16 ms·
History books can tell you facts that happened, but they can never truly tell you how it feels. I feel we're riding a knife's edge and there's a hurricane brew
by csours 1y ago
History books can tell you facts that happened, but they can never truly tell you how it feels.
I feel we're riding a knife's edge and there's a hurricane brewing in the gulf of absurdity.
====
Incidentally, I feel like this is why it is so hard to actually learn from history. You can read about the 1918 'Spanish' Flu, but you think "we're smarter now". etc.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- lm28469 1y agoWe've always been on a knife edge it's just streamed straight into your eyes balls 24/7 now and social media means everyone has to have a black or white opinion about everything.
- dylan604 1y agoWhile that may be true to an extent, the 24/7 nature of it now is the equivalent of constantly red lining the engine. It used to be you'd go to meetings/gatherings of like minded people to get hopped up and your engines revved up like that, but they would for the most part cool back down after getting back home. Now, the engine never gets back to idle and stays red lined. At some point, the engine will break down, only instead of throwing a rod or ceasing up, something non-engine related will happen.
- lm28469 1y agoFrom a personal point of view I agree, it's completely unhealthy, but from a global perspective it's always been fucked up all the time, open a wiki page for any year between 1900 and now and you will find loads of assassinations, terrorist attacks, wars, famine, genocides, coups d'états, &c.
- lazide 1y agoYup - you’d just never hear about all the ones that weren’t right next to you. At least in gory detail while they happened. Here, I get to read all about the latest insanity in the last 24 hrs from…. 4 major countries in Crisis? Tchau, from central Brazil (today).
- ForOldHack 1y agoInsanity...
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoThere aren't many times when there's quite as much happening at the same time. Over the last week or so we've had: serious riots in France, catastrophic riots in Nepal, a scandal in the UK featuring the ambassador to the US, hostile drone incursions into Poland, the murder of Charlie Kirk, the ICE raid on visiting South Korean workers, soldiers on the streets of DC and a threatened incursion into Chicago, a school shooting, revelations about the biggest paedophile scandal of the century and its links to the rich and famous, including the current president, and Israel attacking most of the countries around it. In the background is the continuing war in Ukraine, China's increasing militarisation and threatened technological lead over the US, the situation in Gaza, the disassembly of the established US federal system of government, existential and economic dread over the impact of AI, and climate change. If everyone's feeling a little edgy, there may be good reasons for that.
- seanmcdirmid 1y agoYour comment sounds like a new verse in Billy Joel's "we didn't start the fire" song. When Trump was elected, I knew, at least, that the news wouldn't be boring for the next four years.
- Poomba 1y agoGranted, I live under a rock, but I only knew of one of those events you mentioned (Kirk’s death). I intentionally dont read or watch news. It does absolutely wonders for my peace of mind.
- collingreen 1y agoI genuinely hope none of the bad stuff reaches you or the folks you care about under your rock.
- lm28469 1y agoI'll take my chances waiting for something to affect me directly rather than watching news channels 24/7 to get outraged every single second of my life about random shit happening in places I mostly can't even locate on a map or spell. That's what people did for 99.99% of humanity btw
- ethbr1 1y ago> It used to be you'd go to meetings/gatherings of like minded people to get hopped up and your engines revved up like that I would go so far as to say going to meetings physically was also a counterbalance. When you're around other people, even ones who share your beliefs, and say 'I think we should murder that guy!' then in most crowds someone is going to say 'Hey fellow, are you okay?' It's when you exclusively socially exist in online spaces that the most extreme actions suddenly become encouraged. Or as Josh Johnson recently quipped, "The internet is all gas no brakes."
- dylan604 1y ago> someone is going to say 'Hey fellow, are you okay?' We might be thinking of different types of gatherings/meetings. Specifically, I was thinking of someone with a particular set of extremist ideals that get together for a monthly meeting with others with those same extremist ideals. Someone in that group would likely not say "are you okay" rather they'd say "hellzya brother!" or whatever they'd actually phrase it. These types of meetings are also known to have someone speak intentionally seeking to get a member to act as a lone wolf to actually carry out the comment you're hoping someone would tamper. Now, one doesn't need to go to meetings for that encouragement. They just open up whatever app/forum.
