this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago

Ask the IRL Christians how the nuclear family shit is going. No shortage of cheating and drug abuse happening, I bet

[–] new_world_odor@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

no racism

white af family is the only visible race

Yeahhhh no fucking thanks.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

If there were only two humans left on Earth, they would find a reason to hate each other.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 12 hours ago

what? no we wouldn't. fuck you for suggesting that.

[i meant that as a joke love you dude]

[–] carpelbridgesyndrome@sh.itjust.works 22 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The helldiver's two launch cutscene does show an interracial couple in a state propaganda video. Racism is one of the few ways the game doesn't to my knowledge show the government being fucked up. Everything else is horrible though

[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 11 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

The helldivers also have randomized skin colour, so soldiers of all races can become elite troops.

[–] MBech@feddit.dk 1 points 6 hours ago

"elite troops"? You haven't met my teammates.

[–] Lauchmelder@feddit.org 10 points 1 day ago

I mean TBF we have a sample size of one family here, but also idk what this post is about so idk idk

[–] vodka@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If there is only one race, racism can't exist? 🤔

[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 2 points 14 hours ago

If everyone had the exact same skin tone, people would still find something else to use as fuel for discrimination.

[–] Complexicate@lemmy.world 10 points 23 hours ago

There is only one human race, and racism still exists.

[–] carpelbridgesyndrome@sh.itjust.works 60 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

They started an unprovoked three front war, prioritize citizens differently based on a state defined class system, got the earth blown up on at least one occasion, use their soldiers as disposable cannon fodder, and send everyone who disagree with them to reeducation camps. Other than that its a swell place.

Its tiring how bad general media literacy is that I can't tell if the 4chan post above is a joke.

[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The 4chan post probably is a joke.

The problem is, with a lot of their jokes, other users can't tell, so it becomes reality. See also, basically everything wrong with the US and MAGA idiots today.

[–] Papierkorb@feddit.org 2 points 7 hours ago

Voting Trump for President started as a joke on 4chan, and later on Reddit with r/The_Donald. And look where it got us, the butterfly effect in full force.

[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I've seen one Lemmy bigbrain recently argue that even when artists are showing mafia or army to be terrible for people in them, they romanticize the mafia and army nonetheless, and that in general media glorifies its subject matter regardless of the author's intent. This schmuck would probably say with a straight face that ‘Helldivers’, or whatever this post is about, actually advocates for its model of utopia even if it pretends not to.

[–] Sunsofold@lemmings.world 6 points 1 day ago (4 children)

The idea of there being no anti-war films is older than Lemmy. The problem is Poe's Law related. You can make a movie or a game that shows the horror of war or the tyranny of distopian totalitarian regimes, but regardless of the intended message, your creation is filtered through your audience's lenses of perception, and some of that audience has been raised to be white supremacists, some have been through schooling that acts more as indoctrination than education, and some of that audience are just seriously fucking stupid.

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[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I get the feeling that this anon would read A Brave New World and have an issue with it being labeled dystopian fiction.

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 5 points 18 hours ago

Even the author of BNW wasn't sure of the world really was a dystopia or not. A lot of people do seem to have a lot of freedom, and most seem happy (or at least, not unhappy). Sure, a lot of questionable things have been done to achieve that goal, but if 99% is happy with their life; can it really be a dystopia?

[–] Jiral@lemmy.org 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

To be fair, I always considered Brave New World a much less dire dystopy than 1984. I mean you have a really hard time arguing otherwise. People are not free in either but if you could choose, don't tell me you'd choose 1984.

But this debate is moot anyway, what we are heading towards is a combination of the worst of 1984 and Brave New World combined.

[–] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 1 points 6 hours ago

I always thought the world in The Sirens of Titan was worst, and most people seemed happy in it. I think that was just a popular religion rather then government mandated.

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 5 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I have always liked that 1984 and A Brave New World are sort of dystopian companion pieces because they explore opposite sides of the spectrum of societies where free will is being suppressed. It has been a minute since I read both, but to me it's a mistake to compare them in terms of which version is worse to live in because yeah, 1984 would win that competition on the surface.

For me, when it comes to A Brave New World, the scary part is the idea of pleasure being used as a weapon to make people apathetic to the world around them and to thinking. There is something so incredibly sinister about this level of pleasure based compliance because there will be people who look at it on the surface and go: it's not so bad. Could be worse.

And it could. It can always be worse. I'm pretty sure that everybody would agree that 1984 is a better world to live in than the world of The Road. It's all relative.

But it's the idea that someone could read A Brave New World or a similar dystopia that disguises itself as a utopia, and ignore the warning signs and think it's fine. Because that, to me, means that such a world would be easier to implement. If people comply willingly, get lulled into that life and just let it happen because it feels good, is conventient and makes their dopamine go bzzt, then there is no need to use force. It's also why several aspects of A Brave New World has become more real in today's world than 1984 has. We have all walked right into it and we stay there because apathy and the nature of convenience and pleasure is something we don't want to give up. In 1984, they want to change the system, but fail. In A Brave New World they behold the outsider who tries to scream sense into them like he's an exotic animal and they do not care to understand his points because to do so would demand effort and hard work for the reward of a free life.

