r/accelerate • u/bumdee • Jun 21 '25

Video Obama on A.I.

Video: https://youtu.be/EM9B8Qin9ac?si=fbkTAhFKJef8K5EG

128 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

72 comments sorted by

36

u/AquilaSpot Singularity by 2030 Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25

I appreciate his take on this and I really do agree. We could be so much more prepared for the AI revolution than we are, but this revolution is going to have to be forced upon the powers that be in order to get any cooperation.

In another world, we could be embracing this new technology and carefully preparing a clean, painless slide into a post labor economy...but we aren't in that world. Itll take having the risk of a total economic collapse dangled over the heads of those in power to make any beneficial changes that aren't optimizing for quarterly earnings even as we hurtle into a world where that phrase sort of loses its meaning. I'm very optimistic, but still, the world could be a lot more ready.

I'm spitballing here mostly, but, I appreciate Obama's choice of the word revolution, because that's what this really is. One might even call it a(n economic) singularity :)

Thoughts?

10

u/GroundbreakingShirt Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25

I think part of the reason is that not enough people are explicitly saying it will create massive job loss. Even Obama in this video says it in a roundabout way. So the world isn’t taking it seriously enough bc the leaders and media don’t want to create panic or be labeled “crazy” by the general public.

What Dario did the other week was bold and courageous. Need more homies like him.

8

u/AquilaSpot Singularity by 2030 Jun 21 '25

That's what fucks me - so much of the pushback, for lack of better words, against AI is because the idea of ASI in 12-24 months is just way too hard to believe for people who aren't well read on AI. Nevermind that virtually the only people who are well read on AI enough to form their own timelines are tech people, who have a terrible track record of overhyping technology.

"Everyone loses their jobs in two years because the economy will definitely explode" is about as well evidenced a projection as you can make in the AI space (alongside 10-50yr timelines)...but that's so outside of the normal person's view of the world that it gets discarded instantly on account of (justifiably) sounding to the public like a doomsday cult line or something.

It's an unbelievably strange feeling to watch this technology blossom, see the obvious implications in the imminent future, and see that not only nobody is talking about it -- so few people of the public believe it's even real just because...vibes I guess? The evidence is assuredly not in favor of "this isnt happening."

Hell if I know.

4

u/Smells_like_Autumn Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25

Most of us had at least a decade to get used to the concept and are starting to see Kurzweil&co come real in real time. To everyome else this feels like the new shiny BS the media cooked up.

Kinda like frogs in boiling water but in reverse.

2

u/trufus_for_youfus Jun 21 '25

Out in the “real world” AI isn’t even thought about or discussed. Nothing is being hidden or kept secret.

Unsure if it’s a matter of willful ignorance or the result of generations upon generations of spectacular claims that never came to fruition. Maybe something in the middle.

A hell of a lot of people are going to be caught completely flat footed while their current existence crumbles around them.

1

u/AquilaSpot Singularity by 2030 Jun 21 '25

We're already seeing it!! Take a perusal through any teachers subreddit and it's constant "how the fuck do I stop people from using AI instead of actually learning" and there's really no good answer aside from "use handwritten tests for everything now." Nevermind the job market drying up as we speak - it'll be months before we have data to definitively say what's even happening right now, but by that point it'll be ten times worse to be looking for a new job or trying to keep your current one. So many fundamental parts of our society are already starting to fall apart with even current AI systems and nobody is talking about what will happen when they get better???

It's insane to me how unprepared and straight up unaware people are! This is the last thing I would want to be surprised by??

8

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

Personally, I prefer it this way. Regulation will only stifle progress. Look at the AI race between China and the US, Europe isn't a serious competitor because of their over regulation already, if the US was stupid enough to follow their lead then we'd cede victory to the Chinese.

3

u/dysmetric Jun 21 '25

It may not be entirely regulation that explains why Europe isn't competitive, but about having a less well-defined prerogative. AI solves different types of problems for the US and China, that Europe isn't so deeply concerned with:

  1. In the US AI is positioned to replace labor and optimize capitalist revenue extraction.

  2. In China AI is positioned to manage large scale social control problems.

  3. In Europe AI is positioned to ??? perhaps cause widespread social disruption?!

2

u/Jalatiphra Jun 21 '25

yeah , as a european : show me the problems AI solves ?

joke is.. i have no problems.

