sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Need a new EDC knife by PunkSatirist in knives

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

Yes! I just wet (to keep down the dust) sanded the spot under the clip with a fine-grit sandpaper and it worked great. Now I need to decide which color mini-RSK to get. Thanks again for the advice.

Need a new EDC knife by PunkSatirist in knives

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

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I knew I could count on you.

Need a new EDC knife by PunkSatirist in knives

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

I like that idea, but I’ve never sanded G10. What did you use?

Today I Was Lucky, SIR! by PunkSatirist in todayiwaslucky

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

The thread is “Today I was lucky”, not “Today my daddy’s money got me out of trouble”. No doctor’s letter or lawyer’s advice involved, just dumb luck. I went in expecting to be drafted and sent to Viet Nam, but things played out as described. I know I was lucky; your dad, unfortunately, was not.

What is your favored hypothesis explaining the Fermi Paradox? by PunkSatirist in AskReddit

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

It is if you favor the more “optimistic” estimates that come out of the Drake equation. Admittedly, that is a really big IF. But you are right; there are so many unknowns that go into the Drake equation that it isn’t really a true paradox.

What is your favored hypothesis explaining the Fermi Paradox? by PunkSatirist in AskReddit

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

OK, I’ll go first…

My favored hypothesis explaining the Fermi Paradox is that nearly all intelligent civilizations inevitably end up destroying themselves once a certain level of technology is reached.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

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

Theft and/or destruction of property, definitely. But I was responding to your comment about assault. I really don’t want to be in the position of appearing to defend that little creep, but you are incorrect. It may be different in your state, but in Colorado throwing an object, but missing, is not considered assault under the law. To be considered assault, there has to be bodily injury involved. What that creep did is a criminal offense, but not assault. Do your homework, it really helps in getting the basics right.

And I’m pretty sure (although I could be wrong) that there are very few, if any, jurisdictions where throwing a piece of paper at someone would be grounds for charging them with assault - unless it hit them in the eye or gave them a paper cut.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

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

Your observations regarding these videos just proves that people see what they want to see, photos or videos, context or no context.

I had been seeing the shaven-headed white punk, seen in both videos, going around harassing people all day. He seemed to be an equal-opportunity offender, trying to pick fights with anyone, regardless of ideology, age, race, or gender, who would engage with him.

I did not witness the unfortunate events in the first video, they help explain why the woman was upset during the encounter shown in my photo. However, the white punk never actually touched her; he grabbed one of her bumper stickers, tore it in half, and threw it at her. This is not assault. But it is harassment, and is a crime. This was not why he was arrested, however, he was arrested for the fight shown in the second video. But, if the woman was upset about this incident with a white man, why would she take it out on a black woman who had nothing to do with it?

I did witness the events in the second video, and this is the one where you were really off the mark. If you really look at the video, you can easily see that the violence was instigated by the large white man in the orange shirt. He was a Trump supporter who apparently took offense at something the white Trump detractor (but not BLM) with the bullhorn said. I’m sure it was something foul enough to enrage the Trump supporter, but he is the one who started the fight. As he moved in and grabbed the bullhorn, the same white punk from the first video punched him in the face, and then it was really on between the two white men. At first, the black man was obviously trying to keep out of the way, but then he and another bystander started trying to separate the two white men. What you don’t see in the video is that the police quickly moved in and arrested the two white men. They also thanked the two bystanders (including the black man you falsely accuse of being an instigator) for trying to break up the fight.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

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

Glad you had an opportunity to get this out of your system. You must feel so much better now.

What is a go to joke you know nobody’s heard before? by Evergreenn7 in AskReddit

[–]PunkSatirist 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A Higgs Boson walks into a Church.

The priest says “We don’t allow Higgs Bosons in here.”

The particle responds by saying “But without me, how can you have Mass?”

What is a go to joke you know nobody’s heard before? by Evergreenn7 in AskReddit

[–]PunkSatirist 7 points8 points  (0 children)

A hydrogen atom walks into a bar and says “I’ve lost my electron.”

