this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
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Ok, I can get sort of disagreeing the wildfires are from climate change - that's a couple of logical steps you have to make. But "It's not causing anyone to cough" is plainly ludicrous. It was making me cough when I went outside.

"It doesn't smell bad"? Maybe they have COVID and lost their sense of smell altogether? It certainly smelled bad to me. And if you thought it smelled great - wow. I just don't ever want to be around you if you like those sorts of smells. I can't see it actually working with anyone who's ever been in wildfire smoke before - like you don't need science or education or anything to notice if it makes you cough, or tell something doesn't smell great.

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[–] watson387@sopuli.xyz 29 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Let's be real. A lot of these people don't actually believe anything that comes out of their mouth, but if they think it'll trigger a liberal they're down with it.

[–] jmp242@sopuli.xyz 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I especially don't get this "dying to trigger the libs". Interesting tactic I have to say. I am not compelled to try and trigger anyone - are they all trolls now or something? I have more interesting things to do than to cut off my nose to piss someone else off.

[–] overfox@feddit.de 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think there is a lot of pride to be conservative coming into play here. Hard to explain, but I sometimes see this in my family. They proudly present their ignorance to show off their conservativism, hold it in front of them like a banner. When I inquire a bit deeper their views are often a bit more reasonable, it just feels like average boomers wanting to be cool by flaunting their ignorance, as weird as this sounds.

[–] pieceofcrazy@feddit.it 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah it feels like most right wing people are more progressive than they think.

I'm not from the U.S. but everytime I talk with a conservative we agree on a lot of things once they stop talking with slogans

[–] overfox@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago

That's my experience too. Often when I talk to people they have pretty moderate or left-leaning views that would fit well in any of our more left-leaning parties. However the majority of them still votes for our biggest conservative party, which openly promises and does the opposite of what they claim they would want in a conversation. Frustrating.

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[–] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The documentary Behind the Curve explores this idea a bit. It follows die hard flat earthers around their daily lives to get to know them a bit more.

There's a running theme throughout the movie that these people weren't very happy with their lives prior to becoming flat earthers. Joining the "movement" gave them instant friends and a sense of direction. There's subtle hints now and again that most don't actually believe the Earth is flat, but they feel like "coming out" would ruin their reputation with their new community.

I get the sense that a lot of right wingers feel the same.

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[–] Radicalized@lemmy.one 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

People I work with are infinitely suspicious of the wildfires. They say shit like, “Hmm, isn’t it odd they all started around the same time?”

Yes, Jeffrey, that’s how wildfires work. Entire biomes burn to the ground if the conditions are hot and dry for long enough.

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[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They are basically living out "Don't Look Up".

[–] Lumina@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Think of all the jobs the wildfires will create!

[–] gabuwu@beehaw.org 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I kind of gave up trying to convince my family that this isn't healthy, especially my high risk family members. I don't get why they just don't seem to care, especially the ones with major health problems.

[–] unwillingsomnambulist@midwest.social 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Same ... it's clear that attempting to convince my own family is just as effective as speaking to a charcuterie board. Want to breathe the smoke? Fine, go ham. I'm fresh out of pity for the science deniers.

[–] gabuwu@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

But that’s the thing, the people in my family refusing to take precautions have health issues and use science when it keeps them alive! Like, which is it?????

[–] Lakes@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm 38 with good breathing but I have multiple sclerosis. Wildfires make it so I'm unable to move my legs or do much of anything. It's real and some people are idiots.

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[–] Sarcasmo220@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You don't need a high level of education to know you shouldn't inject bleach into your system to kill COVID-19, and yet people died listening to Trump's suggestion.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"people died listening to Trump’s suggestion" is undoubtedly true, but are there any documented cases of someone actually injecting bleach, much less that leading to their death?

[–] Sarcasmo220@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

I can't find the article anymore because it was back in 2020 when I read it but a woman claimed her father injested bleach after seeing Trump's press conference and died from it. The only articles I find now are upticks in poisonings. Maybe it was debunked since then?

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/04/trumps-disinfectant-injection-claim-has-actually-caused-people-to-poison-themselves/

[–] donmcgin@lemmy.donmcgin.com 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The world is burning down around us and these clowns would sooner burn with it than admit there's anything wrong...

[–] gabuwu@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There will come point where they have no choice but to admit something is wrong, no matter how much try to ignore it.

[–] mattchu_c@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I hope you're right. It would still be to late but to hear them admit guilt / denial would be astonishing.

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[–] joshhsoj1902@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 year ago

I've also been seeing so many comments on news posts about the fire talking about how they are intentional fires.

I don't understand how these people are allowed to spread such misinformation 😔

[–] gumi@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago

Right wingers and being wrong, how surprising

[–] sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think its disingenuous to say that right wing media is saying this. Most right wing media I've seen does not deny that the smoke is dangerous. While some people have claimed that there is little to no health risk, as far as I'm aware no one has tried to describe it as "a good thing". The article you linked has no purpose but to spread baseless hate and negativity, much like most right wing media.

