• 15 Posts
  • 285 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • Awhile back, I got a bookbub deal alert email about a series called the Lattice Trilogy. When I read the synopsis, I wasn’t sure I’d buy the premise: a future where privacy simply doesn’t exist. Still, out of curiosity and an extremely low price, I gave it a read. Wound up reading all three books. Since then, I’ve been watching privacy die in much less sci-fi-y circumstances.










  • While many in the US have one or more gun, I would argue most were unaware of bump stocks until the 2017 Las Vegas Shooting. TL;DR, a bump stock uses the recoil of the rifle as a “spring” to help pull the trigger over and over again - effectively behaving like a “machine gun.” As already stated, it does not meet the US legal definition of a machine gun because you’re still firing one round per trigger pull. The bump stock basically makes the trigger pull automatic.

    As for why it’s a big debate, read the wiki article. One guy killed A LOT of people pretty quickly using this device to greatly increase his rate of fire. It was a public eye opener for much of the country. So much so, that even Donald f’ing Trump came to the realization that something should be don. He didn’t even really get much push back on it from the right or the NRA. That’s how sobering the massacre was. That said, it happened long enough ago that it’s memory probably isn’t powerful enough for anyone to change the law to ban them and similar mechanisms (see: the binary trigger elsewhere in the comments). If they tried banning them today, the NRA and conservatives would fight it tooth and nail.





  • I would only add that if someone calls out a specific behavior, really listen to them. Try to see their point of view. Often times, racism is about perspective, and it helps for both sides of that discussion to see and understand the other’s perspective. While their call out may just be a misunderstanding, it doesn’t lessen the hurt feelings and strong emotions that come with that.

    A good example of this is the push for flat, or no, income tax; usually to being replaced by increased usage tax/sales tax/VAT. In the US, poor households tend to be minorities, and such a policy would disproportionately affect those people. Simply pushing for the policy isn’t necessarily racist. Not listening to economists who say the policy would disproportionately hurt minorities, would likely be seen by many as racist.


  • There’s a lot of depth to this reply, and it hits the nail on the head.

    Seriously, as an emotional being, the guy is just empty. From his comment about not understanding why soldiers would go to war when they get nothing out of it, to his never ending willingness (eagerness, even) to toss literally anyone under the bus to save his own ass. This guy really has no earthly concept of sacrifice, honor, duty, community… seriously pull out a fucking thesaurus.

    I think he is the single most self-centered person I’ve ever seen, heard of, or read about. I’m not even being hyperbolic. The greatest writers in history wouldn’t put a character like him to paper because readers wouldn’t buy it!

    You say that’s how he understands friendship, and I agree. I’d only add that he genuinely thinks everyone else is just wrong about it. It’s kind of sad, and also kind of amazing to watch.