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No, we're not mercenaries. We just carry weapons and kill things for the joy of the experience.

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Messages - Bathtub Jim

#16
Think for Yourself, Schmuck! / Re: Cynicism
February 11, 2017, 02:01:47 AM
Quote from: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on February 10, 2017, 05:10:01 PM
It basically boils down to a version of this: https://medium.com/@kalera/why-brains-arent-computers-47614c158139#.6aq2c9wx2

Hey! You wrote that, I remember you from the DS group on facebook.

Also, yes, complex cynicism has great value. Reality checking things can be very helpful if done in a constructive way that encourages solutions around the problem. However, while you do note that simple cynicism has low value, I think that it does still have value. Detailed critiques take time and effort, both of which are often in short supply for our own projects, let alone for the projects of others. Simple cynicism, whether a trite comment, asserting a logical fallacy, or even an insult, can point the arrow in the direction of a positive change. Often these simple criticisms should be ignored and banished from thought, but sometimes a few words can sting or leave a lasting impression that lingers with you next time you pick up the project or rehash the idea that garnered the cynical comment.
So, to sum up my cynicism: as with most things, it depends.
#17
Bring and Brag / Re: new member/ new song
February 11, 2017, 01:45:18 AM
Das pretty good m8, but have you considered playing vaporwave instead?
#18
Quote from: Xaz on February 10, 2017, 04:30:20 PM
Do you think violence or nonviolence from the "We don't like Nazis" group would be more effective at swaying those who are on the fence away from the "We do like Nazis" group?

Do you think people that are on the fence will be swayed by outside actors in either case or will they just go with what feels right for them?

As for you first question, I'm not sure. Also, I don't think anyone is on the fence about liking Nazis, but they often reject the label nazi and try to reframe it as something else. I think people can be on the fence and sympathetic without realizing these people are white nationalists and neoi-Nazis.

As for your second question, I think people are often swayed by things whether they want to be or not, but I'm generally an optimist.
#19
Quote from: LMNO on February 10, 2017, 07:22:57 PM
To paraphrase: When you're on the shit end side of a capitalist system, you don't have time to do anything by try not to starve to death.

Ok, yea, to an extent, but when you're on the shit side of the spectrum and have been for generations, people tend to get desperate and look to others who claim to have the answers. These white nationalists and neo-Nazis are claiming to have the answers and they are seeking out very desperate people. I've listened to them speak before, they are fast talkers, their hate is subtle at first, speaking mostly in innuendo and coded language until you think they aren't so terrible and maybe have a few good ideas. It's insidious.

They are having the info session the first day in a semi-private  location in a park and charging a fee, then the next day they are holding a public demonstration. From what I gather they expect and maybe even desire a physical altercation, something to bring them wider attention.
#20
Quote from: Pope Pixie Pickle on February 10, 2017, 02:11:38 PM
Do you have local antifa in your area?

Yea, but they aren't very large. I know a few guys in it, but they aren't hardcore, and I don't know how "down" they are with traditional antifa tactics.
Also, I'm wondering if antifa tactics would be very effective in this instance. Most antifa instances occur in larger cities with larger groups of people, where its easier to blend in and disappear. This event is taking place in a small town, and any antifa group would have to travel from a nearby city, which is not very close. If shit goes down, there's nowhere to really run to or disappear.
Alternatively, this is a small town with a very small police force that might be overwhelmed by this activity, it's hard to tell how effective something like that would be ahead of time.
There's already a counter rally, but it's all about good vibes, which is to be expected I guess.

So.... I'm sort of town between a more confrontational approach and between having a very loud and offensive, flamboyant party.
I really want to stamp out nazis with all of my rage, but I also don't want these nazis to gain a foothold in the area. The folk in that area, who probably already have low-key racist ideas or might be sympathetic to those ideas might be drawn toward fascist groups if the other opposition to those groups are equally offensive to them. Another part of me feels that pandering to people who may be on the fence is a terribly craven thing to do.
#21
Literate Chaotic / Re: ITT: Original Story Ideas
February 10, 2017, 01:05:28 PM
A suburb with many amenities including a grocery store, restaurants, boutique shops, etc, marketed itself as an urban paradise away from the city. It's all going fine and swell, including their attempts to prevent affordable housing or any housing under a couple six figure salaries. However, trouble begins when a strange man who appears to be homeless starts hanging around their neighborhood. Suspicion and witch hunting ensue. The lead witch hunter, a woman eager to impress the neighborhood with her fervor for stamping out poverty, starts to gaze at the stranger in a way she hadn't anticipated. Eventually, she falls for the mysterious homeless man and a forbidden love ensues and the couple fight off the ravaging neighbors and home owner's association. Eventually, the neighborhood takes its rage out on other poor people in the "urban" suburb and begin firing the workers in the restaurants and stores, leaving just a shell of the neighborhood to remain. The forbidden love of the couple blossoms, so they move even though no one will buy her house in the neighborhood.
#22
Quote from: V3X on February 10, 2017, 05:18:18 AM
Also please don't be a troll, we need new blood around here.

I'll try to destroy your unrealistic expectations of me just like all of those unrealistic expectations you initially had when you first met your ex-lovers.

