That green ellipse is called a paragraph break. It denotes a shift in thought or conversational topic.

My example was poorly chosen in the context of the preceding paragraph. Mea culpa. But to address your request for more information on that admittedly poorly chosen example: that was at the start at the Russian invasion, so I don’t have the source readily available. It might have been Jacobin or a YT geopolitical analyst based in Europe. And bluntly, I am disinclined to dig through my histories in order to satisfy nitpicking pedantry.

Yeah, we’re definitely missing each other here. I own my role in communicating poorly here. And you are reading much more deeply into things that have not been said.

I feel like you are digging for an argument that doesn’t exist.

Okay, sure. Maybe that’s fair.

I come to Lemmy for conversations that are fun, funny, thought-provoking, and helpful. So, on that note, I’m out. Enjoy your day.

That’s the exact point at which you departed from accuracy into fantasy-land, and what I was taking note of.

That was an example I presented of my disbelief regarding that war. You are welcome to hone in on that topic, but even I said “WAT,” i.e. my disbelief regarding conclusions at which some people outside the US arrived.

This is an impressive type of sophisticated negging whereby you criticize yourself as a way to implicitly criticize the reader, and tell them they’re an idiot.

If you choose to read it that way, you are welcome to that view. I do think US news consumers are propagandized. The more I learn, the more I realize I have been stumbling around blindfolded with regards to US actions, domestically and abroad. My ignorance is mine alone. I was aiming for light and humorous at the depth and breadth of my ignorance. If you would like more clarification or elaboration, rather than making assumptions, I’m happy to discuss.

I would really urge you to re-examine that leap you took from “most US readers are misinformed” to “most of the people in these comments are misinformed”

That’s quite the leap yourself. Would you care to elaborate on how I called commenters here misinformed?

I think we might be missing each other’s points, and I think we probably agree more than this topic/thread would indicate. I feel like you are digging for an argument that doesn’t exist. I would rather find where we agree; putting me down and making extrapolations I didn’t intend nor feel doesn’t help anything, except maybe our egos. But I suppose agreement doesn’t make for compelling Lemmy comments.

Lolwut

Exactly, hence, my “WAT.” Let’s set aside the veracity of the US manipulating geopolitics in the UA/RU war; that was an example, but not the point I’m trying to make. Can we all agree that the US has a long history of fuckery when it comes to stomping out anything it doesn’t like or isn’t in line with corporate interests? Bananas, oil, crack cocaine in US inner cities, and democratically elected South American socialists leap to mind.

When my non-US friends tell me some of this stuff from their perspective, it absolutely stuns me that it’s an angle almost completely unavailable in US media. Maybe it’s covered by niche independent journalists, but then there is a credibility gap. Even if the independent journalist were absolutely presenting the truth, it’s still feels like tinfoil hat shit because of how severely we’re inculcated by “trustworthy” news sources in the US.

I like to think I’m a teeny bit media- and news-savvy, but damn… most days I really feel like a blithering idiot.

Too bad we don’t yet have Steve Austin to save our butts from this. Reference for the young’uns: https://bionic.fandom.com/wiki/Death_Probe

When even the “more trustworthy” US news outlets (HAHAHAHAHA!) are manufacturing consent, it becomes very difficult for us to be anything other than idiots. Talking with my longtime acquaintances and friends in CA, DE, VN, and JP, the conversations invariably become “Did you hear about [current event causal factors]? This is super obvious, and here is [their reliable news sources].” Well, shit.

For example, the one that really blew me away was the US manipulating geopolitics with UA and RU so as to bring the EU to heel. WAT. “Oh yeah. I think US citizens are the only ones to whom that isn’t obvious. Y’all can’t stand having a true, strong democracy around. That’s why y’all are pushing the right-wing shit here too.”

I consider myself well-read (30+ non-fiction books per year, plus investigative journalism), but damn… some days I feel truly, completely out of the loop.