Hey, I appreciate the sentiment. I didn’t really think any of that was trauma-inducing—except the dogs, but a friendly labrador helped me get over that a year or two later. Luckily, I’ve stocked up on all kinds of trauma since then! These are just colorful childhood memories.
Anecdotally, I lived in Sanaa for a while as a kid in the '80’s, and one of my enduring memories is seeing kids in the street with AK’s. Other highlights included being chased up a pile of concrete and rebar by a pack of wild dogs, and riding in a helicopter that they used in one of the Rambo movies (the Afghanistan one, I think).
Vichy Twitter
This is such an accurate description of X, thanks for that! W/r/t getting people off of corporate social media platforms, I think this is one area where celebrities could really do some good. The Fediverse isn’t on most peoples’ radars—and while there is a vague, burgeoning awareness that social media might be problematic, people are accustomed to their feeds, and frankly have more pressing things to worry about.
What’s more, even people who are acutely aware of the situation continue to use these platforms, because the artists/journalists/content creators and what-have-you that they follow are still on these platforms. I’ve seen a thousand comments to this effect here on Lemmy. I listen to a ton of podcasts, political and otherwise, and all the hosts are left of center to varying degrees. I’m constantly gritting my teeth when they talk about their instagram feeds, and ask me to follow them on Vichy twitter.
I understand that social media in general, and twitter in particular, has been a really useful tool for people to communicate with their audience, and build a following. I tell myself that it isn’t reasonable to expect all these people that I respect and listen to daily to hold themselves to a higher ethical standard, because it might shrink their audience, and thus threaten their livelihoods. We can’t expect the smaller fish to lead the way on this.
But, if someone could get a big name talking about this stuff, it could really make a difference. It’s just too easy to ignore right now.
Ayy, I was up north in '03, but I ran some Sadr City patrols in '04. Vivid memories of watching Cheaper by the Dozen in full kit while we listened to the mortars walking in. And a complex ambush on the way back to BIAP. I was on a 240 in the second truck. There was some musical car horn that seemed to signal it—not La Cucaracha, but something like that; I think one of these days I’ll hear it again somewhere and have a legit ptsd flashback—and a fruit stand or something on the right exploded, and a car behind me somewhere as well, I believe. Then some dudes came out on a balcony behind and to the left and started licking rpgs at us. Good times. Csm got some shrapnel in his ass, which didn’t improve his temper, but at least we got a lot of jokes out of it.
I’m pretty sure it’s a big truck, that you can just dump things on.
Thanks for the Moving Out tip! I’m always looking for couch co-op stuff to play with my daughter, and this looks right up our alley.
I’m confused. Are you planning to burn your rich neighbor as well, or just the leaves? SCOTUS is probably not on board with the former, but you’d get plenty of support on lemmy.
I’m not your bro, and I don’t believe you’re arguing in good faith. This particular clumsy mix of buzzwords certainly doesn’t make you sound like a human being. I’ll address this one more time, and then never engage with you again.
Your argument , you entire refusal to hold Democrats accountable by being critical of them and withholding your support to force them to come to you, it’s why we’re in this mess.
My decision to vote for the only viable candidate who doesn’t obviously intend to dismantle all democratic institutions hardly constitutes a refusal to hold Democrats accountable. Those are the stakes in this particular election. The direct result of the action you’re advocating would be to hand power to an aspiring dictator.
YOU are the white moderate MLK warned us about.
You argue like a fash—completely unsupported assertions bolstered by oafish emotional appeals. I’m done with you.
people who pose as leftists while advancing a fascist agenda.
So Democrats?
Oh, no, this is embarrassing. It’s you. I was talking about you. Sorry, I thought that was clear. The mistake dipshits like you always make is this emotional appeal:
You are fucking delusional if you think Democrats are working on your side.
No shit, a political party is not “on your side.” This kind of rhetoric betrays such a childish approach to politics. That’s not how any of this works.
It’s a binary choice, and you’re shilling for fascism. It’s anyone’s guess whether or not that’s your intention—but that really doesn’t matter to anyone but you.
Republicans have gotten more done in minority positions than Democrats have when in majority position over the past 20 years.
Accepting this premise, the things Republicans have gotten done have been objectively detrimental to humanity. The direct result of not voting for Democrats is electing more Republicans. This is the reality that currently exists. No amount of self-righteous rhetoric will alter that. So if you’re going to continue disseminating this ill-considered garbage, just face the fact that you’re effectively a Trump supporter.
Honestly, I have more respect for maga types than for people who pose as leftists while advancing a fascist agenda.
Fucking Orwellian ghoul. Shit like this only helps Trump. What the hell is he trying to accomplish by calling anti-genocide protestors fascists? Who does he think is going to believe it?
I mean, they made the emoji movie. And fucking battleship. Nothing’s too far-fetched. A family drama based on Connect 4? Why not! How about Dwayne Johnson stars in an action movie based on Hungry Hungry Hippos? It’s all too plausible now.
The people voting for those politicians also bear the responsibility.
I’m not invested in it at all; it’s supposed to be funny. And I’m not hostile to the rodeo, it’s just never appealed to me. Honestly, I don’t know that you’d get broad consensus on any of this stuff across greater Houston— excepting support for local sports teams—it’s pretty heterogenous. Then again, what do I know; I just live here, I’ve never really felt like part of the community. That’s kind of the point!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t care about those things, or sports. Not many other things come to mind that Houston broadly agrees on.
Yeah, it’s a fair cop. I’m sure the train would see plenty of use. It’s just that I’ve lived in and around Houston for a plurality of my life, and the only thing that really makes me feel connected to my fellow Houstonians is a shared, exaggerated disdain for Dallas.
I think an interrobang would have been a game-changer for Jeb’s campaign. And yes, name recognition makes a big difference. It’s maddening that consent for dynasties seems so easy to manufacture.
I still can’t believe SHS got elected governor. She’s a horrible nepo baby whose only qualification was her big national gig telling ridiculous lies on TV every day. Like, what the actual fuck, Arkansas? Then again, Texas’s elected officials are at least as bad worse. So, yeah.
As a Texan, who the fuck knows? Definitely wasn’t decided by plebiscite. I mean, seriously, a bullet train to Dallas?
Let’s fucking do this. Let’s smash these fascist fuckwits.