"Go google it" is horrible advice in an era where search engines' top results are those who game the algorithm the most, and Google tailors different search results to every user.
So if a clueless person searches about topics like transphobia or racism, they might actually find transphobic or racist results, and in the end your "educate yourself, don't bother me" approach actually made it WORSE.
@meduelelateta "subpost re: education of bigots"
@LunaDragofelis I know I boosted the opposite take earlier today, but yeah, you might be right. I’m starting to think the best way to go about this is to always have a small collection of things that cover the basics and link to them when appropriate.
@LunaDragofelis "Let Me Google That For You" aged oh so well /s
@flandrescarlet @LunaDragofelis "let me throw this stuff at your bullshit" instead,,,
re: "Go google it"
@LunaDragofelis
If I think someone should look something up, I may send them a DuckDuckGo* search results page.
By doing this, I:
- Have a chance to spot problematic search results ahead of time
- Nudge them away from the personalized results of Google/Bing/Yandex/etc.
- Show them what query I would use
*Or Startpage, or Mojeek, or Searx
@LunaDragofelis I google a lot, but type "wiki" behind it.
I know Wikipedia and other wikis probably have their issues too, but at least it's not ads or other paid-for stuff.
@StroomAfwaarts my post is mostly about the following situation:
A person not well informed about social justice asks a more experienced person a basic question. Oftentimes, the experienced person just aggressively tells the uninformed one to go google it, because they think it's the uninformed person's duty to educate themselves on their own.
@LunaDragofelis Ah! Instead of taking a minute to explain stuff, this person risks the inexperienced person being sucked into a rabbit hole, thus hurting the cause.
So instead of resorting to "google it!" , they should have three urls at hand to share, maybe? "Read these very informative sites and if you have questions after reading, I can answer them".
@StroomAfwaarts exactly
@LunaDragofelis If using it in a disagreement or to support a position it's also kinda bad rhetoric to use because it's shifting the burden of proof from away from the person who's using it.
sorry for not CWing, I saw a bad take about this and furiously wrote this subpost