• whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      20·
      17 hours ago

      Al Capone was very successful at running blackmail and intimidation rackets despite being mentally well below average. It doesn’t take intelligence to do what maga does, that’s kinda the point why they do it because it’s the only way they’ve seen how to accumulate power that doesn’t require intelligence or at least good prediction models.

      • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
        11·
        15 hours ago

        The mainstream should re-think what intelligence is because experts already said there are different types of intelligence. Are math prodigies with autism not intelligent? Are biologists dumb for struggling with quantum physics? That said, someone who may be unempathetic and lack emotional intelligence may have high intelligence on how to persuade and manipulate others. Many would call this Machiavellian (although personally, I don’t see Machiavellianism as inherently bad). It takes certain skill and intelligence to become a mob boss despite doing poorly in school, or even a leader of a country.

        A lot on Lemmy scoffed it when I said Trump and other dictators are not as dumb as they might seem to be, because they ended up in charge, not someone on Lemmy with PhD. It possesses a certain kind of intelligence to be a demagogue and take power.

        • Hapankaali@lemmy.world
          1·
          4 hours ago

          On the one hand, I think it is true that a certain kind of skill is required to read and manipulate people - the same kind of skill a conman or used car salesman needs to do their work, and that kind of skill obviously doesn’t need knowledge of quantum physics or even a rudimentary understanding of how the world in general works.

          On the other hand, one shouldn’t give people like Trump, Berlusconi and Idi Amin too much credit. They ended up where they did largely due to historical happenstance, and millions of other conmen and used car salespeople stayed small-time.

  • jaybone@lemmy.zipEnglish
    22·
    18 hours ago

    I’m surprised Trump doesn’t ask musk to remove all Iranian state accounts on Twitter.

      • Anarch157a@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        6·
        2 hours ago

        Then, when funny mustache guy attacked, Comrade Stalin (privately) recognized the mistake he made and re-staffed the army with professionals, while Hitler doubled down on the replacement of professionals with sycophants. Guess who won ?

      • slothrop@lemmy.caOPEnglish
        8·
        16 hours ago

        I 100% agree, but there’s no ‘political shitposts’ comm, et voilà

        • stickyprimer@lemmy.world
          22·
          17 hours ago

          You’re starting to get it. Politics is not just a very boring television channel. It’s power transactions at the highest levels and it affects basically every thing. To even be able to whine about having to pay attention to politics is a great privilege.

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
          32·
          20 hours ago

          Nope. As long as our lives get destroyed by rich strangers we will never meet, everything will be political. Trying to force that is just head in the sand.

          • yermaw@sh.itjust.works
            6·
            19 hours ago

            I know but how far does it need to go? How long until my kids are force fed shit about some American political bollocks on their Minecraft server?

              • yermaw@sh.itjust.works
                4·
                18 hours ago

                But when they do, will he be able to say “we’re playing Minecraft here, can we cool it with USA politics?” Without being told to get his head out the sand? I mean, theres rich people he’ll never meet or influence in any way destroying the world, itd be pretty irresponsible to allow him a space to disassociate with it.

              • Pommes_für_dein_Balg@feddit.org
                2·
                17 hours ago

                I don’t know the names of any of the people in the OP pic.
                And the fact they were supposedly fired had absolutely no effect on US politics in relation to my life.
                I bet you couldn’t name a single effect those firings had on your life, as well.

                • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
                  4·
                  16 hours ago

                  The major, gigantic, impact on your life relies on the fact that these were military expert officers who warned that escalation or ground troops in Iran would be a major disaster. A disaster, where even/especially if you are outside of US will cause extreme cost of living increases with lower quality, at best, assuming you are not ones who will starve, or simply have 0 fuel and ultra low food production.

                  Ground troops as an example, means a very long war that could cancel US midterms. Where global shortages are extreme and last too long. $400/bbl oil and $15/gallon US gasoline with double the price elsewhere in the world are the future under such action. Where political wing of Pentagon already needs an excuse to cancel mid terms, incredible global/little americans suffering is the consequence.

                • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  17 hours ago

                  Ah now that generalization was shown to be shortsighted, suddenly it was always about the specifics in the post. Interesting.

        • chunes@lemmy.world
          5·
          19 hours ago

          Not on lemmy. I spent weeks blocking all the stupid bullshit and now it just infects communities that used to be good. Getting close to blocking this one too.

        • stylusmobilus@aussie.zone
          1·
          17 hours ago

          Not at the moment no

          Perhaps if some among us can simply do the right thing in whatever it is they do in life and pay attention to looking after all that, it might change and we can go back to life with politics in the background but until then, no.