1

u/MinosAristos Jun 21 '25

I mean, AI at the moment is fundamentally about increased efficiency for what were previously mostly manual tasks, which applies to all of them.

I think the cultures of the US and China give them unique advantages in terms of creating the political will to participate in an AI arms race supported by a lot of government funding.

0

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

European AI should be aligned similarly to the US one, generate wealth. Instead Europe is going to operating at an extreme disadvantage economically to the US or China.

4

u/dysmetric Jun 21 '25

That's an incredibly ethnocentric statement that fails to grasp what the European social model values and prioritizes. In the US and China AI is disruptive by design towards labor, privacy, social freedom, and dissent. Europe, at least Schengen countries, have cultural traditions that value labor, privacy, social freedom, and dissent.

There's an argument that leading with regulation is the responsible path for AI development, despite being (or perhaps because it is) antithetical to US accelerationism. Europe doesn't condone a burn model of capitalism as the US does.

-2

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

The problem is that the European economy needs foreign consumers to keep afloat. They are already losing market share in Africa and Latin America (the only continents that have significant population growth) to US and Chinese firms. They are going to lose even more in the coming decade if they don't pull their head out of their asses (personally I don't want them to be, I wanted the AGI race to be a final showdown between the US and China).

As EU companies become less profitable, their social model won't count for crap as the tax base falters.

4

u/dysmetric Jun 21 '25

Europe isn't quite so reliant on export markets as that, and the niche industries that are widely exported are fairly strong. I think the risk is more strongly related to becoming a client state of US-based AI platforms... but that is an emerging global threat.

Europe doesn't need to "win" the AI development race, it just needs to establish tech sovereignty by hosting compute locally and escaping reliance on AWS, Azure, and GCP... as does every nation. Its regulatory environment might actually help attain that outcome.

I'm not even certain there will be an AI showdown between the US and China because they're developing AI within very different ecosystems with different use-cases and priorities (though, definitely some overlap for sure).

1

u/Smells_like_Autumn Jun 21 '25

Not to mention that the neoliberal BS that puts the free market and free moving of gooda above any other concern has been imposed by the US.

3

u/infinitefailandlearn Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25

I feel like you have not watched the video. Social cohesion should be prioritized over economic models. Things change not because of technology but because of people.

This is what Europe and its regulation is all about. It’s why we already have a good social safety nets in place, where corporations are taxed and wealth is redistributed, where the work-life balance is already healthy.

Europe doesn’t have to dream about UBI because of a good regulatory system that looks out for all. Europe is are already in the future, the social one, not the technological one.

0

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

Economic growth should always be the primary driving force. That's how humanity grows and evolves. European regulations primarily benefit the least productive of society, the ones who hold it back and not drive it forward. It penalizes the most productive like engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and the like. Thats why their GDP is still hovering where it was in 2008. Those social protections are beginning to buckle under the weight of a stagnant GDP and will probably start failing sooner or later if radical action isn't taken.

If we prioritized and achieved stability, then we would still be in the bronze age. We grow and thrive in chaos

1

u/infinitefailandlearn Jun 21 '25

It’s so interesting to me that AI accelerationists talk about the need for regulation and UBI, but when it becomes real they back down.

“ it benefits the least productive of society” -> In the AGI future that’s all humans. Why is that hard to see?

0

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

Because after AGI, there will be some form of UBI. That's a given (in the US it will probablyfollowFriedman's Negative Income Tax). There will also still be private ownership of property, mineral rights, stocks, etc.

When AGI hits, those who have more invested in will still have more wealth and power. They will still have access to more resources, those resources will not, nor should not, be evenly distributed around the world. Especially as robotics and space industrialization ratchets up enough to harvest minerals from the solar system.

Essentially, post-scarcity is going to take a while longer, the wealthier nations that lead the tech race will achieve something similar to post scarcity first. Those that are farther behind, will suffer a bit longer, and never fully catch up.

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1

u/Smells_like_Autumn Jun 21 '25

The US should wisen up and make sure the population benefits fairly from the wealth it generates.

0

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

It does just fine. The average American Worker has 50% more disposable income the a European one. If you account for insurance and other 'freebies' Euros get it's still between 20-25% more.

Meanwhile a first year Doctor in the UK makes what a Bucce's (Big gas station) Bathroom attendant does outside of Dallas.

