CuriousCat Archive Page 110 of 202

  1. Its not about what you produce its about rights. If you spend your money on a house that house is yours, no one else gets a say on it. Either you believe people have a right to own the things they buy or they dont have any rights at all, there is no middle ground. Either you are free to own things or you are a slave to the state.

    in response to Shouldering risk is not "producing nothing".

    you don't actually believe that, because the tenants end up paying even more for the house than the landlord did but never get to own it, and you think that's right. by your logic they are slaves to the landlord.

  3. In the version of socialism you want, would markets exist?

    *rubs temples*

  4. (Different different anon) I don't understand. Why pallbearers?

    in response to (Different anon) I don't remember seeing anything SWERF-y recently, but apparently they've been saying Biden would be worse for the left than four more years of Trump and said the AOC Among Us stream was somehow proof positive that she's sold out to the DNC; these takes just struck me as odd more than anything else.

    don't ask me to explain my very funny joke

  7. (Different anon) I don't remember seeing anything SWERF-y recently, but apparently they've been saying Biden would be worse for the left than four more years of Trump and said the AOC Among Us stream was somehow proof positive that she's sold out to the DNC; these takes just struck me as odd more than anything else.

    in response to Thoughts on Coffin and their entourage going SWERF?

    those are hardly new opinions for Coffin's crowd, whom I have just now decided to call The Pallbearers

  8. Is bipartisanship the way forward for any government today?

    if there is a government out there with a socialist wing and an anarchist wing than perhaps bipartisanship would be good for them

    but by and large you should never give conservatives an inch if you can help it

  10. To be fair, I pester my brother a lot more and he's a only like half a vegetarian?

    But if you want a real answer, I think it has to do with knowing that the real, actual world is more complicated then the simplistic binary categories of "animals" and "plants" that vegans have constructed for themselves.? Like "pro-life" advocates, their view of the world is more based in aesthetics in order to dictate morality?

    in response to Why do people seem so keen to map the precise degrees of your veganism?

    Wow, thank you for explaining what my conception of morality is based solely on knowing my diet, that wasn't condescending at all and definitely makes me wanna discuss this further with you.

  11. Would you eat an Ameglian Major Cow?

    I'd prefer not to

  12. Though the world is terrible right now and in general, would you say that it's better than it's ever been in the past? If not, when was it better, and if so, how can we improve it further?

    Ibram X. Kendi's book Stamped from the Beginning offered me a way of looking at progress that I think was far more useful than "are things better or are they worse?" Kendi argues that, in the history of race relations, there are racists and there are antiracists. And, throughout history, racists have made gains and so have antiracists. They each operate on their own tracks, constantly modifying and updating their strategies, trying to outdo each other, but, thus far, neither has ever been defeated. It is kind of impossible to sum the gains of both movements to determine whether things are, in aggregate, "better" or "worse" than at some time in the past.

    There are ways in which things are better. There are ways in which they are worse. I'm sitting here wondering if American democracy will still exist a week from now, a possibility we've never truly had to reckon with since at least the Civil War, if ever. Also fewer people died of malaria this year than any time in history. I don't really know how to sum those two things.

  13. Thoughts on Coffin and their entourage going SWERF?

    I've had Peter Coffin blocked for months, what'd they do now?

  14. Diff anon but if I have to explain to a close friend (who is also my office colleague) who is becoming a landlord, may I know why being a landlord is fundamentally immoral? So that I could explain to her

    in response to How would you handle the situation if a friend of yours, someone who genuinely seemed to value your opinion, told you they were planning to become a landlord, or something equally objectionable?

    all a landlord does is own property and rent it out for more than it costs them to own it. they're like stock brokers; they don't *do* anything except make profit. they produce nothing. they add nothing to the world. and they can't negotiate as equals with their tenants: if a landlord fails to perform their obligations, tenants can take them to court, and, likely after months of fees and stress and dealing with problems, they may finally force the landlord to fulfill their obligations, after which the landlord will likely not renew the lease with them; if a tenant doesn't fulfill their obligations, they lose their home.

    landlords have become a symbol of what's wrong with capitalism: you get paid for owning things.

  15. If you can't find the hybrid, do you prefer plums or apricots?

    in response to favorite fruit?

    plums, but the pluot is the greatest fruit in existence. human civilization could have ended with the pluot.

