arbutus1440
arbutus1440 t1_jccwhkx wrote
Reply to comment by E_Snap in A tech boss appointed by Italy's prime minister resigned after quoting a speech from fascist dictator Mussolini in an internal email by 777fer
I really don't get why people keep framing it this way. Scientifically, and from an evolutionary perspective, it's utter nonsense.
>chasing our own goals at the expense of everyone else
...is what our species has done throughout its entire existence.
>politicians play our selfish interests against each other
...as they always have, throughout our entire history.
People keep talking about these things as if somehow people could ever do anything different. They can't.
"Human nature" is a phantom opponent. We are who we are. We're not evolved to do things like separate truth from fiction when the truth threatens our well-being. It's just evolutionary fact. People do what they're wired to do, and expecting people to all behave like model citizens when that's literally never happened in the history of our species is just a recipe for frustration and futility.
Focus your ire on the systems. The hippies were right, and they've always been right: It's capitalism. It's the plutocracy. It's the corruption. All of these are reversible—human nature isn't. Stop getting mad at people and start getting mad at systems. It's not emotionally satisfying but it's what's gotta happen if we're gonna survive.
arbutus1440 t1_jcbd9m8 wrote
Reply to comment by colonel_beeeees in A tech boss appointed by Italy's prime minister resigned after quoting a speech from fascist dictator Mussolini in an internal email by 777fer
That's such a weird way of putting it.
I think more Americans realize how post-democracy we are than you think.
And our "authoritarian workplaces" are a shitty example. How about the fact that our government just took away abortion rights that almost everybody wants, that climate change is ignored despite the majority wanting it addressed, or the fact that large companies get to dump waste, steal wages, predate on lenders, and rig prices with impunity?
FFS everybody stop making fascism about PERSONAL FAILINGS of such and such a population. The rise and fall of authoritarianism is a force of history, and we have to fight it for what it is, not what makes it easy for us to pigeonhole and redirect so we don't feel any personal responsibility to act.
arbutus1440 t1_jc4jqb3 wrote
Reply to comment by jungl3j1m in TIL Helen Keller is credited with having introduced the Akita, a Japanese dog breed, to the United States by berkosaurus
I'm surprised more in this thread don't know about Akitas. They're mean af. One attacked my dog as well. Vets absolutely hate dealing with Akitas (which I learned from taking my dog to the vet for his stitches and antibiotics after the attack). They really shouldn't be kept as pets. Everybody who's experienced Akitas knows this.
arbutus1440 t1_j6hddj1 wrote
arbutus1440 t1_is2tfee wrote
Reply to Analysis of US Endangered Species Act finds species are protected too late, with too small populations, and with insufficient funding, undermining the Act's effectiveness by thebelsnickle1991
Because I immediately thought about the politics involved, and some high-profile examples of Republican administrations pushing against the EPA and endangered species protections, this surprised me a bit:
>Our data suggest that inadequate funding has persisted for decades, with no clear relationship as to which political party is in power.
arbutus1440 t1_je2fgot wrote
Reply to comment by BachthovenIB in I Would Love to Have Enough Time and Money to Go to an Office to Work All Day - Perhaps Steven Rattner and the executives complaining to him about their remote employees could lend me a hand (or $50,000 more a year). by speckz
>CEO’s are in reality salesmen for the business.
IDK why this doesn't get said more often. If a CEO actually gives a fuck about employees, then shareholders want them removed. If a CEO keeps shareholders happy, then either 1) the employees hate them, or 2) the CEO is slick enough in their salesmanship that they've hoodwinked enough employees into buying into their bullshit. In my industry, I can't tell you how often I've heard someone in a leadership position crow about how we employees really love "serving our clients' needs." NO WE DON'T, WE JUST HAVE BILLS TO PAY, YOU FUCKING TOOL. Nobody has ever loved "serving our clients' needs" since the dawn of time. Be a human for chrissakes.