gpl's recent activity

  1. Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes

    gpl
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    It's my initials.

    It's my initials.

    5 votes

  2. Comment on Taylor Swift fans are leaving X for Bluesky after Donald Trump’s US election in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    It's a dumb term, but I've seen it recently used to describe the kinda of obviously grifting left-wing accounts on Twitter. Things like Meidas Touch, BrooklynDad, maybe Lincoln Project, etc. At...

    It's a dumb term, but I've seen it recently used to describe the kinda of obviously grifting left-wing accounts on Twitter. Things like Meidas Touch, BrooklynDad, maybe Lincoln Project, etc. At least that is how I've been using it.

    14 votes

  3. Comment on Taylor Swift fans are leaving X for Bluesky after Donald Trump’s US election in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Here is a searchable directory of starter packs that stays relatively updated. Search for topics related to your interests! https://blueskydirectory.com/starter-packs/all (@trim, you might be...

    Here is a searchable directory of starter packs that stays relatively updated. Search for topics related to your interests! https://blueskydirectory.com/starter-packs/all

    (@trim, you might be interested as well)

    8 votes

  4. Comment on Taylor Swift fans are leaving X for Bluesky after Donald Trump’s US election in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    Yup, I agree 100% on each of those. The ability to instantly block MAGA heads as well as annoying "Blue MAGA" grifter accounts has made the experience so enjoyable. I joined about a year ago and...

    Yup, I agree 100% on each of those. The ability to instantly block MAGA heads as well as annoying "Blue MAGA" grifter accounts has made the experience so enjoyable. I joined about a year ago and this week it has finally started to feel like a bona fide replacement for old Twitter, before the Musk takeover. The moderation tools are really nice too, like the ability to detach quote posts to avoid dunks and such. I'm excited to see it grow.

    11 votes

  5. Comment on Taylor Swift fans are leaving X for Bluesky after Donald Trump’s US election in ~society

    gpl
    Link
    It's not just swifties, too! Seems like Bluesky has gained ~ millions (?) of new users this week and the place is starting to approach a good critical mass. I've been enjoying it.

    It's not just swifties, too! Seems like Bluesky has gained ~ millions (?) of new users this week and the place is starting to approach a good critical mass. I've been enjoying it.

    34 votes

  7. Comment on Federal Reserve cuts its key interest rate by a quarter-point amid postelection uncertainty in ~finance

    gpl
    Link Parent
    People already suffered due to their choices — in the first Trump administration — and yet he won again and with larger margins than the first time. Historically, when economic conditions...

    People already suffered due to their choices — in the first Trump administration — and yet he won again and with larger margins than the first time. Historically, when economic conditions deteriorate, people do not turn to "proper reforms". They turn to authoritarians and strongmen. Trump could crash the economy on day one and large swathes of the country would blame the Democrats. So what exactly is the point other than causing widespread suffering?

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Federal Reserve cuts its key interest rate by a quarter-point amid postelection uncertainty in ~finance

    gpl
    Link Parent
    I get the temptation to let things crash and burn on Trump's watch, but there's a whole lotta people who would be reaping what they did not sow. Economic crashes leave people destitute, destroy...

    I get the temptation to let things crash and burn on Trump's watch, but there's a whole lotta people who would be reaping what they did not sow. Economic crashes leave people destitute, destroy families and lives, and create the conditions which breed fascism. We should be trying to avoid that.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society

    gpl
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    I think the main thing that Democrats have to grapple with and catch up with is the media environment. It doesn't work to just blanket people with ads anymore. People digest information in...

    I think the main thing that Democrats have to grapple with and catch up with is the media environment. It doesn't work to just blanket people with ads anymore. People digest information in different ways now. There is an entire right wing media sphere, from podcasts to streamers to Musk's X to Fox News to Newsmax etc, that has completely captured huge swathes of the population. Until Democrats find a way to counter this none of those other things will matter. Policy does not matter if that policy is presented to people filtered through these outlets. Messaging does not matter. We are at the point where even the "facts on the ground" do not matter. If the internet is telling people that the country is in the shitter and overrun by criminals and immigrants, even if they do not experience it in the quotidian, they will believe it. Some of these issues are not new (e.g. Fox News), but the scale is absolutely different now.

