Is Denial On The Rise In America?

[Hawkeye10]

English translation: Trump is a demagogue who uses conspiracy theories to whip up his base, and excuse his failures.

Anyway, yes, it's pretty obvious that denialism is on the rise, and there isn't any particularly good way to defeat it. It's so ingrained that repeated failures of the denialists' views only end up reinforcing their world view.

It's unfortunate, but I suspect in many ways this isn't all that new. 50 years ago, information and misinformation weren't traveling anywhere near as fast as they do today, but denials, conspiracy theories, and plain ol' wrong info also weren't as obvious as today. Holocaust deniers date back to at least the 70s, probably the 50s too.

Or maybe we look at the other side and say that the elite have lost the ability to be the gatekeepers of truth, because the internet has swept away all of the gate keepers.

Dont let bias cloud your vision, that is always my advice.

 

[Visbek]

If you were a Trump voter, would you answer questions from a news outlet or polling organization?

I believe that enough Trump voters are answering the polls to make them reasonably accurate.

After all, not every Trump voter is a conspiracy theorist who despises Fox News on principle.

 

[JasperL]

If you were a Trump voter, would you answer questions from a news outlet or polling organization?

Sure. Why not?

 

[JasperL]

Or maybe the elite have lost the ability to be the gatekeepers of truth, because the internet has swept away all of the gate keepers.

Dont let bias cloud your vision, that is always my advice.

I think there is some truth to that, but that's not an unambiguous positive outcome - that there are no gatekeepers. It's just a fact, for example, that the broad climate science community is more informed about climate change than a blogger, and if we get to a place where the blogger and the scientists are given equal weight, we've lost a great deal as a society.

 

[MickeyW]

Truth or Denial: From Climate Change To The Anti-Vaccine Movement, Is Denial On The Rise In America?


We're a scientifically advanced society -- computers in our pockets do nearly everything we ask, and soon enough cars will be driving themselves -- but there remains a significant population that doesn't accept what scientists tell us is true. It's happening with vaccines, with climate change and, as seen in the upcoming film "Denial", even with the fact the Holocaust happened.

What's going on? Why do people choose to deny that President Obama was born in the United States? Or that evolution is responsible for human life? The answer lies in a deep-seated psychological response that helps us manage information that makes us uncomfortable....

The most important denial as I see it today, is the unbelievable support for that Crook Hillary and the Democrat agenda, in general. That photo typifies so many Lefties.

Climate change exists, always has, long before humans ever entered the scene. To think humans can adversely affect the Climate of this powerful sphere, to any major degree.....is nuts.
To think that vaccines, with hidden poisons in them(do some research) are always good for you....is also nuts.
Self Driving cars? Hoooey! I don't need any Nanny Govt. to tell me how to conduct my life!

I shoot often, I hunt and fish, I ride many motorcycles, drive cars and trucks, cut and split firewood for a wood burning stove, grow my own food in a 100 square foot garden plot, dry my fruit from several fruit trees each year, refuse to participate in social media, keep a minimum amount of money in the bank, don't do any online financial transactions, purchase goods with cash at brick and mortar stores, pay bills in person and on and on...

It's not about denial, it's wisdom, common sense and experience. The government is not your friend and in some cases, it's your enemy.
Millennials are mostly clueless, needy, and tethered to their electronic devics or govt. BS and no longer can think for themselves.

They aren't more enlightened, they are fools led to slaughter, in a matter of speaking.

 

[Hawkeye10]

I think there is some truth to that, but that's not an unambiguous positive outcome - that there are no gatekeepers. It's just a fact, for example, that the broad climate science community is more informed about climate change than a blogger, and if we get to a place where the blogger and the scientists are given equal weight, we've lost a great deal as a society.

I think this is just dandy, if the elite want to play the role of deciders then they need to do it honestly, with the consent of the little people. What happened with the elite is that they decided that driving towards their utopias was worth sacrificing truth, that the little people would have to follow along, do as they were instructed, believe what they were told was the truth. The internet has functioned almost exactly like putting the Bible in the common tongue did, once the people could read it for themselves the priests lost the ability to lie about what was in the Good Book, and they lost a great deal of their power.

Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated

Gordon Gekko

 

[MickeyW]

Well we now have Trump talking Truth about a lot of things that have long been ignored, so maybe we are on the upswing.

Hopefully so....

Like ***** grabbing!

That's been going on since the days of the caveman.......Have you been sheltered or what?

 

[DVSentinel]

Yes.



Thanks for illustrating the point of the article.



:roll:

Denialism is not fundamentally partisan in nature. E.g. there are a fair number of anti-GMO people on the left who ignore the science, or believe in hokum like acupuncture, echinacea and kombucha. Or, the anti-vaccine movement is not partisan.

That said, the right-wing exhibits a good deal of it as well. Don't kid yourself on that one.

You believe climate change is science. :lamo:lamo:lamo

 

[Hawkeye10]

You believe climate change is science. :lamo:lamo:lamo

It is a science, but it is in its infancy, it currently understands next to nothing, you (F) dont go making life choices based upon it at this point.

Not if you have the common sense God gave you as we used to say when we were a Christian people.

 

[MickeyW]

If there is any denial it is from those who allow themselves to be painted as causes to problems that exist only to make other people rich.

Yes indeed.

Classic high quality male bonding.

Trump cares about you.

He tries to help.

He does and so many are too dense, or biased, to get it.

Praise be his name.

Yes, the Lord works in mysterious ways....and Hillary ain't the answer!

Denial that if a better candidate could beat Hillary on the issues, she therefore has no issues because Trump is the issue because of prior conduct. Thus, the issues of the country go unresolved.

This is the denial the political powers use to control the vote - by making the past more important than the future.

Well stated. :thumbs:

 

[MickeyW]

Al Gore said that he created the internet.
Obama said that he's visited 57 states.

Do you always believe what people say?

And the Trump accuser on the airplane said he changed the position of her armrest in First Class .....and the First Class seats didn't have armrests between the seats. And 35 years later? Give me a break!

It's another liberal LIE!

 

[katzgar]

if denial is on the rise egypt is going to flood

 

[MickeyW]

Climate change is a scientific endeavour? Might be believable if environmentalist today were actually scientist. They have yet to offer a complete working model and spend time trying to force their theory down everyone's throat instead of updating and altering their "science" to account for facts they find inconvenient.

A lot of what you want to term denial is just Americans, usually not the left, pulling their heads out of their asses and seeing reality. Perhaps if the left wasn't so detached from reality, more real people would believe the **** their selling.

Stellar post!!!! :applaud and Lefties are the Sheeple, especially millennials.

 

[Patrickt]

no it is not on the rise in America

I reject the misuse of the word denial. Recognizing the fraudulent claims for what they are is hardly "denial". Denial is what liberals have with their absolute inability to accept responsibility for anything.

 

[Patrickt]

Well we now have Trump talking Truth about a lot of things that have long been ignored, so maybe we are on the upswing.

Donald Trump wouldn't know the truth if it bit him on the ass. He's simply a lying demagogue who will say whatever he feels the mob will react to in a positive way. Tomorrow moring, if Donald Trump decided that demanding that gay men be thrown to their death off tall buildings would please the mob, he'd be all for it by 5 p.m.

Donald Trump's only real skill is as a liar.

 

[MickeyW]

Pride, anger, ignorance and fear are on the rise. Denial is just a side effect of those.

...and the obama Regime has exacerbated the condition.

English translation: Trump is a demagogue who uses conspiracy theories to whip up his base, and excuse his failures.

Anyway, yes, it's pretty obvious that denialism is on the rise, and there isn't any particularly good way to defeat it. It's so ingrained that repeated failures of the denialists' views only end up reinforcing their world view.

