I didn't link anything specifically for two reasons. For one, I didn't feel obligated to go sifting through a post I didn't especially enjoy the first time. For two, it was an effort to meet the same energy as "check the modlog".

Was I right in either of those, maybe not. I'll own that.

On the other hand if you don't have any notable issues with that comment I have my doubts you'd be more critical of anything I've seen on my instance.

But at the end of the day we're all different people with different insights and opinions. Am I wrong about how a comment reads to me and you're right? Is it the other way around? Neither. We're both right about how it reads to us. But that's not likely to change how you view my sincerity.

Which you're less likely to be able to do with name calling and aggressive behavior, yes?

I wouldn't know

Plenty of my patience has been met with thrown vitriol and asshole behavior in here too. I've tried to respond in the way I've been met. I'm not perfect and I'm sure I've failed in places but I'm also out here by myself.

So if it breaks one person away but twenty more say they knew they were right about all them and refuse to ever attempt to engage in discussion again, that's good?

Yeah, it's fucked. We have people insisting that trans people are grooming kids while preachers keep getting arrested for actually doing far more than the trans folks are even accused of. But if you throw a whole lot of the country into the deep end of the pool they'll just drown while they take all the lifeguards down with them. But if you can let them dip their toes in the shallow end then you may find them swimming laps before you realize.

So because some people are so much worse it's ok to be crappy? That doesn't really jive with me. We should all always be trying to be better than we have been before.

Shall we go bit by bit?

A: “I .....

where did I say anything at all about NATO?

Idgaf what you call people, you are an imperialist piece of shit either way.

Based on what? Specifically. What imperialistic behavior have I exhibited, where, and how was it such? You are under no obligation to answer any of that of course, but without specifics I'm forced to assume you're just resorting to name calling because you don't like my opinions.

Yes, England and Japan are both racist allies of america.

So it's not unique, like I said.

The current nations which...

Where are you drawing the line for current. China has existed since well into BCE dates, and Russia since around the 18th century by the same calendar in use here.

I dont see how this hypothetical masturbation of the intellect is relevant to america and its allies having a historical record of perpetrating and supporting white supremacist genocides and a global system of capitalist exploitation for their interests

It's directly relevant to the statement that "Neither was founded in the genocide of an entire nation's worth of indigenous peoples". If we're being pedantic it's also several nations worth, but the quote is your words. If a thing is not bound by its origins then the statement was most likely made to provoke emotional response. It seems likely that you assumed I either didn't know or didn't care about said genocide. Both are wrong. More likely, however, is that it's a set up for how bad the US is. Incredibly bad, yeah. But does the starting state determine everything or is it just one step in a road? Are bad things tallied or averaged? Surely that needs to be considered if we're to weigh a country as young as the US against one as old as China.

while china and russia dont

based on what? Leaving western media out of it I have been privy to first hand accounts of life in both and that's a mighty claim you're making.

america is fundamentally a racist, imperialist, genocidal country because the very idea of america itself is founded on the notion of white supremacy and thus the invasion of foreign lands with the former as justification for slaughtering everyone there and ruining the environment for ones personal enrichment.

and we're back to founding. are you your parents? Yes, America is fucked and has been for its whole run. Is it beyond fixing? What if your grand parents were racist imperialist pieces of shit? Are you then beyond the possiblity for anything good?

America literally means nothing but misery and despair for the vast majority of people on earth

That's bold. I bet a lot of people don't think about it at all in their day to day lives.

everyone fucking hates it

provably false. I know several immigrants who love it here. I can't understand why, but it changes nothing.

including the remnants of the indigenous people who it genocided upon its founding

Also provably false. I know several people who had families here before Europeans came over who think it needs a lot of work and needs to do a whole hell of a lot better, but they would not say they hate it.

And it can mean nothing more because its like saying nazi fucking germany is “capable of good”, no it isnt, its a fascist state that was rightfully destroyed.

How was it destroyed in a way that America seemingly can't be?

So far your whole spiel sounds an awful lot like "America bad, China good, fuck you if you disagree". I can only agree with one part of that.

Being able to tell the concerns of a person based off limited interactions over the Internet is a skill the world has never observed.

Being willing to assume you know such things, however, is incredibly common

Its so funny how you guys became so used to being able to live in an echo chamber of western capitalist propaganda on reddit, then moved here, then had that bubble popped by us and lemmygrad, then became INCREDIBLY DESPERATE to get away from opinions you previously were sheltered from. Its just a funny reaction to witness.

Probably not the most extreme example but it was relatively easy to find

All media is lying to you a large part of the time. Yet it's only Western media you seem interested in calling out on it.

On the other end most media is telling you part of the truth or telling the truth part of the time.

They called it popular politics when I was in school

Well done dropping the part where I explained that's likely an exaggeration. The source is out in the open. You're as free to look on my home instance as I am to look at your modlog.

I think they'd be as honest as their enemy is about them. Why would I assume that it's only one side lying about the other?

Beyond that the best lies are rooted in truth. Honesty happens with enough frequency to make the lies credible.

Then there's also the openness to influence I keep with people all over the world. Looking at varying points of view is so often the path to truth.

So it's only a possibility for millionaires to serve ads and get paid from them? Someone should alert the podcasters and independent app developers.

It's your moral responsibility to "subsidize income" when you're consuming the content someone created in order to afford to live, no?

I'm with you, that's the world I want to create and live in along side with everyone else. That's not the world we live in today and a whole lot of people need to be able to survive before we can get to that point.

A whole lot of people seem to think I'm out here trying to encourage everyone to give up their time and bandwidth to donate to the rich. Not at all. But the idea that they're the only ones who might be getting any money from ads is absurd.

Interestingly enough the library is possibly the analogy I needed. It's funded by your taxes. Tiny little amounts that won't make a difference to you at all but it's still there. I would absolutely object to someone looking through everything I checked out on my way out the door (trackers) as well as salesmen lurking around the whole place (obtrusive ads). I don't mind them setting up displays or flyers on community boards (unobtrusive ads) or late fees (payments). It's also great that the writers and publishers (creators and hosts) are still getting paid since the library still bought the books. It may be tiny amounts per reader, but so are ads.

On the other hand I'm pretty sure most people agree that if you spend the day in a local coffee house using their free Wi-Fi and not buying anything that you'd be an asshole and it would be reasonable for them to kick you out.