CuriousCat Archive Page 8 of 202

  1. What's the most mainstream game you've played?

    Pac-Man

  2. Was Hitler a sinner? He didn’t personally break any of the 10 commandments or the 7 deadly sins as far as I’m aware.

    this is fascinating idea of religion. is God a lawyer? God says "thou shalt not steal" and I say "okay I'ma pay this atheist to steal for me" and God says "oh, you got me there!" God says "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" so I only fuck wives in the next town over. Wrath is a sin so I beat people VERY CALMLY.

    yeah, yeah, I'm sure an omniscient being who sees your every action and knows your inner thoughts is very easily fooled.

  4. Pong or Porn?

    in response to TF2 or Overwatch?

    Porng

  5. I'm wondering: What does it actually mean for a nation to be dissolved? What if when people say they want Israel to be dissolved, they want so many fundamental changes to the structure and makeup of the region that the end result is borderline indistinguishable from the Israel of today?

    in response to What does the phrase “anti-Zionist” meant to you? Wouldn’t all anti-Zionist citizens of Israel want their own country to be dissolved by definition? Unless you mean that they’re our best option to reach a middle-ground of radically changing Israel without going so far as to erase it entirely.

    I don't know what their PLAN is, but they usually imply disbanding the government, displacing the people, and giving the land to someone else.

  6. TF2 or Overwatch?

    in response to TF2 or TF2?

    Pong

  7. Is it weird that I’m experiencing the same toxic recursion of going to communities to get upset that you described in HTRAN, but with leftist groups instead? With Twitter tankies and campists. I could just block them but I keep coming back to them to get pissed off.

    I recommend you not do that!

  8. Is what’s happening in Gaza 100% undeniably a genocide? Is there room for debate? What’s happening is atrocious of course but the atomic bombings of Japan were also a war crime and they’re not considered a genocide.

    The Hague has declared it a genocide. I don't know how you get a more authoritative answer than that.

  10. What do you think of India?

    pointy

  11. Since most of Gen Z is anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine, is it now "the courageous thing to do" to be a Zionist supporting the existence of Israel?

    this is like when celebrity comedians think it's courageous to make fun of trans people because a few other celebrity comedians say you shouldn't. the trans people are having their rights legislated away and the edgy comedians are literally siding with cops, but sure! they're REBELLING against AUTHORITY because some of their peers scolded them!

    Israel is supported by the government and military of the most powerful nation on the planet. it is more courageous to stand up to that than some genderfluid tweens.

  12. TF2 or TF2?

    TF1.5

  13. Did you collect Pokémon cards as a kid?

    no, I collected Marvel cards. still have a full set of '94 Fleer Ultras, which unfortunately have NOT appreciated in value.

  14. when will you wear wigs.

    in response to WILL you wear wigs?

    *shrieks with laughter*

  15. Are Black people who immigrant to America from African countries today not considered African-Americans? Is it only for people whose ancestors were slaves?

    in response to Can Elon Musk call himself African-American?

    I dunno the rules here, but, like, "Italian-American" is for descendents of Italian immigrants, the immigrants themselves are just Italians in America. "African-American" is a more complex term, and I dunno if, like, first-generation children of Ethiopian immigrants use a different term from descendents of enslaved Africans.

    neither definition applies to Elon.

  17. WILL you wear wigs?

    in response to have you worn wigs?

    mayyyybe

  18. Diff Anon:
    IDK, feel like an unsettling number of USicans believe apartheid (or worse) is definitional to US.

    in response to What does the phrase “anti-Zionist” meant to you? Wouldn’t all anti-Zionist citizens of Israel want their own country to be dissolved by definition? Unless you mean that they’re our best option to reach a middle-ground of radically changing Israel without going so far as to erase it entirely.

    yes yes you're very clever but nobody thinks the US ceased to exist when it freed the enslaved

  19. Can Elon Musk call himself African-American?

    ...you know he wasn't born here, right? he can call himself African.

  20. How do you feel about Republicans like Mike Pence that have since distanced themselves from Trump?

    you know that thing in Inglorious Bastards where they carve swastikas into Nazis' foreheads so they can never take off the uniform and pretend like they weren't Nazis?

