kryptonianCodeMonkey

The apollo program led to tech advancements including, among many of things, fire-retardent materials, improved parachute technologies, water filtration systems and insulin pumps, each of which has directly saved lives. Not to mention solar cells technology that will be instrumental in fighting climate change.

The moon is a big barren rock, yes. But it is one that has answers to our planets history and potentially its future. Funding scientific and engineering endeavors like Artemis is how we, as a species, advance, how we move beyond the status quo of today's world. There are WAAAAAAAY more wasteful things we spend money on than science. And while you're entitled to think otherwise, you're just wrong.

Also that you think they timed a moon mission to be a distraction for a month old war... like the original launch wasn't planned years in advance, and it was delayed anyway. There is something to distract from every fucking week now. That doesnt mean that anything else happening is a deliberate distraction or even remotely related to it. Too cynical to function.

I like the notion that all anti-seminitism/anti-Isreal sentiment is 1:1 tied to the ownership or presence of a copy of Mein Kampf. Any time an instance of antisemitism shows up, there is a physical copy nearby. And having one near you necessarily means it's infected your brain with antisemitism as well. It's like a cursed object and anti-semites are its victims. Like the entirety of Nazi Germany was just under a literal spell by Hitler be printed in ancient runes for the masses. And the only reason that Lebanese people may have any problems with the country attacking them is because of these damn cursed books.

shakes fists angrily Mein Kaaaaampf!!!

Such a simple fantasy.

What a stupid fucking timeline this is.

"She's a movie star" yeah, we know. Lesbian stuff, right? How do you think Jeffrey found her for his boy Donny?

Well, that was an entirely unnecessary and lengthy correction to a mistake that was A) a typo I didn't notice from using swipe on my phone keyboard, not a misunderstanding on grammar, and B) not an error that rendered my comment confusing or indecipherable requiring your clarification. But thank you for your (air quotes) help. I really hope that you're a bot, not a person this annoying or one who writes that way.

"Wrong username. Correct password."

"Uh.... who's password?"

I certainly wasn't saying that it isn't a good option for some/most. It definitely can be. I'm saying that "just move" misses a lot of nuance, hurdles, pitfalls, and priorities. Like you said, you nearly ended up homeless. Even though you made it in the end, you were lucky you didn't get stuck in that situation too.

And that advice ignores the runaway problems that causes the affordability crisis in the first place, the same problems that are going to happen in places that are currently more affordable too. It is a short term solution for yourself to move. But when those problems catch up to you or your kids later, where are they going to go then? How long can the goal post keep moving before we stop it?

In what world do you think the general American public is in support of assassinating/couping the fucking Pope?

The fucking pudding brain in chief has surged 100s/1000s of the most villainous people in the country into positions of power faster that can even be coped with, and are doing everything in their power to end every semblance of decency, sensibility, and justice from our government. I was already mystified that Trump could possibly win again and terrified by what he would do with a second go at it. But even his first term didn't prepare anyone for this shit. The evil bastard has accelerated the destruction of this country far faster than I could have even thought possible, and attempting to spread this destruction across the entire world. We're drowning over here.

But glad you get to sit elsewhere and be a judgy bitch about my apparent complicity in this bullshit for not, I guess, protesting hard enough or getting myself killed?

It's never for Ben himself, even if he did happen to somehow find this thread. He's either a complete grifter that knows better or high on his own supply and has deluded himself about these things. Or both. Who it is for is the people that may see this as a "common sense" nugget of wisdom that may never examine it critically or those who are fed up with these over simplified "solutions" to their problems and just need to see that others aren't taking this reversal of blame from systems and authority onto the individuals stuck under them without push back.

It doesn't feel wrong to come to the conclusion that "if things are too hard to get by here and they are easier over there, then you should go over there." That sounds entirely reasonable, because if the problem were that simple, it would be. But the problem just isn't that simple and pretending it is is the grift. That's why folksy wisdom like this is so rarely related to reality. Life is layered and messy and complicated and FUCKING EXPENSIVE. No solution in the real world is simple, and even less so when you are broke.

Yeah there is also the consideration that many that live in metro areas get by without a car, and are less likely to own a car or even have a driver's license. Without reliable or even existent public transport in their new home, where a car is a basic necessity, that is another massive financial hurdle and even a skill/paperwork hurdle to make living there viable.

For context, he was speaking about living in expensive metropolitan cities, suggesting people move into less expensive places within the US, like the interior states. Ben says enough stupid shit to mock without isolating a quote from context to make it seem like he said/meant something else entirely.

Hell, there's plenty to push back on with this quote and argument even understanding what he actually meant. "Just move somewhere cheaper". Like that's a much easier thing to say than do.

1. If you're unable to afford living where you are, then you're probably going to struggle to afford the costs of moving. Then there's the logistics of finding work and housing wherever you move to from another state. If you don't have money to coast on for temporary housing, gas and food, you either need a company willing to hire you and provide you assistance to move or a personal connection in the area that'll let you crash on their couch.

2. Your field of work may just not exist in Guthrie, Oklahoma, or wherever. Leaving metro areas may mean changing careers. And those careers may not pay anywhere near as much either. Your costs may go down, but your wages might go with it.

3. Leaving your home city means leaving all of your support structures. Your parents, siblings, friends, peers, etc. Some people may really depend on those. Or maybe someone depends on you specifically. Maybe your mom isn't healthy? Maybe you have a sister dealing with addiction? Maybe they need your presence to ensure their care.

4. There are political, legal, and health considerations in changing states. Do you have an active sex life and don't want to be afraid that you'll die from an unaborted ectopic pregnancy? Have a trans child? Are you not white? Then you may be more limited in suitable places to live outside of metropolitan city.

5. This sidesteps the actual problem here, the why of it all. Why they can't afford to live in the city they grew up in. Why is pay so bad? Why is housing so expensive? Why are groceries so expensive? But no, no. We can't question or address those things. That's just business baby. Free market capitalism at work. Let it ride, unregulated. Just move your ass out of the way to Hastings, Nebraska or some shit.

There's a very important distinction between a pedophile and a child abuser. The former is an affliction, the latter is a choice.