LukeZaz @ LukeZaz @beehaw.org

Posts

6

Comments

238

Joined

1 yr. ago

So people need to vehemently denounce Trump once per hour or else they must obviously be siding with him...?

Seriously though, isn't it obvious? If you expect Trump to be terrible, why would you fly into a rage when he meets that expectation? By contrast, Biden is expected to be better than this, and yet isn't.

Pressure is applied where it is most effective. That is not and will never be anyone from the Republican party, because they openly and obviously do not give a fuck about any of us.

^{(edited for kinder tone)}

Estimates of Palestinian deaths have long since exceeded tens of thousands. How you can believe that the October attacks could possibly have exceeded that is beyond me.

But you've already made up your mind. I don't even know why you're here.

stopping supporting anti hamas actions won’t stop the war… it will just lead to more innocent people dying

If you think more innocent people will die if Israel stops bombing Gaza into dust, then you haven't been paying attention to what's happening to Palestinians.

Everything Hamas has done, terrible as it is, pales in comparison to the tragedy and horror inflicted by the IDF.

but sounds like a reasonable amount for anyone except the most marginalized groups

I know several people for whom $167 per month would be a big problem. Considering how many people struggle to get by on incredibly low wages, with ever-increasing rent, I really don't think it's fair to suggest that this would only be a problem for "the most marginalized groups."

And that's all ignoring the fact that "being unable to afford medicine" is not a problem anyone in such a rich country should ever have to face, regardless of income. Frankly, I really don't care if it upends industries; people's lives are more important than that.

Though I hope you're right, there's no guarantee of that:

It's unclear why the remaining approximately 50 staff didn't join Krafton, but it's possible they had already found jobs elsewhere as the studio's closure was announced three months earlier in May 2024.

A whole lot of small but meaningful improvements... that nonetheless depress me on account of the fact that this is apparently the most we're allowed to vote for. And they're not even guaranteed in the least.

Still, I can at least keep going by remembering that this is a presidential race, and is thus among the least democratic aspects of the country, short of things like the Supreme Court. There are better, more impactful things for me to focus on.

(Disclaimer: I'm a Phoenix supporter of SWG)

I've followed this drama pretty closely in the last few days, and it's really not all so damning as others here have found it. I could write up something longer, but I don't want to get too far into the weeds, so I'll leave it at a few paragraphs.

The long and short of it is that the way this video was made and posted, in combination with the general atmosphere of the internet trending towards Huge Drama(tm), makes this look like more than it actually is. From everything I've seen and heard, I'd characterize Nick's actions as "flawed human making mistakes" — which is to say, perfectly forgivable. He's since owned up to the more egregious things, such as his comments in the Gameumentary call, and the folks at SWG have reined in his influence recently due to things like his social media troubles. I personally feel like this was a very good call, and will likely be enough to cover the complaints raised.

It is also worth noting, though, that not all of the accusations are worth much. I really don't know how $10 in alleged Twitter bucks is even worth mentioning, especially considering the claim later looks to have turned out to be a misunderstanding entirely.

All in all, while I believe it's very fair to want to address these things, and it's also fair to want to do so in a way that Patreon supporters both existing and potential can use said info to make better assessments with regard to their money, the reality is that the method and platform upon which these grievances were aired lead to a far more bitter and unproductive outcome than was necessary. I still respect Frost, and I don't think he meant for this at all, but it still happened. Such is the nature of the web, sadly.

Honestly, it still amazes me that this never got successfully ripped and emulated. I've heard that it's because there isn't a reliable PS4 emulator, but frankly that surprises me as well. I'd think that the sheer popularity of this game alone would encourage one to be made pretty heavily, especially since this game looks to be on track to becoming lost media otherwise.

This was always my biggest concern about voting Democrat in the coming election. I've since been convinced I should regardless – a realization of how little impact focusing on the presidency actually has was what changed my mind – but I could've been swayed far sooner if someone had provided me with a more reliable way to keep the DNC accountable back then.

To me, the Democrat party is failure by any standard bar the low one of "better than Republicans," and that's pathetic. I can't be excited for any candidate they field unless I can be given good reason to finally trust them. And considering their sordid history, that's gonna take a lot.

