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DandomRude

@ DandomRude @lemmy.world

Posts
39
Comments
545
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Removed Deleted

    Permanently Deleted

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  • It has become abundantly clear that the US is now run by organized crime. How else can one describe all this?

  • German word for "person you don't want to become like", probably from a Vonnegut book?

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  • The word you are looking for is probably "Niemandsvorbild," which means "nobody's role model".

    It is a made-up word that is apparently sometimes attributed to Kurt Vonnegut, but it probably wasn't coined by him. It doesn't actually exist in the German language, but it is still easy to understand.

    More common would be "Negativ-Vorbild" ("negativ role model") or "Antiheld" ("antihero"), although the latter describes a likable but imperfect protagonist in a work of fiction.

  • US popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return

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  • Can confirm

  • Trump officials ‘created confrontation’ that led to arrest of Newark mayor

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  • How about arresting the actual criminals for a change?

  • meme_iel

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  • Donde esta la biblioteca?Me llamo T-Bone, la araña discotecaDiscoteca, muñeca, la bibliotecaEs en bigote grande, perro, manteca

    Yea, Boiii - source

  • Anonymity

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  • I hope that doesn't sound too pessimistic. I wouldn't say all is lost, especially since there are definitely positive developments, of which the Fediverse is just one example among many.

    Overall, however, I fear that technology alone will not change society, since it is always embedded into society itselfs and therefore functions according to its inherent logic.

    So in Western countries, I unfortunately have little hope for the "mainstream internet" with its ruthless platform economy, because real change for the better would either require meaningful antitrust regulations or has to be forced by the consumers themselves —both seems highly unlikely, as the past 20 years have clearly shown in my opinion: Today, there are even more and even more powerful global monopolies, while people just won't stop to buy their stuff at Amazon because it is usually a little cheaper and so convenient that hardly anyone is willing to even consider all the comparable offers that do exist.

    The same seems to be true of the media: fewer, but even more powerful conglomerates with significantly greater reach than before and platforms that can pretty much do whatever they want without losing too many users (x obviously censoring many viewpoints and run by a open fascist, reddit killed it's API as if it wasn't important so on and so forth).

    In short, I fear that unregulated turbo-capitalism has done to the internet what it always does once monopolies have formed: Enshitification.

    And this "enshitification" of our most important media channels is now showing it's ugly face in all the negative impacts on most democracies worldwide. I mean democracy only works with free discourse, the willingness to compromise, and reasonably informed voters. Unfortunately all of this contradicts the logic of today's so-called social media—at least when it comes to the few major platforms with their own political agendas and their greed for profit.

  • Anonymity

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  • It's almost like a large-scale social experiment, with the result that there seem to be many profoundly evil people whose malicious beliefs are artificially pushed by billionaire "gatekeepers" to a point where they can appear socially acceptable, a few good people who have less and less say due to social media logic and content overload, and a large majority who just stand by and watch civilization go down the drain because they're too lazy to change their habits and just rely on someone else to fix this mess, if they even recognize the problem in the first place.

    In this context, I think the definition of public opinion established by political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann back in the 1980s is once again highly relevant:

    "Public opinion is the opinion dominant in public which can be expressed without risk of social isolation."

    The spiral of silence : public opinion, our social skin (1984)

    Noelle-Neumann emphasized that public opinion is not just any opinion, but specifically those views that are visible, vocal, and supported by the majority, making them safe to express in public. This ties closely to her "Spiral of Silence" theory, where individuals may refrain from expressing minority views due to fear of social isolation.

    The great problem of our current media situation seems to be that these public opinions are increasingly artificially constructed since they just seem like majority opinions, even if they are not, because they get pushed so hard by the influential crooks controlling major parts of the Internet (social media and search engine monopolies and so on).

    So I think today's web has become almost the opposite of what early Internet utopians had in mind.

  • Trump has skipped almost all of his intelligence briefings

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  • Well, he's not an intelligent person, so...

  • Fearful of Trump, some Americans look to make a life in Europe

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  • That sounds great! I wish you all the best and much success!

    Yes, I also think that Trump and his MAGA people are doing long-lasting damage. But that's also true: they and all the idiots who voted for them had it coming. I still feel sorry for the decent US citizens.

