1mo ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination signals a new era of anti-intellectualism in American politics

theconversation.com Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination signals a new era of anti-intellectualism in American politics

Attacks on scientific expertise have been increasing, especially in politics. Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is among the more prominent people who have done that.

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Anti-intellectual might be the kindest and least offensive adjective to describe him.
- Anti-intellectual in much the same way as anti-matter

Every time I look at this dude, he looks like five giant cockroaches scrambling around inside a human suit.
- So that worm in his brain might just have Cordyceps…cool cool. Stocking up on tape, vitamins, paper, scissors, and alcohol asap.
- Sounds like he's on death's door when he speaks too. Or he's already dead and the roaches are good ventriloquists/puppeteers.
  
  I’d assume the latter at this point. Although it’s not cockroaches, it’s fucking worms.
  
  I thought it sounded strange when he spoke as well. Turns out he has some condition which makes it sound like that, so maybe we shouldn't point it out.
  Or maybe we should - the right has nothing against playing dirty, maybe it's time to take the gloves off. Who knows.

New my ass! It started with Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich in the 90s, if not even earlier!
- Yes, this. It goes back even further. It's now, they are empowered and emboldened through Bullshit Mountain + "social media" platforms.

In 2016 we managed to elect a guy who was very obviously mentally defective and a career criminal. Fuck outta here with “new”.

Americans stay being aggressively anti-intellectual. It's been that way since waaaay before Trump too. We're gassing up Trump too much with this. Americans have been like this longer than I've been alive.

new era you say? did that reset after the first time trump was elected, or immediately following the second? new era, for fucks sake
- I think of it this way : movies were really popular before talkies came in. So, movies didn't die off when they started talking, but it was a new era. Same thing here; it's still anti-intellectual, just better and shinier

New era? Pretty sure we've been living in this isocracy full force since 2008 when the deplorable morons lost their minds and went full stupid racist with the tea party.
- Oh we've only been experiencing anti intellectualism beta. They're pushing out full release before it's done testing.
- There's new approaches to it. You would usually hear creationists say things like "true science agrees with us". It was nonsense and they never understood how science works, but there was this assumption underlying it that science was correct. They existed in a culture that at least conceptually embraced science and were coming at it from that angle. They were trying to co-opt the aesthetic of science rather than dismissing it entirely.
  With attempts at funding freezes in health care and agencies under gag orders, we're seeing a much broader attack on science as a concept.

no, trump signaled that

Last I knew he was being questioned and this article is useless. Did he actually make it through???
- Not yet. The GOP is still attempting to show the correct amount of "struggle" before they all vote yes.
  
  Gotta pick the 3 senators who are least politically vulnerable.

It was intentional

Brain worms will do that

Us latinists prefer the term 'Stultiocracy'.

They are exposing a big flaw in our system. We are not holding them accountable for their actions and their decisions. We are. Here.
But out there. They chose this.

Anti-intellectual, yeah right
https://x.com/AnnaRMatson/status/1884038976295801085
- What a hilariously garbage thread.
  Zero mention of any of the critiques that are actually being levied against the guy. 0/10, think before you post please
  
  I know the response to lemmy. That's why I post. There needs to be an counter narrative, or else there is just echo.
- I thought x was banned from polite conversation.
- Why are you linking trash from dipshitsville?
  
  Close-minded much?

Despite his takes on vaccines, he’s the one cabinet pick I like. He is focused on the toxic food environment Americans live in and don’t seem to want to acknowledge. I feel like I took crazy pills yesterday when NYT put out an article implying that weight loss had nothing to do with calories. It’s amazing all the mental gymnastics some people will do just to not be a little hungry for a while.
- The problem is that his takes on vaccines actively disqualify him. They could've found any number of other people who could've promoted those types of healthy lifestyle without vaccine hangup.
  Oh and the ADHD labor camps. More people should be talking about those.
- Only he changes his beliefs and opinions depending on who’s dick he’s sucking.
  
  I agree on that. Very bad look when he was pushed on his past statements and his answer was “P-P-President Trump”. Looked kinda pathetic to me. But I’m taking the bad with the good. I’m hoping parents will do the right thing and vaccinate their kids and that he will focus on improving the food supply in the US and tightening regulations for ultra processed “food”.
- He wants to take away my medicine and send me to a labor camp. He's the least acceptable out of the entire clown show Trump nominated.
  
  Sure he does. Proof?
  
  What he wants and what he can do are very different things. And no, the worse is Hegseth and that cannot be argued. The US health system needs to be burnt down to the ground, I do not think RFK will do that but I welcome anyone who will try.
- He says that. And then he wants to remove fluoride from drinking water. This dude wouldn't know toxic food if he ate a month old sandwich.
  
  Fluoride is worth questioning though, we don’t really know for sure whether it is harmful or not and science is increasingly proving that the risks are very real and maybe not worth the benefits. We don’t know for sure yet, but I think it should be left up to the communities to decide AFTER they’ve been given the chance to review all the current studies on the subject. It needs to be an informed decision.
- Nothing is worth vaccines. Vaccines are like, all we have.

70 comments