I think Anders' analysis is correct (as usual). The sad thing is, that I believe not only the US is making this mistake, but also some European leaders. They should really know better and we will have to pay the price for it.

Also right (and left) wing populists are on the rise. And they openly support Russia. We are all fucked.

[–] Buffalox 5 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Yes it's really bad in both France and Germany, I don't quite get why the extreme right is so popular? Some say economy, but I don't see any evidence that the extreme right should be good for economy, and the election also caused the Euro to drop, so finances certainly don't believe it either.
Maybe it's emigration? but don't most European countries already have pretty strict regulation to prevent emigration?
Luckily there is no support on either right or left side for Russia here (Denmark), all parties support Ukraine. So it's very hard to understand how things are so bad in many other countries?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, the main issue is migration (here in Germany). And I believe propaganda is also a factor. People are bombarded with bad stories about migrants, but also about the government. This includes tabloids and social media of course. But also the conservative opposition. They are always talking about the government as if it was the worst in German history, when in reality it is not so different from their previous one.

Btw. the reasons why people vote for extremists are not smart. They are emotional. AfD voters tend to be less educated and porer.

[–] Buffalox 2 points 6 months ago

People are bombarded with bad stories about migrants, but also about the government.

Same mechanisms that caused Brexit, and just like Brexit the extreme right won't benefit anybody, their policies are moronic at best or decidedly evil.
I wonder why there isn't a good counter to these propaganda lies?

[–] Gradually_Adjusting 1 points 6 months ago

It's not just an ignorance/poverty issue, but a symptom of the prevalence of corporate media also. Corporatists will always have more common ground with fascists and brutal dictators than any anti authoritarian or socialist groups.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

@Buffalox @the_wise_wolf Things are not so bad in Germany. People voted out of protest against the current government (which is not worse than the former conservative one) for the far right. It's a very emotional thing, and a very stupid one that caused people to choose the fascists.
Also media campaigns are supporting government bashing and broadcasting of extreme right positions.
If you tell people the earth is a disc just often enough they start to believe it.