Our little primroses, blooming valiantly all winter, have been buried in snow. They're slowly emerging and though they may look a little worse for wear now, they'll be fine in no time at all. Early spring flowers have to be hardy!
Have you been watching any of the impeachment arguments? The video evidence presented by the prosecution seems damning to me. But of course I already agree with the prosecution, so what I'm really interested in is Trump's defense. I'm very curious what his lawyers will say, and I'm wondering how Republicans -- who pretend to be all about law and order -- will justify supporting him. I'm sure they'll settle on something like, "Well yes, it was terrible, but why is Trump to blame?"
Which is a total cop-out.
Dave and I have been watching a documentary series on Netflix about the disappearance of a young tourist at the Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles in 2013. What's fascinating about the case isn't just that the woman disappeared -- it's that a whole Internet cult of self-appointed "cyber sleuths" grew up to "investigate" what happened from the comfort of their armchairs. It shows how asking questions can lead some to conspiratorial thinking, and how the Internet fosters that kind of detachment and disbelief in authority. I turned to Dave at one point and said, "It's just like Q-Anon!"
What can we do to bring people back down to earth? How can we as a society enjoy the positive aspects of the Internet, and afford people freedom of speech, without enabling all this destabilizing insanity?
Questions I wish I could answer effectively.
ReplyDeleteAs do all of us!
DeleteWhile I can't remember where I learnt about that case, I did. Mysterious for sure but I didn't pick up on any conspiracy theory.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard about it, or if I did, I forgot. It's been a fascinating series to watch.
DeleteI think the impeachment mangers are doing a meticulous and powerful job. But yes,it really for the annals of history as the republicans will not convict. Poor cold primroses.
ReplyDeleteYeah, exactly, it gets everything on the historical record.
DeleteWell, those are good questions that I wish I had an answer for. Yes, I've been watching. To me, there is more than enough proof that he is guilty. It literally makes me sick to my stomach knowing that Republicans won't convict. Apparently Cruz and Graham a few others met with Trump's legal team last night. Since when is the defense allowed to meet privately with jurors?
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the rules are. And why isn't Trump himself being called to testify? Or maybe the Dems don't want to given him another pedestal from which to blabber his nonsense.
DeleteThe GQP won' convict because they are terrified of him, which simply goes to prove they are all unfit for office.
ReplyDeleteEnough of them, though, your photos are gorgeous and remind us that, even under a layer of snow and ice, it's still pretty and Spring is coming.
They're more scared of their own constituents, I think.
DeleteI am afraid that I do not know the answers to your last two questions. It is a conundrum. It seems to me that social media platforms have allowed numbskulls a voice and significance that they could only have dreamt of in days gone by. Q-Anon could never have spread its poisonous nonsense without the conduit that social media has provided.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a good thing that people with minority views could gather online and share their feelings and suspicions. But instead it leads to this hyper-charged craziness that ensnares even MORE people. It's interesting from a sociological point of view.
DeleteI do believe that if they (the Republicans) don't vote to impeach this orange idiot, he will have federal charges filed against him. I can't see how they can just sweep this under the rug and move on. I know Georgia is considering filing charges against him. What do he have on these people. Ted Cruz is going to be out of there on his next election. They have been protesting at his home here. They aren't using common sense. That orange thing couldn't keep his seat in the white house, how the hell do they think he will be helping them. Every time he tried to help someone get in office they lost. It is just crazy times but it will eventually work itself out. Many of us are angry but it is out of our control. It's hard to realize that but it is. We have never had a situation like this.
ReplyDeleteIt's true -- this is a very strange situation. Trump isn't going to get convicted, so we'll see what happens next!
DeleteSad to say but I think YP is right- social media has indeed provided a conduit for insane theories but conspiracy theories have existed forever. In fact, you might say that religions probably started as conspiracy theories. (Did you hear? He didn't really die at all! They went to the tomb and he was GONE!)
ReplyDeleteThose primroses break my heart with their beauty and persistence!
LOL -- that's true! Religion DOES sound very conspiratorial. I guess some people need to feel that they're part of something bigger.