  21. have you worn wigs?

    in response to do you wear wigs?

    no I have not

  22. What does the phrase “anti-Zionist” meant to you? Wouldn’t all anti-Zionist citizens of Israel want their own country to be dissolved by definition? Unless you mean that they’re our best option to reach a middle-ground of radically changing Israel without going so far as to erase it entirely.

    in response to You’ve said before that you’ve been cautious about calling for the end of Israel since you could place your lot with the people who want all the Jews living there to be eradicated. I also remember you saying something like how it’s suspicious when people call for Israel to dissolved specifically as opposed to other settler-colonial states, and that Israel was founded to protect a people that have been uniquely discriminated against throughout history.

    why would it mean they want their own home dissolved? America used to be a slave nation; now it's not. it underwent a radical transformation thanks to the abolitionists within. they didn't ask America to cease existing, and we don't imagine "America wouldn't really be America if it ended slavery." let's not pretend apartheid is definitional to Israel.

  23. Do you have a go-to ice cream truck order preference? (obviously non-dairy treats are included, or you can answer with a pre-veganism preference if you feel more strongly about that. Gas stations with chest freezers count as "ice cream trucks" for this question).

    used to love a creamsicle

    vegan ice cream truck in Providence had chocolate soft serve and I'd get it with strawberry sauce

  24. favorite mollusk? doesn't have to be a species, could be a broad category

    octopus

  25. do you wear wigs?

    no I do not

  26. You’ve said before that you’ve been cautious about calling for the end of Israel since you could place your lot with the people who want all the Jews living there to be eradicated. I also remember you saying something like how it’s suspicious when people call for Israel to dissolved specifically as opposed to other settler-colonial states, and that Israel was founded to protect a people that have been uniquely discriminated against throughout history.

    in response to (Different anon) are you an anti-Zionist now?

    I do not call for the dissolution of Israel. I also condemn the Zionist project, and Israel's status as an apartheid ethnostate. I believe Israel needs to be radically transformed by its own anti-Zionist citizens.

    and I have never defended Israel's self-proclaimed status as a place "founded to protect a people that have been uniquely discriminated against." that is a Zionist argument. the Jews deserve peace and recovery and probably a shitload of reparations; that does NOT entitle them to their own settler-colonial state that gets to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing. I cannot BELIEVE I have to draw that distinction.

  28. Is there a benefit to monarchy if it means that the kings and queens are prepared for the position since birth?

    lololol, no

  30. Do you think this is a fair representation of the discussion about whether to vote for Kamala considering her stance on Gaza? https://x.com/twopecple/status/1815937842909950180

    god I hate these people

  31. Is a vote for Kamala a vote for genocide?

    there do not seem to be any "no genocide" votes. a vote for Kamala seems like the genocide might end faster than it would under Biden or Trump, but that's hardly empirical evidence; maybe she gives more of a shit about public polling than Biden, or maybe she thinks being hawkish with the military will counter the people expecting her to be "soft." maybe Trump would prove too ineffectual to keep supporting Israel and would stop funding them on a whim. I genuinely don't know anymore.

  33. Firefox or Chrome?

    Firefox on desktop, Chrome from my phone

  34. You are given the power to permanently delete one social media platform (use your best judgement for what counts as a social media platform). Which do you choose?

    ugh, I dunno. like, Zuckerberg is probably the one who needs to be stopped the most? but he owns multiple platforms at this point, and I don't think I can argue Meta counts as a platform. so I guess it's Twitter. get rid of Twitter and maybe Mastodon would liven up a bit.

  35. Can you help me either feel more excited about a Kamala Harris presidency, or more content with my lack of excitement? In terms of policy, is she any different from Joe Biden?

    I think we can probably accomplish better things under Harris than we could under Biden, I think she has a better shot of winning the election, and I think Biden is UNIQUELY incapable of budging on Gaza so we might get SOMEWHERE with a changing of the guard. for all these reasons, I am relieved Biden stepped down.

    that is a far cry from excited. Kamala Harris is a fucking cop who treated inmates as slave labor and denied incarcerated trans people their hormones and still broadly supports Zionism.

