• ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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    8 days ago

    It actually was precisely the plan - conspiracy theories are sown by the establishment to deflect from itself and shift blame elsewhere, so they can get away with whatever they want to and still maintain power.

    Qanon was about deflecting “the most rich and powerful in society get away with trafficking, rape, and murder” to “liberals get away with trafficking, rape, and murder”. In the same way that “the economy is controlled by a small group of rich and powerful capitalists” is deflected to “the economy is controlled by Jews”, and “abusive men in positions of power groom children” to “drag queens groom children”.

    It’s one way to manufacture consent, and it works.

      • kinsnik@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Why? Selecting Gaetz as AG can’t be attributed to stupidity. Hanlon’s razor doesn’t say that malice doesn’t exist

        • Dasus@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          Imagine using Hanlon’s razor when dealing with any sort of spam you get.

          You’d be broke within an hour.

  • Skvlp@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    And they got the majority of the population to back their quest. Unreal.

  • ceoofanarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 days ago

    Hey don’t give up yet maybe some of the supreme court will retire and Trump can bring a pedophile to the top justice position in the land.

  • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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    8 days ago

    This got me to exhale forcefully, and the corners of my mouth crept up slightly. Which in these days of horror and darkness is something.

    It isn’t “The Onion Now Owns InfoWars” hilarious, but it’s funny.

    And the tiny possibility he won’t be approved is … interesting.

    Kakistocracy: is it better or worse than having competent fascists in charge?

  • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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    8 days ago

    I don’t think Gaetz qualifies as a paedophile, at least with what we know. Rapist and child sexual abuser fits though.

    Those of you downvoting me, do you know something I don’t?

      • uniquethrowagay@feddit.org
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        8 days ago

        Many child abusers are no pedophiles. And many pedophiles are no child abusers. You need to look up the exact numbers yourself but surprisingly many child abusers have no sexual attraction to kids. It’s often about power and availability.

      • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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        7 days ago

        Paedophilia is the sexual attraction to prepubescent children. As far as I’m aware that’s not what Gaetz is accused of.

      • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Could be saying a 17 year old doesn’t qualify as pedophilia. The definition has shifted a lot over the years. When I was a legal adult at 18 I was having sex with a 17 year old. Am I a pedophile?

        For the record fuck Gaetz and his 17 year old fucking, tiny faced, fleeing justice ass.

        • IDrawPoorly@lemm.ee
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          7 days ago

          So brave thank god you stood up for all those brave 42 year olds fucking 17 year olds. with this argument:

          When I was a legal adult at 18 I was having sex with a 17 year old. Am I a pedophile?

          such a stupid fucking question

  • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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    8 days ago

    Can someone explain to me why this is pushed so hard? I read up on the issue, and it was a friend of his who was trafficing girls. Then an FBI sting tried to coerce his father by offering a ton of money to get him to say his son was in on it. Local FBI set his dad up with a wire and they actually arrested/charged/sentenced the FBI agent who tried to go after him.

    Like, this is easily findable information.

      • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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        8 days ago

        So why were these FBI agents charged and sentenced then?

        Edit: read the article, I didn’t see any hard evidence. just accusations. See: mattress girl for why accusations aren’t sentences

        • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          See mattress girl… Hey friend I’ve been terminally online before too. I went to rehab, and a psychiatrist. I did some therapy with a psychologist but it didn’t do much for me.

          I’m the same person I always was, same human body. But things have changed so much for the better it’s surprising.

          Shit hit the fan in my family and I got fired from my job. That’s when I asked for help. There’s no shame in asking for help. Take it from a 41 year old badass in my new career.

          It takes time… But if you’re still thinking about mattress girl let that shit go. It’s nothing. It shouldn’t have affected you in the first place. Let go of the shit that brought you to post about this in 2024.

          Ask for help. I’ll talk to you if you want, judgement free. I have today off once I sleep for a bit.

          • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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            7 days ago

            Lol. Good for you, getting back up on your feet.

            I’m using mattress girl as an example of how simply believing accusations can go very, very, very wrong. Not all women lie about sexual assault, but the very fact that some do means we cannot condemn someone merely for the accusations. As a 41 year old, you should understand that concept.

            But isn’t that interesting, that your response is to just forget that it ever happened because it didn’t happen last week. How very simple that would be, if we just forgot past lessons. Hey, in that spirit, we should just forget Hitler, he happened much further back than mattress girl did, so he should just be that much more forgotten then, shouldn’t he?

            It’s wild that your argument is “forget history,” but I’ve been thoroughly entertained, thank you.

              • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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                7 days ago

                I have a hard time with the death penalty. I don’t think it should be used unless 100% certain guilt, like DNA evidence. But even then, stuff can be planted. And I used to say video evidence, but even that can be faked now with the rise of AI.

                So I lean more towards not having a death penalty, and using multiple life imprisonments instead.

            • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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              7 days ago

              I’ve been defending you in this thread and tried to offer help.

              On reread of my comment it looks like I went to rehab for Internet problems which isn’t the case. I was having seizures from my alcohol addiction. I hope that’s less funny.

              Your response: you forget history Hitler lol. Mattress girl isn’t history. Except in the fact that it’s some bullshit to get hung up on that an unhinged person did that’s still banging around in your head.

              This response actually enraged me when I first read it.

              It’s cool now though. If you want to talk I’ll listen.

              • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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                7 days ago

                I’m sorry you had alcohol problems that led to such difficulty, that really is awful and I’m glad you got better and changed your life. You’re barking up the wrong tree though, the only thing I’ve been close to being addicted to is Adderall in my party days, and as soon as I felt like I wanted to skip work and have fun instead, I stopped using it. That was 15 years ago. I drink socially and always have, maybe a drink every three weeks or so.

                And I have a vibrant offline life, thank you.

                Are you claiming mattress girl didn’t happen? Because that’s a pretty wild take considering all the court transcripts available, documenting everything. Not sure how you call that not-history. It happened. All of it is documented. False accusations happen. That’s the point of what I’m saying.

      • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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        8 days ago

        He’s been accused, but that’s it. Accusations don’t make someone guilty.

        So, if it comes out that he did actually do it, fine. But the evidence actually points to it being a political hit job.

        • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          That’s the thing, they may have the evidence of that, the drugs, and the campaign finance shit. But as soon as T nommed him up he quit his job. Which means all the investigations stop.

          So now it’s unlikely if it ever will come out if he did it. Mike Johnson says drop it. Some Representatives are saying publish it.

          My bet is we never see it.

          • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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            7 days ago

            I hope we do, very much so, but only because I think everything should be transparent in government.

            Both Dems and Rinos hate him so much he’d be gone if he actually did what he’s accused of. Innocent until proven guilty and there’s no evidence of guilt.

            • VARXBLE@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              7 days ago

              Gaetz is from a wealthy well connected old money Florida family. His daddy has bailed him out of crime jams before already. This man has never had to be accountable a single time in his life. He’s literally the 80s villan fratbro archetype come to life.

              • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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                7 days ago

                What sort of crime jams? It really depends on the type. For example, I voted in the guy who has felonies on his record, but laws were changed in order to make those charges felonies specifically to charge him, and there was no victim. So, it’s a situational thing for me.

        • blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          You’re a lost cause, obviously, but for anyone else here, don’t trust the troll! Just block that kind of behavior.

    • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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      8 days ago

      I’m trying to Rid the Deep State of Pedophiles so I TOO look for ways to Defend TOP POLITICIANS when they get Credibly Accused of Pedophilia Sex Trafficking and Rape! Pizza Parlors!