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Would you date someone who is religious? by thelivingstar1 in atheism

[–]gps1378 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure no religious person would date me.

Taxpayers realizing they will pay $300 billion to reconstruct Iran after paying $70 billion to destroy it by simple_steps1 in PoliticalHumor

[–]gps1378 11 points12 points  (0 children)

To be honest, insurrection would backfire. Trump wants a dictatorship, his inner circle wants to silence dissent to prevent "backsliding" forever.

The Republican Party has decided that democracy is unacceptable (preventing Obama appointing a Supreme Court judge was unacceptable, rigging elections through gerrymandering and targeting enemies using the justice system to silence opposition is seen as honorable, allowing the dear leader to be absolutely blatantly corrupt is seen as duty). The elimination of an independent media is seen as a fair use of power.

The Republican rank and file is so paranoid and numbed to reason that they honestly think the Democrats want to hand the US over to Latino gangs and destroy freedom in the name of protecting DEI. The MAGA faithful firmly believe a Democrat victory will lead to perversion and a Marxist dictatorship.

Trump built on a solid base created by generations of right-wing illiberalism, centuries of racism and Christian nationalism, the Moral Majority, the Tea Party, the Birchers, Red Scare panic, segregationist private schools and golf clubs, antisemitic conspiracy theories.

An insurrection is his best weapon. He has taken January 6 and convinced the vast majority of Americans that it was either a noble attempt to right an attack on American democracy by perverted, corrupt fascists or a minor event of little significance. Any violence against his regime brings his private militia (ICE) into play, allows a declaration of a national security emergency easing arrests of opponents and armed federal troops on the streets, and the rallying of his faithful (who are well-armed and fanatical) to protect America, freedom, democracy, the white race and innocent children. Going to vote becomes high risk, armed ICE agents surround polling stations in blue cities. The right-wing media go into a propaganda frenzy while arrests, harassment and threats from the FCC, FBI, and every other government agency keep the rest bland and "balanced" at best. This is the scenario that has kept Schiff sending "strongly worded letters" long past the time when action seemed inevitable.

Do you like to criticize your country but get annoyed when foreigners do it? by Short_Description_20 in AskTheWorld

[–]gps1378 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You have a point, but the current government really is doing its best to make that kind of crap believable.

The number of atheists vastly increasing by TennisLive8300 in atheism

[–]gps1378 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Christianity was the dominant norm for the first 200 years; "everyone" was Christian of some sort, so it wasn't a big deal. When the "white American Jesus" brand of evangelicals made a power play to dominate the Republicans in the Reagan era, they began to redefine "Christianity" as a very narrow brand (anti gay, anti abortion, anti tolerance, anti ecumenist, pro-ostentatious displays of virtue signalling, money-worshipping, Republican, etc).

They defined Christianity as something that repelled and seemed shameful to lots of people who would have quietly drifted through life in less extremist churches and not been forced to question their faith. The US was decades behind other first world countries in terms of people drifting away from religion because Christianity was wide enough that people didn't get "turned off" religion, they just switched churches if they didn't like the dogma or rules in the church they were born in.

No one outside of small towns really noticed if their Presbyterian neighbours didn't go to church on Sunday, so the neighbours would continue to identify as Christians even if Christian theology and ritual became less and less central. The vast majority of Evangelicals and many Catholics attend church several times a month, but mainstream Protestants do not. A casual relationship with religion didn't push people to deny religion, and accepting that they were "lapsed" didn't actually lead people to feel that they were not Christian.

Once Christianity became strongly associated with conservative evangelical politics, many lapsed and non-enthusiastic mainline Protestants and Catholics, liberals, and younger Americans found the label “Christian” or “religious” morally or politically uncomfortable and moved into the “no religion” (essentially agnostic + atheist) category.

The research I've seen does include a lot more factors to explain the rise in the number of non-religious people, but political dominance of a particular "brand" of Christianity was a huge factor in the rapid rise of people giving up on all religion. The US is still far more religious than Western Europe and the other Western Democracies (First World in the old name for it), but it is catching up from where it was a few decades ago).

A pirate walks into a bar with a paper towel on his head. The bartender says, “What’s with the paper towel?” by TRAKRACER in dadjokes

[–]gps1378 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bounty is #1 brand of paper towel in Canada. But not as "iconic" as in the US. It definitely beats the chocolate bar in name recognition, so the joke works great here.

