Elementary school through high school, and they taught socialism to basically be when the government runs services or really does anything someone else could be making money off it
I think healthcare was a big sticking point for the label, but they basically described any social safety net as socialist.
It not have been in your curriculum, but teachers watch mainstream media too…
I’m trying to think what shattered the illusion for me… Weirdly, one of the first ones was when I was in high school, my Spanish teacher told me that in Spain, they had hardly any computers (she had just visited that summer). I told that to a friend of my dad, and he was like “uh… No, pretty much everyone has them”. Which wasn’t propaganda, but I think they was the first time I felt ashamed of my ignorance
Then in college, I was having a discussion about politics with someone from Paris, and mentioned offhand how it’s different because they’re a socialist country. He laughed and said “what? We’re not socialist”. That was pounded into me since elementary school, that the UK and France were socialists.
The guy owned a business, and I knew this and the fact he was fairly wealthy due to said business… And that’s when the illusion completely shattered, and I realized I was repeating shit I’d been taught without evaluating the information
Propaganda works. On all of us… It works less if you’re aware of it and examine your own beliefs, but that shit creeps in through the cracks. It’s insidious
If banning tik tok ends up galvanizing demand for healthcare reform I’m going to laugh my ass off
So I’m not crazy? I could’ve sworn I looked into it, and it was basically just a credit score where you also get dinged for police interaction or living with someone who committed a crime
That’s actually brilliant
Days after exposing himself as a fake poser of a gamer, Elon has conveniently (again) reminded us he’s also a fake poser of a programmer
Poss-i-ble. That’s how you say it in French
Unwashed eggs?!? Gross
Just kidding, I’m actually extremely jealous, those eggs taste so much better (and are probably way safer at this point)
Double time, half power. Everything just tastes better, it’s heated more evenly and less dried out/mushy
The amazing thing is I can’t get people to try it… Every time I mention it people look at me like I’m crazy to suggest they wait an extra 3 minutes for their food
12am Happy new year! 1am Friend an hour back: Now it’s new years Me: well, I’ve been in 2025 an hour and it seems uneventful, probably a good sign
I’m sorry for jinxing it, everyone
Pagliaci goes to the doctor and says, “help doc I’m so sad.” The doctor replies, “your appointment today was for blood work, due to health system policies you’ll have to schedule a separate appointment”
As Pagliaci stood to leave, the doctor called out, “hey, have you ever seen someone eat a clock?” Pagliaci had not. The doctor whispered conspiratorially, “it’s crazy, check it out on YouTube. Make sure to like and subscribe, it really helps with the algorithm”
Fair, but I think our understandings of mob rule differ
To me, mob rule isn’t just mobs with pitchforks, it’s when people get so upset by injustice, they turn to violence. Humans are naturally very averse to killing, even in war, with their lives on the line, most people struggle to kill (hence the psychological techniques like dehumanization and tearing people down until they can follow orders without thinking much)
Imagine a feudal lord who works his people to death. To me, a knife in the back or poison in the wine is mob rule, assuming it’s organic and/or the people tacitly support it by closing ranks around the assassin
It’s anarchy, which is not the absence of rules, but the absence of explicit laws. Is the natural human state - we don’t need laws from the state or from sky daddy to get along.
Laws create clear lines (theoretically), which say “if you’re on this side you’re safe”
Mob rule means “if you piss people off so bad they turn on you, you suffer the consequences”. You don’t get clear lines to exploit, you don’t get to hide behind bureaucracy…you’re just responsible for your actions in a very organic way
I’m going to go out on a limb and say fedora silverblue or bazzite
Basic user? Use flat packs and enjoy easy graphics support, as well as all of the windows compatibility for gaming
Advanced user? Learn to do things in pods/containers or distrobox, it’s easy even if the quick start docs aren’t great (I can find my cheat sheets if anyone is going down that road)
Pro: most stuff just works, and it’s harder to config yourself into a corner you have to research your way out of
Cons: normal Linux install guides need to be modified a bit, it’s not hard but you do have to learn how to do it
I like to say I’m ambidextrous, because I write equally badly with each hand. I can write like 3x faster with my dominant hand though, it just all looks terrible… My typing is good though, weirdly, so is my calligraphy
I remember my friend helping me find my dominant foot though, it was similar… He threw down a board and told me to jump on. I’m actually a switch with my feet though, the “right” way changes moment to moment but I can switch without relearning from scratch
Ironically, Jewish history contains several occurrences where the default of right handedness was used to great effect
Happened in the US too. I had teachers who were forced to use their right hand… With “mixed” results. And by mixed, I mean they switched to their dominant hand the moment it was acceptable, if not sooner
2024 was kind of a break. It wasn’t that bad (comparatively), a few things happened that brought us hope, a lot of things happened that suggest things are going to get much worse
Might be the best year of the decade, honestly
Don’t forget the handwritten manifesto I was able to read in full the day I heard the news
No, make the story even more ridiculous. Tell them how you mistook lube for body wash at the store, and while cleaning your ass in the shower your finger accidentally slid inside, surprising you and causing you to slip on the lube, kicking the shampoo bottle into the center of the shower. And in desperately acting to remove your fingers, your stretched your butt cheeks right as you came down on the bottle
Yes, they know what happened. But the least you can do is give them an absurd story, really play it up. Bonus points for giving them all relevant information as another unlikely accident leading up to the event
They’ll eat it up, they’ve seen enough of this to not really care. But a great story will give them joy for years to come