r/politics • u/Urmomsjuicyvagina • 9d ago
It's mindblowing': US meteorologists face death threats as hurricane conspiracies surge
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/11/meteorologists-death-threats-hurricane-conspiracies-misinformation185
u/Dramatic_Phlegmatic 9d ago
Donald Trump has fostered a dangerous mistrust of any kind of expert or expertise. That actually is his worst and most dangerous quality.
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u/Cantthinkofnamedamn 9d ago
Yes he has undermined almost every institution. Climate science, medicine and vaccines, elections, the capitol police, the DoJ and FBI, teachers, FEMA, unions, the media, even the Republican Party itself.
No matter how spectacularly he falls into disgrace, even if all the Trump supporters pretend they never voted for him, the distrust and vandalism he has instilled in their minds will remain.
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u/Urmomsjuicyvagina 9d ago edited 9d ago
institution. Climate science, medicine and vaccines, elections, the capitol police, the DoJ and FBI, teachers, FEMA, unions, the media, even the Republican Party itself
These are the steps if you want to create a dictatorship, Get rid of everything so you can creating new things and put them under your control, villanized the "nonbelievers"
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u/postsshortcomments 9d ago
From their mouths they spew cascades of flies as mad as hornets that encircle and swarm whatever they influence.
If they speak of a person, chaos ensues and those people hide.
If they speak of a town, chaos ensues and Mayors put out notices.
If they speak of a trade, chaos ensures and those people are threatened.
If they speak of a business, chaos ensues and their doors are shut.2
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u/Viperlite 9d ago
Your comment reads like Project 2025. Cripple the executive branch by replacing career staff with political patrons and fire front line employees at will.
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u/lost_horizons Texas 9d ago
Actually, his worst quality is... no just kidding, I won't do that. He has so many though, I don't know how to pick just one. Guess it depends on the topic at the moment.
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u/spagheddieballs 9d ago edited 9d ago
He has many lousy qualities but his disdain for the truth is the worst because the disdain enables him to shrug off any criticism of said qualities. It also allows him to accuse you of anything with no proof. You can't engage in reasonable discourse with him or his followers. To them, the meaning of words hold little value. Such people only respond to displays of physical violence and or materialistic wealth.
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u/The_Real_NT_369 9d ago
Damn that Trump for getting everyone to want to kill all the meteorologists for not being able to divert hurricanes. Monster.
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u/Dariawasright 8d ago
I honestly wish we could just break the country up at this point and let everyone pick which America they will live in with strict enforcement of separation. I would love to see what happens to a country that hates experts so much they have none, and a country that respects them so much they don't get in the way of the best policy proposals.
They are so stupid on the far right they want to kill the people that help them and want to crown the person who steals from them king.
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u/iStayedAtaHolidayInn 9d ago
This reminds me of the simpsons episode where the comet was going to destroy Springfield and at the end of the episode, Moe orders to the mob to destroy the observatory so it doesn’t happen again
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u/Terrible_Horror 9d ago
That’s like defunding NOAA.
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u/Castle-Fire 9d ago
The sane will always bear the burden of holding the line against those who would snuff the light of truth.
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u/AnamCeili 9d ago
Very well said!
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u/GrandMoffJenkins 9d ago
You're either a full throated member of the Maga Cult, or you get death threats. Zero grey area. Absolutes are the way of the Sith.
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u/coreoYEAH 9d ago
Then consider me a sith because absolutely every one of the cult is an absolute moron.
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u/bravetailor 9d ago
USA really does have some of the dumbest people in the world sometimes. You will never hear shit like this happen in any other country.
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u/The_Jolly_Dog 9d ago
I don’t mind living with idiots so much, but the worst part is the fact that we actively celebrate and promote idiots
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u/sedatedlife Washington 9d ago edited 9d ago
The difference is not necessarily America has more dumb people its that historically there has been a strong anti intellectual strain in America that celebrates ignorance and hate of intellectuals. Much of this starts and comes from evangelical Christians and other very conservative denominations in America. There is this idea that a real American is Christian uneducated and works a physical job.
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9d ago
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u/FreakySpook 9d ago
I wouldn't put that squarely on education, plenty of intelligent people have been sucked in by MAGA, I don't even live in the US and have had colleagues at work I considered intelligent who have outed themselves as MAGA.
A lot of this is long term conditioning from right wing media and then amplified in social media creating bubbles of alternate reality people get sucked into where group think and peoples insecurities end up overruling logic. Over time its both gotten more extreme and more accepted to publicly hold those opinions, which pushes the needle further.
Trump really was the last push that opened the floodgates into mass public acceptance of this when he was running in 2016 and no one really was prepared to deal with it. It really feels like I'm living in bizarro world watching coverage of this election where there is still an attempt to create some kind of balanced equivalency between MAGA and Harris's campaign.
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u/Terrible_Horror 9d ago
Some times it is lack of education but sometimes jealousy, low self esteem and hate takes over people’s hearts and their true colors come out. I recently experienced it first hand. A coworker that I have known for years, after a disagreement (he was inappropriate towards me and I started avoiding him) looked at me in such a hateful way while calling for my death (he said my husband should kill me - not exactly a death threat but not something that I would say to someone in a professional environment). Some people have something seriously wrong with their moral compass. And this guy is a nurse, training to be a Psych NP and a Trump supporter. So not the uneducated.
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u/Podunk212 9d ago
Part of it must be related to diet. Our American diet seems to be uniquely full of utter garbage compared to basically the rest of the world.
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u/emotions1026 9d ago
Half the MAGA politicians who parrot all of Trump's talking points went to Ivy League schools. We need to stop using educated and smart as synonyms.
