• HiImThomasPynchon [des/pair, it/its]
    ·
    2 years ago

    One time I was in an argument with a lib over things the CIA did. He refused to believe and when I showed him documentation of the CIA admitting to these horrible things, he accused me of hypocrisy.

    "Oh, so we're not supposed to believe the US government unless they say something you agree with?"

    Like, dude, wtf do you think the CIA has to gain from confessing to crimes? Are all criminal confessions just lucky breaks for the prosecution?

    • GnastyGnuts [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I see that sort of thing so much, like these people cannot seem to understand that lies are made with a self-serving intention, not just for the sake of lying because liars love it so darn much. Everybody must be completely honest or completely dishonest, the idea of a government's honesty being context sensitive is beyond the liberal.

      • Wertheimer [any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I hope none of them are either lawyers or Biblical scholars, just to name two fields where this phenomenon has a name so as to emphasize how crucial a form of evidence it is.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criterion_of_embarrassment

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_against_interest

    • MaoistLandlord [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      There’s a reason why leaked and declassified documents almost always contradict their public statements on TV. By the time they’re leaked or declassified, the majority of Americans already accepted the lie or simply don’t care anymore. It’s like releasing the answers to a test after everyone has taken it.

    • usernamesaredifficul [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      how do you respond to someone who's skepticism of the government involves believeing the government lies about being worse than they are for no reason