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The solution to this is known by everyone, including those who will fain ignorance. Implement universal healthcare (including mental health), regulate guns (ins

The solution to this is known by everyone, including those who will fain ignorance. Implement universal healthcare (including mental health), regulate guns (insurance, registration, training, buybacks, red flag laws) including banning weapons of war, build public transportation and transition away from car-mandatory living in all but the most rural areas, and push for democratically-controlled unions and worker co-ops. The second tier would be around children, namely we should reinstate the child tax credit, make university free, and provide childcare. We need to have a conversation around maternal mortality as well, because that is too darn high in the US (one theory is that we are too doctor-controlled and they will be more likely to induce or perform a c-section). This may seem like a grabbag of policies, but it's because (as it is mentioned in the Twitter thread), there are a grabbag of failures: lack of healthcare, forced dependency on cars, and deaths of despair, which are very closely tied to our crushing work culture (especially for blue collar folks). The neoliberal capitalism alienates people from their labor and their fellow worker, and makes widely available drugs, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods to numb the pain after a long shift. We've created a machine that's very good at crushing people up to turn them into money for people who will never be able to spend what they have already (cf. the Sacklers and the opioid epidemic or Bezos and workers urinating in bottles). America has so much potential. I still have great hope we can come together. Right now, it's like the Onion wrote: "'No Way to Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". We have to stop pretending we don't know the solution. The jig is up. I feel like we're in the movie Fury. Everyone knows Germany is doomed, but more people have to die because of Hitler's ego and the cowardice of everyone around him. We've let the psychopaths run things for too long. We have to take our power back.

cal85 4y ago
I happen to generally agree with you on the policies, but comments like this make it much more difficult. It’s intellectually shameful to assert up front that anyone who disagrees with your prescription for society must be just pretending. And then to go on to rant about “psychopaths” and “doom” and “taking our power back”. You contribute nothing here.
- cal85 4y ago
  Sorry, this was overly harsh, I was grouchy (I shouldn't post pre-coffee), too late to edit/delete now.
- noelherrick 4y ago
  I chose my words carefully (though clearly not my spelling): - CEOs/wealthy folks are more likely to be psychopaths vs. the average population (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-many-successful-millionaires-are-psychopaths-and-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-bad-thing.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-ma...) - Power disables empathy (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/201909/power-blocks-empathy https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/20190...) - Normal Americans have basically zero power - all decisions are made by the elites/special interest groups (https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/fi...) Add in a personal attack, and the common right-wing trope of "I wanted to agree with you but you said it wrong so now I must punish you," and, baby, you got a conservative stew going.
selimthegrim 4y ago
nitpick: it is "feign ignorance" or "fain be ignorant", not a mix of the two
- nkurz 4y ago
  Alternatively said, "fain" is a mostly archaic way of saying "gladly". Whereas "feign" is more common and means "to give a false impression". More details: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/10/fain-feign.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/10/fain-feign.html

cal85 4y ago

I happen to generally agree with you on the policies, but comments like this make it much more difficult. It’s intellectually shameful to assert up front that anyone who disagrees with your prescription for society must be just pretending. And then to go on to rant about “psychopaths” and “doom” and “taking our power back”. You contribute nothing here.

cal85 4y ago
Sorry, this was overly harsh, I was grouchy (I shouldn't post pre-coffee), too late to edit/delete now.
noelherrick 4y ago
I chose my words carefully (though clearly not my spelling): - CEOs/wealthy folks are more likely to be psychopaths vs. the average population (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-many-successful-millionaires-are-psychopaths-and-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-bad-thing.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-ma...) - Power disables empathy (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/201909/power-blocks-empathy https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/20190...) - Normal Americans have basically zero power - all decisions are made by the elites/special interest groups (https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/fi...) Add in a personal attack, and the common right-wing trope of "I wanted to agree with you but you said it wrong so now I must punish you," and, baby, you got a conservative stew going.

selimthegrim 4y ago

nitpick: it is "feign ignorance" or "fain be ignorant", not a mix of the two

nkurz 4y ago
Alternatively said, "fain" is a mostly archaic way of saying "gladly". Whereas "feign" is more common and means "to give a false impression". More details: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/10/fain-feign.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/10/fain-feign.html