Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

Last week’s thread

(Semi-obligatory thanks to @dgerard for starting this)

  • @blakestaceyOPA
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    192 months ago

    From an article about a boutique brand that sells books to rich people:

    Assouline has made its name publishing tomes that sell for $1,000 or more.

    Oh, so they publish textbooks.

    “They represent stealth wealth, intended to tell you what your hosts are about and to provide visual evidence: that the owners are people of wealth, education and taste.”

    🎶 Please allow me to introduce myself 🎶

    • @sc_griffith
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      2 months ago

      According to the Fed's 2022 Economic Well- Being of U.S. Households survey released Monday, some 37% of Americans lack enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense, up from 32% in 2021. That means nearly one in four consumers would have to use credit, turn to family, sell assets, or get a loan in order to cover any major unexpected cost. And when asked about non-emergency expenses, 18% of Americans said the largest expense they could cover using only their savings was under $100.

      now where did I leave my hammer and sickle

      • @mountainriver
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        112 months ago

        “…37%… That means nearly one in four…”

        Eh, no it doesn’t, it means nearly two in five. Which is worse.

    • @BlueMonday1984
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      122 months ago

      So you’re saying that they’ve got books worth at least a grand which their owners are literally using to flaunt their wealth?

      I’m legally obligated to say stealing is legally and morally wrong buuuuuuuut

      • Charlie Stross
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        162 months ago

        @BlueMonday1984 Betcha the authors aren’t getting paid industry-normal royalties (10-15% of net receipts) on those Veblen goods …

        (A few of my novels have been sold as limited-run signed first editions. Typically for 50%-100% more than the normal hardcover price, so maybe 3-5% as much as this nonsense. Cost of goods for a leatherbound, gilt-trimmed luxury edition is maybe $5-10, plus 10% of the cover price for the author. So someone in the middle is making serious bank.)

    • @Soyweiser
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      112 months ago

      Of course the books are just vapid art books or travel books.

      • Charlie Stross
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        182 months ago

        @froztbyte Your term of art in economics to describe this shitbaggery is “Veblen goods”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

        “a type of luxury good… for which the demand increases as the price increases, in apparent contradiction of the law of demand, resulting in an upward-sloping demand curve. The higher prices of Veblen goods may make them desirable as a status symbol in the practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure.”

      • @Soyweiser
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        62 months ago

        “Complimentary Carbon Efficient Delivery”

        Carbon Efficient even…

          • @Soyweiser
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            52 months ago

            If there is an elevator in the apartment, the driver has to take the stairs, contractually. Of course people who order that don’t live in high rise apartments where the driver can reach the door, so everybody wins.

    • @bitofhope
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      52 months ago

      Assouline! The gasoline of ass!