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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: September 11th, 2024

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  • Was going to say, is there anything negative that isn’t something-ist?

    In a deterministic universe, every negative behavior or attribute can be traced back to something outside of the person’s control. Therefore any criticism of anything can be traced back to something that isn’t that person’s fault and is therefore something-ist?

    This has a whiff of the paradox of tolerance. Am I being reductive in choosing to skirt past childhood trauma and psychological disorder when I say that Hitler was evil? Yes. But also fuck that. He was evil. And I don’t give a shit as to the “why” of it. (Well, I do. But only to the extent that we can learn from it and try to prevent it from happening again).

    edit: yeah yeah. Godwin’s law. It’s just such a useful illustration tool


  • The folks saying that this is ablesist. I hear you and I think I mostly agree. But this is one I kind of struggle on. Which “haha person is stupid” kinds of things are making fun of people who are mentally handicapped? And which ones are just making fun of people for being plain old stupid? Or is it ablesist to say that a person behaving stupidly is stupid?

    Like, if you’re making a meme and want to portray the anti-vaxer or nazi or whatever as being stupid or cruel or whatever, how do you do that without being ablesist? (“Inteligence is biological”, “psychopathy is a disease”, etc)

    edit: oh whoops. And fuck tankies. Forgot to add that










  • I always kinda wonder about this. Why? If you’re alone on a highway what difference does it make to cruise in the left lane vs the middle?

    “What if I’m in the middle lane and come up on someone slower than me?” You hop left, pass, and then hop back to mid.

    “What if I’m in the left lane and someone comes up behind me going faster?” You hop right, let them pass, and then hop back left.

    Feels identical. So why so many people cruise in the left is kinda confusing to me. Just going against the rules of the road for funzies?

    Personally I zone out so I cruise in the middle in case I don’t notice the person in my rear view. Also easier to notice coming up on someone ahead of me than some speed demon in the rear view.


  • Hard agree. Only caveat: don’t friggin travel in the left lane unless you’re passing. Don’t care how fast or slow you’re going. Left lane is for going around. Middle/right lane is for cruising. If everyone’s obeying that rule then there’s no reason to tailgate (not that you should do that anyway. But it does induct you into the assholes club right along with the tailgater)



  • GenX was also relatively small compared to the boomers.

    I wonder if every generation will blame (maybe correctly) previous generations. So long as things are getting worse, the kids kind of have a valid argument. “Why didn’t you fix this before it got to us?”

    As a millennial, I’ve been doing what I can short of going full vigilante. But in 30 years, they still wouldn’t be wrong to say “it’s still broke though isn’t it?”



  • I’m always a little bummed when stoicism comes up. For some reason people always characterize it as “try not to feel things”. But first, that’s kinda twisting the intention. And second, it’s only a third of the whole philosophy.

    Everywhere, at each moment, you have the option: to accept this event with humility [will]; to treat this person as [s]he should be treated [action]; to approach this thought with care, so that nothing irrational creeps in [perception];

    The serenity prayer more closely resembles the core idea than what most people focus on. Compare the above quote with it.

    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

    If something is outside of your control, don’t let it turn you bitter. If there is action you can take to treat those around you justly, you must do so. And then to do these things effectively takes knowledge, wisdom, and (I would argue) empathy.

    But nah. Modern take: stoicism = real men shove emotions down. Bleh.