fiat_lux

@fiat_lux@kbin.social
fiat_lux,

I've never felt so conflicted. On one hand, I want to hug the puppy. On the other, sand. It makes me sad like porcupines do. Why won't they let me love them?

People are, as a rule, small and obedient creatures. They like to be told what to do. Shortsighted and small-minded. And, in packs, vicious yapping beasts. How do you resolve this?

To clarify the point for my four-legged friends. How do you resolve the incongruity between this and the conventional view? Which is that people are self-aware creatures with valuable opinions .

fiat_lux,

You seem to be preoccupied with what everyone else is doing that is, in your opinion, wrong. What are you doing right that makes you so comfortable condemning and dehumanizing others?

fiat_lux,

I have a deficiency in my ability to stand for more than several minutes. I am not insulted to hear that I have a deficiency, living that reality is far more insulting.

Lets assume I am invited to a professional event, one where I know the location and layout. If the event organiser has deliberately removed all the seating because it didn't match their cocktail party aesthetic, is the deficiency in my ability to stand or their ability to plan for the completely predictable outcome that all their attendees might not be able to or want to stand for a full 5 hour event?

And even if you think the deficiency is my problem to solve alone (which it legally is not), why does having a deficiency also then imply that I as a person am deficient? My ability to stand does not define my existence, so why has my personhood been defined as deficient? That's the insulting part. My standing time deficiency doesn't even limit my existence if a couple of chairs also exist nearby. These are not a new or expensive or niche technology.

Trump tightens grip on US Republican Party as daughter-in-law takes key post (www.reuters.com)

Donald Trump cemented his grip on the Republican National Committee on Friday after his daughter-in-law and another ally assumed top leadership posts amid a debate among members over whether the organization should help pay his legal bills....

fiat_lux,

the only beneficiaries will be his victims

He'll be using most of the funds in his closed circle economy of lawyers and lackies who are tasked with preventing his victims from receiving a penny. Those people then pay him and his expenses to keep him and themselves in power and ensure funds keep flowing. Not to mention the constant targeting of opposing parties for harassment by the people he has successfully radicalized.

His victims might get a few pennies, but almost definitely they'll get a whole world of death threats. "Give him everything" is the same short-sighted policy of appeasement they tried on one of his role models.

fiat_lux,

In what way? The RNC will be funnelling cash before the election, and nothing has been done about Trump beyond some civil suits since his presidency. What has happened to make you think his cash flow has been restricted enough to prevent churning new loans that he won't pay? He's been doing it his entire life.

fiat_lux,

Blaming the people who need to eat instead of the people creating an economy out of death and misery is counter-productive. US foreign policy and economics have centered around war for at least 80 years, Biden has played a crucial role in facilitating it for a few decades.

And the fact a person has been arrested for shouting at the president in the same location where people literally stormed it and engaged in literal violence and walked away free that day? Amazing.

Biden might be infinitely better than the alternative for most citizens of the US (and likely the entire world) - but the non-US part of the world has been bearing the costs of the US military economy that has provided the privileges US citizens currently enjoy.

But fuck the guy who lost his kid, right? He's the real problem. /s

fiat_lux,

what happened was a logical and known potential outcome and consequence of signing up

It certainly is, but when the burden of responsibility is only placed on the person at the end of the line, it lets the fuckers at the top with the unequal power skirt their responsibility. Perhaps "blame" is too far, but it doss seem like you've perhaps disproportionately assigned blame to thus one shouting guy and his kid.

You make it sound as if the choice is binary between starving and joining the military: it’s not.

Not at all, but I do acknowledge that for many, and in increasing amounts, the decision has indeed become very close to that binary. US hegemony relies on people to do the enforcement. That's obviously dangerous, and thankfully, despite pervasive cultural conditioning, most people aren't interested in killing others overseas while living in an overcrowded dorm eating slop. So the conditions have been put in place by the ruling class to force people into doing it.

If you're unlucky enough to be born in Podunk Nowhere, where disaster capitalism has resulted in the only employers being Walmart, mcdonalds or the shady abattoir that "hires" minors, you don't start with many options. Add in an "education" from a system that has been rotted from within by zealots, complete with in-school army recruiter. Add in a culture that loves guns. Add in a family member in debt from medical accident (probably at the abattoir), or an unplanned pregnancy because of no access to abortion. Maybe they're also living at home with a parent who is addicted to meth out of desperation to avoid their poverty and misery... and the military starts looking like a very tempting option.

You have the chance of dying and disability in the military, and the likelihood that you're forced to murder, but also the glimmer of hope of an education, family healthcare and a way out of Podunk's cycle of poverty. That's a powerful motivator for someone who doesn't see any other realistic options. It's a deliberate funnel into committing murder through economic coercion and military worship culture, and the fault lies with the trap makers, not the trapped.

