CuriousCat Archive Page 83 of 202

  1. Any Good Words that more people should know?

    bulwark

  3. Isn’t there tension between a dictatorship of the proletariat and achieving the goals of returning all indigenous land to natives?

    indigenous people in the Americas are overwhelmingly proles, so no

  4. How can we improve anything in the US against the US government's wishes if the US government is willing to use military equipment against its own citizens?

    in response to Do you think the US military would go so far as to weaponize drones against the American populace in the event of a civil war? Or, more specifically, would the drone operators be willing to follow orders to maim or kill Americans within the States?

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  5. you- you mean that, chum?

    in response to im not your friend, buddy

    ¡claro que si, amige!

  6. Do you think the US military would go so far as to weaponize drones against the American populace in the event of a civil war? Or, more specifically, would the drone operators be willing to follow orders to maim or kill Americans within the States?

    "would the US government use military equipment on its own citizens" is not a question we should still be asking post-Ferguson

  9. You know that rainbow painted homeless spikes picture? I just found out it's photoshopped. I feel like a portion of the left that hates "woke capitalism" sees it more than it really exists.

    in response to have you ever noticed a difference between leftists who used to be liberals and leftists who used to be conservative? its obviously not 100% but something im starting to notice is that the latter group still seems to rlly hate libs, not just be annoyed/frustrated with them. i'm glad that leftism has grown a lot in the past couple years, but the "anti idpol/cosmopolitan politeness" sentiments seem to be growing within it as well. any advice on how to handle that?

    I agree, but, again, this is anecdotal evidence.

  10. Can you think up another synonym for nerd, dweeb

    in response to answer the question, geek

    I sure as hell can't, friend!

  11. What's something most people should Google at least once?

    tubgirl

  12. Do you think it is then necessary for the left to take at least some precautions in preparation for a potential civil war, like the more extreme parts of the right certainly are? Or is that scenario too unrealistic, or would such preparations do more harm than good? Or are they already being taken and I'm not aware of them?

    in response to This hypothetical scenario sounds like the precursor to a civil war, which Dems/Libs/Lefties are at a disadvantage because the US Armed Forces are not known for being a bastion of progressive thought.

    There are definitely a lot of hard left and anarchist preppers in the US, stockpiling weapons and supplies in case of war or economic collapse. But I don't think it's happening to the degree that we could say the Left is "prepared." I don't really know what prepping for that kind of war would look like, because we have the most overstuffed military in the world, and the war is pretty much immediately decided by which side the military chooses. I don't think we can "prep" for drone warfare.

  13. What would you teach if you were a college professor?

    Oh, I'd probably grab some weird lecture classes on, like, esoteric film theory or early web culture.

  14. have you ever noticed a difference between leftists who used to be liberals and leftists who used to be conservative? its obviously not 100% but something im starting to notice is that the latter group still seems to rlly hate libs, not just be annoyed/frustrated with them. i'm glad that leftism has grown a lot in the past couple years, but the "anti idpol/cosmopolitan politeness" sentiments seem to be growing within it as well. any advice on how to handle that?

    Your theory is intriguing, but I wonder how accurate it is? Not that I'm questioning it, I just haven't seen any demographic data of how much of r/stupidpol used to be conservative and how much used to be liberal. I hesitate to base analysis on anecdotal evidence, you know? But I think you might be onto something.

    As for what to do with anti-SJ leftists: believe me, they are a huge bugbear of mine, and if I knew what to do with them I'd never shut up about it.

  15. Is it worthwhile to have some empathy with your political opponents? By empathy, I mean honestly trying to think about why they believe what they believe, even if what they believe is horrible. I think Contrapoints is extremely good at this, but she gets a lot of criticism for it. I think people are afraid the will agree with their opponents if they think this way, so that prevents people from doing it more often.

    I also put a lot of effort into thinking about why people believe the horrible things they believe. I think Nat gets more shit for it because a) she tends to engage more directly with them, and b) she's much more famous and far less privileged so both fans and detractors hold her to harsher standards. But I think it's possible to get inside a person's head without running the risk of adopting their beliefs or boosting their profile.

  16. Do you think it's appropriate to talk about a non-binary (AMAB) person perpetuating toxic masculinity, or does that just reinforce the gender binary?

