[ExI] I hate to say it but, I agree with Trump

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 02/09/2026 18:15, Kelly Anderson wrote:
> Ben,
>
>   I don't recall where you live, but I thought "the algorithm" used by
> Facebook, Youtube and the rest to keep us engaged with their platforms
> was creating polarizing echo chambers world wide. It was my
> understanding that this wasn't a specifically USA problem, but more of
> an online social media issue. Can you please tell me what you are
> doing "over there" —wherever that is— that makes things different?


You're asking the wrong question.

Ask instead what is it about America that makes things different from most other democracies, politically?

I'd say it's the deeply entrenched two-party system. More than deeply-entrenched, it's almost certainly a permanent and unchangeable feature of american politics. Compare that with most european countries (maybe all, I haven't checked). Even in Britain it's not just Tories and Labour.

Platforms like Facebook etc. do try to export the polarised mind-set to the rest of the world, but it doesn't tend to take hold as deeply as it does in americans because everyone else is used to a more nuanced political situation. When you grow up in a country where everything is either black or white, you can't understand what it's like to live somewhere that even has shades of grey, let alone different colours.

So yes, I think it is a specifically (or mainly) USA problem. Even the subject line of this thread reinforces this view. You're either with Trump or against him. What about agreeing with some of his policies and disagreeing with others? That's not really an option, is it, in the US? (not that I can think of /any/ of his policies that I'd agree with, but that's a different matter. I can still conceive of the possibility without any cognitive dissonance. I suspect that's not true of most americans).

-- 
Ben