It's unfortunate, but I suspect in many ways this isn't all that new. 50 years ago, information and misinformation weren't traveling anywhere near as fast as they do today, but denials, conspiracy theories, and plain ol' wrong info also weren't as obvious as today. Holocaust deniers date back to at least the 70s, probably the 50s too.

I will agree with you on the highlighted part only. The rest of it is poppycock.

Yes.



Thanks for illustrating the point of the article.

Still Can't Handle the Truth I see....

:roll:

Denialism is not fundamentally partisan in nature. E.g. there are a fair number of anti-GMO people on the left who ignore the science, or believe in hokum like acupuncture, echinacea and kombucha. Or, the anti-vaccine movement is not partisan.

That said, the right-wing exhibits a good deal of it as well. Don't kid yourself on that one.

I will avoid anything with GMO...the science is utter BS. I never kid myself, unlike liberals, I use logic and not emotion. ****ing with the food chain, is as liberal stupid as it gets! I plant NON-GMO seed in my large garden.

Actually, liberals are so Open Minded, that their brains have fallen out.....and common sense along with it.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Donald Trump wouldn't know the truth if it bit him on the ass. He's simply a lying demagogue who will say whatever he feels the mob will react to in a positive way. Tomorrow moring, if Donald Trump decided that demanding that gay men be thrown to their death off tall buildings would please the mob, he'd be all for it by 5 p.m.

Donald Trump's only real skill is as a liar.

I disagree.

Vehemently.

 

[MickeyW]

Hannity: WikiLeaks Has Proven That "Everything The Conspiracy Theorists Said" Was True | Video | RealClearPolitics
Apparently he was right.

No doubt about it.

1] There's too many sources of disinformation, supplied by those who have a vested interest in spreading it. (often enough, it ends-up at the very top - the political parties)

2] There's also now internet connectivity allowing fringe or marginal thought individuals to find their likewise counterparts.

3] And media is now able to segment smaller and finer niches, with a plethora of media segments; one can now remain in an echo-box 24/7.

4] Every individual today, no matter how small or how marginalized in opinion, has a voice on the internet.

--

All of this is of course, is due to the information age we are now in.

And in many cases, rather than assist us in finding the truth, it has become a tool to deceive us with misinformation - muddying or obscuring the truth.

Consequently, we are awash in a sea of FUD! :doh

And Hillary Clinton and the Demo Party are Big League players in that FUD!

 

[JasperL]

I think this is just dandy, if the elite want to play the role of deciders then they need to do it honestly, with the consent of the little [people. What happened with the elite is that they decided that driving towards their utopias was worth sacrificing truth, that the little people would have to follow along, do as they were instructed, believe what they were told was the truth. The internet has functioned almost exactly like putting the bible in the common tongue did, once the people could read it for themselves the priests lost the ability to lie about what was in the Good Book, and they lost a great deal of their power.

The problem is there generally IS a right answer to something. And what the Internet allows us to do is find a bunch of sites that confirm our PREFERRED answer, whatever it is. So it hasn't in fact operated like the Bible. The Internet would allow for at least several different versions of the Bible and we could pick and choose which one we wanted to believe was the Word of God, with any choice just as good as any other. One could say that Jesus threw out the money changes and another than he welcomed them as upright citizens and role models for the Temple community.

And the problem is when we are encouraged to dismiss the experts on any issue, why not dismiss them whenever their views make me uncomfortable? I'd rather not quit smoking, so why not dismiss all the evidence linking smoking to bad health outcomes? Why accept that but not science on vaccines, or climate, or the effect of tax cuts on revenue?

 

[Patrickt]

I disagree.

Vehemently.

Give me an example of a "truth" he spoke. Something he believes.

Would it be about illegal aliens? You know, the people he hires and doesn't pay.
Would it be his story of working his way up from the bottom, against all odds, and now being worth $10 billion dollars? That's funny. Being born a multimillionair isn't the bottom, never working for anyone but your daddy isn't against the odds, and he isn't worth $10 billion.
How about his staunch support for the Second Amendment but he'll take guns away from the mentally ill and "enemies of the state". Enemies of the state is a classic leftist category of crime and the mentally ill are all conservatives and veterans.

