Comments

1

Covid deniers are
also climate deniers

dooming Humanity
and bringing Hell
to planet Earth

and yet we
tolerate them.

3

Before the conversation gets started this morning, let's remember some of the ground rules:

Whenever a POC shoots someone, especially another POC, we have no choice but to conclude they are a murderous, sociopathic thug and represent ALL POC who are therefore obligated to explain why POC thugs shouldn't all be locked up for life.

Whenever a white person shoots someone, including - although not exclusively - another white person, we can either completely ignore it, since it's obviously some sort of statistical outlier that in no way represents white people as a whole; or else rationalize the shooting as the result of any of the following: mental illness; a vague, stress-related issue; the fault of the victim who clearly provoked the shooter; an accident; video games; a "good guy with a gun" making a tragic, but completely understandable mistake; they thought the victim was an overly aggressive POC; or while unfortunate, it's still not anywhere near as bad as a POC shooting other POC's.

Now that we have that out of the way, please feel free to continue...

4

I suggest we just have pleasant discourse and avoid trolling as #2 suggests.

5

3 I mean (but #2 applies as well)

7

a pleasant discussion
re the End of Humanity.

excellent idea.

9

Thank you for reporting about the shootings in Seattle this weekend. Actually, there were four murders in five separate incidents, as someone was shot and killed last night in Lake City. This morning Chief Diaz spoke about the situation, citing current figures as being all-time-record numbers of shootings and gun-related assaults in Seattle. We had an insane 10 murders in Seattle in June, and we're rapidly approaching that number for July. Many causes contribute to this, but one thing is clear: this isn't going to be solved easily, and we will need to work together in this city to achieve more peace. Yes, "working together" is a cliche--but that doesn't mean it isn't true. While proflic gun ownership undoubtedly contributes to this, I think something else links these sorts of events: the shooters are men about 95% of the time, and so many of them are young men. Young men: volatile, often lonely, without peace-encouraging influences in their lives, needing to prove their toughness, fearing "backing down" makes them look like wimps. We need to convince and show our young men there is a better way, that pulling that trigger does something you can never take back. And can you imagine what so many of the family members of the victims are going through now? Let's avoid pulling the trigger of quick blame and dig in and, despite our differences, learn how to avoid reaching the stage where shooting seems like a valid solution. Look at the devastation and retaliation real shootings cause... Our city is hurtling, deeply.

10

Warm weather always brings out the crazies, and US murders almost always peak in Jun - Aug. I guess we could blame the increase this unusually warm summer on climate change. I'm being a little sarcastic there, but let's be clear, climate change is real. However, it is used a little too liberally for my taste when playing the blame game.

12

All the guns were there ten years ago when murder rates were a fraction of this year’s. And two years ago. What could have changed in the meanwhile? Oh right it was the summer of pro-gun, anti-crime rioting last year.

It’s great we have a “geek culture” podcaster to unravel these mysteries for us.

13

@12 -- "All the guns were there ten years ago when murder rates were a fraction of this year’s. And two years ago. What could have changed in the meanwhile?"

well the GOP's doubled down
on eradicting Humanity
and Voter Suppression
and the Rich and Corps
& Not paying their Fair
Share and trumpfy's
enabling the Covid
so there's That.

Life's Cheap
to the GOP
& shit runs
Downhill.

17

@15 -- and yet all those
Un-gullible saps are
now getting the
Covid.

whoa!

18

@3 I rarely see any posts on this board post that come close to the obviously racist trope you lay out there Comte however there never seems to be any hesitation about painting law public safety officials with a broad brush anytime there is an incident involving that group. Maybe something to think about?

Why are American more violent toward each other? Certainly one reason is we are more tribal than other countries. The countries you cite are almost completely homogenous compared to the US racially and then you throw in our divisions over politics, religion, socio-economics and anything else that is constantly used to drum up fervor and outrage and it's surprising there isn't more violence happening. One only has to read the continual screeds against republicans or public safety officers on this board to see how easy it is to dehumanize other groups and once you have done that violence almost assuredly follows.