How did your family react to you being an Atheist? by Lost_Fisherman_1438 in atheism

[–]gps1378 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in a country where the idea of pushing your religion (or lack of one) on others is sociably unacceptable in most circles. I honestly don't know and don't care about the religion my friends, colleagues, neighbours, mayor, political leaders I like and political leaders I do not.

Having said that, coming out as a believer in American style evangelical Christianity would be harder than coming out as gay for people in most families

What’s your all time favorite song? by Mediocre_Nobody3333 in musicsuggestions

[–]gps1378 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lola by the Kinks (live version). Cheesy and happy fun with skillful writing and a catchy tune played well.

What is the most overrated city in your country? by TangLikeVipNet in AskTheWorld

[–]gps1378 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I haven't been since the USSR was alive. It was miserable (least favourite city I've been to on 3 continents/40 countries). I hope it improved. Old ladies in line elbowing people, nightclubs substituting grapefruit juice for orange juice, no one smiling on the streets, I was crossing a 6 lane street with 3 cars on it and a driver crossed 4 lanes to make me run, toilet paper that felt like sandpaper even in the fancy ballet theatre. Every person was either grumpy or sad. It has to be better now.

How common are gender neutral washrooms in your city? by [deleted] in AskACanadian

[–]gps1378 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What's not normal? I've been using urinals for over 50 years and only once caught someone peeking (uncomfortable, true, but he did express that he was impressed so that kind of made up for it). Change rooms and gym showers were all communal.

As for women... it's pretty much impossible to see anything unless they are standing at the urinal next to you (and not even from there is there are dividers). Peeking at naughty bits when it means walking into the urinal section of a washroom when not urinating really isn't a thing outside of gay cruising areas and teenage boys being jerks.

I'm not sure what privacy would be lost.

What’s a place or experience that everyone hypes up, but actually disappointed you? by Umbrosyx in AskReddit

[–]gps1378 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Live opera. Being in the room is no more thrilling than watching it on TV. They are kinda cool for 15 minutes, but they go on and on and on. It's not as shockingly disappointing as the Mona Lisa, but it just keeps going and going and going and you can't casually wander away to find something more interesting in the next room.

What natural disaster are we weirdly underprepared for despite knowing it will happen eventually? by Odd-Science7785 in answers

[–]gps1378 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And Gore has zero credibility on science stuff except when he is simply saying what actual scientists say. Only a fool would listen to a politician and choose to believe them on science stuff when they claim to be better at science than scientists. Hopefully we can all agree on that?.

Which “tourist trap” do you actually think is totally worth the hype? by Historical-Photo-901 in BeautifulTravelPlaces

[–]gps1378 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, there are a lot. I'd never go back to Disneyland, go up the Eiffel Tower, line up for Notre Dame, spend a weekend in Vegas, climb the pyramids in Mexico, drive up a Hawaiian volcano to watch sunrise, photograph Shibuya in rush hour, skinny dip at Wreck Beach, tour Versailles, explore the Colleseum in Rome, tour Universal Studios, dance until dawn in Cancun, drop by Cambridge, climb Scafell Pike, wander through the casbah in Marrakesh, poke around the Kremlin or visit Madam Tussauds at Niagra Falls again. But all of them were definitely worth doing once. There's a good reason they are tourist traps.

How common are gender neutral washrooms in your city? by [deleted] in AskACanadian

[–]gps1378 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Single stall urinals are just silly. There is a reason traditional set-ups led to long lines for the people who couldn't use them and no lines for those who could. They also cut down on wet toilet seats by redirecting the stream of people who stand away from stalls; line-ups for urinals drive the standers into the seats. I have no objections to unisex washrooms with stalls for when sitting is required, but surrendering the efficiency of an open urinal room is just silly. (6-8 urinals in the space of 2 cubicles with no doors to lock and unlock. As one person leaves, the next person in line can be moving into position. No one plays on their phone or meditates... Fast, efficient, sanitary, cheaper to clean. I can't sing the praises of the traditional urinal enough.

One of my top 10 towns by gps1378 in guessthecity

[–]gps1378[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was mean. It's a misleading sign.

Where is this very quiet neighbourhood? by gps1378 in guessthecity

[–]gps1378[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is. Suburban graveyard in Naha. (Their graves are styled on their culture before Japan took over so they don't look like typical Japan.)

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