Beware of the stations where the facts are based on lies
Some of them are run by aliens in disguise
They sneak up behind you and put your brain in a box
You can recognize the victims, because they're watching Fox
- Nursery rhyme
Certain people can stop a good conversation, especially if it involves reality-based topics like climate change, at a range of 10 yards or even more. They do this by sending out evil rays of silence that force people to talk about football, or a TV show, or nothing at all. For instance, your Fox-watching Uncle Bob, shown to the right.
This harms progressive causes that grow and thrive on thoughtful conversation. To win, the ranks of the mindnapped don't need to prevail in a discussion - they just need to destroy it.
Fortunately, the evil rays of silence can be mitigated and sometimes defeated. The latest research from scientists shows us how.
First, it's critically important to understand how the evil rays of silence act upon us, so let's look at a series of images that capture the rays in action.
First, Uncle Bob positions himself in a wait state near the beer. From there, he sends out thoughtdar waves out of his lower abdomen. While he now lacks the capability for original thought, the progress of evolution has left him with a vestigal capability to create a version of these waves.
When the thouthdar waves strike an actual thoughtful conversation on a topic such as climate, they bounce off the subject and return to Uncle Bob where they are picked up by a thoughtdar detector.
Bob then springs into action.
He advances to the crime scene,
sending out a series of high-amplitude sonic waves whose purpose is to confuse and freeze the perpetrator of the conversation and to destroy the potential for further thought.
These sonic waves are also painful and punishing to the subjects' auditory receptors.
Sometimes this first emergency response is sufficient to avert the threat of actual thought.
But let's follow the scenario where you try pushing back against the storm of gibberish, hoping to "reason with" Uncle Bob.
It's a classic rookie mistake.
You think that it's a conversation, but it's actually auditory cover for the building of a repulsor field that pushes everyone else off the field of play. To all outside observers, your exchange with Uncle Bob sounds like two of Charlie Brown's teachers arguing.
In most cases this goes on until the host begs you to stop provoking Uncle Bob. Bob's victory is complete, and the room is safely rendered free from meaningful thought.
Your error was in not understanding what is an achievable and useful purpose in a setting like this.
Convincing Uncle Bob - forget about it. That's not going to happen. We could delve into a lecture about Confirmation Bias and all that stuff, but more to the point, just remember the classic children's nursery rhyme referenced at the very top of the diary. His brain has been all boxed up for a while now.
If Bob was once a sentient, reachable human being, you have my condolences. The best you can usually do for him is send him a nice holiday card and treasure the memories of happier times. If you experience a period of grief with this realization, that's natural.
And, your most useful purpose is not to show everyone else that Bob is wrong. That's well known. Consider the taxonomy below.
So now is a good time to understand your most useful purpose when raising topics like climate in the presence of Uncle Bob. Often it's one or more of these good reasons:
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- To be honest and true to yourself
- Not to be silenced on an important topic
- To connect with others who may share your concern
- To motivate action
The connecting theme is community. The great challenges of our time, especially climate, will only be solved by community action that grows from local to global. When you are finding and growing your community, you are succeeding.
Tip: Get involved in local climate and other progressive action near you. You'll meet a bunch of cool new friends, many of whom ride bicycles.
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And the bonus is that when you are in a setting near people like Uncle Bob, you can talk about positive actions you are doing as part of catching up on your recent activities. That's more effective than raising a topic like climate in way that can be positioned as intentionally creating a conflict. If someone else wants to generate debate, it's clearly on them.
In the presence of Uncle Bob or any of their legion, the best plan is to make simple, clear statements about climate concerns, as well as positive action you are taking. Cut calmly through the blizzard of anger and obfuscation, keeping in mind that Uncle Bob is not going to hear you - your only concern is for the innocent bystanders.
There are limits to the kind of conversation you can have in the presence of Uncle Bob, but you can take an all-important step in creating a new social norm - climate is part of daily life and is just fine to talk about. You can help others not feel alone with their concerns, and you may make a great connection for a future Bob-free conversation.
But now we come to the scariest part of the whole thing. The evil rays of silence can be absorbed into your brain, inhibiting your ability to discuss climate in other settings. After just a few experiences with the full fledged sonic attack of a hard core denier, the resulting PTSD may have you hesitating at other times and places, worried that a denier may be lurking. You may find that you self-censor, granting a lasting victory to the denier attack. If you catch yourself counseling someone that it might not be the right time or place to bring up climate issues, you are actually re-radiating the evil rays of silence to those around you.
To overcome this effect takes awareness and a measure of social courage. It's up to you to take control - you never need permission from anyone else to raise awareness of the topics that you think are the most critical in our world today, especially vital efforts to protect our climate and what remains of the natural world.
Mission: Normalize climate as a mainstream part of daily conversation, in any setting
Do: Empower yourself to talk about climate
Don't: Be scared off by the threat of emotional terrorism from deniers
Do: Make clear moral and practical statements of your concerns
Don't: Let yourself be dragged down into the crap
Always: Be true to yourself
And Remember: If you see something, say something
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The Climate Action Hub
The 2014 People's Climate March accelerated civic momentum and successfully demanded world leaders to reach an adequate and just treaty at the December 2015 UN Climate Talks in Paris.
The Climate Action Hub is the fast track on the Road to Paris, featuring the latest news and actions from environmental activists, NGOs, scientists, reporters and Daily Kos bloggers on Sundays at 4:30 PM. The Hub also posts regularly at 8 AM weekdays. We encourage readers to utilize all posts to share related eco news and to promote other environmental diaries.
Our 'eco swat team' invites you to inform the community about campaigns in your local communities, to email us with story ideas, and to join The Hub to contribute your skills and experience.
It’s 2015! We need all hands on deck!
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