spoiler

  • OBJECTION!@lemmy.mlOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    This is word for word the logic of right wing conspiracy theorists who ascribe every thing they don’t like to Jews.

    Really? Can you name 5 world leaders who were overthrown by a secret Jewish cabal the way I can for the CIA, just off the top of my head? I think, maybe, there might be a little bit of a difference there.

    This comparison is so fucking stupid that it ends up being antisemitic, because by equating the two you’re implying that this secret Jewish cabal both exists and has similar power and influence as the most powerful and well funded spy agency on the planet that has a very long and well documented history orchestrating coups and color revolutions and successfully covering up their involvement for decades, that also, you know, actually exists. Get a grip!

    In court of law, an admission is pretty solid proof. Your meme says the involvement was admitted. I guess it wouldn’t look as convincing or funny if the meme said they admitted they funded some organisation outside of Hungary 7 years after the actual event

    Yes, my meme made use of an existing meme and the phrasing of the original wasn’t 100% accurate. I apologize because my username and avatar seems to have caused some confusion, but this is actually an online meme community and not a court of law.

    See, while trawling through these JFK files right wingers have already found a connection with Jews, as tenuous as it is, and tout it as solid proof it was them who had JFK killed, because after all we already know Jews are nefarious and evil, and clearly any weak connection to JFK’s death is good enough - of course (((they’ve))) scrubbed the proof, etc. so internet randos can go creative. Or maybe some higher standards for proof would be in order…

    Again, the difference is I can point to countless times where that actually happened with the CIA and they can’t do that with Jews! I stg, it’s like, if I hear about a black person who was found strung up from a tree in the 20’s, I’m gonna go, “Huh, seems like it was probably white supremacists like the KKK” but apparently you’ll then chime in with “wElL hOw Do YoU nNoW iT wAsN’t AsIaN sUpReMaCiStS, hUh?” Because one of them is a real thing that actually existed at that time and place with significant power and a track record of doing that sort of thing repeatedly and getting away with it, and the other is a made up delusion.

    • antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      19 hours ago

      Antisemitic conspiracy theorists would certainly be glad to send you extensive “evidence” that e.g. the Russian revolution was also supported by Jews, or various other political manipulations that they’ve supposedly carried out (why only limit it to toppling governments?). Now, as I’ve talked with these people enough times, I found it is impossible to spend days trying to check all the nonsense they may throw at me, and in general any discussion of any topic ever could be extended into eternity. What is perfectly reasonable is to abstract the individual case and figure out how it may plausibly be explained by itself. Antisemitic nonsense always fails here. In this case, so does your ascription of 1956 to CIA based on this particular document. The wider picture is different, as I’ve already said, it’s simply much more logical that CIA has supported anti-communist movements than that the antisemitic bullshit about the Jews is true. But if your standards are low enough to be convinced by a conjecture as weak as this one, that does lead me to worry about whether your general conviction on CIA’s actions is well-founded either.

      I mean it is very obvious that you don’t want to inquire into this any further or discuss the contents and context of the document, I’ve simply checked Wikipedia on Kiraly and it looks like I’ve already done more research about it than you have. All you have are implications, you haven’t addressed the chronology, who was active where and when…

      if I hear about a black person who was found strung up from a tree in the 20’s, I’m gonna go, “Huh, seems like it was probably white supremacists like the KKK”

      This is a good comparison too - “in the 20’s”, you say, but the document you posted is not from the relevant decade, and is even from a different continent.

      Besides, even just ctrl+F’ing “CIA” in the Wikipedia article on the revolution shows that yes, CIA did emit materials that were meant to stoke the Hungarians’ desire for revolt. It’s literally on Wikipedia, it’s no CIA-hidden secret at all! And if they were active that way, maybe they also funded some of the people and organisations in Hungary at the time? That doesn’t sound unreasonable to me as an otherwise uninformed person on the topic. But is that idea corroborated by this new document? No.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.mlOP
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        18 hours ago

        It’s incredible to me how ignorant people are of the CIA’s history, to the point of even calling into question whether they were engaged in these sorts of activities in general. This isn’t just me saying this or just some fringe group - it’s the accepted historical record. The proper propaganda line you’re supposed to use here is, “of course they did all those things in the past, but that was a long time ago and they’ve changed” (despite nobody ever being held accountable and nobody actually doing anything to change it). Deviating into straight up denialism just makes you look ignorant to anyone who’s actually informed about it.

