And probably another one drowned while vacationing in the Bahamas.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

The images you describe are part of the propaganda. People think that’s the only way propaganda is delivered, and therefore they can’t possibly be propagandized.

The expectation:

Sorry guys. I should have let the Nazis win.

The reality:

I know that after my death a pile of rubbish will be heaped on my grave, but the wind of History will sooner or later sweep it away without mercy.

“But I don’t want to!”

“That’s OK son, you can die for Ukraine”

That last comment has a bit too much “Arbeit macht frei” undertone to it.

It’s possibly a terror tactic they are taught and ordered to carry out. Before October 7th, we know that the IDF had the directive to shoot to maim Palestinian non-combatants. The idea probably being that the others would look at them as examples to avoid.

Or it could be just plain old sadism. For a period of time, the IDF had decided to implement this “humanitarian rule”, where they’d call the inhabitants of any building they were targeting with a missile, and tell them to evacuate. They’d call and just say “within the next 30 minutes your apartment will be bombed”, and then they’d just hang up immediately without pause. In the beginning a lot of the calls turned out to be false alarms, which made people think it was a prank. Then the warning started turning out to be real, and the people wouldn’t evacuate on time. Then, when people started heeding the warning, the IDF would “accidentally” call the neighboring apartment block instead of the one being hit. Then, when people started warning the whole neighbourhood, they’d start calling too early (hours before a strike, to make people exit, then go back in after a while, then be reluctant to exit a second time), or too late (2 minutes before the missile hits, giving people very little chance to evacuate).

There’s really little point in looking for rhyme or reason to what the IDF does. The Nazis were doing the same things to the Jews. Some of the attrocities commited were direct orders. Others were initiatives based upon directives. Others were just people feeling like the orders didn’t go far enough, and they needed to add their own inhuman flavor. Others thought they were just being loyal, or they were fitting in with the rest of the group. And others were just sadists looking for an excuse to make people suffer.

Whenever this question comes up about the motives of genocidal maniacs, I’m reminded of this scene from Come and See (If you haven’t watched this movie, just stop reading, put it from the beginning and watch it).

We like to ascribe logic to these people to make ourselves feel that at least they adhere to some sense and reason which we can fight against, but it’s dubious they operate on the premises of logic. Or we like to say they’ve gone crazy and have become irrational and illogical, because we want to avoid admitting that they used to be normal people, like us. Either way, we should be looking at the effects of their actions first and foremost. Whatever reason the IDF has for doing what it’s doing, it doesn’t make it any more or less horrific, inhumane or brutally criminal.

Indeed

The link goes to r/beAmazed instead of the thread you imply? I think you linked the wrong link.

Fair enough. My main experience has been with Reddit (and Youtube early on), as well as a few forums here and there. Consistently, if I ever brought up any of the third candidates, even as a question, I’d be attacked as a shill for the other side trying to waste votes. I’ll admit that now, because media has become deranged as well, people are a lot more willing to act fervently and lash out. But I’ve been seeing the basic behaviour since forever ago.

And back when I first started getting involved in online discussions, you still had the whole “patriotism” parade going on as well. I’ve been called “Unamerican” multiple times (people just assuming I was American in the first place), I’ve been chastised and banned for “not respecting the troops”, I’ve been reprimanded for calling out the stance of candidates on the wars in the Middle East. And especially during election season, if I were to mention that I’m a communist, the American conservatives would almost always conflate me with a liberal, and the American liberals would almost always conflate me with a conservative.

I’m not an American, or living in the US, but I’ve been following US politics since 2006. In online spaces it’s always been this bad.

Indeed, because if they accepted they’d need to treat Russia as an equal, it would be an admission of defeat in their minds. They can never accept losing primacy.

The Russophobia and propaganda are just oozing out of the article. It’s essentially a call for a new Cold War.

It’s mind-boggling how they twist events to make Putin appear as the bloodthirsty warlord who’s bend on destroying the democratic and benevolent West.

It’s worth reading to understand the deranged mindset of these people.

Very sad to hear. That man was a legend.

out of my head

Literally admitting they base their statistics on their fantasies.

I wanted to write something funny, but I don’t have the work ethic to do it.

He has been but wasn’t admitting it. He would go on wild monologues about being an anticommunist but not a fascist.

Is TIK openly fascist now then? It’s been years in the making.

Protect Babyhands!

Meaning, he’s likely a CIA asset.