I’m feeling the same way. I’ve been mostly “stuck” in wherever I just ended up. Part of me really does fantasize about fleeing somewhere better, especially being in a part of the US with an absolutely abysmal education record (and it shows. Oh boy.)

But besides the resources, I don’t have some ultra compelling reason for a non-volatile nation to bother letting me in.

There’s cool people here, and I try to get along with whomever, but forming relationships feels really high stakes these days since contested politics and tribalism is infecting every facet of peoples’ lives.

Fair disclosure: Haven’t watched the video yet, but I’m honestly very appreciative of your counterpoints here. And I agree! A militocracy ain’t good news, either.

And you’re right: Taking him out over “unpopular policy” doesn’t make logical sense under a reasonable society.

I’m also aware that our civil checks and balances that should be putting the brakes on stupid policies are falling apart, because they’ve been carefully staffed by zealots heavily in favor of a single-minded, monolithic ideology.

However, I’m honestly wondering where the line is, that a leader’s blatantly criminal activity can officially brand them “unfit for office” and bear consequences.

Like if he actually tried to just kill someone for no reason in Times Square, as he boasted he could, could anybody stop him? Or is it just “rules for thee, not for me” and we actually have a king now?

Because you know if “We The People” stepped in to stop that, we’d all get gulag’d.

If he decides “lol yeah let’s annex Canada.” Can our forces deny such a stupid order? Even though he is, technically, “their boss”?

Impeachment historically seems like a “strong suggestion” more than a solution.

According to USA.gov:

The presidents impeached by the House were: Andrew Johnson in 1868 William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton in 1998 Donald John Trump in 2019 and 2021

Presidents Johnson, Clinton, and Trump remained in office following acquittals by the Senate on all charges.

It sounds like The People can’t really do much but demand that their officials follow through, but even then, it sounds like justice is never actually carried out.

It’s honestly terrifying to think about, and I wish we knew what to do that was actually effective to reverse course on this absolute insanity.

Imagine that guy being able to reach his own back lol.

U S perspective here.

I keep remembering that oath our armed forces repeat so much: “… To defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

What in the flippin’ hell do these bastards gotta do to be considered “domestic enemies”‽

Because apparently directly provoking all our neighbors to attack us out of self defense, or allying with friggin’ Putin, along with a million other treasons, aren’t qualifying enough? Who over there is gonna actually protect and defend the Constitution and the People of the United States of America?!

Because dammit we haven’t lived this frickin long, through countless crises and bullshit, just to get shot or bombed by a Canadian we should’ve been sharing pancakes and beer with!!!

FULFILL THAT OATH YOU LIKE TO RECITE SO MUCH. OR COUNTLESS INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE OVER ORANGE CALIGULA’S EGO.

The way these “theories” are thrown around these days with such an air of legitimacy is truly terrifying.

This absolute miracle of communication at our fingertips, and it’s 99% noise, dangerous noise, vying to worm its way into whatever cracks in the human psyche it can find. At the least harmful, it’s persuading ads. And on the other end, people are flying out to go join ISIS or Ruzzia because they got algorithmed into a Facebook group or absorbed enough TikTok radiation.

I miss when the internet “wasn’t real life.”

Not sure about your upbringing, but I know I also didn’t really have the means to do anything truly stupid.

Where’d this kid get the resources to go globe-trotting to a freaking war-embattled fascist state? That’s what blows my mind. Someone responsible for him was complicit in his self destruction.

Either extremely impressionable, or maybe had his account handed over after he was pulled off the street and conscripted into a ruzzian meat wave.

Either way, tragic waste of human life, being anywhere near involvement with their military.

Wait til 'e hears about NASA. 🫢

> Be me. 
> Report a story about  other religious groups having hot takes on the Pope dying. 
> F to pay respects :(
> Feelsbadman.jpeg
> Randos are all over it. Apparently they didn't like the guy.
> They're mad a guy from a different religion was humane about it and not trying to start a holy war. 
> They're throwing around words like "crusader" hoping for another holy war because they're bored and missed the first one.
> And I get paid to post their stupid meaningless opinions.
> AwShitHereWeGoAgain.png

Mueh-heh-heeeh…(Click)…(rubs hands together while it loads)

victims of society

Yeah, they have no idea what this means but they seem to REALLY want to find out.

I see what you mean. Science is a fantastic tool but when leaders just wave it around with vague claims that “experts have done studies that agreed with me.” . . . It always spells trouble.

I see where you’re coming from and agree from that perspective, on the other hand, I feel like it highlights and billboards the stupidity of this regime extremely well.

Like: “Hey we could have a cure for cancer any minute now but no, these dumbnuts are too busy scaring and/or extrajudicially kidnapping people who would better humanity.”

Well it’s artificially upscaled, so it’s like the original but appears to be superficially aping its qualities with no actual understanding of the source material.

You’re totally right. Without that inner life we’d just be forced into being exactly like our parents because we wouldn’t grow as individuals.

I think the problem is when, hypothetically, that inner life that finds you first is a profit-driven hate-brewing death cult brought to you by an algorithm. Then these people “totally get you” and gives you a “community.”

I miss when those unsupervised inner life communities were mostly around hobbies or games or whatever to escape life drudgery and make real friends. MySpace wasn’t about viral brainwashing campaigns, YouTube was mostly creation for fun’s sake, and even with online games and such, we all knew there was a separation between “the Internet” and “Real Life™”.

Everybody knew not to take the Internet seriously, because it was a place you went to escape everything else. Nothing really mattered on the internet.

I think now people don’t really see a separation. The Internet is real life, in the worst way.

Now so much of it is a minefield of recruitment and manipulation to enlist in culture wars for clicks. There’s labels and lifestyles that act as “funnels” and “pipelines” to increasingly toxic extreme identities that find “belonging” in being captive mindslaves and profit-cattle to any number of “influencers.”

Sure, let’s not try to help them and just fuck them instead.

How society collectively decided to design the Millennial experience lol.

No joke. We went from getting yelled at by old people for problems they caused, to being called old and getting shoved aside by the generation ahead of us, really freaking fast.

I feel like we’ve already been forgotten after we were robbed of opportunity and respect at every turn.

I try to focus my energy towards the good ones. There’s still good people out there. I’ve met many kids that would put the majority of adults to shame with their level of intelligence, maturity, and respect. The odds are so against them though.

Maybe the murder/crime rate has technically gone down, but the prospect of getting thrown in a literal dungeon without trial for having a tattoo, being mistaken for someone else, or doing some thing the government decided they didn’t like that week, doesn’t sound safe, even if statistically so.

By that definition, the DPRK is “safe” because you’re unlikely to get randomly mugged or something while you’re there. But God have mercy on a tourist who tries to bring home a piece of paper from a hotel room.

Oh 110% agreed. Big time.

I can even understand if it were a bit of debate, for the very worst offenses or something. (Not that I’d agree, but I can understand people debating it.)

I think I was more aghast at how people were frivolously suggesting gulag camps without the slightest moral ponderance over…

(Flips pages)

…Keying off some car paint…

Suburbanites can be a special kind of evil.

ABRUPT_RECORD_SCRATCH.wav