Yup, can’t have that!

Calling it now: any challenges to the status quo (aka holding capitalism and the christian white supremacist patriarchal ableist state and establishment responsible for creating the mess we’re in for their own benefit) are going to be categorised as “putrid conspiracy theories” right along side and equally to shit like blaming the Jews for controlling and manipulating the economy, asylum seekers for stealing all the jobs and white women, trans people for grooming and turning all the kids, disabled people for draining the tax pot, and communists for anything that’s left over.

The education system is far too valuable an asset to the state, they’re not going to let such an important tool of indoctrination be subverted to the point where it can be used against them.

So the kids can get a little critical thinking, as a treat, but not enough to give them ideas above their station.

I really miss kbin… 😔(no hard feelings, I genuinely wish Ernest the best and hope he makes a comeback)

I actually tried migrating my account from there before the major issues, as a backup, but realised it didn’t back up my blocked lists, which are much harder for me to recreate than my subscribed list and settings are, so decided to wait and see if anyone improved the migration tools.

Then it became too late, and I had to start from scratch, and am now regretting the instance I chose, and have not yet had the brain space to check out the other kbin/mbin instances and find a new one I like. Until then I’m reluctant to participate.

If anything, the last couple of months, with kbin dying and realising how uncomfortable I am on an instance run by people who have expectations from their users I fundamentally disagree with, have made me want to start my own private kbin/mbin instance for myself so that I don’t end up in either situation again, but I don’t know that it’s something I can take on, having no programming knowledge or any experience with anything like that.

So yes, I agree with you, for more than the reasons you’ve provided, and I hope we, as a general community use these developments to learn and improve.

This is just really pedantic tho,

It really fucking is, and you’re clearly aware it is, and yet, here we are!

the most important part is that femicides get treated more seriously

So how about you do just that? You do realise that you are perfectly capable of just keeping this kind of unhelpful bullshit to yourself, right? Because I honestly doubt anyone gives a shit if a poster made by a charity already taking femicide more seriously “doesn’t feel right” to you, a person clearly more concerned with the artificial construct that is grammer than with the content. The only thing your reply has contributed to the conversation is to derail it. Well done.

I become a stauncher anti-capitalist every day, since capitalism and its unsustainable and literally impossible aim of infinite growth, and the greed and corruption it encourages, is why climate change is not only happening but also not being treated seriously, and abolishing it is the only hope we have of dealing with the damage climate change will bring and try and minimize it going forward (since its past the point of stopping it entirely).

The whole point of those responsible shifting blame on to individuals who have nothing to do with the decisions that got us here, nor the profits they make, is to get you to the point you’re at now - hopelessness which leads to inaction, or desperation that leads to futile action (like banning straws or paying to reduce your “carbon footprint” - a term they made up for this exact purpose, and so on, all of which are there to make sure you’re criticising your neighbour for their recycling habits instead of the companies that say they’re recycling and get paid to but really send the garbage directly to landfill, or to a developing nation already drowning in western trash).

What you actually need to be is angry and focused, to ensure your anger is aimed at the right people and the systems they uphold that got us here. Those systems are not natural or inevitable or immutable, they are artificially created by and for the benefit of a really small group of humans, a group we could easily be rid of if we actually united to do so.

Oh, the irony of the police “warning” us (hint: they play a large part in the violence, both directly themselves, and by enabling others).

Also:

https://chimesnewspaper.com/52853/opinions/the-language-of-rape-culture-normalizes-violence/#:~:text=THE IMPACT OF THE DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE 

TL;DR:

It really is an incredible read, but to be fair, it was already the case back in the day, and even earlier, off the top of my head:

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/ye-olde-anti-vaxxers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Francisco

Difference is we now have instant global mass media, so it all spreads much further, much faster.

But anti-intellectualism has always been a core feature of fascism

At some point it won’t anymore, but for many different reasons, they can’t see/don’t care.

First of all, as we mentioned, capitalism decays in to fascism, at which point (and why they actively working towards it) they will have even more power and less human rights to get in the way of the exploitation oppression and resource accumulation.

Then there’s also the fact that, being so far removed from the rest of society and being the ones who make the rules, they don’t feel like those should apply to them, not even rules of nature like “infinite growth is impossible in a finite world”.

This also means that their view of reality is so warped they think they’ll always be on top/secure. For example - they’re all spending millions even billions on bunkers, but never stop to consider who will serve and protect them in that bunker and why anyone would still be willing to (when things get bad enough, their money will be useless), as well as what world they might come out to if they do survive. Never mind stop what they’re doing to prevent the need for a bunker in the first place (to them, being equal to everyone else seems like a worse fate than global destruction).

The problem is that capitalism is a global cancer, and one fascist coming to their end doesn’t mean the system that got them there has been destroyed, or even “fixed” (you can see this in the failures to de-nazify Germany after the war, or to de-racist America after it’s founding, or de-monarchize? the UK for example), and that is why we say “workers of the world unite”, because it will take a global effort, not only in revolution, but in creating an equitable, just, and inclusive foundation for something better to be built on out of the void (this will require mass deprogramming and unlearning of the social structures imposed by the kyriarchy, and re-learning solidarity, compassion, community, cooperation, and so on - all things that actually come naturally to us, but are beaten out of us by life under capitalism).