  36. What do you think about the Liberty Bell being desecrated, most likely forever?

    *rubs temples*

    that is a replica. the Liberty Bell is in Philadelphia.

  37. Thoughts on Asguard?

    in response to Thoughts on Astoria?

    is that, like, wearing your athletic cup backwards? is that how Kriss Kross played soccer?

  38. Thoughts on Arcadia?

    in response to Thoughts on Astoria?

    size indeterminate

  39. Diff Anon:
    I believe in your ability to gain a bigger butt!! One more rep, bro!!!! Maximus those Gluteus!!!!!!!

    in response to You are an ass

    an ass bigger than Astoria is too much. even Sir Mixalot would say "whoa buddy."

  40. Diff Anon:
    How many people have told you to give up the Cat for your creative ambitions?

    in response to Ever written fanfiction?

    is that what you're saying? if so, one.

  42. You are an ass

    even smaller!

  43. Thoughts on Astoria?

    in response to Thoughts on Austria?

    even smaller

  44. I've heard the narrative that "America isn't ready for a black woman president", and that Kamala Harris has more of an uphill battle than a white man in her position would.

    But do you think that the people who voted for Hillary Clinton would not vote for Kamala because she's not white? Or that people who disliked Hillary enough to not vote in 2016 would also not vote in this election?

    what I remember is the 2012 reelection campaign for Obama, where all the discourse afterward was that the only reason he won is that he turned out the minority vote. that the usual body of Democratic voters wouldn't have been enough to swing the election, but such a high number of POC came out on election day. and there was all this hand-wringing about how minorities were now a large enough chunk of the population, and politically motivated, that they could swing an election; all these white pundits saying POC were the new swing vote, the new battleground, that really THEY were gonna decide the elections because there were enough of them to make a real difference, and everyone else was so entrenched.

    so Dems have run nothing but white people since. obviously.

    Kamala being a Black woman is gonna suppress CERTAIN voters. leave room in your thoughts for the people it motivates.

  45. You can't K Gyllenhaal, he's making a Fun Home movie with himself as Bruce.

    in response to Michael Keaton, Jake Gyllenhaal, or Willem Dafoe

    you want me to K Batman? you want me to K Nosferatu? get real.

  46. Ever written fanfiction?

    have an outline for a really good one but where is the time to write it???

  47. Where do tankies come from?

    well when two tanks - usually at least a Patton series with Chobham armor and a gun caliber of at least 105mm - love each other very much

  48. If you had to work as a door-to-door salesperson, what product would you sell?

    cunnilingus

  50. Michael Keaton, Jake Gyllenhaal, or Willem Dafoe

    F: Dafoe
    M: Keaton
    K: Gyllenhaal

  52. Do you think the Beatles would have been successful had they come out today?

    I mean, they probably would've written different songs if they came out today, cuz they would've been raised on an entirely different generation of music. but they still would've been three brilliant songwriters and a funny drummer.

  53. Thoughts on Austria?

    in response to Thoughts on Australia?

    smaller

  54. you got games on your phone?

    no, I do not trust myself with that

  55. I'm not sure if the Broken Earth Trilogy can be described as sci-fi novels. There's some prominent fantasy elements in those books. They're almost like a sci-fi fantasy hybrid.

    in response to Your favorite science fiction story/ novel? Your favorite neo-noir/ noir story/ novel?

    it contains sci-fi, which is enough for me to recommend it to people who like sci-fi. I'm not trying to define the limits of canon, I'm trying to recommend good books.

  56. Thoughts on Australia?

    big

  57. How bout favorite sci fi films?
    And favorite neo-noir /noir novels?

    in response to Your favorite science fiction story/ novel? Your favorite neo-noir/ noir story/ novel?

    sci-fi films:
    Don Hertzfeldt's World of Tomorrow trilogy
    Twelve Monkeys
    WALL-E
    Moon
    Primer
    The Abyss
    The Last Jedi
    Coherence
    ...and I'ma throw in some shows to mention Station 11 and Scavengers Reign

    I don't read a lot of crime novels. I'm trying to work through the Easy Rawlins books but it's a medium-effort "check the Mystery section of the bookstore" project and it's VERY hard to find them in order. China Mieville's The City & The City is a great mix of neo-noir and weird fiction.

