Hope you all are having a lovely day today, whatever this day means to you (or doesn’t). Consider this an open thread, to discuss whatever, from presents to politics to cats to whatever holiday stress you might be feeling.
And here’s some stuff I found on the Twitter.
— David, who is hanging in there
Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/YfyTsQ95de
— Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) December 25, 2017
At this time of year, take a few moments to remember who Christmas is truly about… pic.twitter.com/TQ9tSP5EED
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) December 24, 2017
I haven’t laughed this hard in a while. I needed this. pic.twitter.com/2aQFpugdis
— deray (@deray) December 7, 2017
Brian Eno, Paris, 1973 (with Christmas 2017 augmentation) pic.twitter.com/hRwMDTOUKv
— Brian Eno News (@dark_shark) December 25, 2017
“Fun” pic.twitter.com/tsAdsZeez8
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 24, 2017
#MerryChristmas 🎄🤶🏻 pic.twitter.com/IahMZhf5gc
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) December 25, 2017
Same. pic.twitter.com/kcNPdrLy6R
— Adrenalin (@adrenalindenver) May 24, 2017
🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅
All of a sudden …
🐾🐾🐾🐾 pic.twitter.com/fza8NZioI0
— The Cult Cat (@Elverojaguar) December 25, 2017
Human: My cat has an easy life
Me: pic.twitter.com/e8kvlVhUdR— Curious Zelda (@CuriousZelda) December 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/awwcuteness/status/945193410662682624
@Moggie
Most likely. It’s definitely not huge enough. 😛
Tuesday’ll be interesting. Only time I recall the president’s physician talking to the press formally was after Reagan was shot.
Without even looking, we all know what the “health summary” will be. Trump will be declared the fittest, most genetically supreme being of all time, despite living on McDonald’s, drinking 12 diet cokes a day, and having an exercise regime that consists of riding around on a golf cart, dodging press conferences, and bending over to kiss Putin’s ass.
Meanwhile, America has an advanced case of stage 4 Nazis.
@Shadowplay
“I mean, seriously? “I’ve never seen it therefore it doesn’t happen?” A conservative tried line that on you, you’d be down on them like a fucking avalanche.”
I can’t speak for GOSJM, but I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. But I can’t speak for him.
Valentin’s article made some pretty heavy claims that even Ukrainians should be afraid of the American left because of our general hatred of Slavic people. As a person actually living in America, who’s actually in the American left, this is the first time I’ve heard of such a general widespread racism. (Including from Russians who did live in the US). This is not to say that it doesn’t exist! The American left already falls down in many fronts, so I wouldn’t be shocked to find it falling down in another.
But with the internet being what it is, and since I believe that it would be politically useful to turn left-leaning Russians/Ukrainians against left leaning Americans (and vice-versa), excuse me if I’m giving Valentin’s article a strong side-eye that I won’t extend to Valentin himself. I’m not saying that the article is necessarily wrong; just that it hasn’t passed my sniff test yet.
Mostly, I think there’s more than one topic being argued on here, and that we should be careful that none of us are mixing them up. I personally may suspect Valentin’s article of trying to spread division, but that doesn’t mean that we as a group shouldn’t fully support Valentin or believe whatever he says about his personal experiences. The fear and hatred of any ethnic group is clearly wrong, full stop.
@Valentin
“but thank you for your acknowledgement.”
Lol, no thanks necessary. Although… if you want to give me any cookies, I don’t think I’ve ever had any Ukrainian food. And, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dessert that I haven’t liked, so… :p
” expect such words and behaviour from rightwings and fascists and even though I am upset, I feel there is no point to argue with them.”
I think we should argue with Nazis and fascists so that they don’t win. But no, I don’t think there would be much of a point to go into that particular thread and start an argument with them, either. I’m just going to go back to digging my bunker, because hate begets hate, and this world clearly sucks.
Let me just point one more thing out: I find the article’s focus on racism towards slavic people a little weird as well. I mean, I’m a dumb ignorant American and even I tend to think “ethnically diverse” when I think of Russia.
But maybe I’m missing something, maybe I’m just stupid. I just found it odd.
@Buttercup
“and bending over to kiss Putin’s ass”.
Dear fucking god, don’t tell me that’s an exercise program now. I just can’t wait to see the informercials for it at night. I thought the ones for P90x and “natural male enhancement” were bad.
Sorry for making a double post, yet again. Missing my edit windows.
@Dormousing_It
” Heh. Fireworks. I have a nephew from New Jersey who visited me in Pennsylvania some time ago…I think he only agreed to come for the visit with his father, my half-brother, in order to purchase fireworks at all the roadside stands. Legal in Pennsylvania, not in New Jersey.”
