Random political thought thread.

[Coriolis]

I do agree that form of "atheism" has somewhat died, although I feel like many of those people would be more "anti-theistic" rather than true atheists who actually do not care.

I remember most of them disliking me when I questioned why they care if I am religious, if there is no god to care about anyway? Why was my faith threatening? because I'd be mindin my own damn business online mention God somewhere to a friend and they'd pop in ThE FlYiNg SpAgHeTtI MoNsTeR, you're ass backwards, *insert many other derogatory shit names here*. And most of them don't even know what a religious book says, they just bitch about people who sadly warp the words.

but I don't consider them to be real atheists.

I cite the Flying Spaghetti Monster quite often. The point of FSM isn't that religion is bad, it is simply that religion cannot be used to answer questions about the natural world that are the domain of science. The right tool for the job.

 

[Red Memories]

I cite the Flying Spaghetti Monster quite often. The point of FSM isn't that religion is bad, it is simply that religion cannot be used to answer questions about the natural world that are the domain of science. The right tool for the job.

I mean merely these people used it in an asinine fashion to be edgy memelords who hate all religious people, espeically Christians, and assume I enjoy the active repression of anyone who doesn't look or sound like me. -_- I can go pray to my flying spaghetti monster (imaginary friend is also common) to "fix all my problems". These people weren't kind so I grew up seeing this as a very negative term and an attack. Because that is usually what it was.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

It’s also revealing of their own ignorance about the history of horror. There’s a rich history of horror writers and directors using the genre to explore various social and political themes. Texas Chainsaw as a commentary on the meat packing industry, for instance. Or Get Out as a more recent example.

They do a disservice to those visionaries by overlooking their contributions

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

It’s also revealing of their own ignorance about the history of horror. There’s a rich history of horror writers and directors using the genre to explore various social and political themes. Texas Chainsaw as a commentary on the meat packing industry, for instance.

I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, I do in general, but I don't understand what prompted it.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, I do in general, but I don't understand what prompted it.

I just got Shudder recently, so I’ve been watching Joe Bob Briggs’ The Last Drive In. He was an important figure for me growing up because he championed a lot of horror films, writers, directors, etc at a time when most critics we’re known to be very hard on and dismissive of the genre.

To find out that he was recently targeted by the PC police was upsetting.

Yes it upset me and I’m whining about it. He’s probably done far more to help bring attention to up and coming filmmakers, actors and actresses than he has to harm them. I bet your typical person whining about him wouldn’t even know who Felissa Rose is. But Joe Bob knows and would champion her when most critics wouldn’t touch her

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I just got Shudder recently, so I’ve been watching Joe Bob Briggs’ The Last Drive In. He was an important figure for me growing up because he championed a lot of horror films, writers, directors, etc at a time when most critics we’re known to be very hard on and dismissive of the genre.

To find out that he was recently targeted by the PC police was upsetting.

Yes it upset me and I’m whining about it.

I remember him on TNT when they used to show a lot of good stuff around this time of year. Could you give me a little more detail? Is there a story or a a tweet or something?

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I remember him on TNT when they used to show a lot of good stuff around this time of year. Could you give me a little more detail? Is there a story or a a tweet or something?

He wrote an article a while back saying free speech meant having to tolerate racists too. Which in his critics’ minds seemed to equate to supporting their beliefs

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

He wrote an article a while back saying free speech meant having to tolerate racists too. Which in his critics’ minds seemed to equate to supporting their beliefs

Oh, I see. I tend to be against that for a variety of reasons. One is that it seems like white people are often making the decisions in those situations. Cartoon Network pulled an episode of the Boondocks because of racial insensitivity a month ago. I didn't see any notification that Aaron MacGruder was on board with it. Another big one is that not enough people pay attention to context. Consider, for instance that Community episode was pulled because an Asian character dressed up as a "dark elf." He wasn't even dressing up as a human. I doubt anyone watching the show would have been offended by that (although of course, I don't know for sure).

I think some of that kind of thing is people who just kind of get off on the feeling of social dominance that gives. Some of it is people who feel like they should be doing something, but for whatever reason will only commit to something extremely low effort like hashtag activism. They want to think they're doing something important. Meanwhile, phone-banking for ballot measures and things requires effort.

People who are actually trying to do things don't seem to usually spend their time looking for celebrities to cancel (like they were watching Shudder anyway).

I'd be willing to bet that if you talked to a lot of those people, and asked them what kind of organizing they've done, it would probably be limited to things like twitter.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Oh, I see. I tend to be against that for a variety of reasons. One is that it seems like white people are often making the decisions in those situations. Cartoon Network pulled an episode of the Boondocks because of racial insensitivity a month ago. I didn't see any notification that Aaron MacGruder was on board with it. Another big one is that not enough people pay attention to context. Consider, for instance that Community episode was pulled because an Asian character dressed up as a "dark elf." He wasn't even dressing up as a human. I doubt anyone watching the show would have been offended by that (although of course, I don't know for sure).

I think some of that kind of thing is people who just kind of get off on the feeling of social dominance that gives. Some of it is people who feel like they should be doing something, but for whatever reason will only commit to something extremely low effort like hashtag activism. They want to think they're doing something important. Meanwhile, phone-banking for ballot measures and things requires effort.

People who are actually trying to do things don't seem to usually spend their time looking for celebrities to cancel (like they were watching Shudder anyway).

I'd be willing to bet that if you talked to a lot of those people, and asked them what kind of organizing they've done, it would probably be limited to things like twitter.

Yeah, the worst censors have traditionally been white conservatives.

I don’t follow the twitter sphere, I just found out about this stuff because I was googling Briggs and got results about this.

I suspect the majority of people leading twitter cancel campaigns are likely white people who are frustrated by the state of the world but feel powerless to do anything about it other than get some people in trouble on social media

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Yeah, the worst censors have traditionally been white conservatives.

I don’t follow the twitter sphere, I just found out about this stuff because I was googling Briggs and got results about this.

I suspect the majority of people leading twitter cancel campaigns are likely white people who are frustrated by the state of the world but feel powerless to do anything about it other than get some people in trouble on social media

Yeah... it's such a low effort way to feel like you are doing something.

This is completely unrelated, but I think the most amusing of crazed right wing conspiracy bogeymen is probably the U.N. It must be a fascinating to have such a skewed take on reality that you view an organization as impotent as the U.N. as some sort of collection of all-powerful supervillains.

 

[anticlimatic]

Not sure if this counts as political, but remember when a company asks if you want to round up to an even dollar to donate to a charity, they're just using you to generate a tax write off for themselves.

Say no. Donate that money yourself. Deny the corporation, and give yourself a write off instead.

 

[Jaguar]

Ah, yes. I can see it now. People all over America giving up their $12,400.00 standard deduction in order to "write off" an itemized deduction of 34 cents on a schedule A. Booyah!

 

[Lark]

Not sure if this counts as political, but remember when a company asks if you want to round up to an even dollar to donate to a charity, they're just using you to generate a tax write off for themselves.

Say no. Donate that money yourself. Deny the corporation, and give yourself a write off instead.

Or you could resist the spread of thinking that charity and private philanthropy can make any positive difference what so ever.

Scratch the surface of all the charities and charity organization, its pretty ugly, there's a lot of waste, private fortunes are made, money off shored, corporate dumping and pollution are typical, tax cheating is only the tip of the ice berg.

That's before you get into money laundering, proxies for arms trading and other organized criminal activity. Charity is a very, very bad deal.

 

[Lark]

Yeah... it's such a low effort way to feel like you are doing something.

This is completely unrelated, but I think the most amusing of crazed right wing conspiracy bogeymen is probably the U.N. It must be a fascinating to have such a skewed take on reality that you view an organization as impotent as the U.N. as some sort of collection of all-powerful supervillains.

Its just a nationalist rejection of any supranational authority, its the same as the hatred in the UK for the EU, when the EU is a toothless tiger at the best of times.

Most subsidies and social spending in the UK had, for a long time, been from the EU, it had been the sensible parent acting as a stabilizing, mitigating counter balance to the out of control, unaccountable national political elite.

There are legitimate criticisms of the UN, many of its constituent members do have appalling human rights records, it is one forum at which rival super powers, nation states, can attempt (sometimes successfully) to monkey wrench one another. Isolationism, exceptionalism, unilateralism are poor substitutes for engaging in the difficult tasks of diplomacy and international politics though.

The irony about most of the US conspiracy scene is that it redirects the public's attention towards foreign threats, foreign financiers etc.

If there's any conspiracies active in the US they are probably very much home grown ones, the "enemy" is not elsewhere, there's no "occupation" by an enemy from anywhere else.

It gets even more incredible when you consider that the little black helicopters could be one of numerous domestic armed groups or private security/armies operating in the US at any one time, these days probably with the full sponsorship backing of foreign powers keen on destabilizing the US.

 

[chickpea]

 

[Tellenbach]

New Yorker suspends Jeffrey Toobin after allegedly masturbating on Zoom call

Gross. Dude couldn't wait another 5 minutes to do the deed? Yuck

The New Yorker magazine has suspended one of its long-time staff writers, legal expert Jeffrey Toobin, while it investigates a report that he was allegedly masturbating during a Zoom work call earlier this month.

Toobin is one of the most well-known media legal analysts in the US. He has has worked for the New Yorker for more than 25 years, and is is also a senior legal analyst at CNN.

Never liked the guy but I hope people will give him a second chance.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Actually

libertarianism is rooted in 19th century European left wing schools of thought. Also, true socialism, that involving no central state authority, is far closer to the original spirit and definition of libertarianism than are right libertarian schools such as anarcho capitalism (an oxymoronic term, really). Libertarianism as we know it in the USA is a perverted form peddled and popularized by ancaps and corporatists like Ayn Rand and the Kochs. American libertarianism is just another term for vulture capitalism. Capitalist institutions are just as evil and prone to misdeeds as central state authorities. Left libertarians see this, but their right libertarian comrades are only able to see half the problem. This is why right libertarians can never claim to be true, full libertarians, as they place a naive faith in capitalist organizations to right all the wrongs of the world—this means ceding power to (surprise) hierarchical organizations which do not act in the interests of individuals, and given the chance will abuse individual rights and civil liberties—why do right libertarians not apply the same standards to businesses that abuse? This is the same mistake liberals make in thinking a central state government can right all evils and won’t become corrupt

The people who used the term libertarianism to push their agenda in the US merely sought to replace the authority of the federal government with that of unregulated businesses. Meet the new boss, same as the last.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I had an anxiety dream that the Republicans swept congress, the White House, and multiple state governments, then proceeded to announce bans on multiple fun things.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

 

[ceecee]

Dave Ruben is truly one of the dumbest people on earth.