In my country we recently banned smart phones in all schools because the signs of longterm apathy towards learning has started to show in younger generations. Why should they put effort into their homework and assignments when they can get their dopamine hit on tiktok and snapchat with the snap of a finger? In adults in my country, the sense of community and togetherness has dwindled partially because we spend out free time on the phone and don't get bored enough to get together with our neighbors. There's a bit more to it than that, among other things that we outsourced child and eldercare to the state, so we don't really need each other like we used to.

In the world we currently live in, I think it is very important that we keep in mind that if we make everything easy and we waste our time on distractions that doesn't challenge or build us up, we will become apathetic and easier to control. I'm not talking about the state either. Those who control us are the tech giants and everyone who support them in order to steal our attention and time to waste it on additive, shallow nonsense all so companies can sell you stupid shit through ads.

[–] Jiral@lemmy.org 2 points 22 hours ago

Brave New World is sinister but it is more of a "hell is paved with good intentions" story, while 1984 is straight hell with no good good intentions anywhere, the only aim is to secure a regime, from which no one is even really benefitting a lot. I mean the elite does have a materialistically better life but hardly a lavish one while being actually the least free. It is not clear but I always liked to think that there is no real "big brother", no real, guy at the top. The system is just kept up by some double thinkers at the top. Fully exchangeable, with as little freedom as anyone else.

The thing in Brave New World is, that those rejecting the regime are actually free to go. I always found that the world outside was portrayed in a pretty exaggerated way, but one can also believe that this was possible mainly propaganda by the regime itself. Either way, people could leave if they wanted forsake the comfy life and experience struggle and freedom. Even then, when choosing that, their lives would have been materially probably still better than those in 1984.

Like I said, I believe we are heading towards a combination of Brave New World and 1984. The latter was too harsh, there is a benefit in letting people enjoy some things, give them something they can use to forget things. The Third Reich for example figured out along the way. That indoctrination movies were counter productive and rejected by the population. However, harmless entertainment movies, with no or maybe only a mild propagandistic twist helped them much more. People rejected the former but welcomed the latter, so that they don't have to think about the unpleasant stuff. In our modern world, 1984 type surveillance and the death of democracy will be sold by Brave New World style convenience.

We are heading towards a future that will see marks of both dystopias but we would wish to be in a pure Brave New World instead.

[–] nicolauz@feddit.org 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I once had a multiple hour long discussion with someone who claimed it's clearly a utopia... Free drugs, sex without consequences, guaranteed job,...

Freedom is for suckers apparently.

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[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 72 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Is this helldivers? The game where half of a planet’s population is forcibly turned into big fuel every few years?

[–] Signtist@bookwyr.me 5 points 17 hours ago

A lot of people I've met would honestly happily take a 50% chance to be sacrificed to ensure that those who aren't chosen live a happy life. I have no doubt that they'd think that right up until they're actually chosen, then they'd scream bloody murder about how unfair it is.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 63 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Theres a reoccuring problem with bigly brained thinkers where they omit all the terrible shit and look at only what the propaganda wants them to. Even in a game this remains true.

[–] tomenzgg@midwest.social 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Most clips from Starship Troopers on YouTube have filled comments' sections with people waxing about how based the society is and it's actually a utopia (to your point).

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well the movie elimanted the entire opening sequence of the book where they are just being terrorists in their super space suits (which the movie also did not include). I think that was necessary to drive the point home.

[–] Deme@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I've heard that the book was sincere jingoism, which the director of the movie didn't like one bit and turned it into clever satire of fascism instead? Haven't read it, but the movie is great, even if there's a bunch if idiots on both sides (fascist and antifascists) thinking that it's sincere.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 1 points 19 hours ago

Its bad, dude sounded like he wanted this the entire time and it really would be better. But that scene in the beginning stuck with me through the entire reading and I came out with nearly the same interpretation as the movie.

[–] Mirshe@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Heinlein was...rather directionless on his politics. I think it was Clarke that once remarked that Heinlein's politics depended on who he was sleeping with - which is why you get weird whiplash from the anti-governance free-love (and incest and racism) in Methuselah's Children and Farnham's Freehold to a full throated defense of utopian fascism in Starship Troopers.

[–] Zozano@aussie.zone 18 points 1 day ago (11 children)

Coincidentally, that is the cure for Racism that racists prescribe too. Huh, neat.

[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 4 points 1 day ago

Can't have racism if there is only one race.

Rollsafe.gif

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[–] archonet@lemy.lol 40 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"amazing quality of life"

Sure, if you're the right kind of super citizen.

[–] wizzor@sopuli.xyz 17 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Yea, when choosing a fictional world to aspire for, it's useful to consider how most citizens are treated.

Our current world is great too, for some.

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[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago

This post is approved by the ministry of truth

[–] traxex@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Big “The Imperium of Man are actually the good guys” energy.

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