Post B2xYaRTar3Rw4gJLXc by danyarelkhodari@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by danyarelkhodari@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B2uSehS8DLwDaFOWAa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:42:03Z
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I don't really know a lot of right wing people. But, I know that some of you in the US do. Recently Trump has said things like "crime is down" and "we have the lowest crime since 1900." I'm curious if your right wing family and acquaintances really feel this is true?Do they think that, for all the violence and strife, at least there is less crime now?1/
(DIR) Post #B2uSuoFahyUlIeD6oq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:45:01Z
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Public perceptions of crime are wildly disconnected from objective measures of harm. It is possible to create a crime wave in the public imagination simply by reporting on a series of mundane if typical crimes in a different way. Right wing new sources have always presented a steady march of examples of "immigrant crime" each and every petty robbery is reported and linked to a broader pattern and this can make people feel like they are under siege. 2/
(DIR) Post #B2uTDawOPwMRWTBj8a by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:48:23Z
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This can happen on the left too. And it's not always dishonest or manipulative. For example telling the individual stories, one after another of people snatched by ICE who totally fail to fit the promised stereotype of "worst of the worst" makes the operation look bankrupt. It illustrates the statistics and is absolutely needed to help the public understand what is happening. But reporting on every guy named Juan who robbed a McDonald's isn't illustrating anything. 3/
(DIR) Post #B2uTVok3qNvHXS6pnc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:51:42Z
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We understand crime through specific events that we hear about and things that we see. Mostly from the former since happily, most people do not experience crime directly. It has always been a lie to say that there are "millions of criminal illegals in the US" this means if ICE will deport and disappear "millions" most of them will not be "criminal." I can almost understand being fooled into jingoism by news coverage that makes an "immigrant crime wave" seem real. 4/
(DIR) Post #B2uTgv1uo10CE3ko9A by gbargoud@masto.nyc
2026-02-02T11:53:38Z
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@futurebird I haven't found it again but at some point I saw a graph comparing NY Post articles about crimes to crime rates to show that in a "crime wave" they always put in a lot more articles per crime
(DIR) Post #B2uTouyWtP0aNBz6jQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:55:09Z
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I think about the people in Madison Square Garden with their "Mass Deportation Now" signs. This is what "Mass Deportation" means. Stephen Miller knows that doing Mass Deportation means abusing and vanishing people who your average person would not find at all criminal. He knows what he's signed up to do. I hope that this isn't true for many of the people holding the signs. I hope that as they see how this MUST work they will recoil in horror. 5/
(DIR) Post #B2uU37Ea6wjGRoGLvU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T11:57:43Z
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I'm so proud of the people of Minneapolis. In your puffer jackets and snow boots your rejection of having your neighbors taken, your unwillingness to just walk by and assume that "while it might look bad the government must have a good reason for doing it"It makes me proud to be an American with you. 6/6
(DIR) Post #B2uUG5GqiqGY7fVW5I by whitemice@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T11:59:59Z
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@futurebird I'm in a second tier American mid-west city and chair of the neighborhood association. Public perceptions of crime are indeed completely disconnected from reality, and they are astonishingly static. At this point I believe a belief in pervasive-crime-danger is some kind of psychological need, and one that political leaders know they can jack into [and so they do, even some of the "progressive" ones].
(DIR) Post #B2uULguYChCkJHkcds by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T12:01:03Z
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@dianea OK. But do they really think that "crime is down" --is anyone buying that?Even when crime is *really* down it's hard to get people to agree with that line. The public tends to think "crime is getting worse" regardless of what is really happening with actual crimes. The fear of crime is an important element in creating permission to excuse state violence. eg. "It is so sad that those poor people were shot but we live in such dangerous times."
(DIR) Post #B2uURJLAkfH6wcsnS4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T12:01:52Z
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@riley What's "all gone now" I don't know if I follow?
(DIR) Post #B2uV4bEg9RVdjua0X2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T12:09:11Z
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@dianea And I will push back on the idea that education is an explication for any of this. I know many people without degrees, people who never had the opportunity. They are capable of recognizing that pulling a crying child from his father as they scream in fear isn't the correct way to address a civil matter of incomplete immigration papers.The violence is unwarranted. The targets are innocent. The spectacle of it is disgusting and brings shame to the American state.
