Is the US a dystopia?

-not

one thing i know i am, is tired

I've honestly seen it creeping into food discourse.

I know this probably isn't what you meant but unfortunately it is somewhat radical, apparently, to believe that all people should have food to eat, live indoors, etc.

Interesting re Solnit. I also had a positive impression of her work, mostly A Paradise Built in Hell which I've heard the most about and have been meaning to read at some point.

yeah I'd thought about trying to get her to write something about the topic of that book for the nonprofit magazine I work for.

saw on bsky articulated v well this AM or yesterday that Trumpers are a cult and you can't argue with a cult

― a (waterface)

it's really important for me to... i have strong beliefs on what's effective and what's not when responding to trump voters and it's not really a theoretical consideration for me. it's not within my power to affect trump voters' behavior. what's in my power is to try and influence people who _know_ trump voters. i'm really aware of how limited that power is, though. i'm really aware that ultimately, people make their own decisions, and ultimately, i _trust_ people to make decisions for themselves, even if i don't agree with those decisions.

there's this lady i know and i just want to scream at her "STOP TALKING TO YOUR SHITTY, ABUSIVE PARENTS". i truly believe that she would be so much better off as a person if she would just stop talking to them. and the people around her say the same, her wife says the same, her friends say the same. one day she might. i really do believe that. she was thinking about it recently, and me, and everyone else around her said "Yes, this is a good idea," and, you know, she still wants them to _understand_. she believes that if she says the right things, in the right way, that they'll _understand_ and stop doing the things that they're doing. it's a hard thing to accept, that one's parents can value what people say on the tv, on facebook, more than they value their own daughter. that's just how it is, though, with a lot of people. one's parents, one's spouse, whoever... however they _feel_ about that person, they treat that person like shit.

that sucks, but i've seen lots of people cape for their abusers. _i_ caped for _my_ abuser. i know firsthand just how fucking hard it is to leave. not just before, but _after_. the cost of leaving someone you don't just love, but _depend_ on. when le guin talks about omelas... maybe she's talking about a political construct, or maybe she's talking about our siblings, our parents, our spouses. to me there's no difference. if someone is hurting me or people i care about, and i can't convince them to stop by any other means, i have to walk away.

i don't think the decisions we have to face are any different, any easier, than the choices trump voters have made and continue to make. i do look at trump voting, at conservatism, through the lens of abuse, and abuse, to me, is a cycle. making a better world, climbing out of this hell we're in, to me, the first step is breaking the cycle. is being willing to step away from people who aren't acting in our best interest, no matter what they say. for trump voters, that means stepping away from trump, from all his works, from his empty promises. for others, that means... stepping away from, or otherwise working to protect ourselves from, the actions of the people in our lives who voted for trump. this isn't something we all have equal opportunities to do. i'm privileged to be able to have done it to the extent that i have, and in no way do i ever wish to put a burden or expectation on other people to behave a certain way for _my_ benefit. desire, yes. obligation, no.

-

the second, harder part, the part i struggle with, is _not_ leaving. is remaining in community with other people, is learning to trust other people. to be able to discern when i am the one who needs to change, who needs to listen. to do the work to walk away from my own ignorance, bigotry, prejudice. to own my own shit. to take personal responsibility for my life without shame, and to seek out people who _won't_ shame me or hold me accountable for _their_ lives, _their_ actions. because there are _lots_ of people like that in this world. there are lots of people here like that.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a62875397/homelessness-in-america/

Yeah, I was just coming here to post that Esquire story. Holy shit.

Just the constant hassling by cops.

The constant “can you give us your number?” When they have nothing to give in return.

i am from that town. i know (and worked) with patrick in the early 2000s. it is all true. ask me anything.

i had to stop reading when he was writing about his teeth :(

i don't have any questions, i can see how this could happen to a person

There is only one reason I can think of that he would want my phone number, which is so that the police could install some kind of stalkerware on my phone, to track me. <from article

to my understanding, cops can try for a warrant and go for gps triangulation location or possibly monitoring your calls.

but how do they install stalkerware with just your number? can they get the mobile networks to obtain access to your phone this way?

yes

and they do and you know because?

nm i can google that shit.

maria was using an old notebook that had notes from one of rufus's high school classes in it from years ago.

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:r4et2mvg2jffgfu53sxve6u3/bafkreigjc4onerkaohp7c4ztcunrnp7o2uanllfh6zrdymqdkpiwu5hwpe@jpeg

awwww

https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2024/11/anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-will-not-pay-complete-duration-of-anesthesia-for-surgical-procedures

“Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Won’t Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Patients’ Surgical Procedures”

yes that is the headline

looks like I'll need to squirrel away some anesthesia rainy day funds, maybe a jar of change

great faux song titles

I was really afraid of hippies in 1973. I knew this country was going to hell. Nobody would listen to me!