But no! I'm not a troll, sadly. I'm a bit of an exile from the Discordian Society facebook group. I've been happy to lurk there for several years, but they did some things that attracted a lot of attention (this girl did a funny thing with a honey bun pastry on video), and the numbers of the group have swelled since then to about 20k. It's completely shitty and has been taken over by trolls who think discordianism means offending people through racist memes, which is fine I guess, but it got tedious after a while.
#23
Quote from: V3X on February 10, 2017, 05:14:48 AM
especially if you manage to catch them saying good things about Trump.

Now this might actually be worth paying $30 and pretending to be a really shy and quiet nazi all day while maybe fearing I don't get outed and potentially hurt in the isolated mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
#24
I mentioned to my girlfriend about infiltrating the training and seminar portion of the neo-nazi hate fest and she gave me a grave look, so I think that part is a no go for me (and because I'm slightly intimidated to be isolated with actual factual skinheads).
However! I do appreciate your other kind suggestions! I've made signs before, and I've waved them and shouted at people while holding them, but I've never really thought about the anatomy of a sign or what makes one catchy, so your thoughts are very helpful!  :)

So I guess the next logical question is, obviously, given that there is a neo-nazi gathering within reasonable travel distance, and given the recent uproar with punching Richard Spencer, is it ok to punch nazis?
#25
It took me several years of going to different doctors before I finally got diagnosed with a semi-exotic form of rheumatism. The struggle to find out what is wrong with the fleshy meatsack is all too real, unlike the struggle to find out what is wrong with my brain, which is completely surreal.

I hope you do med school though! I'd watch out for your comments about "addictive personality" though. I'm in law school and when I came forward about some past *ahem* indiscretions, they shit their pants and get very serious. Apparently since doctors and lawyers kill themselves and abuse alcohol and drugs more they are much more serious gatekeepers than they used to be back in the day.
#26
Literate Chaotic / Re: ITT: Original Story Ideas
February 10, 2017, 12:37:12 AM
Quote from: Roko's Modern Basilisk on February 09, 2017, 08:29:03 PM
Was just now thinking of Cronenbergs's Secret Weapons and "meta-adrenaline".  Instead of an actual compound the "meta" element indicates how the adrenaline is elicited from the prescribed environment and particular situations into which subjects are injected.  The situations are contrived to instatiate a set of trigger sequences, repeatedly and in a controlled environment.  Once firmly encoded and reinforced, triggers can be translated onto external environments. Once activated, subjects will "independently" seek out firing them in sequence.  Sort of like targeted search results, on a grand scale.

This is starting to sound a little like Tyrone Slothrop's rocket erections in Gravity's Rainbow... or maybe erection controlled rockets just happen to be on the mind...
#27
Sorry, I didn't mean to condescend, it's just I study these types of issues, albeit in a different state, and I know they can be strange.
#28
[Edit]
I just checked the Washington statutes (THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE) and they don't say anything about primary or secondary parents. The sole determiner is the "best interest of the child", which likely means you'll devise a joint parenting plan with the mother where both of you will feel a little shitty afterward but not totally defeated. Don't freak out man, it's not the 80's anymore where the mother just takes the kid and you get screwed.
#29
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on February 09, 2017, 08:49:25 AM
There's no actual joint custody in WA, they have you do a "parenting plan" that the court signs off on and even though you are both legally custodial parents the state designates one parent as the primary and one as the secondary. She'll be the primary by default and the primary can legally move out of state with the child with virtually no legal recourse for me. I will not have that same right. Oregon is MUCH more equitable in such matters.

So from what I know, terms like sole or joint custody don't really mean much, legally. In a lot of states, custody is determined during the divorce proceedings if custody is contested. Generally, before the court decides anything, the parents sit down in a mediation (which costs roughly 100-200/hr, can last 4+ hrs) and hash out a plan. I don't know the laws of Washington, but I really really highly highly highly doubt the state designates one parent as the primary and the other as a secondary. Judge's have to determine the "best interests of the child", and while that differs from state to state, it rarely results in one parent becoming the sole parent except in extraordinary circumstances.
Generally, time is split as equally as possible between the parents because judges generally think its in the best interest of the child to have a close relationship with both parents. From what I know, the majority of states (and none that I know of) allow one parent to just take the child and just move around wherever. There has to be at least notification and discussion and potentially a legal dispute before radical changes like that are allowed to take place.
#30
I'm a little nervous about infiltration. The Traditionalist Workers Party and the affiliated groups represented there are borderline paramilitary.
I don't think this will be like the whiny internet troll Richard Spencer type of rally where internet dweebs come out from their basements to see what their fellow hate spewers look like.
From what I gather these people are very serious and potentially dangerous. Given that this is taking place in far eastern Kentucky in an impoverished community, I doubt police presence will be very strong if tensions to rise or if a single person becomes a target after disrupting an event.
Matthew Heimbach is a leader of the Traditionalist Workers Party and is currently being sued for battery for physically harassing a black woman at a Trump rally. He will be there likely leading the group and is even distinguished enough to earn his own page on Southern Poverty Law Center's website. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/matthew-heimbach
I'm not opposed to infiltrating, but I am concerned about being isolated among radical neo-nazis.