    I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, to be clear. I'm just asking you because this has been rattling around in my head ever since I heard your remark about Zoe Quinn's harassment being misogynistic despite the fact that they are NB.

    well, those are things that can only be discussed with the proper nuance among members of the trans and NB community, of which I am no a part. among the trans people I know, they find that elements of toxic masculinity and male privilege tend to follow masculine presentation more than sex assigned at birth - i.e. a certain deference given to trans men after they transition. but I have, like, NO IDEA how widespread this is or to what degree being socialized as a man during your formative years contributes to other problems. and, given how TERFs latch onto the idea that being AMAB means you are FOREVER A MAN, I am hyper-aware of how such arguments can be used against trans people.

    in short: if it's a thing, it's worth discussing, but precious few cis people have the necessary context to discuss it usefully.

  17. Google results trustworthy enough for trying to understand polyam more?

    you'd be better off following some poly people or reading one of the better poly books. word is Polysecure is good!

  18. "THINK". Didn't a lot of your alt-right playbook vids constantly emphasize that when it comes to destructive people, their intentions usually do not matter?

    in response to So, Peter Coffin #wakawaka

    I don't apply descriptions of how fascism operates to my petty Twitter beefs

  19. So, Peter Coffin #wakawaka

    in response to What would you classify as "grifting" on the Left?

    I still don't know if Peter is properly a grifter because it sometimes seems they THINK they are contributing to The Movement

    but maybe building a cult of personality around leftism while making no meaningful contribution to leftist thought or efforts is grift whether it's intentional or not

  21. why is being unsure about how to pronounce a word or person's name so common in video essays

    it's something we didn't have to worry about in printed essays

  22. This hypothetical scenario sounds like the precursor to a civil war, which Dems/Libs/Lefties are at a disadvantage because the US Armed Forces are not known for being a bastion of progressive thought.

    in response to So, as just an example, with the trend of Republicans just refusing to play ball with Democrats possibly culminating in a Republican Congress refusing to confirm a Democratic President, would it be crossing some kind of line if a D Congress refused to confirm an R President?

    yeah, Trump taking office again after having already staged a coup once also sounds like a precursor to civil war

  23. What would you classify as "grifting" on the Left?

    using leftist signifiers to build a cult of personality while being overall uninvolved or outright obstructionist towards actual leftist movement-building

  24. you ever think about how the litany against fear contains the phrase "little death" which is the literal translation of a french euphemism for orgasm

    cause i think about that a lot

    nerd

  25. Okay, but what if Trump genuinely wins somehow?

    in response to So, as just an example, with the trend of Republicans just refusing to play ball with Democrats possibly culminating in a Republican Congress refusing to confirm a Democratic President, would it be crossing some kind of line if a D Congress refused to confirm an R President?

    let's be honest: Trump didn't genuinely win last time and I frankly don't think it's possible for him to win without voter suppression. fascists don't come to power because the majority supports them. they rig elections, plot coups, or take ceremonial roles and wait for democratically-elected leaders to die.

    but if Trump were to win in a way that's less clear-cut illegitimate, then, strategically, I'm not sure what the best course would be. refusing to confirm might provoke violence, and give him a quick opportunity to eliminate his opposition and take greater control of Congress. not sure what viable alternative there would be; yes, it would be better to impeach him, but that's proven nigh impossible to do and I don't see any way he wins in 2024 that doesn't also involve Dems losing ground in the Senate. so maybe refusing to confirm is the wrong play, but I don't know what the right one is.

    but is it the moral play? absolutely. it would be the right thing to do. and whatever bullshit the Right would pull in response will be something they were planning to do anyway.

  26. So, as just an example, with the trend of Republicans just refusing to play ball with Democrats possibly culminating in a Republican Congress refusing to confirm a Democratic President, would it be crossing some kind of line if a D Congress refused to confirm an R President?

    in response to I was speaking generally, about the Trump admins willingness to do literally anything to stay in power. Up to and including creating a cult of personality that traffics in disinformation and whips its followers into a conspiratorial frenzy that culminates in a literal armed insurrection. I guess what I'm asking is, what responsibility do progressives have to adhere to basic morality and the rule of law against an enemy willing to completely disregard such things in pursuit of power? *Is* there a line, or *must* we win at literally any cost, up to and including the dissolution of our (admittedly failing) democracy?

    well, it would depend, right? it seems highly likely Trump is going to run again, and the Republicans have been undermining voting rights the whole country over, and Trump has demonstrated a willingness to claim he has won even if the numbers say otherwise, and his followers have shown that they will back him up on this (even violently), and the Republican establishment has shown it will tolerate this behavior and some have even bolstered their careers on it

    so there's a non-zero likelihood of Republicans declaring victory for Trump regardless of what the electoral votes say, or in defiance of blatant voter suppression

    in that situation, Dems refusing to confirm Trump would be the only moral action

  27. As a fiction writer willing to write some form of social/political commentary in our fictional works without being on-the-nose and end up amateurish, how can we write something nuanced? Any nuanced examples of fictional works that we may need to refer to? Can we find a right balance between cool fictional elements while people can see and agree to the politics of the fictional work?

