"MEASLES, MISINFORMATION, a 'vigorous spanking' of misogyny—whether women like it or not—a violent nine-gun fantasy for political enemies, crudeness, petty insults, and cronyism.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@RoundSparrow Thank you for those good notes on one of the sources for this infatuation of white US Christians with fascism.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@StrangeCulprits Yes, the Selzer poll, in particular, is getting a lot of notice today. Glad it and the Register concur, too. That strengthens both findings.

[cgervasi@fosstodon.org]

@wdlindsy There's something else happening that's convincing people conditions are bad even when objective parameters are mostly excellent.
Sometimes my kids say when my wife and I talk about the recessions of 91, 02, or 08-09, we sound like old people grousing about "when I was your age..." but maybe that perspective is helpful and people get less of it because of personalized media.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@cgervasi That's right. Having grown up with parents and grandparents who lived through the Depression, I heard many stories about how bad it can get — and I compare those stories with what people are complaining about today and think the complaints are very self-centered and unrealistic.

[cgervasi@fosstodon.org]

@wdlindsy I wonder if this happens with young people who can't find a romantic partners get support from millions of people with the same problem online and conclude it's because of a massive social problem. There are no parents and grandparents talking about when they had what felt like horrible relationship troubles and it all worked out fine.

[cgervasi@fosstodon.org]

@wdlindsy When I took macro in '94, I wouldn't have believed how good things could be 30 years from now.
-Unemployment below what we thought was the structural limit.
-The concept of "poor countries" slowly disappearing.
-Everyone, even the very poor, has access to high-tech tools.
-Cars are reliable long after the odometer "flips" past 100k.
-I can access foreign media without going to a major library or a long-wire SW antenna.
-Everyone, even idiots, can publish their thoughts instantly.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@cgervasi Thank you. This is a great list.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@cgervasi Excellent points.