Edit: Lmao struggle session

  • Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Astrology is a gateway drug to Psychics, which leads to Crystals, which leads to new ager shit, which leads to antivaxx and antisemitism and esoteric nazism.

    Just say no to woo.

    • Edelgard [she/her]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      Astrology is a gateway drug to Psychics, which leads to Crystals, which leads to new ager shit, which leads to antivaxx and antisemitism and esoteric nazism.

      Just say no to woo.

      "Astrology is a pipeline to nazism" is such a trash take lol

    • ssjmarx [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Weak take. Astrology for 99% of people is just an interesting thing you can talk about with someone without risking offending them. Antivax/antisemitism are separate phenomena.

      • Edelgard [she/her]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Thank you. It's literally the same as talking about ghosts or whatever the fuck. Major insecure :reddit-logo: guy moment.

        • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
          ·
          3 years ago

          I would ask for people to not act like I'm weird or a spoilsport for not believing in either. I don't believe in supernatural shit and really don't have anything to discuss about them

          • Edelgard [she/her]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Naw, you're good. I'm talking about the type of person who goes out of their way to talk shit about how "horoscopes aren't real" like it's some earth shattering epiphany.

            Another way to maybe look at this: Swap out horrorscopes for santa or something. Most people will be like "duh", but it's a fun bit.

          • effervescent [they/them]
            ·
            3 years ago

            I don't believe in them either, but I do get super annoyed when people get smug about not believe, which is a whole other thing

            • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
              ·
              3 years ago

              It shouldn't be taken as default to think Halloween monsters and planet magic is real and I shouldn't be expected to play along

              • Edelgard [she/her]
                ·
                3 years ago

                Yup. "Materialism is when I define my beliefs based on reaction against stupid things that are popular."

                • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
                  ·
                  3 years ago

                  Actual materialists understand the dialectics of reaction better than this.

                  It feels like watching libs and chuds fight and the lib uses bigotry in a cringe-inducing attempt to debunk the chud. Like I have an opinion on the topic at hand, but you're both saying shit I absolutely object to.

                  • Edelgard [she/her]
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    3 years ago

                    My last comment is mostly a throwaway joke to be honest, but please link to anything on the dialectics of reaction you think would be interesting. I’m always up for learning something cool.

                    • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
                      ·
                      3 years ago

                      Actual materialists understand the dialectics of reaction better than this.

                      Lmao oof, didn't mean this to be interpreted as pointed at your response.

                      I was commenting that materialists wouldn't readily adopt the reddit-brained reaction towards astrology because they'd understand the dialectical nature of the reactionary response.

                      • Edelgard [she/her]
                        ·
                        3 years ago

                        Oooh, okay. No worries!

                        I was honestly not expecting this much of a reaction to my comment because, well, who cares enough about astrology to actively hate it? That takes so much effort.

                        • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
                          ·
                          3 years ago

                          That takes so much effort.

                          I don't think that's necessarily true and underestimates the existing brainworm populations in men.

                          Imagine being around a bunch of people discussing NFTs, but no one is acknowledging that NFTs are a bunch of property-brained bologne and just continues on as if they're real. And these people are, ironically or not, justifying their value assessments of others based on their "portfolio". For people not into astrology, being forced to risk alienation from the group by expressing disapproval at the premise underlying discussion, this often creates feelings of frustration...which is primer for creating fanatical hatred.

                          Discussions of astrology often create the same frustrations in me, and I have a relative discontent for the topic at large.

                          Misogyny is just the brain path of least resistance for many of these people. Backlash to anything perceived to be more enjoyed by women than men will inevitably take on a current of misogyny.

                          Most dogs don't understand dogwhistles to be a conditioning tool and "things women enjoy" becomes the whistle, raging at women is the "treat". Men very much have to stay on the look out for " is this intended to create feelings of resentment towards women?" because the dogwhistles are harder to detect when detecting them involves no longer being able to use it as a crutch for your bruised ego.

                          • Edelgard [she/her]
                            ·
                            edit-2
                            3 years ago

                            Most dogs don’t understand dogwhistles to be a conditioning tool and “things women enjoy” becomes the whistle, raging at women is the “treat”. Men very much have to stay on the look out for " is this intended to create feelings of resentment towards women?" because the dogwhistles are harder to detect when detecting them involves no longer being able to use it as a crutch for your bruised ego.

                            You phrased this perfectly. Love the point about misogyny being the brainpath of least resistance.

                            • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
                              ·
                              3 years ago

                              Thanks! I could go on for days about how men's vulnerability is weaponized for both ideological purposes and profit and laundered through seemingly innocuous means.

        • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          It’s literally the same as talking about ghosts or whatever the fuck

          This is infinitely more off-putting than astrology to me.

          I feel extremely uncomfortable when people are talking about paranormal/pseudoscientific topics and it's ambiguous whether they actually believe it or not. Like it's to the point where I'd be looking to steer the conversation away from it or consider options for finding other plans. Being expected to go along with it puts my anxiety through the roof.

          It's a similar discomfort to how I feel when people go into an anti-communist tirade in my presence. Like I want to say something in opposition, but I fear saying something will turn group consensus against me.

          I refuse to be categorized into the reddit dudebro category of people who fetishize their concept of "rationality" because I feel exceptionally off-put by this type of conversation.

          • Frank [he/him, he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Word. woo and magic make me extremely uncomfortable. I don't want to be around people who assert that up is down and 2+2=5. It's the same kind of unsettling feeling as being around Evangelical Christians; There's a fundamental disconnect, a disagreement about reality on it's most basic levels, and it makes conversing with people who believe in woo unsafe. You don't know what topics are safe to discuss or when you have to keep your mouth shut to avoid giving offense.

            • furryanarchy [comrade/them,they/them]
              ·
              3 years ago

              It's more than just that, it makes people hard to predict in ways that are frustrating. Like, they will make bizzare and extreme decisions because of whatever nonsense they believe, but not very often. Just often enough you can't trust them, not often enough you can figure out the rules.

              So it's just a constant source of anxiety, when will the day come that it happens.

          • ssjmarx [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            That's fair I guess. I personally feed off the energy of being the one guy in a conversation who doesn't believe in ghosts or who is defending the Soviet Union, but with the paranormal I just think that the stakes of believing in it are so low that taking it seriously is just a waste of effort.

            • ComradeBongwater [he/him]
              ·
              3 years ago

              I mean, don't get me wrong, if I have a few drinks in me I'll vehemently defend the Soviet Union.

              It's a little different when you feel like you're taking a dump on people's religious or pseudo-religious views. I don't want to be put in a position where someone feels belittled by my defense of my opinions.

              Like if someone believes in ghosts and says "omg I definitely saw a ghost/my grandma spoke to me in a dream", I'm not gonna tell them they're fabricating reality based on what they want to believe.

          • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Same! My otherwise-reasonable friends, many of who are/were scientists, will start talking about ghosts and seriously asking if I believe in them and trying to come up with any possible explanation for how ghosts could be real and I’m just like… what the fuck are you doing? Why am I being targeted rn for not believing in ghosts?

    • effervescent [they/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      “I once took a personality quiz on MySpace so that means I’m a Nazi now” is some real big brain shit

    • Awoo [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      You're right, but I also attended a spiritualist church that did trance shit alongside the psychic mumbo and those were some wild experiences I actually recommend people seek out. It was basically hypnotic trance stuff. Very fun to play around with.