Vaughn

@shadydoorags I think the show doesn't see being a prodigy as aspirational, because it isn't and can't be. The only person in the show who is explicitly "naturally gifted" is driven mad in part by that "gift." Even Aang has to struggle to learn the bending disciplines, despite his talent.

Someone once said that Katara is a prodigy but the writers were scared to call her one and I've believed this claim ever since. The girl's bending prowess is a case where the story tells something different than it is showing. We are shown multiple times in Book Water that Katara was born with natural raw power in her bending, hinting at her potential to become a great master. Her only weakness was that she required a master to demonstrate the techniques to her. Without one, she was considered a slow learner. However, even though that's made clear, Pakku doesn't give credit to her talent. He instead says her quick mastery of the element is due to her hard work and determination, because that's the narrative we're supposed to believe, even though Zuko, whose been firebending for years with the best teachers and has always struggled with his element, is still learning advanced techniques from a master at the start of the show and is shown to be on par, if not worse than Katara by the end of the first season. Don't get it twisted, I'm not saying Katara didn't work hard, but when you compare her to prodigies like Azula and Aang, and then do the same with non-talented hard workers like Zuko, she fits way more snuggly with the former than the latter.

@RTSG_Main The one on the left is doing something?

Average PSL member vs Average ACP member. Do you understand the difference?

@NicholasTyrone Damn. We should probably kill everyone who lives there, then.

The irony of this post being that public dancing is banned in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

@PGR_Crimson @got_cake And you get to pick who is struggling and who is merely "struggling?" And if you're concerned about the fertility rate going down, demanding poor people (roughly half of the people on this planet) stop having kids isn't going to help.

@VoonAtNoon @got_cake Sorry but if you know that your child will have serious disabilities or you are very poor and can't offer a proper life to your child but still want a child, you are selfish. There is "struggle" and struggle. And do you know why fertility rate is going down? Yeah, right.

This is incredibly sad. At first I was sympathetic then I read they had to be propped/positioned by caretakers to have sex....and she couldn't carry the baby to term due to risk of losing her own life. Now Im like "WTF?!" They chose to create a child that will suffer for life? A child they can't care for themselves? That's low key selfish, but the medical professionals who allowed this were highly negligent. Every child is a blessing, I guess.

@PGR_Crimson @got_cake Most people on the planet live a life of struggle. Should they ask you if it's ok for them to reproduce too?

@got_cake I feel really uncomfortable with the idea of parents willingly putting their child into a life of struggle...

@got_cake I'm sorry you're not allowed to do eugenics :(

@brittany_guy_rl I can't imagine it. But I guess we don't get to choose which disabilities get to continue

@themeowist Genuine question: is there a good historical example of a population that, as a whole, responded to living in the imperial core in a useful anti-imperialist way?

americans are so useless man. your govt is responsible for genocides, starvation, coups and death across the globe. meanwhile, you sit at home complaining about feeling "helpless". you are complicit. your daily life, your consumption, your comforts everything fuels imperialism.

@magi_jay Do you support the US funding an Iron Dome in Gaza operated by Hamas?

On 10/7, Hamas launched 5,000 rockets at Israel, as well as mounted a ground invasion that initially totally overwhelmed the IDF. Israel has far greater air power capacity, including nukes. Defunding the Iron Dome would be utterly catastrophic for all civilians in the area.

@CodyLibolt I see. So workers are entitled to the total value their labor creates. Got it.

@frontierism @ThomasEWoods @truckfreak69 Sure! And while we're at it: a succinct, successful war that returns the One Ring to the fires of Mount Doom and establishes the era of Man is a good thing. But we're in the realm of total fantasy, bud.

@ThomasEWoods @truckfreak69 I think a succinct, successful war that takes nuclear weapons away from a terrorist state and re-establishes US power on the world stage is a good thing, yes.

“You can’t just bet on Trump every single time and expect to win” Me every single time:

@ContraPoints @AntiEmpire432 Someone who is good at propaganda might have said "they aren't genocidal freaks." This is a... solid response too, I guess.

@AntiEmpire432 I don’t think it’s natural. Many conquerors are worshipped as heroes. 19th Century American colonialism was not universally despised abroad. Nazi Germany continues to enjoy support from numerous outside admirers to this day.

Why is Israel so bad at propaganda? Are they stupid?

@SeanDaBlack So many people seem to think "exploit" means "abuse." It just means to extract value from something, or someone. There's no moral quality to it. Every employer, by definition, either exploits their employees or loses money by hiring them (which makes hiring them pointless.)

This is a perfect encapsulation of this conversation. Half of the class is ill equipped for it cause they haven’t done the reading

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar No. That's what YOU'RE talking about. And regardless, many of those women you're describing get hurt very badly anyways.

@VoonAtNoon @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar What? That's not what we're talking about though? We're talking specifically about weaker people attacking stronger people and using society's moral compass to take advantage of the situation and paint themselves victims in situations they started and escalated.

The whole purpose of the “if the roles were reversed” bit is to challenge the notion that people are principled and morally consistent - thus, you have, accidentally, admitted that your principles are entirely anchored to the social context of what’s acceptable. Lol.

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar I think part of the root of the problem is that we can only ever conceptualize ourselves as the hero or victim being wronged and never the person doing wrong in the first place.

@VoonAtNoon @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar Completely agree honestly. What's more unhealthy though is ignoring the root of the problem. You lost your cool and did something to me I didn't deserve then want me to react in a way you deem deserving? Lol it just doesn't work that way in real life, I'm sorry 🤷🏽‍♂️

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar I mean, men also beat the shit out of women that are smaller than them all the time so it doesn't seem to be working.

@VoonAtNoon @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar Women for eg. will start shit with a bigger man cos they know there's a invisible moral mental barrier protecting them and to prove they know what they are doing, they'd never start that same shit with a bigger woman cos they know all that sympathy from people won't be there

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar Ok. I disagree with that point. I think telling people they can do whatever they want to people that have wronged them (including shooting them in the face) is not healthy for society.

@VoonAtNoon @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar My point is you can't give a bigger person the same leeway you give the smaller person when they have the exact same decision making power unlike a man and baby scenario. And smaller people take advantage of this way of thinking by society.

@Brilliand__ @MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @PalmyrPar Yes. That requires living in a society where people don't think to shoot each other over minor physical altercations. Teaching people how to properly use force to protect themselves and others should be an imperative.

@VoonAtNoon @MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @PalmyrPar It would be helpful to turn the focus away from moral law, and instead onto values. We would rather like for our babies to survive. Both when they hit us, and when they are hit by other babies.

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar It's not treating someone as if they have no agency to say that lethal force is not an acceptable response to being pushed. What are we even talking about?

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar You've missed the point. I'm not saying a big person should not defend themself or a small person should be allowed to do anything they want. I'm saying the acceptable force used in defending oneself varies depending on the situation and that includes the other person.

@MonZz_sa @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar Yeah. I don't know if you've picked up on this, but, sometimes people do dumb things. I live the most heavily armed country on earth. That hasn't stop people from getting into dumb fights. Learning how not to needlessly escalate fights is also a part of being an adult.

@VoonAtNoon @KingJaehaerysII @Brilliand__ @PalmyrPar I can't in fact shoot you in the head for it, I'll suffer the consequences of doing so and you'll have suffered yours. If you know I can shoot you, why would you push me? Isn't the smarter thing for an adult that wants to survive to not start shit with someone that can shoot him?