[–] morrowind@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'd say it's inaccurate to claim right wing media in general is claiming it's a good thing, but as for anyone claiming such, well, there's an example in the article

Greg Kelly on Newsmax blamed them on “our woke friends to the north,” before describing the smoke as “manageable,” “not an unpleasant odor,” and “a beautiful, interesting aura.”

[–] sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I read the article, this is not an example of a claim that its's a good thing. Sure its a laughable attempt to downplay how serious it is, but he in no way claimed it was overall a good thing. Manageable means it is negative but not significant, he isn't praising wildfires and begging for more of them.

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[–] feetongrass@beehaw.org 12 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I don’t get this weird need to be contrary to everything, doesn’t it get exhausting?

[–] DarkThoughts@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

I think it is the "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality driven ad absurdum.
Especially the US seems to strongly polarized that anything said by someone who could be considered left leaning, will mean that the entire topic is now a leftist topic and that you have to take the opposite stance to it, no matter how stupid it is. That's how topics like climate change ended up becoming so politicized (and not in the way it should have).

[–] mattchu_c@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Not for the rich oil tycoons. But yeah, for the brain washed masses it must be exhausting. But I think that only furthers their rage and obstinence. They'ed rather that than admin they've been fooled or used.

[–] hydrospanner@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

It comes from the same place as the deeply held but mutually exclusive beliefs that the government is both totally stupid and incompetent but also so capable and efficient that they are somehow carrying out massive conspiracies on the entire citizenry.

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[–] Landrin201@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I mean, to me (in the DC area, so not nearly as bad as it was further north) it just smelled like a campfire outside to me. It wasn't a particularly offensive smell.

But I could FEEL that the air quality was bad every time I took a breath, and I don't have any kinds of respiratory issues.

[–] jmp242@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ok, if you were further away it could have smelled different. Up here in NY it smelled like burning trash and plastic and chemicals. It was horrible. I was referring to people who live in the same small town as I do, so they had to smell the same thing.

[–] Landrin201@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

To be clear I'm not downplaying how terrible it must have smelled in more heavily effected areas; I didn't mean to come across as doing so.

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[–] avail@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

#NotTheOnion

[–] taj@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've been coughing a lot, while working outside the last few days. I'm in Ohio, and it doesn't look particularly dusty or smoky, but my lungs can sure feel it.

[–] Tsukuy0mi@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Eh, right-wing media says a lot of things. This is definitely one of their takes of all time.

[–] tallwookie@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

canadian govt really needs a more active forest service - letting it get out of hand like this is a bit ridiculous.

[–] bandario@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Canada has an absolutely massive forest service as well as an insanely large forestry industry overall. They're better equipped to deal with this sort of thing than pretty much anyone else in the world. Once you reach this magnitude of crown fire there's really very little you can do.

They'll spend millions of dollars dumping water from choppers and planes, pushing in firebreaks that won't hold it - there's really nothing left to do at this stage but get out of the way. You can't hose a crown fire out, people on the ground are just risking their lives.

Firebreaks are ineffective because this thing is causing spotfires miles and miles ahead of the front.

Are we ready to take climate change seriously? If not, this is your life every summer from now on.

Signed, a wildland firefighter and forest worker from Australia.

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[–] FaceDeer@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's a rock and a hard place situation. One of the reasons the fires are so bad now is that for many years much effort was put into preventing fires. It allows a lot of fuel to build up, so that when the fire finally gets too big to handle it's got a huge reserve to burn through. We may have to endure a few years of huge fires to get back down to the usual background level.

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[–] GayBees@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Of course, everything bad is actually good. Not long until we hear that cancer is actually good for the body.....

[–] lntl@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago

It'll be something like:

"Metastatsize in moderation" or "Tumor responsibly"

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[–] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

What's that saying, where's there's smoke there's liar?

[–] Spellblade@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

These people just have an all encompassing need to be contrarian. But if they wanna go and frolick in the aqi 500 air be my guest.

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

“This doesn’t kill anybody, it doesn’t make anybody cough, this is not a health event,” he added, contradicting public health experts and basic common sense. “This has got nothing to do with climate. This is wildfire smoke. This is natural. This is not because of climate change. This is not because of fossil fuels.”

Seriously, we should start making laws that put rich powerful assholes in jail when they start spouting obvious lies that make the world a worse place.

[–] redpenguin@aussie.zone 4 points 1 year ago

Anyone remember when COVID was "good for you"? How did that turn out for them?

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can get sort of disagreeing the wildfires are from climate change

Eh, no. Wild fires would also occur without climate change, but anybody denying that climate change isn't making wild fires (and a hundred other things) worse is not making a "couple of logical steps", they're denying science.

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[–] lixus98@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

pretty much anything that isn't 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen is bad for you.
Edit: at normal room temperature and 1 atmosphere of pressure

[–] FaceDeer@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

If you go deep-sea diving that mix will kill you too.

[–] lntl@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 year ago

Wasn't really too long ago that smoking cigarettes was marketed as good for you.

[–] nude@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

We had absurd amounts of smoke on the east coast of Australia a few years ago. It hung around for weeks. I think it effected lots of micronations in the Pacific and even reached parts of South America.

Anyone saying "this is fine" is off their rocker. It's literally particles in the air clogging lungs.

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