This is hard for me to get a handle on.
On one hand, there’s something about sports and competition that speaks to a lot of people, taps into something key in our collective psyche, and is profound, if not important.
On the other hand, if half-baked, moronic, bad faith arguments about fair play and alarmist bullshit can be used as a tool to foster discrimination and hate against a group of people, then we’re clearly taking this shit far, far too seriously.
Two things would happen.
They’d justify the ICE goon’s behavior by claiming the embassy was enabling terrorism or drug trafficking.
They would pitch a huge fit, take some sort of extreme action, and claim they’re in the right because US diplomats are good guys.
They don’t care about rules, ethics, or even having a consistent system of values. They only care about punishing people, power, and getting what they want when they want it. If they pull back at all, it’s only because they fear their support (and with it their immunity from consequences) is slipping. They’re just bullies and cowards.
They probaly thought the seller would pay without raising the price. A lot of these folks don’t know how tariffs work in the first place and when the orange one said it would punish other countries for being unfair to the US they assumed the seller would recognize the error of their ways and foot the bill while keeping the price the same to stay competitive.
Folks that make complaints like this on social media don’t seem prone to thinking the consequences of an action through…
This was years ago, IIRC.
They’ve always known their shit was fucking with people’s heads. They’ve always known it causes problems. They don’t care. They just want their money so they can buy more politicians and make more money.
Everything is about money, except money, which is about power.
The national guard is both state and federal, and can be subject to penalties under the Uniform Code of Military Justice at times just like active duty troops.
If you just stop showing up, your unit declares you AWOL, and this can carry criminal penalties under the UCMJ. They may ask local law enforcement to bring you in. Jail time is a possibility in aggravated cases.
You could claim certain types of mental illness, that you’re experiencing gender dysphoria, or fake a disqualifing medical condotion and you may or may not be discharged or face a court martial based on wether or not they think you’re lying.
Depends on the branch, but you could try gaining weight and failing your PT test, however the process of getting discharged could take months/years.
Failing a drug test would probably the be the fastest way out, but you’re potentially going to get dishonorably discharged, which can be treated as equivalent to a criminal conviction in some regards.
Declaring yourself a consciencous objector could work, and is probably the closest to simply quitting, but the process of being discharged could be lengthy and involve some investigation to make sure your beliefs are “sincerely held”. Again, you may be dishonorably discharged or face other penalties if someone really wants to be an asshole about it.
EDIT: After some googling. If activated under federal orders or participating in their annual training and therefore subject to the UCMJ, the consequences for a National Guardsman found guilty of desertion could be as severe as death. However, this is historically rare in the modern era.
When not activated, most states have their own code of military justice, which often mirrors the UCMJ.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/885
Some other relevant reading:
A lot of people who could do more are still doing the math between being complicit in this and ruining their lives, which is a real possibility if they act before securing some kind of support from the opposition or a resistance movement gets more organized. They’ll have to be convinced the risk is worth it and action could result real change before they go for it.
The problem isn’t necessarily finding people opposed to what’s happening, but making them believe that change can happen and they’ll be alright in the end if they join the resistance.
Nothing big. Nothing impressive. They don’t get to satisfy their need for self-aggrandizement in their service.
They spend the rest of their lives doing simple but important things in obscurity. Removing plastic from waterways, serving food in soup kitchens, picking up litter, cleaning bathrooms at public libraries, etc.
No thanks are given. No acknowledgements. No press, no interviews, and no “where are they now” stories. They can visit with family but not directly with the media. No one says their name except as a cautionary tale about the price of unchecked ambition combined with a lack of morals. They never suffer physically, no torture, but they live small, they die small, and they’re buried in a pauper’s grave outside the prison. First initial and last name is all that’s put on the marker.
Make it happen, make it the truth, then make sure that story is taught in every history class in the US.
Some dumbasses just can’t put the goddamn shovel down, can they?
That ought to fix it. Pack in the protests, guys, the Catholic Church has saved the world again.
He’s enabled by some very wealthy people. And in the US wealth is more than just money, it’s often the most important factor in status, popularity, and social and political power.
Even some the people screaming for empathy, understanding, and improved social programs often look down upon the poor and homeless, they just hide it behind a veneer of doing good. They want to rid the nation of poverty not because it’s the right thing to do, but so that they aren’t confronted with the reality of what causes poverty and the guilt they feel when they pass by someone who’s panhandling.
