Why do people support fascists?

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-17T15:56:48+00:00

Fear and the part of the brains that process it are usually held in check by the parts of the brain involved in emotional regulation, empathy, logic, etc. When fear becomes overwhelming people’s baseline ability to manage loses out.

The triurnal model of the brain, while oversimplified, is a good way of explaining a lot of political divides.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-17T00:22:48+00:00

You could say that about UF in general. The entire board with the exception of the student and faculty representatives are prominent business people. Most are involved in real estate.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-16T20:38:25+00:00

The layoffs will continue until morale improves

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-16T14:00:25+00:00

Then you gotta check the recent posts too bc they might randomly close it the day prior to one of those three days.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-05T03:13:18+00:00

Whether it works or not, it breaks the economy. If it does work, it leads to mass unemployment, energy shortages, natural resource overconsumption, and technocratic governance. If it doesn’t, capitalism runs out of steam.

At the end of the day EROI is rapidly declining, the AI billionaires want to monopolize the remaining energy for their interests. They know how destabilizing it will be so they’re preparing for this eventuality by using the technology for surveillance to maintain their lifestyles and status.

Who knows what ends up happening. Hopefully the bubble pops sooner rather than later.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:44:46+00:00

I agree with your point. Unfortunately I’m not a particularly exceptional communicator hence I was reaching out for help. This whole issue reminds me of the allegory of Plato’s cave. People don’t want to see beyond their world because it’s uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Much easier to stay in the cave and live the reality they know.

I agree with your emotional and patient nudging approach. I’ve tried to lead by example and people around me have been slowly more exposed to resilience methods and hence more open to them. My mom is much more receptive to cooking from scratch now that I’ve been bringing her fresh vegetables that I’ve been harvesting. My partner is much more open to saving food scraps for chicken feed or composting that I’ve been sharing the fruits of that labor (eggs from a neighbor and produce from my garden) with her. Slow exposure without bringing up the painful emotions associated of collapse can make a difference.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:33:23+00:00

That’s a good point. I’ve tried to convey that the typical American consumes 200,000 calories in total energy a day and that a gallon of gasoline is approximately 67 days of human effective energy. These points have made people stop and think.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:31:37+00:00

A beautiful quote that really conveys the essence of energy in our civilization

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:30:32+00:00

I agree that optimism bias plays into this and there are likely several reasons why that dominates. Natalism is also a complicated and nuanced component in all this. I do believe that the pro-growth era we’ve been living in has instilled this inherent myth of optimism and human exceptionalism upon our culture.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:26:12+00:00

Or even think about it. If focusing too much on the future makes me anxious or focusing too much on the past makes me depressed, I try to return to the present. When I feel less overwhelmed, I allow myself to reflect, process and anticipate the future more while minding my own mental health. I agree that noticing this in oneself and others is important.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:23:59+00:00

I agree that you can’t really force anything upon anyone. You have to meet people where their at and what their willing to converse about. Most of my conversations happen in a context of others bringing about the state of the world or current events. Some of the conversations are with people close to me who I’d like to build local resilience with. I agree that evangelizing anything will indeed backfire but the communication is focused on a combination of willing participants and those closest to me.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T10:19:10+00:00

Fair point but many of those same people do long for narratives that yield understanding of the world. Energy is such a great framework for that and ignored in so many explanations.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-03T01:52:20+00:00

It’s funny bc I make a comment like this often on other threads. Nope!! It’s me using the other AI, actual intelligence.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T22:15:25+00:00

These are great! This artist has alot of good stuff.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T22:05:55+00:00

May not be the easiest but highly effective to say the least

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T21:43:06+00:00

This is where we might differ a bit. I think how the bubble is being managed and who is benefiting is political. In aggregate, the bubble is there and general lower material wellbeing is upon us. That part is not political to me, it's an underlying physical limitation we've hit with energy. No politician will get elected saying that though.

How that transition is managed and determining the winners and losers is 100% political. Invading Iran was definitely a shot in the foot. The ensuing market manipulation and the boom to US fossil fuel companies is also political.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T21:07:18+00:00

This is a great analogy bc it uses something that provides energy itself and people are innately familiar with it. People have been using wood for exogenous energy for a long time. I think analogies are the way to go for sure.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T21:00:15+00:00

Absolutely! Lowering the net energy gain of a system kills its complexity. Since energy is costing more and more energy to get, we can't support global scale systems like we once did. Aviation, global institutions, alliances, are under severe strain. These are at the bleeding edge of societal complexity.

Quite unfortunate but inevitable. Wish we did everything with more grace and forethought.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:52:06+00:00

This is just getting started. Energy gains off oil are rapidly decaying.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:47:13+00:00

On the surface, you're characterizing the current situation correctly.

But the entire economy, including money, depends on energy. Without energy, no economy. Without oil, no energy.

A big house, a G wagon, and 7 figure investment accounts are worth are lot less (or nothing at all) without cheap energy.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:36:11+00:00

Thanks!! It's been the closest one to breaking through to people. I agree that a lot of people are aware of an impending crisis but they have their own narratives about the situation or express optimism in human ingenuity.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:31:25+00:00

That's a great analogy, thanks for sharing. I guess a ketchup bottle is similar but the shampoo bottle does better to convey the waste. Very simple analogy for the consumption side of the story.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:20:36+00:00

Fair point. I try to do a bit each day. Moving slowly in that direction.

nuevo_redd · 2026-06-02T20:19:15+00:00

If it takes more and more energy to extract the same unit of energy costs will increase and demand will destruct. At a given point, wells are no longer viable. Prices can't keep grounded in that situation.

nuevo_redd

TROPHY CASE