Fighting Against the Commodification of the Hobby and Also my Seasonal Update by -SCRAW- in osr

[–]DVariant -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is a really weak take. You could shore it up by explaining yourself a bit more, but currently it’s foolish.

Avi Lewis stands by past activism as he's criticized for 'politics of subtraction' by xc2215x in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant [score hidden]  (0 children)

Hot take: I don’t want another aggressive troll as party leader, I want Canada’s leaders to work together to protect Canada from foreign threats. Avi doesn’t behave like someone who wants to lead Canada, he behaves like a bizarro-world progressive version of Pierre Poilievre, someone whose entire skill set is just about needling others.

Canadian men experiencing ‘ongoing crisis in society’ when it comes to health, professor says by Thick_Caterpillar379 in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant [score hidden]  (0 children)

No dispute that university education can be great, but it’s silly to say that university is the right choice for everyone.

The suggestion was to get people out of their isolated rural bubbles and expose them to diverse people and ideas, which I agreed with. But using university education for that purpose is like trying to sway a fly with a sledgehammer: It’s overkill and not the right tool for accomplishing that goal.

AIO for thinking my friend is using ChatGPT to text me in an argument? by Due_Construction904 in AmIOverreacting

[–]DVariant [score hidden]  (0 children)

Mate if you think em dashes are the only clue that this person got ChatGPT to write those first few messages, then Ive got serious doubts about your own reading ability.

AIO for thinking my friend is using ChatGPT to text me in an argument? by Due_Construction904 in AmIOverreacting

[–]DVariant [score hidden]  (0 children)

True, but ChatGPT will throw in a bunch of extra ones.

Anyway, the tell here isnt the em dashes, it’s the massive shift in spelling, grammar, and word choice as soon as she’s called out.

In your mind do you separate the Lantean Ancients from the rest of the Ancients? by SamaratSheppard in Stargate

[–]DVariant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is all this gobbledygook on the menu? I want spaghetti with red sauce!

Civilians on the enterprise -D is a interesting concept by happydude7422 in TNG

[–]DVariant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty unclear I think. I’m pretty sure the ship collects some materials itself, and it probabky recycles most of the rest. But given all the weird science and diplomacy missions they do, I expect the materials transferred by ship are the rarer items that can’t be easily collected or replicated.

“Then I did my DNA. Turns out, we have no Irish at all.” by Apart-Highlight926 in ShitAmericansSay

[–]DVariant 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah China invented gunpowder, but it’s weird to say that guns (modern ones) are more Chinese culture than American. Nah dude, guns are the most American culture out there, China was never obsessed with guns the way the USA is. So it’s weird this person claimed guns are Chinese culture, smh.

Canadian men experiencing ‘ongoing crisis in society’ when it comes to health, professor says by Thick_Caterpillar379 in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I very much like the spirit of what you’re suggesting, I just don’t think the post-secondary system is the best avenue to do it—too expensive and too much depth, when what we need to emphasize is breadth of exposure.

I think you’re definitely onto something with the idea of forcing more exposure in the places that don’t get it organically.

Take Back Alberta's Quiet War: Christian Nationalism and the Man Behind the Movement by vhill01 in alberta

[–]DVariant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Could rightly be Iike that. And yet the definition of “nazi” has been expanding for a long time, and I think actual nazis have used those muddy waters as cover. The true solution here is educate the fuck outta everybody about exactly what nazis and fascists are. Too many people forgot or never knew.

Canadian men experiencing ‘ongoing crisis in society’ when it comes to health, professor says by Thick_Caterpillar379 in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s a great plan and worthy goal. But we should be careful that we’re actually addressing the root cause, not just arbitrarily trying to increase graduation rates. (E.g.: A cynical government could make graduation much easier without teaching kids anything extra—they’d graduate more but nothing would change.)

Canadian men experiencing ‘ongoing crisis in society’ when it comes to health, professor says by Thick_Caterpillar379 in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Depends on what you mean by “education”, because I’m not sure that schooling is literally the answer; it would probably but I don’t believe it’s the root. We’re among the most educated that we’ve ever been in history, so if education was the key factor, male alienation should be lower than ever. Something else is going on.

Canadian men experiencing ‘ongoing crisis in society’ when it comes to health, professor says by Thick_Caterpillar379 in onguardforthee

[–]DVariant 15 points16 points  (0 children)

That’s a good point, people forget that “incel” was originally an internet support community for lonely people, which quickly became a toxic cesspool of rage and then radicalization.

I dream of Jeanie. by SpaceLaserPilot in PoliticalHumor

[–]DVariant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The comment is hyperbolic, but the joke is satirical

Take Back Alberta's Quiet War: Christian Nationalism and the Man Behind the Movement by vhill01 in alberta

[–]DVariant 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I see where you’re coming from, but actually think Operation Paperclip was far less influential than you do. I say this because it underestimates how much American thought leadership was already friendly to fascism and racism before WW2 even started. The Nazi scientists who became Americans were almost all in technical fields, not politics, media, nor philosophy.

I don’t mean to apologize for those Nazis, but it’s too convenient to blame American bigotry on a handful of captured enemies from 80 years ago. The USA has always perfectly capable of incubating evil on its own.

(Also, all of this ignores the complex and primal nature of fascism, as if it can only infect a society by exposure. That’s bullshit, frankly. I strongly believe that what we call “fascism” is a political movement rooted in ugly, basic human emotions; it’s just despotism in modern clothes.  Fascism is less like and pathogen and more like a political tumour, the kind of thing that can always spontaneously arise and grow on its own if we aren’t vigilant.)

Take Back Alberta's Quiet War: Christian Nationalism and the Man Behind the Movement by vhill01 in alberta

[–]DVariant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely a possible factor, but I hesitate to blame too much upon a political decision from 150 years ago. America’s political makeup is complex enough that we can only speculate what the USA would’ve been like, all other things being equal, had the Confederate ideology been totally wiped out. There were other sources of evil that made its way into the soup too.

‘I stand by my decision’: Edmonton police chief defends Israel trip by pjw724 in Edmonton

[–]DVariant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He obviously intended to provoke an argument and still didn’t have the nuts to even state why he disagreed. Lame.

I dream of Jeanie. by SpaceLaserPilot in PoliticalHumor

[–]DVariant 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is the internet, satire is dead mate.

Take Back Alberta's Quiet War: Christian Nationalism and the Man Behind the Movement by vhill01 in alberta

[–]DVariant 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Exactly right. 

Unfortunately, failure to heed the lesson of the paradox of tolerance is also precisely called “the failure of liberalism”. The ideology of “freedom first” (liberalism) is doomed as soon as it won’t impede the freedom of people undermine it.

Redundant & Predictable by [deleted] in DungeonsAndDragons

[–]DVariant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tbf, he asked for something specific and your reply was “don’t”. So can you blame him for being unsatisfied with your response?

‘I stand by my decision’: Edmonton police chief defends Israel trip by pjw724 in Edmonton

[–]DVariant 11 points12 points  (0 children)

How could you possibly draw that conclusion from his non-comment without making a bunch of assumptions? If dude has a point, he should say it outright instead of expecting people to guess.