by dionowl
I want to take a step back about a week from now. News broke out. Russia finally did what they said they were going to do. I thought, for sure, that this would be it. This would be the start of the biggest war in our lifetimes.
Shortly after, every social media platform you could imagine was filled to the brim with Ukraine updates. YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, twitter, full of “information” and videos.
Just opening TikTok, a platform I thought was once reserved for thots and trolls, had turned into a massive propaganda platform. Every single video was of “footage” of ukraine.
You might notice my use of quotes. This is because, despite my crippling anxiety and obsession with wanting to keep watching and reading more, I began finding out the true nature of war; propaganda.
See, all of those headlines turned out to be false. They were either largely overstated, or outright lies. Snake island? Nah. Tanks crushing civilians cars? Nah. Hot models taking up arms? Nah.
It was all just a facade. So I did what I’d imagine most people who long for the truth would do; I turned to the dark web. The conspiracy theorists. At first, I really thought I was getting somewhere. Seeing all of these bullshit articles being called out eased my mind, and perhaps even my soul.
The problem is the rabbit hole goes deep. In fact, I don’t even think you can find rabbits in places some of these theories lead to. After immersing myself with the history of Ukraine, and all possible theories surrounding her, I found myself in the same place I had been days prior.
Lost in a sea. A sea of bullshit.
It wasn’t just fringe subreddits. It was alt tech platforms scattered across the web, filled with individuals who seem to have some type of fetish for the end of the world. Perhaps it is because they’re miserable, or maybe they’re just bored. Either way, the amount of reptilian, satanic, out of this world bullshit I encountered almost made me turn back to the other side.
Then it struck me. I realized that there is a mountain of manure stacked on each side, and perhaps somewhere in the middle do we have tiny fragments of truth. Sure, Ukrainian media might be bought and paid for by western interests. Sure, Russia might have had a valid reason to invade.
The biggest tragedy is that we will never know the full truth. This is because human beings will vehemently push towards that which sustains them. Upon making this discovery, I realized that their basic principle at work here is that some people are just too incompetent, or lazy, or even nefarious to take upon a job which actually contributes something to the world.
The truth doesn’t make headlines. A liar has nothing to lose if he not only gets away with it, but profits from it. The entire world revolves around those struggling for basic survival, and those who have mastered the art of manipulation based on that fact.
So at this point I truly don’t give a fuck anymore. I realized I have been the target demographic for both sides of the spectrum all along. I was blindsided and angered by media hysteria, and then shocked and depressed by doomer end of days ramblings.
One thing is for certain, I give very little fucks anymore. I default to disbelieving pretty much any headline I see, and try and ignore most of the political content I come across.
In conclusion I also wanted to make one final point. The reason this is so effective is because once people establish a belief it is almost impossible to convince them otherwise. This applies to all sides of the political spectrum. I have also given up on “debates”, and see them as nothing more than an exercise in futility.
If you actually made it this far, thank you for reading my bitching and have a nice day.