BougieBirdie

No joke, I opened this thread to comment on it last night and forgot until I saw it in my feed again today.

I started keeping a diary, and I found that helps. Something about writing things down helps encode memories, but then if you do forget you have a reminder.

In particular my gratitude journal is helpful. I often find myself in a state where I can’t think of a single good thing going on in my life. But then going through it I read about how a stray cat came to sit in my lap in the garden, and while I didn’t remember that before I read it the memories come flooding back.

Your gaming experience sounds similar to mine. I used to love MMOs (probably to the point of addiction tbh) but wouldn’t talk to people if I could help it. I don’t really play MMOs anymore, but now that also means I can avoid public matchmaking like poison.

It’s something about the anonymity of the internet, the unlikelihood of encountering each other again, or just the frustration present in some games which turns people into the nastiest sort of keyboard warrior.

And now I’m on Lemmy. The irony mounts.

It seems there’s a trend of pushing games towards community. And I’m sure that’s great for the people who like that sort of thing. But typically I want to play in a private lobby with my friends, and not have strangers running around goofing on me in public zones.

That’s not to say I don’t appreciate a good goof, I just want to goof on my terms

A lot of people are in here saying propaganda and manipulation are inherently bad. And while I agree that in the current media landscape it’s used in an overwhelmingly negative way, it doesn’t have to be.

Consider that everyone is a victim of propaganda. Literally. Everyone. You probably don’t realize all of your own biases because that’s how the system works.

Imagine you see two posters / articles / memes or whatever side by side about vaccines. One says “vaccines cause autism, protect your loved ones,” and the other says, “get vaccinated, protect your loved ones.” They’re both propaganda. However, the latter is much more grounded in truth than the other.

If a doctor offers a child a lollipop if they’re brave during their vaccination, that’s manipulation. But it’s still a good thing because the kid gets vaccinated.

Anyhow, manipulation and propaganda (particularly in the modern sense of the word) are typically used as the tools of bad people. And if people become very entrenched in their views, they no longer listen to reason. Sometimes propaganda and manipulation might be the only way to get someone to change their harmful views.

I’d obviously prefer to live in a world where people do the right thing because it’s the right thing, and not because they’ve been tricked into it. But sadly that isn’t the world we live in.

I do think there’s nuance to be had. “Vaccines protect against disease,” is a truthful statement and will stand up to scrutiny. “Vaccines add two inches to your dick,” might be a more effective way to get people to try a vaccine. But when an antivaxxer tries it and discovers that their unit did not, in fact, double in length, then they’ll turn back around to antivaxxing with a new fervour.

Anyway, I prefer that my biases are grounded in truth. Show me the data, teach me the science, reach out and help me. Unfortunately, for many people they prefer their biases to be grounded in social inclusion. Peer pressure is a hell of a drug.

Reading the post title made me think “well, I guess it depends on the allegations and gravity of the corruption.” You know, some things I wouldn’t find earth shattering like shoplifting, or maybe accepting bribes which don’t hurt anyone (ex that’s probably no longer relevant: giving the cable guy $100 to get free cable)

Then I read the post body, and yikes, this is on a whole other level. And I still believe anyone is entitled the benefit of the doubt and that allegations aren’t convictions. But he’s a judge so allegations of corruption are probably the worst allegations that someone in his office could receive. Especially when you consider that he’s in a position to make other people allegations turn into acquittals, so I’d be wondering who’s doing the same for him.

And again, I don’t know enough about the situation. But if I was in your shoes I imagine I’d be equally suspicious.

You say you’re dark on the finances, would you say that together you share a lavish lifestyle? While not exactly a nail in the coffin, wealth is often an indicator of corruption.

Just to play devil’s advocate, if a group of people come together with allegations that still doesn’t mean he did it. However, if I asked him about it I couldn’t take his answer at face value either because these are serious allegations being corroborated by others. I’d imagine you’re too close to be impartial, and I’d reserve judgement until he receives… well, judgement.

Honestly though, if a judge is facing complaints of corruption then they kind of have to address them or else it indicates their corruption. If he’s been sitting on these complaints or turning them away, then I’d be highly suspicious of him.

Anyway, it sounds like these allegations have already impacted your relationship. Maybe if they were proven unfounded that might be something you could reconcile about. But if the allegations are based on truth, I’d be very careful. I wouldn’t feel safe being around someone like that personally, especially if he knew I had a low opinion of him

CEO is usually my answer as well when people ask

Like, honestly too. The humans running the show are outrageously expensive, cause huge ecological harm, make their decisions based on vibes with no understanding of their domain, and their purposes are inscrutable to the average worker. They’re honestly the perfect target for AI because they already behave like AI.

I don’t think I actually want to live in a world where AI is running the show, but I’m not sure it’d be any worse than the current system of letting the most parasitic bloodsucking class of human being call the shots. Maybe we ought to try something else first.

But make sure to tell the board of directors and shareholders how much more profitable they’d be if they didn’t have to buy golden parachutes

You’ve found a way to sum up how I feel. I haven’t been able to put it in words, but the place definitely has a different vibe post-ressurection

That’s not to say I’m not happy to see more activity. I just miss the “fantasy retro” computers

The most attractive part about blockchain is the decentralized ledger showing each transaction made.

I feel like greater minds than mine could come up with a way to use that to fight government corruption. Every transaction is a matter of public record.

I doubt it’s really a practical solution though. Each transaction makes each subsequent transaction more computationally expensive. Plus all these vendors and contractors and everything are accustomed to fiat currency. Likely, they’d just immediately exchange it for cash.

This of course doesn’t tackle the issue of under-the-table corruption where you invite a senator out for lunch and kickbacks. I’m also sure that the government would want to maintain their own ledger, or that conniving people will find a way to cook the books anyway.