4 ms·

Interesting, what smells were you picking up?

freddybobs 4y ago
I can't speak for original poster. But in 2018 - fascism, authoritarianism and break down of political discourse were very alarming. Now in 2022, we see it is likely Roe vs Wade gets overturned. The basis of that argument works for throwing out civil rights, contraception and voting rights. There are already moves in some states to make abortion murder and so punishable by death. And that's not even getting into the attempted coup. I'd say that's all pretty terrifying. I think I'd agree that in 2018, if you were paying attention, that the 'smell' was that's where we were heading. Now we are here.
- immigrantheart 4y ago
  To be fair, people who are on the other side of the proverbial fence issue across you also see the same problem.
  - freddybobs 4y ago
    No 'they' don't. And prefixing with 'to be fair' is sadistically hilarious in context. To clarify. There are people who want fascism. Who want authoritarianism. Who are purposefully breaking political discourse. Who think women should be forced to have babies even if there is incest and rape. That if they get an abortion they could potentially get the death penalty. That white people are superior. That overthrowing the democracy is good (if they are doing the overthrowing). And on and on... So no and 'to be fair', 'the other side of the proverbial fence' absolutely do not 'also see the same problem.'
    - tiahura 4y ago
      To be fair, have a beer and chill out.
      - hedora 4y ago
        I don't see how drinking will prevent the US from continuing to slide into an apartheid-style government. Unlike with apartheid, educated city dwellers are being oppressed by plutocrats and the willfully ignorant. Heck, rednecks can already drive across state lines with the intent of shooting some townies, then get off by claiming self defence.
    - mdp2021 4y ago
      Would you call that a new problem, or something with old roots? Nonetheless, the point of smelling points of no return is valid for all situations, where you can see looming crises but at the same time a provisionally livable state and "doom not fully scheduled".
    - immigrantheart 4y ago
      This is why we are divided now. So be it then.
- gonehome 4y ago
  > “The basis of that argument works for throwing out civil rights, contraception and voting rights.” I don’t think this is true? I’m in favor of women having the right to abortion, but my understanding of the anti-abortion steelman position is that it stems from defending individual rights of the unborn (basically fetal personhood). That doesn’t really apply to restricting any of these other rights - it’s a special case (if anything it should be an argument for increasing availability of contraception). The real discussion should be about that bit imo, but both camps are often talking past each other without engaging on the core disagreement. For example, the bodily autonomy argument falls flat if you believe the unborn have individual rights that are being violated.
  - dataangel 4y ago
    The leak contains logic that deletes the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy completely. It can absolutely be generalized to saying contraception bans are constitutional.
    - tiahura 4y ago
      What about the bodily autonomy of the baby flushed down the toilet? You’re avoiding the point of the parent. There is nothing crazy about saying something that has its own elbows, asshole, DNA, brainwaves, and beating heart is a person and deserves protection. It’s quite a leap to get from that to banning condoms.
      - hedora 4y ago
        The leaked opinion specifically states that, despite nullifying the legal arguments that prevent bans on consensual sex acts, gay marriage, civil rights and privacy, this ruling is not rolling those rights back yet.
withinboredom 4y ago
IMHO, one of the biggest differences between failing/successful businesses comes down to risk and how it is handled. A failing business usually takes one of two extremes: “fuck it” or “no way.” A business that isn’t actively failing looks for ways to mitigate risk, no matter how risk adverse it is. From some friends working in the nuclear sector (federal), the government was taking a “fuck it” approach, with some friends saying it was borderline reckless. Another thing is fear. A failing business gives you worry that your next paycheck won’t be coming. Not only has this happened numerous times to government employees since 2006, I realized how much general fear you live with in the US. As a resident, there was a constant underlying fear of dealing with police, to ending up on a hospital bed and no way to afford it (again). In a successful business, no one is living in fear — maybe stress, but not fear. Those are the two biggest smells I remember thinking about at the time. Is the US actually going to fail? I don’t think so. I think it’s too big to fail atm. If talent starts leaving the US in droves, that’d be the first harbinger in my opinion. But I can’t see the future and wars are usually good for the US, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the US provoke Russia or some other country into a pointless war.