26

@12:

The U.S. firearms industry manufactures, on average, about 8,000,000 units per year (https://www.statista.com/statistics/215395/number-of-total-firearms-manufactured-in-the-us/). Granted, some of these are exported to foreign countries; however, this is a mere fraction of the total, on average about 400,000 per year (https://www.statista.com/statistics/215562/number-of-exported-firearms-manufactured-in-the-us/) and which is more than offset by the roughly 4.4 mm firearms imported into the U.S. per year (https://www.statista.com/statistics/215569/number-of-imported-firearms-to-the-us/). And this doesn't even take into account the number of firearms that are illegally imported into the country every year, which is estimated to be as high as 3,000,000 annually (https://www.wrbl.com/news/mexico-calls-for-increased-border-inspections-to-stem-flow-of-guns-from-u-s/).

Strangely, there is no comprehensive tracking of the total number of gun purchases per year, but we do know that more people applied for firearms licenses in 2020 than any year on record (https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-monthyear.pdf/view), and manufacturers are reporting record numbers of sales through their own systems. So, most people who follow this issue believe the 10 year average for new gun purchases since 2011 has run around 20,000,000 or thereabouts.

What all this tells us is there are probably a hundred million or MORE guns purchased in the past ten years, with the total number now in the hands of U.S. citizens approaching some 400,000,000 - there are literally more guns than people in this country. The Brady Center for

So, what in fact HAS changed in the past ten years? THERE ARE MORE FUCKING GUNS. This is not a fact requiring "geek culture" to uncover - it's no mystery - the data is readily available to every Average Joe or Jane on this magical new thing all the kids are yammering about, called "the internet"; you must have heard of it, since you were using it just a couple of hours ago to shovel your bullshit.

27

@18:

The only thing "racist" about my trope is that it parrots virtually every RWNJ/MAQAT apologist on this platform who invariably blame POC for the violence committed against them while simultaneously excusing practically every instance of gun violence perpetrated by a white person.

28

@8 - Tell ya what, let's put your knife equals gun theory to the test. I'll have a gun, and you come at me with a knife, and we'll see who comes out on top.

Also, if knives are so damn deadly in comparison to guns, shouldn't we rearm all of our cops and soldiers with knives instead of Sig 226 pistols and M-4 rifles? No army could touch us then!

29

Matt, your comparison of water use between pot farms and golf courses is misleading. The billion gallons for pot farms is just in the state of California, but the 2-billion gallons for golf courses is throughout the entire United States. You should have made that clear in your entry.

That said, I do agree that water for golf courses is a complete waste in most of the US right now...or even always.

33

@27 Just because you didn't say it doesn't make it any less racist. It's racist no matter who says it but your assertion that there s a contingent of people on this board stating things like that is simply untrue. The only groups regularly targeted on this board for derision and inaccurate stereotypes are non-progressives and public safety officials.

36

@22: Totally true.

Unfortunately, however, us vaccinated folks have to play the role of suckers so that everyone wears masks indoors thereby saving the unvaccinated assholes from killing other unvaccinated assholes and, more importantly, decreasing the burden on ICU's and respiratory therapists.

Either that, or show your status every time you enter an establishment or public transportation.

I loathe wearing masks, just another thing for cat hair to settle on.

38

as Knowledge evolves
so does the CDC.

remember when Cigarettes
were Good* for you?

*four outta five
Doctors Swore
by Lucky Strikes!
or was it Camels?

39

10% of California's water is used on almonds, which is more than the combined water use of all their cities. But sure, let's talk about the hidden weed farms since they aren't among the government's wealthy, propertied benefactors.

41

@40: History shows us there were people just like you during the 1918 pandemic.

42

@Lucy -- the American
Dream is what's been
Snatched Away.

see: the One Percent
and all 'republicans.'

43

@39: But almond milk is my healthy, natural substitute for animal milk! How am I supposed to save the planet if I can't have almond milk?

45

@43: oat milk - takes less water to produce and is tastier than almond milk.

46

@33:

And just because you say it's "racist" doesn't mean it is, either. If any POC here want to back you up, I'm sure we'd welcome their input, yes?

48

@22:

You DO understand that, even if you've been vaccinated you can still contract COVID AND pass it along to others, and that wearing a mask is simply an extra precaution so you don't end up being the "Typhoid Mary" to any children, immunocompromised, or just plain dumb-asses-who-refused-to-get-vaccinated in your family or social circles, right?

