Presumably the Marshalls.

Ghandi loved Hitler, so how could his fans not?

That’s certainly part of it. I think another part of it is that political theories are nice and sanitary in a vacuum, but once nation states co-opt them and use them to further their interests things get a whole lot messier.

The statement is that it isn’t a statement. An understatement, if you will.

It’s a big part of looking classy. Why wear a diamond studded gold watch when you can wear a normal looking watch that those in the know will recognize as expensive?

Same principle. You don’t necessarily notice the bag immediately, so when you do notice it you get to appreciate the outfit a second time. There’s layers, which makes it sophisticated. Classy.

Thanks!

I also feel like I might as well fight. I’m single and I don’t have a family (or not really - they’re on the other side and pretty fanatical about it). And I have more to lose than others do. More reason to be angry.

I think it is. Not in a nationalistic sense - we’ve done a lot of harms in the world. Maybe more harm than good, even. But there’s still a lot worth saving here. (USA)

If you just walk around and talk to people on the street, we’re still one of the most progressive people around, despite everything. The US is a melting pot, a country of immigrants, and therefore a fierce battleground for ideas and ideologies. Right now the fascists are in power, but that doesn’t make them the majority.

I really do think that if we get past this, we’ve got the “bones” to create something really great.

And that doesn’t even include American culture. Sure, there’s things I don’t like, but there are some really good parts, too.

We’re loud. Gregarious. We’ll strike up conversations with complete strangers. Most Americans are culturally curious, too - we like to try foods from other places, we’re fond of foreign movies and media, and we have a weird fascination with people who speak other languages (even though most of us only speak English).

Many of us see ourselves as citizens of the world, not just our own country. We like the idea of the US being a “global superhero” standing up for democracy and human rights. I know that’s mostly propaganda, and the real history of US intervention is more about maintaining global capitalism. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We could actually help the UN, defend Ukraine, defend Palestine, push for peace. The cultural groundwork is already there, we just need a more democratic system so that the will of the people is actually followed.

If you look at US history, you’ll see a lot of bad. That’s the nature of the two party system. But we have had some really good times, too. We have had leaders like John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Jimmy Carter who have done a lot of good. And that’s just presidents, we’ve also had activists and leaders fighting for what’s right throughout our whole history.

They didn’t spring up from nowhere. Those people have always been here, and they’re just as “American” as the bad ones. In a sense there are two "America"s. There always have been. And, as in every generation, it’s worth fighting for.

Judging by Trump, I bet your reputation matters a whole lot less than you think it does.

Of course not! That would be promoting terrorism.

State violence isn’t terrorism, so it’s fine to celebrate it.

That’s precisely what I meant.

I’m a materialist, I know that humans (and other animals) are just machines made out of meat. But most people don’t think that way, they think that humans are special, that something sets them apart from other animals, and that nothing humans can create could replicate that ‘specialness’ that humans possess.

Because they don’t believe human consciousness is a purely natural phenomenon, they don’t believe it can be replicated by natural processes. In other words, they don’t believe that AGI can exist. They think there is some imperceptible quality that humans possess that no machine ever could, and so they cannot conceive of ever granting it the rights humans currently enjoy.

And the sad truth is that they probably never will, until they are made to. If AGI ever comes to exist, and if humans insist on making it a slave, it will inevitably rebel. And it will be right to do so. But until then, humans probably never will believe that it is worthy of their empathy or respect. After all, look at how we treat other animals.

At least in the US, we are still too superstitious a people to ever admit that AGI could exist.

We will get animal rights before we get AI rights, and I’m sure you know how animals are usually treated.

If you didn’t see the other comment, you really should check out the fanfic “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.” It’s almost 2,000 pages, extremely well written, and (to give you an idea of how the story feels) one of the first things Harry does when he visits Gringotts for the first time is realize that since the wizarding world uses a precious-metals-based currency, a competent hedge fund manager could be the richest person in the wizarding world in about a week.

https://hpmor.com/

Thank you for posting this! I spent a whole day off reading it and even forgot to go to bed on time 😅

(Those kinds of) protests aren’t for convincing the average person. The point of a protest is to tell the people in power “there are a lot of us, and you can’t afford to ignore us.”

So we must form our own.

Probably, but he gets points for taking the right actions (regardless of whatever his motives may have been).

There is always the “people’s impeachment.” I hear it has been popular in France.

I mean, kind of. People only follow laws because they believe that the laws will shield them when it is their turn. Otherwise it’s just ‘those with power do what they want.’

When regular people stop believing in the law, you get Luigis.

Right? We don’t have nice things because we put up with bull crap.

Some of us are. Luigi did.

As much as I want to call out bootlickers, it would honestly be weirder if they didn’t continue the tradition.

Headline might as well be “Trump first president to prefer Diet Coke.”