• @logicbomb
    27•10 months ago

    This meme style comes from the Political Compass Memes (PCM) subreddit, which if you go there, you will quickly realize is a thinly veiled excuse for Neo Nazis to validate each other’s beliefs and behavior.

    It’s one of the worst parts of Reddit and one of those things that I hoped wouldn’t survive the move to Lemmy.

    • PugJesus
      27•10 months ago

      Political Compass memes predate the PCM subreddit (or the PCM subreddit’s fall from ‘dumb but fun’ to ‘I’m left-wing but Hitler had some really good points’), though, and I took over the PCM community on here specifically to prevent that neonazi circlejerk from re-establishing itself.

      • @logicbomb
        9•10 months ago

        I believe this will be a difficult effort for you, because the format sort of inherently lends itself to a neonazi circlejerk, similar to the way 4chan does.

        The biggest way that the PCM subreddit failed was in its requirement that people label themselves, and the suggestion that people should go out and take a test to determine that label. Obviously, this would be an easy problem to correct in a new community, but let me explain why it is a problem.

        I don’t believe anybody is actually “Auth Right” until the very first moment that they call themselves “Auth Right”. Right up until that moment, it’s possible to talk them out of it. Making them label themselves is a very dangerous locking-in of beliefs, in my opinion.

        Also, all sorts of people might take the test, but that also means that vulnerable people will take the test. So, most people might not care about the results, but people who are deeply dissatisfied with their life will be more likely to answer questions in a certain way. And then behold, they are able to find a community with others “just like them”. They lock in their beliefs when they are vulnerable and can immediately find validation for their angry beliefs.

        Meanwhile, and this happened over and over in the subreddit, people from all political persuasions are attracted, but eventually, the reasonable people become fatigued from all of the nazi shit, and leave. The nazis on the other hand, just enjoy trolling everybody, so they never leave. When the nazis are ejected from the community, they come back and continue doing things that are just barely within the rules. This effort worth it for them, but not for the other people.

        The meme format itself is, to a lesser extent, also wrong. It’s more subtle, but the issue is that “left-right” and “lib-auth” are presented as a false equivalence. Each of these are just locations on a grid. When you’re filling out the grid, you have to fill out all of the sections, and this practice makes it seem like all sections are somehow similar. Each section even has its own color. Often, like in the example posted above, the same meme faces are used to represent different ideologies.

        A meme author has to write opinions for every political system, and it’s much easier to write opinions for political systems that lack subtlety.

        I could go on, but I’ve gone on quite a while already. Sorry about that. I wish you luck. I think you’ll have your work cut out for you.

        • PugJesus
          10•10 months ago

          Well, I think I have a few advantages here.

          First, that I recognize that the Political Compass is just a horoscope for political nerds and ultimately means nothing of importance.

          Second, that I don’t intend on making anyone label themselves, nor do I even intend to direct anyone to the quiz.

          Third, that I have 0 tolerance for Nazi, Nazi-adjacent, or Nazi-apologist bull and don’t pretend to be a neutral or tolerant actor in this - anyone who says even just suss shit is gonna get it, or themselves, removed. If you’ll forgive the joke, the community moderation tone is “having an authleft moment.” 😛

          It’s just a repository for some old-style PCMs and liberal-to-left-wing commentary and community on the matter.

          Often, like in the example posted above, the same meme faces are used to represent different ideologies.

          tbf in this one, that’s because it’s trying to depict unity all over the spectrum in disdain for slaver scum. “We are all Chads on this issue” sort of thing.

          God, if only that were really the case.

          • @logicbomb
            5•10 months ago

            I hope it works out, and it’s definitely better off in the hands of somebody like you than in somebody else’s hands, because it already exists, and has to be dealt with somehow.