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Aaron Rodgers says AIDS was created by the U.S. government in the 1980s (www.outsports.com)

submitted 7 months ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] TheDannysaur@lemmy.world 43 points 7 months ago (15 children)

Alright... Nuance time. Everyone please stick with me.

I don't like Rodgers, but this is kind of a dumb headline. THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS. I think what he's saying is that the "pandemic response" was the thing manufactured, not the virus itself. I think people are misreading it, because I don't think I really see how he's saying they manufactured the virus. THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS. Like the government gave all this money and tried to make people reliant on the government to save them, which has been his whole position with COVID.

It's still flatly wrong. But borderline purposeful misreadings like this only embolden Rodgers and others, because it's inaccurate, and people are attacking something he didn't say. And this gives him more of a platform because people are talking about it again.

If you're going to criticize someone, it's important to be accurate and understand what they're saying, so you can appropriately shut them the fuck up with the right facts.

One more time, THIS IS NOT A DEFENSE OF RODGERS.

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 33 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The blueprint, the game plan, was made in the '80s. Create a pandemic with a virus that's going wild.

But that was the game plan back then. Create an environment where only one thing works.

He literally said they "created a pandemic" and "created an environment" where they could profit. This conspiracy has been around for decades and was a prominent feature of KGB misinformation. It even has a name. Like others on the right, he's blatantly parroting Russian-rooted bullshit.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

A pandemic isn't a virus. It a designation of the effect a virus is having or how it is spreading... He might be saying they took a situation, and blew it out of proportion for political purposes. My position is that the easy way to know a politician is twisting something for thier own gain is to note when they open thier mouths. But that doesn't rule out that what they are saying might just happen to be true either.

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I see what you're saying. They "seized an opportunity" versus creating/unleashing it. But to say they created it with the intent to profit--it all seems to suggest control/foreknowledge. I have a hard time believing he's saying, "Fauci sure lucked out twice, didn't he?" But your point is still valid. I just don't buy it.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I don’t know much about the specific case. But with the sheer number of people trying to take advantage of any specific thing, someone will end up looking like they had control/foreknowledge... That said, I only agree that Aaron's words were twisted to say they created the virus. The guy still seems like a nut job, but who knows, I never met him.

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