The Politics Megathread

[Gian]

I bet Iraq thoroughly enjoyed getting its infrastructure bombed to pre-industrial levels. Not to mention the devastation of Iraq's middle class after the 2003 invasion.

Wow, someone actually remembers that there was an invasion of Iraq by George "Muslim Killer" W. Bush. Here I thought I was the only one.

Really, a big reason I couldn't take all the hate for Trump seriously, despite how justified it often was, was that people seemed to have completely forgotten about Bush and all the shit he pulled. They outright said that Trump is "The Worst President Ever (TM)" even when he didn't even do anything yet. And even continue saying that now when his reign is over and wasn't actually as bad as they expected. Admittedly, it was worse than I expected, but still no reason to consider him worse than Bush.

Most ridiculously, there were far-left people (!) who actually outright said that Bush, the guy who started two wars (at least on of them utterly inexcusable) and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, wasn't that bad.

And it's not like it's a thing of the past, America continues to terrorize countries it has no business to be in (somewhat ironically, considering it's supposed to be a "War on Terror"). Obama, whom many thought would finally stop this shit, never actually did anything (which describes his entire tenure). And of course, it's unlikely that Biden will improve anything.

 

[Denrick19]

Did anything ever happen after ajit pai got rid of NN? I honestly forgot about it days afterward and it nothing has really changed about my experience surfing the internet.

@wowfucktron


The thing is I'm talking about living in a communist country at a random time period, not some random commune, I feel like most people would go "yeah I would at least try it" rather then "I WOULD RATHER DIE THEN LIVE IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY"

@gian

Trump wasn't the worst easily, but he's really easy to hate, I don't like him either but there have easily been worst presidents.

I think Biden is getting too much hate, barely been a month and people are losing it, kinda weird since I remember people being angry that people did the same thing to trump, maybe I'm misremembering though.

 

[KrovjaPm]

@2SpiritCherokeePrincess

Do walls have something to do with communism?

The answer is obviously no, but a communist nation sure needs walls to make sure its people don't escape for a better life in a capitalistic country.
Trumps wall doesn't prevent anyone from leaving the USA...

 

[kenx]

Something interesting I've seen is that, unless moderation itself favors one side of the left-right political discussion, forums tend to be very critical of both sides. As in, really talking about the issues of both sides. Or at least giving the impression of doing so.
^{keep in mind I said forums}

 

[Denrick19]

@kenx


>really talking about the issues of both sides. Or at least giving the impression of doing so.

Not really, if there's no moderator with a political bias forums tend to be right-wing but pretend to be critical of both sides, despite having an obvious basis against the left.

I have yet to see a forum with no mods messing with the politics not devolve into a right-wing circle jerk, but that's me.

The reason why I think it's like this is that that right-wingers don't like how non-right-wingers moderate their communities (No slurs, be nice to people, No harassment, etc, this stuff isn't even really influencing political discussion either, but whenever I see a mod team add these rules right-wingers lose their shit) so they go to forums that have "no political bias", and eventually that forum with "no political bias" turns into right-wingers pretending that everyone is allowed to have an opinion when in reality you will get bashed to hell and back for saying something left-wing.

IMO to have a forum with 0 political bias you have to have rules that favor both sides,


This is going to be a hot take but I feel like right wingers have made simply not taking a stance on a social issue somewhat right wing, not saying that people who dont take stances are right wing, but whenever I see a cleb just "not have a opinion" I see some right wingers congratulating them for not falling for "leftism". Its weird.

 

[Mr_Detective]

@Pekingduck K-on are gae

 

[KrovjaPm]

@Denrick19
Doesn't that just boil down to the whole idea that leftism can't survive without censorship or with opposition? While im not an expert about being on forums and their moderation, I still don't think your reasoning is realistic, I would even say that leftist communities are more open about harrasing people they dislike. Just because they don't call eachother n-word, doesn't mean they're not willing to harass/doxx you for using the ''wrong'' hairstyle in a video game, etc.


I assume you mean celebrities, if so, then they certainly will have leftists pushing them to take a stance, and by not taking a stance they apear right wing, to some?
(A leftist plot to make centrists look right wing, huh? Didn't that already happen?)

 

[wowfucktron]

@krovjapm
The thing with leftists is that they heavily rely on ultimatums.

Not having an opinion is the equivalent of have the “wrong” opinions. In their eyes you are literally against them if you are not lock step with them.

And yes, they do heavily rely on censorship and controlling opposition because a lot of left-wing ideas are, (un)fortunately, easily picked apart once you think through them.

Forums/Social Media just makes it all the more easier as you aren’t getting shouted down/threatened out of an event you thought you were free to attend.

But on the other side it’s not all that different, just less verbal/physical threats outside of “facts > feelings” type stuff.

Right-wingers are the same but in a much different manner. Most of their stuff relies on well timed counters or entrapment via fixation on a mistake in order to make someone trip up and “self destruct.”

A lot of it is “gotcha” type stuff but very rarely do you see active contempt involving ruining people’s lives outside of “muh feefees” type stuff.

Do both make idiots out of themselves? Yes, absolutely. Both sides are desperately eager to make fools out of the other side. And that is unfortunately the downfall of a two party system’s manner of discourse.

 

[M0NST3R]

@Denrick19

This is going to be a hot take but I feel like right wingers have made simply not taking a stance on a social issue somewhat right wing, not saying that people who dont take stances are right wing, but whenever I see a cleb just "not have a opinion" I see some right wingers congratulating them for not falling for "leftism". Its weird.

You aren't crazy that has largely been a thing for a while now. Hollywood has largely been intolerant of viewpoints they find contradict their own.

 

[EOTFOFYL]

@Denrick19
Whether or not if effects you depends entirely on where you surf the web. The point is that ISP cannot discriminate network traffic based on its content (or anything else for that matter), to prevent stupid shit like this:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/21/16010766/verizon-netflix-throttling-statement-net-neutrality-title-ii
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/your-carrier-could-throttle-your-streaming-netflix-and-youtube-videos-heres-how-you-test/
https://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/broadband-providers-are-quietly-taking-advantage-of-an-internet-without-net-neutrality-protections/

This is one of those things where you won't see immediate changes but will creep up if you let it.

 

[hazzack]

@FckingDetective platonic friendships are not gae

 

[kenx]

@Denrick19
As I said, I mean mostly forums. It seems to me that people get critical of both sides.

As in, on one side, like @wowfucktron said, mindless radical leftists get laughed out of the forum, the leftists who remain learn to actually be critical and not just parrot something. And on the other side, extreme right-wingers eventually split off to form their own community, leaving the forum with a somewhat moderate group of right-wingers who may sometimes clash with the remaining leftists.

As wowfucktron said, generally both sides make idiots of themselves, but when an actual good debate ensues, you can enjoy it a lot if that's your thing. Though, it may be hard if you favor one side too much and get too invested, which may lead you to miss the impartiality that, in my opinion, makes watching/mediating something like that interesting.

That's my take on it. Probably born from the fact that the majority of my country's citizens are superficially apolitical (as in, they either mindlessly support a party or just don't give a fuck) and that most of our parties are currently busy unfucking themselves form the last 5 years, which makes stupid political shit somewhat common and good debates a rarity to appreciate.

 

[wowfucktron]

Reddit and TD Ameritrade w/ Melvin Capital are DDoSing each other...
r/wallstreetbets was already under surveillance by the FTC and I'm ninety nine percent positive we're getting new laws to counteract the shit /biz/ and them have pulling.
-----------------------------------------------
The rational side of me is interpreting this as "idiots" showing off why e-trading needs to be restricted to only those insured by the FDIC.
Seriously, anyone not insured needs to go through a broker, app trading is the fastest way to burn all of your money. Please consult an insured broker, they know more than you and have access to data you don't.

The irrational side of me thinks the commies are plotting something...

 

[Denrick19]

@kenx

I had a response to why I think my idea made sense (at least to me) but for some reason, it didn't post after I clicked "submit" and by then I already exited and when I checked back it was gone, so I think I'll just leave now, it was actually pretty neat here, some of the takes are really stupid though.

 

[2SpiritCherokeePrincess]

An NRA member (who is now in congress) bullying a school shooting survivor. https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-resurfaces-marjorie-taylor-greene-195818994.html

 

[bigtiddyoneesan]

Something interesting I've seen is that, unless moderation itself favors one side of the left-right political discussion, forums tend to be very critical of both sides. As in, really talking about the issues of both sides. Or at least giving the impression of doing so.

>leftism can't survive without censorship or with opposition
Roughly this. Online communities turning into circle-jerks and echo chambers is one thing (and it goes without saying that it happens on both sides), but bringing institutional power into the mix is where things get into big boy territory. And big boy territory is where people get hurt.

@Denrick19

I feel like right wingers have made simply not taking a stance on a social issue somewhat right wing

More accurately, the sheer vocality of 'woke'/'SJW'/etc. sentiments, coupled with the current climate of public opinion in which simply not publicly being against [insert bad thing] can be called 'part of the problem', leads to the prevalent virtue signalling displayed by many corporations/celebrities who are in the public eye. The pressure to conform is almost always present, and on much smaller scales as well, but such pressure can be harmful once it gets into big boy territory.

The fact that not taking a public stance doesn't inherently indicate someone identifies as 'on the right' is still true, of course.

 

[Tamerlane]

Reading the transcript of that video shows very clearly she's not harassing him. She's criticizing how he's basically made a career off being a victim and using a personal tragedy to force political change when appealing to sympathy.


Read your articles before you post them.

 

[immortalartisan]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/investing/gamestop-reddit-stock/index.html

Now for some good news. Wall Street elites mad the masses are playing against them and their losing because we have numbers on our sides.

Reddit just preformed 4chan fucking levels of badassery affecting real life. Anyway I’m going back to playing endless skies

 

[M0NST3R]

Remember when several Senators got Coronavirus briefings well before the public and sold off stocks and never got punished? Because I sure do. Wall Street can get fucked.

 

[Tamerlane]

4chan is the chaotic neutral of the internet. Normally they’re too busy infighting to get anything meaningful done, but if they unite under a singular, autistic purpose, they can get insane shit done such as this shit.

@immortalartisan

Sticking it to the man. Fuck the establishment and fuck the bourgeois