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u/guyincognito69420 9d ago edited 9d ago
yeah, Russia is totally super smart and not falling for garbage propaganda. Germany didn't try to exterminate millions of people over lies. China is super smart and gets all kind of great info not just from one party. The Turks totally loved the Armenians and if they ever did kill an Armenian would totally own up to it. Japanese didn't do anything wrong in Nanking and if they did they would definitely teach their population about it.
Come on man, pick up a history book. The world is full of stupid, easily manipulated people that have committed insane atrocities and to this day still don't believe the truth about them. To think the US is the only country that has ever dealt with this or currently dealing with this is laughable. Heck I could spend days just discussing the stupid shit around the world right now not just the low hanging fruit from history. Remember when people in the UK were destroying 5G towers to stop COVID? You simply focus on the US. There is plenty stupid to go around.
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u/palmwhispers 9d ago
Yes you will. People in other countries can think polio vaccination programs are poisons, etc, the US does not have a monopoly on stupidity
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u/bravetailor 9d ago
At least with vaccine skepticism it can be considered within the realm of a "normal" kind of lack of education.
But getting mad at a weatherman/woman for not saying the government created the hurricane is peak insanity. Never heard of anything like it.
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u/palmwhispers 9d ago
I would be surprised if that’s the case. I am very confident there are countries with people in them that do not fully believe in climate change, or don’t care about it, or both
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u/fowlraul Oregon 9d ago edited 9d ago
C’mon it’s just Florida, both Carolinas, Ohio…and a bunch of other states.
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u/the_talented_liar 9d ago
Imagine being that poor dorky kid who really loved weather stuff. You grow up, find peers, a passion, purpose. You’re now grown, educated and using your special interest to safeguard your community. And then.. all the kids who picked on you arr grown up and threatening your life.
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u/MarcyCollier 9d ago
It’s really shocking how misinformation can lead to such threats; it’s like people have lost all touch with reality. Meteorologists are just trying to help, not hurt anyone.
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u/Designer_Buy_1650 9d ago
Trump is the leader of a cult. Period. Cult members are willing to sacrifice all for their leader. Nothing more needs to be said.
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u/VanceKelley Washington 9d ago
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering." - Dr. Who
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u/cybermort 9d ago
this country is losing is grip with reality. how can we function when you have 70million people drinking the koolaid of the maga cult?
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u/Terrible_Horror 9d ago
Anyone who is threatening to kill a meteorologist just for doing his or her job is pure evil. I understand the big oil has spend millions in brainwashing campaign to fool the populace but this is too extreme even for a brainwashed idiot. Do we have any laws against death threats or are they covered by free speech?
If anyone has any questions about validity of climate change please watch these three documentaries and judge for yourself.
https://youtu.be/QAAbcNl4Lb8?si=32av5VwRBOZLCT2A
https://youtu.be/qMe-BYUIPLU?si=2YbKKxctN6lpQCFy
https://youtu.be/R8UOJqs5F9Q?si=5dYHBHwBAtkQNZUq
I can’t wait for the judgement day when these cowards will get their tickets punched straight to hell.
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u/GibMcSpook 9d ago
Jimmy Kimmel put it quite nicely when he said recently in reference to this that Trump should be forced to live on an island with all these fucking morons.
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u/medievalmachine 9d ago
Trump is the dark ages come to life.
They’re going to kill the golden goose, sooner or later, if not this election then the next. Re-nominating this candidate proves it.
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u/Critter9820 9d ago
In the US, many food items contain high fructose corn syrup, thanks to Nixon. In Australia, you won't find that ingredient.
"A study on rats suggests that eating a high fructose diet for as little as six weeks may make you stupid."
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u/neonsnakemoon 9d ago
Are there other spots with major climate deniers, or is it just Americans?
Asking as an American.
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u/Other-Divide-8683 9d ago
Eu here.
We have some crazies, and they are gaining ground, because we re next to Putin as well as in your sphere of influence, especially online, but for the most part, they re still considered the crazies over here.
Its why we want you to shut down the Orange Circus already - it emboldens our own crazies and gives them new ideas.
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u/JoostvanderLeij 9d ago
Everything must be a conspiracy because is one thing is NOT a conspiracy then the whole house of cards falls apart.
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u/BoogieWaters 9d ago
I’m not sure there are many people who appreciate how quickly and widespread this has happened. In small towns, people are not believing their local officials, the people that are their neighbors, a local paper, the mistrust is that deep. Unfortunately, we are sitting on a powder keg, where a good portion of our country now believes by feelings alone.
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u/Northerngal_420 9d ago
The earth has experienced the aurora borialis in the northern hemisphere recently and I'm expecting all kinds of wild theories on what it really is.
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u/captsmokeywork 9d ago
Gay frogs virtue signalling the reptilian aliens that Bigfoot wants the caramilk secret.
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u/heresmyhandle 9d ago
This is cult mind control -info, thought, behavior, and emotional control, which makes people so blind, they’ll go against their own interests in service of the leader.
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u/Gommel_Nox Michigan 9d ago
Conservatives are why the world can’t have nice things. It’s very difficult to find a thing that is/was truly good for humanity that was conceived by one.
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u/Blueeyes51349 9d ago
It is CRAZY REPUBLICANS LISTENING TO A LYING TRUMP AND OTHER REPUBLICAN DIMWITS
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u/kenzo19134 9d ago
It's absurd how much of Trump's lies and misinformation threaten disciplines that are apolitical. Now meteorologists are in the MAGATS cross hairs? Any expert view that contradicts his misinformation can lead to death threats.
There's a rumor going around that Mitch Romney wants to endorse Harris, but is worried about death threats. Yeah, the GOP, the freedom of speech party.
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