  16. How likely is widespread right-wing violence if Biden wins?

    I'd say somewhat likely, but less likely than if he loses

  17. Is the "scary asylum" trope ableist?

    no, asylums back in the day were often nightmares of abuse for the patients

    the "scary patient" trope, however, is ableist

  18. Why do people seem so keen to map the precise degrees of your veganism?

    they like to visit the freakshow

  19. Do you have any thoughts on how YouTube video essayists can meaningfully avoid the implication that they are an authority on whatever they are talking about? It seems no one has found a better solution than simply disavowing that idea and insisting the size of their platform does not make them correct, but that doesn't seem to really work

    I don't think there's a rule, exactly, or a way to avoid it entirely, but I try to cultivate an attitude of questioning authority and understanding no perspective is perfect or complete. I'm all about "it's nuanced and complicated." That seems to keep things below a certain level.

  21. If you're stuck in a post-apocalyptic world, which of these would you prefer to be stuck with in that world?

    A) Zombies
    B) Vampires
    C) Demons
    D) Godzilla
    E) Dinosaurs

    dinosaurs, duh

    yes, I will die quickly, but I'll get to see friggin dinosaurs

  22. favorite fruit?

    pluot

  23. Do you consider consuming insects taboo in your vegan diet, or is it just meaty animals you won't eat?

    the fact that I'd consider eating an insect unethical is somewhat moot considering I wouldn't eat one regardless

  24. If there was a plant discovered to have human-level of sentience and sapience, what seasoning would it go best with?

    smoked paprika goes with everything

  25. How do you envision freedom?

    I can't even envision November 4th anymore

  26. There are many conflicting opinions about what human is supposed to taste like. I’ve seen some say chicken, some pork, so idk it’s probably somewhere in the middle and not directly comparable to another meat. Like venison

    in response to If someone designed a plant-based meat-substitute that was supposed to taste like human meat, would you try it?

    It's clearly *somewhat* comparable, because multiple cannibals have cited veal and pork.

  27. I'm working on a video essay that ties together Seasons 2 and 3 of Bojack Horseman with Capitalist Realism (mostly chapter 6, All That is Solid Melts into PR). I want to talk about the significance of three different plotlines, and my current structure introduces the plotlines, then the theory, and then ties them to the theory. Should I change that ordering?

    Either order can work, depending on how you write it. Not seeing your script or knowing the outline, I can't speak to which is superior. But if I were trying to tackle the same idea, I would probably do what you're doing - start with the plotlines, then discuss the theory, then tie them together. (That's literally the structure of my video on The Beginner's Guide and narrative theory.) BoJack is your pop-culture hook that gets people to watch, so it's sensible to start there.

  28. Be interesting and broke?

    in response to Be boring or make money?

    apparently

  29. This is a different mythical creature, but like would a dryad or treant count as vegan? I feel like the answer is technically yes but the ethics of eating a sentient thing becomes the bigger priority in whether you chow down on it.

    in response to What if mermaid meat was vegan?

    I'm a vegan, not a termite

  30. I was being cheeky when I asked but I think the options are: a) mermaids are plants or b) some people argue that consensual cannibalism would be vegan since it doesn't involve eating an animal against their will, so while this seems like an unpopular hot take and a stretch to me, if you can get on board with it for people than it would apply to other sentient life

    in response to What if mermaid meat was vegan?

    I feel like "restaurant says this meat is mermaid" is dubious enough before adding "restaurant says mermaid consented to being eaten"

  35. why are the characters in The VeggieTales called the VeggieTales? they do not have tails
    they should be called "the Veggies" or "the Vegetables"

  36. Be boring or make money?

    no

  37. As a vegan, does it ever bother you to eat meals with others who are not vegan/do not adhere to a vegan menu?

    I don't like being around meat when it's being consumed, but it's not really feasible to live my life not being around it, so I deal.

  39. What is the most recent emoji you sent before reading this question

    three hearts

  40. If a restaurant claimed to serve seafood dishes made of mermaid meat, would you be curious enough to want to try it out?

    I'm vegan

  42. Which are better: Christmas songs, or Halloween songs?

    Halloween

  43. What process led you to that train of thought?

    in response to Thoughts about carcinization?

    I don't discuss my process

  44. I might be mistaken but I think you've played hyper light drifter. If you did, did you like it?

    I own it but haven't played it yet. I'm really intrigued but it's... daunting.

