I’m trying to turn a liberal friend red and he keeps whining that there aren’t enough sources cited and other such bullshit. Anyone have a go to for people like this?
They’re looking for a reason to not read it, they don’t actually care about the sources. They’ll repeat some bullshit about “isn’t Russia mass-kidnapping kids in Ukraine” or something stupid without a source happily. If they care about sources make them read Losurdo then.
next it’ll be “ehhh the font doesn’t look professional enough”
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/free-earth-worker-s-ice-pick
This was the critique of Blackshirts and Reds that he found. I wasted precious minutes of my life trying to find the source for the first quote:
Idk, sounds unequivocally good to me? Improving workers’ rights is bad now? Not off to a great start here.
I love anonymously-published anarchist bullshit.
It really is some great comedy but, sadly, libs eat it up because of how cartoonishly anti-communist it is.
If they read a critique for theory they’ve already read, then they’re consuming theory.
If they read critiques for theory they refuse to read then they treat theory as consumption.
Your friend is not interested in leftism, they are using you as entertainment. So tale a page frp, the anarchist library and leave them with the resources they need to go in the right direction, and trust that if they are truly destined for change then they will do it on their own.
This is what I’m doing. We had a heated back and forth yesterday until I realized it was pointless and will either figure it out on his own or not. All I can do is give him material and be living proof that communists aren’t spooky demons.
some sources are cited as footnotes
I was going to say, my copy had more footnotes than content for some pages…
The most important thing to do is set clear goalposts. What criteria do they actually require in order to take something seriously? If they give you clear criteria, it should not be hard at all for you to meet it, and if they go back on what they said, that is an opportunity to discuss their mindset, since I agree with you that they probably are just looking for excuses, but fundamentally that is something between a heuristic and a vibe and we don’t have firm enough evidence to be able to make a claim like that and be taken seriously by people who aren’t already sympathetic. If you patiently discuss with them what their supposed criteria is, meet that criteria, and then they make a new excuse, you are much more obviously justified (though you shouldn’t take it as just an excuse to disparage them, but rather an opportunity to ask them about their mindset and engaging in good faith).
Also, as others said, I’m pretty sure it is usually printed with lots of footnotes for sources, having a literal bibliography is just a formatting thing (even if it’s a better practice than not having one). I need to wonder if they aren’t either parroting a gotcha or just flipped to the back in hopes of finding that there wasn’t one. But again, even of there’s a real likelihood of that, it doesn’t mean that’s a good reason to start slinging accusations. Instead, you can just point out that there are indeed sources (you can check with them first and see)
Tell your friend that if they’re not actually interested in learning about your perspective to not waist your time.
Some liberals will refuse, but lead you on anyway. Like the other comment said, they’re not interested in actually reading it.
I find that these types of liberals are not going to simply be changed via literature. They need to have direct contact with the things you already understand. By that I mean, they won’t engage with your world view until they are personally impacted by theirs.
Most people, I think, value experiences over intellectualism. Then seek intellectuals to explain their experiences, not the other way around.
I don’t know what your area is like, but I’d be curious to see what they think after attending a protest/event hosted by local groups. Where they can engage with a large group of people who likely share your perspective.
I have no idea if this is good / practical advice or not. So take it with a grain of salt.
I also have the same issue. There are some claims that are hard to track down.