The only thing that makes the last 80 years different is the efficiency of murder and the new murder weapons they have access to.

And the extent of its reach. A century ago, the US was pretty limited to war on North American soil, and land it claims. When the war is that close, the realities of suffering are hard to conceal from the people whom you need to inflict it. Wars in other continents though can be sanitized by the media, and the people who are caught in the military funnel trap find out after they've signed the contract.

Thankfully the prevalence of video tech has allowed us to mitigate some of that media sanitization, but again, putting the burden of responsibility on the 18 year old who has never been taught critical thinking skills allows the 65+ year old networked decision makers at the top to slide off the hook.

Tl;dr I think it's OK to acknowledge everything on all fronts is fucked for everyone except the ruling class. I also think it's OK to shout at the ruling class, even in their house, when you were invited to be there.

fiat_lux,

Thanks for understanding and being willing to consider a stranger's point of view, I appreciate it.

fiat_lux,

I'm not a Jamaican patois speaker, but I think it's "A licky boom boom dem" and translates to "Are ass-lickers, them".

fiat_lux,

My rule is that if you intend to touch the butter/spread/sticky stuff with a utensil, that utensil cannot touch the bread. You just drop the portion on the bread from a height until you think there's enough to cover it, and then you can spread it with that utensil, but if you need to revisit the jar, you need another fresh utensil.

You can't get crumbs in there if there's no cross contamination from the equipment to begin with!

You get better at estimating over time, but having one extra piece of cutlery to wash occasionally is less infuriating than unexpected stale crumbs and food that spoils more quickly from the contaminating yeasts and other organisms.

fiat_lux, (edited )

Qr codes are usually very error tolerant by design. On the super tolerant ones they can work with like 30% of the code missing.

fiat_lux,

Israel Appropriates. Very interesting language.

All the reports Reuters makes on the
Russia war treats land ownership quite differently. When Ukraine takes land they say "Ukraine regains (number)km/ (TownName)". Russians taking land is either seemingly not reported or phrased as "Russia says its forces have improved positions in / captured (Location)". Only mentions of Russian gains are phrased to reference killing (forces is a useful homonym). Ukraine gains are phrased as the entire country reclaiming rightful stake (regains implies they were there first, and the region's history is vastly more complex than that).

Israel headlines though refer to either the entire country "appropriating" space or for the really murderous stuff it specifies the IDF as the perpetrators. The whole country headline versions sound temporary and even morally neutral, while the obviously indefensible genocide can be compartmentalised as only being the military and harsh realities of war. They even get to disconnect the word Israel by only ever saying the initialism IDF.

They're three different characterisations entirely of the same act by different countries - killing each other to control politically strategic physical space ownership.

I hope one day people can realise we're all just being used as disposable pawns targeting other humans, who are also just trying to live peacefully in this dystopian civilisation. None of the headlines about suffering ever needed to happen. We all need to stop whatever it is we do that contributes to those who rule us and would have us die for them.

fiat_lux,

I feel ashamed of how I used to think and act.

Hey friend, I would like to offer you a reframing of this situation. Despite being exposed to some of the strongest cultural indoctrination into warmongering and the military, you made it out and embraced empathy and learning. That's huge. I'm proud of you, that's a positive change most people never make. You should be proud of it.

I just hope that is makes it’s way down the ranks

You have a powerful and important story. Sharing it like you did just now helps more than hopes can. Keep sharing it, you never know who might be reading it and encouraged to question the lessons they were taught.

fiat_lux,

Traditional homonyms reinforce ingrained cultural stereotypes.

Nobody in the right mind would argue that the word "mankind" means only male part of humanity.

Perhaps not, but it does support the outdated tradition of considering the male gender to be the "default person". This has had many lasting negative consequences, in areas ranging from scientific research to product design.

fiat_lux,

It's very easy to cast ableist accusations at imaginary scenarios.

Nobody is suggesting the word is erased from the dictionary or existing literature be modified. We're suggesting that it is more efficient communication to choose words which communicate our intended meaning instead of incorporating unintended additional anachronistic connotations. There are plenty of existing choices that are just as easily understood, we don't even need to invent new ones.

It's the same reason I no longer call cigarettes "fags" - and that actually has a different etymology to the slur, whereas "mankind" is inherently based on the gendered word "man". It's just not worth it to have to actively disambiguate the meaning, especially to someone who has some associated memories of being bullied for their sexuality.

People may not say a word with negative intentions, but when you are excluded for irrelevant historical reasons that imply you're not worth considering, it's noticeable. If you think that's not the case, walk into your next work meeting and greet them only with "Hello, ladies."