        If you want a detailed case study of how the CIA operated/operates, I recommend All The Shah’s Men by Stephen Kinzer, which details the 1953 Iranian coup. Kinzer is a respected journalist who’s contributed to the NYT and the Guardian.

        Or we could look at different Wikipedia pages that detail the US’s involvement in coups and regime changes around the world, all of which will agree with me, that the CIA did these things pretty regularly. You’re the one who is deviating from the historical record accepted by actual historians.

        This is a good comparison too - “in the 20’s”, you say, but the document you posted is not from the relevant decade, and is even from a different continent

        Bruh. That was a separate hypothetical. You must be acting in bad faith.

        Besides, even just ctrl+F’ing “CIA” in the Wikipedia article on the revolution shows that yes, CIA did emit materials that were meant to stoke the Hungarians’ desire for revolt. It’s literally on Wikipedia, it’s no CIA-hidden secret at all!

        Great! So I’m right, it’s just like the meme. The only detail that’s in dispute is whether or not the document provides further evidence of involvement.

        • antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          16 hours ago

          It’s incredible to me how ignorant people are of the CIA’s history

          I’m not from the US and we didn’t have a class on CIA history. What you expect, am I supposed to be utterly fascinated by your country’s history and read about it extensively just so that we all can be as enlightened as you are?

          even calling into question whether they were engaged in these sorts of activities in general

          You’re the one who is deviating from the historical record accepted by actual historians.

          But I literally haven’t done that. If I have, show me the sentence where I did and I’ll absolutely take it back. You’re reading something into my comments that isn’t there - just like you’re reading events from 1963 US into 1956 Hungary.

          The proper propaganda line you’re supposed to use here is

          No, I’m not supposed to act like whatever stereotype/strawman you’re imagining in your head. You can fuck right off with this sort of “communication”.

          Kinzer is a respected journalist who’s contributed to the NYT and the Guardian.

          Thank you for the recommendation. However, if we’re going to hurl stereotypes at each other instead of arguments, I can’t help but point out that I’ve seen numerous Lemmy leftists claim that NYT is a liberal propaganda rag. So idk if that’s actually a plus for Kinzer.

          Bruh. That was a separate hypothetical.

          What does this even mean? You brought it up as an analogy, I pointed out that the analogy has been picked to make your primary claim look more obvious and logical than it really is.

          Great! So I’m right, it’s just like the meme. The only detail that’s in dispute is whether or not the document provides further evidence of involvement.

          You might finally start to get it! You accused me of doubting CIA’s involvment even though I literally pointed out to you that there is different, solid evidence they were involved! Like how stupid of a CIA-involvment-denier would I have to be to do that? And yet you’re still failing to understand that this never was my main point anyway!

          If I believe that the Earth is flat, but then I have a dream where I see that the Earth is actually round, and then I start believing that it is round, does that mean I’m “correct”? Technically maybe yes but based on wrong information/reasoning!

          • OBJECTION!@lemmy.mlOP
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            15 hours ago

            What you expect, am I supposed to be utterly fascinated by your country’s history and read about it extensively just so that we all can be as enlightened as you are?

            Yes, if fact, I do! The CIA had an extensive impact on the entire world, it’s the same way I have at least a general familiarity with the British Empire, even though I’m not from the UK, and that happened even further back.

            Thank you for the recommendation. However, if we’re going to hurl stereotypes at each other instead of arguments, I can’t help but point out that I’ve seen numerous Lemmy leftists claim that NYT is a liberal propaganda rag. So idk if that’s actually a plus for Kinzer.

            What an incredibly stupid line of argument. Ok, then go read fucking Grover Furr, for all I care. The point of recommending Kinzer (besides the fact that his work is good) is that he’s respected in the mainstream liberal sphere. Obviously, far-left authors like Furr (who I haven’t read and don’t recommend) or Michael Parenti (who I have read and do recommend) also talk about the CIA’s role in coups and color revolutions.

            A very, very, very basic concept in evaluating information is to consider what the source is saying relative to the source’s bias. If an ancient history commissioned by a king talks about the king slaying a three lions at the same time with his bare hands, we should treat that claim with heavy skepticism. If that same work talks about the king having a big ol’ wart on his nose that everyone made fun of, that part’s probably true, because it goes against the author’s bias.

            No source is perfect or without bias, and I’ll happily critique the NYT all day long, but when even someone who writes for them agrees with me, I’ll also cite them, because that’s all the more compelling.

            What does this even mean? You brought it up as an analogy, I pointed out that the analogy has been picked to make your primary claim look more obvious and logical than it really is.

