#be suspicious

[papayaskye]

Ok I don’t usually do call-out posts but y’all should just be aware that there’s a fairly large account on here absolutely pretending to be someone they’re not, and their fics reek of ai…

[defensive-tactics]

There's nothing wrong with a healthy dose of suspicion. It could save you from being attacked.

[weirdcat1213]

I love the Japanese VA for qifrey cuz that man is *suspicious* and that VA is always portraying main characters that are simple, happy, or really good guys

So this....this is interesting :3

[evilhorse]

Don’t be so suspicious!

[aninklingof]

⚠️PSA for anyone in the tickle community ⚠️

(Picture above is a discord message sent to a friend, figured it was easier to screenshot than to type out again)

Keep an eye out for “ukticklee”, I have a sneaking suspicion that he isn’t a 15 year old and is prowling for something (if you know what I mean)

Think I dodged a bullet by asking too many questions for his liking.

[apinchofsanity]

Me: *When Alec is immediately suspicious of Sebastian Verlac*

[sometimesrosy]

How do people believe something so clearly contradicted in canon? Some things antis make up about Bellamy are so outlandish (some abusive traits actually apply to L instead which is even weirder) it's crazy, but like this is the same sort of problem we're facing in the real world right now with people believing fake news and just republicans being hypocritical with their actions and beliefs. This scares me the most about the future. the truth literally doesn't matter anymore.

It is ABSOLUTELY a social, cultural trend seen in the wider world. 

And yes, it is pretty scary. I know people aren’t really enthused by my fandom wank, but I’ve been paying attention and analyzing fandom culture as well as what I’ve been seeing in the media about how we, as a people, are altering reality to fit our beliefs, rather than adjusting our beliefs to fit reality.

How does this happen?

It happens because the powers that be want to control people. The government. The rich. The media. That’s in general society. They are invested in having a population of citizens that follow along with what they say, and do what they want, and work hard so the rich can be richer and the powerful can be more powerful, but never, ever question them. We are educated to be followers. We are educated to be button pushers. We are educated to NOT question authority.

I say this because I went into education in order to empower kids. I went into education so that I could teach kids from the inner city, where I came from, racial, ethnic, social, religious minorities. Kids who were poor and disenfranchised. I wanted to give them a voice. I wanted to teach them about the world. I wanted to make them engaged in their own world. I wanted to make it so they weren’t victims. I wanted to teach them to question the world around them. To think for themselves. To wonder about the agenda of those who were trying to sell them a bill of goods. I wanted to teach them to think critically.

And I did. I went to a politically, educationally and socially progressive graduate school. I got a job at an alternative school that specifically aimed to empower it’s students. I created curriculum that was student centered. I taught them how to question. I taught them what revolution was. In fact, they turned around and staged a revolt on me. We worked it through. 

I left teaching because it got rapidly more and more conservative. They were forcing us to teach to the test. Demanding more requirements about ticking off boxes and doing what the government said was necessary, despite it not actually being about important information, the way the brain works, the way kids work, learning, understanding, the subject area, critical thinking, empowerment or education. It was jumping through hoops and learning to behave. It was about following rules and not questioning the system. 

You see the results today. When the media or the government are fighting to create the spin that they expect the public to swallow, wholesale, despite what their eyes see, despite evidence, despite the constitution, despite the law. Or in the case of fandom, despite canon. 

People, whether the president, the media or fandom, think the way to gain power is to make up a good story about what they want people to believe, to spew trigger words that will get the population riled up and afraid to question them, lest they be called– whatever word fits the bill (unamerican, fake news, racist, lesbophobe, nasty woman, criminal.)  And it turns out that it works. It’s called demagoguery and it plays on people’s fear and insecurities and ignorance to control what people are allowed to feel.

The key to fighting this is to always be suspicious. To question what people are saying. To compare it to what you already know and what others are saying and the evidence at hand. To look into the agenda of the people speaking to see what they want to get you to believe. To double check facts. To do your own research. To make up your own mind about what people are saying. To listen. To pay attention. To think for yourself.

No matter who is speaking. That is the answer. Me too. Do it to me. Double check. Think about agenda. Think for yourself. 

Don’t ever accept what someone is saying because it sounds good and you want them to think well of you. Stick to the text. Look for evidence. Think for yourself.