I sometimes can’t tell if it’s a grift or they’re really that stupid.
To clarify, as I clarify in my upcoming book ‘Welcome To The Stupidpocalyse’ (really early shameless plug), we’re all stupid.
Every one of us.
We’re all fallible, failing and flailing.
It’s an inescapable part of being human.
Don’t believe me?
Take the lines off the roads.
We need guidance.
Guidance and patience.
But some ne'er do wells have weaponized that stupidity.
They’ve realized they can say things that will push our stupid-buttons and some of us will react by engaging (which might result in getting our wallets out or voting for them). Especially if the stupid-button is labelled “It’s not our fault” or “Life could be so much better if ‘they’ weren’t ruining everything”.
They’ve weaponized it to sell books, podcasts, speaking gigs, win elections and more.
Hey, I sell books, podcasts, and do speaking gigs too (I’m never running for office) but at least I’m upfront about the fact that I’m an idiot as well.
Plus, I have that pesky burden I have to deal with… what’s it called again?
Oh, right… a conscience.
Side note: There should be special parking spots for those of us with a conscience. Like they have for pregnant women. Close to the building but not so close that it deprives someone more deserving of a better spot. Always a pull-through and ideally near a shopping cart corral so we can easily return shopping carts that those without a conscience have left strewn about the parking lot.
Thankfully, spotting attempts to weaponize stupidity is pretty easy.
For example…
If someone is trying to get us angry about being reminded to conserve paper towel or how its the current government’s fault that winter be winterin’, they’re probably trying to weaponize our stupidity.
However, some of us still get suckered in. Maybe we’re having a bad day or looking for reasons as to why we’re not happy/successful/rich/etc..
In that moment, if someone tells us the only thing standing between us and living our best life is because we’re being told to conserve paper towel or that the government won’t allow airports to fly planes in blizzards, we just might believe it. Even if it’s stupid.
Like, evidently really stupid.
Why? Because we’re all stupid.
To varying degrees at varying times for varying reasons.
Stupid thrives in chaos.
There’s been a lot of chaos in the past number of years.
Not to mention the chaos of our everyday lives, all the time…
our families, our friends, our jobs, our relationships, our age.
We make some of our most impressively stupid decisions in moments of chaos.
That would be fine if we all just acknowledged that stupidity and being stupid is a part of life (it is) but there are those that see us in those moments of chaos driven stupidity and think “hey, I can sell those morons anything right now.”
All they have to do is offer easy solutions… like blaming some mysterious ‘They’.
Sadly, thanks to Social Media it’s easier than ever to weaponize stupidity.
Social Media is chaos and, again, stupid thrives in chaos.
Sure, it’s loosely structured with some occasional guardrails, but it’s still chaos.
Social Media is everyone’s chaos in one huge pile of chaos… all in your pocket.
It’s overwhelming.
So we must remain as vigilant as possible.
Remind ourselves that every one of us is stupid at times.
Thankfully, if we step back a bit, those that wish to weaponize our stupidity sound and look like morons.
Sure, some of them may be well-read…
but that just means they’re well-read morons.
Don’t let your stupidity be someone else’s opportunity.
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Your argument on chaos being the ‘vehicle’ for stupid to propagate is fundamental to the popularity of the political agenda.
Side note, I usual use smaller four letter words.
A counter to those who are seeding the ideas of mistrust, doubt, stupid is difficult to comprehend. All I do lately is turn those article, YouTube’s as not interested. It does appear to reduce those feed.
Perhaps it’s your sense of timing, humour, and reason is the answer. Thank you for help
It is said “everyone is stupid at least 15 min per day. Then there are those exceptional people who can hold that all day long 🙀. “