• I love examples of why it’s wrong to equate the actions of a faction with the whole people. Israelis are not Netanyahu, Palestinians are not Hamas, Russians are not Putin, and Americans are not Trump. We can argue about culpability of citizens in the actions of their leaders, much as we can argue whether a person’s parents are responsible for their behavior, but whether they’re effective or not these protestors, and people like them, restore some of my faith in humanity.

    It’s always the young adults who are fighting against the evils of the old leaders, isn’t it? I’m telling you, the world needs Carousel.

  • Sure, they demand change. And I would like to see a flying pig with purple and gold spots. We can all soothe ourselves with magical thinking that, somehow, all of a sudden, people will become humane, smart, caring and worthwhile.

    I’ve been alive 7 decades and have seen 7 decades of war in the mid-East, of people hating police, of police brutality, of crime, of degeneracy, of hyped-up shit-brained plutocrats thinking they are the saviors of mankind, of protests, and hate and war mongering and sickness.

    Nothing will change. The only outcome, to any of this, under any circumstances, is an all-out nuclear war, which if we are lucky will come sooner than later. Sweet oblivion. Total eradication of human filth - that is the only possible and hopeful course for the future of this planet.

    •  mozz   ( @mozz@mbin.grits.dev ) OP
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      9 months ago

      people hating police, of police brutality

      I was alive for Rodney King and the police being found not guilty on everything in the state trial. I remember how shocked and surprised everyone outside the black community was that the police would ever do something like that, and at the confusing idea of even putting a policeman on trial or holding them accountable for anything.

      If you watch the early episodes of “Cops,” you’ll see a policeman who clearly just beat the shit out of someone with nunchuks for trying to run away, until he was on the ground begging for it to stop. Nobody thought it was weird.

      Now, if out of 800,000 police officers in the US, there’s a single one in any given month that does something fucked up, there’s a pretty good chance that everyone in the country will know their name and be able to watch the video of what they did.

      of crime

      Violent crime is half what it used to be in 1991. There are a few possible explanations but that’s what happened.

      of hyped-up shit-brained plutocrats thinking they are the saviors of mankind

      A self-described socialist with genuinely populist (and wildly popular) ideas came within a hair’s breadth of the Democratic presidential nomination. He would almost certainly have won the general election if he won.

      And so on

      I’m not saying things are perfect. Particularly with climate change looming over us all, you might get your wish. But it’s not because good things are impossible.