I think we’re entering the phase of ‘everything we don’t like is a threat to democracy’ stage of democracy. Clearly their real concern is the growth of AfD, I’m sure if lonely people took up gardening instead they wouldn’t care about them being lonely.
That is fair, my thinking with regards to 'entering' was around 'everything' in that there is a rapid increase of scope of possible threats to democracy to include things that were normally considered rather benign. This part feels recent - but it's entirely possible that I'm late to the party.
Oh, another political propaganda trash article on HN. What a surprise.
Some fun fact, the "political extremists" they are talking about are pretty much anyone who dares to be even a centrist. The AFD. Alternative for Germany is pretty much the ONLY party of name in Germany who is actually FOR direct democracy, something all the other parties HATE. Because they claim democracy is what they think is right, and the actual citizens should never really have any decision over things.
The current thread to democracy are the parties who try to ban parties and call everyone a Nazi who dares to be centrist or right wing. As a German, I know what I am talking about. Politics on the last 20 years have shifted to the left so heavily that we are seeing a well deserve swing back of the pendulum.
Let's just indulge this "lonely people" causing it for a sec. If this would be true, MAYBE it's because lonely people spend more time on the internet and actually read and watch alternative media and come to an informed decision about that they want to vote and advocate for. They may detest their culture being replaced with other cultures they never asked for, maybe they want some kind of "Germany first" politics (I just made that term up). Instead of going into war with Ukraine, people want the resources spend on Germany. All the other parties are PRO WAR, even the left and the green party are voting pro war and military intervention and aid all the time. They send our money somewhere else!
And who caused lots of this loneliness? All the parties who they want us to vote for, they introduced draconian covid lockdowns that isolated everybody and put even families against each other. They did way more damage with their insane unjustified BS then covid could ever do!
Another idiot who can't read, I was speaking in generalities and the media. The political landscape has shifted so far to the left that what is centrist, or what was considered centrist like 5 or 10 years ago is called by "right wing" by the propaganda media all the time. It happens in the US as well. I never called the AfD centrist.
Stop reading and believing propaganda. Well, learn to read first I guess.
And the solution for Ukraine is to keep their promise to Putin to stay a neutral state and not get sucked into the starting point for WW3 by the US and NATO. The solution is to start talking to Putin and make a peace deal and tell NATO to fuck off. The solution is not to be "taken over". Putin only attacked because they were going to try to become and NATO member, something they explicitly said they would NOT do. But of course you know nothing about the history and are a stupid NPC who says. "Orange man bad.", "Putin bad."
I bet you still believe in the Russia collusion hoax. ROFL.
I find this odd... when I (American) have traveled to Germany the last few years, the people are quite happy to talk to you, and are very patient if you do not speak their native language.
1. If they're lonely, they're probably going to want to talk with someone.
2. If you're American, nobody actually expects you to speak anything but English. And probably not that very well. To sound better educated, Americans fumble pronouns ("Did you notice the dialog with exabrial and _I_?").
3. Articles have to exaggerate to get the correct amount of anxiety/rage-click to retain the advertisers.