    6 votes

  11. Comment on Elections: ultimately, it’s going to be okay in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    They need to be approved by the Senate. One must remember that our system was set up as checks and balances between branches of government, not between parties. The thought was that...

    They need to be approved by the Senate. One must remember that our system was set up as checks and balances between branches of government, not between parties. The thought was that self-interested branches would act to conserve their own power. But with parties that goes out the window.

    7 votes

  12. Comment on American election mental health thread in ~health.mental

    gpl
    Link
    This post by Chuck Wendig sums up a lot of my feeling. It was cathartic to read and know others feel the same. https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2024/11/06/this-is-a-doom-post/

    This post by Chuck Wendig sums up a lot of my feeling. It was cathartic to read and know others feel the same. https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2024/11/06/this-is-a-doom-post/

    6 votes

  13. Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    The final results are yet unknown, but I am certain that as with 2016 and 2020 the Democrats will win large majorities of the non-white working class. Those people are subject to the exact same...

    The final results are yet unknown, but I am certain that as with 2016 and 2020 the Democrats will win large majorities of the non-white working class. Those people are subject to the exact same dynamics that you outline in your post but did not vote for Trump. Not really sure how you can boil this down to a pure class argument without confronting that.

    I agree that people feel the economy is bad. But when his solution is 20% tariffs and mass deportations, moved which will absolutely crater the economy, I find it hard to take the economic frustration argument seriously. People are mad at the economy and want to take it out on immigrants. That’s what this boils down to.

    12 votes

  14. Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    I agree with you. I meant the situation is depressing, not that we can ‘only’ focus on our communities. It is depressing because there are many people out there (gay, trans, minorities etc) who do...

    I agree with you. I meant the situation is depressing, not that we can ‘only’ focus on our communities. It is depressing because there are many people out there (gay, trans, minorities etc) who do not exist in a community to support them. We can help locally but that leaves a lot of people stranded.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    I hate to be a downer, but I am unsure whether we will even have a “next election” in a way that is free and fair. We are in uncharted territory. I genuinely believe that until the information...

    I think the wrong lesson here is to point fingers at voters who chose wrong and dream of the next election where they might choose the right candidate.

    I hate to be a downer, but I am unsure whether we will even have a “next election” in a way that is free and fair. We are in uncharted territory. I genuinely believe that until the information environment gets fixed, it does not matter who the Democrats run.

    It does not matter if Democrats run on a perfect populist platform if that platform does not reach the average person.

    23 votes

  16. Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    This is exactly how I feel. I genuinely feel the most we can do is focus locally in our communities. This is so depressing,

    This is exactly how I feel. I genuinely feel the most we can do is focus locally in our communities. This is so depressing,

    6 votes

  17. Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society

    gpl
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    The margins on this loss are big enough that it doesn’t come down to any one “group”. There is no “if only the Democrats did xyz”. Donald Trump ran a truly horrendous campaign and might win the...

    The margins on this loss are big enough that it doesn’t come down to any one “group”. There is no “if only the Democrats did xyz”. Donald Trump ran a truly horrendous campaign and might win the popular vote. If nothing else, the media environment is unbelievably fucked and until that is addressed this will not get better.

    I am numb in a way I wasn’t in 2016. Any remaining sense of hope or even affection for this country left in me is severely diminished. Our institutions, everything, failed us, and a lot of people will pay the price over the next 4 years. Hang in there all.

    51 votes

  18. Comment on US Election Distractions Thread in ~talk

    gpl
    Link Parent
    My mnemonic for e.g. is "example given", but same for i.e.!

    My mnemonic for e.g. is "example given", but same for i.e.!

    21 votes

  19. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 4 in ~society

    gpl
    Link Parent
    For the past week I have felt oddly... calm? I believe Kamala is going to win and it won't be close.

    For the past week I have felt oddly... calm? I believe Kamala is going to win and it won't be close.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on A very deep history of Halloween in ~humanities.history

    gpl
    Link
    Really enjoyed this and some of the linked articles. I just listened to the author on a somewhat recent-ish episode of Mindscape with Sean Carroll, about his book Tripping on Utopia. This has just...

    Really enjoyed this and some of the linked articles. I just listened to the author on a somewhat recent-ish episode of Mindscape with Sean Carroll, about his book Tripping on Utopia. This has just reinforced my desire to check it out.

    5 votes