I was wondering when they’d try bringing the Uyghur thing back to the foreground. With the ongoing Palestinian genocide, I wasn’t sure if they were trying to avoid it so Americans don’t oppose Israel more, or if they were eventually going to bring it out to try and project onto China - again. Seems they might be trying the latter.

Omg, that analogy is perfect. I think I’ll start using it.

I almost prefer this propaganda to the clearly staged animal wholesomeness ones. I keep seeing posts get circulated of wholesome animal moments “with the army”, and immediately recognize them as Ukrainian posts. People share them without even realizing it, and it’s very disheartening.

It’s not about what power the president has. The president exists for manufactured consent. If Biden gets in and commits genocide and fails to do anything progressive, it’s proof “socialism” can’t work, that we consented to genocide, and that democracy works because he didn’t overstep his authority. But if Trump gets in and ignores his opponents, does whatever he wants, etc., then we consented to that and are fine with the erosion of democracy if it means more fascism.

It’s a farce, and personally I think we’re being guided towards a fully fascist transition in the figure of Trump. Not because he, as a person, is anything. He’s a moron. But because he’s the kind of bigot chud that half the country idolizes, and through them the illusion of democracy can be shed and capitalists can take full power. After all, if more than half the voters support a fascist takeover, then isn’t that more or less how our failed model of democracy works?

One of the crew were nice and answered my question. Idk what factors are important, but the white security guy sitting down at the terminal refused to even listen to me as I tried to ask my question, demanding I keep moving. The Hispanic man working on some security railings smiled and kindly explained that the US wasn’t doing any COVID stuff when I asked him.

On that note, it was surreal coming back from China during COVID. The absolute shutdown Beijing was in as I left. Like, a week straight of near-empty metro, temperature checks, etc. Then get to the US, and they were like “Flight from China? Nah, you guys just come on in.” It was also jarring to see the narrative change from “China is super evil for locking down Wuhan” to “China is evil for letting COVID spread all over the world”. Honestly, coming back from China did more for my political development than any other single factor.

First thing I experienced coming back to the US was rudeness from airport security when I was trying to see where I needed to be screened for COVID, then finding out the US wasn’t doing shit about it (this was February 2020, mind you). Second thing I experienced was racism as white Americans loudly complained about the POC airport employees with accents.

I regret coming back a lot, lol.

God I miss China. I got to live there for 5 months while teaching English, and the only thing I hated was my job and the other Americans. Insufferable libs to a man. Not being able to speak or understand Mandarin, I couldn’t make friends with the locals, sadly. There was this place I’d always eat. 14 yuan for a massive bowl of pork, peppers, and noodles. I think that’s, like… $2.

If I could go back and do a job I’d like, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Thank you for sharing your experience. It brings back good memories.

It’s been wild to me how Ukrainian military and government officials have just blatantly said the quiet part out loud, then tried to pretend they never did when it turned out the majority of people didn’t like it. This, and the fact they were pumping out psychotic lies as fast as newspapers could print them (which were all exposed as lies within a week)… I’m just surprised anybody gives them legitimacy or benefit of the doubt anymore.

Perfect example: remember when soldiers were boasting about putting lard on bullets to kill Chechnyans because they were Muslim? And they had to be told by Western supporters that statements like that would hurt their image? Baffling how anyone could think that state is even halfway decent under its current regime.

And it’s not like either of their deaths were particularly clean or quick. Cooper’s actor did a really good job with his last line. Felt like genuine terror. And Nash? Poor bastard had way too much time to suffer.

But hey, funny poop joke pulling out their bones and being stinky.

2000s were fucking wild.

Oh yeah. Hammond in the first film was only slightly better than in the book, from my understanding. Exploitative, rushing things, wanting quick and easy solutions, and thought he could fix shit just by throwing money at it.

Muldoon wasn’t evil. He was the warden, tasked with park safety. He wasn’t super fond of the dinosaurs because they were ludicrously dangerous, especially the raptors. Honestly, he was a pretty good guy, trying to find Hammond’s grandkids, and dying covering Ellie while she ran for safety.

I was just watching JP3 and feeling bad for Nash (and Cooper), because they die badly and are later part of a poop joke.

Still love the movies overall, but yeah, that trope is certainly… well, a trope. It really is everywhere. Only include 1 or 2 black characters in a cast, then kill them off. Fucking wild the shit media did in my childhood that I can only notice now.

Muad’Dib points the way.

The only stockpiling I’ve seen here in the US are the white supremacists plotting for a race war, Christian nationalists plotting for the Rapture, and doomsday preppers plotting for total collapse. Not one of them plans for their community, but only for their immediate interests and any right-wing followers they have.

There might be some anarchist and leftist preppers somewhere, but I’m not aware of them sadly.

Exactly. They’ve been screeching about this decades before Trump, insisting the US is some Christian fascist paradise being besieged by an international cabal of communists. Every Trumpite politician I see yammers on about “the left” in every negative thing that happens. Trump didn’t need to get shot at for them to start marching with torches at Charlottesville, or to start attacking city infrastructure to target minorities, or to push state governments and courts to adopt more and more aggressive reactionary legislation. Yes, this will be their rallying cry, their “proof”, but with how much pressure reactionaries have been putting on citizens, it was only a matter of time until someone pushed back and gave them the excuse they wanted.

Not disagreeing with you, but they would eventually turn to violence inevitably. Either through “legal” means as reactionaries restructure the government under Trump and his supporters, or through continued terrorism in areas or periods where he isn’t in power. It doesn’t matter if he’d gotten assassinated or if there had never been an attempt. His fanatics are convinced they’re in a holy war, and they look for any shared of evidence - real or imagined - to support that bias.

I’d wager you’re more annoyed at the hypocrisy of liberals wanting Trump dead than them simply wanting him dead, because I can guarantee his fash followers are going to do violence and terror regardless of any attempt, its success, or its failure.

Makes sense.

Unfortunately, I just heard the word going around that someone in the crowd died, so it does definitely appear at the very least real shots were going into the crowd. None of that has been verified, as far as I can tell, but I’m sure we’ll get all the details by tomorrow if not in the next few hours. It’s not looking good either way, sadly. You’re right that the right wing is going to use this for all the mileage it’ll get, stunt or not.

My only counter is that Trump and his supporters already believe Biden and Dems are in a cabal with communists. If it was some anarchist, he’d still blame Biden as equally; if it were a Dem, he’d blame communists as equally. To Trump and his cronies, it’s all the same. No matter who wins, or who fired those shots, they’ll squeeze harder on us.

I ain’t busting out the tinfoil hat just yet, because it’s entirely possible with all the fearmongering of making Trump the antithesis of freedom, that some unwell person might think they’re saving the world by attacking him, but so much of it feels… off. I can’t help but be suspicious. That said, I’ll withhold any final conclusions until experts can investigate and weigh in.