I wanted to only be silly, but that was an awesome story. It sounds like the plot for some amazing National Lampoon fanfiction that never will be. T_T
In unrelated news, I think my poor laptop is dying. I’m not surprised – the backing peeled off the monitor years ago, the coating bubbled off the case not long after, half the keyboard’s missing, the DVD drive, USB ports and internal fans never worked and it was on fire* a lot more often than laptops should be – but damnit, I’m going to miss that little trooper. *salutes*
*This is not a joke.
*Waves* Slav here. But I don’t sound slavic and since I’m white, don’t look it, so I’m personally not affected by this behavior. But it’s absolutely a thing. It has been since forever. I’ll reiterate again: just because you haven’t personally seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Just like I didn’t notice the anti-black racism around me growing up doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. It just means my privilege allowed me to not even so much as notice it exists. That’s how little it affects me. Valya? He’s affected by anti-slavic sentiment (which is enough of a thing to have it’s own wikipedia article with several sub-articles about each specific sub-population). I’m only tangentially affected, having heard stories about how the slavic community was treated when my parents and grandparents were growing up.
SFHC, call me over-demanding, but “should never be on fire” is in my top three requirements for a laptop.
I recently had to replace the keyboard on my Dell XPS-13 (quite a cute little laptop, if you don’t mind the NostrilCam). So many tiny screws to remove.
so I read his article again and I think (maybe) we coming from different directions. because actually never talks about direct ‘racism against slavs’. I read it from my view – I follow him on Twitter. I have read some of his other articles. I have read similar things and similar conversations on Twitter and I think it is important we clear on what difference he talks about. he doesn’t mean and others who think same don’t mean – ‘liberals saying Slavs aren’t white, Slavs are scarey’. what they talk about is, for examples, arguments about antisemitism and nationalism in Ukraine. which because these liberals concerned about Jewish Ukrainians and minorities (good) but when people tell them for example, Ukrainians are not more racist and Nazi than any other European country (maybe less, people forget about Poland and Austria or something?!). and instead of liberals will say, yes you show me a new info and info of someone who lives in this place – instead they will say, no looks like you too are nazi! you too are nationalist! ? and you try to explain, even more, Russians also saying this so they can justify invasion of Ukraine because they ‘fight nazis’ who attack ethnic russians and poroshenko who support nazis, they will also avoid this. many times when I say this statement, people simply don’t reply.
this is why this discussion is important. it is easy to see clear racism or xenophobia, and easy to fight. harder to see things which disguise like kindness or concern but which still ignorant. and it is hard to criticise people who share your political ideas.
even yesterday, with my small information I defended Duterte! but then I listen to others and realise I am ignorant. my info only from one place – middle class Filipinos who can easily forget about what cruel and heartless things Duterte done.
Interesting: Article about bots (Russian or otherwise) editing Wikipedia to provide support for fake news, and the UK inquiry into them.
Problem: Article is from the Daily Mail – fake news from before it was cool.
Hi! I don’t want to get into fight-mode or nothing, but I just wanted to chime in that anti-slavic sentiments appear from the left from my perspective. Our media is soaking in anti-slavic sentiment. They’re practically a go-to villain, opposition, or general underhanded-shady-person archetype.
More generally, it’s so important to be aware of our biases and our failures. This is a hard thing to do. We see right-wing peeps saying and doing horrible things, and it’s really easy to think I’m better than them, I don’t make those sorts of mistakes. And that’s wrong. The things that lead them to make those mistakes exist in our minds, too, and are just as capable of leading us astray as it is them.
When someone says they’re being treated unfairly, I try to believe them first. They’re giving me a window into my own biases. Even if they’re wrong (i.e. MRAs) that information is still really useful. Don’t ignore it.
Your mileage may vary. That’s just what I try to do!
SFHC,
http://s17.postimg.org/f9p7ute5b/Fluttershy_Salute_Avatar.png
Godspeed, brave lappy.
@Mrex
How else would you characterise
then? Certainly smells like “I’ve not seen it therefore it don’t exist” to me.
@SFCH
How are you going to give your laptop a proper ceremonial pyre? It’s used to burning?!
I will say again – Trump given weapons to Ukrainian army. looks like he bitten Putin’s ass instead?
@Kupo
“I’ll reiterate again: just because you haven’t personally seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Didn’t say I’ve never seen it. I think that I’ve spoken repeatedly about how anyone who isn’t a WASP is held to the outside of being white in the US. How we’re “whitish”.
