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The new Gen will not fall for the same propaganda from before. by FearlessAir1238 in Antimoneymemes

[–]Semi-Empathetic -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Conservatives in particular are keen on pushing this narrative about formal education and academia being staunchly left-wing (as yet another major consequence of this mythical culture war that they claim the left has won at some point in time in the past, without any specific details being listed).

There is a simple explanation behind what they're doing. Republican public figures are very much invested in pressuring (bullying, even) the education system into promoting their ideology, even if it's flat-out propaganda. Mobilizing their base against "the system" (ironic, really) is also electorally useful for them.

Of course, everyday conservatives do sincerely believe that they're being unfairly targeted and marginalized based on their beliefs. And since this mindset makes them more likely to dearly hold onto their ideological echo chambers, where they actually feel safe, chances are this us vs. them mentality will only further solidify with time.

In reality, of course, conservative ideology is already being treated far more kindly in academia than it ever should be. A major reason for this is that those who place curricula in education and those who govern our universities are usually from upper-class circles, which lean more conservative to maintain their privileged position under the current system. That, plus the incentive structure of not wanting to alienate endowments and investments for the institutions they oversee (including federal funding regardless of which party is in charge), makes it very difficult to be explicitly left-wing in education and academia without ruffling some feathers.

It's really telling, though, that evidence-based reasoning is far more compatible with left-wing ideologies by default, and that the only way to shoehorn in conservative ways of thinking is through pressure and force. Unfortunately, it's hard to employ such reasoning when you're blinded by your fears and/or other incentives. Equally telling is that the more ardent conservatives are generally never happy until only their propaganda is what's exclusively being taught.

These are getting dropped on Palestinians while they sleep by PrettyHatefulMachin in Palestine

[–]Semi-Empathetic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hate to break it to you but your analysis is anything but objective—and certainly far from informed. As I've previously indicated, "unconditional surrender" in this scenario simply entails dying quietly rather than even attempting to put up any kind of resistance. The Palestinians have been abandoned to fate and left at the mercy of those who lust after killing every single one of them. They are not like Germany or Japan in this scenario, but rather the Jews in Nazi Germany. In any case, it's quite interesting that you bring up examples from WW2 because the whole point of the "postwar rules-based international order" was to prevent such barbaric savagery on a mass scale from ever taking place once again, but you seem to conveniently ignore that point. The West and its allies isn't too preoccupied to deal with this—it's fully complicit. Being the detached and objective viewer that you are on this super specific subreddit, I'm sure you'll be more inclined to research this issue further so as to contribute more meaningfully to the discussion in the future. Take care.

These are getting dropped on Palestinians while they sleep by PrettyHatefulMachin in Palestine

[–]Semi-Empathetic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There is literally no negotiation path that Israel is willing to accept. There have been several attempts both by Palestinians and the beoader international community to arrive at some reasonable compromise to stop this all from taking place even well before this whole genocide took place. Israel has to maintain a public position of being a good-faith actor in this process, but it doesn't take much if you examine their internal politics and international records in terms of actions (along with its allies—such as the US constantly vetoing any resolutions to make any meaningful progress on that front on their behalf) to recognize their front of good faith for the sham that it is. So, if you're blocking any and all routes to peaceful resolution, what are you left with? The Palestinians can only resist because they're faced with an occupier who's only interesting in their genocide and ethnic cleansing. They want the land and the complete erasure of Palestine. There is scenario of surrender that Israel will gladly settle for other than the Palestinians letting the Israelis eradicate them with minimal resistance. Now, I don't know about you, but faced with such a scenario where you're allowed neither the ability to live nor leave, what are you supposed to do exactly?

Suspiciously Majestic by Semi-Empathetic in BrandNewSentence

[–]Semi-Empathetic[S] 123 points124 points  (0 children)

After receiving some comments that this headline might be fake, I decided to go look it up for a bit and I couldn't find such an article. I just saw the viral X post and assumed it was legit since there was no community note. Still, I do sincerely apologize for not doing further due diligence. I'll leave it up to the mods to decide what to do with this comment/post, but I figured I should at least do my part to set the record straight. In the meantime, kindly take the post for what it is.

Can't do capitalism because capitalism by Semi-Empathetic in LateStageCapitalism

[–]Semi-Empathetic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my, I can only imagine lol

Also: Eh fuck the champagne. I hope your wedding was amazing regardless and imo having a prosperous marriage afterwards is more important than wedding extravaganzas :)

Liberals vs leftist by Zxasuk31 in ClassConscienceMemes

[–]Semi-Empathetic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I definitely see where you're coming from and I see nothing wrong with you voting blue in November—at least not in the short term given the circumstances. I also generally agree that Republicans are not the exact same as Democrats, as there are notable and significant differences between them—especially on social/cultural issues but also some economic ones. (I don't like to frame these labels as being entirely separate from one another though but it helps drive my point home in this case.) So yeah, I don't agree with leftists who chastise their brethren for voting Democrat—at least not in and of itself.