    Hmm, maybe it's just an accident of phrasing, but this sounds like you're thinking of your plot/characters/cool elements and your political message as separate things? Myself, any fiction I would write would simply *have* a political message in it because it's an extension of my values. If you approach every element of your story with honesty and a spirit of curiosity (is this something I truly believe? am I repeating an archetype I've seen elsewhere without looking critically at it? do I know what I'm talking about here or should I do more research/get someone else to look at it?) then the politics will just *be there*. And, notably, even when taking these steps doesn't make your story more political, they pretty much always make it better.

  28. no like, the current strike wave, meaning the kelloggs strike and the nabisco strike and the frito-lay strike and the potential iatse strike and the john deere strike and nurses strikes in a couple states and you know, all that and the fact that it all happened in like the past month

    in response to any thoughts on the current strike wave?

    I'm in favor!

  29. Do you have any advice for someone graduating with a theatre degree in an economic downturn?

    consider AmeriCorps?

  30. I was speaking generally, about the Trump admins willingness to do literally anything to stay in power.
    Up to and including creating a cult of personality that traffics in disinformation and whips its followers into a conspiratorial frenzy that culminates in a literal armed insurrection.

    I guess what I'm asking is, what responsibility do progressives have to adhere to basic morality and the rule of law against an enemy willing to completely disregard such things in pursuit of power? *Is* there a line, or *must* we win at literally any cost, up to and including the dissolution of our (admittedly failing) democracy?

    in response to In that case, where's the line? Would the authoritarian tactics the Trump administration employed be justified if used to instead keep progressives in power?

    The problem here is rather a lot can fall under the umbrella of "basic morality and the rule of law," which is why I'd hoped to put things into concrete terms. for instance: I think the stonewalling of Merrick Garland's appointment to the Supreme Court was not an unacceptable tactic, even though conservatives had no moral ground to use it. I think the Dems doing exactly that to Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch would've been justified. (Hell, even Kavanagh.) I also think appointing Garland without Congressional approval on the grounds that the Senate was abdicating its right to approve by refusing to hold a vote would be justified. Neither of these things are, strictly speaking, following "the rule of law," but they are moral.

    The issue I have with Dems is precisely that they conflate "basic morality" with "the rule of law," as though the law is always just. They feel the way to fight rulebreakers is to follow the rules more diligently, but, in moral terms, that's tryign to fight immorality with amorality.

    So, in short: the lines we mustn't cross are moral ones, and the rule of law is more of a strategic option that should be bent or broken as needed in the service of justice.

    I'm sorry if that sounds kinda vague, I can get more specific if you have follow-up questions. :)

  32. Is ignorance a bliss?

    is bliss even a thing

  34. any thoughts on the current strike wave?

    in response to Any thoughts on National Strike Day?

    you mean how every 6 months someone on social media announces a General Strike, they spend a bunch of time trying to do PR for it and get endorsements but never have an answer to the question "how are people supposed to eat while they're not working?" and don't even seem to have consensus on their list of demands, and when the date they announced arrives very little happens, and, if there's any blame placed at all, it's on apathy or failure of figureheads to endorse them or neoliberalism but never any failures of organization on their part, and they repeat all the same mistakes the next time expecting a different outcome?

    I'm, ah... unimpressed.

    though I'll confess, while I find this cycle exhausting, it happens because no one really knows how to organize a General Strike correctly, myself included, so, while it's easy to point out what they're doing wrong, I have only vague, untested ideas as to what they should do instead.

  36. speaking as someone with a major uhhhh spinal problem a good chair is essential
    if you don't already have one you're sure you like, it is worth dropping a good chunk of change on it, and probably consulting with a doctor and a lot of online reviews

    in response to How's your back? Has it gotten better?

    I have an ergonomic chair, but it's probably not the BEST ergonomic chair. we'll see how it goes.

  37. Have you/Are you going to play the new Life is Strange game?

    I'm definitely gonna, but I forgot how dang expensive big budget games are! I could buy like 5 indies for that cheddar!

    (I'll get to it soon.)

