cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17318733

> https://southseattleemerald.com/2024/07/07/doom-loop-rallying-the-resistance/

trolley

cross-posted from: https://suppo.fi/post/2818467

> From the Finnish comic strip Fingerpori by Pertti Jarla, translated by me. Original: > > !

If you confuse criticism of citizens as criticism of the government, you're probably some kind of racist. You can just call out the government and not say it's the fault of the citizens directly.

If you confuse criticism of your government with criticism of yourself as a person, and it's a personal attack, you're a nationalist. If your leader said a bad take where people call it out and you consider it as if you personally said it, maybe stop being a form of parasocial weirdo for a politician who doesn't know your name beyond "dipshit voter who will defend his actions"

You can mock my government, it's not mocking me. You can mock me, it's not mocking my government. You can mock both.

When the person I voted for does a bad thing, I consider it a moral failing on them and a lesson for me to do better research on who I support.

I don't understand why that's such an issue.

Yeah because I'm not going to vote for Orange Dipshit doesn't mean Biden lying and breaking promises is somehow valid and cool and good. Blue MAGA is awesome!

"Sometimes, someone posts an angry response to some terrible opinion I've never heard before, and it's a weird indirect way to learn how awful their other friends must be."

What made them mad:

> "Man I'm not happy with Biden winning the nomination. I wish I was Bernie."

> "Well we can get Trump out of office and then you can push him to the left."

> "Fair enough, a moldy ham sandwich is better than Trump. Biden can string words together so that's possible."

> [One presidential election and mid-term later.]

> "So Biden hasn't pushed Congress on most of his campaign promises, and he's enabled racist policies Trump wanted to try and win moderates. No abortion, no DREAMers, no minimum wage increases, no queer protection, but they can find time to ban hoodies in Congress. Not to mention ignoring voters who care about Ukraine and Palestine. It feels like Biden isn't great for Americans, he's just slightly better than Trump."

> "Why are you so anti-Biden? Are you some kind of fake leftist or a Russian agent pretending to be American?"

> "No? I'm trying to push him left. I'm saying he's not doing things for most of the people who voted for him to be better. His biggest actions are done by appointments, by him to the FTC and FCC. Not a lot of bills passed."

> "I think you just hate what Democracy is, he's not a king."

> "Right. But Republicans can pass without issue, and Democrats want to work with them instead of getting progressive voters."

> "You're biased and nitpicking, so I win."

Not sure if this is the right community to post this, but I'll give it a shot.

One of my very good friends is planning on going into the Navy in about a year. He's generally a moderate left leaning kinda guy, but is trans. He comes from a navy family which is part of the reason he decided to go in the first place. He's going into mechanics and stuff and not combat which is slightly better I guess, but it's very concerning to me that he's planning on joining especially because he's trans. I also feel that ethically, actively participating in that system is bad.

How can I dissuade him from joining? I don't wanna go full force argument mode because it's ultimately his choice but I would like advice on how to softly nudge him away from it without affecting our friendship negatively. Thanks.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/18677335

> Very weird that I am so old and have literally never heard this mentioned in a TV show or book or movie or anything. > > In four out of five states, if you go to prison, you are literally paying for the time you spend there. > > As you can guess, this results in crippling debt as soon as you're released. > > The county gets back a fraction of what they hold over your head the rest of your life until you commit suicide(or die naturally and peacefully with the sword of damocles hanging over your head). > > $20-$80 a day according to Rutgers. > > Counties apparently sue people and employ wage garnishment to get back the money that majority of people obviously cannot pay back. > > https://www.rutgers.edu/news/states-unfairly-burdening-incarcerated-people-pay-stay-fees

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14945455

watched some of the livestreams last night. the protestors were peaceful, and repeatedly and loudly telling each other not to be violent, not to throw things.

https://xkcd.com/661/

I've seen many people take absolutists stances and throw accusations or insults at others who don't. While I applaud that they recognized serious problems, I want everyone to understand why I might take actions that seem to ignore or even worsen those problems: I only have so much power and so many options, none of which are ideal, so I do the best I can with what I have. I might prioritize stopping one bad thing over stopping another; that's not me excusing the other bad thing, that's me playing the cards I have to get the least bad outcome.

Personally, I base my moral decisions on expected outcomes. I would pull the lever in the trolley problem. I understand some people think me a monster for that, and I certainly wouldn't feel good pulling it, but I see it as me net saving people. I disagree with people that wouldn't pull it, but I see where they're coming from and I'm not mad at them (disappointed, maybe). Of course, as well as pulling the lever, there may be options to try helping the one person on the tracks, and we should definitely attempt such a rescue.

This whole topic can be applied to the do-i-vote-for-biden thing that this community seems divided over, but it's much more broadly applicable too.

Anyway, this is just me saying that I don't think the absolutist all-or-nothing approach some people take is a good idea, and I also don't like when some of them call me a bad person for not doing the same.

If you followed the mainstream news for the Iran/Israel escalation, then you might have been terrified about ww3, fearmongering is something they do well.

I'm here to suggest a quite crazy channel for leftist to follow. military industrial economics, channel Perun.

Not because MIC good, but because it's a channel that grants a very well versed way to understanding modern conflicts. No, it's not perfect, but it's way better than cnn or some shit

edit!: it's also one of the reasons I'm less afraid of nuclear escalation in the world!

also lol, link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3ehuUksTyQ7bbjGntmx3Q

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14344829

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14202800

> In Hawaii, one of the most important sayings is ola i ka wai, "water is life" — a phrase that not only sums up what it means to exist on an island, but what it means to live, period. But now, one of the largest of the island chain's land masses is facing a triple threat to its sole freshwater source, and if it isn't addressed soon, one community member says, "we're in deep trouble." > > Despite being surrounded by seemingly endless ocean, freshwater on Oahu, the third-largest of Hawaii's six major islands, is not easily accessible. The island relies on an underground aquifer for its water supply. Replenishing that aquifer is a decades-long natural process, as it takes a single drop of water roughly 25 years to make it there from the sky. > > And recent years have seen compounding problems: less rain, leading to significant droughts, and repeated jet fuel leaks and PFAS chemical spills contaminating water systems. All of this significantly limits available water use for locals, many of whom say tourism is only worsening the situation. Just months ago, the world's largest surfing wave pool opened up on the island — filled with freshwater.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14067139

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/12941815

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/14005906

> cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13941336 > > > The ‘NYTimes’ is ignoring Israel’s crackdown in the West Bank

You know it's bad when CNN is cited as having more left reporting than NYT. NYT doesn't want to upset their liberal Zionist reader-base.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13849331

Insane that people will try to say this is a minority movement. Inspiring news from Wisconsin.