Intention and perceived intention are conveyed by the words we choose, it makes sense to be intentionally unambiguous.

fiat_lux,

Can I ask how this particular meal works with your limitations? I have strategies I've had to implement too, so I'm always interested in how others manage.

fiat_lux,

Oof. I have a different musculoskeletal problem with a far less interesting story behind it, but functionally a quite similar limitation that also prevents much... verticality. I completely hear you on the mindless zombie complications too, it's fucking awful. I'm sorry we have both found ourselves in this shitty boat!

The meal makes good sense. 30 mins is a fair bit though, so I can see why you space it our that far.

If you ever feel like something a little different, maybe one of my tricks might help you. I order delivery... but I extend it out by nuking potatoes and frozen vegetables. A potato the size of my fist takes 3 mins 30 in my microwave, broccoli and spinach similar from frozen. The tinned tomatoes I buy are also a "heat up and add flavors" quick option because they're not watery.

One curry from my local Indian place that has way too much sauce turns into 3 meals with a much better nutritional balance when I dump any or all of those in. They're done before the food even arrives, i don't have to watch an appliance with a flame, or clean much, and the cost per portion reduces to something sensible.

opioids made me intolerant to dairy,

TIL that's a thing. I just have to ration mine to a ridiculous degree at a low dosage or i get the more common peristalsis problems in a very unpleasant way.

I’m managing the rollercoaster ride to make the ups and downs as tolerable as I can.

Amen. And I wish you the best of luck in doing so.

fiat_lux,

I know the answer won't make sense, but was there a reason 1995 was specifically chosen? Was 1996 particularly satanic?

fiat_lux,

...what? Is there a new book in the bible that I missed that takes a position on media from sources with low quantities of Christians?

I'm genuinely interested in what prompted this question.

AI hiring tools may be filtering out the best job applicants (www.bbc.com)

an AI resume screener had been trained on CVs of employees already at the firm, giving people extra marks if they listed "baseball" or "basketball" – hobbies that were linked to more successful staff, often men. Those who mentioned "softball" – typically women – were downgraded....

fiat_lux,

Hobbies indicate interest and aptitude. Someone who collects things might enjoy jobs and tasks related to organisation but not necessarily enjoy highly collaborative work that requires many meetings, whereas someone who enjoys team sports might enjoy the more collaborative social meeting type work instead of solo detailed organisation etc.

It is far from the first thing I would use as a hiring choice, but it does give me an idea of questions I might ask someone to figure out what would make them happiest.

fiat_lux,

The people who are marginalised by the process are the ones who will be doing the real suffering.

fiat_lux,

That is not a level of power I officially possess, but it is a level of power that I am able to unofficially implement for the people who solely report to me. I am also able to tailor their roles and responsibilities to whatever causes them the least pain because their job titles are extremely non-specific, which is very helpful for both of us.

Both manager and non-managers are economically coerced into providing our time and energy. I try my best to reduce that burden for as many people as I can without being noticed by the people who are willing to suck the life out of others for personal gain.

I'm a US citizen, people in other countries, what do you think when you read stories like these about the US health care system? (www.vox.com)

I’d like to know other non-US citizen’s opinions on your health care system are when you read a story like this. I know there are worse places in the world to receive health care, and better. What runs through your heads when you have a medical emergency?...

fiat_lux,

In Australia, it's not too uncommon to hear people have conversations about how fucked the US system is. That's partly a symptom of how intertwined my life is with the topic of medicine and healthcare systems though, I'm sure most people have far fewer discussions about those topics than I do.

Having said that, I have certainly said "Thank God I'm not in the US" and received emphatic agreement in conversations.

I've also had a doctor say "well at least you're not in the US" to me during an appointment, after I expressed some displeasure at how much something was going to cost me - because i wasn't considered a valid demographic for that specific drug to receive the subsidy.

Socialised medicine doesn't mean free medicine, sadly. And our system has been run down by the ruling class attempting to emulate the US version's money-churning machine.

fiat_lux,

I never want to hear anyone try to say NATO isn't just an international military that is guided / deeply influenced by American foreign policy ever again. One of the few good things to ever come from the Trump fiasco is that they're finally saying the quiet parts out loud, but the fact that this will receive no coverage, let alone criticism, means that might just be even more dangerous for all of us, even outside the Atlantic.

The world is on fire and humanity is prioritising manufacturing our own suicide above investing in fire extinguishers.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • JUstTest
  • everett
  • InstantRegret
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • khanakhh
  • rosin
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • mdbf
  • cubers
  • kavyap
  • ethstaker
  • DreamBathrooms
  • anitta
  • ngwrru68w68
  • Durango
  • osvaldo12
  • tacticalgear
  • cisconetworking
  • tester
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • GTA5RPClips
  • modclub
  • normalnudes
  • megavids
  • lostlight
  • All magazines