3 ms·

"Interviewed by NPR" -- ok we can stop right there. Remember, they're dangerous enemies of the state, along with PBS and Fred Rogers.

acdha 2y ago
Sarcasm isn’t appropriate for something this serious.
- mindslight 2y ago
  Sarcasm isn't the problem per se. But it's very important to remember Poe's law, and to avoid adding to the noise. If what you're going to say is just a parody of something a Kool-aid drinking anti-American destructionist might say, there's no need.
  - chrisweekly 2y ago
    Sorry, I'm sure you're both right. I'm just having a very hard time figuring out how to respond to the awful / obscene / insane / absurd nightmare unfolding in this country I love. It's destroying things I care deeply about. My sarcasm was probably the wrong response. I wish I could better approximate the heartfelt, erudite, conflicted brilliance of pieces like this: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/twilight-of-the-edgelords https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/twilight-of-the-edgelords At least I can share it. And wait. And hope.
    - Nevermark 2y ago
      I am learning whole new levels of not “caring”. By which I mean, stoicism is really becoming a survival stance for me. And I recommend it for others. Some people will retreat from the news, but that’s not me. What is happening is going to cause a great deal of lasting mental hardships, as well as the practical damage. Second tack: remember we are still in history. History has always been crazy, with only short periods of less crazy. A third tack is considering how to support other people, instead of needing support. Best to find a way to reliably maintain internal peace and health right now. Things are unlikely to stabilize soon, without a miracle. Or eventually bounce back. But that could take a long time. And this could just be the preamble for much worse disasters. Gulp. At least, this is how I am prepping myself! Scary times.
      - exceptione 2y ago
        If there is one lesson you should take to heart, it is this: the later you act, the more impossible it will become. Right now, at this moment, society has a small window of opportunity. People cannot get rid of autocracy by themselves, they have become controlled resources. It took millions of free people to get rid of the Nazi's. Act now.
        chrisweekly 2y ago
        Act how?
        exceptione 2y ago
        Bottom up. Have conversations with your friends, the grocery store owner. Join grassroots organizations, or start a local one. Keep people accountable. Your local politician bends over because he is afraid of consequences. Now give people no way out but do the right thing. When people are transported to concentration camps, than such is not an act of God, but people doing unconstitutional things while not being held accountable. Fascism is not Hitler. It is collective, sociological behavior. Trump is a nuisance. The problem is a society engineered to give consent to the .1%, the Dark Mirror tech bro's, the christian cultists.
      - zelon88 2y ago
        > Best to find a way to reliably maintain internal peace and health right now. Things are unlikely to stabilize soon, without a miracle. Or eventually bounce back. But that could take a long time. And this could just be the preamble for much worse disasters. Gulp. This is woefully ignorant of the fact that some people will be thrown into an El Salvadorian prison, killed, disappeared, threatened, lose civil liberties, lose human rights, ect. Must be nice to just put on some headphones and wait for it to all blow over. Unfortunately for many immigrants, LGBTQ members, activists, union members, government workers don't have that luxury. The news you're ignoring are their lives being shattered.
        Nevermark 2y ago
- bjoli 2y ago
  I think it is. These people need to know we find them ridiculous. We should not, however, understate the danger of what they are doing.
  - decremental 2y ago
    [dead]
  - acdha 2y ago
    The problem is that a comment like the one I replied to reads like support. Echoing that thinking is not the same as rejecting it.
    - chrisweekly 2y ago
      I think you're implying that you could easily detect my sarcasm, but it wasn't sufficiently obvious sarcasm for the broader HN readership, thus risked being taken literally. I disagree. It seemed blindingly obviously sarcastic to me -- and the rest of the comments it generated indicate the same. EDIT: PS the peer comment by blindsight has a much more cogent critique

acdha 2y ago

Sarcasm isn’t appropriate for something this serious.

mindslight 2y ago
Sarcasm isn't the problem per se. But it's very important to remember Poe's law, and to avoid adding to the noise. If what you're going to say is just a parody of something a Kool-aid drinking anti-American destructionist might say, there's no need.
- chrisweekly 2y ago
  Sorry, I'm sure you're both right. I'm just having a very hard time figuring out how to respond to the awful / obscene / insane / absurd nightmare unfolding in this country I love. It's destroying things I care deeply about. My sarcasm was probably the wrong response. I wish I could better approximate the heartfelt, erudite, conflicted brilliance of pieces like this: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/twilight-of-the-edgelords https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/twilight-of-the-edgelords At least I can share it. And wait. And hope.
  - Nevermark 2y ago
    I am learning whole new levels of not “caring”. By which I mean, stoicism is really becoming a survival stance for me. And I recommend it for others. Some people will retreat from the news, but that’s not me. What is happening is going to cause a great deal of lasting mental hardships, as well as the practical damage. Second tack: remember we are still in history. History has always been crazy, with only short periods of less crazy. A third tack is considering how to support other people, instead of needing support. Best to find a way to reliably maintain internal peace and health right now. Things are unlikely to stabilize soon, without a miracle. Or eventually bounce back. But that could take a long time. And this could just be the preamble for much worse disasters. Gulp. At least, this is how I am prepping myself! Scary times.
    - exceptione 2y ago
      If there is one lesson you should take to heart, it is this: the later you act, the more impossible it will become. Right now, at this moment, society has a small window of opportunity. People cannot get rid of autocracy by themselves, they have become controlled resources. It took millions of free people to get rid of the Nazi's. Act now.
      - chrisweekly 2y ago
        Act how?
        exceptione 2y ago
        Bottom up. Have conversations with your friends, the grocery store owner. Join grassroots organizations, or start a local one. Keep people accountable. Your local politician bends over because he is afraid of consequences. Now give people no way out but do the right thing. When people are transported to concentration camps, than such is not an act of God, but people doing unconstitutional things while not being held accountable. Fascism is not Hitler. It is collective, sociological behavior. Trump is a nuisance. The problem is a society engineered to give consent to the .1%, the Dark Mirror tech bro's, the christian cultists.
    - zelon88 2y ago
      > Best to find a way to reliably maintain internal peace and health right now. Things are unlikely to stabilize soon, without a miracle. Or eventually bounce back. But that could take a long time. And this could just be the preamble for much worse disasters. Gulp. This is woefully ignorant of the fact that some people will be thrown into an El Salvadorian prison, killed, disappeared, threatened, lose civil liberties, lose human rights, ect. Must be nice to just put on some headphones and wait for it to all blow over. Unfortunately for many immigrants, LGBTQ members, activists, union members, government workers don't have that luxury. The news you're ignoring are their lives being shattered.
      - Nevermark 2y ago
bjoli 2y ago
I think it is. These people need to know we find them ridiculous. We should not, however, understate the danger of what they are doing.
- decremental 2y ago
  [dead]
- acdha 2y ago
  The problem is that a comment like the one I replied to reads like support. Echoing that thinking is not the same as rejecting it.
  - chrisweekly 2y ago
    I think you're implying that you could easily detect my sarcasm, but it wasn't sufficiently obvious sarcasm for the broader HN readership, thus risked being taken literally. I disagree. It seemed blindingly obviously sarcastic to me -- and the rest of the comments it generated indicate the same. EDIT: PS the peer comment by blindsight has a much more cogent critique