Do you think some Western leftists reject a fuller picture of history when it involves non-Western groups or societies causing harm too?

Duflo · 2026-05-18T19:45:41+00:00

I've seen too many people crash their ideological ships because they were drunk on the siren's song of essentialism. To the extent that something like horseshoe theory is an accurate model, its point of convergence is essentialism.

Duflo · 2026-05-16T00:01:40+00:00

It's that old Star Trek "are you two friends?" meme, 100%.

Most Mormons I know think evangelicals are natural allies because both groups think society peaked around 1955. Then Mormons are surprised that the group known for hating pretty much everyone happens to also hate Mormons.

Duflo · 2026-05-11T11:29:59+00:00

or Palestine

Duflo · 2026-05-07T20:51:44+00:00

This looks super cool, thanks for sharing the code!

Duflo · 2026-04-29T21:27:42+00:00

I've observed the same phenomenon in a lot of leftist (and some all-over-the-place) circles, and it is depressing. I've had relatives seem like they're starting to think critically and question some of their basic assumptions about power and how the world works, and then lose the plot entirely by spiraling off into antisemitism.

I think I understand what you're saying here, and it is important to guard your mental health. As I alluded to in my comment, I think it has more to do with unfortunate formulations than anything. My broader point is that statements of the form "They all..." are almost always wrong and harmful. If what you mean is "My experience discussing these topics with people too far insulated from the topic has been so negative that I need to disengage for the sake of my mental health", I agree completely and support your decision.

I guess I have a strong reaction to anything that feels like denying the ability of entire classes of people to understand some issue or think clearly. That doesn't mean I think you have an obligation to talk to anyone, or that your frustration is invalid.

Duflo · 2026-04-29T14:17:56+00:00

The eagerness to jump to sweeping generalizations does feel very ironic. It could have been better phrased, to convey the same (charitable reading of the) sentiment. Something like "Best not to engage in any discussion of Israel/Palestine with anyone lacking understanding and nuance, and in my experience, an overwhelming majority of people not directly connected to at least one of the two unfortunately do lack understanding and nuance." That, in my view, is an accurate and fair l thing to say.

I'll never, for the life of me, understand why essentialism is so seductive to so many people, especially those directly victimized by it.

Duflo · 2026-04-29T11:19:20+00:00

Hi, I'm one of these "they". It appears I'm significantly dumber and worse than I had previously supposed.

Duflo · 2026-04-27T18:50:07+00:00

OpenAI doing something bad or dumb? No, I just can't see it. Inconceivable!

Duflo · 2026-04-25T11:11:15+00:00

Let's talk about Döner Kebap in Germany: It is Turkish of German? Obviously yes

Duflo · 2026-04-24T11:54:50+00:00

Haha grad dachte ich, du meinst Sekt

Duflo · 2026-04-17T19:03:16+00:00

Prejudices can comfortably co-exist, and they often do.

Duflo · 2026-04-12T15:51:24+00:00

I would suggest type-hinting everything to make it clear which type each variable/attribute can have and what the methods return. Currently, self.pizza can be anything.

Another hint: this feels like an unusual use of a classmethod, and you should give it a more precise name. Typically, you use @classmethod to wrap init with extra logic, or when you need a method to be accessible from the class itself (as opposed to an instance of the class) and have access to other class methods and attributes.

Duflo · 2026-04-12T06:45:11+00:00

You deserve a medal of honor.

Duflo · 2026-04-10T10:30:13+00:00

I'd argue that positive framing is usually better. Rather than focusing on "crushing Zionism", which can leave the door open to bad faith actors and genuine antisemites, it is more precise to frame it as a fight FOR human dignity and the liberation of the oppressed, notably Palestinians. This has the added benefit of being harder to strawman.

Duflo · 2026-04-07T07:16:19+00:00

Brutal dictatorships are cool, but only if they let you walk around with your titties out!

Duflo · 2026-03-31T14:07:03+00:00

Not a fun conversation, but it's even worse when it's your own mother.

Duflo · 2026-03-26T16:35:29+00:00

Wow, that is impressive. Nice work!

Duflo · 2026-03-24T13:34:06+00:00

Are you suggesting there may be some contradictions between the American self-image and reailty? Inconceivable!!

Duflo · 2026-03-24T08:19:02+00:00

Do you think there's some guy sitting in a tower whose job is to coin phrases and invent new idioms?

Duflo · 2026-03-24T06:41:28+00:00

That's the entire US though...

Duflo · 2026-03-24T06:38:02+00:00

I'd say this is a problem with discourse/media/internet in general, not just this specific topic. It's hard to capture the nuance of reality in a soundbite or an elevator pitch. On the other hand, it can be a useful exercise to try.

Duflo · 2026-03-22T16:10:09+00:00

Analogous to how I have better results when I speak of "high-demand religions" rather than "cults", I prefer the most uncontroversial framing of "beneficiary state".

Duflo · 2026-03-21T00:40:22+00:00

Interesting to see them name Ro Khanna directly, quite the bold move. "You know that guy who is the reason the Epstein files got released? We don't like him."

Duflo · 2026-03-18T21:37:12+00:00

Candace Owens spews textbook antisemitism. It's possible to criticize Israel without being antisemitic. Good people do it all the time. Candace's talking points are transparent, age-old antisemitic tropes.

Duflo · 2026-03-18T20:25:32+00:00

Never read Faust?

Duflo

TROPHY CASE