News/Current Events, discussion (Bullets, Ballots & Bombs)

[rublev]

[wiggly--woo]

nice article looking at the racial politics of the 2015 election

http://www.discoversociety.org/2015/04/ ... tion-2015/

[Iliam]

[frogosaurus]

I thought watching yet another reddit orgy of white supremacism would be easier the eighth time around, but it's not.

[bobo77]

[bird.in.flight]

[Yoder]

What can a member of the white moderate do to help and make an impact?

reading about combat liberalism, the MLK quotes and other thought peaces has made me realize that i'm just as the problem. (Also, realizing that helps nothing!)

I am looking for serious advice/opinion, no internet sarcasm/jokes coming from me.

[stappard_]

I only just realised that Russell Brand's 'The Trews' is actually a combination of 'Truth' and 'News' and not about trousers at all

[rublev]

death toll from the quake rising to over 4,000 and nepalese officials fear it could rise to 10,000 once more information is gathered about the destruction in remote areas

http://www.dec.org.uk/

[stappard_]

I know its an awfully trite thing to say but I'm having an odd reaction to the news in Nepal; this is the first time I've ever witnessed something like this on the news where I've actually been to the exact places that are now destroyed. I have photos of me in Durbar Square, which is now all but gone. Weird. Reinforces the distancing effect of experiencing these tragedies through tv/internet media.

[rublev]

on a lighter note, it's the anniversary of ed balls day



the day 4 years ago ed balls tweeted his own name

how are you celebrating today?


happy ed balls day everyone!

[IsaiahSchafer]

Nepal is a really beautiful place and the scale of death that has happened and will happen if careful measures aren't taken is really really sad. Another shame is the negative impact this could have on tourism, which makes up about 50% of Nepal's GDP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Nepal

http://www.redditblog.com/2015/04/calli ... al_28.html
Both charities make sure over 99% of donations go directly to actual relief.

Here's an article explaining why money to vetted charities is the best thing you can do for disaster relief:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/hait ... hquake-aid

Here's a subreddit that shows you the beautiful place you're potentially helping!
http://www.reddit.com/r/nepalpics

I haven't donated yet because there's AMA's on reddit this week with the heads of those aforementioned charities. Not that I am dubious about the use of the money, I just want to know more and maybe ask a couple questions. I'm not interested in climbing Everest or K2 or anything crazy, but it is a really beautiful country so if tourism in the next year or two could help, that may be a vacation worth considering.

I've watched pretty much every fictional movie, historical-fictional movie, and documentary about the mountains in the area and no video fails to mention that the Nepalese people are the backbone of basically every climb or venture that happens in that range. Biologically they're just perfect (after all these years of living and reproducing in the region) for being sherpas and if you haven't seen anything about how they set ropes, ladders, and oxygen tanks on Everest especially- do yourself a favor and search for some Everest movies on Netflix! (and some series). (keywords: Everest, Nepal, Himalayas, Sherpa, K-2).

Nepalese farmer and flintstone:

[germinal]

http://www.nevisonhardy.co.uk/election

[bels]

It turns out there's literally a chance of cambridge falling from lib dem hands into labour and I genuinely don't know which one to vote for! So stressed! I can't cop out and vote green now.

[rublev]

lmao!

[bobo77]

[IsaiahSchafer]

I'm probably foolish for vocalizing opinions that historically most everyone disagrees with, but here's to another shot at discussion. This is my attempt at comparing and contrasting ideas in good faith.

RE: looting
Maybe in 2003 (i dunno I was 12) and talking about another country, that was a lot more relevant, but I'm assuming you're posting in reference to Baltimore and I feel it's pretty off-base. Looting a Walgreens for chips and beer (only video I've seen, I don't know what others there are) isn't taking feelings out on any regime. Nor is smashing windows on civilian cars, throwing trash cans at people, stealing personal belongings, etc.

