The fact that there are so many tankies who don’t in fact move to Russia is pretty telling. It’s not like there’s a huge barrier to entry, they are desperate for more bodies more people who support their propaganda and nationalism :D

I don’t need a system of law not to shoot people or walk out without paying. Some of us have ethics.

I cannot take your word for that, even if it’s true, I cannot trust everyone, and even if someone is a good person, every human is vulnerable to emotions and failures of judgement, so yes we do need laws and rules and nothing can change that short of some system of taking away everyone’s free will. I already said that the enforcers as, top to bottom, are a separate issue.

Police officers and FBI directors are broadly stupid, abusive and incompetent, but that doesn’t encompass all authority.

You face authority every day. You follow systems and rules and contracts so that society functions. You use traffic laws. You don’t shoot people who make you mad, you don’t write bad checks or walk out of stores without paying. You are under a system of authority whether or not you agree with the values and enforcement of the people who enforce these rules.

I’m fine with throwing out the leadership and officers who enforce the laws, but we HAVE to have rules and laws, and this includes safety issues like speeding. I don’t care what motivates you to follow these rules, as long as you do, because I am also on the road.

The country’s “rugged, free individualism” is a fucking menace. It has given so many people the righteous feeling of being above the law, of being offended at the law applying to them, and especially the “social contract” a phrase that literally enrages some segment of the population on both sides of the political spectrum. I hate it here.

There is some political horseshoe theory that connects “People who cannot stand any kind of authority at all and start shrieking even when a forum mod removes their comments.”

It’s the weird far-left anarchists and far right libertarians finding common ground in wanting a society where mommy doesn’t tell them to not run with scissors. Some of the “sovereign citizens” who make for hilarious Youtube content are sincere in their their irrational hate for any kind of rules and laws.

I have had enough dealings with these folks that I have a pretty strong opinion that nobody has been able to change, that these folks just have serious authority issues and do not give a shit about a broader society and are just mad at their parents.

They are the absolute worst people you could ever have as neighbors. I sometimes think we should drive them into the sea via mobs with torches.

edit: let me double down - if you get angry at the idea of authority (not considering the enforcers or management of that authority, which is a separate thing) you need to be driven into the sea via mobs with torches. We need systems and rules and taxes for a functional society. Work on changing the way that society enforces and motivates people to follow those rules instead of blindly lashing out at anything designed to keep people safe.

Just up here watching from solipsism as you weird automated entities go about your business.

I had a black and white laser printer for a decade for printing mailing labels in a home business. The thing died from incompatibility long before I even had to change the toner cartridge.

The even smarter solution is do whatever it takes and make any and every sacrifice in order to redesign your entire life to NEVER need to use an inkjet printer in any capacity.

Look, whatever you have to do to keep Elon out of the place, I am fully supportive.

Seriously though, I was watching a documentary on the International Space Station a few days ago and listening to how this major network was hyping up such a “huge American engineering challenge” and “doing the impossible as the world watched on” and I couldn’t help but grumble “China has made three stations in half the time and those are just practice for an actual series of much bigger projects.” Literally, America gets almost NO news on progress and achievements outside of the USA.

I spent three days cooking and cleaning and socializing and then spent today angry and despairing without any idea why.

I genuinely feel like a lot of people don’t think very much about their feelings or where they come from, and end up with really mixed-up or inconsistent values.

If you ask a lot of Americans why they feel the way they do about their country, negative or positive, they often become irritated or upset because most people just tie a lot of associations and emotions to other concepts and words. Which is fine, that’s how brains work. But I think if you’re involved in a democracy you should have some level of actual thought towards how you feel, what you want from your country and who should be representing those values. I can’t get people on either side of the political spectrum to care about any of that shit… which is why China will probably have the solar system in a generation.

I would also say that Halloween is the last remaining holiday that encourages and expects self-expression and artistic abilities. Making costumes, coming up with unique prop ideas, carving pumpkins, etc.

Also, the act of trick or treating and joining halloween parties encourages socialization far, far more than other holidays which seem to just expect you to have dinner with people you don’t necessarily want to be around. The act of sending kids to knock on neighbor’s doors does more for our communities and our shared future than all the inflatable santa’s in the world.

There’s a huge difference between being ashamed of your Government’s actions and behavior and being ashamed of who you are/where you were born.

One is a valid criticism of the ruling class ignoring the people’s desire for peace and social responsibility. The other is a mental health issue much like some people who are ashamed of the race or gender they were born as.

I get attacked by people unable to separate this conflation because I encourage people resistant to our government to pick up the goddamn American flag and wave it. To have some measure of pride in the institution we live in so others take it seriously when we demand improvement.

You probably should have your emergency flash drive on your house keys with the big red label “ANIMAL EROTICA FOR EMERGENCIES” because that’s just an amateur mistake.

But there are several other very important differences between human beings and animals that you should know about.

I frequent a wildlife site called e621 that explains and demonstrates these differences. There’s so much you can learn about the natural world!

This is valuable effort that could be used to get people who are not active to be active

This is not a zero-sum game, you can do fucking both. If you’re too fragile, that’s fine. Don’t. But I will not stand for people on the left saying it’s useless to reach people they don’t agree with, especially since we have minds and brains on our side (usually.)

Not only does this work, I am standing testament to it working. I’m sorry if you’ve had bad experiences but I promise you in real-life conversations you can change people. Like I changed. Like I have changed people. You can’t sit there angrily saying someone is dead-wrong for promoting a proven strategy for reaching people. If there were more people trying to do this, we would be in better shape broadly, but please, if you don’t have it in you, just don’t stand in the way of those who are trying. What are you even hoping to accomplish here other than trying to get recognized for having bad experiences?

You have now shot down TWO of my ideas without offering an alternative towards a better future and better things we can do as individuals.

In my ideal world, it’s not an issue because parents don’t let kids under a certain age or demonstrated maturity level have computers in their room alone, and even better, they teach their kids how to not have problems with predators, porn, and the deluge of online weirdness and have open, honest talks about how some things are dangerous because they prey on you, some things are dangerous because they get you hooked on certain feelings, and some things are dangerous because they give you false impressions of the world and relationships.

We’re about as close to that world as interstellar exploration, I know. Imagine having parents who you don’t feel afraid to talk to about mature topics and personal matters.

And all that aside, why is it such a big deal that kids not see boobs but they can see violence and gore? Why is it magically okay for Timmy Neckbeard to watch strangle-fetish porn night and day as soon as he turns 18? Why do we scream about how porn is ruining kids minds but we’re not taking down the grifting “masculinity influencers” with as much zeal as we’re going after pornhub and other sites that are mostly just consenting adults doing fun biological acts together? Why do we say porn companies are evil and not do anything to make it less evil like better regulations and resources since we know people are going to find ways to make and view it anyway? (These aren’t questions for Lemmy but I would sure love to see communities start asking these questions to their elected representatives.)

Our species’ obsession with clear lines and labels is making us ignore where the actual problems are, we build fences around the outcomes not the sources. We create solutions to problems we don’t even want to look at directly. It’s like the government handing out umbrellas to combat the issue with the massive water main leak flooding the street.

That still creates a chain that can be followed. If the site you’re trying to enter is ever compromised, there will be record of your government code and whatever tracking is used to verify that you have entered your code.

I would be happy if the government was not involved in my online activities at all but I guess that ship is about to sail.