Some political theory, then read it yourself so you can stop being a liberal /j
I am a very liberal person and I have very liberal children, except for one. I'm pretty sure my Gen Z son has been taken in by fascist doctrine. What can I get him for Christmas?
Submitted 4 months ago by Crackhappy@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Comments
kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Reading through the comments here, I would say a gift certificate or membership to some activity they’ve expressed interest in. Ideally, something physical, that either involves working/playing/whatever with other people, or which has a social element to it.
My biased selection would be rock climbing if this is of some interest and you have a climbing gym that isn’t a giant pain to access (which you might not). Solo sport, but a) you need a belayer - that was my Dad when I was doing it, and b) the gym rats I’ve come across are often very friendly, open people.
Can be as challenging as you make it, gets you talking with IRL people, opportunity for what sounds like really necessary quality time going up there, if he gets into bouldering or makes a gym buddy and can get there himself he can eventually do it independently, etc.
Might make sense for them, might not - only you would know, really.
antimongo@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I used to be heading down this path as a teenager. For me, college was the eye opener. When I broke away from my normal bubble of people, I would have my opinions and biases challenged.
I like the travel suggestion as well. Also I went to some music festivals around that time that were pretty significant to my beliefs. I guess it depends on the type of music they prefer though.
aesthelete@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Coal
Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 months ago
No! That’s what they want!
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 4 months ago
The wicked have enough coal Hell, its making them rich!
masquenox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I’d suggest NOT giving him more liberalism, since that has already has already demonstrated the predictable outcome.
Crackhappy@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Indeed. Perhaps a positive reinforcement?
masquenox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Scratch a fascist and a liberal bleeds.
cerement@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
- Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread (1892)
- Murray Bookchin, The Ecology of Freedom (1982)
- Abdullah Öcalan, Democratic Confederalism (2011)
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
While those are cool books you’re not going to turn a facist kid leftist by gifting them anarchist books they aren’t ever going to want to read.
Especially when their radicalisation likely came from the instant gratification of social media.
Anticorp@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.
Kayday@lemmy.world 4 months ago
As a lefty who received “gifts” from her conservative parents, let me suggest giving the gift separate from a major holiday. Something I wish my parents had done that could work as a gift of sorts for you would be to take your son out for coffee or breakfast. Nothing fancy, preferably not busy. Talk to them about why they think what they do. Don’t combat them, just try to understand. Ask them if they would be comfortable talking more after you’ve had time to think about what they said.
“Hey [child’s name], you know that we have strong beliefs about certain subjects. We feel we have good reasons to believe the things we do, but there are smart people in the world who disagree with us. You are a smart kid, and that is reflected in the way you look for answers to problems that the way you have been brought up to think hasn’t offered a solution for. It would mean the world to your mom and I to know out son better, what are some things you’ve thought deeply about recently?”
Horsey@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Gen Z men that fall for the machismo of “hustling” just can’t conceptualize the amount of financial difference between them and their idols. Get him something he can work towards making a hobby and hope that you can talk to him about why he thinks the way he does; listen and try to empathize and offer him an alternative solution to what he has forged for himself.
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 4 months ago
A Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Crackhappy@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I don’t know how else to show him I love him or that he’s a part of this family.
jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Annotated Mein Kampf:
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 4 months ago
The article doesn’t mention this, so I am adding that you can also read that annotated version online for free at www.mein-kampf-edition.de (but only in German; not sure if there are annotated translations into other languages, I never checked because German is my first language).
mintdaniel42@futurology.today 4 months ago
My 1st thought as well
pugsnroses77@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
does he like music? see if theres any old punk shows around or any records/vinyls if he likes that at all. sex pistols, dead kennedys, hell, even green day.
kibiz0r@midwest.social 4 months ago
I’d recommend some Scott Galloway. He’s an advocate for young men, but he’s not one of those toxic manosphere types. He’s not exactly a leftist, but he’s certainly a liberal by today’s standards.
antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
And if your son is old enough, and a virgin/incel, maybe buy him an evening with female companionship.
IMNOTCRAZYINSTITUTION@lemmy.world 4 months ago
holocaust documentary with real footage so he can see what the end consequences of that shit is.
steeznson@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I’m a millenial but one of my most conservative friends has parents who are total left wing hippies. Sometimes kids end up rebelling or defining themselves in opposition to certain aspects of their family members.
AidsKitty@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Why does he have to be taken in by “fascist doctrine”? Maybe he just disagrees with your worldview. Get him a book on personal finance and investing. Obviously he will be taking care of you when you’re elderly.
Kichae@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Social Networking Sites: Full of fascists actively trying to recruit people into fascism
Social Media Sites: Full of videos and memes pushing fascism
Governments Around the World: Increasingly giving into or controlled by naked fascists
You: “Have you considered financial literacy?”
What the fuck, dude?