I'd consider myself a very empathetic person. So yes, I can understand the emotions of frustration and repression and fear. Even if not on such a scale, I imagine most of us have been screwed over for something completely out of our control, whether it's in school or a job or whatever. So while I can understand why they did it, the conclusion that anyone who cares about freedom will accept it as a part of the price to freedom is completely unfair. I don't have to be okay with the violence and stealing that takes place and I don't have to accept it as a point on a path to something better. That doesn't mean I'm against things getting better.

Would I do the same thing in their shoes? Am I allowed to have an opinion? Does my opinion matter? Is my opinion correct? Is there a correct opinion to have on this topic? Do I have the answers for what they should do instead? If I'm saying what they did is wrong, should I have to provide an alternate solution? Is there a correct solution? Is there even any solution? idk!

What I do know is that I'm against unwarranted killing, racism, violence, and stealing. So going off that in a vacuum, I disapprove of the police and the rioters alike. I don't know how to extrapolate all of this in a perfect model and judge anyone else with 100% accuracy and come up with all the solutions. But I also know for certain that none of you (ie anyone reading this) know how to do that either! So, somewhat ironically I guess, I believe no issues are black and white. None. There's a million shades of gray in the middle. (I have to go, maybe to be continued..)(apologies if it's rambly, didn't get much of a chance to edit)

[mofaux]

[vgtbls]

Smashing police cars is a legitimate survival strategy these days

[odradek]

everyone should watch do the right thing

[IsaiahSchafer]

I don't really know how to respond to quotes without any commentary of your own, not even a "this is what I think as well". I don't mean that to be inflammatory, it just isn't really a discussion if you're not adding anything from you, which would be helpful to contextualize the quote and derive your intended meaning from it.

Beyond that, looking at the quote I feel like this one is off-base too. First, it feels like you're implying I want them to be civilized and nothing else, which isn't the case, necessarily. If the people acting with violence in baltimore wanted to reach 'the man' it's an hour's drive to D.C. or at least leave the snack aisle alone at walgreens and the windows on Suzy Whitebread's subaru intact. Go ahead and smash up some police cars if violence is the only way you think you can be heard. I'm still against the looting, the looters, and the baseless violence.

There's government property of all kinds you could act out towards- that's a message that speaks for itself. Throwing a trash can through a local bike shop's window is pretty unacceptable with no real justification imo. Unless that bike shop had an all italian-american wall of fame in it?

Also seems pretty off-base with the implication that anyone who isn't black is a "they" or "you". Phrases like "they put them in the ghetto... you want them to act civilly" makes it sound like it's 250 million Americans acting together against the black community which obviously isn't true. The racist people who want racial discrimination in the United States (in any form, speaking generally) aren't the same people who want the violence to stop.

Gotta run again, sorry again for lack of editing/cleaning up.

[thephfactor]

so, your position is the equivalent of #NotAllWhitePeople?

[IsaiahSchafer]

I don't know wtf #notallwhitepeople is, a courtesy twitter search seems to be lots of.. I dunno, I really don't know what is going on there. Is it a bad thing to not be lumped together with a second thought? I don't do that to people and I'm asking for the same thing. to say otherwise would be ignoring the entire point I made about no issue being just black and white.

So no, I don't think my position is the equivalent of a pointless combative hashtag.

[thephfactor]

My point was: your position is the equivalent of "I'm not the problem, it's the other [insert group I'm a part of here]", a la the #NotAllMen hashtag I was referencing. I guess I was trying to take a rhetorical shortcut, as pretty much all the reasoning that went into refuting the hashtag could be redirected pretty easily onto your sense of white irresponsibility.

[WussWayne]

[germinal]

[sbuers]

So many people at college are going on about how everyone should vote for UKIP, I don't know whether to laugh or cry

[bels]

At acting class some people were talking really loudly in the room next door and totally ruined my (super nuanced) performance of Judge Brack.

The teacher went to ask them to keep it down. When he came back into the room he said:

"I should have known.... They're TORIES."

And they kept making noise!!!!! AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO RUN THE COUNTRY AGAIN?!?!?!?!

[maj]

Fucking Tories

[momjeans]