I can't speak for original poster. But in 2018 - fascism, authoritarianism and break down of political discourse were very alarming. Now in 2022, we see it is likely Roe vs Wade gets overturned. The basis of that argument works for throwing out civil rights, contraception and voting rights. There are already moves in some states to make abortion murder and so punishable by death. And that's not even getting into the attempted coup. I'd say that's all pretty terrifying. I think I'd agree that in 2018, if you were paying attention, that the 'smell' was that's where we were heading. Now we are here.

immigrantheart 4y ago
To be fair, people who are on the other side of the proverbial fence issue across you also see the same problem.
- freddybobs 4y ago
  No 'they' don't. And prefixing with 'to be fair' is sadistically hilarious in context. To clarify. There are people who want fascism. Who want authoritarianism. Who are purposefully breaking political discourse. Who think women should be forced to have babies even if there is incest and rape. That if they get an abortion they could potentially get the death penalty. That white people are superior. That overthrowing the democracy is good (if they are doing the overthrowing). And on and on... So no and 'to be fair', 'the other side of the proverbial fence' absolutely do not 'also see the same problem.'
  - tiahura 4y ago
    To be fair, have a beer and chill out.
    - hedora 4y ago
      I don't see how drinking will prevent the US from continuing to slide into an apartheid-style government. Unlike with apartheid, educated city dwellers are being oppressed by plutocrats and the willfully ignorant. Heck, rednecks can already drive across state lines with the intent of shooting some townies, then get off by claiming self defence.
  - mdp2021 4y ago
    Would you call that a new problem, or something with old roots? Nonetheless, the point of smelling points of no return is valid for all situations, where you can see looming crises but at the same time a provisionally livable state and "doom not fully scheduled".
  - immigrantheart 4y ago
    This is why we are divided now. So be it then.
gonehome 4y ago
> “The basis of that argument works for throwing out civil rights, contraception and voting rights.” I don’t think this is true? I’m in favor of women having the right to abortion, but my understanding of the anti-abortion steelman position is that it stems from defending individual rights of the unborn (basically fetal personhood). That doesn’t really apply to restricting any of these other rights - it’s a special case (if anything it should be an argument for increasing availability of contraception). The real discussion should be about that bit imo, but both camps are often talking past each other without engaging on the core disagreement. For example, the bodily autonomy argument falls flat if you believe the unborn have individual rights that are being violated.
- dataangel 4y ago
  The leak contains logic that deletes the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy completely. It can absolutely be generalized to saying contraception bans are constitutional.
  - tiahura 4y ago
    What about the bodily autonomy of the baby flushed down the toilet? You’re avoiding the point of the parent. There is nothing crazy about saying something that has its own elbows, asshole, DNA, brainwaves, and beating heart is a person and deserves protection. It’s quite a leap to get from that to banning condoms.
    - hedora 4y ago
      The leaked opinion specifically states that, despite nullifying the legal arguments that prevent bans on consensual sex acts, gay marriage, civil rights and privacy, this ruling is not rolling those rights back yet.

withinboredom 4y ago

IMHO, one of the biggest differences between failing/successful businesses comes down to risk and how it is handled. A failing business usually takes one of two extremes: “fuck it” or “no way.” A business that isn’t actively failing looks for ways to mitigate risk, no matter how risk adverse it is. From some friends working in the nuclear sector (federal), the government was taking a “fuck it” approach, with some friends saying it was borderline reckless. Another thing is fear. A failing business gives you worry that your next paycheck won’t be coming. Not only has this happened numerous times to government employees since 2006, I realized how much general fear you live with in the US. As a resident, there was a constant underlying fear of dealing with police, to ending up on a hospital bed and no way to afford it (again). In a successful business, no one is living in fear — maybe stress, but not fear. Those are the two biggest smells I remember thinking about at the time. Is the US actually going to fail? I don’t think so. I think it’s too big to fail atm. If talent starts leaving the US in droves, that’d be the first harbinger in my opinion. But I can’t see the future and wars are usually good for the US, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the US provoke Russia or some other country into a pointless war.