- mothballed 1y agoAnything I say on the internet, someone will always have a compelling but sometimes wrong argument as to why im wrong. If you listen to them for confirmation you'd never be able to do anything, and im not exaggerating. I could probably say the earth is round here on HN and some astrophysics PhD would tell me I failed to consider the 4th dimension or something and it's actually unknown if we can call it round. Where are these people going that they just see encouragement without resistance?
- dylan604 1y agoBeing right all the time on the internet is such a curse. Those damned learned people with PhDs thinking they know things going up against such an obviously more intelligent person. They should have their degrees revoked!
- poszlem 1y ago[flagged]
- tracker1 1y agoMen of Virginia! pause and ponder upon those instructive cyphers, and these incontestible facts. Ye will then judge for yourselves on the point of an American navy. Ye will judge without regard to the prattle of a president, the prattle of that strange compound of ignorance and ferocity, of deceit and weakness; without regard to that hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman." -- James Callender, The Prospect Before Us, 1800
- jimt1234 1y ago> History books can tell you facts that happened, but they can never truly tell you how it feels. Great quote. I feel the same way about 9/11 - the feeling of confusion, like "wtf is going on?!" IMHO, only those who lived it can really relate.
- pelagicAustral 1y agoOf all the days I've been alive, if I could pin point one that I remember vividly with every bit of detail and emotion, that'd be 9/11... I was 14, and all of the sudden, even that younger version of myself, understood every single thing was about to change...
- chasd00 1y agoI can recall that day almost minute by minute starting with learning of the first plane hitting the WTC.
- nicce 1y agoI don't live in the U.S but I watched 9/11 live from the television, and I can still feel it and remember it. It was so big deal.
- OhioMan2943 1y agoIt's time to revisit 9/11 and think about what it means in the modern context
- underlipton 1y agoWe already did, on October 7th, 2023. Israel did not learn from our example, and they currently find themselves in a quagmire where they're spending billions to kill thousands of the people they're supposed to be saving from an authoritarian, terrorist-harboring regime, with almost no real benefit to their national security, and where they have most of the rest of the world bearing down on them diplomatically for their conduct and alleged war crimes. (This is the most charitable characterization I can muster.) The response to 9/11 was one of the most foolhardy possible, and it's astounding that any other nature would attempt the same with it still in living memory.
- ttoinou 1y agoYou can read about the 1918 'Spanish' Flu, but you think "we're smarter now". etc. Interesting how this quote can be interpreted in fully opposite ways depending on what "side" you were on during covid
- dylan604 1y agoI think COVID proved we're not smarter now in multiple ways and from either side. Human nature is a weird thing that we clearly are still grasping to understand
- digdugdirk 1y ago"Either side"? The virus or humanity?
- dgunay 1y agoWe had the technology to push out a vaccine in less than a year. Modern medicine is of course smarter than it was a century ago. What went poorly is our society's collective response. From the medical and governmental establishment, there was much hemming and hawing over what measures to take for way too long (masking, distancing, closing of public spaces, etc). Taking _any_ countermeasures against the spread of the virus also somehow became a culture war issue. I'm assuming GP meant "left or right" by "either side" so make of that what you will.
- ttoinou 1y agoYeah but, at least in my bubble in Europe, being for or against covid measures had little to do with left or right. It was about listening to mainstream media or having alternative source of information
- FridayoLeary 1y agoI followed the mainstream media exclusively and still realised immediately that nobody actually had a clue what they were doing. My trust in MSM died then. Most alternative sources are even less reliable but i believe spreading a wider net gives me a better judgement. Whatever you do, don't exclusively outsource your opinions and judgement to the MSM. Too often they take up the same wrong narratives. This is easier said then done. Read the opinions and news even from people you despise and be honest with yourself.
- nancyminusone 1y agoSomething I like to remind myself of is that all past wars, even ones thousands of years ago, took place in as vibrant colors and fluid detail as we experience today, not in grainy black and white photos or paintings. Also, if your grandpa likes telling war stories, it's only because he survived.
- mothballed 1y agoA lot of war stories get embellished and no one is going to challenge it. There's the story about the guy who says he was the hardest working man in Vietnam, and then when pressed about what he did, he states he was a trucker to the great surprise of anyone listening. When asked why he thought that, he says "well I was the only one."
- RichardCA 1y agoIf you're talking about the ones who drove supply trucks during the war years, the hardest working men were women. https://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/947180/female-drivers-and-glorious-tracks-on-truong-son-mountain.html https://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/947180/female-drivers...
