VaranDragon wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 05:00:
The root of the problem is education. Or rather, the lack of it. No one is teaching their kids critical thinking skills, and the schools are failing at that too. This combined with the ego empowering Internet of All Things (Most of Which are Bullshit) produces a populace that is not only ignorant, but also supremely confident that their version of ignorance is better than any other kind of knowledge, which in turn breeds even more ignorance.

Oh you have a p.h.d in physics? Well fuck you, I saw a clip on youtube that's absolutely true, you are wrong, and all scientists are liars

These people are like play-doh for Trump and politicians of his ilk. In the short term, people like Trump who will use and abuse this populace will benefit, in the long term you get Idiocracy, the complete opposite of an ideal and responsible citizen populace. I don't think even Plato could have predicted such an outcome for what is arguably the most powerful Empire that ever existed.

The US is fucked. Unfortunately most of the rest of the world seems to be headed (albeit more slowly) in the same direction.

That quote so perfectly describes things. I'm at the point that I'm having a hard time trusting any facts because so many sources can, have been, or will be corrupted by some sort of bias.

As for the US/world being fucked, I think we are at the, "weak men create hard times" part of the cycle. No one can say how quickly the cycle turns but it seems to happen faster and faster as history goes on due to how technology can turn it more easily than before.

Last a personal note about depression. I am certain I was severely depressed 15 years ago but my partner at the time was too (postpartum) so the focus was on her. It led to me ignore that it was even possible for me to be depressed which just made it worse.

gsilver wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 11:47:

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

I wanted to stay apolitical for most of my life, but after a racist jerk successfully got me evicted from where I was living on a technicality because I wasn't 100% white (I'm like 15/16s, I know exactly one person with both that information (which he seemed very interested in) as well as the technicality they used, plus the actual owner, who was as upset as I was once the sheriff showed up) it kind of gets hard to ignore.
Then it gets even more difficult to ignore when legislation is pushed down on a regular basis that directly harms myself, my friends, and my family.

Believe me, I'd *love* to not have a need to be angry about those in charge trying to harm me and the people I care about.

You can get evicted for not being 100% white? Excuse me, where exactly is that, so I can remember to never ever set foot anywhere near that place.

I'm reminded of the image of a rich guy with a mountain of cookies, telling the middle class guy who has 1 cookie and pointing at the working poor sitting in front of crumbs saying "watch out this guy wants to steal your cookie".

Always the same old gaslighting song and dance.

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 11:17:

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 10:24:

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:27:

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

Not angry, just disappointed. And melancholy.

Are you guys never not melancholy and disappointed? 😁

I won't presume to speak for anyone else. As far as I am concerned, considering how my life has turned out and the state of the world in general, I am amazed that I am not clinically depressed. Who the fuck knows, maybe I am and don't even know it?

Putting on my serious hat for a second: I'm not a doctor so I wouldn't presume to diagnose anyone, but if the state of the world affects you that deeply and keeps you sad that often then it definitely couldn't hurt to talk to someone. I'm not saying don't care; I'm saying learn a way to be happy while still caring. I can relate to what you're saying more than you could possibly imagine. Much love bro.

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

I wanted to stay apolitical for most of my life, but after a racist jerk successfully got me evicted from where I was living on a technicality because I wasn't 100% white (I'm like 15/16s, I know exactly one person with both that information (which he seemed very interested in) as well as the technicality they used, plus the actual owner, who was as upset as I was once the sheriff showed up) it kind of gets hard to ignore.
Then it gets even more difficult to ignore when legislation is pushed down on a regular basis that directly harms myself, my friends, and my family.

Believe me, I'd *love* to not have a need to be angry about those in charge trying to harm me and the people I care about.

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 10:24:

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:27:

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

Not angry, just disappointed. And melancholy.

Are you guys never not melancholy and disappointed? 😁

I won't presume to speak for anyone else. As far as I am concerned, considering how my life has turned out and the state of the world in general, I am amazed that I am not clinically depressed. Who the fuck knows, maybe I am and don't even know it?

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

You mean if we ever will be so fed up with life and the world we live in that we stop caring? God, I hope not. No, never.

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:27:

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

Not angry, just disappointed. And melancholy.

Are you guys never not melancholy and disappointed? 😁

Prez wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 09:14:
Are you guys never not angry?

Not angry, just disappointed. And melancholy.

Are you guys never not angry?

phorce phed wrote on Jun 10, 2025, 22:43:
Is there anyone they won't betray? Gamers were their personal army!

Trump's strategist Steve Bannon remarked that through Milo Yiannopoulos, who rose to fame during Gamergate as the technology journalist for Breitbart News (a news website Bannon co-founded), he had created a generation and an "army" that came in "through Gamergate ... and then get turned onto politics and Trump"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_%28harassment_campaign%29?useskin=vector#Legacy

I would rise up against this shoddy treatment, but I'm just too lazy.

Unsurprisingly, that army isn't discussing this on kotakuinaction. They're too busy crying about the white guy in cod being woke or something equally incoherent and irrational

The root of the problem is education. Or rather, the lack of it. No one is teaching their kids critical thinking skills, and the schools are failing at that too. This combined with the ego empowering Internet of All Things (Most of Which are Bullshit) produces a populace that is not only ignorant, but also supremely confident that their version of ignorance is better than any other kind of knowledge, which in turn breeds even more ignorance.

Oh you have a p.h.d in physics? Well fuck you, I saw a clip on youtube that's absolutely true, you are wrong, and all scientists are liars

These people are like play-doh for Trump and politicians of his ilk. In the short term, people like Trump who will use and abuse this populace will benefit, in the long term you get Idiocracy, the complete opposite of an ideal and responsible citizen populace. I don't think even Plato could have predicted such an outcome for what is arguably the most powerful Empire that ever existed.

The US is fucked. Unfortunately most of the rest of the world seems to be headed (albeit more slowly) in the same direction.

This comment was edited on Jun 11, 2025, 05:43.

Kosumo wrote on Jun 11, 2025, 02:52:
If only there had been a band 30 years ago that would have told people to Rage Against the Machine.

Maybe next century.

While I like RATM, I highly doubt that Zack's lyrics can really change people's minds. They rile people up for a few minutes and then the listeners move on with their lives.

The US would rather need a Gandhi: silent and peaceful protest EVERYDAY, EVERYWHERE, and AT ANY TIME. Once this catches on and officers and marines don't see burning cars and people throwing stones but thousands of people everywhere simply sitting on the streets without any sign of aggression, most of them will refuse to use force on those people. And brutality and force is all the mad clown in the White House has.

A general strike with people peacefully sitting on streets and in front of government buildings are much more likely to bring down angry orange clown then riots which will just help mad king Donald and will give him a reason to take full control by force.

Unfortunately, especially angry young people are too naive and impulsive to see the trap and walk right into it.

If only there had been a band 30 years ago that would have told people to Rage Against the Machine.

Maybe next century.

gsilver is right, this is all about taking the money from the people with low up to medium wages and put it in the deep pockets of the oligarchs.

And always give those people that get shafted something to hate and look down on, so they are distracted while they get disowned.

I'm fairly sure that the strategy is to turn poor people against each other to slash any protections that they might have, by convincing them that the cuts don't apply to them, in service of tax cuts to the people on top. Stirring hate in the lower classes seems to be the main way they even garner support, since much of the platform requires people to endorse policies that hurt themselves. It's all divide-and-conquer, going after marginal groups to keep a base. Which groups are marginal at the moment can vary, and I don't think that it's even arguing what the current target is when it's clearly a scapegoat for the overall plan, especially in this case, where they're pushing massive cuts to the general population over a theoretical population that they won't even prove exists.

In this case, direct attacks on Medicaid expansion, under the guise that it's only for able-bodied workers choosing not to work, ignoring that medicaid disability has a strict $2000 asset limit in addition to the income requirements, so many disabled people are dependent on expansion to get the health coverage that they cannot otherwise afford. This also impacts the wider population, including workers out of work due to no fault of their own.

And beyond all that... no individual is cashing checks from having health care coverage. It's letting people see a doctor so that they don't get sick and die. Only the truly heartless are opposed to that.

I'd read about how lazy I am but I can't be bothered. Too much work.

Is there anyone they won't betray? Gamers were their personal army!

Trump's strategist Steve Bannon remarked that through Milo Yiannopoulos, who rose to fame during Gamergate as the technology journalist for Breitbart News (a news website Bannon co-founded), he had created a generation and an "army" that came in "through Gamergate ... and then get turned onto politics and Trump"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_%28harassment_campaign%29?useskin=vector#Legacy

I would rise up against this shoddy treatment, but I'm just too lazy.

Lazy ass gamers, too lazy to even buy new games for only $80.

They should watch out, the lazy gamer is the future of the GOP.