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Talk Dirty To Me, Talk Dirty About Me.
The word “credibility” signifies the quality of being trusted and believed in. It encompasses several layers of meaning:
- Trustworthiness: At its core, credibility refers to the ability to inspire trust and confidence. This is essential in various contexts, such as personal relationships, professional settings, and media. A credible source is one that provides reliable, truthful information.
- Expertise: Credibility often derives from demonstrated knowledge or expertise in a particular field. An expert who consistently provides accurate and insightful information earns credibility through their skill and experience.
- Consistency: Maintaining credibility involves being consistent in one’s actions, statements, and behavior. Inconsistencies can undermine trust and diminish credibility.
- Integrity: Credibility is also linked to ethical behavior and honesty. A person or organization that adheres to strong moral principles and avoids deceit is more likely to be perceived as credible.
- Evidence and Support: In a broader sense, credibility can be reinforced by presenting well-supported evidence and logical reasoning. Claims backed by verifiable facts and solid arguments are more credible than those lacking support.
Overall, credibility is crucial for establishing trust and influence, making it a fundamental aspect of communication and relationship-building.
We’re now in the midst of a very heated campaign and election season. There is a lot at stake, including the very existence of our Democracy and Nation. Thats no hyperbole. And during these times more than others we have a fire-hose of information, ideas, data, propaganda, news and infotainment.
All of it has an agenda, mainly trying to influence our votes and how we a talk to each other about the candidates. And almost all of it in one way or another is trying to appeal to our "#Bias_Confirmation"'Bias Confirmation'(see below). It can be difficult, and time consuming to parse through it all and figure what what is true, and what is false, or to which extent something is full of shit.
Often what we do is assign various sources (media outlets, news anchors, etc) *credibility*, and really more often than not that assigned credibility is based more on *confirmation bias* than the factuality of the information they give you.
This is obviously problematic. People start to believe, often without question, the sources that say things that they already agree with, or that flatter or support their fears, likes, dislikes, and political views, especially their “Political Identity” (See below).
For example: If someone considers and labels themselves a “Conservative”, then they will seek out and pay attention to and *believe* media sources that are outright advertising to them. And that present stories and articles that address issues that are important to such viewers. Such viewers assign a very high “Credibility rating” to such news outlets, and will categorically reject any information that comes from a competing source. And more often than not, they will not even question whether or not the information they are being fed is true or not. “Truth” and “Factuality” are two somewhat different concepts. (See below)
Some people simply do not care what is true and factual, and what is not. They chose to believe what is comfortable and what feels good, for any number of reasons. Sometimes they chose to believe simply what seems to be popular in their social group. The Truth often hurts (See below). So people often avoid anything that hurts, or that insults their sensibilities’. Or that will force them to reconsider and reevaluate a lot of other beliefs. For some people that just seems like too much work, so they continue to believe things they know are bullshit just because it is comfortable and familiar.
One of the truly great ironies in our culture is that we tend to believe ANYTHING, no matter how full of crap it is, that someone we *LIKE* says, and we reject out of hand as being a “lie” anything said by someone we do NOT “like”.
Charismatic and likable people, those beautiful people in your social circle are often the biggest liars. Or if not knowingly lying, they are simply full of shit and repeatedly spew things that are simply not true. While at the same time, someone who tells the TRUTH is often disliked because they *make people feel bad*, or more accurately, people perceive that person as “being a jerk” because the truth they told makes them feel bad.
People will assign credibility to someone because they *agree* with what they said, not because what they said is TRUE or FACTUAL. And they will deny credibility to someone simply because they made them “Feel bad”. In either case, the assignment of “Credibility” is being made completely irrationally and by metrics that have nothing to do with truth or factuality.
Within your social circles, there are people who are considered “Credible” and are therefor believed in almost every circumstance, and there are people who are considered “Full of shit” or “Liars” no matter what they say, and your bias confirmation experiences such people as “Bad and negative” because they make you feel bad, “therefore everything they say MUST be wrong.” This is very much counter-intuitive. (See Below).
The smiling feel-good handsome and good-looking person with charisma gets away with murder, with all kinds of bad behaviors (Sometimes even breaking some serious laws) because people believe whatever they say. But the guy who simply states the factual truth gets BLAMED for all kinds of things, including crimes, and no one believes anything they say, even though they have never lied to them.
This is the gutting irony in society: The guy that LIES to you the most, is believed the most, and granted the most credibility, and the guy who reports the truth is the one who is denied any sort of credibility.
Read that above paragraph again.
Not every “Nice guy” is automatically a liar. And not every social clod is telling you the truth, but in the big picture it is easy to see how people, often without thinking about it or planning it, start avoiding saying truthful and factual things simply because they want to be LIKED and to be POPULAR, and the guy who is befuddled about how and why he is so unpopular shouts the TRUTH and the FACTS louder and louder from the rooftops erroneously thinking that “if only people knew the TRUTH and FACTS, then they would understand that *I* am not the bad guy!”. But this behavior only gets them hated that much more: One thing that people absolutely HATE is having their own bullshit rubbed in their face.
Some people will feed you an interesting and seductive mixture of lies, truths, facts and fictions, carefully monitoring your reactions as they go along so they can modify their presentation. Just enough truth that you can instantly verify to give them genuine credibility, and then enough comforting and flattering pandering lies and fibs to keep you eating it up like ice cream.
And soon they have you wrapped around their finger, pulling your strings and you happily dance to the sweet tune of their song, and you repeat it over and over again hoping that doing so will elevate YOU to their perceived lofty social status. And they play you like a fiddle, but you find yourself so wrapped up in their game that even when confronted with the TRUTH and the FACTS that they are lying, you stick with them out of fear of embarrassment and humiliation of being exposed for being so gullible. (See below)
We assign people and sources credibility. The problem is that people use some really illogical and irrelevant metrics and measures for how much credibility we grant someone, and as I’ve shown, in real-world social dynamics, FACTS and the TRUTH are so casually and cavalierly thrown aside in favor of whats POPULAR and COMFORTABLE.
I know people who are always smiling, and positive, and project this sort of agreeable humor. They seem to be well-liked. BUT they are a habitual thief and grifter. Ove the course of 40+ years they have ripped off their friends, their family, their room mates, their partners etc. They will ask to use your bathroom, then help themselves to your medicine cabinet and take any pills they think will get them high, or can be sold or traded for dope. They think nothing of stealing your prized possessions, they think nothing of stealing your paycheck, or conning you out of it.
And if they are ever called out for it, they will laugh in your face and blame you, the victim and with full confidence exclaim that you deserved to take the loss, and they deserved to take whats yours because somehow “You are just so ridiculous!”, and they skip their merry way down the lane, on to rip off the next person.
They lie constantly. They tell lies as a means to con people out of their money or goods. They get caught, but somehow they are STILL granted the grace of “Credibility” because they have some basic charisma that they have certainly learned to hone and use to further their own selfish agendas. To speak up and tell the truth about such a person will make you the hunchbacked disliked troll of the town.
“How DARE you!” people will shout at anyone who dares to point out what a pernicious SHIT this person is. Why? Because this other scumbag made them “Feel good” at some point, and the person calling them out is “Making them feel bad”, and often it is as simple as the fact that they do not want to have to confront the fact that this grifter has played THEM over and over and over again, and even gotten them all wrapped up and unknowingly complicit is some of their grifts and scams.
They will even defend the grifter. I dont know why. It makes no sense to me. The reality is that deep down they know the guy is a scumbag, they know he has ripped off everyone in town, they know he doesnt give a shit about anyone but himself, and his barely redeeming feature is that he can virtue-signal loudly and viably to advertise this “righteousness” and “rightness” and “goodness” of his image, and thereby claim that anyone who is ‘against them’ must actually be against the VIRTUES that they hoist and signal so loudly (And manipulatively), and therefor that person pointing it out is “bad”..