AidsKitty@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Tell me more about these naked fascist media sites. Do you have any examples?
wabafee@lemmy.world 4 months ago
A ticket to visit nmaahc.si.edu/explore/…/slavery-and-freedom
or
A course for …harvard.edu/…/slavery-and-historical-memory/
Gift him the yellow badge. Let him wear it for the whole Christimas.
Disconnection notice from the ISP.
A contract to not use the internet for a year in exchange for X cash/gift.
Dkarma@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Marx
DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
A bible lol
rational_lib@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I’d be curious about what makes him different from the others. There’s been some research regarding fluid intelligence* vs. crystalized intelligence, where liberals tend to be more on the fluid side. It kind of makes sense because rather than trying to figure out what they can’t understand off the bat, conservatives tend to rage against it.
As far as gifts, I dunno. Maybe a puzzle game? I don’t know what’s big in the puzzle game world now, if anything. The idea is make your son more comfortable with the idea of tackling novel problems instead of trying to cram them into an existing framework.
*it’s called “intelligence” but I tend to think of it more like a thinking strategy. Fluid intelligence being “can I think of a way to solve this?” while crystallized intelligence is “what strategy that I’m familiar with already can solve this?”
telllos@lemmy.world 4 months ago
bear@lemmynsfw.com 4 months ago
[deleted]Crackhappy@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s hard to do that when he shows such clear disdain for his siblings.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 months ago
…a ballgag?
KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
unironically, some books on philosophy and more broad political sciences.
Assuming he isn’t the stupidest person in the room at any given time, some good reading on philosophy and sociological structures (politics) will be interesting.
Don’t ask me for recommendations, there are better places to go, and im sure a few people here will have good recommendations.
intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Well, I guess it’s time to choose between
- The childish notion that everyone you disagree with is a fascist
- Your relationship with your son
I really, really hope you’ve got the guts to admit you’ve been juicing on hyperbole.
WillySpreadum@lemmy.world 4 months ago
How the fuck can you see the results of the last US election and the rhetoric on the right and say stupid shit like this?
DarkFuture@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Probably has something to do with them not being particularly intelligent.
telllos@lemmy.world 4 months ago
A lot of people recommend anything, outdoors, hiking, camping, dirt bikes etc.
I want to say you have to be careful with those. As you can easily spiral into right wing, conspiracy theorist territory.
Youtube is very good at pushing that kind of content.
Maybe something about food, like cooking classes, or about traveling.
BenFranklinsDick@lemmy.world 4 months ago
So hiking is fascist now?
telllos@lemmy.world 4 months ago
No no, it’s not really what I mean. Hiking is great, and everything that has to do with nature.
But I enjoy sometimes watching video about surviving in nature, bushcraft and youtube algorithm started pushing stuff about Paranormal shit, conspiracy things.
It might be true about anything. it’s juste something to keep in mind. Before pushing OP’s son to get a hunting or fishing license.
But clearly disconnecting from social media can help.
If you have to advise about hobbies, boardgaming is nice, rollerblading too.
Baaahb@feddit.nl 4 months ago
Survivalist militias are, and guess who already has a history of going too far…
themaninblack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Give him a book by Robert Nozick, so he discovers what coherent conservative philosophy sounds like
Crackhappy@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Ooooh he’s a huge reader. anarchy state and utopia? I’d like a specific suggestion. He’s a huge Ayn Rand fan.
muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Give him 1984 so he can understand where authoritarianism leads.
Sergio@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
Is your kid into The Smiths? Back In The Day, all the Ayn Rand fans I knew were pretty annoying, but we could agree that The Smiths made some great music. So maybe get your kid some Smiths albums or a t-shirt or something.
(do kids still do albums these days? also, I know Morrisey has made some questionable statements, but we’re talking about reaching out to a fascist here…)
ml01@lemmy.world 4 months ago
if he likes ayn rand, i would suggest bioshock: rapture by john shirley
themaninblack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Oh god Ayn Rand? I’m surprised he has the attention span. Yeah Anarchy State and Utopia.
Steel man his perspective. Give him something he finds interesting which will also teach him to develop his argumentation.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
First question: when you use the terms “liberal” and “fascist” do you mean them in their original sense or as they are currently employed in US English?
josefo@leminal.space 4 months ago
A turd.
If you want something that he would enjoy, Mein Kampft.
I mean, I’m sure at this point he has been exposed to most literature and works to not be a fascist, this won’t get fixed with a gift. Maybe try to have a 1 on 1 conversation with him, let him speak an express why he thinks like that, let him go deep, let him talk about his feelings. Fascism always root on untrue information and resent. If he respects you, you can then talk about where he is wrong, confront the lies, but embrace him as a person.
If you want to win your son back, it will take real work, respect, and love. These people get lied to, and they believe because they are full of resent and want an explanation, someone to pin all the problems, an enemy. Uprooting that is hard, but sometimes family and friends can do it. If family and friends deepen those core beliefs, nothing is going to change.
Source: When I was younger, I was that stupid too. Friends made me realize it.