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1/Bias, a thread.
(In which people stirring drama or getting aggro will be blocked or muted. I'm in pain and my patience is thin, and it's grown thinner after watching certain community behaviors in recent weeks.)
(In which people stirring drama or getting aggro will be blocked or muted. I'm in pain and my patience is thin, and it's grown thinner after watching certain community behaviors in recent weeks.)
2/Everyone has biases. Yes, even you. You reading this right now. I have them, too.
There's been a lot of talk about who should or should not be listened to in the Q debunker/recovery community based on perceived biases.
There's been a lot of talk about who should or should not be listened to in the Q debunker/recovery community based on perceived biases.
3/Most have focused on financial incentives: 'Is this person writing a book? Are they getting paid as a journalist covering the subject? Are they getting patreon income from this?'
Some folks have chosen to completely discount anyone that any of the above applies to.
Some folks have chosen to completely discount anyone that any of the above applies to.
4/That's their choice, and they have their reasons.
I do not agree with this, and here's why:
* Most of the people covering these subjects do not only cover Qanon. If it wasn't Qanon, it would be another extremist movement, political wing, cult, or social phenomena.
I do not agree with this, and here's why:
* Most of the people covering these subjects do not only cover Qanon. If it wasn't Qanon, it would be another extremist movement, political wing, cult, or social phenomena.
5/* For the few that only address Qanon content, there is no dearth of it. Qanon could be completely uncovered tomorrow, explained, exposed, and there would still be years' worth of material to study and unpack even if no more is created by adherents.
6/You don't have to accept my reasons for believing differently. You don't have to change your mind if you think differently.
7/You're not going to change my mind about this, either, without some incredibly clear and damning evidence that someone is perpetuating this for the purpose of profit.
8/Part of what I find troubling about this argument is that it seems to be the only one that gets air time -- and people really bully others with it, and get aggressive about it in ways I find completely inappropriate, accusing others of grifting and worse.
9/Plenty of other biases exist. Personal grudges. Hero complexes. A desire for attention. Having been victimized by someone. Having lost a family member to this madness.
10/These are just as valid and viable as any financial incentive if not sometimes more so, and if you're going to consider one, you should be considering all of them. (Personally, I do.)
11/Yes, bias should be considered. Financial bias is not the only kind doing the rounds, however.
Also, I'm going to be very blunt here: the financial purity test is a stunningly privileged argument to make.
Also, I'm going to be very blunt here: the financial purity test is a stunningly privileged argument to make.
12/If I spent 8 hours a day studying this topic and writing about it and making that information available, I'd probably have to look for some kind of income from that effort.
13/Many of the people who do this are actual professionals who are covering the subject as part of their dayjob, for which they rightly get paid.
14/No matter how important the issue is, demanding that people devote hundreds of hours to it for free to prove they aren't scumbags who can't be trusted is garbage. Maybe hypothetical you can do that and still have food and a roof over your head, but not everyone is so lucky.
15/I also don't believe in discounting the actual professionals who are covering the subject in the normal course of their job.
This is purity testing behavior that not everyone out here can afford to indulge in.
This is purity testing behavior that not everyone out here can afford to indulge in.
16/Check yourselves before you repeat it, and especially before you shit on someone else who is doing honest work and keeping a roof over their head at the same time. I'm pretty sure most of you do that in your dayjobs, too.
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