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More on Duterte / Philippines
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phallus dei
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Edited Apr 04, 2017, 21:52
Re: More on Duterte / Philippines
Apr 04, 2017, 21:51
thesweetcheat wrote:
When I posted the link in the other thread I was careful to use the introduction "claims to have been...". I know nothing more about the incident or the subject than what I read there, definitely not an expert on this subject at all.

Like many on here, I read everything these days with an eye to what the agenda might be, why the timing is what it is, hell even "is anything true any more" (or was it ever). I spend much of my time feeling we've fallen so far into double-think and newspeak that I can't even trust "up" or "down".

But all of that accepted, if true it's horrifying no matter what the end or justification might be. Even if that is my view from the privilege of the UK with no personal experience of what conditions must be like in the middle of all this. There must be a better way, surely?


I certainly didn't intend for my post to call into question your judgment, but rather to use the article you linked to as an example to highlight what I consider to be important issues to keep in mind when dealing with this topic (or any historical / political topic). I saw from your previous comments that you were already aware that ultimately, the accusation rested on someone's claims.

I share your confusion regarding what is "true." It's uncomfortable to realize that ultimately, we can't be certain what's going on, and that our sources of information are feeding us biased info designed to trigger a specific result. I don't think one can ever be certain of anything. At most, we have to aim for a considerable degree of probability.

A good approach to dealing with any issue is to first try to gain as much info as possible, consider conflicting views, and then, try to situate that issue within the broader context of the world. For Duterte, that could involve reading the various articles that people posted on the previous thread - they are all biased in one way or another. After that, try to develop a personal understanding of the issue that seems most probable. Then, see if the understanding you have developed regarding Duterte also helps you to understand other events in the world, or if other events seem to contradict your view. If the latter, then change your view of Duterte accordingly. The goal is to develop a "world view" that helps you to interpret the "big picture", and which is also capable of withstanding intellectual scrutiny.

I agree, the world-as-it-is is absolutely horrifying. But we first need to acknowledge the true state of affairs if we are ever going to change it. Otherwise, we will simply be deceived by one "leader" after another, without ever fully realizing our potential. I believe that at some point, we (humanity) will create a system that actually "works" for the majority of the Earth's people. What that future system will be like, I don't know. But before we can create it, we first have to realize what we're up against.
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