Throwaway05
17hr ago
I don't think we are dying but I do think we are losing interesting people and shrinking in variety.
Throwaway05
20hr ago
One of the nice parts of anime is how much easier it is to use unreality to engage with themes and so on. Someone seems more dominant in a conversation? Make them a little bigger than they usually are/everyone else. For more stylized ones...make them A LOT bigger.
You can play with those tricks in a way that's much harder with live action.
Throwaway05
20hr ago
Should we make a try at returning to Reddit in search of new blood?
The environment is different now over there.
Throwaway05
1d ago
I was there. I saw it happen. I watched people die.
The amount of brain dead conspiracy theory energy generated by people who can't imagine a world in which different things happened to other people who are not them is deeply concerning.
Throwaway05
3d ago
Was he high? He might have been literally baked out of his mind, he often is on the pod I think.
Throwaway05
3d ago
Got 295.
Most points lost on cultural knowledge ;_;
Also did not read the instructions and it took a couple before I realized it was supposed to be 5.
Throwaway05
4d ago
Hmmm yes that makes sense.
I do think you have real room to argue that the water carrying becomes something in truth especially once protesting happens, and sometimes voting - if you vote for the jew-killing party then you share some culpability when they do it, and anti-Israel is a large part of the Dems these days regardless of if they want it. It's not an incidental aspect.
Throwaway05
4d ago
Left-wing bleeding hearts who haven't
I was originally going to agree with Amadan but then you reminded me these people existed - however in my experience they tend to act like information less wokes who can't discuss the situation at all or provide any solutions, only suggest that Israel is bad and should go away. In this way they carry water for the actual anti-semites.
Throwaway05
4d ago
Yes! Trump is legacy motivated and he knows that without some major shake up he's going to spend the rest of his time in office being impeached repeatedly.
This might not save him from the midterms, but it may buy him a legacy he wants.
Throwaway05
4d ago
Ugh, perhaps you are right.
This one feels like a Socratic Gadfly dying to me more than some of the other flame outs, perhaps that's what bothers me.
I've done everything I can to help, and he doesn't see himself as being in need of help. That's the Russian way.
Ugh so true.
Throwaway05
5d ago
So that's the startling part - the Iranians I know are hellaciously pro-Trump and pro bombing Iran. They claim this is widely held with the country.
I imagine it will change as things progress, but it is true for now. That says something about how bad the regime is and it's one of the reasons I get frustrated with the discussion here.
One of my friends tells stories about how every day walking home from work she'd worry about wandering into a pop-up protest (and had done so) and then feeling for her life to avoid getting executed.
She is a nervous type, but that's a scary way to live.
Throwaway05
5d ago
I think there are arguments on both sides for this being a win for Russia and China vs. loss, but we aren't going to know until well after the fact.
If Iran collapses that's a loss for instance. Sources in the military are saying that part of our posture is to show off assets to Russia and China, if China does not invade Taiwan because of this misadventure we may not find out about it until decades later.
On the other hand if they go now it becomes a bit more obvious it was an own goal.
Throwaway05
5d ago
Man that edit was not great.
It concerns me greatly that so many people who survived Wokeness and COVID without breaking are collapsing in response to our usual once every decade or so Middle Eastern idiocy.
Throwaway05
5d ago
From what I can tell most American vs. European argumentation mirrors the U.S. Republican vs. Democrat argumentation.
Democrats believe or complain about Republicans being evil (with often "subhuman" "moral degenerates" etc.). Republicans believe Democrats are stupid children.
Neither is particularly nice, but the "evil" belief and comments has historically resulted in Very Bad Things. "Stupid" usually results in protectionism and infantilization or ignoring.
So you'll see anti-Republican criticism that is far, far worse in objective terms and therefore clearer to deal with - Republicans don't usually wish Democrats dead (although it happens), the other way around is super common on Reddit.
I don't think the Euro/American divide is quite so bad yet, but I don't see anybody saying Europeans are subhuman pig men (except for a certain genre of racists complaining about non-euros in Europe.
Throwaway05
5d ago
I mean I recently had called out another user on language precision, I assume that's generating some or most of the kvetching, I still stand by the central point however - the dehumanizing language etc is a notorious tactic of many of the great dangers to society and resembles what the the one we all know gets up to.
I don't think it's an exaggeration and I don't think it should be that eye catching of a statement, at the same time it clearly was. I'm not sure anything was really gained from the ink spilled here and Dase was not saved.
Throwaway05
5d ago
Ironically this has generated an element of perverse incentive - the comment has generated a lot more engagement because of people taking issue with the word Nazi. It's superficial engagement, but it is engagement.
Throwaway05
5d ago
My favorite bit of this was all the pretty Iranian woman trying to learn Trump's YMCA dance a few weeks ago.
Although at this point as the realities are setting in people are getting more stressed.
Throwaway05
5d ago
I'm not sure that's related to my point.
Throwaway05
5d ago
All of that is fair but it is what we have in terms of knowledge. We also have recent massive protests that required 1,000s of killings to stop. We also have a security apparatus observed in Iran that sure is looking like it was very hard to prevent an uprising.
Do we have any evidence for widespread support for the regime? Hiding and not wanting to get shot doesn't count.
Throwaway05
6d ago
I don't think those are quite strong enough for how significant the espoused rhetoric was - yeah Nazi is a loaded term, but people who make that much of an effort to dehumanize are up to some bad business most of the time.
Demagoguery can result in someone being hyped for the latest tech product.
Throwaway05
6d ago
I will use Thuggee next time.
Throwaway05
6d ago
Counter arguments:
Stats: "A June 2024 survey by GAMAAN showed only 20% of respondents want the Islamic Republic to remain in power, with only 11% supporting the foundational principles of the 1979 revolution."
Anecdote 1: I know some people in the diaspora who are recent exiters. Everyone they know both at home and abroad not directly connected with the regime is ecstatic.
Anecdote 2: I've seen footage of bombing in Tehran where you can hear people cheering in the background.
Throwaway05
6d ago
See my response to Southkraut.
Throwaway05
6d ago
Systematic dehumanization of someone you dislike and leadership figures of them is a classic sign of disordered thought processes that often lead to things like the rise of authoritarian states, ethnic cleansing, justification of deaths of people in that group (ex: Charlie Kirk).
I'm not a person who throws around Nazi very often, can't remember the last time I did it - but referring to people you disagree with as subhuman animals and drawing connections to literal demons, shit that's a pretty good reason.
You can be mad at Americans and their political stances without hitting that level of rhetoric.
It's not about Nazis specifically, it's about the modes of thought that lead to behaviors the Nazis are famous for. "That's Khmer Rouge" thinking or "that's woke thinking" are equally appropriate.
From what I can tell the DC insider consensus is FUCK TRUMP ...and also.....we need a ballroom....
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