Conservatives unable to detect obvious satire

Started by Aroura33, July 06, 2013, 06:38:10 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Aroura33

So, I think we have all heard stories about how some conservatives think the Colbert Report is a real conservative show. Now I have a recent example of conservatives unable to detect satire.

My sister in law, who is not conservative but one of those political bandwagon jumpers and dumber than a stick, just posted this link on her FB page.
//http://www.theconservativespeaker.com/wordpress/?tag=obama-all-this-national-pride-st-gets-on-my-nerves She expressed her outrage that the president would say unpatriotic things.

I read one paragraph, realized it was satire, and also noted the article itself had a link to the original "news source" called Duh Progressive!! 5 seconds on google showed me this is a satire site that openly compares itself to The Onion.

So I posted the original, showing it was satire, and she still refused to believe me. I asked her to please read the actual article, and not just the headline. A liitle while later she says "Oh yeah, I saw all that later. Funny stuff!"  But she left her original outrage post intact.

So my sister in law, nd this Conservative news source "The Conservative Speaker", seem unable to detect satire. Is this some wierd genetic trait? Or are they just so eager for negtive news they will believe anything, even stuff with " this site is satire" written right on the bottom?
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.  LLAP"
Leonard Nimoy

PopeyesPappy

Its the later and a result of conformation bias. Conservatives aren't the only ones subject to such things. Although being dumber than a stick probably doesn't help.
Save a life. Adopt a Greyhound.

EntirelyOfThisWorld

I live in a town who's economy is dominated by a nearby U.S. Marine Base.  It is interesting that a favorite movie among marines is Full Metal Jacket.  These guys eat it up, especially the DI guy and the action scenes.  None of them seem to realize that it is really a very anti-war movie.
Freedom is Free.  It\'s included in Democracy.  Democracy is Hard.  It involves coexisting with people who think that sayings like "Freedom is not Free" actually makes some kind of sense.

Hydra009

Quote from: "EntirelyOfThisWorld"I live in a town who's economy is dominated by a nearby U.S. Marine Base.  It is interesting that a favorite movie among marines is Full Metal Jacket.  These guys eat it up, especially the DI guy and the action scenes.  None of them seem to realize that it is really a very anti-war movie.
I've had a same sort of thing with Starship Troopers.  A few thought that it'd be a great idea to restrict voting rights to people with some military service.   #-o

mykcob4

Steven Colbert was invited to speak and the annual press dinner by the Bush Admin. one year because they thought he was a conservative ala Hannity, O'Reilly. He accepted and tore the Bushies and the neocons a new one. It was so damn funny.
Conservatives don't get humor or satire. The only thing the laugh at are fart jokes and anything that is disrespectful to a sector of the population ala racial slurs. they are educated by pop-culture and haven't the IQ beyond that.

AllPurposeAtheist

Here at the VOA we have all manner of conservatives railing against the 'socialist liberal agenda' while blissfully unaware the VOA gets 95% of all its funding ala the VA which last time I checked is TAX payer supported.. As long as we're not discussing politics we typically get along fine, but their hypocrisy is often mind numbing. They're still stuck on the 80's. 'angry white man' shit..even though they have NOTHING to be angry about.. :roll:
All hail my new signature!

Admit it. You're secretly green with envy.

EntirelyOfThisWorld

Quote from: "mykcob4"Steven Colbert was invited to speak and the annual press dinner by the Bush Admin. one year because they thought he was a conservative ala Hannity, O'Reilly. He accepted and tore the Bushies and the neocons a new one. It was so damn funny.
Conservatives don't get humor or satire. The only thing the laugh at are fart jokes and anything that is disrespectful to a sector of the population ala racial slurs. they are educated by pop-culture and haven't the IQ beyond that.

I saw that.  I don't know which was better, the things Colbert said about the admin, and the press, or the uncomfortable looks on Dubyas face.

