this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
400 points (74.9% liked)

Political Memes

5204 readers
2850 users here now

Welcome to politcal memes!

These are our rules:

Be civilJokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.

No misinformationDon’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.

Posts should be memesRandom pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.

No bots, spam or self-promotionFollow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

But…

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

Not to excuse the behaviour, but I honestly think some people do it reflexively. Like I think some of the most egregious "sea lions" actually believe that they're being measured and rational and just asking questions and raising concerns, or whatever bullshit.

Definitely some real bad actors, too, but also many many many useful idiots. I'm convinced. Just because I remember being a white 21yo and thinking I was some kind of atheist truth seeker, when really it was mostly just gas bagging

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm honestly interested in how people think. There's no meaningful action happening here - it's mostly circle jerking. Most situations where people are accused of sea lioning online aren't meaningful. Bit of a straw person.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Those are the types of situations where we should be asking ourselves if our interrogations are doing more harm than good. I'm interested in people, too, but there is some tact involved in knowing when to insert yourself.

Especially if it's about something that might not affect us directly, like trans people being bullied at school, or black people venting about experiences with the cops (etc, I don't know you, but insert your own).

Like the image says, these might be theoretical to us, but they are deadly serious to someone else, you know?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I mean, yeah. We should ask those things of ourselves. I'm better about it in person. You fucks, tho? Nah. Gimme your stances. Explain what I'm missing. I've learned so much from asking questions, and they're usually things I can use to reach other people. I try to be respectful of things that aren't just ideological.

This isn't just social shit. When I'm learning new software, or a process, or pretty much anything I can't learn from rote memorization. I have to understand why. That's how things fit in my head. When I meet people that I can work with, that's great. For those that want to just tell me something without explanation I prefer to remove myself from the conversation.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

That's fair. This is all contextual and case by case blah blah etc. If you're doing it genuinely and with good will towards the person you're asking, then that goes a long way.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What is a sea lion in this context?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sea-lioning

In short: Sealioning is a type of trolling or harassment that consists of pursuing people with relentless requests for evidence, often tangential or previously addressed, while maintaining a pretense of civility and sincerity, and feigning ignorance of the subject matter.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

but I honestly think some people do it reflexively

Unless they're a little kid or something, that's absolutely not an excuse.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Man i cringe at my militant atheist phase so hard.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Some Christians never grow out of it. At least being an edgelord is part of youth.