Today I experienced something quite alarming.

Today I experienced something quite alarming, and it's making me seriously question what's going on.  I made a post on a yahoo news article that basically said I once had a very innocent view that all people had the capacity for good, and all people had the capacity to achieve a productive and positive life, but since adulthood based on observations and reality, that I no longer believe this.  I no longer believe that all people have the same capacity for sensible logic and reason (As illustrated by the man who shot up the country western bar), and that people who display a pattern of mental illness or erratic behavior should be flagged in our society so they can be observed and denied such privileges such as gun ownership.  I made it clear that I don't believe they should be treated cruelly or locked away, but should be given the chance to turn their flagged status around only when they have clearly displayed that they are a law abiding, productive member of society.  If it becomes clear that they are a danger to society then perhaps they should be institutionalized until they either are rehabilitated or time has the final say as it does with us all. 

I knew this comment would be controversial to some and that labels would be thrown at me, and sure enough I got called a Hitler numerous times within a few minutes of posting.  I defended myself by stating that labels are an intellectually lazy way of attacking something you have a negative emotional reaction to but can't adequately defend through an articulate argument.  Before long I had a 5 to 1 like ratio and was the most active thread on the article with many responses.  As labels kept coming my way, I challenged these commenters through logic, reason, and common sense and gained more positive comments and likes in the process. 

I was very surprised that my patient explanation of my positions were quickly gaining traction as I was the top comment thread with a very strong thumbs up ratio.  For a moment I felt people do still listen to logic and reason than to automatically follow group think and throw labels at you when they can't think of a better way to respond.  And then with no warning, Yahoo removed my entire thread even though it was strongly liked and the most active, and yet Yahoo left dozens of threads active which were calling conservatives a bunch of Nazi gun loving idiots (I'm more independent but if forced to choose the lesser of two bad choices I would still go with conservative over a party which is strongly flirting with anarchy if things don't go their way). 

This experience has reinforced my belief that mass media, social media, and Hollywood media are very powerful with regards to controlling the narrative any way they see fit, and I wonder how widespread this manipulation and censorship of ideas is in the media today.  Is there any hope of logic and reason being the core substance on issues or is everything being turned into propaganda for the masses? 

I'm feeling slightly disheartened over this, especially realizing how much power mainstream media has...  and I'm nervous about what their end agenda is... there is clearly an agenda, and someone out there knows what it is.  Anyhow, thanks for listening...  I hope for a brighter future where logic and reason rule the day instead of a propaganda machine that is turning millions of minds into label throwing social justice warriors who feel that there is nothing wrong with adopting self righteous hatred towards people they see as "intolerant".  The media has successfully linked intolerance to hate, and this is another sneaky tool that has been created to fool the masses.  I'm intolerant of bullies, but this does not mean I'm hateful of them.  I'm intolerant towards people who break the law as I want people to be safe and feel secure, but this does not mean I hate.  Intolerance that is a RESULT of hate is the dangerous intolerance, and this is the kind of intolerance I see directed at so many through the mass media.  The media has linked many traits that are rooted in common sense to "hate", and in turn have created mass hatred of the real kind in millions of people.  This almost seems sinister to an unimaginable degree, because it's been so unbelievably successful in turning common sense upside down on its head through linking strong negative emotions with certain buzzwords.  It's like a bait and switch sleight of hand trick that most people can't see unless you are an independent thinker.  It's frankly brilliant and whoever instituted this strategy knew what they were doing.. and I have yet to figure out why... 

a reply to: Galacticsun

Welcome to the club. Why do you think CNN took down their comments section?
I really wonder if Yahoo will go in the same direction.

I also 100% with what you wrote.

a reply to: Galacticsun

this is why people are saying they are trying to start a civil war.

This is also why Trump says the main stream media is your enemy.

they truly are the enemy of the people.

The Guardian used to be a place where there was good discussion (a little left leaning) but lots of smart conservative's whooping the lib's. They shut down comments on most everything except cooking and sports. Talk about BS...

a reply to: Galacticsun

The left is not flirting with anarchy but full, tyrannical control. The "anarchistic" types are just another enforcement arm of their fascist system.

Anarchy is not the same as chaos; anarchy is just the absence of a ruling hierarchy. One must still follow contracts and the non-aggression principle under anarchy. In cases of violation of the above rules, juries and temporary ruling bodies are established to try the offending individuals. And due to the non-aggression principle, the most strict punishment should be ostracism and banishment.

Far-left is absolute government control and far-right is absolute individual freedom.

originally posted by: booyakasha
a reply to: Galacticsun


This is also why Trump says the main stream media is your enemy.

they truly are the enemy of the people.

