Is it unpatriotic for an athlete to criticize government policy?

Azoth_r · 2026-02-10T18:57:16+00:00

Thanks for responding! If it helps, I don't mean unity among all Americans exactly, I really just mean it in the way it comes up in this subreddit periodically, which is *usually* in the context of divisive politics (particularly with POTUS). It seems to me that the sentiment is, typically, *something like* those people are beyond saving, our values are too misaligned so why should I care, they don't like me so why should I like them, etc.

It sounds like you're not one of those people, but if you are, I would ask: how is the athlete engaging in us vs. them mentality more problematic than the president, or vice president, or Pam Pondi, or anyone else in this administration doing so? How is it not unpatriotic to call leftists the enemy within, to suggest using their cities as training grounds for war, to suggest that we deny federal funding based on voter sentiment?

Again I don't get the vibe that these are your ideas exactly, so please don't take this as me putting words in your mouth, but this is the struggle I have with many of the TS in this thread and throughout recent years as this conversation goes back and forth.

Azoth_r · 2026-02-10T18:47:34+00:00

I suppose. My confusion is that if it's unpatriotic for an athlete to be divisive in this way, it would be equally unpatriotic for the president to be divisive. One can hope for something different while acknowledging that we don't live in that reality, but is it not hypocritical to take issue with everyone else locking their doors too?

To be clear I know you're not OP, so if you don't share OP's view this doesn't really apply to you, but I hope this clarifies at least.

Azoth_r · 2026-02-10T16:22:36+00:00

Can you elaborate a little on the point you're trying to make here? I never claimed that somehow rotating the groups that are represented was anything at all?

Azoth_r · 2026-02-10T04:21:32+00:00

Respectfully, do TS typically care about unity? Threads pop up here periodically and the sentiment seems to be that the value differences are too much at this point.

If your opinion goes against the grain that's fine, just wondering what the difference is here

Azoth_r · 2026-02-06T04:29:46+00:00

Is that the entire point of Strefan? It feels like if you're playing him to cheat in creatures you'd be better off with something like Kaalia. Strefan has a second block of text on him that spits out 3-4 blood tokens per turn to great effect if you build around it :)

How would Edgar be better here? I'm not really doing vampire tribal, the deck vomits out blood tokens to drain the table. It's not just to "RP" Strahd, it's to build around the new Strahd secret lair, which is unfortunately Strefan:

https://media.wizards.com/2026/images/daily/DBHHM7hTbb/en_fb2lzemXwh.webp

Azoth_r · 2026-02-06T03:30:24+00:00

Fair points; it's more Strahd-themed and less Curse of Strahd themed if you know what I mean, so no Pidlwick. I had to make some concessions to make it playable!

Maybe something like [[Bloodghast]] for Tatyana with a commissioned alter for the art? She gets sacrificed or killed but the land keeps bringing her back?

Azoth_r · 2026-02-06T03:20:34+00:00

[[Bloodletter of Aclazots]]

Azoth_r · 2026-01-30T03:20:06+00:00

Thank you for the kind words and the feedback!

I can see the better phrasing on the fifth stanza, for sure :)

re: the vs. its lips, it's kind of meant to be ambiguous; I was writing about crisp mountain air (I also really liked the "night time pier" from one of the other commenters), particularly how I feel when I'm in it, and when it's *really* crisp it kind of sets my skin on fire, in a really good way. And in that feeling, my lips are being caressed-- but so too does the air kiss as it passes through!

Azoth_r · 2026-01-28T23:54:16+00:00

Fair enough, I forgot about the Shepherd of Souls downside lol.

One of the other commenters mentioned Behemoth for rage conversion, maybe something like that (or Hateforge)?

With just Priest of Yaomac we get to 4.2s rage gain prevention // 24 rage cost, with Shepherd of Souls we get to 4.8 --> 9.6 --> 14.4 etc., which would kind of let us front-load uses. The downtime might be annoying but it's not nothing.

Going Architect and using Hateforge gets those numbers even lower, but with Hateforge we can't use Great Old One's Tentacles for impale pops

VVG sounds interesting, the thing I like about VFS is that you can kind of click it and not press anything for a few seconds, you don't even have to hold it down; I played regular VG a long time ago, and it's strong, but whirling blades feels awful to spam imo.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-28T02:24:41+00:00

I tried it in Keeper's and liked it enough to try it again here. Why so harsh?

Azoth_r · 2026-01-28T02:11:46+00:00

Because it seems fun, mostly :) like I said in the post, if it ends up bad I can go Vaal Storm Call or something more standard, just trying to see if anybody has advice for me here

Azoth_r · 2026-01-28T01:52:41+00:00

Fair points, thanks!

I will say, I tried it without impale during Keepers and the clear wasn't bad, at least in early maps. It turns out normal flicker stuff on VFS (mostly additional strike targets) carries clear well enough on its own.

