The fediverse is small, and thats both a blessing and a curse - one of its several blessings is that in a smaller space we all individually have a bigger impact on what the culture of this space is like.

On this comm (and on lemmy broadly) there’s a lot of discussion about how to grow the fediverse, what to improve, but an easy thing you can do for the fediverse is right in front of us-

  • Be kind

  • Ask people what they think, and why

  • Approach folks you disagree with with curiosity rather than hostility (EDIT: no, this is not specifically referring to Nazis. I get it, they’re the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not telling you to approve of Nazis I’m just saying be kind to your fellow lemmites)

  • Engage sincerely

  • Ask yourself if there’s something nice you can say

  • Make this small space worth being in

A platform lives or dies by what’s available on said platform and often we have this conversation in the context of “content” or posts - and we may never have as much content as reddit does. But content and posts aren’t the only thing this kind of platform offers- it also offers people. It offers community, and human interaction.

Culture and community is lemmy and the fediverse’s biggest differentiator, and we all have a role to play in shaping the culture of this space.

The biggest thing you can do to help the fediverse is make it a place worth being.

  • Casteyes@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Generalizing is a logical fallacy. Not all Republicans are Nazis.

    Some are rotten. Some are good people that just got duped.

    It’s not black and white.

    • shaggyb@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Nope. They’ve had plenty of time to see the results of their actions. They’re complicit at this point.

      • Cris@lemmy.worldOP
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        8 days ago

        I can empathize with your anger but I do think it’s easy to forget just how much propaganda can shape peoples world views and idea of reality. It’s used so heavily because it works :(

        Regardless, I’m not trying to start a fight, I can appreciate having no more tolerance for the increasing cruelty of the state of the world. Take care ❤️

      • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        That’s the part that I still can’t wrap my head around. We know it will be shameless shilling and nepotism along with stochastic terrorism and still vote for it anyway? Wtf

        • Cris@lemmy.worldOP
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          8 days ago

          Its easy to forget they live in a fundamentally different reality shaped by a buble of media. We all do, but conservative media kinda feels like an alternative universe.

          When confronted with the world we live in they reject it as unrealistic because it differs too much from the facts they’ve accepted about the world.

          My grandpa is a trump voter and I do my best to still talk to him. At an individual scale he’s a kind, sincere man who has always been welcoming of my queerness and tries to understand me. It’s very painful trying to discuss things with him even though it stays a kind interaction when I lead with kindness. It requires a lot of cognitive dissonance, but he lives in a fundamentally different reality than I do and I honestly don’t know what I can do about it :(

          That’s the dangerous thing about fascism. Decent people buy into it. Become complicit or enable it. It wouldn’t be a real threat if they didn’t. But it engineers a reality for people to believe in, and lo and behold, they do. And cruelty ensues :(

      • Casteyes@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Nope. There’s really hasn’t been. A lot of them are waking up. You’re being divisive. And that’s not what the country needs.

          • Casteyes@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            I’m being clear as well. If you want to be hostile to the whole group that’s your personal choice. I’m going to express the reality of the situation though. Bye.

        • Genius@lemmy.zip
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          8 days ago

          They had 4 years of Trump to see the truth for themselves. And then they got to see Trump break another election cycle’s worth of promises on top of that!

          • Casteyes@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            Trump’s first term was nothing like this. It wasn’t full on facism like the current term. The economy wasn’t being completely obliterated and people weren’t being disappeared.

    • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      If you’ve been getting duped for 50 years, then maybe you’re just too stupid to vote. People with a bit of a plant in their pocket have been disenfranchised for a lot less

      • Alpha71@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Perhaps. However. on the other side I think of this quote. “Poor people have been voting democrat for 50 years, and they’re still poor…”

      • Casteyes@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        MAGA wasn’t formed until 2016, the party was much different before Trump. But who cares I guess. It seems people just want to hate the other side here. Which is no better than them.

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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          6 days ago

          It really wasn’t different before Trump, it was just a little more articulate in its rhetoric.

        • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          Before that was the tea party loons, before that was the airbrushed WMD photos, before that was McCarthyism…

          When the other side is always fascist, the answer is always FUCK OFF NAZI PUNKS

          (Maybe people wouldn’t hate the “other side” if it wasn’t straight up 4th reich on paper 🤷)

        • Strawberry
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          8 days ago

          It seems people just want to hate the other side here. Which is no better than them.

          🙄