4 ms·

Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? Honestly though, I'm in the same situation and I

Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? Honestly though, I'm in the same situation and I don't know. I did just start paid subscriptions to several media outlets that have been doing good reporting on the situation (Guardian, Verge). I unsubscribed to the Washington Post after they pulled their Harris endorsement (which was appalling), but their coverage since feels relatively thorough and they are well placed to report on all this so far, so I resubscribed. I already support PBS. I'll probably donate to Pro Publica next. I expect media outlets will be under rapidly increasing pressure, so supporting them financially feels important and positive. I've also have a standing donation to the NAACP legal defense fund from his first administration that I've just kept running. So... money I guess?

brylie 2y ago
That makes sense. Time and money are our most effective (and scarce) resources.
- intended 2y ago
  Time, money and labour. The parties turn on people who show up to do the work. There is a remarkable amount people can achieve if they show up as people who are willing to learn, do the work, and have their own eyes and ears open.
microtonal 2y ago
Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? Yeah, same. Since the Brexit a lot of populist parties in the EU don't want to leave the EU anymore (only reform it). Let's hope that this is another warning that the destructive populist path doesn't lead anywhere good. (And I hope that the UK will join the EU again, they are close friends.) I did just start paid subscriptions to several media outlets that have been doing good reporting on the situation (Guardian, Verge). Yeah, independent, non-clickbait news is very important in these times. We recently renewed our newspaper subscription for three years. When you are in the EU (or really anywhere non-US anyway), it's probably a good moment to start moving your data out of the US and away from US companies. So far Trump has done exactly what he promised, so a large trade war or, even worse, a war over Greenland is possible. Since pretty much anything is fair game now, blackmailing the EU using its dependency on US tech companies is not far-fetched anymore. Get your data out and reduce your dependency on US tech.
- _joel 2y ago
  > (And I hope that the UK will join the EU again, they are close friends.) As a Brit, so do I. However, despite all of the evidence showing it will be massively beneficial, we won't. Not fully, imho, for a good while. Best I'm hoping for is closer ties in a customs union, but that requires compromise I don't think will happen.
lupusreal 2y ago
Genuinely curious if you think a WaPo endorsement could have swayed the election, and if not, why it mattered at all. From my perspective, Trump voters distrust and dislike the old media so much, a newspaper telling them they shouldn't vote for Trump would only strengthen their resolve.
- alxjrvs 2y ago
  Not the poster, but I don't think a newspaper pulling an endorsement out of fear of reprisal is a great sign of a free press (or, to the poster's point, a press you care to pay for.)
  - lupusreal 2y ago
    I don't think Bezos fears anybody. He's too rich for that. And the WaPo management fears Bezos, not Trump.
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      > I don't think Bezos fears anybody. He's too rich for that. No one's too rich to get shot by the world's largest superpower. Zuckerberg didn't do a giant public 180 for funsies.
      - lupusreal 2y ago
        It is far more likely that Bezos and Zuckerberg support Trump than fear being shot. Zuckerberg particularly, what makes you think this was a 180? The man has been doing machismo stuff like throwing spears at goats and challenging people to boxing matches for years. And have you seen the way Facebook is moderated, even years ago relative to the way Twitter was moderated under their old owners? Supporting Trump is in-character for Zuckerberg, even more so than Bezos. I must say though, this "billionaires as terrified victims" narrative is hilarious. I hope the Democratic party rescues these poor billionaires from the man they're publicly supporting!
        2y ago
williamdclt 2y ago
> Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? I really hope so too. My pessimist side fears that the powerful are observing the US, seeing that it works there and will do the same thing here.

brylie 2y ago

That makes sense. Time and money are our most effective (and scarce) resources.

intended 2y ago
Time, money and labour. The parties turn on people who show up to do the work. There is a remarkable amount people can achieve if they show up as people who are willing to learn, do the work, and have their own eyes and ears open.

microtonal 2y ago

Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? Yeah, same. Since the Brexit a lot of populist parties in the EU don't want to leave the EU anymore (only reform it). Let's hope that this is another warning that the destructive populist path doesn't lead anywhere good. (And I hope that the UK will join the EU again, they are close friends.) I did just start paid subscriptions to several media outlets that have been doing good reporting on the situation (Guardian, Verge). Yeah, independent, non-clickbait news is very important in these times. We recently renewed our newspaper subscription for three years. When you are in the EU (or really anywhere non-US anyway), it's probably a good moment to start moving your data out of the US and away from US companies. So far Trump has done exactly what he promised, so a large trade war or, even worse, a war over Greenland is possible. Since pretty much anything is fair game now, blackmailing the EU using its dependency on US tech companies is not far-fetched anymore. Get your data out and reduce your dependency on US tech.

_joel 2y ago
> (And I hope that the UK will join the EU again, they are close friends.) As a Brit, so do I. However, despite all of the evidence showing it will be massively beneficial, we won't. Not fully, imho, for a good while. Best I'm hoping for is closer ties in a customs union, but that requires compromise I don't think will happen.

lupusreal 2y ago

Genuinely curious if you think a WaPo endorsement could have swayed the election, and if not, why it mattered at all. From my perspective, Trump voters distrust and dislike the old media so much, a newspaper telling them they shouldn't vote for Trump would only strengthen their resolve.

alxjrvs 2y ago
Not the poster, but I don't think a newspaper pulling an endorsement out of fear of reprisal is a great sign of a free press (or, to the poster's point, a press you care to pay for.)
- lupusreal 2y ago
  I don't think Bezos fears anybody. He's too rich for that. And the WaPo management fears Bezos, not Trump.
  - ceejayoz 2y ago
    > I don't think Bezos fears anybody. He's too rich for that. No one's too rich to get shot by the world's largest superpower. Zuckerberg didn't do a giant public 180 for funsies.
    - lupusreal 2y ago
      It is far more likely that Bezos and Zuckerberg support Trump than fear being shot. Zuckerberg particularly, what makes you think this was a 180? The man has been doing machismo stuff like throwing spears at goats and challenging people to boxing matches for years. And have you seen the way Facebook is moderated, even years ago relative to the way Twitter was moderated under their old owners? Supporting Trump is in-character for Zuckerberg, even more so than Bezos. I must say though, this "billionaires as terrified victims" narrative is hilarious. I hope the Democratic party rescues these poor billionaires from the man they're publicly supporting!
      - 2y ago

williamdclt 2y ago

> Hope the US gets bad enough that people in the EU notice and decide they don't want to go down the same route? I really hope so too. My pessimist side fears that the powerful are observing the US, seeing that it works there and will do the same thing here.