  58. Your favorite science fiction story/ novel?
    Your favorite neo-noir/ noir story/ novel?

    some favorite sci-fi novels:
    Broken Earth Trilogy, by NK Jemison
    The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders
    Embassytown, by China Mieville
    Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany

    some favorite neo-noirs:
    Point Blank
    Night Moves
    Blow Out
    Blood Simple
    Memories of Murder
    Brick
    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    Motherless Brooklyn

  59. Diff Anon:
    My peer is veering into kingmaking. But, like- - -how DOES society recognize and elevate expertise without creating a mechanism by which power can be calcified? It seems tricky.

    in response to Why couldn’t we all benefit if the right people are in charge? I’m not saying we should go back to monarchy but I do think there is a benefit to having the most educated people in power, provided they prove themselves worthy. Even Lenin agreed. A completely flat power structure could give too much power to foolish or rash people.

    this presumes that a) expertise is rare, and b) expertise needs to be elevated

    I would argue that expertise is only "special" because the opportunity to become an expert is so rare and our society only makes room for a few. there are things that only a handful of generational talents will ever excel at - only a few hundred people understand M-Theory; there was only one Babe Ruth. I don't think a lateral society would have trouble recognizing greatness in science or baseball; a great scientist influences a lot of research and a great ballplayer wins a lot of games. my concern is how many people never get the opportunity to be scientists or ballplayers, how much untapped excellence is still out there.

    in concrete terms: what types of excellence are you worried will disappear if we didn't have hierarchical structures to reward them? I am drawing a blank.

  60. (DDA) More like "Israel's civilian casualties cannot be divorced from the overwhelming generational trauma of the Jewish people." Trauma totally unlike that of any other race or religion (before you try to argue otherwise). Also "The only alternative to doing nothing, is war."

    in response to (DA) Also, there's a bait-and-switch between the idea that "some civilians will, inevitably, die in war" and "therefore, we cannot criticize any civilian casualties". Even if we concede the first, you're still obligated to at least minimize the number of dead/displaced civilians.

    "it's okay for people who've been genocided to commit genocide" fuck outta here

  62. Why couldn’t we all benefit if the right people are in charge? I’m not saying we should go back to monarchy but I do think there is a benefit to having the most educated people in power, provided they prove themselves worthy. Even Lenin agreed. A completely flat power structure could give too much power to foolish or rash people.

    in a flat power structure there wouldn't be "most educated people." why would education be doled out unevenly? what possible system could be created to make sure the "better" people are put in power that won't be corrupted by people who want to stay in power? what possible category of people can be relied on not to be rash or foolish, especially when the it's possible for their power to be taken away?

    flat structures still have checks and balances. there are still means for overruling bad ideas. it doesn't mean you can't allow people with bad ideas a voice. I mean, I think YOUR idea is bad, but I'm still listening to it.

  63. What's the difference between anarchism and anarcho-communism?

    anarchism is the umbrella concept, and within that are anarch-communism and anarcho-capitalism

    anarcho-capitalism is such a bullshit concept and so broadly unpopular that, most of the time, you say "anarchism" and people will assume you mean anarcho-communism

  64. well we know you're not a real comrade. REAL comrades know it's fully automated luxury gay space communism

    in response to What would a left-wing Project 2025 ideally be?

    shit dawg I'm sorry

  65. Do you think if Trump won he could figure out a way to get around the term limit after his second tenure is up? He already tried to delay the 2020 election because of COVID.

    in response to Why didn't Republicans adopt Project 2025 decades ago? There's nothing there that they haven't always wanted..

    I don't think he'd need any particularly strategy, he just needs the Republicans to back him up and the Democrats to sit back clucking their tongues. if he's got that, he won't even make a good excuse.