  45. I will say, the whole Butch-Fabienne thing is kinda weird because in every scene outside of the one you bring up, they’re actually in a relatively healthy relationship, as far as I know (haven’t seen Pulp Fiction), so that seen is literally just weird of our off place in every aspect.

    in response to Do you think that any part of your opinion has changed since you wrote this?

    the abuse cycle always has a honeymoon phase

  46. How does one tell if applying a certain lens to something illuminates it?

    in response to Are visual novels adventures games?

    ...I don't feel like anyone can tell you whether you are having interesting thoughts

  47. Thoughts about carcinization?

    I was literally thinking about carcinization at the grocery store today. Like, what if creatures on other planets are so wildly dissimilar from Earth life that they are, by our standards, barely recognizable as alive, but somewhere in their oceans there are crabs?!

  49. How did the term “relitigate the primaries” come about?

    in response to I really hope that someone, whether you or any other leftists, perform a post-mortem on Bernie's campaign to see what we can learn from its failure The idea that "DNC screws Bernie over" isn't exactly wrong, but I've seen so many online leftists using that as an excuse to be complacent in their little online radical bubble

    I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory. People kept trying to relitigate the primaries.

  50. Do you think that any part of your opinion has changed since you wrote this?

    in response to Thoughts on Pulp Fiction?

    I would add that Tarantino getting flak for dropping the n-word being followed by him suddenly writing movies about Nazis and slavers so that there's a thematic justification for dropping lots of slurs is highly suspect

    his tendency to write women he can brutalize also calls his feminist bona fides into question

  51. Although we live in a world of capitalism, wouldn't it be bearable or acceptable for now to see a collaboration between entrepreneurs that could built better communities first?

    Should we ensure that entrepreneurs show us that they are building their own businesses not because they wanna earn more, but to help build better communities?

    And that entrepreneurs are actually about building leaderships & foster more partnerships with their respective communities?

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGzcZGcjBZ1/?igshid=1i480lb1bpopy

    people who build businesses to make better communities are in competition with people who build them to maximize profits, and the ones who maximize profits will eventually overtake the market because the market isn't driven by ethics, it's driven by profit

  53. at the rate humanity is going, we will exhaust our remaining supply of depression in the next two decades and then humans will no longer be able to be depressed

    36 years of experience tells me depression is a renewable resource

  54. *Always remember to Spay and Neuter, you pets!

    Ok so what livestock would you adopt as a pet, assuming you had the space and finances?

    in response to If everyone became vegan, what would we do with the leftover animals?

    I would adopt MOST farm animals, honestly. I would LOVE a pet pig. And if I had room for a cow?! Holy shit. Chickens, goats, even alpacas - I'll take em. Give them to me. Why are you keeping them from me, anon?!

  55. I question if 50's capitalism was less brutal. Less brutal to certain white americans perhaps.

    in response to Idk, is there a poll or other evidence that suggests anti capitalism is really in a majority? I mean, I get saying policies like green new deal, marijuana legalisation, public medical care, are supported by a majority but I dont think you can really say the same for a socialist revolution? Due to the extent of propaganda, at least

    50's capitalism wasn't GOOD for women and minorities, but "things didn't get worse for women and minorities under Reagan" is a helluva take.

  57. What do you think Bernie should have done to run a better campaign? I might just be ignorant but i didn't really notice anything about biden's campaign that was better than the way bernie was running it.

    in response to "why didnt bernie win the primaries?" can we stop asking this question? there was a fucking pandemic and our government exploited that to empower voter suppression.

    Biden didn't need to court the Black vote because he had a lot of credibility with Black voters for having been Obama's VP. Similarly, Clinton didn't need to court the Black vote as strongly because the previous Clinton had courted it aggressively in the 90's and her relation to him gave her credibility. The fact that Clinton promoted the superpredators myth and Biden helped write the mass incarceration bill were both things that could've been used against them.

    I don't know the ins and outs of running a campaign, but I've read people who do who point out Sanders' repeated failure to court the very demographics he's trying to represent. Like a lot of leftists, he has a "you gotta come to me" attitude, and it gives him the perception of integrity that makes him popular with young, idealistic voters but it doesn't win elections.

  58. Why do politicians never learn anything when they lose? (i.e Nominating Biden after Clinton's loss and Bernie's 2020 campaign)

    Let us once again clarify that the DNC didn't "nominate" Biden, Biden ran for office and got more votes. We can talk about how the DNC clearly rallied around him in a way they very pointedly did not for any other candidates and were specifically hostile to Sanders, but they don't unilaterally choose their candidates.

    As for why they rallied around Biden: because Biden is like them and Sanders is in many ways in opposition to them, and if Sanders and The Squad are the direction the Democratic Party goes, they all know their days are numbered. They would rather lose an election than pave the way for their own irrelevance.

    That is my abiding feeling, anyway.

  59. Why is "Bernie is fallible/prone to making mistakes/not perfect" such a hot take among some leftist spheres though? Like, wouldn't admitting Bernie had weaknesses and assessing them help the left in the hypothetical next election?

    in response to why do we have to say that it's one thing? Bernie ran a fallible campaign that failed to win over many existing voters and relied too heavily on bringing in new voters + an entrenched system of voter suppression made it difficult, even before the pandemic, for the groups that would benefit most from Bernie's policies to vote in the elections + the DNC and the corporate media willfully generated conditions of political hostility towards the Bernie campaign + the pandemic complicated voting further and made it more difficult for Bernie's base to vote for him and for their votes to be counted when they did vote each and every one of these things can be true at the same time

    because, during the primaries, criticizing Sanders is seen as working against his campaign, and, as he's our best shot at getting universal healthcare, you are LITERALLY ADVOCATING FOR THE DEATHS OF MILLIONS

    and then, after he loses, criticizing Sanders is criticizing the movement that rallied around him, which is LITERALLY OPPRESSING THE WORKING CLASS

  60. I'm looking to get into Korean cinema from, say, the last 20 years. I'm already familiar with the big names like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan Wook, but I'd love to hear some recommendations of more obscure Korean directors.

    I... I don't know why you think I would be versed in Korean cinema.

  61. Why is Teddy "Banana Republic" Roosevelt arguably good? Asking as a non-American

    Pulled us out of the Great Depression with broad-sweeping and extremely anti-corporate, pro-worker economic policies which directly led to The Boom Years. The New Deal is our greatest example of how more socialized systems not only improve lives but actually outperform privatized ones in terms of prosperity.

    Of course, like most people who seek power, he was also kind of trash. But we got better stuff out of him than most Presidents.

  62. Are visual novels adventures games?

    if you want them to be, sure! genre is not a natural phenomenon, it's a human classification system with somewhat arbitrary boundaries. if applying the lens of the adventure game to VNs illuminates them, then use it!

  63. I really hope that someone, whether you or any other leftists, perform a post-mortem on Bernie's campaign to see what we can learn from its failure The idea that "DNC screws Bernie over" isn't exactly wrong, but I've seen so many online leftists using that as an excuse to be complacent in their little online radical bubble

    in response to "why didnt bernie win the primaries?" can we stop asking this question? there was a fucking pandemic and our government exploited that to empower voter suppression.

    I've had thoughts and opinions I've wanted to go into about the symbology of the 2016 Clinton and Sanders campaigns and how they relate to the legacy of Obama, and, four years later, that unavoidably seeps into the 2020 Sanders, Warren, and Biden campaigns, but CHRIST does relitigating the primaries sound miserable.

  64. is the plural of toothbrush "teethbrushes" or "toothbrushees"?

    "gaggle"

  66. why do we have to say that it's one thing? Bernie ran a fallible campaign that failed to win over many existing voters and relied too heavily on bringing in new voters + an entrenched system of voter suppression made it difficult, even before the pandemic, for the groups that would benefit most from Bernie's policies to vote in the elections + the DNC and the corporate media willfully generated conditions of political hostility towards the Bernie campaign + the pandemic complicated voting further and made it more difficult for Bernie's base to vote for him and for their votes to be counted when they did vote

    each and every one of these things can be true at the same time

    in response to "why didnt bernie win the primaries?" can we stop asking this question? there was a fucking pandemic and our government exploited that to empower voter suppression.

    I agree, I just need it on the record that the effects of DNC/media hostility towards Sanders has been wildly inflated and this failings as a campaigner are often ignored

    the people who would benefit most from his policies are the most suppressed (though I'll point out they are suppressed primarily - though not exclusively - by conservative politicians, and take issue with the implication the DNC was principally behind it), but are also exactly the people he has failed to do outreach to in two consecutive campaigns. I am of the opinion Bernie could have won in 2016 and/or 2020 if he actually courted the Black vote, and even his Squad endorsements were things his staff had to pressure him into asking for.

