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Welp.
I gave it another go with my tankie in the family. Started on Russian incompetence, but then he cycled back to his usual Zelenskyy hate-on, & I pushed against the incoherence of having no empathy for Z while also claiming the West is behind everything. Learned he believed Z to be a CIA plant. Pointed him to the preceding leader. He was stunned. His silos hadn't mentioned the prior leader already being West-leaning.
*Easily* *Fact-checked* *Claims*.
Radicalism has zero interest in truth.
@MLClark I can't even with those people. You have grit and determination.
But!
I am taking his surprise and willingness to recognize a knowledge gap as a small win. I also readily agreed with all the points he thinks are deep conspiracies - yes, the West has had CIA presence in Europe for decades. Everyone knows that. Not secret tankie knowledge!
So we'll see if bit by bit a loving dismantling of his silos' BS can finally break through. (& I ended as I always do, with gentle reminders that he is more than the ID these groups want members to believe is everything.)