Quote from: "AllPurposeAtheist"Here at the VOA we have all manner of conservatives railing against the 'socialist liberal agenda' while blissfully unaware the VOA gets 95% of all its funding ala the VA which last time I checked is TAX payer supported.. As long as we're not discussing politics we typically get along fine, but their hypocrisy is often mind numbing. They're still stuck on the 80's. 'angry white man' shit..even though they have NOTHING to be angry about.. :roll:
In college I was putting up with a classmate rant about liberals and socialists when I just had to break in and remind him that we were students at a state university.
Freedom is Free.  It\'s included in Democracy.  Democracy is Hard.  It involves coexisting with people who think that sayings like "Freedom is not Free" actually makes some kind of sense.

Solitary

It's really funny after reading this that my wife's very conservative nephews and nieces think farting is hilarious.  :rollin:  Solitary
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.

ozymandias

Quote from: "Hydra009"
Quote from: "EntirelyOfThisWorld"I live in a town who's economy is dominated by a nearby U.S. Marine Base.  It is interesting that a favorite movie among marines is Full Metal Jacket.  These guys eat it up, especially the DI guy and the action scenes.  None of them seem to realize that it is really a very anti-war movie.
I've had a same sort of thing with Starship Troopers.  A few thought that it'd be a great idea to restrict voting rights to people with some military service.   #-o


Heinlein actually seemed to believe that would be a good idea.

Plu

Seems like a great idea. Only allow people who have been properly modified to follow their superior's orders unquestionably to cast votes. I can't possibly see how that could be abused.

Aletheia

Quote from: "EntirelyOfThisWorld"I live in a town who's economy is dominated by a nearby U.S. Marine Base.  It is interesting that a favorite movie among marines is Full Metal Jacket.  These guys eat it up, especially the DI guy and the action scenes.  None of them seem to realize that it is really a very anti-war movie.

This I would have to agree with. My brother had viewed this as a movie intended to show the hideousness and drawbacks of war by simply showing it for what it is - bunch of shit with no real purpose. So, when he joined the Marine Corps, he wasn't expecting glory or anything even remotely close to a video game. He was not surprised to find that the Middle East was a wreck, the people were ignorant, and that the media were like vultures. The only thing he was mistaken about was the idea that he could somehow make a positive difference by being there.

My brother's friends however, thought there were noble causes to be had in war, that the purpose would be straightforward, and to an extent, that good always wins. Much like in the movie Full Metal Jacket, these particular people were either crushed mentally by having their view of life so completely altered or they return as extreme pessimists about humanity.

Here in the southern United States, there is this fervent desire for things to be plain and simple. This mentality does not hold up well to complications, deception, and in many cases, to the harshness of reality. That's probably why so many people here are religious - if they are good then they will go to heaven where things are plain, simple, and good. Furthermore, that is probably why they appeal to the conservative mindset.
Quote from: Jakenessif you believe in the supernatural, you do not understand modern science. Period.

ozymandias

Quote from: "Plu"Seems like a great idea. Only allow people who have been properly modified to follow their superior's orders unquestionably to cast votes. I can't possibly see how that could be abused.


Doesn't work.  I was considered a discipline problem, and had no trouble questioning my "superiors"

FrankDK

Quote from: "Plu"Seems like a great idea. Only allow people who have been properly modified to follow their superior's orders unquestionably to cast votes. I can't possibly see how that could be abused.

I understand the point you are trying to make, but having spent a little more than 20 years in the USAF, I would have to say that, in the AF, at least, people don't unquestioningly obey orders.  They ask why, how, and is it legal?

If the stats I read are correct, the active duty military supported Obama in the last election by a slightly larger margin than the voting population at large.  The nut cases may be more vocal, and the military is generally more conservative by self-selection, but the a government selected by the military would not be much worse than what we have now.

Frank

Plu

While I understand that under current rules, it might work out fine, you must wonder about the wisdom of making it so that only government employees and ex-government employees can vote. Because that's basically what is being said. I'm pretty sure there'd be a quick reform in who is and is not allowed to join the military.