-laws face screw up in anger and so I try to back down as fast as possible. I totally respect this guy and wish I could get him to explain to me why he thinks I'm wrong. In the middle of a "debate", I'm overwhelmed (much like I imagine the prof I talked about earlier).
I recall being on a friend's houseboat (around 1978) in the Honolulu Harbor where he had invited several different people of political persuasions. The college professor and his wife started talking about the first 9/11, the coup that overthrew the Allende government in 1973. Certain members of that government were assassinated in Washington DC in the next couple of years. I would not accept their story. My faith in the USA was so strong that they were forced to leave the party.
I sincerely regret that action. I hope that they will read and accept my apology.
The movie "Missing" came out in 1982: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_(1982_film)
Still it wasn't until 9/11/2001 when I was called early in the morning (PST) to turn on the TV and watch the towers burning. My immediate reaction was "Bush Did It." Nothing since that moment has changed my mind.
I finally understood what happened in Chile and the terror that the USA, along with Milton Friedman, inflicted upon Chile's citizens.
My family still doesn't recognize these events.
How can I blame them. It took me 20 years to figure it out.
They believe that I've gone down a "conspiracy rabbit hole". They acknowledge many of the facts (ie the lead up to the Ukraine war for example) but they just can't view the situation as being the responsibility of the "oligarchy" (or whatever you want to call it. IMHO we need to find one definition). Somehow they still can refuse to acknowledge that the politicians work for the billionaires, something that didn't become obvious to me until the 2000 election.
The history of Black Rock vs Black Stone is related to this.
https://www.10differences.org/blackrock-vs-blackstone/
Think about the "grandfather image" that Warren Buffet has and how he has appeared on TV talking about how he should be paying as much in taxes as his employees. Looks like a nice guy doesn't he.
But look at the history of the railroad that destroyed East Palestine, OH. Buffet sold his share of the company (Norfolk Southern) a few years before the derailment. I'd be a fool to think he wasn't aware of the fact that he was getting rid of an asset that was going to cost him a bundle. The current owners have been reading Naomi Klein's book about Disaster Capitalism.
Like the folks in Flint Michigan (recall Obama's sip of water that barely touched his lips) the folks in East Palestine have been abandoned.
I know this to be true.
How do I explain this to my family who just cannot believe it.
John, I went through the same process and it took me about as long. In 2001 I was a Neocon Dupe.
I was subscribed to a site called DNI, Defense and the National Interest. One of the contributers who's site was linked is fabiusmaximus.com. He had a unique take and I initially challenged his views. He engaged with me and challenged me back. Over the 20 years I followed him he patiently guided and mentored me. When he went inactive his son started writing and eventually led me to his site readingjunkie.com. His son is a US Marine vet who served two tours in Afghanistan. He became very disillusioned to the point of having such a severe identity crisis he ended up in a psychiatric ward. I went through a similar experience but didn't require hospitalization. His son has been living in Moscow, learned Russian and acquired his residency permit. He has a lovely girlfriend who is a professional linguist.
You are right about that party. I blew it at gatherings when I was so badly propagandized. You touched me deeply with your comment.
Best regards John. I'm very happy to meet you online.
I have a very similar problem with my remaining family member. He is brilliant but blind to the truth and to go down that rabbit hole is just not possible.
Well, it is important that we recognize the failings in ourselves and try to be patient. I know that I can see my in-laws face screw up in anger and so I try to back down as fast as possible. I totally respect this guy and wish I could get him to explain to me why he thinks I'm wrong. In the middle of a "debate", I'm overwhelmed (much like I imagine the prof I talked about earlier).
There's gotta be a "soft" way of selling this.
What the hell is this scam? Shame on you.
Yes. She did the same type of comment that refered to some big upcoming event with the same link to some product she is pushing.
A fraud.
Substack needs a blocking function.
I haven't looked backstage yet, but an API and/or an auto-moderator would help too.