I could go on but I'll wait for you to think of something where he's honest. Why he wasn't drafted, maybe? How about his great admiration from American military men...as long as they don't get captured and tortured? Those he can denigrate.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Give me an example of a "truth" he spoke. Something he believes.

Would it be about illegal aliens? You know, the people he hires and doesn't pay.
Would it be his story of working his way up from the bottom, against all odds, and now being worth $10 billion dollars? That's funny. Being born a multimillionair isn't the bottom, never working for anyone but your daddy isn't against the odds, and he isn't worth $10 billion.
How about his staunch support for the Second Amendment but he'll take guns away from the mentally ill and "enemies of the state". Enemies of the state is a classic leftist category of crime and the mentally ill are all conservatives and veterans.

I could go on but I'll wait for you to think of something where he's honest. Why he wasn't drafted, maybe? How about his great admiration from American military men...as long as they don't get captured and tortured? Those he can denigrate.

The elite are repressing us and lying to us, and they suck at their jobs a lot of them.

 

[Hawkeye10]

The problem is there generally IS a right answer to something. And what the Internet allows us to do is find a bunch of sites that confirm our PREFERRED answer, whatever it is. So it hasn't in fact operated like the Bible. The Internet would allow for at least several different versions of the Bible and we could pick and choose which one we wanted to believe was the Word of God, with any choice just as good as any other. One could say that Jesus threw out the money changes and another than he welcomed them as upright citizens and role models for the Temple community.

And the problem is when we are encouraged to dismiss the experts on any issue, why not dismiss them whenever their views make me uncomfortable? I'd rather not quit smoking, so why not dismiss all the evidence linking smoking to bad health outcomes? Why accept that but not science on vaccines, or climate, or the effect of tax cuts on revenue?

I dont see the problem, once the little people learn that attempting to follow the example of the elite by making choices based upon their fantasies rather than reality leads to a bad result, often pain, we will be able to get to work.

Look, we are basically addicts at this point, we need to reach bottom and decide to do better....we are not there yet.

BUT, morally bankrupt gatekeepers losing their gates is progress.

They will be replaced with competent keepers.

Eventually.

 

[Patrickt]

The elite are repressing us and lying to us, and they suck at their jobs a lot of them.

An elite who's been trying to run for president for twenty years tells you that the elites are oppressing you and you cheer him. That is funny, Hawkeye. I suppose if Hillary Clinton said you have to join her fighting for women and children you'd cheer the defender of child rapists, too.

 

[coldjoint]

Hey, another element not discussed in the article! Incomplete information driving denialism.

- Scientists discovered a third ozone layer on Mars. It isn't changing because of solar conditions.

- Venus' atmosphere is changing not due to solar conditions, but because of volcanic activity.

- Conditions on Saturn are not changing because of solar factors. What's happening is we are learning more about Saturn, because of the Cassini mission.

- The sun has 11 year cycles between minimum and maximum sunspot activity. Those fluctuations are not responsible for a gradual increase in global temperatures since the 1860s.

Fun fact! We are currently in a declining phase of sunspot activity, yet we've had two of the hottest years on record. There is no correlation between sunspot cycles and global temperatures. So... what else ya got?

- There is no question humans have the capacity to affect the environment.

But thanks for displaying how partial information can be twisted for denialist use.

I also find it really fascinating that people try to deny the presence of denialism by... issuing denials of facts. Somehow, I doubt that would surprise the authors of the article.

You getting so worked up isn't going to cool things off either. It just is not the big deal it is made out to be. I think it is just a way to levy a carbon tax and redistribute wealth.

 

[Hawkeye10]

An elite who's been trying to run for president for twenty years tells you that the elites are oppressing you and you cheer him. That is funny, Hawkeye. I suppose if Hillary Clinton said you have to join her fighting for women and children you'd cheer the defender of child rapists, too.

Obviously I have considered and rejected that argument.