It is truly confusing to anyone who actually sits down and observes and thinks about it. And it probably developed this way over decades, maybe even centuries. And the advent of social media has certainly had its effect on how the news and information is passed around. But the people who are granted the most “Credibility” are those who have done the least to have earned it, or even done the most that is antithetical to building credibility.
It is more important than ever at this juncture in history that we learn to vet our sources of information. That we train ourselves to seek out the FACTS and FACTUALITY of news stories and information, whether its from people we know, or corporate news channels and cable TV shows.
There are a lot of people, and corporations and political ideologies with all manner of agendas who want to influence you to get your vote, your money, your mind, your data even your soul, and they will tell you whatever lies they need to tell you to get you to hand it over to them. Many of them are very good, very subtle, and smiling right in your face (Or grimacing, if they think thats what will get your sympathies) and even waving their arms around yelling “Do your OWN research!” or calling anyone who doubts them a “Traitor” and challenging their patriotism. BC
#Bias_confirmation, or confirmation bias, refers to the tendency to favor information that aligns with one’s pre-existing beliefs while disregarding or undervaluing contradictory evidence. This cognitive bias affects decision-making and information processing, leading individuals to reinforce their viewpoints rather than challenge them. For instance, studies show that people are more likely to seek out and believe news that supports their political views, exacerbating polarization (Source: American Psychological Association). This phenomenon is significant in various fields, including media consumption and scientific research, where it can hinder objective analysis and critical thinking (Source: Scientific American).
Political Identity
#Political_identity refers to the way individuals or groups align themselves with specific political ideologies, parties, or movements based on shared values, beliefs, or social characteristics. This alignment often stems from personal experiences, cultural backgrounds, or social identities such as race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Identity politics, a related concept, focuses on how these social identities shape political perspectives and advocacy. It emphasizes the importance of representing marginalized groups and addressing systemic inequalities (Source: The New Yorker). While it aims to empower underrepresented voices, it can also lead to divisive and polarized political landscapes (Source: Harvard Political Review).
#Truth_and_Factuality
“Truth” and “factuality” are closely related but distinct concepts. Truth encompasses a broader philosophical and subjective realm, often involving the alignment of beliefs or statements with reality, moral values, or personal perspectives. It can be influenced by interpretation and context. Factuality, on the other hand, refers strictly to the objective accuracy of information or statements based on empirical evidence. Facts are verifiable and independent of personal beliefs or interpretations. While truth seeks alignment with reality and ethical standards, factuality ensures that information is concrete and objectively proven (Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Encyclopedia Britannica).
“#Truth_hurts” because confronting reality can challenge our deeply held beliefs, expose personal flaws, or reveal uncomfortable facts. This confrontation can provoke emotional pain, as it forces individuals to confront discrepancies between their self-perception and objective reality. The discomfort arises from the disruption of established narratives or the need to face uncomfortable truths about oneself or others. Such revelations can lead to feelings of vulnerability, guilt, or fear, making the truth difficult to accept or acknowledge. Despite the pain, facing the truth is essential for growth and self-improvement (Source: Psychology Today).
“#Counterintuitive” describes something that contradicts common sense or expected outcomes. It refers to ideas or results that seem illogical or contrary to one’s intuition based on prior knowledge or experience. For instance, it might be counterintuitive that increasing the minimum wage could potentially reduce unemployment rates, contrary to traditional economic assumptions. Such phenomena often challenge established beliefs and require a deeper understanding of underlying principles or data. The concept is important in fields like psychology, economics, and science, where complex systems or hidden variables can produce surprising results that defy initial expectations (Source: Psychology Today).
#Being_gullible means readily believing and accepting information without sufficient skepticism or critical thinking. This often leads to being easily deceived or manipulated, as gullible individuals may trust unreliable sources or fall for scams. Critical thinking and verification are essential to avoid the pitfalls of gullibility.
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