3 ms·

And you are falling into the trap of thinking that if a person is busy deconstructing what used to be one of the larger democracies in the world that their othe

by jacquesm 10mo ago

And you are falling into the trap of thinking that if a person is busy deconstructing what used to be one of the larger democracies in the world that their other words are going to be taken at face value, which obviously is not going to happen. We're not discussing Pol Pot's views on cooking either, even though he might have had some valuable insight. Bringing up Vance and Musk in polite conversation to bolster your argument is - especially in the context of Europe, which both men seem to have declared to be enemy #1 before Russia and China - a little tone deaf.

nkmnz 10mo ago
To be fair, he's not bringing them up as intellectual support for his argumentative base – he's bringing them up as support for acts of retaliation. This is mostly about power and we've lost 30% in power vs. the US in just ~12 years because we've fucked up our economy.
- jacquesm 10mo ago
  Maybe 'the economy' is not the only valid yardstick to compare countries by?
  - nkmnz 10mo ago
    I absolutely and 100% agree! But it's the stick that others will use to force their world view down your throat. So if you want to be not only righteous, but also hold others accountable according to your standards, you need the economic power to do so.
- DangitBobby 10mo ago
  Most of our power loss is from electing a belligerent dumb fuck twice and allowing him to sabotage our international relationships and destroying our remaining credibility.
  - mlrtime 10mo ago
    What power loss? OP is talking about Italian power loss?
  - nkmnz 10mo ago
    I was speaking about Europe as a whole. Economically, we suck. Losing UK didn't help, either, but except for Poland, we've become relatively poorer by an insane amount, compared to the US. Another 10 years on that path and we're half the US.
- lostlogin 10mo ago
  > we've lost 30% in power vs. the US in just ~12 years because we've fucked up our economy. I wonder how many Americans would prefer to live in the US that existed 12 years ago versus the US today.
  - mlrtime 10mo ago
    People will say anything online, but when it comes to action very little. I'd rather live in the US now or 12 years ago vs Italy unless someone gave me a tuscan villa with a pool Virtue signaling at its finest.
    - lostlogin 10mo ago
      I laughed. Im at a the tail end of 3 weeks in Italy, sitting on a train. Compared to 20 years ago it’s so much cleaner, quicker, more efficient, friendlier. You must be in a great place as it’s fantastic here.
      - mlrtime 10mo ago
        Oh I've been multiple times, it's beautiful! But vacationing is not living + working, paying bills, dealing with bureaucracy or culture clashes, etc...
selfmodruntime 10mo ago
> And you are falling into the trap of thinking that if a person is busy deconstructing what used to be one of the larger democracies in the world that their other words are going to be taken at face value, which obviously is not going to happen. No. I'm identifying this one statement as factual, regardless of the person saying it. Surely then, you would not deny the color of the sun to be yellow just because Pot might have observed it to be that way?
- jacquesm 10mo ago
  That's besides the point: JD Vance and Musk are precisely the wrong entities to have opinions on stuff like this because they are on the wrong side of that line most of the time. Especially Musk, but Vance has his own ulterior motives to berate the EU on anything so regardless of the outcome it will be tainted.
  - selfmodruntime 10mo ago
    > JD Vance and Musk are precisely the wrong entities to have opinions on stuff like this because they are on the wrong side of that line most of the time. Especially Musk, but Vance has his own ulterior motives to berate the EU on anything so regardless of the outcome it will be tainted. People focus on Vance in this issue because they hate him and hate is easy to come by. They ignore that popular Democrats and progressives said the same thing. Hell, even the Atlantic posted a piece about the issue.
    - jacquesm 10mo ago
      People focus on Vance because he's the one referenced in the tweet.
      - mlrtime 10mo ago
        And most of the online world do not like him, so here we are. If it was someone else, we'd all be cheering because the person is on a different team.

nkmnz 10mo ago

To be fair, he's not bringing them up as intellectual support for his argumentative base – he's bringing them up as support for acts of retaliation. This is mostly about power and we've lost 30% in power vs. the US in just ~12 years because we've fucked up our economy.

jacquesm 10mo ago
Maybe 'the economy' is not the only valid yardstick to compare countries by?
- nkmnz 10mo ago
  I absolutely and 100% agree! But it's the stick that others will use to force their world view down your throat. So if you want to be not only righteous, but also hold others accountable according to your standards, you need the economic power to do so.
DangitBobby 10mo ago
Most of our power loss is from electing a belligerent dumb fuck twice and allowing him to sabotage our international relationships and destroying our remaining credibility.
- mlrtime 10mo ago
  What power loss? OP is talking about Italian power loss?
- nkmnz 10mo ago
  I was speaking about Europe as a whole. Economically, we suck. Losing UK didn't help, either, but except for Poland, we've become relatively poorer by an insane amount, compared to the US. Another 10 years on that path and we're half the US.
lostlogin 10mo ago
> we've lost 30% in power vs. the US in just ~12 years because we've fucked up our economy. I wonder how many Americans would prefer to live in the US that existed 12 years ago versus the US today.
- mlrtime 10mo ago
  People will say anything online, but when it comes to action very little. I'd rather live in the US now or 12 years ago vs Italy unless someone gave me a tuscan villa with a pool Virtue signaling at its finest.
  - lostlogin 10mo ago
    I laughed. Im at a the tail end of 3 weeks in Italy, sitting on a train. Compared to 20 years ago it’s so much cleaner, quicker, more efficient, friendlier. You must be in a great place as it’s fantastic here.
    - mlrtime 10mo ago
      Oh I've been multiple times, it's beautiful! But vacationing is not living + working, paying bills, dealing with bureaucracy or culture clashes, etc...

selfmodruntime 10mo ago

> And you are falling into the trap of thinking that if a person is busy deconstructing what used to be one of the larger democracies in the world that their other words are going to be taken at face value, which obviously is not going to happen. No. I'm identifying this one statement as factual, regardless of the person saying it. Surely then, you would not deny the color of the sun to be yellow just because Pot might have observed it to be that way?

jacquesm 10mo ago
That's besides the point: JD Vance and Musk are precisely the wrong entities to have opinions on stuff like this because they are on the wrong side of that line most of the time. Especially Musk, but Vance has his own ulterior motives to berate the EU on anything so regardless of the outcome it will be tainted.
- selfmodruntime 10mo ago
  > JD Vance and Musk are precisely the wrong entities to have opinions on stuff like this because they are on the wrong side of that line most of the time. Especially Musk, but Vance has his own ulterior motives to berate the EU on anything so regardless of the outcome it will be tainted. People focus on Vance in this issue because they hate him and hate is easy to come by. They ignore that popular Democrats and progressives said the same thing. Hell, even the Atlantic posted a piece about the issue.
  - jacquesm 10mo ago
    People focus on Vance because he's the one referenced in the tweet.
    - mlrtime 10mo ago
      And most of the online world do not like him, so here we are. If it was someone else, we'd all be cheering because the person is on a different team.