Posts by andiias@mstdn.social
(DIR) Post #Aa1pr2nqfwoalfGSky by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-22T14:31:14Z
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@kravietzMass Society Theory seems to have had its day, although I haven't had time to look into the why more closely ...https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9780470674871.wbespm473 (last two sections)I'm not nearly as well read as you with regards to communism, but it seems to me that Bureaucratic Collectivism very quickly became a term used by communists only. I was trying to find an approach attempted through social psychology, instead. It seems to me that's where the phenomenon you describe belongs. @bjeelka @m0xee
(DIR) Post #Aa1vAAaGTCpyAlqke8 by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-22T15:42:12Z
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@kravietz Excellent points. I have myself over time become suspicious of grand theories.The only caveat (and it's one I'm only smelling, I can't prove anything) is that I'm not sure the phenomenon of why and how manipulated masses act can be fully expressed as data, as variables. If that isn't the case, even the best-researched statistics will still be limited, and we may still need theorists to describe, rather than to calculate, what's going on. @bjeelka @m0xee
(DIR) Post #Aa30fVkkVXEdjXTgrw by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-22T07:17:04Z
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@laimisI'm going to jump in in support of the "media" here: money is what everyone thinks they understand and therefore can maintain an interest in. If it had been about weapons systems, most of us normies would have switched off long ago. And the "media", apart from needing to make money, also see it as their job to inform the broadest possible readership about at least the basics. That's why they present the aid in terms of its monetary value. @anderspuck
(DIR) Post #Aa45XOZ032Tg31tKqW by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-23T16:58:59Z
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@anderspuckSensible, but too boring for a great news item ... ;-) @chris @laimis
(DIR) Post #AaDqy1TKSCe0WB4qhs by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T09:58:36Z
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@chowderman Sorry, don't want to sidetrack, but did kravietz say being a priest disqualifies you from earning a living?And the EU is a strange beast, I don't think you can class it as just another "nation". It has some authority which is usually reserved for nation states while lacking some of the democratic control mechanisms - the European Parliament doesn't really count. It is rather "sui generis" and that's one reason why there's so much disagreement about its benefits.@kravietz @rcz
(DIR) Post #AaDwtFsO4V2HT7uLku by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T10:28:02Z
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@kravietz That's what I understood you were saying. Btw, the way the church is treated in Poland sounds very similar to the German arrangement. Which currently leads to problems with Islamic religious instruction, as Muslim institutions weren't originally included in this arrangement (and I think now there's disagreement over which Muslim bodies the state should deal with).@rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaDxzOtXYNNZ8BwQd6 by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T11:18:36Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@kravietz Yes, that's correct, but the monies are not used for religious instruction in schools, as far as I'm aware. Everyone in state schools has instruction in "ethics", secular or religious - the insistence on that might also be due to Germany's past - so if you don't belong to a religious community you will be given introduction to "secular" philosophy. This is also paid by the state. So there is no preferential treatment for any party in this.@rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaDy4j61s9RvEUK3ua by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T10:48:46Z
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@chowderman I assumed he meant religious instruction. And yes, there is a conflict here between secular ideals and the reality of mixed beliefs in society. The reason why in Germany religious instruction is paid for by the state is so that the state can keep an eye on what is taught in its schools. You don't want full scale creationism taught in your institutions or any old Salafi becoming the source for religious instruction for your children.@kravietz @rcz
(DIR) Post #AaDzzH1uzjP0eAvYwK by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T11:33:08Z
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@kravietz Interesting, yes, that sounds somewhat problematic.It won't surprise you when I say that of course peer pressure and local attitudes exist in Germany, as well and the rules are implemented in a variety of ways across the country, of course. ;-) But particularly in recent years, with the addition of a largely secular population in the former GDR and the growth of Islam on the other hand, this has come under ever greater scrutiny. @rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaE0h0J0XKtvWElzSS by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T11:51:22Z
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@kravietz But is this stuff (stoning, etc.) in Poland actually taught in state schools? Despite it being, as you mention, unconstitutional? That would indeed be a scandal.And if yes, is it widespread or just single occurrences ...You see my eyebrows raised here ... (well you can't but you know what I mean).And thanks for your comments. Very interesting.@rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaE2UDNKpeFcCKpIy8 by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T11:58:59Z
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@kravietz Yes, that's an interesting point, the position the church attained by opposing communism. In the GDR, although not as prominently, the churches were also focal points of opposition but as far as I can tell their influence waned very quickly after unification. Or, let's put it like that, it doesn't seem to be at Polish levels. Plus, it sounds like the number of atheists there is far greater than in Poland.@rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaE2VCk8fTjkWixsTw by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T12:04:39Z
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@kravietz I haven't heard similar things from Germany. I wonder what we do to avoid that. There must be some kind of state oversight over teachings, or maybe the rule is simply to not teach anything unconstitutional. I actually don't know. But what you report sounds like a state within a state. @rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaE41PJrXsL2kgarxY by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T12:27:15Z
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@kravietz Would like to pull both your and chowderman's last posts together, but I can't (within 500 chars). Sacred sperm really isn't a problem when looked at in isolation, but what kravietz points out is that in Poland this can be seen as part of an ideological wedge that is driven between believers and non-believers which ultimately aims to replace state power. Sounds like a long shot, but happened in Russia, and we're not immune. (500 chars is just not enough ...)@rcz @chowderman
(DIR) Post #AaE6vSgWQ4K5Ja35ai by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T12:33:19Z
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@kravietz @chowderman I also wonder (and I might of course be wrong in chowderman's case) if coming from countries with an oppressive or totalitarian past changes your perception on this. I notice that Brits take a lot more things more lightly simply because they don't have this experience, even if only handed down through the generations, in their "genes", so to say. I do think what happened in Russia provides a lesson to all of us, and if kravietz sees similar patterns in Poland ...@rcz
(DIR) Post #AaEAWPJQDmEJQqYKCO by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T13:39:42Z
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@chowderman Instinctively, I would be entirely on your side. Think for yourself, don't let anyone else think for you, don't put blind faith in anything (I don't think anyone here is actually doing that).But in my case, I had to reassess quite a number of beliefs in the wake of the Russian invasion. I had to acknowledge how easily this approach can be exploited by actors one doesn't straight away recognise as being nefarious, in this case Russia.@kravietz @rcz
(DIR) Post #AaEEY07RGAcPgyxlUO by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-09-28T14:08:48Z
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@chowderman If you live on an island, "nation" may have some different connotations for you than if you share land borders which in principle could be anywhere ...And I think you might mistake trying to avoid past mistakes with putting (blind) faith in something. For no nation that I can think of is the EU a state, not even for the Germans (maybe for the Belgians). @kravietz @rcz
(DIR) Post #AaQVUQDmIgLMbeKIlM by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-10-04T12:13:21Z
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@strathearnroseHe ruled it out last November already.@Loukas @anderspuck
(DIR) Post #AaQVswR8AyBLTEGQbY by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-10-04T12:37:21Z
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@anderspuck If I remember correctly he said he didn't like the visual appearance or the way the toots were presented... I took it to mean that particularly with longer conversations or threads things appear too scattered and disjointed. I've never been a Twitter user but I also think the default Mastodon interface could do with some work to make it more visually appealing.@strathearnrose @Loukas
(DIR) Post #AcIrOAgdm18Bo5QGqe by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-11-29T15:43:29Z
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@kravietz Not heard that one before, but to someone like me this just sounds like the epitome of craziness, because had you gone to the "Iron Curtain" while it was still standing you would have seen even if half blind who was maintaining and therefore who created it. There are images. How can anyone with a straight face say Churchill created it because "he spoke it". That's belief in wizardry. Unbelievable!
(DIR) Post #AcJBAgj5qv6iClPzE0 by andiias@mstdn.social
2023-11-29T19:24:52Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@kravietz I met a number of descendants of communist immigrants to Britain, from various countries of origin. Usually, these descendants retain a more or less pronounced attachment to the socialist idea. Not once have I ever heard them wonder why their forefathers didn't emigrate to the Soviet Union, when that would have been much more in line with their beliefs. It was always clear that a capitalist monarchy was the better place to flee to ... Go figure, as they say ...