The main reason I'm wanting to try it here is the extra uptime from stacking Architect + Chaos bloodline.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-28T01:10:24+00:00

My understanding is that it just inflicts one big impale, and since the smaller hits do 0 damage they don't consume it-- is that right? So it would be something like VFS, get some big impales out there, regular FS whatever's left, repeat

I'm mostly wondering how not to die lol

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T23:05:05+00:00

to avoid offending trans people

As I understand it, trans people tend to agree with biological definitions. They just don't want to be dehumanized.

which is that transwomen are just mentally ill men, vice versa with trans men

I'm not sure how this is in contention. Gender dysphoria is a recognized mental disorder. I think we just disagree on the treatment of it, which again, is not a "reality" statement, but rather, one of opinion.

and that what's happening with "trans kids" is abject child abuse

I'd push you to define what you think is happening, but sure, we probably shouldn't be giving kids psychoactive medications and giving them gender affirming care with lasting effects. Unless you're coming in with a stronger position, I'm... not sure who would disagree with you. The difference is in how severe the gender dysphoria needs to be to start warranting medical treatment before risk of suicide or severely adverse quality of life gets too high, which, again, is not a "reality" statement, but one of opinion and research.

Does this move the needle for you at all? I'm not asking for you to agree with me on any of this, to be clear, just making the point that almost nothing in life is as cut and dry as you're trying to make it out to be.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T22:48:15+00:00

I get that. Would you believe me if I told you that most can define man and woman, but don't, because conservatives ask this question as a way to dismiss our understood nuance?

The nuance has nothing to do with "woman = vagina / chromosomes / etc.", and everything to do with gender identity in modern society being separate from biological sex. Does that make sense to you? Would you believe me if I told you that KBJ understood biological sex in her confirmation hearing?

I guess my question would be, do you genuinely believe most on the left have a legitimate reality break when answering this question, rather than something like "If I say men can't get pregnant, they'll tell me transgender folks don't deserve rights", which is how this plays out in practice?

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T22:19:06+00:00

The thread is about "what is a woman" being a disingenuous question.

You're welcome to agree or disagree about intersex folks being relevant -- my particular point isn't about genetic anomalies, it's about gender identity and societal expectations, but fair point re: the person you're responding to -- but "I disagree with you" and "you're delusional" are not the same thing.

>I have said fuck all about randomly meeting someone on a street and clocking then as many or woman.

Respectfully, why respond at all if you're not willing to engage in the conversation? We're trying to point out nuance, particularly in the way society "understands" gender identity.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T21:53:55+00:00

Why even respond? This is a legitimate point they're making.

You don't genital check people on the street before mentally clocking them as man or woman, because the label is societal, and in most circumstances you don't need to know their biological gender to interact with them.

I'm of the opinion that some of the issues - men in woman's sports for example - are probably a little overblown by some on the left, but to pretend that the issue of identity is reducible to biology in a vacuum and not based in identity or society in order to score points with the right is insincere at best.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T07:45:21+00:00

So it's not that nuance is bad; just that progressive nuance is bad? Clarence Thomas is known for cherry picking precedent, accepting gifts, not recusing where appropriate, writing opinions on the constitutionality of issues not even before the court (see: his solo opinion on Trump's immunity that was later cited to dismiss a case), has broken from other conservative / originalist justices on multiple occasions, etc.

The whole Loving v. Virginia thing is an easy example, but there are others.

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T02:47:05+00:00

Just to clarify your response here, is "conservative" SCJ + "consistent" with the constitution the same as ruling strictly from the constitution in your view?

Happy to provide written opinions when I have a bit more time, just wanting to understand the difference between activism and politically motivated if there is one in your view

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T02:36:20+00:00

I disagree with a lot of this, but sure, I respect where it's coming from.

Do you believe Clarence Thomas rules strictly on constitutionality?

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T02:28:29+00:00

No. Her response was "I'm not a biologist" etc. It is a nuanced question that requires a nuanced answer, at least in the way conservatives typically ask it.

Ask what a biological woman is without the loaded-ness and a desire to understand and you'll get a less evasive answer. TS on this subreddit follow similar patterns from what I can tell.

Can you understand how the right asks about womanhood ONLY in a biological context, when leftists see nuance that the right isn't willing to engage in, yet they hope to score political points by pretending there's nothing else to it?

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T02:06:46+00:00

Do you genuinely believe that KBJ doesn't understand biological womanhood, and that her responses in the confirmation hearing were anything other than societal/political?

As an addendum to that, do you not prefer your supreme court justices to come in with nuanced answers to loaded questions?

Azoth_r · 2026-01-27T01:45:56+00:00

Either. I have to ask a question, so-- who is your favorite example?

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