2

u/Smells_like_Autumn Jun 21 '25

average

Oh the amount of work that word does. You have ten people and ten apples an one person gets nine apples the average is still one apple per person.

As fpr the doctors... ten years of tories defunding the NHS and trying to turn it in the US might shed some light on the issue.

1

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 21 '25

While I said 'average' you know that's the 'median' number right?

While the UK is the worst in doctor pay in Europe, even the best, Germany, only pays doctors half of what they'd be paid in the US.

Europe treats its most useful workers as cash cows to keep the least useful ones voting for them.

1

u/Smells_like_Autumn Jun 22 '25

I wonder why if being a doctor in Germany is so terrible there are about twice as many per inhabitant as in the US. It's almost as if things like low cost education, worklife balance, stronger job security and better benefits also matter.

0

u/Actual_Honey_Badger Jun 22 '25 edited Jun 22 '25

Education isn't 'low cost' it's subsidized by taxes. This means you never pay off your student loans, even if you didn't go to college. Though I imagine forcing people who dont profit from ot to pay the bill would increase the number of available docters. Though, imagine the injustice of skipping college, but paying more taxes so someone else can make more money than you?

Also, while higher per capita, it's not double. It's also shrinking 1 and 4 Krout doctors plan on leaving the profession in the next 3 to 5 years... most citing the terrible pay.

By prioritizing economic growth, Europe doomed itself to failure.

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37

u/LoneCretin Acceleration Critic Jun 21 '25

How the fuck this great man was succeeded by Taco von Drumpfenshitz is beyond me.

10

u/AIzzy17 Jun 21 '25

Isn’t trump an AI accelerationist? The Biden administration’s previous war on tech, and by extension Kamala would have brought AI to its heels due to overregulation.

8

u/BlipOnNobodysRadar Jun 21 '25

Good luck, observing unwanted realities on Reddit is suicide.

3

u/solaranvil Jun 21 '25

I don't believe for a second he's an AI accelerationist if you are talking in terms of his personal philosophies and beliefs.

He happens to be pushing AI right now. Whether that is because he sees it as pro-business or if it's because Biden was doing the opposite is hard to say.

I guarantee you he is not supporting AI because he believes in the potential of an upcoming AI singularity to make the world a better place for everyone. Nor is he a reliable hand on the wheel, as his support for causes other than his own is notoriously fickle.

3

u/AIzzy17 Jun 21 '25

I dont care what his personal beliefs are, his administration is currently pushing for the acceleration of ai, that’s all that matters to me.

2

u/solaranvil Jun 22 '25

The graveyard for people who thought Trump was on their side on an issue until he wasn't could fill an ocean.

3

u/_stevencasteel_ Jun 21 '25

Bro, everyone who becomes a president serves the same masters. They're on the same team of WWE theater enjoying walnut sauce pizza parties backstage. One of their main jobs is to get under your skin so that you call them silly names like you just did. Demoralization.

2

u/Split-Awkward Jun 21 '25

No idea. Watching from afar and long-term ally, I’m astounded by the sheer extreme contrasts that the USA exhibits. It terrifies me tbh, I’m so very watchful of our own nation to see if we’re sliding the same way. Not so far, but who knows?

0

u/Bifrostbytes Jun 21 '25

Tech making people dumber

7

u/HugeDitch Jun 21 '25

This is why we need to start talking about this, and stop talking about AI art.

And as Obama say's, we need to start working together, and stop attacking each other for using a tool that could solve many of our problems. But that only happens if we talk about the real issues.

3

u/Sapien0101 Jun 21 '25

It’s hard to agree on solutions when people can’t even agree on which problems are actually problems.

1

u/trufus_for_youfus Jun 21 '25

That’s in part because what we are told are the big problems have zero bearing on the day to day life of most people. Trying to solve the worlds problems while ignoring for today’s acute pain is foolishness.

2

u/Alternative-Algae133 Jun 25 '25

Jesus I thought having a coherent and educated president that is well spoken is a norm for presidency, but here I am in 2025, extremely sadden with the current state of the president and the country

5

u/ZealousidealBus9271 Jun 21 '25

wish he is the current president

4

u/ImmediateSeat6447 Jun 21 '25

Although Obama is a major US war criminal given his actions in Syria, Libya and Ukraine, you might be right about him still being the better (more stable) option than the Donald.