            If you understood it was an analogy, then nitpicking that the date used in my analogy “wasn’t even in the same decade as my source” is utterly irrelevant.

            If I believe that the Earth is flat, but then I have a dream where I see that the Earth is actually round, and then I start believing that it is round, does that mean I’m “correct”? Technically maybe yes but based on wrong information/reasoning

            Except that my reasoning wasn’t wrong. I saw something that suggested there was a connection between the CIA and the uprising, and, based on my prior assumptions of how likey that was and how compelling I considered the evidence to be, I concluded that the connection was there. You jumped in to challenge that it wasn’t 100% proof, but also, there is other evidence that does prove it. So my process seems pretty reasonable.

            It’s funny that you open the comment with, “What, do you randomly expect me to be so fascinated with your country’s history that I take a class on it?” while also criticizing me for not doing a thorough enough investigation into Hungary, a country I’m not from and have no connection to. If you’re a leftist, you have to be an expert on the history of the entire globe, as well as economics and all sorts of other fields. But if you’re a liberal, you can just go along with the status quo understanding nothing and everyone’s fine with it.

            • antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              13 hours ago

              So you’ve at least silently dropped the accusation of my denial of CIA’s involvment in anything. Good, that’s some progress.

              What an incredibly stupid line of argument.

              Indeed, I did literally declare that it is based on stereotyping as a response to your making a stereotype out of me…

              I saw something that suggested there was a connection between the CIA and the uprising

              It sure might look like it if you ignore that the uprising happened 7 years earlier and that the organisation CIA supported wasn’t based in Hungary. But it looks like you ignored that while reading the document, so the connection seemed much stronger than it really is.

              and how compelling I considered the evidence to be

              This is literally no “evidence”, you yourself said it just suggested a connection, it isn’t even close to evidence of it, and your meme straight-up says it was admitted.

              If you understood it was an analogy, then nitpicking that the date used in my analogy “wasn’t even in the same decade as my source” is utterly irrelevant.

              That’s simply not the point I was going for, you’ve misread it or I should’ve been more clear. My point was this: your analogy used a time and place where the event is nigh impossible to be ascribed to any other entity than KKK and similar; on the other hand, the event of CIA supporting Hungarian dissidents that is described in the document did not happen in the time and place that is the focus of your theory.

              but also, there is other evidence that does prove it. So my process seems pretty reasonable.

              No, it is not even remotely reasonable to provide mere indications, weak proof, or non-proof, while you have easily available and already generally-accepted proof at your disposal.

              criticizing me for not doing a thorough enough investigation into Hungary

              Lol, “thorough investigation”, that’s not what I asked of you (again, my first comment: “Can’t you just Google one or two key words?”), you didn’t even check Wikipedia and couldn’t get the year of the revolution right, and, as I said above, made your whole conjecture while likely ignoring the actual content and context of the letter.

              If you’re a leftist, you have to be an expert on the history of the entire globe, as well as economics and all sorts of other fields.

              But you’ve just justified your lack of investigation into the topic by saying that you don’t have any connection to Hungary, while simultaneously also making a statement on Hungarian history…

              And in principle the discussion of whether something did or didn’t happen has little to do with whether one is a leftist or a liberal or anything else. If I’m wrong about something, my politics matter fuck all, I’m simply wrong, and the actual facts will speak for themselves.

              • OBJECTION!@lemmy.mlOP
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                11 hours ago

                This is literally no “evidence”, you yourself said it just suggested a connection

                If it suggests a connection, that’s synonymous with it being evidence.

                and your meme straight-up says it was admitted.

                Again, we’ve been over it, yes, my meme wasn’t 100% accurate, it was based on an existing meme.

                couldn’t get the year of the revolution right

                Your whole line of criticism is pedantic whining and after this I’m done entertaining it. Literally how many times have you brought up one simple typo, that was only off by three years anyway? Would you also bring it up this many times if I mixed up they’re and their? Maybe you would, if you’re that kind of annoying pedant, but if you ask me this nonsense has more to do with latching onto something, anything that you can use to punch left.

                while simultaneously also making a statement on Hungarian history…

                Just like you justified your lack of investigation into the CIA while also making statements about CIA history.

                And in principle the discussion of whether something did or didn’t happen has little to do with whether one is a leftist or a liberal or anything else

                It does matter if you try to enforce a hypocritical double standard where I have to be exactly right about everything and you don’t need to know basic historical facts.