alt Hacker NewsThe collapse as you call it is occurring precisely because we started hating ourselves and pitted one another against one another, whether that’s by class, race, or gender. And both major political parties are guilty of that to varying degrees. We are an unserious society, obsessed with the new Buc-eez gas station, TikTok, and abstract art. We forgot that Communism and Fascism are social death spirals, and that good governance requires not just an education but a desire to learn and engage. If this is collapse (it’s not) it’s largely because of factors such as that. Sometimes I don’t blame the Islamic fundamentalists and their chants of Death to America. I’d fight to the death too to stop some dumb ass gas station beaver and a bunch of MAGA folks and furries from setting up shop in my country too, if only it hasn’t already happened here.
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> dumb ass gas station beaver and a bunch of MAGA folks and furries
How on earth are those three things supposed to be equivalent? One is a gas station chain with an animal as part of its logo, which is uh, a normal thing? Are we against gas stations in general or animals used for branding or what?
Another is a group of people who like to dress up and/or pretend to be animals with their friends, the worst thing you can say about that is it's unusual.
The third thing is a bunch of death cultists who are scared of everything and willing to worship a dictator.
This is some hardcore false equivalence.
> because we started hating ourselves and pitted one another against one another, whether that’s by class, race, or gender
started? Were you raised in some kind of cave that prevented access to recorded human history? We've been hating each other for all sorts of reasons for quite longer than we have written records.
And it's funny, this kind of argument is usually made by people who are mad that injustices are being pointed out.
I know there is a personal responsibility / call to action in there but I think it elides both how politics work and how people work. Politics is run by cynical operatives skilled in mass manipulation and people generally believe what they’re told to believe. Encouraging people to tilt at windmills is one of the ways to undermine effective opposition. Pitting them against each other is another way. I think actual effective opposition is localism / a general devolution of power.
It’s all moot anyway because AI is already smart enough to upend the economy / social order. A productivity boom without a consumption boom will kill margins across the board.
> we started hating ourselves and pitted one another against one another, whether that’s by class, race, or gender
> stop some dumb ass gas station beaver and a bunch of MAGA folks and furries
I'm not all that supportive of Buc-ees or furries and definitely not of MAGA, but good job continuing the hate and pitting against each other. Do you think hate is okay if it's not based on class, race, or gender?