EDIT: JT has now finished. Thank you all for coming. The thread will remain open for chats to finish then we'll be locking it for preservation at some point after 24 hours. Thank you JT for joining us!
JT will be answering questions below, due to a scheduled appointment that couldn't be changed he will be starting a little late, answers will begin roughly 1 hour after the post starts.
Like usual there are no strict time limits set for this so JT will come and go as and when his time allows, if he doesn't get to your questions be patient! This post will be edited here when things end.
JT's posting account for AMAs is: @Secondthought_JT .
Be sure to check out The Deprogram if you haven't already! Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
The Deprogram | Second Thought | First Thought
Hi JT. I think it's safe to say, you've had a good deal of success in reaching people online and opening them up to socialist concepts. But are there any instances in real life where you've felt you "got through" to someone in some significant way? I mean that in terms of just straight up talking to someone in person who wasn't aware of your online work and making real headway, but also if anyone you know "in real life" has told you that your online work is what helped change their perspective. In either case, did they have anything specific to say about what it was that "won them over"?
Just to add a little context, I remember you mentioning on the podcast that you and some old college buddies still on occasion get together and do powerpoint presentations for each other. First of all, my god, that's some wholesome nerdiness. If I remember right, those friends were more receptive than you had expected, and I always wondered about what they thought much later on, after you became a reasonably big online persona.
In addition to my above serious question, I wonder if you might just maybe indulge me a little further with a second one? Would you be willing to nudge Hakim & Yugopnik into doing an AMA here too? I don't know if that's socially/parasocially uncouth of me to ask, but it would be awesome if we could pick the brains of all 3 of The Deprogram boys
I have jokingly said that since Hexbear was fortunate enough to get you, we should let our comrade instance, lemmygrad.ml, have the honor of hosting Hakim's AMA. But then Hexbear and Lemmygrad need to have some sort of posting battle, and only the winner gets to host Yugopnik. Regardless of the particulars, Hakim & Yugopnik may really enjoy it as a respite from the monotony of being forever stuck in your basement, yeah?
(Apologies if any of this was asked before, I'm still working my way through the thread)
Great question! I've spoken to a lot of people over the years, and in my experience most of them are very receptive so socialist ideals until you mention the s-word. That's to be expected, but it's always annoying to have to change gears and defuse potential objections. If you can just plant that tiny little seed of "huh, he's a good guy and he's a socialist...maybe they're not that bad," you've won a tremendous victory. As far as specifics go, I've had a couple past coworkers reach out over the last few years and say that they're now socialists because of my work, which is really cool. I think having that personal connecting when talking about socialism can really help break down those deep-seated ideological barriers. As far as I know there isn't any one thing I've said that has won someone over, it's always more of a process of learning and self-reflection.
I'll definitely mention AMAs to the others, I'm sure they'd be happy to do one if they can find the time!
Yugopnik posted here before (looking for Eugene V Dabs) so unless lemmygrad has a better argument, he's ours.