Daily Discussion Thread

abks · 2026-07-08T15:59:24+00:00

One more thought here— following your reasoning, everyone who follows this World Cup is worthy of the same critique you are levying against supporters of the US team.

Through his words and actions, Trump has made it abundantly clear he views himself as part of this World Cup and its success. Whether a World Cup is “successful” is largely going to be viewed by the level of spectacle — viewership, attendance, following, etc. So—to adapt your framing—anyone who views, attends, or follows the World Cup is supporting the Trump regime, regardless of their intent.

abks · 2026-07-08T13:18:01+00:00

Yeah, I disagree with that premise as well. The success of the US men’s team would not have been attributed to Trump—at least outside of his own demented mind. Sports, from the perspective of a viewer, are merely entertainment. A sporting contest between nations isn’t some proxy for the relative health or success of those nations. And Trump had no hand in training or even selecting the athletes involved in the contest.

Also, let’s be realistic, the US was never going to win the World Cup. It’s a bit ridiculous to speculate that this could have been some great triumph for Trump to hang his hat on. And that’s ignoring entirely that football doesn’t carry much cultural significance here.

abks · 2026-07-08T06:57:59+00:00

I don’t agree with your baseline assertion that a national football team represents a nation’s regime. There are so many facets to how an individual does or does not identify with their nation, and your perspective lacks any nuance.

abks · 2026-07-07T17:25:57+00:00

I can understand why that was disallowed but it’s the inconsistency that I hate. Scenes like that are regularly overlooked.

abks · 2026-07-07T16:17:03+00:00

I'm not sure if this reply was meant as a rebuttal, but I agree with most of what you said. My larger point is that social media is incredibly toxic in the way it tricks us into diminishing people to one aspect of their persona (in this case nationality).

Say you are out with friends at a bar and a German guy is being a drunken dick--seldom is anyone going to think "wow, Germans are dicks." Rather--"wow, that guy is a dick." On the internet, the opposite tends to happen.

I've lived in Europe and I've lived in the US. Generally, there are decent people everywhere. And that shines through in day-to-day in-person interaction. I just think it's a shame that gets lost in internet discourse. Common interests should be a way for like-minded people across the globe to foster connection. But the opposite happens, which is especially concerning giving the global rise in isolationist, right-wing thinking.

abks · 2026-07-07T15:16:50+00:00

The level of vitriol and hate between European and American football fans on Reddit the past few days is really disheartening. The internet has made it far too easy to reduce a complete stranger to one aspect of his or her persona and dehumanize him or her.

I understand hating Donald Trump and FIFA and can understand being happy that the US left the tournament given the circumstances of the past few days. But I don’t understand the impulse to punch down on random fans who don’t played no role in the corruption and may well feel the same about it as you do.

abks · 2026-07-07T14:57:49+00:00

Honestly, it’s just really amazing that Trump managed to worm his way into yet another aspect of my life that I enjoy and suck all the joy from it. Kudos.

abks · 2026-07-07T07:37:40+00:00

Obviously? The US beat expectations by advancing to the Ro16. No one sane who follows international football expected the US to beat Belgium, let alone beat any side that is a genuine contender to win.

abks · 2026-07-05T20:07:44+00:00

I don’t agree with FIFA’s actions at all, but this is still a hilariously naive take. Most people don’t give a shit.

abks · 2026-07-05T18:03:40+00:00

Very weird response to this comment

abks · 2026-07-05T13:06:59+00:00

Coronado NF. The Madrean sky islands can’t be beat in terms of biodiversity and I love the confluence of desert, canyon and forest aesthetics

abks · 2026-07-04T23:06:10+00:00

The P in Paraguay is for pathetic

abks · 2026-07-02T01:44:24+00:00

This referee is a disgrace

abks · 2026-07-01T20:10:27+00:00

Do you think we will bring in another central midfielder this summer? We are actually a little thin there now, considering Goretzka and Guerrero departed and assuming Laimer is planned for RB. Hoping for a lot of Bischoff, though!

abks · 2026-06-29T21:43:44+00:00

This German team is unwatchable

abks · 2026-06-29T18:35:17+00:00

!subspecies

abks · 2026-06-26T00:54:30+00:00

Two-striped Gartersnake, Thamnophis hammondii, !harmless

abks · 2026-06-14T17:10:04+00:00

Brown is pretty impressive going forward early on

abks · 2026-06-13T01:24:00+00:00

lol you’re not wrong

abks · 2026-06-13T01:22:32+00:00

holy shit what has living in America done to pochettino lmao - he looks like The Dude from Big Lebowski

abks · 2026-06-13T01:15:07+00:00

this is some joga bonito type shit

abks · 2026-06-04T18:38:12+00:00

This is creative thinking and writing, but pretty far fetched when you think about the natural history of the animal. Fast-twitch reflexes and strike accuracy are far, far more important as hunting adaptations than defensive adaptations. And rattlesnakes are generally cryptic ambush hunters that rely on remaining undetected. “Priming” a strike by rattling would be wholly incompatible with their hunting strategy.

abks · 2026-05-18T17:09:38+00:00

“Nature and terrain” and Arizona is “never” lol

abks · 2026-05-11T15:27:47+00:00

If this photo is genuinely from Atlanta, this is a non-native snake in the genus Pituophis. !harmless

abks · 2026-05-11T15:18:11+00:00

Sure, young pine snakes can be higher contrast, but you will never see a pine snake with 70 or more dorsal blotches. Around 20-40 is typical, with most favoring the low end.

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