I just don’t buy the article. I don’t buy that the American left consists of a bunch of Nazis waiting to get Poles or Fins or Ukrainains or Russians because they’re SLAVS. I believe that Slavophobia exists in the US, I just don’t believe his article that Ukrainians should be terrified of the US because we’re all deeply Slavophobic.
As I said, there is more than one argument going on, and we should be careful not to mix them up. Valentin’s article being wrong =/= Slavophobia doesn’t exist in the US.
Lastly; stop assuming that you know anything about my personal life, kupo. That includes my ethnicity, or my experiences, or even my motivations. K? 🙂
ETA: I got ninja’d by several people, I’m just reading your posts now, I’m not ignoring anyone.
@mrex: Thanks. At least I’m potentially proficient in something.
I really doubt my nephew had a burning desire to visit the battlefields at Gettysburg. I didn’t, either. Only went on this little road trip because my father, who had been ill, wanted to go. I bought some sparklers, out of nostalgia, because I liked them as a child.
Your story about the billboards down south…it seems to me, the further south or west I go, the more outrageous they get. I saw some in Indiana advertising a chain of adult bookstores ( this was in 2011 – who goes to adult bookstores anymore, what with all the internet porn? Maybe truckers, since these were billboards along the highway, after all). The chain was called “The Lion’s Den”, or something like that. It pictured two lions mating.
RE: medical exam. For those hoping for a biological end to our current nightmare, his father lived to be in his nineties. I believe his mother did, too, or damned close. I can’t be bothered to check.
this is not what the article says. there is not one kind of russophobic behaviours. in fact, that is what this article tries to say! that this ^^^ which you mention is such russophobia that Russia uses against its people. but that left wing russophobia is different but also harmful.
this is simply one article. it represents bigger arguement and maube it does not put so well. maybe it rely that you already come from same direction as who written it. but I think even this guy will never say liberal’s make this statement. and also like I just said in my other comments, this ‘russophobia’ actually can be about saying some eastern Europeans are nazis themself.
looking at kupo comment even though she quote you, I believe this ‘you’ is collective you. especially when you remember shadowplay reply to GOM about what he said about what he personally not seen.
I don’t think anyone’s ethnicity is actually important to this arguement. even if I am not ‘Slavic’ I still will make this argument and believe what I believe because of what information I also learn which is not my personal experience.
The slavs thing reminds me of Paul Ryan’s reaction to Trump’s comments which was to make some weaksauce condemnations then pivot to talking about how the Irish were discriminated against so he knows what it’s like, lol. I’m Irish and German/Czech so not super WASPy but always been read as just generically white. Prejudice against non-WASP white people was archaic a century ago, it’s not remotely comparable anymore.
@Valentin: I doubt many Americans are anti-Slavic. So many of us, myself included, have Slavic ancestry.
BTW, your English is great. Sadly, it’s probably better than many Americans who speak only English. Your English vocabulary definitely is.
@Valya
Yeesh! One of my coworkers is an older Filipino lady. One time, she was talking about where she’s from and why she left, etc etc. Anyway, she then blames the country’s problems on drugs and says Duterte is great, cos he’s getting rid of them. Conveniently forgot to mention that he’s doing so by having the users of said drugs murdered… So, yeah, can totally see how you can get an incomplete view of the regime that way. Obviously #notallfilipinos
@JoeB
*points to the Ashkenazim* Just sayin…
@Dormousing
~6% of the US population claims a Slavic ancestry
You’ve probably all already seen it, but if not:
Captain Picard – with hair.
It’s discomfiting.
dormousing
thanks. it is easy to cheat little bit too with predictive text and translator)) sometimes I just type what word I want to say and copy paste translate and forget spelling? problem is in many languages translator are not so good because they translate one word each time so if endings need to change sometimes this is incorrect. but English doesn’t have endings like Russian.
but like I said this is not about ethnicity. if you agree with belief or ideology only because of ethnicity then this is not correct. I also mentioned before I know plenty of people in USA are from eastern Europe but if you are such person for example who run from soviet terror and grow in US or born there and only this your heritage it will not protect you. and of course I will say again, liberal russophobia not about bullshit Nazi arguments like Slavs aren’t white, which ethnic Slavs and eastern Europeans in USA of course will not make – it is about other things I mention – things harder to see. things disguised as kindness and concern. or strange beliefs based on ignorance.
but really what is a biggest issue here is that people simply refusing even to discuss this – that it even possible for liberals to have harmful beliefs about this. but we happy to talk about ‘hipster racism’, ‘intersectionality’ and other things, when we criticise our friends and allies – so why this topic is so difficult to discuss?
after years of stereotypes and propaganda from east and west it is very important we talk about this and all grey places between black and the white.