- mothballed 1y agoThe story wasn't actually about the trucker being hard working (or not), though I'm sure he was. He wasn't actually trying to make people believe he literally was the hardest working. The joke is that everyone else he went to war with was claiming to be something else, so he must have delivered all the supplies himself. The response is interesting to me, because having fought in a war, though I am not a US veteran -- I instantly got it. And the place I heard it from was more veteran dominated, and everyone instantly understood/appreciated the joke.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 1y agoI didn’t get it until you explained it. It makes a lot of sense - people who have actually gone to war know of stolen valor and embellishments - you can sniff them immediately. People who have never been and don’t hang around military types much have much less of this kind of context
- ngcazz 1y agoI really don't like how interesting these times are.
- csours 1y agoI don't like that I'm starting to understand Magical Realism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_realism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_realism
- throwaway346434 1y agoFor a wild alignment of timing - https://www.jezebel.com/we-paid-some-etsy-witches-to-curse-charlie-kirk https://www.jezebel.com/we-paid-some-etsy-witches-to-curse-c... - published September 8.
- whymauri 1y agoOn Sunday, I was talking a Mexican friend about how politicians get killed in our countries (Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico). Just in June, presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe was shot and killed in Bogota. In the head, in front of a crowd. I remember being grateful about how that doesn't really happen in the US (Trump being the most recent, but he survived). I guess I was wrong... and, in that case, Garcia Marquez might agree with you.
- yepitwas 1y agoThe US had one killed within the last two months, with an attempt on another, and the attacker had a list of other targets. You could be forgiven for not knowing, since the collective coverage and attention to it since has probably been less, total, than what this received in the last couple hours.
- ivape 1y agoWhy do we think we’re passed an Arch Duke Ferdinand moment? Trump is more than ready to use his secret police. RIP Charlie Kirk, no human deserves that. The rest of us left are still not necessarily better people after that exact moment, hopefully everyone takes a pause.
- JacobThreeThree 1y agoConstantly fear-mongering that every event that occurs is a prelude to a repeat of history's worst atrocities is exactly the type of rhetoric we should avoid.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- tredeske 1y agoOne thing that history shows again and again is people being killed for their beliefs. Charlie always spoke from his heart, from his deeply held intellectual and spiritual beliefs. He died, literally on a stage defending those beliefs.
- mcphage 1y ago[flagged]
- tredeske 1y agoWhat does your statement say about your heart? Charlie regularly received death threats. Implicitly or explicitly telling him to quit or else. He had the courage of his convictions and refused to change his beliefs or be deterred from acting on them. His haters martyred him. Like Justin Martyr, who refused to change his beliefs and worship pagan gods, and who kept to his course despite being told he would be executed if he didn't change.
- mcphage 1y ago> He had the courage of his convictions and refused to change his beliefs or be deterred from acting on them. That's only a good thing to the degree that those beliefs are good. Charlie's beliefs were evil.
- johnnyanmac 1y ago71 day old, account, but these are your only comments on the site. I guess trolling is alive and well even on a community like HN.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- theossuary 1y ago[flagged]
- 1y ago
- sporkxrocket 1y ago[flagged]
- monero-xmr 1y ago[flagged]
- vjvjvjvjghv 1y agoEvents like this have often been used as trigger to implement measures that were already planned. The nazis did that a lot (Reichstagsbrand, Kristallnacht), You could argue that Israel used the October 7 attacks to accelerate efforts to get rid of the Palestinians. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld used 9/11 to invade Iraq which they had wanted to do long before. I am definitely worried what Trump and republicans will do as a response.
- panarky 1y agoHN has thousands of comments debating the justification for killing tens of thousands of non-combatants in Palestine. More posts debating the justification for killing 11 people in a boat in the Caribbean who did not pose an imminent threat. HN rules do not prevent any of these discussions. But here we have a individual who advocated those killings. Here we have an individual who publicly justified school massacres by saying those senseless deaths are a worthwhile price to pay for gun rights in the US. On HN it's perfectly fine to justify all this violence, to argue that the violence is regrettable but necessary, but any equivalent discussion about this one individual is somehow beyond the pale.
- wordofx 1y agoYou don’t need to take guns away to solve gun violence. He’s 100% right. Start dealing with crime. Stop allowing criminals into the country. Stop releasing criminals back onto the streets. Stop ignoring people with violent tendencies.
