I really miss kbin… 😔(no hard feelings, I genuinely wish Ernest the best and hope he makes a comeback)

I actually tried migrating my account from there before the major issues, as a backup, but realised it didn’t back up my blocked lists, which are much harder for me to recreate than my subscribed list and settings are, so decided to wait and see if anyone improved the migration tools.

Then it became too late, and I had to start from scratch, and am now regretting the instance I chose, and have not yet had the brain space to check out the other kbin/mbin instances and find a new one I like. Until then I’m reluctant to participate.

If anything, the last couple of months, with kbin dying and realising how uncomfortable I am on an instance run by people who have expectations from their users I fundamentally disagree with, have made me want to start my own private kbin/mbin instance for myself so that I don’t end up in either situation again, but I don’t know that it’s something I can take on, having no programming knowledge or any experience with anything like that.

So yes, I agree with you, for more than the reasons you’ve provided, and I hope we, as a general community use these developments to learn and improve.

I become a stauncher anti-capitalist every day, since capitalism and its unsustainable and literally impossible aim of infinite growth, and the greed and corruption it encourages, is why climate change is not only happening but also not being treated seriously, and abolishing it is the only hope we have of dealing with the damage climate change will bring and try and minimize it going forward (since its past the point of stopping it entirely).

The whole point of those responsible shifting blame on to individuals who have nothing to do with the decisions that got us here, nor the profits they make, is to get you to the point you’re at now - hopelessness which leads to inaction, or desperation that leads to futile action (like banning straws or paying to reduce your “carbon footprint” - a term they made up for this exact purpose, and so on, all of which are there to make sure you’re criticising your neighbour for their recycling habits instead of the companies that say they’re recycling and get paid to but really send the garbage directly to landfill, or to a developing nation already drowning in western trash).

What you actually need to be is angry and focused, to ensure your anger is aimed at the right people and the systems they uphold that got us here. Those systems are not natural or inevitable or immutable, they are artificially created by and for the benefit of a really small group of humans, a group we could easily be rid of if we actually united to do so.

I think making us purchase happy, while indeed very beneficial to the owning class, is still just a side effect (E: of the length of the work day, not capitalism in general) to the real reason (and why the 8 hour work day is a compromise people had to fight, and die, for) - keeping us tired and hungry (and not only for indulgence) and at risk of losing it all if we don’t go to work tomorrow keeps us from having the time, energy, and community (because capitalism encourages crab mentality) to organise and revolt against them, and their oppressive systems.

True…

Though an “it” at the end of that sentence would have gone a long way to reduce my initial confusion lmao😂

To toss off

Ah yes, the high road, the best know cure for and deterrent of fascism… 🙄

further incite the right, convince them that they are fighting the holy fight, and accelerate violence against the citizenry?

Literally already happening.

How anyone can think that rolling over and playing dead while fascists stomp their way in to (more) power is a better way to “fight” them, than, I don’t know, actually fighting them, is honestly mind blowing.

Check your privilege, the fact that you aren’t impacted by their ongoing war, doesn’t mean no one else is.

Depression and mental illness leads some to want to go with a bang

No, they really fucking don’t, privilege and the sense of entitlement it gives do.

Like seriously, beyond the bullshit that is scapegoating mental illness because it’s easier than facing reality, that’s literally not how depression works, nor “mental illness” in general, especially when you consider that mentally ill people are significantly more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrate it.

Stop perpetuating this lazy counterproductive bullshit.

We have the Bolsheviks to thank for it! (E: to be clear, and as will be evident by the links I shared, I am not a Leninist lol)

My summation of the concept is obviously superficial, here are some good places to start getting a better idea of what it is and where we might start:

https://www.weareplanc.org/modules/wtf-is-dual-power/

https://medium.com/@anarchist.environmentalist/an-anarchist-dual-power-e911edf66ad7

https://blog.pmpress.org/2019/09/02/alternative-institutions-or-dual-power/

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/the-anarchist-faq-editorial-collective-an-anarchist-faq-full (there isn’t a specific dual power bullet point, but it does come up, and in general this document is worth looking through)

And would gladly work on a project like this to kill the time.

It’s not a “project” it’s a way of life, and it’s not something you should ever engage in to “kill time” but because you believ it is possible to create a better society.

I worry that they’ll just roll over us with their tanks and drones unless the oligarchy is actually destroyed in the revolution.

They are going to do that at some point anyway, your options are to lie down and take it, or to try and create an alternative (yes, abolishing the current systems that control our lives will require violence, a tiny percentage of that they inflict on us, but you don’t free yourself from oppression by asking nicely).

And I just don’t see how that can happen with the majority of people looking left or right instead of up.

That’s the whole entire point of building community and solidarity.

Lol thanks, I have my moments… 😳😂

That’s why instead of grasping at the existing system until its dying breath and focusing on electioneering* and playing within the rules they’ve set out for us, and eventually just wait around for them to fight it out for power over us, it’s more important to focus on building up our communities and creating alternatives to the existing systems, or “dual power” (from communal fridges and pantries, to libraries for everything from books to tools to sewing patterns to seeds, communal child care, educational clubs, agitprop groups, and so on and on and on) so that when things inevitably collapse (because that’s where capitalism concludes), we have existing networks and frameworks and solidarity to build on, from the bottom up.

