You can argue with a pigeon, you can tell it you are right and it is wrong, you can use logical arguments and sound evidence, but you won't change its mind and at the end of the day you'll still end up with shit in your hair.
Hyperreality
joined 2 years ago
In The Matrix (1999) the protaganist takes a red pill, discovers he's been living in a simulation, and what the world is the really like.
'Red pill' has been co-opted by various far right movements to mean someone finally sees the 'truth'.
Most commonly it's used by incels and misogynists. Think Andrew Tate and various pickup artist influencers.
Forget all the worst atrocities. Think about average people going about their daily lives.
It's the weekend. You go out and buy some food, some treats, a bottle of wine, some ice tea, some coffee, a new pair of jeans, you have an ice cream, etc. You could drink tap water. You could eat only rice with lentils. You could wear that old pair of trousers, even though they have a hole in them. That would have saved you 100 bucks.
You could have donated that 100 bucks to a charity that saved a child's life. We all know that 100 dollars goes a long way in the third world. Instead we choose to spend that money on luxuries. You could have volunteered at a local charity. Instead you chose to go shopping. If you saw some kid drowning in a puddle, watched the kid die a preventable death as you were eating an ice cream, that would be evil. We all do that on a daily basis. We know our choices cause suffering, but because that suffering happens far away and we don't get to see it happen, we happily ignore it. That's everyone. Some of us are "I'll sometimes buy an ice cream and let a baby cow get turned into pate" evil. Some of us are "I'll buy gold toilets while a hundred kids die." evil. But arguably no one is actually good.
I think the only way to forgive ourselves for our constant daily selfishness and depravity, is to accept that humans aren't that special. We're evolved primates. We are animals who act on instinct and lack the empathy or intelligence to ever become truly moral. You might as well expect a jelly fish to sing a ballad. It is not in our nature to become anything better than what we are.
It is already legal to have a sexual relationship with multiple partners at the same time. Bigamy should be legalised. That it isn't, is a result of entrenched bigotry and religious prudery.
If you're using God as a proper noun, capitalise it. Not capitalising it is potentially confusing. Eg. There are numerous gods. Zeus is a god and God is a god.
It is likely too late to avert climate apocalypse. Don't have kids and you've done far more than most to prevent climate change. (This doesn't mean we shouldn't try to prevent it.)
A lot of society's ills are attributable to arseholes not getting punched in the face enough. This includes the fact that we can't make it legal to punch arseholes in the face, because arseholes would abuse that right to punch people who don't deserve it in the face.
America has become so fat, that most Americans have a skewed perception of what it means to be obese.
Most sports are stupid. Michael Phelps can swim 6 mph. Fish can swim 10x faster than that. Fuck that. I want to watch a tiger chase Trump through a maze.
The already high male suicide rate is severely underestimated. A lot of male risk taking behaviour, including car/bike related accidents, is suicidal in nature.
In practice identity based politics is often used to divide and conquer and distract people from their true interests. Class consciousness is more important. You have more in common with your colleagues, than you do with Beyonce or Joe Rogan, just because they happen to have the same skin colour and/or genitals as you.
We’ve been telling it to cis people for years but the refusal to listen to that was palpable.
Here's a Sartre quote about bigotry/fascists that you may find useful:
“Never believe that [they] are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. [They] have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
I find it interesting how much western countries have individualised the causes of sadness.
It's not that strange that people are often sick in a sick society. If you're depressed, it's likely that there are things that are causing or exacerbating that depression.
Give people homes, job security, less stressful jobs, and offer them a healthy work-life balance? Far easier to deal with and possibly even heal from trauma or serious health issues.
But that costs money. Selling people pills and self-help books? That makes money.
They have.
Is the UK 1980-96 thing being removed too? That's cool.
Not just brits btw, but anyone who spent an extended time in the UK in the 80s/90s. IRC due to fears about CJD/Mad Cow's Disease.
We're all living in America.
Also is your wifi on? Since you’re being such a meanie not letting us use your data, we’re making it difficult to continue without a Microsoft account. Hmph.
TBF the last time I tried to install linux, it made it difficult to get my wifi to work, because the drivers simply didn't exist.
If Microsoft sold linux, they'd call that privacy by design.
Ah, reddit mods.
Reasons I've been banned include linking to a British Medical Journal article which suggested vitamin D might help prevent covid in people who are suffering a deficiency and very politely (because I know how mods get) suggesting moderators shouldn't be giving people medical advice. The mod in question had just compared vitamin D to cyanide.
What a cancerous shithole.
I feel so much better posting here.
You're all underestimating the Russians. These may look like explosive tiles, but they're just as likely to be empty or filled with sand. That way the explosives can be sold for profit and the dumb schmucks think they're driving into battle in an armoured car not an unprotected tin can.