DeleteThe absurd defense that Trump's lawyers are going to use is his Constitutional Right to free speech. Seriously. I am really interested in hearing their argument. When I worked at UC Santa Cruz I advised the students who published the campus newspapers. I brought in a First Amendment attorney every quarter to lecture on its rights and limits. I am intrigued.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers in snow captures the essence of this season.
But free speech has always had an exception for inciting violence. Seems to me that's an arguable case.
DeleteI agree with Ms. Moon that conspiracy theories have been around for a long time. I remember seeing wild tabloid headlines while in the grocery checkout line. You can google for headlines: "Obama appoints Martian ambassador!", "Half boy, Half Dog", "Dolphin grows arms", "Abraham Lincoln was a woman!"...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, attacking the Capital and trying to take over the country - not a funny headline. He really needs to end up in prison one day.
Yeah, that's TRUE! I guess those were early conspiracies that would now unfold online in chat rooms with unedited content, which would make the stories even MORE extreme. Funny, I never thought about the parallel between old-fashioned tabloids and conspiracy theories -- that they might fill the same vacuum.
Deletegood question. how do you get people to stop believing the ridiculous and/or dangerous? I think some of this eagerness to believe the absurd gives a feeling of excitement to these people's lives. I do not understand the republican party. no offense Trump can commit is bad enough for some of them. the others are just plain cowards worrying about their jobs instead of doing their jobs. a very small handful recognise the importance of convicting Trump. if those 15 or 17 Republican senators who didn't even show up yesterday stay away for the vote, all we will need is a handful to convict.
ReplyDeleteI hope my poor plants survive. I might even lose the azaleas.
I think the only solution is education. Many of the people who believe that ridiculous stuff are under-educated and feel left behind by the modern world, which demands skills they don't have.
DeleteI am hearing hints of 'tRUMP believed the narrative his enablers were feeding him.' In other words, he's not a criminal...just a deluded idjit. Those enablers (Hawley, Graham, Cruz, the guy from florida...) are not even pretending to follow the proceedings. it is sickening. America's enemies are on display. We got rid of trump. The work will not be done until we did ourselves of all of these.
ReplyDeleteIt's true -- we're really seeing who's selling out the republic to secure their own political futures.
DeleteA question for the ages.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteI wish I knew the answer to that question.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeletePower has corrupted so many of them and they will do anything to keep it. It is sickening.
ReplyDeleteI think deep-down the Republicans KNOW the Dems are right about this, but they can't show support because they're scared of their constituents. (And they don't want to give the Dems a victory.)
DeleteI don't know how I can top the last commenter, but I'll try valiantly :)
ReplyDeleteI follow someone on Instagram who has made it her mission to try to educate folks about the facts and to stop believing all these conspiracy theories (Sharon McMahon @sharonsaysso). It's an uphill battle for sure - especially because once a person becomes emotionally invested in the conspiracy it's very difficult to lead them to the truth.
P.S. Love your primroses!
Readers: Let me just clarify that I deleted the previous comment (which was spam), so the Bug is NOT referring to Margaret above. :)
DeleteSharon's calling is a noble one, and I wish her well, but these folks have shown themselves to be impervious to any countervailing facts.
DeleteI've seen a few QAnon people on the news who say they gave up their beliefs when President Biden was inaugurated and 45 didn't declare martial law and take over the country. Trump's lawyers don't have much to work with and they're not very good because good lawyers won't work for him. He'll get off anyway, but I enjoyed watching the impeachment lawyers. They're well spoken, organized, and had damning evidence. I've read and heard that people tend to believe in conspiracies when they're upset and confused and don't know what to believe.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I think conspiracies also grow from some people's tendency to disregard expert opinion. They think their armchair investigations are just as deep and valid as the experts', whether those experts are detectives or journalists or politicians. It's mystifying to me.
DeleteYou're right. Perhaps that refusal to believe experts comes from the general American hatred of "intellectuals" and the "educated." I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "They've got book larnin', but they ain't got no common sense."
Delete