**FAKE NEWS**


Trump might not be as stupid as some think

a reply to: Galacticsun

I came across this video that might be pertinent. I thought it was overboard before but as time passes it might be prophetic ? You can not control the people unless you control the information. Even the most dead brained idiots can recognize the truth of that.
youtu.be...

a reply to: Galacticsun

This is 100% correct, agreeing totally.

Thing is, even at Yahoo, FB, and where ever in media, there is some individual or individuals, who decide the public narrative. After a while their frame of reference for that deciding, becomes very personal. They associate their state of mind being the new norm. And of course, like for anybody else, everything is in a flow and in a constant change. Just that these folks completely miss it very often, and they are trusting validity of their frame of reference no matter what.

Now, of course political convictions play a significant role. And not necessarily following party lines, but in more subtle topics and biasing flavors. Some hate meat eaters. Furs. Fishing. Hunting. Flower folks. Idealists. Stamp collectors. Bicycles. Trucks. Guns. ... you name it. There is always a bias for pro and con. But it is also a moving bias. The interaction itself triggers folks to go wayyy off, and kill threads, posts, articles, what not, to react or to just show off, or enjoying the power of subjucation.

The current era is a grand example of how wicked this all can become. When media is so politically bent that they are pure propaganda or almost hate speech (aka cnn), and push forward an angle to those conducting policing and monitoring public discussion. And these folks then start hating and blocking accordingly all around the online media. It gets pretty bad soon enough.

So, in real life, we have real stuff, such as houses, cars, guns, regular life. What media folks seem to have very little understanding for, is that at some point their propagandist media world and this real world collide, merge and synchronize. Folks start to behave for real as they’ve been conditioned at media. And bad things start to happen.

Who snaps, and how deep and for how long, that is individual. Unpredictable. Perhaps they never snap, but they already live with a psychosis of some sort, and are labile by nature. And actually, with cannabis, you can get the psychosis from the first joint, if you have the genetic weakness - so there are plenty of material already.

If media lacks accountability, if they can trigger violence without punitive consequence, then those deciding narrative have more power than 1984 ever could foresee.It is about power in its purest form.

Just get of the internet for awhile, thing is the devil when you are weak as a flinch.......

“Weak” perfect description of the left

If you were using logic and reason then by very definition, you were being offensive. Logic and reason is extremely offensive to weak minded leftists.

Blocking you or removing your thread entirely is most definitely supported by leftists. They don’t want someone to hear logic and reason, it can easily corrupt the hivemind. If logic and reason are allowed on the internet then the hivemind itself will be under threat.

In the future, make like a leftist and simply shout insults. It’s far more acceptable to them than logic and reason because they can insult you back. They can not, however, use logic and reason back at you so you’re making the playing field uneven.

Bigot.

So there are a couple of things to consider here...

1. Comments are unique to the internet - The first thing you have to remember is comments sections are something unique to the Internet. In the pre-Internet days there wasn't really any way you could comment on a media article. When comment sections were first invented they were a novelty and a way to draw users to their websites, but now they have taken on a life of their own. Some think the 'Mud Pit' is bad here on ATS. Well, comment sections are ALWAYS the mud-pit on websites, but usually much, much, worse!

2. Media has long been the voice of the left - If you look back through history you will see the media has long been the voice of the establishment opposition. There was a time when this was a good thing. Information has always meant power, and the media was a way to combat this. Now, with the Internet, things have swung all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum. Now the media is no longer exposing skeletons in the establishment closets, but rather creating them. In other words, they're not exposing the narrative, they're creating it.

3. Trying to piss you off by deleting your comment - Because comment sections have taken on their own life (see #1), and media outlets know this, they have become 'weaponized'. Media outlets know many just read a headline and then go straight for the comments section now. Remember, it's the age of Twitter and Fail-Book. So, they are now being tactical in how they control the narrative, and using the comments sections to manage the narrative just like the main article. In addition, the media are actively trying to create a vitriolic atmosphere by doing exactly what you cited in the OP...deleting rational thought. They don't WANT rational thought, they want hyper-vitriol. Rational thought isn't news worthy. They want to piss you off to the point where you're ready to fight, because fighting is newsworthy (read: it sells advertising).

Bottom line; don't let 'em get to ya! And, believe me, they're trying! Your OP is a great example of just how they do it, and an inside look at exactly how. They got inside your head.

Please explain and describe in more detail:

"... display a pattern of mental illness or erratic behavior ..."

Please also explain that:

"...should be flagged in our society so they can be observed and denied such privileges such as gun ownership ..."

would not return the country to a time where alcholics, schizophrenics, eccentrics, those suffering phobias and other nervous conditions would be locked away in sanatoriums?

www.atlasobscura.com...

