I’d rather be in the Idiocracy timeline. At least the leaders in that timeline looked for, and hired, the smartest people they could find to solve problems.

My first thought was “wait until they hear about Shakespeare”. Literally every role filled by men, sometimes with the script explicitly calling for a man to play a female in full attire.

I’d also hate to see what policies they’ll enact for their chorale program when performing historical hymns, where soprano parts specifically called for a male eunuch (castrato) to sing since females were not allowed to attend church services including choirs.

In my younger years I would have been absolutely vilified by these people. I’m probably vilified now, but I would’ve been then too. In all seriousness though, I cannot believe how far backwards we’ve gone in all this. I recognize that these thoughts and feelings have existed since before I was a kid but at least back then people seemed to have the decency to mind their own.

But to attack theatre of all things with this gender bullshit is attacking theatre itself. Crossdressing in theatre has existed for as long as theatre has existed. Cross-singing has existed for as long as singing has existed. If they’re not teaching that stuff in their performing arts programs, they are denying young adults a quality education of the performing arts.

Also, I’m not blaming anyone or any government. I’m not speaking anything about self defense, other than that self defense does not entail violence against innocent people. I do not know enough of the topic or conflict to get into any of that. I am solely pointing out that blindly killing anyone and everyone in proximity of some wrong doing, regardless of their involvement in said wrong doing, is in and of itself wrong.

Are you implying that all Palestinian people are apart of “a terrorist organization”? You are beginning to come across as full on racist. At what point does “Justice” turn into terrorism in itself? How many innocent people is it “okay” to kill in the name of defeating a terrorist organization? It isn’t just “a terrorist organization” being killed.

Palestinian == terrorist. Hamas == terrorists. Killing hundreds/thousands of Palestinians in order to kill Hamas is not okay. Bombing a hospital filled with Palestinians is not okay.

Also, which is it? Is Hamas “a terrorist organization” or a government?

This isn’t Halo or Call of Duty. This isn’t “red team” vs “blue team”. This isn’t a game. There is no score to be tracked and no victory or loss for who can kill more children. The only people that are “losing” in this conflict are the innocent people caught in the crossfire.

The fact that you’re implying that it’s okay for Israel or Hamas to keep killing as long as they’re not on top of some sort of “child-killing leaderboard” is absolutely sickening. I’m literally sick to my stomach even thinking about that. I could not possibly care less who killed who’s child first, killing children is wrong. Killing innocent children in retaliation to killing innocent children is wrong. There’s no “score” to settle when that “score” involves the injury or death of innocent people. Both sides fucking suck for killing innocent people.

Furthermore, I’ll reiterate my point that both sides fucking suck for killing innocent people. That is the only absolute that belongs in this conversation. Neither side is innocent in regards to deaths of innocent people, and neither side is fully to blame for the deaths of innocent people. Hamas is at fault for using innocent people as meat shields and Israel is at fault for firing anyway. Whether Hamas struck first some weeks ago or not, regardless of which “side” started this however many years ago, both Israel and Hamas are culpable for deaths of innocent people. Full stop. No scores, no “winners”, and the only “loss” is loss of life.

And what does that change exactly? Definition: A government is a group of people governing an organized community. So if that organized community were a bunch of robbers or terrorists, and they had some others to govern them, they are by definition a government. If that government or organized community then holds you hostage, does that somehow make it different compared to if it were just a group of unorganized robbers or terrorists that didn’t have leaders? So just because some common criminals have a leader, making them a “government”, all of a sudden it’s ok to kill you along with them?

Let me simplify that. Gangs are governments by definition, i.e. an organized community with leaders. If you, your family, and/or friends were held hostage by a gang, you are saying it’s okay to kill you, your family, and/or friends in the name of killing off some gangsters. If that feels wrong then you need to rethink your opinion because that is a direct equivalence to what is happening between Israel and Hamas/Palestinians. Hamas are the equivalent to gangsters and Israel is the equivalent to the US government acting through the police to murder people you love in the name of killing off gangsters.

Let me answer that first question for you because I now believe you’re too thick skulled to figure it out yourself. The fact that it’s a “government” changes nothing in regards to another “government” killing innocent people.

Please note, I am not(!!) advocating for Hamas. What they have done and are still doing is fucking terrible. I condemn it with every fiber of my being. But to say that innocent people brought their own deaths upon themselves simply for existing on the wrong side of an imaginary line is fucked up. The only people that are “losing” in this conflict are the innocent people dying on both sides of the imaginary line. And if you can’t agree with that I’m done replying. Just because someone is Palestinian doesn’t make their deaths any better or worse than if they’re Israeli. Innocent civilians are innocent civilians regardless of which side of the line they’re on. I condemn any and all violence in this conflict. Both governments think they’re in the right and the only people that suffer are those caught in the crossfire. Full stop. May you find a little empathy, have a nice night, and a good life.