  39. Any thoughts on National Strike Day?

    doesn't seem like much happened

  40. What did you mean when you said conservatives believe we need the rich because they’re sharks and they know what to do with their power? Did you mean that sharks tend to shape or influence history and society whereas minnows don’t, and conservatives respect power?

    no, they're way of thinking is nonsense. people aren't sharks or minnows, they're just people. society is shaped by masses of people far more than it is shaped by individuals. conservatives respect power because they either want to lead or want to follow, and hate the left because leftists want to break up the whole leader-follower paradigm.

  41. who are the 12th through 1st most pretentious people on youtube?

    nice try, cop

  42. Every time the left crosses a line, even a line the right has already crossed, the right crosses three more lines.

    in response to There's a situation happening in Brazil that is pretty similar to the one that you described in "You go high we go low": there's a supreme court seat available and Bolsonaro is trying to fill it with a conservative evangelical judge; That would be the second seat that he would be able to fill however, the senate leader is refusing to hold a vote, and many on the left are cheering for this decision. I fear that, since this is the first time this happened in the country "going low for a good reason" may open the flood gates for many on the right to also go further in their unlawful actions for their political agenda; In your opinion, breaking a bad law is always justifiable, or is it best to only pursue this course of action when the right has already shown that is prone to do the same?

    I think it's more that, every time the Left crosses a line, the Right blames the next line they were already planning to cross on them

  44. Hm, alrighty then... Speaking of Vowsh, if he were to ask you to have a chat or discussion with him on his stream, would you accept or decline?

    in response to So, I noticed you've included pictures of people like Chris Ray Gun in TARP before. Did you think people like Chris weren't particularly as bad as other anti-SJW types, *or* is that a meaningless distinction given the consequences of their past content? Have your thoughts on them shifted with them supposedly being reformed and talking to people like Vaush nowadays?

    hahaha fuck no

  45. Can I offer you a nice vegan egg-substitute in these trying time?

    Just Egg is surprisingly convincing.

  46. How's your back? Has it gotten better?

    Thanks for asking! It's doing pretty well. I was discharged from physical therapy a while back, and I've started with a personal trainer who has experience navigating spine problems. We're doing a lot of core activation and flexibility work on top of general strengthening. And I go to yoga now.

    A couple months ago I had to drive a car a ways, and, even with stopping every half hour to stretch, I was still a bit sensitive in the lower back afterwards and had to take it easy a couple days. But, a few weeks ago, I drove a car a ways, didn't need to stop and stretch, and had no sensitivity. So that's a lot of progress.

    I think I'm going to have to do this formalized exercise for most of my life to keep the spine from acting up, so don't be surprised if I slowly get swole.

  47. There's a situation happening in Brazil that is pretty similar to the one that you described in "You go high we go low": there's a supreme court seat available and Bolsonaro is trying to fill it with a conservative evangelical judge; That would be the second seat that he would be able to fill however, the senate leader is refusing to hold a vote, and many on the left are cheering for this decision. I fear that, since this is the first time this happened in the country "going low for a good reason" may open the flood gates for many on the right to also go further in their unlawful actions for their political agenda; In your opinion, breaking a bad law is always justifiable, or is it best to only pursue this course of action when the right has already shown that is prone to do the same?

    The Right is *always* prone to do the same. They sometimes wait for us to do it first so they can say their unlawful behavior is our fault, but there's no depth they won't stoop to if it's in their best interest.

  48. you're not answering the question.

    in response to Long egg opinions

    I'm vegan, what opinion do you think I have about ANY eggs?

  50. So, I noticed you've included pictures of people like Chris Ray Gun in TARP before. Did you think people like Chris weren't particularly as bad as other anti-SJW types, *or* is that a meaningless distinction given the consequences of their past content? Have your thoughts on them shifted with them supposedly being reformed and talking to people like Vaush nowadays?

    Mostly, yeah, a meaningless distinction. I haven't heard much from Chris Ray Gun lately, though I admit talking to Vaush doesn't impress me much. If he has become less of a problem, good for him. Frankly I'm thrilled at the idea I no longer have to have an opinion of him.

  51. Least Mario?

    in response to Worst Mario

    Paint

  52. You’ve stated on Twitter that The Last Jedi is your favorite Star Wars film. Any chance of ever getting a video as to why? It’s a phenomenal film which is lacking in breadtube analysis.

    no, I don't want to wade into TLJ discourse. I don't even watch videos defending TLJ, the whole mess around it is exhausting. I just wanna like it without turning it into #content.

  55. Long egg opinions

    is there a reason someone asks me to weigh in on long egg every 3 months or so?