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/468182819_10162470324927137_2084447692360822410_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=9eae26&_nc_ohc=2D3YGaOIOSoQ7kNvgFNjBVv&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A6RIzemsz0BhqiBBpTvAzo5&oh=00_AYCC_JblrZ1t38-GeGOb3-bYQ5vjZDEHB-4FlFye_vHOaA&oe=67565A97

...in 1973. I knew this country was going to hell. Nobody would listen to me!

We should have listened. 1973 was the year Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize!

Hey, you know what's fun? Changing your car battery when it's 25 degrees outside. On a related note, car batteries are $200 now.

Oh fuck my scooter wouldn't start even with a jumpstart power bank and I might need a new battery. :/

25 still pretty warm

you should be like my neighbor and wait to do any work on your car, e.g. changing a tire, until well after midnight, when it's totally dark (but remember to keep your sunglasses on top of your head) and everybody on the block is trying to sleep, being sure to scream at your friend rather than talk because that's the white trash way. and also even when it gets down to 8 degrees, only ever wear a hoodie because wearing a jacket or gloves would probably make you look like a pussy

in conclusion, is the US a dystopia? yes

https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2024/11/anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-will-not-pay-complete-duration-of-anesthesia-for-surgical-procedures🕸

i have no idea how insurance industry executives don't eat it more often. most of them have personal security in the hundreds of thousands range, per year. but there are so many people who have been completely fucked over by insurance, for no reason, just so that the insurance company can make more money. they should build giant moats and fortresses around the people who willingly participate in that, it's fucking evil

...then again, i thought eventually there'd be retribution against covid deniers by the conservative families who got fucked over by that, but instead, any traces of cognitive dissonance among the conservative families was quickly reconciled by the collective amnesia and relentless peer pressure to stfu and kiss the ass of the abusers

Apparently United Healthcare's official response has been... to pull down the page on their website with their top executives' names and photos.

they should build giant moats and fortresses

a form of insurance, if you will

the people who build the moats should work with the government to make sure that the total cost of the moat is no more than 33-45% of the insurance executive's monthly salary

Just reading 50 jokes about this CEO shooting rn

Quality margin doodle by Rufus up there...

the US is not a dystopia why bc people seem to be either ignoring this or actively rooting for the shooter to get away, and perhaps strike again

It just occurred to me that the big takeaway from the United Healthcare story that everyone seems to be ignoring is... PROFESSIONAL ASSASSINS DO EXIST! They're NOT all just undercover cops! The dream lives on!

https://i.imgur.com/T6N9Rp4.jpeg

It's gonna come that some celebrity did this innit

If he’s not already a celebrity, he’s a folk hero at least.

A shooting class hero is something to be

the thing is: people of all political stripes have been fucked over bad by this company, so he might be a hero to many many people out there, whatever the motivation

live by the sword, die by the sword

live by people dying for personal profit, die by...

...people dying for personal profit.

sorry, meant to phrase that as more of a mystery, but somehow i ended up with
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y ...

Is this dude's death going to make anyone healthier / less poor?

Think of it as a ghost if Xmas present type situation

- is doing almost anything you or anyone else doing right now making anyone healthier / less poor?
- is taking 5 minutes out of a busy 42076800 minutes in an 80 year life time to grimly remark that someone who made themselves and everyone around them rich by profiting off of their misery died making anyone's life worse?

yeah, I'm not happy about anyone's murder but it'll be interesting to hear what this shooter's motivation was.. what the backstory is

I've been riffing with a legendary former ilxor for the last two hours about this we're having a blast.

i mean, personally i'm doing great tonight. i just watched new bernard purdie clips, plus the old steely dan behind the music one of course, and i'm having having a jolly night! in a normal community of people, you would never celebrate your worst enemy's death. because in real communities, even the worst, most hateful person is probably not killing people. in the community of whatever an insurance company is to normal people, the person that died was killing people, daily, for profit. they could choose to work in any other field that didn't involve making decisions on whether people live or die based on profit motives, but they did. they provided so many jobs for people, too, working in that industry, and the secondary, tertiary positions. many are saying that over 125% of americans are employed by the health insurance industry. but at the end of the day, it's ridiculous that anyone should ever die, EVER, because it would have cut into the profits of an insurance company. but it happens every day, and it's hard to ever blame a single person, but every once in a while an evil person dies and it's easy to say yeah, fuck them, for 5 minutes