(DIR) Post #B2uWw9mkWlUCC9cNFY by HappytoBe@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T12:30:00Z
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@futurebird The people I know believe crime is way up in other geographic areas. They have that perception based on news entertainment shows that highlite a horrible crime by an immigrant or person of color on a daily basis. Usually, it does not occur to them to wonder why similar crimes don't exist in their own geographic area. When they do notice, they chalk it up to the area's conservative values and strong police force which is not an accurate representation.
(DIR) Post #B2uYs7OTg1bHWnT14S by run_atalanta@beige.party
2026-02-02T12:51:42Z
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@futurebirdThey only see the crime that is "against white people of acceptable social status."They absolutely DoNotSee the crimes against the white homeless, white women, and of course, all the violence being perpetrated against BIPOC in the name of "safety."Black-on-Black violence? Waved off with the hand. It only exists on the news to reinforce their sense of superiority. They cannot see cause and effect. They don't want to examine their own miserable lives, so thinking about the true cause of societal violence is far too much. They'd much rather jail the black man stealing diapers and formula at convenience store and pay for his incarceration at a private profit prision, than have those same dollars help his family have social services.My broad assumption is that it's a continued abuse cycle. Just like 'rump, spoiled, always been feed & housed, but abused kids with daddy/mommy issues were once the punching bag, now want their turn to be the aggressor.I honestly believe, if these jerks had grown up risking their life to leave the house, because literal four-legged predators or large winged dinosaurs might snatch them up, they would have learned community and empathy. Or something resembling that. The best people I've known, have been those who live in poor neighborhoods, and truly care for their literal neighbors. *sigh* I wish I could be as caring as those I've met, but still have much of my own parental indoctrination to overcome, but I try. @dianea
(DIR) Post #B2uij0m7ukBBw6pCng by australopithecus@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T14:42:06Z
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@futurebird In my admittedly unusual experience (religious cult), it comes down to understanding reality through narratives. To some extent, everybody does this and it's just a matter of degree, but the most conservative folks I've interacted with seem to only internalize narratives, not facts or details. This makes it harder to directly discuss problems with them, because they're "immune to facts" so to speak, but it also helps explain why they're more receptive to stories about individuals.
(DIR) Post #B2vPmjSQXUI9PhdBwm by Tattie@eldritch.cafe
2026-02-02T19:33:46Z
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@riley we must do something about these thievin' Stevens!@futurebird
(DIR) Post #B2vPmkX4XhbMkOoPpI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T22:44:35Z
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@Tattie @riley I mean... if we reported on every instance of Steven crime I bet people would start wondering about the millions of normal Stevens. That's what happened to Florida in a way. For a variety of reasons strange petty crimes were easier to report on if they occurred in Florida. More news stations picked them up since it was "amusing." Now there is this notion that there is something wrong with the "Florida Man."
(DIR) Post #B2vQIzuEv2u7h81dy4 by Tattie@eldritch.cafe
2026-02-02T22:50:27Z
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@futurebird you don't even need to find actual Steven crime, just pick random crimes and speculate that the person might be called Steven, we don't know yet but we've heard reports...Sad trans woman noises@riley
(DIR) Post #B2vQwburX4iMsHCouu by lufthans@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T22:57:36Z
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@futurebird @Tattie @riley Steven crime is so bad they called it Steven's UniverseRe Florida: supposedly they have public disclosure laws that result in easier access to incident information. Also, Florida.
(DIR) Post #B2vSwaYInr9KYKlqTY by madengineering@mastodon.cloud
2026-02-02T23:20:01Z
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@futurebird @Tattie @riley Florida specifically has a "sunshine law" that enables journalists to read police files any time they like and can report on them so long as they do not reveal personally identifying information.The same nonsense largely happens in other states too, but it gets locked up in police files, never to be heard from again.
(DIR) Post #B2xYaRTar3Rw4gJLXc by danyarelkhodari@mastodon.social
2026-02-03T23:32:40Z
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@futurebird Hello, how are you, my friend? I'm Dania from Gaza. I live in very difficult circumstances, and I'm an engineering student. Please help me so we can learn and rebuild Gaza. Your donation would be greatly appreciated; any donation makes a big difference to us.
(DIR) Post #B2yW3ChokFT9xRwmvo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-04T10:38:48Z
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@riley @madengineering @Tattie I had a bizzare dream where newspapers had headlines like "Another Steve Strikes"
(DIR) Post #B2yYzgseugiqFQ2Cbg by Tattie@eldritch.cafe
2026-02-04T11:11:55Z
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@futurebird had enough of this Stevegoating@riley @madengineering