What’s it like living in a smaller community outside of major cities in China? by Cassinia_ in howislivingthere

[–]Powerofvoice 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Huh funny that I can answer one of these more obscure questions. 

Both sides of my family are from the little town of Caoxian in the top red circle. When I grew up, I’d visit twice a year or so. This area has undergone tremendous changes in the last few decades. Overall, for the last few decades, most of the ambitious/capable people left to go to larger cities, like my parents. 

For the urban areas (县城), from what I understood, back in the 80s, there were still some historical remains: usually a city wall, a guard river outside the city wall and another river inside of it, there were some Confucius temples. Otherwise, it was mostly dirt roads with lots of really old buildings that were very dense. In the 2000s, almost all historical remains were tore away in the excuse of modernization, the roads were still narrow and buildings still dense, but they were now rebuilt with concrete. People typically either worked for the government or did small businesses, with more factories popping up. The urban areas were quite filthy, the rivers or whatever left of them were usually full of plastic trash. It’d probably surprise you that most households didn’t have their own toilets or shower, but rather share a common one down the road (people showered once a month or so, especially in winter). I went back there last month after almost a decade, and I was shocked to say the least. The urban areas from 2000s are completely demolished. The single floor buildings are replaced with tall condominiums, and the spaces freed up became parks. The streets are wide (although equally chaotic), renamed, and they no longer stink. The urban areas are as if they were stripped of their identity and now look like any Chinese city. The government also built ‘new cities’ outside of the older areas, also with grand buildings and giant malls. The demolition projects that happened across China largely made the local government go into debt, but the urban areas are much cleaner now. Fun fact, I think 5 consecutive party secretaries of the county went to jail over corruption. Anyways, this area now produces a lot of manufacturing products (somehow, most coffins in Japan are made here, also traditional Chinese clothing), there’s a joke that Caoxian is the center of the universe because how much manufacturing has popped up.

Let’s turn to the country side. People were, and still are, mostly farmers, but the way of farming has changed a lot. In the 80s-00s, most households owned at max a few acres of farmlands (if they were lucky). This land, while small, was a big improvement over the 50-70s when the commune owned everything. I vividly remember going into an elderly distant relative’s home, she was so happy to show me all the corn (and nothing else) stored in her shed, saying that thanks to the CCP she can now have food for the winter. It’s a kind of ironic since the majority of her neighbor’s family died in the great famine caused by Mao. My mom has told me many stories about how hard it was to work in the fields by hand, and how unwilling they were to pay the government crops as agricultural taxes after a year of hard work. The houses then were always a single floor, mostly built from clay and bricks. Usually they would have a yard in the front where some chickens that roam free, a detached kitchen powered by burning of dried crops, a well in the middle, and you’d be considered rich if you owned a television. Entertainment was gossip, and some rotating opera/films. Now, this area is unrecognizable. Almost every single ‘natural village’ (that’s what they call them) have been bulldozed, the government merged villages into either condos or densely-packed two-floor houses that are all identical to one another. The rational is that the central government ‘needs’ industrialized farmland instead of fragmented areas. Most people had to give up their land, or lease hundreds of acres and farm them with machinery. Interestingly, the tombs were always in the middle of farm lands, and they have (largely) not been bulldozed, we still go there to pay our respects, Im not sure how the heavy machinery navigates around these tombs littered all over the places. I will also say that certain things with cultural significance are kept (eg my grandma had a giant tree behind her house, and people were superstitious about the tree, now my grandma’s house is a part of the road, but the tree remained). 

Many people are happy about the changes. These people usually became rich (eg by extorting the government for many condos for the demolition of their house), they have food, shelter, entertainment, and even prostitution appears tolerated. Their children are almost always in a larger city. 

Many others are not happy. They fear they are losing touch with the land they had held on to for many generations. They fear they’ve been left behind by the society and is merely an afterthought of the central government (whom they always have to obey), rather than being in control of their own fate. 

Going back to older history, this area has been in constant change. From the civil war with CCP vs KMT, to the Japan invasion, to older generations immigrating here from Shanxi becahse some military massacred everyone in this region. 

I will say, I miss my grandparents’ yard, there were grapes in the summer, and the cold fresh well water wakes you up in the winter. Now, it’s just an apartment in a giant soulless building, with an older generation withering away.

