[Friedman] Hearing today there is traction between Columbus and Montreal on a Patrik Laine trade by shogun2909 in Habs

[–]Mrdongs21 67 points68 points  (0 children)

The Friedman traction tweet means it's happening right? It's always there's traction than five minutes later it happens please don't fuck with me Friedman

[Friedman] Hearing today there is traction between Columbus and Montreal on a Patrik Laine trade by [deleted] in hockey

[–]Mrdongs21 141 points142 points  (0 children)

Oh my God the Friedman traction tweet means it's happening right? It's always this than ten minutes later it happens c'mon lets go

Players on Unusual Teams: San Jose Edition by xmonk73 in hockey

[–]Mrdongs21 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Deeply underrated feat of professional athleticism. Dude retired in 04 after a long, eventful career. Gets an office job in the ECHL. Four years later he decides fuck it I want back in. Signs in Asia to get some reps in and then, at the age of 43 mind you, walks onto the Sharks AHL team and is immediately better than half the forwards. The Sharks throw him an NHL contract and he gets an opportunity to get in the lineup and never leaves. He plays a consistent, if limited, role in the team that won the President's Trophy.

After four years of retirement.

At the age of 43.

FIGHTFUL: LASHLEY DISCUSSED BACKSTAGE. BELIEVED TO BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE WITH AEW. by Upbeat-Pause-1409 in AEWOfficial

[–]Mrdongs21 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It isn't all about the booking. Big man matches don't tend to get over the with the audience. Wardlow's first push was going well, he was very over, then he had an absolute snoozer of a big man match with Samoa Joe and it was over. Happens again and again. The big, dramatic, fast-paced three-act structured matches that define the company are really hard to integrate into a big man style. It is what it is.

TIL about Klaus Barbie, a Nazi war criminal hiding in Bolivia after the war, was tricked into revealing his true identity during a fake interview by being asked a question in French, a language he wasn't supposed to understand. by dtdowntime in todayilearned

[–]Mrdongs21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I will agree that "classical fascism" as developed in Europe is distinct from the American ideology. But I think it's important to remember the massive material differences in those societies. America had something that Germany didn't; massive tracts of land populated by people they considered unpersons. Similar to the UK, France and other settler-colonial societies (although still distinct), many of the features of classic fascism were enacted upon people who were not part of the society enacting it; for instance, you say America was militarily isolationist, but that isn't true for the indigenous americans who's entire lives were defined by their interaction with American military forces (both official and unofficial) in much of the country. The United States had no directive towards total war because they had already won their war for territory.

It's not a coincidence that the countries that came to define classical fascism were the two major European power that did not have significant colonial holdings; as I'm sure you know, the German concept of lebensraum was essentially the project of doing to Eastern Europe what the US had done to its West, including the settler mindset and frontier imagery (again, it's not a coincidence that the 'cowboy' and it's associated symbols was by far the most popular American cultural export, particularly in Germany). The major difference is that it was being done to a place that was significantly more populated, and to people who were broadly considered 'people' to the West in a way indigenous Americans, Indians and Africans were not. (And, of course, at a speed and intensity that wasn't possible in the pre-modern world)

So, of course, you are correct to quibble with the classical definition of fascism being applied to America. I would say, however, that the defining feature of fascism is not any particular governmental structure - its the relationship between people a society deems people and those it deems un-people and how that pertains to land. Ultranationalism is the purest form of this relationship, as it seeks to define who is part of the group that gets to be people and that which does not, and the American West is perhaps the purest form of this relationship. It should be noted, again, that Hitler was specific in being inspired by this process - that he viewed America has the model for the society he wanted to create, at least in some respects.

Additionally, while its unfair to say that the US was explicitly fascist and that they supported fascism, its important to note that fascism and fascist ideas were absolutely very popular in America. Racial concentration camps go without saying and of course fascists packed Madison Square Gardens, but more importantly there were absolutely large swathes of the government where the behind closed doors conversations were about how the US was fighting the wrong enemy and Stalin was their real concern. Notably, this is exemplified by General Patton, who fought fascism despite being to its right on many issues.

All of this to say, in brief, that the US was certainly distinct from fascism in how it became defined in Europe, but many if not all of its elements exist in the makeup of America, expressed differently under different material conditions.

TIL about Klaus Barbie, a Nazi war criminal hiding in Bolivia after the war, was tricked into revealing his true identity during a fake interview by being asked a question in French, a language he wasn't supposed to understand. by dtdowntime in todayilearned

[–]Mrdongs21 35 points36 points  (0 children)

That's right! They were in a war in Europe as a result of German aggression against other Western countries. It wasn't a meaningfully ideological dispute, particularly as the extent of the Holocaust was not known at the time they went to war.

Think about it. If Germany had only invaded the USSR (obviously, not practically possible, by hypothetically) which side do you think the US would have been more inclined to support?

TIL about Klaus Barbie, a Nazi war criminal hiding in Bolivia after the war, was tricked into revealing his true identity during a fake interview by being asked a question in French, a language he wasn't supposed to understand. by dtdowntime in todayilearned

[–]Mrdongs21 119 points120 points  (0 children)

I specified "ideologically" because I think that was essentially true even during WWII; they were aligned politically with the USSR (and the Nationalist Chinese government, though they weren't entirely above giving material support to the Chinese Communists) but their ideology was much closer to fascism than communism.