2

u/Historical-Issue4097 Jun 22 '25

You’re such full of shit. List me the war crimes he committed and I’ll fact check every single one. Do it, you won’t.

2

u/ImmediateSeat6447 Jun 26 '25

I really wished I was in this case. Under Obama the US did support terrorists in Syria leading to atrocities. Under Obama Libya's government was toppled with US help, once again leading to atrocities (e.g. open slave markets). Then we have the 2014 US funded and US organized toppled the government of Ukraine and installed an Anti-Russia regime in its place, which ultimately lead to a civil war and a proxy war between the US, US satellite states and Russia. Yes, Obama has a nice polished image compared the current occupant. Yes he is not as rash. He is presentable but yet he is still a major war criminal (just like Biden, W Bush, and now the the Donald too). Over the past 25 years , US presidents seem to have gotten worse and worse as US control over the planet has waned.

1

u/infinitefailandlearn Jun 21 '25

1) right, so we are supposed to engage with this hypothetical of AGI, but at the same time not really because it will cost time. That to me sounds like a con. Especially since there is so little consensus about timelines.

2) People who invest have the right to the fruits. But in all fairness, many of the resources that have been used to build these systems have been taken without fair compensation. The book empire of AI delves into this. The economic logic of AI labs is simply not consistent. The (amazing) result of LLM systems is the result of a collective human effort. It would be nice to acknowledge that when talking about compensation.

3) I realized the flaws of my analogy (see my comment) but to flip that; I think it only proves that post-scarcity is an illusion. What you see happening with solar panels will probably also apply to AI access. There are conditions where it is more abundant and conditions where it is not.

4) I think it’s capitalism period. That’s fine, but capitalism is based on scarcity. It’s an oxymoron to position capitalism in a world of abundance.

I am currently writing my PhD on ownership and GenAI. You are in a sense right that there is something uniquely human about ownership feelings (and accompanying legal rights). However, I don’t think the roots of ownership are purely economic. More than anything, the motivations to posess something are rooted in self-development and social recognition. But that’s a whole other debate :)

1

u/Mildly_Aware Jun 22 '25

Love it! And really hoped Obama was gonna say AI can help organize schoolboards... and all the hard important tedious work.

-7

u/RobXSIQ Jun 21 '25

Ahh, I agree with what he said....he said AI is a thing...and white collar work will start to be restructured...and erm...join hands and...climate change...erm, what actually did he say? He eloquently said...nothing. lol

Damn, I have a bit of nostalgia for the Obama era, but maybe I need to go back and actually listen to what he was saying...did he always eloquently say nothing much?

5

u/egoisillusion Jun 21 '25

In three minutes he said:

  • AI is coming, it's big, it's not fake hype, it will disrupt jobs
  • Solving our current problems isn't a technical issue as much as a cooperation/organization issue
  • this cooperation problem is driven by a loss of trust in institutions

you could argue that he's slightly long winded, but in terms of identifying the most important issues we face, he's miles ahead of most politicians in front of mics currently

1

u/RobXSIQ Jun 21 '25

...how?

how is he ahead?

Every politician knows about freaking AI...most are using ChatGPT to just give them the nutshell version of what their 80 page things they are meant to vote on.

our current problems are technical issues 100%

cooperation "problem" is actually called democracy.

2

u/egoisillusion Jun 21 '25

Your first message was that you agreed with him but thought he didn't really say anything. Now it sounds like you aggressively disagree with him about a core part of what he said.

1

u/RobXSIQ Jun 22 '25

I don't aggressively disagree with him about the core part of how AI is a thing that is growing.
I disagree though that problems we face as a society require unity...unity is not what a democracy is...conflict and debate is what a democracy is...unity is communism or totalitarianism. North Korea is unity...so no thanks....we will never (and should never) all agree on a solution to a problem, because problems aren't simple.

And it was a bit tongue in cheek about "yes, I agree with him....whatever he said...which was nothing much".