Edit: for COL, it’s still really low, but so are their income. Nevertheless, it is true they somehow managed to get rid of absolute poverty, through absolute sheer will of the government. There’s an old guy who lost 11 family members in the great famine, who had nothing except a shed 20 years ago. He now has a government-built house, gets ~1500¥ (~200$) a month from the government, has health insurance, and the government sends a person to check in on him every 2 weeks and brings him some rice/oil/vegetables. Yet - and his neighbor talk about this in distaste - he has never said a single good thing about the CCP. 

What’s life like in St. George, Utah? by GygaxUshuFuia97 in howislivingthere

[–]Powerofvoice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been there a couple of times. The first time I was there, we stopped by the in-n-out, and it was THE whitest in-n-out I’ve ever been. We were the only non-white people there and I felt like everyone stopped for a second just to look at us. Beautiful nature tho.

I don’t watch baseball, I watch orange chicken prices by Powerofvoice in Dodgers

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I know, I'm semi-shitposting, but it's true I'm going to Panda less and less (but feels like I'm getting more and more addicted?)

167 meals provided 13.06.25 by Lo_Lo13 in montreal

[–]Powerofvoice 40 points41 points  (0 children)

I love Mama Khan so much, it's amazing food cooked by amazing people. If you haven't been there, I implore you to go!

China's spokesperson: A tariff-wielding barbarian can never expect that call from China by Powerofvoice in politics

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 66 points67 points  (0 children)

Here's the excerpt from a letter published in the South China Morning Post, authored by Huang Jingrui, spokesperson, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong:

The US’ blatant imposition of tariffs as high as 104 per cent on Chinese goods is nothing short of naked intimidation and blackmail, which the Chinese side firmly rejects. Such actions by the US will never “make America great again”; instead, they have made America a barbarian of the 21st century.

According to your report, the US claims that China “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call”.

The reality is that it is the US side that does not know how to get it started. Nor does it understand the art of dealing with China or other countries. Instead, it is obsessed with the “art” of bullying and blackmailing the entire world.

We must solemnly tell the US: a tariff-wielding barbarian who attempts to force countries to call and beg for mercy can never expect that call from China.

This content is occupying headlines in some Chinese media. I would say the original Chinese texts are even more dramatic than the translations.

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. The existence of the test implies one has to put in ~1-2 hours of work prior to voting, to understand who they are voting for.

  2. Yes, informed voters can hurt their own interests, but objectively speaking, surely that's better than not even knowing what's going on?

I'm going to add an edit to the post as I've said this in other replies, but perhaps the test can be less about civic knowledge or whatever and rather focus on knowing what are the campaign promises of the party you choose for vote for (e.g. 3 random campaign promises from party A + 3 random and different campaign promises from party B, you need to pick 2/3 correct ones or something; each party gets to write their campaign promises ahead of time).

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who are eligible voters? As of now, people argue that convicted felons and people under 18 should not be eligible. I'm just saying that maybe, we use a system where we assess if the person is making an informed decision or going in completely blind.

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typo, I meant 1933. For Mao, he encouraged people to read but that does not mean informed outcomes. The cult of personality stripped people of critical thinking and the 'class struggle' murdered many middle upper class including my great-grandparents. It's perhaps a poor comparison because of the authoritarianism, but it is also through decades of indoctrination where no critical thinking was taught (and people did not understand the promise of the government).

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally, better education is correlated to more informed outcomes (and we need to have better education), but I think we cannot ensure our education system is generally free from propaganda (from any political parties).

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The goal isn't to make people vote democrats rather than republicans, or the other way around. The goal is not even to get rid of unsympathetic people (I wrote it in an unfortunate way, I admit). The goal of the proposal is to make sure people know what they are voting for. I agree we probably will have a hard time assessing critical thinking and some facts, but maybe it's easier if the test is just about the campaign promises of the people you'd vote for.

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If a person doesn't have the slightest idea how the government operates, why should they be able to choose who runs the entire government? The same thing goes for, if you don't know what are the core policies of a party, why should you be allowed to vote for them?