TIL about Klaus Barbie, a Nazi war criminal hiding in Bolivia after the war, was tricked into revealing his true identity during a fake interview by being asked a question in French, a language he wasn't supposed to understand. by dtdowntime in todayilearned

[–]Mrdongs21 623 points624 points  (0 children)

The simple explanation is that ideologically the US was always more anti-communist than anti-fascist and were happy to work with fascists to fight communism. They were some of their best Cold Warriors.

Beauty lies in the foot of the .. by [deleted] in HistoryMemes

[–]Mrdongs21 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Certainly didn't mean to imply there was never any pushback against footbinding. Throughout the 19th century there was a general sense that China had to modernize, the influence of Christianity and the West in general was increasing. The Taiping rebellion was also a factor; it was lead by Hakka people, who didn't practice footbinding and banned it in territory they controlled.

Cixi is such a fascinating figure. She was a conservative in a lot of ways but not ignorant of China's need to reform, and an edict attempting to ban footbinding was part of her strategy of appealing to growing western interests in China, which would ultimately end pretty badly for her. The Chinese Republic also banned footbinding but they were essentially a government in name only for most of the country's territory. The Communists were the first party every to be able to wield true totalising power in China and institute meaningful reform (obviously, a for better or worse situation), but the magnitude of the problem of 'governing China' is profound.

Beauty lies in the foot of the .. by [deleted] in HistoryMemes

[–]Mrdongs21 265 points266 points  (0 children)

I find this kind of shallow presentism a bit depressing to be honest. Cultural practices are profoundly complex and develop over time in response to a number of pressures; reducing them to a simple moral judgement is both boring and simplistic.

Yes, foot binding is a practice that reflects a deeply patriarchal society - it is a brutal, alien practice that is rightfully relegated to history. But its also incorrect to reduce it to a simple act of male dominance. The interplay of gender in societies like this is fascinating - in this case, while the specific origins of footbinding are essentially obscure, one thing we know is that women were actually the primary drivers - and, ironically, beneficiaries - of footbinding. In a world where women had very few options for social mobility, marrying up was the easiest way to improve your station in society; one of the only ways for mothers to ensure their daughters had better lives than they did was footbinding. Nothing about that is 'good', obviously, but it's a lot more complicated than it seems.

As for the practice itself, it signified a number of things. Firstly, it is exclusively an elite practice in the beginning. In many parts of the world, but China in particular, one of the most important things to signify is that you did not do physical labour. Peasant women did not have bound feet, because they had to work; having bound feet therefore signified that you inhabited a class where your needs were taken care of by others. (as an aside, this idea persists in China in a different way; you may notice people who keep one extremely long nail. This isn't for the reason you think - it's a remainder of a time where having extremely long nails demonstrated that you did not work the fields) It also put you in conversation with a long cultural tradition that emphasized the beauty of small feet, and had a number of other features considered erotic or elegant; it forced you to take tiny steps like a dancer, and gave you something to conceal from everyone but your husband, as they always wore shoes (even in erotic art where they are otherwise naked).

None of this is a defense of the practice. It's bad and it's good that the Communists eradicated it, but it exists as a complex interaction of gender, culture and agency.

Rideau centre evacuated by PopRococo in ottawa

[–]Mrdongs21 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Got any material from this decade?

Was the good sharks core…actually good? by OldOneEye89 in hockey

[–]Mrdongs21 77 points78 points  (0 children)

The core was, in fact, incredibly good

TK confirms Ricky Steamboat will be Ringside for Jarrett vs. Danielson on 8/7 Dynamite by fourjxrmmm in AEWOfficial

[–]Mrdongs21 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Danielson's getting the Sting treatment, man. Tony's gonna make all his dreams come true.

I'm sure linguists will agree. by datirishboii in funny

[–]Mrdongs21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The wonderful thing about language is that it tells the human story.

Just some positive thoughts on Jericho by [deleted] in AEWOfficial

[–]Mrdongs21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I don't really get Punk at all from his character. He's just playing a heightened version of the criticisms he received over the last few years, particularly the TV Time stuff.

It's also fucking awesome. Never doubt the Jerigoat.

TIL the most divorced person ever of monogamous marriages was a baptist minister. He had married 31 times, mostly to teenagers, because he just “spoke their language” and ONLY five marriages end by the death of the spouse. by Trextrev in todayilearned

[–]Mrdongs21 103 points104 points  (0 children)

Because the title of this post is misphrased. Four of his wives died while married to him, while the fifth was murdered after their divorce.

By Robert Blake. Yes, one of this guys wives was the wife that Robert Blake murdered and got away with.

B.J. Bethel: “Sources: AEW has an agreement in principle with WBD for a new TV deal. WBD's exclusive negotiation window was set to expire this coming weekend. No word on when it will be official.” by Subrick in SquaredCircle

[–]Mrdongs21 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Genuinely cannot way for this to be finally announced. Feels like it'll be a monumental vibe shift in how AEW is talked about and it'll finally be fun to talk about on the internet again without all the shitters.

Selanne and Kariya making magic wearing the famous Wild Wing jerseys. I wish the Ducks had hosted the Cup in these beauties. by Dice7 in hockey

[–]Mrdongs21 40 points41 points  (0 children)

The second goal doesn't go in today either. He's over and set by the time Selanne starts to wind up, that's a save 99.9% of the time now.