If you can't, it can be enough to say that's enough for today and control how much you take in I found a YouTube channel belle of the fifth column is just enough to keep informed but it's short and she put context to the news and just keeps it to the facts no click bait.
I'll not denigrate your choices. I will just say that I'm reading and listening to a lot less, but that's because I'm reading/listening/watching across the spectrum. Shutting out others' voices seems to be what got us here.
I haven't worked up the wherewithal to brave Breitbart, OANN etc yet. One, my mental health is so valuable to me, two, I want to continue to consume thoughtful pieces; but I think it's critical to keep an eye on these outlets so we can address legitimate grievances and also be a calm, steady, not-shaming tone to offer a more grounded perspective. It will take time, patience, respect to bring USA back to some semblance of sanity and unity. I think we are on the event horizon of do-or-die together, in that regard ) and I mean globally).
I'm not sure how to be more plain. People are radicalized because legitimate concerns aren't heard, let alone addressed. Entertaining ideas doesn't mean automatically accepting all of them. How are we to address legitimate grievances if we refuse to listen for them?
I understand where you're coming from, but the legitimate grievances of conservatives are not covered by the far right media. They're alchemically transmogrified into immigrant hate, queer hate, poor hate.
Their legitimate grievances are largely the same as everyone. Wages haven't kept up with the cost of living is the most basic. But instead of looking at the top of the hierarchy for answers, these media sources redirect that grievance at the bottom of the hierarchy. And conservatives are obsessed with hierarchy.
It is good to study enemy propaganda, but it's hard to stomach. I wish more people could understand in the way you have.
And when we've tempered ourselves (I'm so not there yet!), we can calmly, rationally refute with truth in non-inflammatory language. We can try to use simpler terms and explain those not understood. I understand it's not going to be easy, that's why I'm working on temperance in small bites, first. Our media has inflamed and made reactionary all of us, to varying extents, because that supports the monied interests. It supports everyone's interests to dial it back, take deep breaths and respond rather than react. Don't think the Neo Duopoly is going to do that; they will counter it with even more inflammatory rhetoric.
Yes there is. The formerly maga parent who put me out of their car twice and home once for criticizing the sitting president now sends me inflammatory memes making fun of him. I do not respond to them, except to occasionally ask them to pray for our president and leaders, since they retain religion. It's true it is the punitive, hateful sort of religion, but the very few times I've responded to ask them to do so, I mention "pray for those who persecute you."
We have a long and rocky row to hoe. We'd best get on with it.
Initially I did as well - but we are fast approaching a point where simply ignoring this further will be unacceptable.
I feel that sometime soon we may be called to do more than be a voice of reason. Americans are being tested right now. Will you quietly look away because you fear discomfort as your freedoms are stripped away? As your neighbors are assailed?
I'm not fond of the sting of teargas and pepper spray... but it's probably about time to develop a taste for it again. Find a group, know your community, and stop hiding.
I find that keyword-based filtering seems to work better than blocking. We're at a point here that if one is blocking all communities where people post news and politics to then there's nothing left to browse because you'd need to block virtually every even slightly popular community.
My current record so far is refreshing the front page and seeing 4 posts with all the others being filtered out. That's how bad the politics and news spam has gotten. And people wonder why normies aren't coming here..
i don't wonder that. let the normies have their Destiny 2 and PublicFreakout and fantasy sports communities elsewhere. seeing comment section after section on Reddit filled to the brim with "I'm so funny!" unserious one liners was obnoxious. people talking about GoThrones fandom and RC cars while inequality skyrockets or the rich dismantle every federal govt program that benefit 99% of the population is not a good thing to yearn for. the founders-effect dominance from a handful of narrow ideologically centrists is not something we need more of.
I combine it with blocking users. Political communities are blocked entirely, and then users who post irrelevant political crap in non-political communities are blocked individually.
I have to admit I find some of this user's takes annoying, while also finding some useful nuggets. I'm trying to learn to ignore inane or otherwise not useful to healing, while trying to respond to more thoughtful content.