  56. Do you think your favourite game of all time can ever be topped?

    my favorite game has been topped many times, I just still love it irrationally

  57. Should there be more wacky sitcoms with polyamorous families? (For example, reverse Brady Bunch with three Moms and three Dads but only two kids.)

    I dunno about "should" but I'd watch it.

  58. What's the most useless thing you've ever bought?

    on a whim I bought a $20 "miniature guitar" at a hardware store that was about the size of a ukulele. it only had four strings and they couldn't maintain any tension, so you'd twist the tuning pegs and they'd just immediately slacken to the point where the string couldn't make any notes. I ended up cutting it open and staging a scene inside it for an art assignment in college, but I didn't get a very good grade. my intentions were unclear.

  59. Have you heard about that GamerGate TV show that Brianna Wu is involved with?

    only that it exists

  60. To speak on this from an agriculture perspective our current methods could provide, if rolled out smartly (i.e just give them the damn technology you bastards), for at least several billion more people than we currently have, no extra space required
    There are other viable paths but the one we are on currently means a max population below this cap even, no theoretical technologies or GM crops required! (which also makes the actual carrying capacity a ??? but no-one serious really cares in this context because we aren't even close to overshooting) Climate scientists have known this for years too and not been quiet about it, the 'problem' is that new york stays about the same size and then a bunch of cities in Africa and Asia increase to accommodate all the new people in this model, when people call overpopulation a root problem with climate change they are laundering literal fascist propaganda which sees more Omani and Ugandans as being a bad thing *in itself* (more your department to report on why that is, i think) Which is really hard to deal with when the actual problems with agriculture worldwide (ironically, lack of diversity for example) keep getting nazis speculating about sterilizations to "control the flood" all over it
    Which is why it's a myth (here are the basics of why, in terms of space used for food, the planet is not in any sense "overpopulated" right now, we have enough land) and also WHY it's a myth (nazis need an excuse to massage their views into the mainstream without being spotted),
    Hunger is a policy failure on a global scale and just like housing, food should not be only available to those that can pay, we make enough to feed all, join your local 'food not bombs to find out more'!

    in response to Is overpopulation a myth? Why is it a myth? In leftist circles, should the reason Earth is suffering is because of both climate change and overpopulation?

  62. Is overpopulation a myth? Why is it a myth? In leftist circles, should the reason Earth is suffering is because of both climate change and overpopulation?

    it's not that overpopulation isn't a thing, or that it's not a factor in the climate crisis. it's more that "overpopulation is a root cause in climate change/social decay/[issue someone feels like blaming on overpopulation]" is a myth. as folks are quick to point out, if we lived at the population density of New York City, we could fit every citizen in America inside Texas. pointing the finger at people having too many babies and not at the handful of corporations that cause 70% of greenhouse emissions, or the fact that most cities AREN'T as high-density as NYC being due to car companies lobbying city planners for decades to sprawl so that people can't exist without buying cars, or the millions of dollars spent every year by oil companies to brand climate change as a personal responsibility and pressuring people to recycle and buy hybrids and "lower their carbon footprint" rather than treat it as a public health issue that should be address on the national level... THAT'S the problem. "overpopulation" is just another way of framing climate change as a public failure, rather than a failure of capitalism that the public is paying for.

  63. Best 3D Mario

    in response to Best Mario

    64

  64. How much bigotry is a byproduct of an individuals own mental health negligence

    most bigotry is rationalizations for having to operate in a world built on bigotry. living in such a world kinda sucks, so I'd wager rationalizations and things like depression and anxiety are correlated, but they're both symptoms of the other problem.

  66. Worst Mario

    in response to Best Mario

    Teaches Typing

  67. Best Mario

    World

  68. Is it reasonable to hope to personally run for office and improve society without corrupting your soul in the process?

    in response to What’s your best guess as to why President Obama played a part in dismantling the occupy protests?

    I don't think it's possible to succeed in the political world without making ethical compromises. Some manage to keep concessions to a minimum, but they all have to make them, and it's rare to last long without making a lot.

  69. can you really say this when you've done several critical analysis video essays on media tropes

    in response to When did you realize you were more into movies and TV shows than most people?

    I dunno, I don't feel like critical analysis implies a greater or deeper love of media. It mostly implies a middle-class, liberal education.

  73. Really need you to start working on the solutions segment of arp.

    getting close!

  74. When did you realize you were more into movies and TV shows than most people?

    am I?

  75. What’s your best guess as to why President Obama played a part in dismantling the occupy protests?

    because he was a politician

Anon commented:
Ian replied: