My Snail Shell

Murderbot 💙💙💙

I've seen so many people talk about how certain types of discrimination exist specifically and deliberately to uphold capitalism or something, and most of the time they're just... things that happened. Bad habits we got into as a society, long before anyone alive today was born.

Like, the root of anti-black racism was not an accident. It was economically convenient for major powers in Europe to have a group of people they could exploit for slave labor and a continent that could be looted for valuables by nations that were trying to become global empires. That's not accidental, even if it wasn't a conspiracy. No one sat down at a table and plotted it out illuminati-style, but pretending that these systems popped up "accidentally", a "bad habit" that occurred through no one's fault, is really, entirely incorrect.

Political leaders have exploited pre-existing biases for deliberate ends since the dawn of recorded history, whether they are consciously aware of what they're doing or not. And those pre-existing biases also did not develop "accidentally", but due to culture clashes (a culture with a cannibalism taboo interacting with a culture without one, for example), zenophobia, greedy political leaders, propaganda, confirmation bias, and other aspects of human psychology and culture.

What I was trying to say, fundamentally, is that many things that were deliberate once are not deliberate anymore. That's what I meant by 'bad habits' - things may have started because of deliberate choices (generally bad ones, but not always; see the top comment for a good example of this), but that context has been lost, and now, a lot of the time, we just do things because 'that's how things are done.'

I initially wrote this because I'm Jewish, and I was tired of seeing people talk about shadowy elites making decisions that hurt all of us in secret back rooms like they weren't parroting Nazi talking points. I was tired of seeing people practically quoting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion without seeming to realize that's what they were doing. Oppression is a many-layered beast, and some things are very much deliberate, but I think there are fewer of those than people are comfortable with. There is very rarely a single enemy, or even a small group of enemies, that you can pinpoint as the source of oppression - that's why we talk about systems of oppression in the first place.

Would getting rid of billionaires help the world economy begin to recover from the stagnancy and poverty it's been falling into over the years? Absolutely. Would it solve racism, since racism and classism are intimately tied - and, as you pointed out, since slavery, one of the forces that still echoes through and drives antiblack racism to this day, was itself initially driven by economic decisions? Absolutely not, and the idea that it would is one I've seen far too often. Racism is deeply entrenched in our society, legally and socially as well as economically. People are not going to forget their prejudice just because they're able to feed themselves and keep a roof over their heads. The laws that continue to oppress people of color and even force them into modern-day slavery are not going to rewrite themselves. Because at this point, that's 'just the way things are done.'

I do think we broadly agree! It's completely true that systems of oppression can't be dissolved simply by finding the "right person" or "right group of people" to target. Even when there are genuinely dangerous, bigoted people who are driving oppressive systems (see billionaires, or the leaders of certain political administrations) removing them from power wouldn't solve anything overnight.

And on top of that, there is always a danger of misattributing the people who actually need to be removed from positions of power and punching down the social pecking order instead of punching up. Many people who get into conspiracy theories start out by recognizing that there is real systemic inequality in the world, only to have that genuine frustration with those-in-power be diverted onto completely innocent groups who have little to no systematic privilege to begin with, much less a secret council sinisterly controlling the world. (The most obvious example being antisemitic conspiracy theories, though you can also see similar beliefs among anti-trans bigots.) It’s always easier to punch down than up, and bullying those with less power than you have yourself is seductively satisfying.

There are no grand conspiracies orchestrated by a shadowy organization outside the public eye. In contrast, most of the most dangerous people in the world are extremely public--your Donald Trumps, your Jeff Bezoses. And much of the work of upholding systems of oppression doesn't even come from them, but from ordinary people who, without any initial malicious intent at all, imitate the systems they were born into. The people who refuse to vote or vote for candidates who promise them easy cathartic solutions to complex issues, who give into suspicion of their neighbors, who repeat bigoted stereotypes without considering their ramifications. I might not call it "accidental", per se, but I would say that a lot of bigotry is thoughtless.

Which might sound bleak on the surface, but the truth is that people, en masse, are often much easier to convince to leave their bigotries behind than you might expect. Education, empathy, diverse communities, the chance to live alongside people who are different from us--these are all valuable tools in dismantling oppressive systems. Perhaps the most valuable ones we have.

Americans:

From Wikipedia: A graham cracker is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour.

The next ingredient (which is also extremely traditionally American but slightly more variable) is typically Hershey's chocolate, but you could probably swap this out in the UK with any plain chocolate bar.

Last ingredient is big marshmallows, the kind you do the chubby bunny challenge with, like the size of your thumb and twice as thick.

A proper s'more, the most traditional possible variety, involves to graham cracker squares, two slab segments of Hershey's chocolate, and one to two marshmallows depending on your preference for filling and gooeyness. You put a slab of chocolate on one of the graham cracker squares. Your marshmallows should be toasted, usually over a campfire but if you're doing them at home over a gas stove burner is fine, but the fire part is critical. You can toast them to whatever degree you like, some people like them nice and golden brown but still kind of firm in the middle, me personally? I want that bitch to CATCH ON FIRE, I want it gooey and sticky as hell in the middle, crispy and burnt on the outside. Slap that motherfucker on your graham cracker and chocolate square, top with the other one so your marshmallow and chocolate are sandwiched together by graham cracker on the outside. You do this with your freshly toasted marshmallow because ideally it will be hot enough to start to melt the chocolate so it sticks to the marshmallow and the graham cracker and, combined with the gooey marshmallow, it keeps the whole thing together, and for that reason some people will let them sit for a hot second to let the melting process happen (especially if like me you have chocolate on BOTH graham cracker squares, not just one, because you're a sugar fiend), but if you are a young child you do not have that degree of patience and you eat that shit immediately, unmelted chocolate and all. Consume your summer camp delight like a tiny club sandwich, get gooey sticky marshmallow and chocolate all over your hands, and enjoy.

The first is that you don't pull the marshmallow off the roasting stick and somehow put it on the chocolate. Your staging area will look something like this, with the graham crackers and chocolate already set out (though not usually on the fire like this, for us it was always someone's lap or a picnic table or something)

And when your marshmallow has reached appropriate roasting perfection, you use the graham crackers to slide it off the stick.

and ideally, as a CHILD you are using a literal stick. Like you walked around and spent time looking for The Perfect Stick off the ground while the adults set up the fire. It has to be thin enough the marshmallow will fit, sturdy enough that it won't bow, long enough that you won't burn yourself roasting your marshmallow. And preferably doesn't have a lot of bark that's sloughing off, OR so much bar sloughing off you can peel it all back and get to the clean stick under it. If you're smart, you might stick the tip into the fire first to "wash" it/burn off anything that was still lingering, but. well, most kids don't.

When you bite in, the marshmallow and chocolate SHOULD ooze out all over you. If you don't kinda look like this eating it, you've probably done it wrong:

You find a spot, not above all the logs where everyone sticks their marshmallows by default, but at the heart of the fire. Ideally between a couple logs already glowing gold. Something like here:

Below the leaping flame. Near the logs. There's probably only one or two spots good enough for this on any given fire, but that's okay because everyone else is up above. They will get their marshmallows faster. They will be either firm or burned or both. That's not your goal.

Rotate the marshmallow slowly. Ideally come in at an angle so the part closest to the flame is the side, not the tip. The spot closest to the fire is the spot that turns a crispy golden brown, and you want that everywhere, on the tip and around the circle.

You keep going, slowly turning, for several minutes. Several people will rotate in and out of the higher sections, getting their fast delight. Eventually, your marshmallow will start sagging badly, risking falling. Maybe it does fall and got start over. But eventually it will be golden brown all over, and so liquid it no longer clings to the stick. It is ready, finally.

You say "who hasn't gotten one yet?" And deposit it onto their waiting graham crackers and chocolate. You've made an excellent marshmallow. It isn't for you. Get another while you're over by the bags and go back to the heart of the fire.

That's your evening. One, slow, perfect marshmallow at a time, given to whomever still wants s'more. You're making art for children to stuff into their mouths cheerfully. You're watching the movement of the fire and the heat of the logs, like you would if you were maintaining it — maybe you would be, maybe you were the one who built it — but right now that's not the goal. Let someone else put more logs on, while you take only the one stick and find the best spot for it to live.

You will, eventually, finish a marshmallow and find that nobody moves to accept it. Maybe they're all eating right now, or maybe they've gone through so many they're hesitating. Eat your masterpiece then. Enjoy it, the hardest and most perfect result from a fun and beautiful moment. Go back in for another, until you've run out of marshmallows and the fire is too low or until even you are done with s'mores, until you have made enough.

If YOU use any RPG Maker engines or are considering using one, YOU should let them know that we don't want decades of RPG Maker support and history taken down. Especially when the intention seems to be discouraging people from using older versions. I personally still use RPG Maker MV because privately made MZ plugins are often made with AI, and the more recent RPG Maker versions they've released are Unity plugins and not their own seperate program, and I'm not interested in Unity at all.

Let them know you want an archive here:

And contact the admins on the new forum:

I saw this when running newpipe. But wait, it gets deeper. I clicked on the details buttons and it said as of today, we have 83 days left until Google rolls out this new requirement for apps inside and outside of the google play store. If any developer disagrees with their new terms and fees, they will be blocked!

I'll share some of the info below:

Looks like they're trying to nuke the remaining privacy and freedoms we have left on the internet.

What to do?

-Get your developer friends to not comply to their new guides

- Sign the open letter on the site and take action by checking out the full resources list on their website as well!

To summarize, this is all daunting especially when you feel all alone with unfair and inhumane regulations comming out faster than improvements but we got this working together!

Share the link with your friends, family and anyone who will listen!

1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.

2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.

3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."

4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.