I guess it makes more sense than slamming your testicals against the wall.

In a way relating to human anatomy that has caused me to remove this phrase from my usage in recent years (because I worried how others would take it) the balls=testicles actually always made sense to me, but I’m not going to explain it.

However, now that I know what the most literal interpretation of the phrase actually is, I can feel safe using it again!

Whew folks lined up to kiss that ring FAST!

Not only do I agree, but also it has been my feeling that the Starbucks footage and visit was a performance of some kind, and the water and phone they found were a distraction. Dude seems to have otherwise thought this through pretty well.

I admit that’s nothing more than a hunch though, and I can’t really defend it against anyone who disagrees.

2 or so years ago I’d have agreed with you.

But it’s become clear that the wealthy and powerful are beyond the reach of our justice system. coughdementedfeloninthewhitehousecough

So fuck 'em.

I understand why they will prosecute him if they catch him, but I wish for him to never get caught, and I feel really confident (given the other signs of planning) that the phone, water bottle, and very public appearance at Starbucks in recognizable clothing are nothing but a red herring.

Haven’t you effectively just added a second side track and lever? It’s still the same choice.

Ah, the anti- student loan forgiveness argument.

Just clarifying because I feel we’re talking past each other:

You asked the folks in this discussion:

If the problem is fixable technical shortcomings, why not fix them instead of throwing up our hands and surrendering?

to which I said

Because not everyone is a developer.

to which you said

You don’t have to be a developer to use Lemmy

True. But that’s not what where we’re at in the discussion.

It sounds like mastodon still has technical issues . If Lemmy’s were solvable, mastodon’s are too. Otherwise, how did mastodon get built in the first place?

I’m quite sure they are solvable, but likely not by the folks complaining about the technical issues and choosing to use other services like bluesky. Because not everyone is a developer.

So in other words, I think your musing out loud about why don’t we solve the issues instead of giving up and using something else is being directed to the wrong people.

I think it’s just discoverability of content, and probably some UX. Mastodon isn’t really a great show of what ActivityPub can do.

I’m kind of surprised I don’t see Calckey or similar mentioned more. Personally I think it has solved a lot of Mastodon’s problems, but it seems niche even within the niche that is the fediverse.

https://calckey.world/

As a Linux user since 2007 I feel a little dirty uttering this phrase, but:

Because not everyone is a developer.

Thanks for that explanation!

So, arguably, a country like the US is a better place for such ideals to minimize the time spent in the first phase and hasten the transition to the second phase since we are already industrialized?

(Not, by the way, that I say this to suggest it is necessarily a fair tradeoff for the first phase. I’m not making a judgement there at all.)

That makes pretty good sense to me, but what about China? They are no longer in the first stages correct? What’s their excuse?

+++ They fucked up many things during the clone wars/prequel period of time, and suffered from hubris and arrogance no doubt. But they were right about that one thing.

I think he’s going entirely the wrong way then.

If he owns all accounts he’s responsible for all accounts, right?

He should have just let it go.

I can see how that makes sense. I’m not anti-psychedelics in general (if presented with a binary choice of being anti or not), but I’m also not of the experience level nor comfort level to be offering them to my son. If they would become something available to him clinically I’d support it if recommended by his doctor of course. (not that he needs our permission at his age)

Nonetheless I appreciate that you took the time to make that detailed write up. Thanks!

1.) I grew up in this line of thinking (but also deeply religious, so it’s a little different) and it dissipated due to two main things: psychedelics and losing weight/becoming more confident and in-shape. In my case, I hated myself because I was unattractive and very overweight. I saw other people getting girls and resented how easy it seemed, while I felt invisible.

My GenZ son is in his early twenties and lockdown and covid impacts on his health and school have really thrown him for a loop. He has not been overcome by fascist ideologies, but we seem unable to inspire him with any motivation. He’s the same sweet person he’s always been, but I think he is content to just play video games in his room and do D&D with his friends a couple times a week forever. (I understand that, but we won’t always be here to put a roof over his head, and we are not wealthy people. He’s going to need to support himself when we go.)

He is also very overweight (the entire family is, but he’s really accelerating it) and although he doesn’t seem very very bothered by it, I know he’s aware of it.

I understand the need for exercise and I understand calories. Those things don’t need explaining. But I’d love to know how you got over that hurdle to start doing something about your body. I feel like some successes there could easily translate to greater confidence and motivation in other areas.

We spend lots of time together, we enjoy him just like we always have, he just seems rudderless and we’re trying to help him without controlling him, but with limited success.

Anything you might be able to share about your turnaround could be helpful. Though I’m not offering him psychadelics. 🙂

“Accidentally”

You replied to OP with that spammy mess in two different posts? And then act all snotty when called out?

(Apparently also not noticing the name of the account you replied to nor its profile pic? - someone who does NOT need conversion)

Here’s a tip from a longtime Linux user: You’re making us look bad. Find a different way.

This is crazy… misguided, hypocritical, extreme, and unsafe. Etc.

Just like back alley abortions. Both easily avoided by respecting the bodily and reproductive autonomy of women.

Only in a two-party system.

So you mean - like the system this election took place within?

For the love of all that is holy, do not assume that they will figure out everything you just typed above from the fact that you didn’t vote for them.

I don’t actually agree with your choice, but I do agree with this:

The Dems can be better, but they choose not to.

So please, if you have convinced yourself that withholding one vote out of tens of millions will somehow send them the message you are trying to send, please also convince yourself that it would be even more effective to drop them a line and let them know how you feel in explicit detail.

https://democrats.org/contact-us/

Same message for everyone else who chose a protest vote on Tuesday. It’s all great to feel like you did the right thing, but maybe now question whether your message will actually be received, and be sure that it does. Otherwise you put Trump in for literally nothing.