millie

I love reading, but the moment an author tries to guilt me into reading their particular viewpoint as though I'm just a slave of the system if I don't, I check out. I have better things to do, and this person doesn't have any right to my time.

Does this still happen? The last time this happened to me I think I was about 9 and they couldn't have been much older. I think I was wearing a 311 shirt. And that was in like 1993 when 'poser' was just about the meanest thing you could call someone.

I mean, to me the meaning of that juxtaposition is pretty clear.

The Gadsden flag highlights individual primacy, but the thin blue line sticker makes it clear that it's his individual primacy that he's concerned with. For an anti-authoritarian evoking that symbolism, the 'me' refers to the general autonomy of humanity or at least Americans, but in this case it probably literally refers to that specific individual's autonomy or to the autonomy of the United States as a country in a nationalistic sense.

He's basically just representing his subculture and thumping his chest about how nobody better tell him what to do or get in his way, while also showing that he's affiliated with a big gang. Whether he's aware of the racist speech the symbol is referencing or the symbol's deeper meaning is kind of up in the air, but it still probably wouldn't produce much conflict with his sense of nationalist autonomy in an authoritarian context regardless.

Honestly, it's that context that I think makes the association with Punisher inevitable. Whether the character supports the current gang in charge or not, he clearly believes in an authoritarian model of crime and punishment; that's the lens he views the world through and the impetus for his actions. If it's satire, it certainly doesn't read that way. Though, to be fair, the show is probably a lot more egregious in that regard than the comic (while also likely being more widely consumed).

Frank Castle supports authoritarian measures so much that he goes beyond what the legal system allows for. He literally names himself after an action designed to reinforce authoritarian hierarchy. Sounds pretty on the nose to me.

So one time I was homeless during the winter and it was below zero while I was stuck outside. I stuffed my jacket full of newspaper and hid out in a breezeway, but I wasn't sure I was going to make it through the night. It was really, really cold.

The first business that opened was a bagel shop, and it was still subzero when it did. I went in, sat down, and refused to leave. They threatened to call the cops, I told them to go ahead and threatened suicide so they'd PC me and bring me to the hospital. That happened. The ER gave me a warm bed for a few hours and fed me; probably saved my life, certainly my sanity.

I hope the last part of that story isn't a complete fluke. Getting warm shouldn't require a morbidly clever exploitation of the emergency medical system for the sake of survival. I certainly would have welcomed someone showing up hours earlier and offering me a warm bed.

Also the cop who kicked me out of the ATM I'd taken shelter in could have just, you know.. not.

I've lived on the sidewalk and dealt with the dehumanization involved in that. It's certainly ugly. But I've also seen people who are legitimately terrifying for good reason. Like, randomly pulling a knife in a Starbucks while arguing with someone who isn't there terrifying. Both of those situations require empathy, but the latter maybe also requires someone with a taser in case guy decides to get stabby. Personally, I'd rather that someone not be a cop, but the options are kind of slim in that department.

It's not all one or the other.

Pointing fingers at one another in outrage on the internet probably won't be the thing that helps though. Go buy somebody lunch.

I mean, obviously birth control is cheaper and easier for everyone, but that aside there should be as many as there needs to be. No one should have to carry a pregnancy to term against their will, and that shouldn't be anyone else's business or a political bargaining chip.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think the stronger argument to sway those on the fence is to emphasize that better access to birth control decreases abortions and banning abortion doesn't actually reduce the abortion rate, it just makes it more dangerous. But like, that's not why I take that position. Personal bodily autonomy is plenty of reason in my book, and I don't feel a particular need to try to bring the number of abortions down.

But yeah, I'm sure it's not a particularly fun medical procedure either.

A fifteen year old version of myself somewhere inside just screamed in iptscrae induced frustration.

You know, there's a discordian game that seems pretty appropriate right now.

I honestly can't stand slowly scrolling and waiting for the text to appear. What a terrible design choice.

Can we start archiving stuff somewhere that doesn't block firefox?

There's some good information in this article, but I would have appreciated it being a little less of an ad for a podcast.

The title implies that we're going to hear from scientists about their opinions, but all we actually get in its body is a single quote from one scientist as the literal tagline. Talk about clickbait.

I just want to, for a moment, shed some light on the mental disconnect here for Ms. Clifford.

This is a person who literally ran CNBC's climate change desk. She is, then, ostensibly aware of all the same information any of the rest of us have about climate change.

And yet, she seems to think we can somehow have a world where everybody can casually fly to Istanbul or some other place they've never been every single year, and that'll be sustainable. Or if she doesn't think it's sustainable, she's still totally fine using her own financial position to do it anyway.

If this is how people who actually focus their careers on climate change think, we're pretty fucked.