  66. Will AI now enter the US Presidential race?

    I would be down for any I at this point

  67. What would a left-wing Project 2025 ideally be?

    fully-automated gay space luxury communism

  68. okay so i want you to think about who is your ideal pick for the new presidential nomination, a person who would really make you excited to vote for them.

    okay, forget about that, who's the funniest possible person to run instead of joe?

    someone on Twitter said the best reason to vote for Harris is how fucking FURIOUS it would make Hillary, and, you know what? that's the funniest reason ever.

  69. Is social democracy a subset of liberalism?

    ...hmm. I think... I think so? it's an interesting question.

    basically, social democracy is a kind of compromise between socialism and liberalism, but I would say, of the two, it probably falls under the umbrella of liberalism and not socialism. that's, ultimately, my opinion, but I'd say that's why liberal politicians can float socially democratic policies and have it be tolerated by their parties, while expressly anticapitalist policies are career suicide.

  70. Why didn't Republicans adopt Project 2025 decades ago? There's nothing there that they haven't always wanted..

    in response to As a cis het white dude, would you personally benefit from Project 2025 being implemented?

    yeah, I feel like I'm missing something with all the doomsaying. Project 2025 seems like... just the Republican Party platform since the 80's? like, it's wild that they're saying it out loud, and some of it is more amped up than before, but, like, most of it is just reverting to what laws used to be in the 50's. people saying it will institute a fascist dictatorship... I mean... some of this was the Democrats' position not that long ago???

    I dunno, I'm not saying Trump WOULDN'T dissolve the Senate and execute his opponents, but it's weird that Project 2025 is being treated like the smoking gun for that. don't get me wrong, it's BAD, but it's weird for Republicans do just admit what they've always been working towards and have everyone act like it's this shocking twist. we fuckin' warned you, dudes.

  71. What do you think the October surprise this year will be? Alien invasion?

    god I hope so

  72. No, but I wouldn't think that would be a barrier?

    in response to Am I missing something when it comes to the appeal of Chappell Roan's music? Like, it's not bad by any means, but I can't get to the level of appreciation that a lot of her fans say they have. Or I'm just misunderstanding what that level of appreciation is.

    not a BARRIER, exactly, but Good Luck, Babe is about a queer girl in a situationship with a closeted woman, and if that's something that's happened to you, it will make you fucking SOB. the reason she's tearing up the charts right now is because she's found that audience and is serving it EXQUISITELY.

  73. How would you feel if the Democrats ran Jimmy Carter again?

    did he ever get his peanut farm back? would he have to divest from it twice?

  74. If there was a senator, governor, or house rep (or former one of all three) you could pick to replace Biden, who would you pick? And which one do you think has the best chance?

    probably Sanders. it would be such a baller move.

  75. What's stopping people from voting for a third party?

    people have enough working knowledge of elections to make third-party voting seem like a high-risk option with basically nonexistent rewards.

    on paper, the electoral process SOUNDS LIKE "everyone should vote for who they believe in, and if lots of people believe in a third party candidate, then that's the person who'll win."

    in practice, everyone knows that the third party candidate is going to appeal to one ends of the political spectrum and not the other. a Green Party candidate is going to appeal to the Left, a Libertarian candidate is going to appeal to the Right. which means, if you're on the Left, voting for the Green candidate means NOT voting for the Democrat candidate. and, odds are, if you CAN'T have the Green candidate, you'd almost certainly prefer the Democrat to the Republican. same for the Right: if they CAN'T have the Libertarian, they'd prefer the Republican to the Democrat. everyone knows that voting their top pick cuts into the votes of their backup candidate, and splitting that vote can guarantee NEITHER candidate succeeds and gives the win to their bottom pick.

    everyone knows this. everyone does these calculations in their head. this is WHY our electoral system has always trended towards two Parties. two Parties is the optimal strategy for winner-take-all elections.

    if we were to switch to Approval Voting or Runoff Elections or something else, third parties would be viable. in the current system, voting third party does more to help your worst-case option than your preferred candidate.

Anon commented:
Ian replied: