@OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

OrionKidder

@OrionKidder@mas.to

English prof at FDU Vancouver, specialize in composition and comics scholarship, dad, nerd, writer of SF/F fiction (see me on writing.exchange).

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

JamesGleick, to random
@JamesGleick@zirk.us avatar

“America is entering its most important, pivotal year since 1860, and the U.S. media is doing a terrible job explaining what is actually happening.…
What we call the Republican Party is barely a political party in any sense of the word but a dangerous antisocial movement that has embraced many of the tenets of fascism, from calls for violence to its dehumanizing of ‘others.’”

Must read @willbunch
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/media-2020-election-trump-authoritarianism-20230827.html https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/media-2020-election-trump-authoritarianism-20230827.html#loaded

OrionKidder,
@OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

@JamesGleick This is a tangent, but not an unrelated one:

American fascism really is when the gov't does to the majority, meaning white people, what's it's always done to Indigenous people, Black people, the disabled, women...

georgetakei, to random

Now is a good time to remind ourselves that Trump lies about everything. His weight, his golf prowess, his crowd sizes, his wealth, and yes, the 2020 election. It is ironic and sad that among GOP voters who value “honesty” in a candidate, Trump still rates the highest. Says a lot, huh?

OrionKidder,
@OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

@georgetakei Code word. "Honesty" for them means bigotry.

It was William Gibson who I first read point out something that I not realize is obvious:

No racist thinks they're racist. They think they're "realistic."

Free_Press, to random
@Free_Press@mstdn.social avatar

The Florida State Board of Education unanimously approved firing transgender school employees for using the wrong bathroom. Transgender people using state college facilities are barred from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identities.

School employees who use bathrooms that don't align with the gender assigned at birth could be fired if they use the wrong bathroom even once.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/08/24/Florida-transgender-school-bathrooms/9211692885968/

OrionKidder,
@OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

@Free_Press This is awful and cruel twice. First, firing people for being trans and using bathrooms as the paper-thin excuse, but second, telling trans people you have to hold it all day and dehydrate yourself if you do work here. Clearly, it's just to get them out of education in that state. Transparently bigoted.

"Bathrooms" are a way to rationalize bigotry.

SrRochardBunson, to random

deleted_by_author

    •
    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @SrRochardBunson They're real characters in real fictions. They're as real as any other ideas.

    georgetakei, to random

    So it looks like Donald Trump will be skipping the GOP debate in Milwaukee. It’s too bad, because he likely would have been asked directly about some of the crimes of which he stands accused, and he could have further incriminated himself on national television.

    Or perhaps that’s the very reason he isn’t showing up. His lawyers probably are very worried about what he might say.

    What do you think?

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @georgetakei I'm torn. He's very good at humiliating people in debate, especially other would-be bullies (ie, republican candidates), so on that note, I'm glad he's not doing it. On the other hand, he's so vulnerable right now, that the exposure might have harmed him politically, which we want, so I dunno, man. I just dunno.

    OrionKidder, to random
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    "What do people need to get them out of homelessness?"

    "Homes. Buy them homes."

    "No, I mean, what can we do for them, to get them out of homelessnes?"

    "Homes. They need homes. Put them in homes. Buy them homes."

    "No, you're not hearing me. What can we do to help them get out of homelessness?"

    "Homes. Houses. Apartments. Somewhere to sleep and keep all their stuff."

    "No no no, what i mean is..."

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @tony Oh of course. People who have spent time being homeless are very frequently deeply scarred by it, so they need other forms of support...

    ...which we also withhold.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @eribosot @tony Yeah, I'm sure that's basically true, although I suspect it's not car accidents that are the main problem. Exposure, ill health, infected wounds, drug overdoses, etc. That'll all cost a bundle.

    So the economic argument is: house them, feed them, provide counselling!

    Far more importantly, moral argument is: sweet merciful crap, HELP THEM!

    The only argument against it is "meritocracy": if you're homeless, it's because you deserve it.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @tony @eribosot I'm in Canada, but it's the same story. For many years, a LOT of the most visible homeless in our downtown were the result of a mental institution called Riverview being closed (because it was a nightmare!) but then never replaced.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @thesquirrelfish @tony I think you're making the same point. People who've been homeless are probably dealing with a lot of things, so many will have mental health issues, and as a humane society, we should help them with that, too. No means testing. No "drop your drugs at the door" (because most won't go through that door). Just help.

    beatnikprof, to chess
    @beatnikprof@mas.to avatar

    Why are chess competitions divided by gender?!?! IT’S CHESS!!!!
    Use small words. Pretend I’m a child.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @BigEatie @beatnikprof Yeah, this is the explanation. Men are no better at chess than women, but if you don't give women a separate division, they'll be lost in a sea of dudes.

    That said, lots of people argue against this arrangement, and I could be convinced either way, to be honest.

    futurebird, to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    This has mostly been reported as "trans women banned from women's chess" but it's much more sinister. (as if it weren't already.)

    ALL trans people are targeted by this ruling. Trans men will be stripped of all chess titles won, which can only be returned to them by “changing the gender back to a woman” (from the ICF’s ruling). ALL transgender chess players will be marked as trans in their files.

    If you play or know anyone who does take a stand on this. It's ugly.

    https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/international-chess-org-trans-women?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @futurebird That's vile. The transphobia has nothing to do with performance. Your gender presentation is unrelated to skill at frickin' chess. They're just pushing out trans players. Disgusting.

    RollingStone, to random

    “They [Fox News] purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, especially the big ‘orange’ one with my chin pulled way back. They think they're getting away with something, they’re not. Just like 2016 all over again…And then they want me to debate!” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-rants-fox-news-unflattering-photos-chin-1234808031/

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @RollingStone Oh, I have no doubt this is true. People pick the unflattering pictures all the time. The problem is that political discourse is still preoccupied with how photogenic politicians are.

    jonobie, to random
    @jonobie@social.coop avatar

    So I’m 100% with @mekkaokereke
    that people getting conservative as they age is a lie. (My 86 year old dad has gotten more liberal and militant with age. Same for my mom before she passed.)

    But … I’m finding that I’m preferring old & things the older I get. (I literally just bought a leather costrel on Etsy.) They’re simpler, more environmentally friendly and durable things and suddenly I’m like … oh god, am I turning “conservative”?! Like literally, that’s conserving old stuff …

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @jonobie @mekkaokereke I am old enough to say with certainty: stuff is made shittier now than then I was a kid, and I was a kid in the 80s when stuff was already made very shittily! Old stuff has already survived, and it's often way simpler in design, so it doesn't break down that way, either. If you get lucky, you can still find stuff made simple, like I have a toaster oven with actual knobs instead of software and touch buttons. It's glorious.

    TheConversationUS, to random
    @TheConversationUS@newsie.social avatar

    Critics of military recruitment call it the “poverty draft,” which motivates many young immigrants from poorer backgrounds to join the U.S. military for its benefits of money for education, and income to send their families or even to help avoid deportation.


    https://theconversation.com/i-asked-immigrants-from-28-countries-why-theyre-serving-in-the-us-military-and-its-not-primarily-to-gain-citizenship-209649

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @alexisdyslexic @TheConversationUS Sure. It's the same for labour. Keeping a percentage of your population poor and unemployed makes them desperate to do whatever work the employer offers them. It's also why they fight universal healthcare tooth and nail. They want you locked into that job, terrified to leave. The US military is just another employer, really.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @RememberUsAlways @alexisdyslexic @TheConversationUS We're talking about large scale systemic forces, here, not individual preferences. Black Americans make up 20% of the army and 13% of the population at large. That's not individual choice. That's a systemic bias.

    ai6yr, to space
    @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

    #NASA view of #wildfires on #Maui on Landsat8 on August 8th. #Hawaii #disaster

    Closeup showing almost all of Lahaina on fire.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @ai6yr Oh god.

    BlackAzizAnansi, to random
    @BlackAzizAnansi@mas.to avatar

    Also, while we're on the subject of elections, I just want to point out how so many people just don't want better from a policy standpoint, not because certain policies won't benefit society overall, but because some folks think certain policies won't benefit them individually, even when evidence is presented proving otherwise. It's disheartening to say the least.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @dax @BlackAzizAnansi It's an active defence of gender privilege. If women are treated like adult humans, men can't impose their will on them.

    pluralistic, to random
    @pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

    Improve your AI's diet

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @pluralistic Hahahaha! Feed the beast garbage. Poison it. Make it useless.

    OrionKidder, to vancouver
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    is finally after weeks of heat way too high for this place. It's bittersweet because as much as we need it, I'm only this relieved because it's wrong for us to have gone this long without it, and I know it's not enough. We'll be back to the heat soon, and this is just the beginning.

    beatnikprof, to StarTrek
    @beatnikprof@mas.to avatar

    I’ve seen enough.
    > “Once More with Feeling”

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @GiffordJames @beatnikprof Yes, I noticed mostly with Spock. But then you get a couple of legit singers in there to anchor: La’an and Uhura. It felt like enthusiastic theatre kids having a ball. It’s pretty charming.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @GiffordJames @beatnikprof It’s funny. An exercise like that really makes it clear who is a trained singer, who can carry a tune well enough, and who’s not a singer (and that’s okay). I’m a “can carry a tune” guy, like Ethan Peck (and there the resemblance goes to die). Christina Chong can fucking bring it!

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @GiffordJames @beatnikprof Singing always feels like magic to me. A regular old human being, just like me, can produce music just with their body. A voice that can ask you to take out the garbage turns into this thing of unutterable beauty. The transformation from the mundane to the magical is, I think, a huge part of the appeal of musicals. They were talking, and now they’re singing?! The fuck?

    OrionKidder, to investing
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    I am, despite my general disgust for the "financial sector," doing some in order to protect myself and my family in these very dangerous times. I don't like it, but I was born into , and I'm trying to survive.

    Anyway, one thing I've learned is more/most ppl don't do this bc a) they don't have the money to spare (the biggest reason), but also b) it takes WAY longer than it should to, eg, sell a mutual fund to cash.

    futurebird, to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    If you are a white leftist and you talk “both parties are the same they are both capitalist” you will loose most of your black audience. I think it ought to be obvious that this isn’t because blackfolks love Democrats (in most cases, there is always someone being simple in any group) —no. it’s because the difference between the parties is material and obvious and these are unstable times.

    When I hear such talk I wonder if the speaker is working on voter suppression.

    OrionKidder,
    @OrionKidder@mas.to avatar

    @futurebird @cshentrup @alper @anubis2814 People with little power getting together in order to hold the powerful to account == people with lots of power colluding to control large segments of everyday life. Leaving out the power differential is a tactic of rationalizing domination.

    And no, unions are not nearly as powerful as employers. Unions merely force employers to deal fairly with workers. They attempt to address unfairness. "Fairness" is perceived as domination only by dominators.

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