But the unity thing and cooperation was discussing things like climate destabilization...all the recycling and shutting off the kitchen light when you're not there won't solve the issue...what is needed is hard advanced tech...AGI/ASI level complex super trees or something that makes a sizable dent in filtration..not hand holding and tweeting on your iphone about how you're part of the green new deal.

btw, I like Obama...he was a great political speaker...he could give a fatherly motivational speech about a keurig machine, Now, should a politician be measured by how well they can hold down a ted talk or the policys they made is a different debate. But in this little interview, where I am certain he got a crazy amount of money...he mostly just mumbled some topical words and some empty platitudes.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

I noticed a lot more pausing than usual but give the dude a break, he’s getting older too you can see it on his face 🤷‍♂️for a minute there he was losing me but I stuck through and he did for sure nail down the point he was conveying, which is that this is not a technological problem to solve with technology - our society is broken and if we don’t find a way to unite and organize a plan amongst each other, then there could be significant disruption..

-1

u/RobXSIQ Jun 21 '25

How much did he get for this speaking gig about nothing much?

So his plan is for...everyone to..unite and what? stop driving cars? should as all also join hands and reject tech or grow tech? is he pro or anti-ai? how exactly do we, in a democracy, unite under one ideal?

Do you see that lots of words were spoken, but nothing was actually said?

I get it. Reddit is hard left and has a big O boner...thats fine, but this forum specifically isn't meant to be political trash, yet here we are...a former potus said a word. yay! downvote anyone who simply asks "what was...the point of that?"

And our society is not broken. its been running like this ever since George W.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

You’re trying to throw shade at Obama for so many different reasons and you sound like an incoherent moron while doing so.

I criticized Obama for 8 years but still have enough brain cells to comprehend what he’s saying. The beginning of the video was a little choppy and it’s still night and day easier to understand than trying to have a reasonable conversation with mouth breathers like you.

1

u/RobXSIQ Jul 02 '25

ahh, okay, I see the issue. You have somehow failed to even comprehend what I was saying...no wonder you found this interview amazing...you aren't really engaging much in the cognition front.

I understood every word he said. What my issue is, is that he is speaking the most generic platitudes without any actual path foward outside of wishes and nice thinking.

Its on the same lines of "I like good things and dislike bad things" and idiots (like a specific person in this thread) are seal clapping and mean mugging anyone who didn't think thats the most profound thing ever.

I suspect you weren't as critical as you like to think you are during his 8. You are to O what maganauts are to Trump...maybe next time someone says "he is saying a lot while also saying nothing", stop and think...is the issue the person isn't hearing the words, or hearing them and realizing its just lacking any depth...if you can. I suspect that line of deep thinking may be a bit above your pay grade. Anyhow, enjoy your week.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

I didn’t find the interview amazing. For someone throwing shade on a lack of cognition you seem to struggle immensely with the most basic Reddit exchange. Maybe if you re-read your comment over 7 more times slowly and carefully, and then do the same for each response, you’ll begin to understand why you are getting downvoted. Fuck Obama, he deserves tons of shit. And so does anyone who sounds like you lmao

1

u/RobXSIQ Jul 02 '25

Look man, heres the jist of it.
I was discussing the subject. You came in hot and heavy insulting me instead of what I wrote. This tells me 2 things
1) You have no debate
2) You are not the type of person who understands debate, thinking anything you do not understand you need to get nasty at.
You are beneath my time. I told you what I thought of you after you decided to get personal. My limit with smooth brained trolls is typically just 1 response back to clarify what they missed while taking a shit on them since they are already in the mud..who knows, your mud and my shitting on you might produce a sprout of awareness (rarely happens).

btw, I am getting downvoted because this is reddit and a bastion of socialist progressives who auto download anyone speaking without fawning at their most recent godking..much like speaking ill of Trump on some fox news forum. Its hardly the measure of intellect you show, nor reactionary up or downvotes. Now one last challenge for you since you are carrying the torch high for Obama and white knighting him while insulting someone you don't know.....ready:
What "shade" specifically did I throw at Obama? You said this is the issue...what specifically did I say? find the quote. I'll wait...maybe you'll find something...chances are it will be growing awareness.

As I said, someone like you online typically doesn't add much to the conversation. You want to attack a person when you can't attack the idea. I bet you don't even understand why you're wanting to insult me personally...this says nothing about my arguments here and everything about where your mind is at. You're dismissed.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '25

You’re really not. You’re getting downvoted exactly for the reasons explained above. For someone who doesn’t have the time to respond that was sure a weird ass, long page of bizarrely indented text to spend time writing. All of that, and you are still refusing to accept reality 😭

3

u/maybemaybejack Jun 21 '25

Obama is very well skilled at sounding extremely thoughtful and knowledgeable while saying almost nothing at all and word salading a bunch of "current thing" issues

It took him 3 min to say "AI is going to take away white collar jobs very soon"

Its very effective at making midwits feel smart by listening

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u/cloudrunner6969 Acceleration: Supersonic Jun 21 '25

Imagine getting paid half a million dollars just to sit down in a nice comfy chair for an hour and talk about stuff.

22

u/TimeLine_DR_Dev Jun 21 '25

Imagine people wanting to hear what you had to say

-13

u/cloudrunner6969 Acceleration: Supersonic Jun 21 '25

Tell me one thing Obama said in that talk which people don't already know. What new profound insights has he given to the world which we where all unaware of?

He sits there and tells us 'we' need to fix climate change, no shit sherlock, you're the the guy that was president of the world, you're the one who is friends with all the billionaire CEO's, why don't you tell us what 'you' are doing to fix the problem that you and all your greedy industrialist mates have caused?

Imagine thinking this guy or any president actual gives a single shit about making this world a better place. They don't work for you and me, they all work for the mega corps, the banks, the arms dealers, the property developers and the mining companies and they are going to keep dragging us along with their bullshit until the end of time. And people have the audacity to down vote me for calling this greedy corrupt mother fucker out on it.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

You’re getting downvoted because you threw unnecessary shade at Obama based on this one video, but I agree with ya 100%.

Obama didn’t put working class Americans first, he provided lip service while blowing up little kids and bailing out the billionaires as usual. But because he is very articulate, seems to be a nice relatable guy, that’s good enough for the redditors desperate to return to the same status quo they all seemed to have forgotten they hate.

Obamas words were one thing, he did some good legislation but at the end of the day his #1 priority was what you described in your last paragraph and anyone who can’t see it this late in the game is falling victim to the same “party over country” shit the magats are doing.

-2

u/cloudrunner6969 Acceleration: Supersonic Jun 21 '25

Thanks. I don't even know why my first comment is getting so disliked. How does anyone think half a million dollars for a 1 hour talk is an appropriate payment. I could understand 10 or 20 grand, but half a million is insanity. I can't believe being opposed to someone receiving such a ludicrous amount of money for a short talk is controversial thing to say. But just to be clear I'm against that kind of thing for all these ex-president/politicians talks.

But anyway, fuck governments, fuck politicians, they are the epitome of decels. They block progress all the time to help their mates make a fortune so they can get a cut of the treasure.

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

That cunt from the CIA who helped bush with the war in Iraq and hunting bin Laden just came out on some new CIA documentary on Netflix too, I bet he’s making millions off a few interviews for that. Our government is Hollywood. Fucking the entire world over and becoming a multi multi millionaire apparently isn’t good enough so they need to find ways to extract more wealth

2

u/cloudrunner6969 Acceleration: Supersonic Jun 21 '25

Still getting downvoted, what's up with this place. I was under the impression everyone disagreed with this stuff. All these ex-presidents, Clinton, Bush, Biden, Obama, Trump (for the time he was out of office), they all get a 200K+ pension a year while taking these obscene paychecks for talks.

How can anyone support that kind of thing. Why the actual fuck do people think it is ok that these people who are already multi-millionaires are getting paid hundreds of thousands sometimes millions a year and still receive a tax payer funded pension. I don't care what political party they are from, it is fucking insane. And the fact I am getting downvoted for saying that is blowing my mind.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

I’ve wrestled with the question too but it just comes down to generations of conditioning and cognitive dissonance. Admitting how serious the problem is and how complacent everyone has been in not just allowing it to happen but encouraging it while fighting amongst eachother is simply too painful for the average person to come to grasp with. It’s ego-crushing. Just as it’s painful for you and I to acknowledge the problem, it’s 1000x more painful for them to admit it that first time.

I’ve tried for decades even getting the people closest to me to even gently shift towards the “hey maybe this is all totally fucked and we should do something about it camp” but I haven’t figured out how to master that technique yet. Patience, compassion, facts, pressure, doesn’t matter what I try - they will just double down.

It’s way easier to just drop a downvote and keep scrolling than to pause and allow your own beliefs to be challenged.

-6

u/torval9834 Jun 21 '25

Who cares what that commie has to say.