    As a German, I'm most afraid that the AfD, a terrible party very similar to the MAGA-GOP, might come to power in our country at some point. Fortunately, this is somewhat unlikely, but if it happens, it will probably be the same for us.

  • Fearful of Trump, some Americans look to make a life in Europe

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  • In this matter, Europe can not only regain credibility with regard to our value system by granting refuge to politically persecuted US citizens. It is also a real chance for Europe, because I assume that many Americans who want to leave the country are rational people who can create a counterweight to the stupor that is unfortunately spreading like a disease here too.

    Just yesterday I spoke to a physicist from the US who has been working at the university in my home town for four years. Unfortunately, his employment contract is temporary and will soon expire. He still doesn't want to return to the States because he simply doesn't see a future there. He will stay in Europe instead, which is a real gain for us.

  • Liquid Trees

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  • Has the manufacturer even calculated how much energy is needed for production and how long it will take for the corresponding CO2 emissions to be amortized?

    We are living in strange times...

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene turns on Trump administration

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  • What now? Can't she think of any more random bogeymen from the other camp that she can blame for whatever with some fantasy stories?

    What a spineless coward this wretched pos is.

    I hope all these disgusting brutes get what they deserve in the end.

  • TIL the Royal Family always travels with one black outfit in case a relative dies while they're on holiday.

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  • A blue one is also totally suitable for a funeral, just ask Donnie Orangeutan, he knows all about style and dignity. /s

  • Donald Trump demands investigations into negative approval rating polls

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  • This guy is such a clown...it's really unbelievable...what a disgrace to the USA.

  • With over 900 US measles cases so far this year, things are looking bleak

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  • Play stupid games, win deadly diseases.

  • Do you live in a country where you think the laws are reasonably in line with what you think is just? Do the decisions of your courts usually meet your expectations in this respect?

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  • That sounds pretty reasonable, may I ask which country you live in? Or in which region of the world?

  • Do you live in a country where you think the laws are reasonably in line with what you think is just? Do the decisions of your courts usually meet your expectations in this respect?

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  • So you would say that the law usually corresponds to what you perceive as justice?

  • Do you live in a country where you think the laws are reasonably in line with what you think is just? Do the decisions of your courts usually meet your expectations in this respect?

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  • Are you satisfied overall with the decisions made by your courts?

  • Democrats Need to Make Republicans Fear the Consequences of Attempting a Dictatorship

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  • Yes, unfortunately, I think the US has been a plutocracy for way too long already.

    I think it's time for US citizens to admit that and change it for good. Of course, I'm fully aware that many Lemmy users have long realized this.

    I really don't want to offend anyone with this obvious statement, but it's simply a fact that many people in the USA have been living like in a third world country for a very long time - even though the US is one of the richest countries in the world.

    The reason for this is very obvious: shameless enrichment of the rich and powerful - hardly any difference to Russia imo - more humane means so far, yes, but the effect is basically the same.

    This is not meant as an insult at all. I just can't believe how obvious the corruption in the USA is: Even in the highest offices. People like the President himself or Clarence Thomas (so on and so on) obviously no longer feel the need to be ashamed of anything - they don't even try to keep any of their criminal activities even remotely secret.

    Our system is certainly not perfect and we also have major problems with corruption and also with the resurgence of fascist parties. But the level of open corruption in the USA is still mind blowing to me: The shameless insider deals of the president, the unscrupulousness of constitutional judges who so obviously rule against the constitution! I can't even begin to name even half of it.

    Unconditional immunity for presidents? Imprisonment of innocent people without due process? Prisons for profit? I think that's wild and only possible in a failed state!

    I mean, you really don't have to be an expert in constitutional law to realize that any even halfway decent democratic constitution would of course rigorously rule all this out.

    I myself can only observe this from afar and helplessly feel sorry for all the good and still rationally thinking US citizen.

    Of course, I have no solutions. Only the obvious thought that the US institutions have long been corrupted.

    I wish you all the best and try to contribute at least something from afar - but unfortunately I have little hope, because I honestly believe that the US system is broken beyond repair.