The propaganda machine is never very far behind a crisis, is it! Less than two weeks ago, as of this writing, the Hamas-Israel conflict began and last night during Game 3 of the World Series I had to endure a commercial about how hate comments against Jews have increased a bazillion percent since the conflict began.

Let me be clear, I have no issue at all with the Jewish people, people who know Jewish people, people who work for or used to work for Jewish people or people who couldn't find Jerusalem on a map if I circled it for them and highlighted it yellow. I do have a problem with the propaganda brought into my living room under the assumption I'm too stupid to see what's going on.

Several things stuck out to me.

Don't Make Blanket, Unsupported Statements

First, they made a blanket, undocumented statement that when whatever it is that qualifies as hate comments for one group rise, they rise simultaneously for all groups. I was born at night but it wasn't last night. That's like saying that because a group of thugs is burning police cars in Seattle that the thugs in Dallas are doing it, too. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, but you get to prove it. It's a ridiculous stretch with no proof provided. It's a statement made at the very beginning to get the gullible viewer to buy the next load of malarkey they are about to present.

What Constitutes a Hateful Comment?

Second, what constitutes a hateful comment or do they count any comment with the inclusion of the word "Israel" or "Jew" as hate speech? Given MSM's track record, I'm gonna guess their inclusion parameters are pretty loose until they show me otherwise.

So these would count as hate speech:

• "I think Israel started all this."
• "Netanyahu is a lousy, Jewish politician."
• "Do you have a flight available to Israel next Monday?"

Maybe their survey parameters are air-tight but they offered no supporting information on this point (that I could see), so I'm not betting my milk-money on it that they are. No, I don't trust them.

Show Me Your Data Validation Process

Third, their stated measurement tactics include measuring comments on social media. Really? That's their science backed, math-based method of determining what I'm thinking? Comments on social media from the professional basement dwellers? Lemme guess, they've hired out of work Facebook fact-checkers to do the research.

Who to Blame the Hatred On?

Fourth, the main focus of the commercial was getting you to believe that real hatred towards the Jews is on the rise but let's not miss the opportunity to get a lick in against the implied purveyors of this hatred (and who do you think that's gonna be!).

"Caucasian" was noticeably absent from their inclusive list of targeted hate speech recipients. That makes two subtle but unavoidable points:

• Do they really want me to believe that none of these other non-white groups listed have had anything bad to say about white people?
• By not including white people in that group the implication is that the white community is the culprit behind all of the hate comments. Subtle but there it is.

Oh, the last "group" in their list experiencing hate comments was "All Others" which would include white people, I can only assume. But if, and I'm using their argument here, all boats rise in a tide of hate, then that would mean that hate speech against white people would be on the increase as well. So why would that rather large group be left off the visible list? I want you to ask yourself, why?

Slipped This in For Extra Credit

Towards the end of the propaganda piece a list of other oppressed groups who are seeing a (unsubstantiated) rise in hate speech in these social comments flashed quickly across the screen. It included black, brown, Asian, and LGBTQ+ (and there may be one or two more I can't recall).

On that list of hate speech targeted groups is the LGBTQ+ community. This point is not about the LGBT community. Treat all people/clients with love and respect and that's all the world will need to get along.

This point is about that little "+" which is a catch-all category for new sexual variations that haven't been dreamed up yet. It absolutely includes the MAP group, minor attracted persons, which is an uptown term for pedophiles. Let that soak in.

The purveyors of this audio-visual tripe want you to believe that comments against pedophiles are to be classified as "hate speech" and are not to be tolerated.

Only one of two things are probable with that last statement. Either they know what the plus stands for and are actively promoting the MAP/pedo position as normalized, or they don't know what the "+" sign stands for and are actively promoting pedophilia without knowing it. Neither position speaks well of the group behind this ad they dragged into my living room like some dead rat the cat brought in the house, in the middle of the World Series.

Summary

This is exactly why we have to view everything laid before us with a critical eye. Ask questions and see what's behind the claims being made. A lack of critical thinking is in large part what got us here. It's critical thinking and the willingness to speak up that will help put a FULL STOP to the nonsense.

We got this, if we'll speak up.

Go Rangers!

UPDATE: Congratulations to the 2023 World Series winners, the Texas Rangers!