[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 129 points 11 hours ago

There is a lot to be said here. I'll use my own experience as an example.

I'm a millennial male who had a terrible time as a young adult through my mid 30s. I grew up in a fairly religious/conservative area of the US, and I didn't have the ability to even start questioning that before my college years because literally everyone I knew was either a vocal supporter of or tacitly accepted that cultural status quo. Mental health issues were either not discussed or not recognized in any serious fashion. It wasn't until my late 20s that I finally understood that I had severe depression and anxiety and sought help, despite suffering from it since my early teenage years.

Socially, I never felt like I was cool enough or good enough. I didn't understand women, and the endless series of rejections and confusing encounters only served to erode my low self confidence further. I had no idea what a healthy relationship looked like because my parents were just going through the motions at that point, and the relationships I saw in TV shows and movies were incredibly shallow. The few people I considered friends did not support me in any positive way. I eventually kicked them to the curb, preferring solitude to being the butt of their jokes.

I was a prime target for recruitment for the alt-right: depressed, alone, disaffected, and ready to lash out. The only thing that kept me from going in that direction was a keen sense that the rhetoric was bullshit and its leaders only cared to take advantage of the rank-and-file to accumulate money and power. Many people I knew were not so perceptive and became victims of that movement.

My only saving grace was that I had a decent job with healthcare benefits, which allowed me to get the therapy I needed to overcome these challenges. Again, most people I knew did not have such resources. Nearly a decade later, I am now a family man with a wife and child. I am far happier than I have been at any other point in my life. Despite that, there is still plenty I don't understand. I don't have a good grasp of what positive masculinity looks like. I cannot point to anyone who has served as a good, male role-model in my life. I still don't have any close male friends with whom I can share my feelings and challenges.

However, I do understand how easily young men can be swayed to far-right crusades. Social media warped my view of reality, and it's far worse now than it was 10-15 years ago. Moreover, there is no alternative to far-right echo chambers for young men to commiserate and get help. Those spaces simply do not exist on the left. If you dare to complain or vent, you will immediately be told your problems don't matter and called a misogynist. I can readily call multiple conversations I had with liberals and feminists who rejected my problems, even being told that I was "living life on easy mode" because I was a man.

For all the women who are reading this, I get it. As a man, I don't have to worry about the government meddling in my bodily autonomy. For the most part, I don't have to worry about walking alone at night or being accosted or raped. I don't have to worry about being taking seriously at my job or being passed over for promotions because of my gender. However, none of that negates the challenges that young men are facing. Their gender does not save them from broken homes, abuse, mental health issues, a bad job market, degrading standards of living, student debt, double-standards, confusing and contradictory narratives surrounding dating and relationships, etc. Yes, privileged men with no right to complain do exist, but they are an extreme minority. The vast majority of young men are in a bad place, and the only people reaching out to help have ulterior motives. If you want things to change, try having some empathy. Maybe you will get empathy for your problems in return.

This. There's little point in seeing most films in a theater when they will be streaming a few months later.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 33 points 1 week ago

I highly recommend this game, even if, like me, you're not a fan of text/dating Sim type games. It's a strange horror/dark fantasy type of game with a lot of heart.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 months ago

This. People who think that the Republican party has been honorable in recent memory haven't been paying attention. There have been honorable Republicans in my lifetime like John McCain, but the party as a whole has been little more than a cabal of grifters appealing to the worst parts of us with the sole purpose of enriching themselves and punishing the "other" in sociopathic glee. Trump didn't start this. He just pulled off the mask and made it OK to speak and act openly.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 80 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing in Data's programing that would prevent him from doing "bad" things like lying or killing. He has free will just as much as any other Starfleet officer.

Data is much more human than you might guess at first. He is more akin to a human on the autism spectrum than a robot with hard-coded programming.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 31 points 3 months ago

There is no AI Revolution. There never was. Generative AI was sold as an automation solution to companies looking to decrease labor costs, but's it's not actually good at doing that. Moreover, there's not enough good, accurate training material to make generative AI that much smarter or more useful than it already is.

Generative AI is a dead end, and big companies are just now starting to realize that, especially after the Goldman-Sachs report on AI. Sam Altman is just a snake oil saleman, another failing-upwards executive who told a bunch of other executives what they wanted to hear. It's just now becoming clear that the emperor has no clothes.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 58 points 3 months ago

The images are from Slay the Princess. Highly recommended.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 33 points 3 months ago

Nickelback isn't a bad band. They were just over marketed and over played to death. People don't hate the band so much as that aspect of the music industry.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 66 points 11 months ago

The issue isn't so much the message color. It's the ability to send videos that aren't potato quality and other media.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago

Except Boomers, as a whole, swallowed right-wing bullshit and voted again and again for politicians and policies that fucked things over for future generations to come. They enjoyed the post-war economic boom fueled by socialist government policies and then promptly shut the door on their children and grandchildren by killing those same socialist programs. Time and time again, they fell for corrupt conmen, ultimately leading to the election of Trump and a resurgence in fascism.

No, not every boomer voted for right-wing assholes, but virtually every boomer fails to take responsibility for the current economic environment, choosing instead to blame immigrants, minorities, politicians, or China. No wonder Trump appealed to them.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 28 points 1 year ago

This is an old Norm Macdonald bit, except he starts with a dog house, not a lawnmower.

[-] pizza_the_hutt@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago

The Despecialized editions are nice, but check out project 4k77, 4k80, and 4k83. https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/

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pizza_the_hutt

joined 1 year ago