Jim Himes says the American people are too gullible falling for Russian propaganda

[senseandsensibility]

and I agree. He seemed genuinely angry yesterday on MSNBC when he was commenting on the Russians bribing RW influencers to repeat their talking points. And I agree, it is infuriating that maga is such a bunch of low-info marks.

But to call the American people gullible is not helpful. If you're going to go there, call out who needs to be called out: the rightwing base. Otherwise, people who are listening will just tune out such warnings and think he is talking about someone else.

[Basso8vb]

1. A lot of lefties are falling for it, too.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Fortunately

Last edited Thu Sep 5, 2024, 04:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't know any except RFK and Gabbard who were never really lefties anyway.

[DBoon]

3. people are trained from childhood to be gullible

Just look at how religion is used.

[Irish_Dem]

4. All kinds of Americans have fallen for Russian propaganda.

Many of the so called Gaza supporters fall into this category.
The ones destroying college campuses.

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Not that I'm an expert or anything like that, but the 'Russian propaganda' I've seen is mostly nonsense, they didn't

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construct their sentences or English phrases correctly, and it stands out like a sore thumb. All of us have seen this. Kind of a red light to us when we see such, that the speaker's original language is obviously not English.

For those of us who have had not native English speakers in their relationships or grew up w/ such people, you know what I mean.

I was always, in my first long-term relationship, correcting their English or re-interpreting it as they got things messed up. I give them immense credit, in that, first of all, speaking another language besides one's natural language is an awesome accomplishment.

And then to slip back into their native language(s) just as easy was so natural for them. I guess that is what you can get in some families, which is what my first long-term relationship person was like, when grandparents on one side spoke a couple of languages, and then grandparents on the other side spoke different languages, and then their own parents spoke different languages. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. They could speak six different languages, German, Italian, French, Spanish, English, and Portuguese!!

And you know what is the amazing thing is? That lots of people can do this. After all, look at Europe. It's the size of the USA roughly, and crammed w/ different languages, etc. A lot of us don't really realize this, being that we're so used to one language, one Country.

[senseandsensibility]

6. Yes, I am a credentialed ELL (English Language Learner) teacher

and you are correct. There are different stages of fluency and the more a person speaks, the more their level is apparent. Sometimes I would be conferencing with a parent who spoke English as a second language, and they would appear to speak English well. But as the conference progressed, I learned to adjust my speaking style when it became apparent I was speaking too fast or using obscure words. The same adjustments were necessary with the students too, of course. And, like you, I had great respect for the adults and children learning to speak another language.

[epreic01]

7. Personally, wouldn't call them gullible.

I’m sure there’s some, but I think Corruptible or corrupted is a better characterization. I think an overwhelming majority of them are racist bigots and Donald Trump had them at “Mexicans are Rapists”. They aren’t mindlessly believing lies. They are actively engaging in and propagating misinformation. They are team Trump and they want to win at all costs. But we can’t lock up 30% of the country, even though I see them as traitors to America and to Democracy.

[Bev54]

8. The lure of money seems to have something to do with it. They play dumb which

gives them plausible deniability.