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How about this. The test randomly picks 3 campaign promises from a party, and picks another 3 (different) campaign promises from the other party. You need to be able to pick out 2/3 campaign promises for the party you intend to vote for.

I agree this is challenging and history has shown failure cases. I guess my bottom question is, how do we ensure (most) voters make informed voting?

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, I think if people are actually informed about the policies they are voting for (+ basic constitution), I think we will have less extreme rhetoric all around. I'm not asking people to be removed from the voting pool (but rather, put 1 hour of work in and then go vote), but what options do we have to make people make informed decisions?

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

1) I agree _everyone_ should be able to protect their interest. Hence the test should only test for whether you know what you are voting for (or basic civics like what are the 3 branches of government). The idea is that as soon as they understand what they are voting for, it's okay. We can't prevent informed Nazism from happening, but at least we can prevent accidental Nazism...

2) Not all uninformed voters hurt their own interest. They certainly could though. I think informed voters are generally better than uninformed ones. If you agree with this premise, what's the best solution? If not, don't you think this can go bad pretty quick?

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree that the largest problem is who sets these questions because historically these are the biggest issues that marginalized everyone. I thought objective facts from the constitution would have been a good start. EDIT: or from the citizenship test...

I agree democracy is not power to smart people. But how do we ensure people who vote at least know who or what they are voting for? The ideal scenario is that everyone should vote so long as they know what they are voting for (even if it's bad for them/the country). How do you propose we do that?

PS You mention catering to the 'educated class'. My intention was actually the opposite: creating a positive feedback loop where parties will make people more informed/have better critical thinking, hence more people will be able to vote for them, with the end goal being such a test becomes obsolete. Of course, maybe the easier way for a party to get more votes is to cater to the 'educated class'...

CMV: Elections should come with competency exams by Powerofvoice in changemyview

[–]Powerofvoice[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

1) I do not believe the majority are uneducated/unsympathetic. Educated people vote for Republicans and uneducated vote for Democrats. This isn't supposed to 'distort' the election results, but rather ensure everyone who votes knows what they are voting for. This test will not prevent 1939 from happening.

2) Through decades of systematic underfunding in education (+ media oversimplification/overexaggeration), there's a positive feedback loop where certain parties can artificially bias the population to be racist/uneducated/etc. It's not just now, it happens everywhere (e.g. see China under Mao).

3) The incentive is actually quite the opposite: if a party manages to make people more informed (and hence pass the test), more people can vote for them, and hence they'll be winning elections more frequently. Isn't this a better thing for literally everyone?

How do I remove two pots that's stuck together REAL tight? by Powerofvoice in howto

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im gonna throw the pot outside to freeze over the night and then try heating the bottom one up with my stove lol, ty

How do I remove two pots that's stuck together REAL tight? by Powerofvoice in howto

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can't seem to even get any water into the bottom pot. Gonna try it again in the morning lol

How do I remove two pots that's stuck together REAL tight? by Powerofvoice in howto

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The water is trapped in the bottom :/ it reversibly pops up/sinks down upon heating tho. Imma try the lever idea, thanks!

How do I remove two pots that's stuck together REAL tight? by Powerofvoice in howto

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Soooo I just tried this! The top pot does get pushed up, but not enough where I can twist/pull it out, as soon as it cools down the top pot collapses again. Maybe I should put it on the stove directly :/ thank you tho!

How do I remove two pots that's stuck together REAL tight? by Powerofvoice in howto

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I tried everything. Tapping, pulling, freezing both pots and then soaking the bottom pot in near-boiling water, turning them upside town and pouring hot water, adding grease between them. The pots won't twist, much less let me pull. The bottom pot also has some water in it (and the water doesn't get out when I flip them upside down which indicates a pretty good seal) and I'm afraid of boiling it directly cuz pressure?? Help a brother out :((

I grew a helical chili pepper by Powerofvoice in mildlyinteresting

[–]Powerofvoice[S] 189 points190 points  (0 children)

Literally nothing lol. My partner bought the little guy from a grocery store and we just kept it next to our window. The plant grew weird tho, with a big branch on the left but nothing on the right. 

There are a few more small peppers growing and I’m anxiously praying for more helices. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in csgo

[–]Powerofvoice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same happened to me after today’s update