And now I’ve lost my train of thought, and I’ve probably rambled on enough, so I’m going to leave it there lol

I’m not sure I understand, since the two don’t contradict - the system working as intended for capitalists, doesn’t stop it from also being decaying, it is a literal inevitability of an unsustainable system that only ever works for a tiny fragment of a percent of the population.

Being an acceptable feature to those removed from the harm they’re causing doesn’t give their perspective any validity - nothing about the current state of affairs is sustainable, that’s the point.

Why the far right is surging all over the world

Capitalism is decaying, and fascism is its inevitable conclusion. This isn’t news, either: The Question of Fascism and Capitalist Decay

Well obviously… What’s more important? The well being of the population, or the ability of the ruling class to suppress any resistance? Gotta keep those oil barons happy!

But as I said, I doubt if it will increase the overall hits for Wikipedia or be a last straw for people hesitating to use the site

Why the fuck do you think accessibility is about increasing hits?

Ah, well, if you can’t imagine it, then all those people with visual impairments who haven’t been able to read the content previously simply must not exist! 🙄🤦‍♀️

Oh wow, finally!

A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

I’ll be honest, if you don’t have an understanding of how deeply these (along with white supremacy, cis heteronormativity, ablesim, classism) impact not only society at large, but our individual choices (or lack thereof), and it sounds like you don’t (E: among other reasons - the existence of feminism doesn’t negate the impacts of the aforementioned systems, if anything, it exists because those systems are still completely pervasive and need fighting against), I can’t really help at this point, there’s just too much to unpack and it’s not work I’m interested in doing for you.

As for your ulterior motives - the first is easy to resolve by opening a search engine and looking it up, the second absolutely makes you sound like a creep, and also provides a perfect demonstration of the kind of external pressure we face that more often than not compels us to cover up - we feel you “appreciating” our “pups” (aka your “male gaze” or simply you objectifying us. And no, trying to pull an “all genders sexualise” doesn’t change the fact that cis men are who predominantly harm women and others afab). And it’s fucking gross.

Maybe you should read my first reply again, this time try and actually listen to the experience of a person explaining to you the pressures they and others like them face from society that you never have, instead of dismissing it because it makes you uncomfortable to confront, and then invest some of your own time actually researching the topic, not of why people wear bras, but of how fundamentally social constructs impact society and all the individuals in it, and maybe you’ll start to get an idea of what the actual answer to your question is.

But I have a feeling you’re not interested in doing any of that, so I’ll just leave you with this - boobs don’t exist for you.

A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

There are plenty of examples of societies past and present, for the vast majority of the time humans existed probably, where breasts are free to exist as they are. The people those breasts are attached to do all manner of work and activities without hinderance, or chafed nipples. Just like those with flat chests do.

The reason that in (especially our western) modern world we are expected to wear bras has to do with puritanism, shame, control, and profiteering from all of the above.

Comfort is categorically not a priority of the billion dollar bra industry, the trillion dollar advertising industry, nor those who demand we wear them to be “respectable”, lest we “excite” their, or their son’s, urges or “distract” them from their important manly duties (and if we don’t, and they attack us, it’d be our fault for not being “modest” enough and “asking for it”).

When we have all been socialised with these demands and expectations for centuries, they become so deeply ingrained, it’s really hard to separate from our own free will, and yet ask any group of people who wear bras what the best part of the day is, and they’ll tell you it’s taking it off.

And to be clear - this isn’t a judgment of anyone who wears a bra, I wear an underwire once in a blue moon which I hate, but am usually in a sports bra because I feel more comfortable with everything held in place (and also have nosy neighbours I’m not that friendly with), it’s about questioning why I feel more comfortable that way, and how much of that is natural vs manufactured by a society that demands I keep everything held in place, hidden (unless they’re “required” to sell something or entertain the mens), and forever impossibly youthful and perky.

Anyway, I’m stoned too and I tend to ramble, so I think I 'll leave it at that for now lol

That’s a perfect example of what I meant, it’s cute and personal to your relationship, and leaves the other person room to choose something they’re comfortable with.

Personally I think the ring should be the least important part of a proposal (though I say this as someone who is not interested in getting one, and who also hates wearing rings lol)…

The proposal can still be a surprise, just think of a way to do it where going ring shopping together is the big surprise, rather than the ring itself (if they have a good sense of humour, maybe use a gummy ring or a mood ring, something really silly as a stand in, otherwise maybe a ring shaped “coupon”? Or some other symbolic token that would hold meaning to just the two of you?).

I’ve heard of those, but while I can see adblock working, if me just clicking “decline all” doesn’t actually decline the so called legitimate interests, I don’t quite trust that an extension doing it will, so for now I’d rather still make the call of whether I trust a site myself…