  67. Can hispanic people be white, and if they are, are they no longer a minority? For example: both of my parents are Venezuelan, and so are their parents, and so on and so forth, and I even have lebanese heritage, but for all intents and purposes, I am the most cracker-ass looking mofo you've ever seen.

    So, okay, let me get the caveats out of the way first:

    - I am an unambiguously white American. This is a subject I know a bit about because I'm invested in it, and I can tell you the arguments I've heard and where I, personally, come down on the subject. But it is vital that you not treat me like an authority.

    - Spaniards are Hispanic, and obviously they can be white, they're literal Europeans, but I'm going to narrow our focus to Latin America.

    So: can Latin Americans be white? Yes and no.

    The argument for yes goes like this: race is a social construct created by white people for their own benefit, in which power and privilege is doled out based on skin color and heritage. If white people perceive you as white, you get those benefits, regardless of your actual lineage or identification. Therefore, if you are treated as white, you functionally are.

    The argument for no goes like this: saying that lightskinned Latin-Americans are white is erasing the literal centuries of Latin-Americans being pillaged, enslaved, and slaughtered by Europeans because the Europeans *said they weren't white*, and a primary reason lightskinned Latin-Americans exist is because their ancestors were raped by white Europeans. Passing privilege does not change your identity or your history.

    And this opens up the whole can of worms about mixed-race families: when you have one white parent and one Black parent, and you are light enough that white people think you're white but your sibling is darker and looks Black to white people, are you and your sibling different races now?

    To what extent is race determined by perception and to what extent is it determined by actual history and experience?

    My feeling is that, functionally, there are categories of people who are conditionally white. Since race exists solely because racism exists, it seems clear to me that, if white people don't think you're white, you ain't white. Call yourself whatever you want, you will never be treated as white. And if you're a light-skinned Venezuelan or biracial, you may get the white treatment, but only until such time that your history is revealed. If a klansman finds out you're Venezuelan, you're gonna stop being white in a hurry.

    Technically, since whiteness is malleable and can be redefined on the fly, *all* white people are conditionally white; white supremacy will find a reason to revoke your whiteness if they need to. But, at this moment in time, *my* whiteness is secure in a way your putative whiteness is not. And I think any discussion of you being a cracker-ass mofo needs to account for that.

  68. Do you think the Republicans would have changed more according to social mores if they didn't have the electoral college, and actually had to go hunting for voters in new places?

    no, they would have looked for other ways to cheat the system

    conservatism is an inherently antidemocratic institution, they don't stay in power by looking for voters

  69. What would you say are the key differences between a democratic socialist and a social democrat?

    social democrats are capitalists
    democratic socialists are anticapitalists

  70. Thoughts on Scream and Scream 2?

    they pretty good

  71. "why didnt bernie win the primaries?"

    can we stop asking this question? there was a fucking pandemic and our government exploited that to empower voter suppression.

    in response to If thats really true why didnt bernie win the primaries? I think you are the one underestimating how much people hate socialism in this country.

    oh my god, before the pandemic he was already functionally out of the race, he lost because he didn't get enough votes, same as last time, because he thinks having good policy is the same as running a good campaign

    stop inventing DNC conspiracies and accept that Bernie is fallible, I'm begging you

  72. If capitalism is so bad, then why is my life good? Checkmate commies.

    the insidious thing about capitalism is the inverse doesn't work.

    "if capitalism is so good, then why is my life bad?"
    "because you're bad at capitalism."

    capitalism has a rationalization for human suffering built into it.

  73. Are you tall or small

    yes

  74. Why do conservative figureheads lean into the "facts" aesthetic especially when spouting very obviously factually incorrect information? Why would someone loudly dishonest draw attention to themselves this way?

    Because it works. Their philosophy is "facts are whatever I say they are." They insist reality can be refused and replaced with ideology. That is deeply appealing to people who don't like reality.

    It's not about facts. It's about power.

  75. What do you think is the primary cause for endless civil war in the Middle East and (formerly) in the Horn of Africa? Don't worry, this ain't one of THOSE Qs, the answer ain't "inferior culture" or some other racist dogwhistle.

    centuries of being colonized and plundered for resources by other nations creates a lot of instability

Anon commented:
Ian replied: