TotallynotJessica

That is fucked up, and yet that sadly wouldn't have been seen as such a bad thing back then. Values of the past sucked, but that doesn't change the equation. The romance is toxic AND the society that prevents peace is too.

These worries about increasing political polarization seem reasonable on the surface, but political polarization is only a symptom of underlying problems. If you want to worry about polarization itself, the demand must be equally applied to both extremes.

If no shared values and boundaries are agreed to, there's nothing to stop one party from pushing the window of acceptable ideas to favor their own clan. As one side takes a step forward towards reconciliation, the other can shift the entire conversation in their favor by simply taking a step back. Complaining about the two sides drifting farther apart as a problem in itself only hurts the side less willing to further radicalize themselves.

I don't know Australian politics, but I do know that most liberal democracies are only a step away from fascism. Some like the UK are already doomed. This is because unchecked capitalism breeds increasing wealth inequality, shrinking wages and opportunities, and causing an increase in people wanting to fundamentally change society in some way. Fascists offer easy answers in the death of liberalism, as many liberal politicians are unable to deliver or even promise substantial change.

The only way to preserve liberal democracy (the rule of law, civil liberties, a social contract) is to protect the working class from capitalism. Even if you think we need capitalism and can never live without it, capitalism causes societal instability by redistributing wealth from workers to the wealthy. Unless the state and workers can limit or reverse this trend, it will destroy the system by making people believe it can never serve them. Liberal democracy is incompatible with unchecked capitalism for this reason.

I disagree. It's a boldheaded romance that would've been possible if not for the petty feud of the families. Toxic social group dynamics prevent a romance AND the couple is foolish in love. Both can be true without there being a party unequivocally in the right. The story is messy, and that's likely the point.

The only way he believes that about America is stupidity or surrounding himself with people who blow smoke up his ass.

aka, powerful silicone valley tech bros who give off the aura of being in charge of the future

🙀

i guess that makes sense

The problem is that I don't respect "conservatives" if they continue to substantially support abusive politicians, organizations, and groups. I don't care if you're respectful and not personally bigoted; there's no excuse for supporting disrespectful and bigoted actions. Unless you admit your sins and agree to not support Nazis anymore, then your sympathy will never be enough.

Also, there isn't any "pay for gay" as far as I remember; all the prostitutes like girls

Moderate amounts of sex?! She fucks at least once per chapter!!!

Note I said "pro business," which probably checks out for someone who's formed connections with multiple tech businesses over the years. When you're around people who believe something like that, it often seeps into your way of understanding the world. Now that the neoliberal house of cards is collapsing, Linus is realizing that the tech business community themselves were the biggest believers in the lie.

And yet, it is also likely commentary on the futile squabbles of specific nobility at the time, like most of the Bard's plays. Layered meanings are not new to Shakespeare, nor is neglecting to admit everything that is meant by a work. Nudging and winking to avoid danger is a long held artistic tradition, so there's no way to know that recorded authorial intent was the entire authorial intent. This is why authorial intent can never carry the power some may think.

Friendly reminder: the concentration camps were kept out of the German heartland. The playbook is fundamentally the same; the citizenry must be able to plausibly keep the horrors out of mind. Right now, Hispanic people and immigrants are the biggest target (like during the New Deal era, where hundreds of thousands were simply deported without history giving much thought). Just know that queer people will end up there specifically for their queerness, doubly so if you're sometime high profile and outspoken.