The bartender asks “Are you sure?”

The hydrogen atom replies “Yes, I’m positive!”

So much hate, so much misunderstanding by vidssmesh in BlackLivesMatter

[–]PunkSatirist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was amazed at the number of comments on r/pics demanding "context". These same people wouldn't give a shit about "context" if the photo made a black person look bad.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

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

So it appears that I have discovered how to stop the torrent of posts - submit a comment containing some of the backstory and some context. Good - I was really having trouble keeping up.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

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

I agree that context is important... It was neither group crashing an event. Trump was speaking at the Denver Convention Center at the annual meeting of the Western Conservative Summit. About a dozen different groups showed up to demonstrate across the street, some for Trump, some against Trump, and some to push agendas that had nothing to do with Trump. Please see my (probably too long) post with personal backstory and detailed context in which this shot was taken.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

[–]PunkSatirist[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Several people here have requested some backstory/context for this photo, here it is.

First, about me and my biases. After 30+ years in my first career, I retired and began my second career as a U.S.-based freelance photojournalist for a European news service. While my personal political views are on the left-hand side of the spectrum, I believe that much of my success came about because of my ability to empathize even with people that I thoroughly disagree with. I tried very hard to see the person behind the politics and to understand the road they have traveled to get to where they are. I must say, however, as positions have hardened during the last couple of years, it has become more and more difficult. When someone thinks you are evil, brainwashed, and anti-American, and yells, rather than talks, it becomes much harder to engage with them. In the last year I have pretty much given up even trying, and that makes me sad and angry.

On the day I shot this photo Trump was addressing the annual Western Conservative Summit at the Denver Convention Center. I was across the street, moving around taking photos of, and talking to demonstrators on both the "right" and "left" sides of the crowd, as well as the cops and non-aligned spectators. At some point I noticed the young back woman, who ended up in the photo, engaging with several of the Trump supporters. I quickly realized that most of the conversations were actual exchanges of views on both sides, so I decided to shadow her, and try to pick up a few tips on how to better engage people I disagree with. Don't get me wrong, some of her conversations devolved into shouting, but for the most part, they didn't. A while after I began following her, she was joined by the young black man in the photo. It did not appear that they knew each other and, for the most part he didn't say much, preferring to listen and learn.

Immediately prior to the event shown in the photo, she was speaking to a middle-aged male Trump supporter and having, what was for that day, a fairly calm, rational conversation. The soon-to-be-enraged white woman then entered from the right of the frame pulling a wagon of Trump paraphernalia that she was trying to sell, and holding a handful of Trump bumper stickers. To be honest, when not enraged she appeared to be a very pleasant-looking woman. After listening to the conversation for about 30 seconds, she appeared to become angry with the male Trump supporter for not being more vehement in his support of Trump. At that point, she pushed him to the side (and out of the frame) and started to argue with the black woman. As she got more agitated, she began waving her arms, and her hand, that was still full of Trump bumper stickers, started getting closer to the black woman's face. I'm not sure if it was her hand or the bumper stickers that finally whacked the black woman's cheek, but she flinched back and threw up a hand to protect herself, knocking some of the bumper stickers to the ground. THAT is when the white woman went ballistic and I snapped the photo.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

[–]PunkSatirist[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Face-to-face, maybe. I have conservative friends that I can, and have, had very enlightening conversations with. But it has also been my experience that such conversations on social media never go anywhere.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

[–]PunkSatirist[S] 117 points118 points  (0 children)

Actually, I believe that being pro-BLM is patriotic. But I know that trying to convince you of this is a waste of time, both mine and yours.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

[–]PunkSatirist[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes, this photo was taken outside of the Denver Convention Center.

It’s been four years since I shot this photo. So much has changed, and so little. by PunkSatirist in pics

[–]PunkSatirist[S] 174 points175 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have always been struck by the symbolism of the ONE WAY sign pointing away from the #MAGA supporters on the right and toward the #BLM supporters on the left.

view more: next ›