- averageRoyalty 1y ago> Here we have an individual who publicly justified school massacres by saying those senseless deaths are a worthwhile price to pay for gun rights in the US. I'm an outside observer, but isn't that the point of the right to bear arms in your constitution? I don't think the people who wrote it were naive enough to not understand guns could be used for evil purposes, so inherently they supported the price of the deaths of innocents as a trade off for the benefits of guns, right?
- anon291 1y agoAs I've grown older and gone back through history I've realized why so many decisions and actions seem kind of irrational to outside observers. This is why I think study of ancient history is so important, because we have so few connections, that the analysis does not seem personal. Nevertheless, I realize that it's usually a zeitgeist more than any particular thing that really flows through history.
- csours 1y agoI agree. It's hard to capture 'the vibes' in a history book. For example, I firmly believe that in 70 years, almost no one will be able to explain 'wokeness' or the anti-wokeness backlash.
- foldr 1y agoIt’s not a historically unique phenomenon. The Weimar Republic ended 87 years ago. Progress isn’t monotonic. There are often periods of regression.
- jgalt212 1y agoWe know more now, but we're not smarter now.
- rsanek 1y ago> You can read about the 1918 'Spanish' Flu, but you think "we're smarter now". etc. Not sure what the comparison with COVID is supposed to be. Spanish flu was not created in a lab. There was no vaccine for the Spanish flu. The only real similarity is social distancing, quarantines, and masks -- we did that back then too.
- Dotnaught 1y agoIt has not been conclusively established that COVID came from a lab: https://www.who.int/news/item/27-06-2025-who-scientific-advisory-group-issues-report-on-origins-of-covid-19 https://www.who.int/news/item/27-06-2025-who-scientific-advi...
- crackez 1y ago[flagged]
- chris_wot 1y agoFunny, back then Americans didn't wear masks for much the same reasons they wouldn't during the last pandemic, and they died in their thousands for much the same reasons.
- mionhe 1y agoWhich reasons are you referring to? I've never heard this comparison between masking during two pandemics 100+ years apart.
- chris_wot 1y agoIt's quite well documented. Try this site: https://liberalarts.vt.edu/news/articles/2020/08/virginia-tech-historians-uncover-the-facts-about-masks.html https://liberalarts.vt.edu/news/articles/2020/08/virginia-te...
- GuinansEyebrows 1y ago> Spanish flu was not created in a lab. This seems vague. Can you elaborate on the claim you’re making?
- stevenwoo 1y ago[flagged]
- retrocog 1y agoIMHO, you're correct on many counts. What's the Pindar quote again? "War is sweet to those who have no experience of it. But the experienced man trembles exceedingly in his heart at its approach"
- cryptonector 1y ago> You can read about the 1918 'Spanish' Flu, but you think "we're smarter now". etc. Do you know what Harding's famous "Return to Normalcy" stump speech in the 1920 campaign was about? I bet you don't; few do. My U.S. history textbook in high school mentioned it, but did not explain what it was about.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- jacquesm 1y agoWe may be smarter, but we certainly are not wiser. There are facts, skills, smarts and then there is wisdom. The latter is in short supply and is orthogonal to the other three.
- johnnyanmac 1y agoYeah, COVID showed me more than anything that our core need of belonging and need for conformity (the one that can drive cultist behavior) is not something that everyone can overcome with knowledge and experts and awareness. You truly can't make a horse drink, even if they are dehydrated.
- account42 1y agoHistory books don't tell you what happened but a particular interpretation/opinion of it.
- AbstractH24 1y agoI’ve come to realize how sad it is nobody alive today will be alive to see how what’s occurring fits with a multi-century arch of history. The way we examine the Middle Ages or Byzantine Empire. It would be fascinating to see how 2001-2025 fits into that.
- franktankbank 1y agoI think we will be remembered for our chemistry, physics, engineering and materials science. There is going to be a lot that is forgotten because: 1) There is an eternal power struggle among people that is only obliquely acknowledged and seems willfully forgotten. 2) There is a lot of useless crap based on predatory psychological cues that will be weeded out through natural evolution.
- AbstractH24 1y agoI'd suggest a 3rd reason - In the arc of history, it's not that different from any other time. We just have a recency bias.
- kawfey 1y agoevery dynasty and empire after the last was the “smartest” compared to the one before, yet they all still collapsed.
- pyuser583 1y agoThis is where poetry comes in: WH Auden's "September 1, 1939" (https://poets.org/poem/september-1-1939 https://poets.org/poem/september-1-1939) comes to mind.