Our nation’s version of original sin is productivity. If you’re alive, you must feed into the economic system, you must support yourself and not be a burden to others. If you’re successful and wealthy enough, it means all lesser sins (getting bailed out with tax money, wage theft and fraud, destroying the environment, prejudice, sexual predation, etc.) will be forgiven by at least half the nation. This effect is more profound for celebrity performers.
So, if you’re stable financially and not under a direct threat from the administration, you’re probably upset, but your focus is going to be on finding a way to get rid of Trump and get out of this mess without winding up POOR.
You want to know why so many federal workers are still doing their jobs despite being complicit in many of the awful things that are happening? Because they don’t have a way to pay the rent if they walk off the job. The job market is awful. The economy is in the shitter. Everything is super expensive, and they don’t want to let their families down. Want the military and federal agents to quit? Give them a guaranteed way to pay their mortgages. Find them another job.
It’s not just about luxuries and standards of living. It’s about social acceptance and beloning. People will go to insane lengths to feel like an accepted member of a group. So these workers may be unhappy, even deeply upset about the direction the country is headed in, but it’ll have to get worse before the sacrifice is worth it, because being in jail or being dead is only a little bit worse than being a poor person.
Same holds true for much of the rest of the nation. It’s hard to risk belonging, to risk being part of our society, when there’s no guarantee you won’t wind up homeless and a pariah because of it.
They still make them? I haven’t seen one in decades. That’s like sighting something scientists thought were extinct!
I still remember when all you got was two shallow depressions on the inside of the glovebox lid and those plastic gimmicky cup holders that hung on the window trim…
They never failed to fail at the most inopportune time.
14 cupholders seems like halcyon days, my friend.
Our process isn’t anywhere near that elaborate. We’re just making a quick check to see if a level has been knocked out of whack somehow. But we’re not a machine shop either, we use the levels for verifying weight and balance on small aircraft.
Huh, gonna have to look that up, add it to my collection of obscure references. =)
I think I know what you’re talking about, but it was from the TV series Monk. See my other comment in this thread.
You need a level checking level.
In all seriousness, they make levels like this, they’re just a more high-dollar, specialty item. At work we have a “true table”, a tested flat and level metal surface, to check and adjust them.
Edit: Here are some examples
So that’s where we draw the line?
We wait until he’s completely fucked overseas relations, destroyed NATO, and handed the world to China on a silver platter. Then we impeach him and say “Oops, our bad! Who knew he’d be that crazy guys? Boy, do we have egg on our face! We’re all gonna laugh about this later, I promise…”
Class act. Five of five stars. Best legislature ever.
At my work, we have some ruggedized Dells that are certified for extreme and/or explosive environments that you definitely wouldn’t want to get hit with. I have to lug one in my carry on from time to time, I think they’re 8-11ish pounds depending on options. Good battery life, pricey as hell though.
Just to be clear, I fully agree with you. Trans persons should be represented in all levels of sport. Banning these althetes is asinine and needlessly cruel. Including trans althetes endangers nothing, and would strengthen the sport and it’s community of fans in the long run.
But what bothers me, and what I mean by sports being taken too seriously, is how anti-trans crusaders will use people’s tendency to regard sports as something that’s almost sacred to further their agenda. I get this sense that there are people who don’t have a problem with the trans community outside of this issue, but who back anti-trans measures and politicans because they fear the fabric of our society will crumble if sports aren’t safeguarded somehow. They act almost as if a church is being defiled. They fetizie this idea of “fair play” and hero athletes to the point that people openly hate someone for using steroids but don’t seem care if their teammate commits domestic abuse. That phenomenon gets used as a wedge on election day.
But come on, unless you compete, it’s mostly entertainment. It’s just a show to watch. At the end of the day, the role sports play in most people’s lives is little different than anything else on TV. Some people go to cons and collect merch, other people go to ball games and collect memorabilia.
Right-wing outrage over representation in TV and movies has made the market shift, but I still feel like there’s a broad majority of voters from both sides that don’t seem to care and just watch whatever despite the noise they make on socials. Right-wing outrage over representation in sports has gotten actual legislation passed. The difference seems to say that sports play an outsized role in our collective gestalt or whatever. That we take, what is for most entertainment, a little too seriously.
Or it could just be that I’ve had too much caffeine today. I dunno. Like I said, it’s hard for me to put this in words.