Naw, you probably don't, even though the experts have been saying it over and over and over and over and...

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html

53

twelve must be wearing some
MAGA Goggles 2021 Perfessor:

https://thenib.com/maga-goggles-2021/

54

well well this one works too

https://thenib.com/the-way-of-the-gun/

58

Percent of US households owning guns, 1970-present (the trend in gun sales, and thus guns per capita, goes in the other direction, true, but solely because the gun fondlers are amassing arsenals- normal people increasingly want nothing to do with them).

Violent crime rate in the US, 1990-present. This chart is invisible to chuds, so I'm afraid it won't be much help to you guys; but it might be useful for someone else.

59

@55 Well yeah, I guess, so long as you've decided you're the one who gets to say what level of risk is acceptable for all the other people who have to breathe in whatever you're exhaling in public indoor spaces.

61

@46 of course. I’d welcome input from the BIPOC community. That seems like a weird thing to get hung up on a Monday though. It wasn’t even my point but ok.

62

@60 A heat wave is a span of several days or more in which temperatures are significantly higher than average. The average high for Seattle in the third week of July is 78, the average low is 58. The forecast for Wed-Sat predicts highs of 83-86 and lows of 60-63. These numbers are well above the 90th percentile, historically, for the period. That's a heat wave. Call it a short, mild, or little heat wave if you're really that grumpy, but heat wave it is.

63

homer,
this is the Hottest
summer of my Life!
--Bart

it's the Coldest summer
of the Rest of your life.
--Homer

65

@59, Well yeah, but just because transmission by these scenarios is remotely possible doesn't mean that it's practical and sound epidemiological guidance to continue to make that argument, especially you're doing it just to be snarky and pious.

66

That was the best example of the Mary Tyler Moore show you could get? The sound editing was so bad that the laugh track stomped all over every single punchline so that I couldn't even hear it. Was the entire show like that?

@56: Good luck arguing that point, Mac. https://youtu.be/vV9iLHOTAaI

@58: I'm amazed you were able to include links, italics, and bolds into your reply. I thought that capability was gone forever. It still doesn't appear to be working for HTML (at least in the previewer), though.

67

@65 Maybe we should leave that "practical and sound epidemiological guidance" to the trained and qualified people who spend all day every day weighing all of the available data and modelling and projections?

Like, say, the Health Officer and the Chief of the Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section for Public Health–Seattle & King County. Or his counterpart in Snohomish county. Or their peers in Pierce, Kitsap, Clallam, San Juan, Grays Harbor and Jefferson counties.

Fuck's sake raindrop there are reasons to call you a pernicious know-nothing that aren't just down to snark or piety.

68

@3 COMTE and others: Good idea to keep the conversation civil. Agreed and seconded.

@13 kristofarian: Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just blast all COVID and climate change deniers (which would pretty much include most if not all RepubliKKKans) one way into outer space, never to be seen or heard of again? Think of what the Earth--what's left of her--and the rest of us could be spared.

69

@63 kristofarian: BINGO!

70

@52 Professor_Hiztory & @53 and @54 kristofarian: Well said, both of you. Bravo!
I think @12 had his MAGA goggles on too tight while fahtin' fer his Free Dumbs, and suddenly his head started losing a jet wash of hot air. He must have realized that with no wind left he had nothing of substance to add to the conversation.

71

@67 Professor_HIztory: I keep telling Elmer (@65) that glue is not among the four basic food groups, but he never listens. We can lead the woefully ignorant and atrociously stupid to enlightenment, but we can't make them think.
No cure for defiant non-vaxxer / climate change stupidity? The answer might actually be COVID, itself. It comes in multiple variants and doesn't discriminate.

72

@71 (re my comment to Professor_Hiztory, @67): To further clarify and validate my point, the solid majority of COVID-related deaths in Washington State have been from misinformation spreading and believing anti-vaxxers living in deeply red communities and counties. In blood-red GOP mismanaged states, it's infinitely worse where millions of people have to drive hundreds of miles to get basic healthcare.. Gullibility, ignorance, and pride worsened by corporate greed and willful misinformation is responsible for over a million deaths in the U.S. alone. And the numbers are only growing.


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