Aaron Rodgers says AIDS was created by the U.S. government in the 1980s
Aaron Rodgers says AIDS was created by the U.S. government in the 1980s
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers offers a bizarre conspiracy theory about AIDS and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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Alright... Nuance time. Everyone please stick with me.
I don't like Rodgers, but this is kind of a dumb headline. THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS. I think what he's saying is that the "pandemic response" was the thing manufactured, not the virus itself. I think people are misreading it, because I don't think I really see how he's saying they manufactured the virus. THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS. Like the government gave all this money and tried to make people reliant on the government to save them, which has been his whole position with COVID.
It's still flatly wrong. But borderline purposeful misreadings like this only embolden Rodgers and others, because it's inaccurate, and people are attacking something he didn't say. And this gives him more of a platform because people are talking about it again.
If you're going to criticize someone, it's important to be accurate and understand what they're saying, so you can appropriately shut them the fuck up with the right facts.
One more time, THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS.
The blueprint, the game plan, was made in the '80s. Create a pandemic with a virus that's going wild.
But that was the game plan back then. Create an environment where only one thing works.
He literally said they "created a pandemic" and "created an environment" where they could profit. This conspiracy has been around for decades and was a prominent feature of KGB misinformation. It even has a name. Like others on the right, he's blatantly parroting Russian-rooted bullshit.
A pandemic isn't a virus. It a designation of the effect a virus is having or how it is spreading... He might be saying they took a situation, and blew it out of proportion for political purposes. My position is that the easy way to know a politician is twisting something for thier own gain is to note when they open thier mouths. But that doesn't rule out that what they are saying might just happen to be true either.
I see what you're saying. They "seized an opportunity" versus creating/unleashing it. But to say they created it with the intent to profit--it all seems to suggest control/foreknowledge. I have a hard time believing he's saying, "Fauci sure lucked out twice, didn't he?" But your point is still valid. I just don't buy it.
I don’t know much about the specific case. But with the sheer number of people trying to take advantage of any specific thing, someone will end up looking like they had control/foreknowledge... That said, I only agree that Aaron's words were twisted to say they created the virus. The guy still seems like a nut job, but who knows, I never met him.
Y'know, I went back to reread it and I think you're right.
For the record, if this were a serious community, I'd probably delete the post over this. Just saying, I won't be mad if mods decide it disqualifies the article since the headline might be misleading.
I think it's a great example of how media outlets can seed certain ideas. If you read the headline then the context, then it's like yeah I see how he said that. But I'm not sure you arrive there if you read the quote then the headline.
I'm about as liberal as they come, but holy shit the amount that this is done in politics is insane. It drives me nuts. Republicans often have so much wrong with their platform (in my opinion) that we don't need to just make shit up about them.
A particularly good example that stood out to me was Trump's "Muslim Ban". Do I think it was profile-y in its application? Yes. But if you looked at the detail, the justification used was vague "national security". Why couldn't we just attack how bullshit that was? But no, media had to run with exclusively the Muslim Ban line and it was so easy to deflect for Republicans. All they had to say was "this isn't about race stop being racist". But because of that, no one asked the better questions, like saying "you say this is specifically about national security... How is this immigration program specifically being exploited in ways that harm us?" Were we blocking work visas from those countries? Because I can tell you refugee status is a fuck of a lot harder and has more screening than work visas.
There were just so many glaring issues, but we decide to side step into an alternative reality.
None of this frustration is pointed at you by the way, it's awesome that you just said hey I think I got this one wrong. That's an admirable quality on forums these days. I just hate the media apparatus.
Why are you defending Rodgers?
Because he's so smart and good at throwing the oval ball that his opinions must be true and relevant and he deserves the platform to spread his views.
Sorry but you are clearly misinformed, a football is not an oval. It is a prolate sphere. Clearly you know nothing about football so you are completely unqualified to have any opinions at all. /s
Your mom is a prolate sphere.
(I am embarrassed and am now lashing out with baseless personal attacks)
Better than your mom who is an oblate sphere.
(That is okay we all have bad days, just aim to do better next time. Make that personal attack really sting)
Hey fuck you buddy
(Thank you buddy, I hope you're doing well - I'll make sure to bring a better version of myself next time. Have a good weekend)
Fuck you got me. It has been my third 13 hour day at work. It took me a second to realize you were joking. 🙃
No worries my dude, I had a stressful day today too. Better days ahead for both of us.
I hate how polarized everything is that this level of emphasis that you are not taking a certain side is required to criticize an argument made against that side. Bad, misleading arguments are bad, should always be ok to point it out.