*Before the libs derail like they always do - I never said don’t vote, but focusing the amount of energy that you do on doing the bare minimum within the rules set out to you by your oppressors doesn’t make you antifascist freedom fighters.

But as I said, I doubt if it will increase the overall hits for Wikipedia or be a last straw for people hesitating to use the site

Why the fuck do you think accessibility has anything to do with hits?

Ah, well, if you can’t imagine it, then all those people with visual impairments who haven’t been able to read the content previously simply must not exist! 🙄🤦‍♀️

Oh wow, finally!

A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

I’ll be honest, if you don’t have an understanding of how deeply these (along with white supremacy, cis heteronormativity, ablesim, classism) impact not only society at large, but our individual choices (or lack thereof), and it sounds like you don’t, I can’t really help at this point, there’s just too much to unpack and it’s not work I’m interested in doing for you.

As for your ulterior motives - the first is easy to resolve by opening a search engine and looking it up, the second absolutely makes you sound like a creep, and also provides a perfect demonstration of the kind of external pressure we face that more often than not compels us to cover up - we feel you “appreciating” our “pups” (aka your “male gaze” or simply you objectifying us). And it’s fucking gross.

Maybe you should read my first reply again, this time try and actually listen to the experience of a person explaining to you the pressures they and others like them face from society that you never have, instead of dismissing it because it makes you uncomfortable to confront, and then invest some of your own time actually researching the topic, not of why people wear bras, but of how fundamentally social constructs impact society and all the individuals in it, and maybe you’ll start to get an idea of what the actual answer to your question is.

But I have a feeling you’re not interested in doing any of that, so I’ll just leave you with this - boobs don’t exist for you.

A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

There are plenty of examples of societies past and present, for the vast majority of the time humans existed probably, where breasts are free to exist as they are. The people those breasts are attached to do all manner of work and activities without hinderance, or chafed nipples. Just like those with flat chests do.

The reason that in (especially our western) modern world we are expected to wear bras has to do with puritanism, shame, control, and profiteering from all of the above.

Comfort is categorically not a priority of the billion dollar bra industry, the trillion dollar advertising industry, nor those who demand we wear them to be “respectable”, lest we “excite” their, or their son’s, urges or “distract” them from their important manly duties (and if we don’t, and they attack us, it’d be our fault for not being “modest” enough and “asking for it”).

When we have all been socialised with these demands and expectations for centuries, they become so deeply ingrained, it’s really hard to separate from our own free will, and yet ask any group of people who wear bras what the best part of the day is, and they’ll tell you it’s taking it off.

And to be clear - this isn’t a judgment of anyone who wears a bra, I wear an underwire once in a blue moon which I hate, but am usually in a sports bra because I feel more comfortable with everything held in place (and also have nosy neighbours I’m not that friendly with), it’s about questioning why I feel more comfortable that way, and how much of that is natural vs manufactured by a society that demands I keep everything held in place, and hidden (unless they’re “required” to sell something or entertain the mens).

Anyway, I’m stoned too and I tend to ramble, so I think I 'll leave it at that for now lol

our trans brothers and sisters.

Just a tip, while we’re at it - “siblings” is more inclusive, since not everyone fits in a binary! Same goes for using “folks” (or one of several other alternatives) instead of “ladies ad gentlemen”.

Also, I’ve definitely seen that joke made before in that context, so you can feel relief that the idea is out there lol

On the one hand, Satan has clearly been burnt in the past

But then, they do have good solutions for dictators in hell, as long as they don’t get too attached…

I say - we’d appreciate him giving it another try lol

Stop trying to justify violence.

Literally what you’re doing, except you’re justifying violence against millions, while we’re justifying violence against the handful that perpetrate that violence against millions.

We are not the same., and you definitely don’t have any moral high ground.

“Respectability” should be a swear word. Even rolling it around my tongue feels like I’m tonguing raw sewage, or maybe a particularly used condom. It implies a certain standard of behavior. To those who aim to be respectable, the standard is of civility, of fair-mindedness, of calm, reasonable debate and jovial disagreement. To those who don’t give a fuck about that bullshit, it stinks of elitist posturing, of valuing messaging over content, and of Puritan control. That’s how the scumfucks get away with it, you understand. They decry your tone, your language – not your content.

Not the thing that really matters, but the distraction of respectability and civility and propriety. Because you see, it makes them uncomfortable. They don’t like to be reminded that their policies affect real human beings. That would make it nearly impossible for some of them (not all, of course, there are some real fucking sociopaths there) to pass bills that cut welfare spending, or to authorize missile sales to Saudi Arabia

…Ultimately, a call for respectability is a call to take your beating with a smile, because you are serving the interests of their narrowly-defined democracy. But isn’t decency a good thing? Shouldn’t civility be a goal we all strive for, especially for public figures?

No.

Here’s the fucking truth – everyone is a fucking asshole, especially those who claim that they just want some “decency.” How do I know this? Because the same people who claim “civility” are the people who authorize defense appropriations for arms sales to theocrats, the people whose idea of a “humane homeless policy” is to put spikes on public benches, the people who think fascists can be defeated by hugs. Embracing “respectability” over content, and over values, is promoted primarily by those that have the privilege of ignoring the deleterious effects of said policy.

…Don’t play by the rules of the oppressor, because their rules are specifically designed to silence you, to negate you, to ignore you.

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/romeo-kokriatski-respectability-politics-or-you-gotta-be-nice-to-monsters

TL;DR: