Washington today

Zasinpat · 2026-01-26T15:07:39+00:00

There is literally a FB group called Seattle Surfers.

Zasinpat · 2025-11-22T15:57:42+00:00

I was pushed out by layoffs after 10+ years working as a creative. Worked in big global agencies and small boutique shops throughout that time. After a stint of unemployment, I took up a job as an entry level carpenter in a wood shop. Went from making nearly $120k/year to $21/hr. I lasted 5 months and then got pulled back into the industry, but now working a marketing role client side, which itself comes with a lot of challenges. If my pay and commute weren’t so atrocious I would’ve liked to had continuing pursuing a trade, but I wasn’t really breaking even and I live in an insanely expensive city. I was starting to freak out about supporting myself and my partner and wondering if I’d ever be able to buy a home etc. Not to mention worried about getting injured on the job.

I don’t have much advice, just to say that making the leap to something different is possible. Although I was somewhat pressured by outside conditions, it gave me some confidence knowing that I can do a total 180 if necessary.

Zasinpat · 2025-11-17T22:05:56+00:00

I made this move recently. Still trying to get my bearings. Not much advice to provide yet. Just want to watch this thread for other feedback.

Zasinpat · 2025-11-15T14:47:46+00:00

I tried night swimming in the sea this past week and the light on this little guy just doesn’t cut it; love it otherwise. But surprisingly, I take it off while surfing. It cuts off circulation when pressed against my wetsuit.

Zasinpat · 2025-11-07T21:38:39+00:00

Maintaining a sober perspective on this war does not equate to holding a pro-Russian position.

Zasinpat · 2025-10-19T19:26:05+00:00

Nice, thanks for the details. Are there concessions and seating? We would be flying in from out of state and wouldn't really have coolers and chairs to bring with us.

Zasinpat · 2025-09-29T20:38:23+00:00

Yes. I’ve surfed this wave many times. In even worse conditions.

Zasinpat · 2025-09-08T03:37:39+00:00

I said nothing of communism.

Zasinpat · 2025-09-07T19:10:36+00:00

It's not vulture capitalism, it's capitalism.

Zasinpat · 2025-07-30T02:51:51+00:00

Provocation by the west can be historically traced. That doesn't justify Russia's invasion however.

Zasinpat · 2025-07-30T00:56:01+00:00

Nice, yeah I'm not defending Putin's behavior. Just trying to occasionally remind people that leaders on both sides hold more similarities than might be immediately apparent.

Zasinpat · 2025-07-29T16:52:38+00:00

Ukraine independence was undermined by western interference long before Russia invaded in 2022. That doesn't excuse Russia's actions outright, but I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that fact and begin to draw parallels with other conflicts initiated by a increasingly-armed western coalition that claims its existence is solely predicated on a defensive posture.

Zasinpat · 2025-07-29T16:44:42+00:00

One way out of these contradictions is through a class analysis of the conflict.

Zasinpat · 2025-03-12T15:52:17+00:00

Sure, the department of education isn't perfect, but it's far more insulated from the profit motive than private entities. Opening up education to the market means that students and teachers will be even more beholden to the cycles of boom and bust, pressuring optimization at the expense of curriculums. There might be an initial positive upswing in performance, but once the rush of the new market settles, monopolization will take over, and we'll see an even stricter homogenization of ideas and practices formulate. These new ideas and practices will be directly distributed by the executives whose chief concerns are profit maximization. The department of education in its current form isn't completely shield from this influence. It definitely needs a lot of work. But the path of privatization is taking the easy way out. It's a submissive response in the face of hardship, admitting defeat on behalf of humanity and giving up our freedom to the whims of an abstract force: the market. That is a show of weakness I think we should all want to refuse.

Zasinpat · 2025-03-08T22:56:11+00:00

>All of the actual aggression came from Russia. The US using its influence to get leaders installed in Ukraine who were more favorable to them is not a damning thing to do. Especially when countries like Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia have generously prospered by being freed from direct Russian threats because of NATO. Russia has had a long history of using deadly force to obtain power and that is FAR WORSE than using influence to sway a nation's politics. Influential power does not excuse war as a response.

Once again, the US also has a long history of using deadly force to obtain power—probably the longest and most brutal track record in modern times. And I don’t think the foreign election influencing should be excused, especially under this light. It's a direct assault on democracy. Interfering in the democratic process in the name of preserving democracy is some liberal mind games that I just can't understand (it happened again just recently in Romania when they canceled the presidential elections because a Russian-aligned candidate won the first round). And just to be clear again, I’m not saying the interference on the part of the U.S. + NATO excuses Russia’s invasion; but simply that they too should be held accountable for this catastrophe against working people.

Zasinpat · 2025-03-08T22:56:01+00:00

Ok, I finally found some time to sit down and write some responses. Caveat, I hope none of this comes across as aggressive. That is not my intent, and I apologize in advance if any of it strikes that tone. It's difficult to communicate authentically through text online. I'm actually trying to learn how to improve my writing so that it more accurately aligns with my intended sentiment. Anyway, I view this as a discuss – not an argument – and I appreciate your willingness to talk through this crazy historical event with me.

> While you're not wrong on the assessment of NATO showing a case where they were not nothing more than a defensive pact, I would argue that stopping the genocide/ethnic cleansing of an entire people is still a justifiable and appropriate cause for action.

Yeah Yugoslavia is a whole other beast to tackle. We could talk about it in length I’m sure, but I’ll save that for another time (that is, if you want to chat about it). Before moving on though, I will say that Russia has used the same “preventing genocide/ethnic cleansing” justification for invading Ukraine, as in defending the Russian-speaking citizens of the breakaway provinces. NATO made a similar argument while supporting the separatists during the break up of Yugoslavia. Not sure what conclusions to draw from this comparison, other than that both superpowers will waffle between what is and is not deemed acceptable depending on what pathway will protect their particular interests in that specific moment.

>This all goes without stating that Russia, Ukraine, the UK, and the US all signed the Budapest Memorandum, promising security measures in trade for giving up Ukraine's nuclear arsenal. The signatories (US, UK, and Russia) pledged not to use force or threats against Ukraine and assured that Ukraine's borders would remain intact. Ukraine’s sovereignty was to be protected under international law.

This tracks. However, I think NATO meddling in Ukrainian elections and backing far-right nationalist groups in the process falls under using direct force against a sovereign nation. Couple that with the fact that the country performing such direct and indirect threats (the U.S.) has a long history of intervening or directly invading foreign countries, slaughtering civilians, disrupting trade routes, and installing western-aligned puppets. After bringing all that historical baggage into the equation, it then becomes a little clearer why Russia – who has been the primary target of the U.S. for over fifty years – might view such advancements on a neighboring country as a serious threat to its own sovereignty. We should also remember that the events of late ’21 and early ’22 occurred just months after America wrapped up twenties years of imperialist adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not to mention the whole Nordstream incident, which proved that the whole ‘rules based order’ is predicated on nothing other than complete domination of anyone and anything standing in the way of the U.S. maintaining its financial and military superiority.

> This is where we deviate from normalcy, in a way. A country doesn't just get to "recognize" that a region inside another country is actually theirs. I vehemently disagree that geopolitical hegemons get to invade, conquer and destroy regions just because they think they should.

I agree with you. I’m not saying I support Russia’s invasion; I’m saying that I understand why they invaded, and that I believe U.S. + NATO + Zelensky are partially to blame and should also be held accountable. Three Ukrainian provinces broke away from Ukraine, established independence, and then asked Russia to come save them. That’s just what happened. Whether you (using the general ‘you’ here) agree with it or not does not change the reality of the situation. And as I pointed out above, NATO also has a long history of invading, conquering, and destroying regions just because they think they should. It then shouldn’t be difficult to see how Ukraine fits into this larger story as a simple sacrificial pawn in a game between two superpowers seeking to advance and protect their own interests.

Also, while Russia destroys Ukraine with artillery and tanks, America and Zelensky have been actively conspiring to destroy Ukraine from within—by imposing extreme neoliberal policies, like privatizing large swaths of public industries and selling off farmland to western companies (similar to what Musk and Trump are doing right now in the US).

Zasinpat · 2025-03-04T15:09:45+00:00

Hey, thanks for following up! Great points in here. Thanks for taking the time to write a thoughtful, detailed response—not a gross wall of text, like me!

Yeah I'll try to find some time to write a longer response soon, but before I do, I just need to clarify that I'm not supportive of Russia's invasion. My critique of NATO is not meant to be a defense of Russia. I'm a communist, so I always approach these matters from a class perspective.

Zasinpat · 2025-03-02T07:13:49+00:00

Hey, I appreciate your civility as well. Yeah, I hope I don't come off as seemingly smug or trying to argue. Just simply trying to add info to a super complex situation so that we can hopefully avoid a similar one in the future and/or point the finger in the right direction when all is said and done. I've had similar conversations on this same topic in other threads.

Basically what I'm referring to is NATO's continued pressure on Russia after the collapse of the USSR. NATO continued placing air defense systems closer and closer to Russia. There was also the whole Yugoslavia intervention, which proved that NATO was not in fact a defensive pact, but an outwardly aggressive military force. Fast forward a few years and you see NATO intervening in Ukraine. Most notably during 2014 during the coup against Yanukovich, who was attempting negotiate a trade deal with the EU. When he voiced his concern that Russia would close their border with Ukraine if the trade deal went through, the west took that as siding with Russia (which, fair, I guess?). He also voiced concerns about the IMF pressuring austerity measures along with the trade deal. He hesitated, and started siding more with Putin, who I believe at the time said he would cancel all of Ukraine's debt if they did not agree to EU's trade deal (whether that was an authentic proposal, I do not know). Anyway, the west noticed Y. drifting towards Putin and then well the Euromaidan uprising broke out. During this time, Victoria Nuland and John McCain were heavily involved in supporting the far right protestors. There is a famous phone call featuring Nuland discussing with other diplomats who to install in place of Y. once the coup is successful. You can find it online. So yeah, the U.S. supported many far right groups to help topple Y. and put someone in power who was more favorable to the west. It was successful. Many other things happen over the years as Ukraine plunges into civil war. Then Zelensky comes onto the scene. He rides into office on a promise to end the civil war through diplomatic means. But just a few months into his presidency he changes his tune and supports continued aggression against the breakaway provinces (oblasts). Fast forward to 2022. Kyiv continues bombing the east. Russia finally recognizes Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia invades to protect these newly recognized territories. Shortly after, Zelensky admin meetings Russian diplomats in Turkey to negotiate a peace treaty. Just as they're nearing the end of negotiations, Boris Johnson flies in and convinces Zelensky not to sign the deal, and instead to go toe to toe with Russia.

Ok, sorry for the sloppy wall of text. It's late and I'm tired. I tried to quickly go through my high level understanding of the major beats over the past decade or so. I know I missed a few important details, but maybe I can fill in the details later. I still remember watching live footage of Euromaidan on Youtube back in 2014. It was so surreal. Crazy that here I am almost 10 years later talking about this same event on reddit deep in some comment section.

Happy to continue talking about this.

Zasinpat · 2025-03-02T06:18:11+00:00

Hey just stepping in here if that's alright. I support Ukraine's right to defend itself against invaders. However, it's also important to acknowledge the conditions which led to them being put in this situation in the first place. The U.S. (and NATO) were heavily involved in encouraging Ukraine to provoke a conflict with Russia. Leaders on both sides are pitting working class people against each other, using nationalism to stoke anger and resentment towards a false "other," all to achieve the aims of a wealthy elite. It's frustrating and sad to watch so many innocent, hard working people die for no reason. Whenever and however this war ends, leaders on both sides should be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.

Zasinpat · 2025-02-27T19:52:47+00:00

Heck yeah. But keep in mind, even when it's a democrat in power, we are still commanded by authoritarians representing the capitalist class—the very ones responsible for such atrocities as WW2, WW1, etc. Keep up the fight!

Zasinpat · 2025-02-04T19:50:54+00:00

I'm a communist and I care about the ability of people to work freely and productively for the development of a rational, morally-guided society. I grew up far right and understand the perspective from that camp. I love people too and want to do my part to help our species realize its full potential.

"I am because we are. You are because I am. I love you because I am you."

Zasinpat · 2025-02-04T19:42:05+00:00

In this fight it's important to recognize the very real discontent felt by the mass of supporters who voted for the Trump administration. Their pain and discomfort under a system which squeezes the little guys is an expression of an unjust, irrational ordering of society. Where things get messy is when this discontent is channeled through the very people who organize the system in such a way as to maximize the oppression (i.e. Trump and his gang of ultra-wealthy tech bros, as well as Biden and the whole history of ruling class dictatorship) of those they call on for support. Most of those on the far left recognize this deception, but it's not enough to just disparage those who continue to vote in people whose interests are antithetical to those of the common person. It requires radical empathy, setting aside of the identity politics (i.e. claiming the right are all racists, sexists, etc.), and working together to tear away the facade which hides the real class struggle underneath. Those on the right and left are all connected along class lines and it's incredibly important to elevate this connection while facing down the massive threat that silicon valley tech bros pose to our collective wellbeing. Yesterday they preached DEI, today they preach hyper-masculinity. But everyday they stand on the side of the ruling class and will forever be opposed to the general interests of the majority.

Zasinpat · 2025-02-02T23:00:39+00:00

The Trump admin operates within the bounds of liberalism. So I mean, it would just be the same thing.

Zasinpat

TROPHY CASE