A couple things. In the off-topic forum, there was a thread about a conspiracy theory that got very argumentative. I was one of the participants in that. Don’t regret a sentence of it. I’m tired of scrolling through websites where you see scary images of vaccinations, dimly lit toothbrushes (fluoride fear mongering), and whatever the latest conspiracy issue of the day is. These people don’t even know the facts, don’t bother to research it, but they proudly begin posting on social media and their favorite website all about their tinfoil hat theories. And there’s entire websites devoted to this!
For example, one of the leading causes of fatalities for women is cervical cancer. We now have a vaccine that can help prevent it. But people don’t want to take it because of Facebook conspiracy theories. In America, there is a line of thinking saying that vaccinations will cause autism. In another country, there is a belief that this vaccination will cause the woman to end up in a wheelchair. It’s so interesting, in that you see the similar fear mongering and conspiracy theory flag flying, but the end result of what nightmarish thing will occur if you get vaccinated is completely different. It’s so sad, too, because there’s a reason we don’t worry about polio anymore. There’s a reason we don’t worry about a lot of diseases that used to actually kill people. But now we have to take a step backwards as a society because of conspiracy theorists spreading their lies across the Internet, favorite websites, and social media. And for some reason (well, maybe it’s not surprising), a lot of these conspiracy theories are coming from the right wing.
Don’t believe me? How many lies about President Obama have there been in the last 8 years? How many chain emails?
I don’t think a lot of people pay attention to their public education, or maybe they never got the lesson on critical thinking. They don’t know what a primary source is. They don’t know how to do research, how to gather information, how to cross reference sources, how to put a claim through rigorous investigation. They don’t know how to look at advertisements, graphics, or listen to what other people are saying through a critical lens. I think that’s important to know how to do.
And as far as core shield generators go, what a disaster of a discussion. If it had only been an optional flag to begin with, it never would have turned into that. We went from having an open galaxy to being threatened with having a galaxy on rails, and a huge discussion ensued. I’m happy with the result, though, as now you have a choice. A lot of people fought for that choice. Even if you don’t like the huge argument, I think that the community saved the game.