A good example being the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded, named after Walter E. Fernard, who advocated eugenics.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
So there are a couple of things to consider here...

1. Comments are unique to the internet - The first thing you have to remember is comments sections are something unique to the Internet. In the pre-Internet days there wasn't really any way you could comment on a media article. When comment sections were first invented they were a novelty and a way to draw users to their websites, but now they have taken on a life of their own. Some think the 'Mud Pit' is bad here on ATS. Well, comment sections are ALWAYS the mud-pit on websites, but usually much, much, worse!

2. Media has long been the voice of the left - If you look back through history you will see the media has long been the voice of the establishment opposition. There was a time when this was a good thing. Information has always meant power, and the media was a way to combat this. Now, with the Internet, things have swung all the way to the opposite end of the spectrum. Now the media is no longer exposing skeletons in the establishment closets, but rather creating them. In other words, they're not exposing the narrative, they're creating it.

3. Trying to piss you off by deleting your comment - Because comment sections have taken on their own life (see #1), and media outlets know this, they have become 'weaponized'. Media outlets know many just read a headline and then go straight for the comments section now. Remember, it's the age of Twitter and Fail-Book. So, they are now being tactical in how they control the narrative, and using the comments sections to manage the narrative just like the main article. In addition, the media are actively trying to create a vitriolic atmosphere by doing exactly what you cited in the OP...deleting rational thought. They don't WANT rational thought, they want hyper-vitriol. Rational thought isn't news worthy. They want to piss you off to the point where you're ready to fight, because fighting is newsworthy (read: it sells advertising).

Bottom line; don't let 'em get to ya! And, believe me, they're trying! Your OP is a great example of just how they do it, and an inside look at exactly how. They got inside your head.

1 Comments have always been available in the newspapers, certainly not unique to internet. In some papers it was called have your say. Although they controlled what was put to print.

2 Agreed.

3 Comments sections on Internet has given posting power to the masses instead of said power being controlled by a editor at a newspaper, posting power inadvertently allows majorical opinion to be widespread instead of controlled albeit (a surprisingly major oversite by the wanabe controllers) until moderators catch on and resume the role of the old newspaper editor in a bid to " weaponise " information.
However it is the age of (with the power of the internet) humanity to have a voice and simply if one site sensors said voice we just need switch sites. Thus taking power back from these "narrative" controllers.

"Bottom line" continuing to use known sites that control our voices is madness not to mention treasonous to humanity. Any person who has had their voice censored on what amounts to logical posting and continues to visit and post on site is no better than a church goer continuing to visit a church that has protected or covered up priesthood predatory behavior.

THEY CONTROL US BECAUSE WE ALLOW THEM TO.
STOP ALLOWING THEM TO. (Practice point 3).

a reply to: ALSTA

Well, not exactly. Yes, you could always write to a newspaper and hope they put your letter in the "Letters to the Editor" section, but there was a significant delay so the newness of the moment, of the story, wore off on readers. The impact was much less. Additionally, for every letter which actually made it in the paper 200 others just like it got thrown away. Consequently, you couldn't see the trends. Editors would pick out the most representative letters and trash the rest. All the reader really knew for sure was there was at least one or two other like-minded people out there.

Completely different metric.

Weird.. Any topic advocating taking rights away should be praised by Yahoo.

Controversial? What's controversial about the suggestion that we should completely abandon logic and go full Orwell? That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

a reply to: ltdan08 Yes and No....technically

a reply to: Galacticsun

This is why they are called fake news media. They sell a narrative, not news.

a reply to: Galacticsun

As you've found out, Yahoo is just one of the many that "moderate" comments. But I think one thing that should be considered about this specific event is that the moderator is an actual individual - not a company. So your thread was reviewed by at least one moderator, and perhaps escalated to a higher-up. But we know 'company culture & policy' determines how employees are supposed to respond - so that is very real - and not always aligned with each individuals paradigm. Still, this doesn't mean the person that shut your thread down was influenced by their own bias. Over the last 2 years, we've certainly learned that political bias and the affect it has on the professional decisions of individuals is very real.

On a side note, we are witnessing essentially what happens when we transform to a full democracy. The rule of law is out the window in favor of majority opinion in all settings. It is a slow painful death for freedom. Just ask ancient Rome. Only thing is I cant figure which side is the worst. I keep seeing hitler-esq type playbook actions and both sides are using it straight from the handbook.

Common sense must give way to emotional response because now n days no one can lose, no one can be wrong, and pride does not allow for backing down. The wars been underway for a while now. We're just ramping up to the inevitable. When one side loses the fight, both sides lose their freedom.

Gawd I love how history repeats. We are a stupid, stupid race of people drowning in our own close minded complacency.