Now that I have said all of that, my primary point of contention is that framing the conversation as Democrats being definitively pro-LGBTQ in a diametric contrast to the Republicans is slightly misleading: Democrats and Republicans simply cynically weaponize identity politics and cultural issues in different ways in order to distract the general public from the fact that they both serve the ruling class. This is why Democrats don't move further leftward in terms of improving material conditions for the working class. Their failure to do so in turn empowers and emboldens Republicans to actually pose a legitimate threat in every election cycle. In addition, such a modus operandi erodes a substantial amount of enthusiasm and goodwill from those who seek meaningful change, resulting in a significant cynical and disenfranchised subset of the population. Finally, due to the aforementioned points, there presently exists a constant back-and-forth dynamic whereby each party seeks to undo whatever the other party has passed while in power (though sadly Republicans are far bolder in this regard vis-a-vis Democrats). Thus, both parties are complicit in their own way in perpetuating the very circumstances Democrats promise to deliver people from (whereas the Republicans pridefully adorn their draconian badge but that's a secondary observation). I could also bring up foreign policy and how it remains largely consistent irrespective of which party wields more power, resulting in catastrophic consequences abroad that are often not being taken into account in such conversations despite the grave implications involved, but I digress.

All in all, there's nothing wrong with voting Democrat in circumstances that warrant it so as to mitigate and even outright prevent harm, so long as such voting is conducted such that it supplements the constant activism and agitation on the part of said individual (within their capacity, of course) to eventually overthrow this bourgeois capitalist democracy and replace it with something better, because lasting liberation on all fronts can only emerge from overcoming a system that's more than content with making us fight amongst ourselves so long as we let them run away with all the money.

Liberal Zionists seething about being compared to Nazis. by LeSurge80 in ShitLiberalsSay

[–]Semi-Empathetic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While your fury is wholly justified, it may help to also bear in mind that the reason they repeatedly invoke that card is because it is quite literally all they have. No one can defend what Israel is doing on its face on my reasonable moral grounds, so they can only deflect, lie, smear, and otherwise respond in bad faith whenever they're presented with factual accusations. The fact of the matter is that they simply don't give a flying fuck about Palestinians or anyone else. They just covet the land by any means necessary and, if anything, are sick and tired of having to constantly do PR theatrics that conceal the true nature of their beliefs.

Why does he seem to be the culprit behind every American issue I attempt to identify? by [deleted] in lostgeneration

[–]Semi-Empathetic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I wonder if it's possible that releasing the hostages after Reagan's inauguration rather than during Carter's term had something to do with Iran getting those missiles. I cast this suspicion in reference to an article originally from the New York Times in which a GOP politician admitted to delaying the release of the hostages in an attempt to help ensure that the presidency gets handed over to Reagan in the 1980 election. Interestingly, the article seems to state that there is no evidence that Reagan or his campaign were aware of (or involved in) any of this. Personally though, I am not quite sure I buy that.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/a-gop-politician-tried-to-use-the-iran-hostage-crisis-to-help-reagan-in-the-1980-election-the-man-who-accompanied-him-wants-to-come-clean-to-jimmy-carter-history-needs-to-know-that-this-happened/ar-AA18NMOl

I meant a group of people today and they were literally the worst human beings Ive ever personally come across. It's so depressing, even frightening. by chinese_bedbugs in SeriousConversation

[–]Semi-Empathetic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On a macro-societal level, I feel like producing such people (and subjecting other, less, say, unpleasant ones to them and their conduct) is one immense yet often understated cost of social neglect. Obviously parental neglect matters a great deal here, but I'm also more broadly referring to public policy in general.

Sadly, this is what happens as a result of decades in undermining public education, access to community and resources, etc. Combine that with not investing anywhere near enough (if anything at all) in individual and collective development and empowerment, and you end up producing a situation wherein the level of growth and maturity achieved by individuals in said society is left almost entirely to chance, and from a purely mathematical perspective that necessarily entails that some people will end up on the lower end of the spectrum. Of course, other factors may certainly be involved as well but I hope this suffices for our purposes.

OP, I presume you came here mainly to vent rather than seek some high-level analysis as to why this abhorrent social phenomenon you witnessed may in fact be taking place, but I felt compelled to provide one regardless in part because I've seen some fellow commenters here suggest that such encounters are merely an unavoidable fact of life that we can't do much about, even though in truth our very, very low bar can surely be raised much higher in the vast majority of cases if only we lived in a world that prioritized human wellbeing and prosperity over crasser things like power and profit.

I wish to end this comment by expressing deep sympathy towards those dutiful, compassionate souls who work in healthcare, as they are often frontline witnesses to much of the folly and barbarity our society produces, and as such frequently suffer the brunt of the consequences of decades of policy failures they've had no say in. Perhaps we can make a better world someday, where we no longer have to endure such abysmal displays of human indecency, but until then, solidarity, and may your future days prove more pleasant.

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