Edit: tl;dr ITT I try and fail to convey that terrorists using innocent people as meat shields/hostages is wrong and a government bombing those terrorists along with their hostages is also wrong. I dunno how that’s too confusing for anyone to understand but I guess some folk truly are lost causes.

Original comment below:

Are you implying that Israel has not done any bombing whatsoever? Or are you implying that terrorists hiding behind innocent people means everyone involved must die by bombing? Or are you just a troll trying to get a reaction from people by posting an obviously ignorant comment?

Let me ask you this, if some bank robbers took your family and friends hostage, what do you think the response should be? By your own logic I must assume that they all need to die because criminals were using them as meat shields. By your logic, if your home is being robbed and the robber uses you as a shield, the response should be to mow you down along with the robber. How unlucky for you that the robber chose your house eh? How ignorant.

And if you’re struggling to put yourself in those shoes, good. Be glad that you’re so far removed from such dangers. But you are not immune. Criminals and potential terrorists exist everywhere, and I truly hope that if you ever find yourself in a hostage situation that the response isn’t what you idolize for innocent people in a foreign land. Because even unemphatic scum don’t deserve to die simply for being a hostage.

I’d like to assume that you simply forgot a “/s”, and I apologize if the sarcastic intent of your comment was lost, but there are people that truly believe what you’ve said.

I originally had typed out a long-winded reply that I realized was ultimately counterproductive. In all likelihood we should be allies.

So let me start by congratulating you on your new position! I hope that you can continue to pump out that much energy on the job and still have at least that much energy to take home to friends and family.

That said, IMO the fight against the modern work week isn’t about people being tired. While I do think most people would be tired and lack energy for self, family, and friends after doing the work you do, that’s largely irrelevant. The real problem with the modern work week is that it’s simply not necessary any more.

I prefer making the comparison to peasants rather than slaves, as slaves obviously had/have it much worse than the average modern worker. Back in the days of peasantry people worked because they needed the fruit of their labor to survive. Regardless of how many hours it took or how tired they were, they directly relied on the crop they farmed and the clothes they made to survive. That is no longer the case.

In the modern age we produce more than we need to survive on a global scale. There is more than enough for everyone as is and there has been for some time. So why is it still expected that we work the same as we have for years and years? In the age where much of the work is automated and automation increasing rapidly, why is it still inherently expected that humans work just as much, or even remotely close to as much, as we have in the past? To us, the modern work week is essentially arbitrary. We work until “the boss” says we’ve worked enough to earn our allowance and they say we should be thankful for as much as we’re given. We no longer receive or rely on the fruit of our labor in order to survive, “the boss” relies on the fruit of our labor in order to afford their next luxury.

Don’t get me wrong, we live in an age of relative comfort. Most of us have plenty to survive and some creature comforts to spare. But if you are apart of “the 98%”, which in all likelihood you are, you are not receiving anything even remotely close to what you actually produce.

So, looking past any claims of being tired after 40 hours/week, or how studies have shown that in many cases the modern work week can literally be counterproductive, I ask you why we are expected to work 40 hours/week if it’s simply not necessary, aside from “the boss” essentially arbitrarily declaring that it is necessary? And really the fight for a shortened work week and the fight for increased minimum wage are the same fight. It’s all based on the fact that we as workers are receiving less and less for our work as time goes by.

That’s what the fight is really about, and why -provided you’re not a billionaire (which you’re very likely not)- we are allies. I may disagree with you on many things, myself and many others may not have as much energy as you, we may not have similar interests or hobbies, but truly none of that matters at all since we are both the modern day equivalent to peasants, except neither of us receives the full fruit of our labor. And for that I call you friend.

So with that, I wish you the greatest success in life friend. And whether or not you join the fight, or even agree with it, may you receive your true worth.

As long as our military budget is measured in trillions of dollars I think we can afford to feed even this scumbag on the . 0000001% off-chance that he’s not guilty. It kind of sucks, don’t get me wrong, but IMHO the death penalty isn’t the answer. Not only do I feel like even one wrongful execution is far too many, I also feel like in some ways a quick and painless death is sort of going easy. I say make him live out the rest of his natural born life as a prisoner that will have this on his conscious, provided he has one, for the rest of his days.

A quote from the judge according to the article:

“I just can’t believe being evicted would justify picking up a handgun in that small of a space with children present”

What I find particularly concerning about this is that this implies that being evicted would justify picking up a handgun provided you’re not in an enclosed space with children present. Why in the actual fuck would there be any further qualification after “I just can’t believe being evicted would justify picking up a handgun”. Full stop. You’re being evicted. You fucked up. Firearms don’t belong in that conversation at all with the only possible exception I can think of being if you are being directly and illegally threatened with a firearm.

Ugh.

Wut

That’s all you gathered from a four paragraph post is that I had a Christian background? I never even claimed to still be religious lmao

Go find somewhere else to troll.

Great outfits! I’m curious though, does your local ren faire not require to keep your weapons “peace-tied”? I know most festival attendees aren’t looking to cut people down, but even an unsharpened blade can cause a lot of damage in a sword-fighting accident so I feel like it’s a nice policy overall.

Also, would you care to share roughly how much time and money went into these? I’ve wanted to get into the cosplay aspect of Ren-faire but it feels prohibitively expensive even buying online, and outright bank breaking buying anything at the faire itself. I haven’t been in a few years but even back then the cheapest pair of boots anywhere on-site were $600. Granted, they were very nice looking, leather, presumably hand-made, and came with a lifetime guarantee (as long as that vendor stays) but whew that’s more than I can afford.

I know a lot of that stuff will be and should be expensive just for the craftsmanship and time involved though. My buddy made his own chainmail shirt and it took him months and months of manually bending steel wire so I get how much work goes into these pieces.

Anyway, just wanted to say nice outfits and keep it going :)

I wouldn’t pretend it’s not something terrorists would do. I think what people are upset about is more like: let’s assume that there is a terrorist HQ being run in a school. Let’s also assume their are innocent people of any and all ages in that same school. Finally, let’s assume there are only two options to deal with the terrorist HQ (there could be others in reality but for this exercise there are only two options).

Option a) bomb the school, injuring and killing everyone inside. Option b) a specialized operation that will only target the terrorists but may result in casualties to your army.

People, and myself, are upset that the option being chosen seems to overwhelmingly be option a, the indiscriminate injury and death of everyone in the building whether innocent or terrorist. No judge and no jury for anyone involved, only death.

For me at least, this cartoon is not pointing out that terrorists would run an HQ in a school. It’s pointing out that currently the IDF cannot, or will not, see past the fact that this is still a picture of a school. It may contain a terrorist HQ, but it’s not a building labeled “terrorist HQ” with the sole function of being a terrorist HQ. This is a picture of a school that may also house a terrorist HQ. And that is a very very important distinction that seems to be wildly ignored.

If you criticize the few good/decent policies that are being passed/proposed, maybe. But at least from what I’ve seen, especially online, Biden and any other (D) being pushed on the people aren’t seen as some savior. In fact I would argue almost the opposite. I think many Democrats see Biden and the rest of the moderates being passed off as Democrats as simply the lesser of two evils.

Likewise, just because a candidate has an ® next to their name doesn’t automatically make them evil. Their public stance and proposed policies are what make 90+% of them evil. I couldn’t give two shits what letter appears next to Trump, Desantis, McConnell, etc. They’re not bad people because they run under the Republican party, they’re bad people because they’re very explicitly against Americans that can’t afford to pay them enough to pretend to care. Donald Trump almost ran as a Democrat years before he actually ran as a Republican and guess what? He’s the same asshole either way that never would have gotten my vote.

So yes, if you agree with white supremacist neo-Nazi policies and ideals, or disagree with policies intended to defeat white supremacist neo-Nazi ideals, I will most certainly assume that you are a white supremacist neo-Nazi. This honestly shouldn’t be that difficult to understand. And that honestly makes me think you’re simply a troll but I guess I’ll take the bait. In case it’s not perfectly obvious by now, fuck Biden. But fuck white supremacist neo-Nazis more. Like for real, it would not be difficult at all to get a fuckton of “Democrats” to vote ® if y’all could put up some half-ass decent candidates instead of the backwater scum y’all currently idolize. But instead of doing that and actually running candidates that stand by the true conservative ideology (what ever happened to sticking up for personal rights and small government?) most candidates (Democrats and Republicans alike) only stand by whatever will gain them the most.

I would even go so far to say that I would probably fall more under the old conservative ideology with some liberal tendencies, but I will NOT support anyone that wants to disenfranchise, discriminate, and take away personal liberties. I’m not LGBTQ+, I’m not trying to get an abortion, I don’t have kids to worry about schools or lunches; I’m a straight white cis male with a Christian background that would largely be personally unaffected by any of the current Republican stances, but I do have at least a tiny bit of empathy and that’s enough to see that just because someone isn’t the same as me doesn’t make them any less human than me. To suggest anything else is simply fucked up and evil. AND goes againstliterally everything in my Christian upbringing. So given the choice of supporting the modern Christo-fascist, or voting for literally anyone else provided they have some principles and empathy, I know who’s getting my support every time without a doubt.

The article doesn’t explicitly call it out, but the judge and the principle share a last name? The judge granted a much more lenient ruling than the prosecutor wanted though so I’m not assuming they’re (closely) related, but I would think a thorough journalist would at least mention trying to find a link in the family tree.

I’m confused what this is trying to say. You tried defending genocide? Because that’s messed up.

If you’re claiming that a left-wing forum was defending genocide I’m gonna have to doubt that unless provided proof. From what I’ve seen genocide seems to be an ideal exclusive to the right-wing authoritarian crowd.

The only way to kill an entire population of peoples is to not allow for people to disagree with you, because people will disagree with you if you’re trying to kill an entire population of peoples.

I’m not sure what you’re arguing. That someone invented the iPhone and it went on to be a very successful product for a multi-trillion dollar company? The iPod was out for years before then. Before that there were portable CD players, before that were portable cassette players, and before that portable radios. Long before any of that people would set wood on fire and sing while playing instruments they carved from other wood.

Corporations do get things wrong plenty often. Successful corporations will not invest more than they can afford to on anything, and won’t mass produce a product that their user-surveys and number crunchers say won’t make them money. Sometimes those surveys and numbers are wrong, but a corporation doesn’t build a worth of trillions of dollars by making stuff and putting it all directly in the dump.

I agree with you almost entirely. There are definitely deceptive advertising practices all over by every industry. And subliminal messaging is in use everywhere. Both are getting worse all the time as people trade privacy for convenience, myself included. A quick search will reveal many results of people talking about how they’ve talked about something for the first time that they have no interest in and being shown ads for it later. Advertising has reached the point where companies can tell when a woman is pregnant before she does and start advertising accordingly.

I also agree that for most of this, consumers are the virtually powerless underdogs. The only way to truly stop it, if there even is a way to stop something like subliminal advertising, is legislation.

All that said, I do think that consumers can do more than we are. In the current world it seems like waiting for politicians that are bought and paid for by these companies to pass legislation that these companies don’t want is the wrong course of action if the goal is to decrease consumption. Nations want you to consume because that makes the economy look better.

However, educating ourselves, and more importantly each other, on these deceptive advertising practices, and taking an active stance to consciously combat said practices can make an immediate impact while we wait/hope for meaningful legislation. If we’re watching a movie or TV show with friends and see some subtle product placement, call it out. When we’re at the store take a moment to consciously think about whether we need some product, and what the consequences of buying said product are. How much energy is used, what kind of waste does it make both during production and after consumption. If it’s recyclable, how? And how much energy is used in doing so? We should all demand to know what our local recycling policies are. Not just what they accept as “recyclable” but whether they actually recycle or just send it to a dump anyway. And wherever possible opt for options that are better for our world and better yet, going without when possible. I see a lot of “keeping up with the Joneses” in the modern world, and so much waste that seems reasonable avoidable.

I think I got a bit sidetracked. I definitely don’t think we as consumers can do everything, and I think pretty much the full responsibility should fall on corporations and those in power, but currently that’s largely not the case. And I don’t think we have time to wait for that to change.

Ultimately I definitely think we largely agree; maybe slight differences in the how, but the end goal seems the same. As far as I can tell we are allies. We can and should help each other and others to advocate for personal changes and policy/legislative changes to combat the rampant over-consumption and over-production in the world today. I don’t have children but I still want a livable Earth for future generations so so much.

You’re making several assumptions that I don’t think I’ve said or even alluded to. I don’t think I’ve mentioned religion or motivation at all. All I’ve been trying to say is I disagree with the death of innocent people. I’ve agreed with you 100% that I do not have a good grasp of the situation and frankly I don’t think you or most people do have a full grasp of the situation. You probably know more than me, good job. I still disagree with any person, country, military, religion, etc. taking the lives of innocent people. I recognize that sometimes it can mean fewer deaths in the long run, but seeing as I don’t have absolute knowledge of the situation it’s not my call to make. I’m not arguing whether one side is doing more harm than the other. I’m not arguing whether one side is more evil, or what their reason for killing is. I’m arguing that innocent people dying sucks. This will be my last reply to you/this thread because I don’t have anything else to say. Killing innocent people should be avoided wherever possible because innocent people dying sucks. I’m not sure how that’s such a hard concept to grasp or why anyone would argue that killing innocent people is good but evil does exist in this world and it sucks.

Have a wonderful day and may you achieve any and all of your non-evil dreams.

True, although to be fair the first iPhone wasn’t released until late 2007. Timeline of Apple releases