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Joined 3 months ago
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Cake day: April 1st, 2025

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  • Well, a few things…

    First and foremost, all authority is derived from a threat of force. Let’s just get that out of the way.

    Second, the “agreement” not to use that force on our own citizens has been steadily blurred by an increasingly militarized police force. What we’ve been seeing in terms of civil unrest in this country is the inevitable result of that. The police in this country have turned themselves into an occupying force.

    Third, conservative media has been gradually instilling a desire for violence in conservative culture. They’ve been doing this for decades. They’ve been playing the same familiar tropes that enable cultures to engage in the practice of othering, which makes them ambivalent to the idea of violence being inflicted on people outside of their cultural identity.

    Lastly, Trump doesn’t give a shit about this, and neither do conservative representatives. Outright flagrant dishonesty is a pillar of cultural conservatism. Never believe what they are saying. They have a set of rules and protections that they apply to others, and an entirely different set that they apply to everyone else.







  • Right or wrong is rarely as binary as you seem to be imagining. It’s a spectrum. Alignment with reality is contingent upon a habit of seeking better information. If better information comes along, any intellectually healthy person should be willing to accept it and integrate it into their understanding of the world.

    Also - cultivate a habit of knowing that it’s ok to be wrong. Your beliefs don’t define you as much as HOW you choose to shape your beliefs.

    We have pattern-seeking brains that instinctually crave a sense of certainty that rarely exists in reality. We always have to be aware of that. We also live in a society that unfortunately reinforces this tendency.

    Don’t strive to be “right.” Strive to be well-informed.




  • Even if these are restored, the spell has been thoroughly broken.

    Trump has shown that the supposedly sacred institutions intended to protect democracy absolutely disintegrate the first time a 3rd rate dictator shows up and knocks them down.

    Trump has shown that the office of the presidency itself can be obtained by the most dipshit motherfuckers imaginable.

    Trump has shown that our electorate is hilariously unqualified for the responsibility of choosing our elected officials.

    Rebuild everything, and what are we left with but a system that is utterly incapable of protecting itself against fascism? How in the absolute fuck can we ever be expected to respect the office of the presidency again after seeing that the absolute worst among us is capable of achieving it?

    At this point, I think people are just hoping that the next election will restore the illusion. But for a lot of people, the perception of what this country is will be forever compromised.