AClassyGentleman

@AClassyGentleman@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unity rushes to clarify price increase plan, as game developers fume⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Capitalism defines success as profits increasing at an ever-increasing rate. During the height of the pandemic, tech companies tended to fare better than other industries because they were better able to handle the switch to remote work. This wasn’t lost on investors, who smelled money in the water, and went all in on tech. Like, seriously, colossal amounts of money, and they expect returns on those investments. Problem is, we’ve hit the point where the easy profit sources for these companies have more or less dried up, and now they’re having to squeeze whatever they can out. This is why we’ve seen massive layoffs, quick money making schemes, and things like this that will be disastrous in the long run, but stand to make some short-term profits.

  It’s a boneheaded move, but when all you care about is pleasing the investors right now, it’s the logical way to operate.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Punishment Park (1971) Dir. Peter Watkins - A fictional documentary about the actions of an American police state on activists. Still relevant today.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  10000%. At the end of the day the law is “whatever you can get away with,” and the people who make the laws can get away with a lot.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Punishment Park (1971) Dir. Peter Watkins - A fictional documentary about the actions of an American police state on activists. Still relevant today.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  The McCarran International Security Act of 1950 is real, although the part referenced in the movie (that allows for the detention of people suspected of being security risks) was gutted the year this movie was released.

  Much of it is still on the books though, and is used to harass left wing organizations. If memory serves, it’s the reason citizenship tests still ask if you’ve ever been part of a communist organization.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Punishment Park (1971) Dir. Peter Watkins - A fictional documentary about the actions of an American police state on activists. Still relevant today.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Saw this in a local theater a few months back. Definitely well worth the watch. According to Watkins, the actors were picked based off of their political beliefs and ad-libbed much of the dialogue. It’s much more slow and dialogue heavy than you might think with this sort of premise, but it has some incredible tension because of that. As one of those evil lefties myself, it was really interesting trying to figure out what political camps people were in and who I would’ve agreed with most.

  Very good recommendation.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Workers Are About To Get Way More Power. Here's How.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Never assume the courts are going to side with the workers. Not to be overly cynical but legal processes take lots of time and money even in the best cases, which corporations are going to have more of ten times out of ten. And that’s assuming the rulings will be fair.

  Having this option isn’t bad, but the best, most consistent way to actually win victories is with strong, worker-led union campaigns with strong demands and escalating tactics that engage the workers and don’t back down in the face of union busting.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Don't give me a reason to go to Starbucks, damn it!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Alright as someone who has seen this happen… Don’t. Fist off, if the employee doesn’t already know what the benefits of a union are and how to go about organizing one, this does nothing to change that. Second, it puts them in a dangerous position with management. Obviously, any good Union drive should be fully prepared for union busting tactics, but ideally you want to keep that shit secret from management for as long as possible. And imagine how frustrated you’d be if a customer pulling a stunt like this got you fired.

  Instead what you want to do is talk to your family, friends, and coworkers about what a union can do for them and talk about how to effectively organize a union drive. Make sure that shit is led by the workers, and puts forward strong demands and escalating tactics. They should also absolutely get community support, but in organized, meaningful ways - think things like mailing lists to get the word out about rallies, boycotts, etc.

  Unions are hell of a tool and they should be organized in the most effective possible ways.