Probably not very stupid at all. Spear phishing is by definition targeted to specific people or groups, and so can be more successful in the end. More to the point, though, is that nobody has their guard up 24/7, and people make mistakes. That's not stupidity.

I agree, but this is still a good opportunity to interrogate our assumptions about this, and particularly to listen to folks born out of wedlock to check if those assumptions are at all accurate to their experiences.

Equal representation's good, and I never liked this mechanic to begin with. Works for me!

I still won't buy it, but that's because it lacks T.J. Rotolo, not anything to do with this.

Late response (sorry!) but wanted to let you know that I appreciated the comment and details. Personally, this doesn't convince me he's a tankie, but that's largely because I'm not familiar enough with Hakeem to know he's a tankie, nor do I know what video you were referring to. Which is not to say you're outright wrong — just that I would want to see more specifics to change my opinion, is all. All the same, I appreciate the effort and am happy to better understand your position.

I do somewhat agree with your definition of a tankie, for what it's worth. I don't think saying the GOP and DNC are both bad is necessarily tankie behavior, but the rest makes sense. This said, I've personally seen extremely little defense of Russia from any far-left discourse, including communities close to Second Thought, and from what I hear from those communities China is still very divisive. You've clearly encountered worse though, and my experiences are limited, so take them for what you will.

Unfortunately, I don't think voting is going to be what changes any of this, sadly. At least, not on a federal level.

That, and I don't think I want to see the Libertarians win either, if I'm honest.

I genuinely think now you’re a paid lobbyist. There is so much evidence

Look, I get you strongly disagree with them, but please don't fall into the trap of thinking people who disagree strongly with you aren't real.

Anti-capitalists have many, many issues with the Biden admin and Democrats generally, for a whole host of reasons. It doesn't mean we want Trump to win, think he's equally as bad, or want you to not vote. And it most certainly doesn't make us paid shills. It just means we want better, and we are often frustrated at how "better" is never an option.

I can't speak for what Flash Mob's beliefs are directly, but I can absolutely say I've been in a similar position. It is beyond aggravating to have no options that actually represent your beliefs, but to nonetheless have so many people around you insist that you should be happy about one of the awful options because the candidate in question – who is doing the things you hate – sometimes pays lip service to what you actually wanted. Or because it's a woman doing it, now. Or, most frequently, because the Republicans managed to dig to an even deeper circle of Hell this time.

Our options are terrible, and we're pissed about it. But it doesn't make us not real. All that accusations like that do is prevent people from being understood.

Worth remembering that many responses in politics are made impulsively due to frustration, and angry, impulsive arguments tend not to be well-researched. We're all tense, here — it's hard not to be, these days.

I'm not who you were replying to, but:

It's not so much that Trump and Kamala are the same. They aren't, obviously – and for the record, the video agrees – it's more that the Democrats here don't really fix anything the Republicans break. Sure, Kamala is pro-abortion, et cetera, but how certain can I be that she'll actually act on the principles she espouses? If the Biden admin is anything to go by, I can expect the occasional half-measure at best. Meanwhile, there are solid odds that she will continue to fund or otherwise enable the genocide in Gaza, at least tacitly.

I'm going to vote for her, but not because she's going to help me or anyone I care about. I'm voting for her because it is harm reduction; Kamala may be a neoliberal pro-cop warmonger, but the alternative is neo-Hitler. As far as presidential tickets go, I don't have much of a choice, here.

This is something I occasionally hear and keep not understanding, and it makes me wonder if the word "tankie" is being thrown around a bit fast and loose. Last time I heard this, the reasoning referenced a Vaush video, which is... less than convincing.

My working definition of "tankie" would be someone who unironically full-on likes China, which is not a take I've ever known J.T. to have. Do you use a different definition than me, or do you have specific things you're upset about?

^{\* Bear in mind I mean "likes China" here, not "thinks China and the U.S. are equally bad."}

With you here. The title made it sound like a lot more than it actually was.

Not to mention the obscene fees with using it. Crypto is rife with issues.