beliquititious

@beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨'Everything I Say Leaks,' Zuckerberg Says in Leaked Meeting Audio⁩ ⁨⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  Billionaire “genius” unaware that to find leaks you tell different people different things and see what gets out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨'Zombie' spiders infected by never-before-seen fungus discovered on grounds of destroyed Irish castle⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  New phobia unlocked.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I wish I could be unemployed⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Fake, no way that chimp could afford mushrooms and black light posters

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You wouldn't even need to stop going to work!⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I would say pragmatist, rather than a reformist. Reform makes the least mess to clean up after and leaves the smallest window for a hypothetical Joe the Billionaire from starting an actual monarchy after the overthrow of the system. If I had my way we’d replace the constitution with a new one that establishes a strong, expanded bill of right and the power to enforce it at a national level and all other decisions would be made at a city or county level, with state governments becoming caretakers and losing all legislative, executive, and judicial power beyond what’s needed to maintain the roads and grid(s).

  Replacing consumerism as a means of validation and acceptance is easier than it looks. Alienation is a combination of disenfranchisement, social rejection, and a lack of agency. The “buy nothing, buy less, buy used, buy local” is part of the zine I’m currently writing. The idea is that you replace consumerism with community. Buy nothing groups, swap meets, farmer’s markets, flea markets, craigslist meets all provide real human interaction and social validation. Actively trying to avoid any money possible going to billionaires and corrupt state coffers means more time spent shopping, specifically in meatspace, rather than online (where huge chunks of your money go to billionaires).

  I’ve actually been working on compiling all of the zine and essay content into a website, I will make a note and drop you a link when it goes live (months still, but this year). If I wasn’t already on a watch list (old crusty anarchist), I will absolutely be on one when that goes up, lol.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You wouldn't even need to stop going to work!⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I think we’re misaligned because my unstated goal is to reduce the risk to migrants and trans people from a tyrannical government. Reducing state power would greatly reduce their ability to round up immigrants and dick over the queer community. It would mean less money to pay police to be assholes at the very least.

  It’s also a safe in-point for people wanting to take direct action but afraid of the legal consequences of more glamorous activities.

  Buying nothing, buying less, buying used, buying local (in that order) is easy-ish for most people, saves them money, and breaks no laws or contracts. Not paying your bills is a dumb idea, but not buying shit you don’t need is a win win for individuals. It would take several years to build a critical mass and if people change their relationship to consumption it would be easier to sustain that pressure.

  No temporary strike, protest, or other action will save us. We need long term personal change that will slowly starve out the billionaire class and their lackies.

  I am trying to organize a national buy nothing campaign, but the only resources I have are grass roots tools, like rambling in internet comments and writing weird zines. I’d suggest trying to reduce your personal spending by 20% and encourage people you know personally to do the same, if everyone did that the powers that be will take notice and in 18 months we’d see change.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You wouldn't even need to stop going to work!⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  The government is a tool of the billionaire class. Weakening it weakens their power. Also any buying nothing movement would harm the billionaires much more than the government.

  You know that “defeating” the billionaires would screw over everyone on earth more than toppling the government of Florida or Texas? They have so much power removing their wealth, especially suddenly would destroy the global economy…

  Any solution to the larger problem of oligarchy is going to hurt everyday americans. Buying nothing would at least give them extra money in their pocket to adapt to the changes.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You wouldn't even need to stop going to work!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Fun fact: Most red states derive a significant portion of their tax revenue from sales tax. In some places (like Texas) it accounts for 80% of the state’s budget. If enough people significantly reduced their spending in red states, they could cripple the government and break no laws or contracts that would expose them to legal liabilities.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Interesting analogy⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Neither argument hold any merit and is an example of the tyranny of history. Who cares what a bunch of dead assholes thought was theirs? The people who live there (not the politicians who pretend to represent their interests) are the only people that have any legitimate claim to authority on what should be done about the region.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why are mental health patients strip searched in mental hospitals here in the USA?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I agree, but what else would you call being forced into a facility you can’t leave? Especially if the pigs brought you there. The way people in crisis are handled in this country is appalling.

  I have been in several mental health crises that I should have been in involuntarily hospitalized for, but was too afraid to ask for help because I would rather die than lose what little freedom I have. So I might be biased (and very bitter).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why are mental health patients strip searched in mental hospitals here in the USA?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I mean to be fair if you were involuntarily hospitalized, you actually were a prisoner.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Honey, I haven’t worked in two years because of mental illness and I haven’t had insurance in three. I’m trans and live in Texas as well so Trump’s election feels a lot like a death sentence and I’ve already lost most of my old friends and family to bigotry. Just since the election I have had four strangers clock me and yell slurs, one guy even followed me 40 miles and finally gave up when I stopped at the police station near where I am staying. I am so afraid that I get physically sick whenever I leave the house. If I didn’t have family who could take me in and support me while I try to put my life back together I would be homeless, or more likely dead.

  You’re right, I don’t live in fear of losing those things because I have already lost them. From the other side of those fears, you can lose everything and life still goes on, I promise.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Are you familiar with Project Semicolon? It’s an anti-suicide thing and they use the semicolon because it is unnecessary and using it is a choice by the author that there sentence could end, but they have chosen to continue. Your top level comment has very similar vibes to some of the things that the group advocates.

  The founder did eventually decide to end their story and they kind of faded out, but the message is a good one.

  I agree with you about the power accepting your own mortality grants. All human stories end in death, pretending there is any other option is delusional.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If it helps, humans are really really really really really bad at predicting the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen until it does and even then knowing how that changes what comes after is still unknowable.

  For example many of the promises Agent Orange made on the campaign trail would have disastrous consequences for everyone, which might be enough to shift the balance back by the midterms.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Look, I am as heartbroken as anyone that the two crazies that tried, missed (or never got a shot off). But that’s something else. If you’re not trolling, you should probably talk to a mental health professional about those feelings.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Touching grass. It’s important to remember that the entire world isn’t online and the world isn’t as dire as all of us chronically online doomers would have you believe. Things are chaotic-shift-in-the-status-quo bad, not civilization-ending bad.

  The wheel turns, right now it’s in a muddy rut and the people on the bottom (sexually active women, people of colors, and the queer community) are drowning, but all the little people on the outer edge are eventually in the dirt. Fuck the world, fuck the country, the people you have personal relationships with are the only thing that matters because all we have is each other.

  Personally I have been trying to be more proactive, which has helped me have a sense of agency amidst the chaos. Everything I own fits in my car in case I need to leave quickly because of a climate disaster or the legalization of hunting trans people. I haven’t bought a new thing (used, diy, or do without only) since lockdown because it’s significantly cheaper and makes me feel like I’m doing my part to fight final form capitalism. I’ve also been exploring alternate ways to support myself and live that are more sustainable.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Hunter S. Thompson carried a revolver on him for most of his adult life for that exact reason.

  … He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn’t know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don’t know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable. I think that the truth of what rings through all his writing is that he meant what he said. If that is entertainment to you, well, that’s OK. If you think that it enlightened you, well, that’s even better. If you wonder if he’s gone to Heaven or Hell, rest assured he will check out them both, find out which one Richard Milhous Nixon went to—and go there. He could never stand being bored. But there must be Football too—and Peacocks …

  — Some friend of Thompson’s after his death whose name I forget and am too lazy to look up (I have the quote unattributed in my notes on Thompson). But it’s quoted on Thompson’s Wikipedia if you’re not as lazy, lol.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨It Is Journalism’s Sacred Duty To Endanger The Lives Of As Many Trans People As Possible⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  We just made Quentin up, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean stories like his aren’t potentially happening everywhere, constantly. Good journalism is about finding those stories, even when they don’t exist. It’s about asking the tough questions and ignoring the answers you don’t like, then offering misleading evidence in service of preordained editorial conclusions. In our case, endangering trans people is the lodestar that shapes our coverage. Frankly, if our work isn’t putting trans people further at risk of trauma and violence, we consider it a failure.

  As a trans person I really appreciate the existential dread and emotional violence of the quality reporting at the Onion. It’s a shame they can’t solely cover how awful and despicable we all are.

  Just the other day I was at an elementary library passing out copies of Fucking Trans Women to any male presenting children wearing jerseys or religious symbols. After words I went to a women’s restroom to find victims to groom and assault.

  Someone needs to hold us accountable and I am grateful the Onion has taken up the mantle.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Soup help needed⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  SCP-50091 is boyardee class anomaly located in [data expunged]. The object is a 300cm hole in the ground of [data expunged] and contains a seeming endless amount of [redacted] soup.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon is a nostalgic gamer⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Huh, weird. The menfolk have had kind of a loneliness problem for about 15 years…

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Creamy⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Well in this case maybe ker ning?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You hate to see it happen⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Not lil’ Sebastian!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Magic the Gathering is going to have more brand tie-ins⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Bad Dye Job Artifact Equipment, 2 colorless mana

  Equipped creature gains -1/-1, poison, and loses all other abilities.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why does it seem most people, mainly conservatives, against Trans people? Unless I am wrong I never heard of one shooting up a school church or whatever. The ones I have met have been pretty cool.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  There are a lot of factors at play that make transness an easy target to be the scary other bigots rally around.

  The simple truth is that unless you yourself are trans you cannot understand the trans experience. There is no way to explain the scope or impact it has on someone’s life. It’s automatically alien and provides essentially a permanent out group. Anyone who is uncomfortable with people who are different or that have different experiences than themselves are almost certainly transphobic to some degree. Right now to the best of my knowledge transphobia is the only thing all hate groups share.

  Trans people are the current scapegoats because prior to the pandemic we had an explosion of trans people feeling safe enough to come out online (I blame Obama making us all feel safe). They are particularly effective because both white nationalists and evangelicals use queerness as a scapegoat all the time anyway so it was easy for them to rally around. Which is why conservative politicians fearmonger around trans people.

  It’s not that simple, but it’s close enough for a lemmy comment.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon doubts WW2 Germany⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I understand what you’re saying and the man himself wasn’t directly controlling every aspect of his rise to power. But I think it’s a disservice to history and to our present circumstances to deny that it actually does take a certain kind of charismatic sociopath/narcissist to lead a movement like the Nazis or their cover band.

  If anyone could do it, it would happen much more often than it does. Hitler (and Trump) is a case of the “right” person, being in the “right” place, at the “right” time.

  Maybe I’m too much of an idealist but I just wish for once, just once, someone comes along with a message of unity and mutual understanding and people actually listen.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon doubts WW2 Germany⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  In my imagination perhaps humanity might have focused more on exploring the solar system instead of killing each other and we’d have a lunar settlement. I’d personally want to live there because I have dreamed of leaving Earth since I was a kid.

  But with any real thought, we went to the moon in the 60’s because we developed the precursor technologies fighting Hitler, which probably wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t a bag of dicks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon doubts WW2 Germany⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  To be fair it was the strongest aryan army at the time. Unfortunately for them, the other armies weren’t so concerned about everyone looking the same and had the advantage perspectives from many people from many walks of life gives to find novel ways to rain death on their enemies.

  Shame Hitler had to be an asshat. Could you imagine what a charismatic man like him could do if he used his gift for good? We could live in a world where Germany led a global movement of empathy and understanding that brought on the longest period of lasting peace in earth’s history? Instead he was so butt hurt that jewish people existed he did the opposite. I could be writing this post on the lunar settlement instead of the fourth Reich.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Plasticccc⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Aren’t books shipped in boxes though? I guess maybe a printer might palletize the books and find it cheaper to not wrap the whole pallet?

  It still seems like the individual book is the wrong place to focus on protecting it from damage it might incur in transit.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Plasticccc⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t understand why some books are wrapped in plastic at all. Like is it to protect the cover? Prevent people from reading it at the book store? Some weird contract with a vendor that requires a percentage of books be wrapped? A quirk of the shop that printed the book?

  It makes zero sense.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨It's insidious⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I love all the day players that are the villain/vicitms of the week. It’s kind of hilarious to see the same actors again and again, but also a lot of them were also on Babylon 5.

  The characters are mid and despite there being six seasons there are only four episodes:

  • Odo solves a problem by changing shape
  • Propaganda for the Bayjor religion
  • A beloved crossover character saves the day
  • Something unimaginably horrific happens to the O’Briens
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨It's insidious⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Weird, I had the opposite experience. I tried to watch DS9 recently and found it so dumb by about the middle of season four I gave up.