The General US Politics Thread

This might honestly be the weirdest place this thread has ever gone.

Good!

Politics takes you into some strange and scary places,it can be a learning experience sometimes

It's definitely not.

As someone who might be considered a furry themselves, it is weird to me that people always seem to define furries as people who are into fursuits. I'm sure plenty of furries are just there for the art side of things, even if it's explicit art.

Edited by GNinja on May 23rd 2022 at 5:46:59 PM

It seems reasonable that people who have emotional security issues would find themselves drawn into "outsider" groups that make a point of pride out of reinforcing each other against outside criticism. That is also how right-wing hate groups form. I know because I was exactly such an outsider as a teenager, and it's probably luck that I got into roleplaying instead of something worse.

I have met a number of... not sure the best way to phrase this... aggressively insecure people. These folks seek out opportunities to be emotionally vulnerable, seemingly addicted to the catharsis that comes from this kind of experience. Think about the narrator of Fight Club using support group meetings to get an emotional fix to mask the emptiness of his personal life.

Some of this may be due to genuine mental health problems that our horribly broken system keeps them from receiving adequate treatment for, some of it may be due to trauma, and some may just be for the feeling of belonging.

As with any group, there are many variations and gradations.

Edited by Fighteer on May 23rd 2022 at 1:52:30 PM

So, let it just be said that I disagree with For's post, even with the idea that it makes it O.K, and that I remember an XKCD comic that talked about furries.

It kinda sums up my attitude towards the popular punching bags of the Internet.

@Raineh You learn as much as you want to learn.

@gninja

It's one of those things where there's a million definitions for one word. Looking at that lady's tweet over furries in schools, it was nice to see furries give her a metaphoric fuck you with furry art that's not NSFW

Edited by Steven on May 23rd 2022 at 1:48:08 PM

No, I mean this isn't the strangest thing the thread's ever had.

I'd say just about every fandom and hobby has Rule 34 assigned to it, and furries are no exception.

Like I said, I have serious concerns about what I will now dub as "cults of insecurity": groups that lionize emotional vulnerability to an unhealthy level and use it as a form of catharsis. Members become addicted to this form of release and are increasingly unable to function in normal society.

Edited by Fighteer on May 23rd 2022 at 1:59:57 PM

Or y'know, people who are vulnerable and insecure for various reasons stick together and find comfort in each other's reassurances and aid.

Edited by Resileafs on May 23rd 2022 at 2:06:15 PM

People who are vulnerable and insecure are better served by joining groups that help them cope with those feelings and become better able to function in society, not draw them into patterns of unhealthy emotional addiction. Not saying that all such groups are like that, but I've seen some of the unhealthy ones in my own life.

Or maybe the problem is that mainstream culture is repressive and damaging and people are shamed in many circles for seeking therapy or showing emotional vulnerability.

Of course people seek places they can be open in, society ruthlessly crushes anyone who doesn't act the way that's expected.

Edited by Zendervai on May 23rd 2022 at 2:13:50 PM

Well, that too. But two wrongs don't make a right. Again I go back to Fight Club, which, while it has many problems, amply illustrates what can happen when you cope with insecurity in an unhealthy way.

Edited by Fighteer on May 23rd 2022 at 2:15:41 PM

Operation Feed Da Babies.

Or Operation Fly Formula according to the White House, has landed 70,000 pounds of baby formula from Europe as part of its first shipment to address the shortage across the country. More imports from Germany are expected to come.

I believe US soldiers were sent to German supermarkets to buy as much formula as possible. But the stores have a "Five per customer" rule, so whole regiments were sent to individual stores, where each soldier bought five containers of formula. Very confused check out clerks then scanned long lines of soldiers all with formula in their baskets.

That is most certainly not what happened, but I can dream.

Edited by Parable on May 23rd 2022 at 1:01:54 AM

Remind me, what caused the Baby Formula shortage?

Two Three main things:

1. One of the major producers in the US had to shut down a factory because of product contamination and is undertaking a long process of corrective actions to which the FDA must sign off before it can resume.
2. Because of industry consolidation and the immense regulatory hurdles involved, there are only a tiny number of producers of baby formula, so that the disruption caused by the above is a major event for the national supply chain.
3. The Trump administration made it much more expensive to import baby formula from other countries, such as Canada, as part of the Orange One's failed attempt to make trade more "fair" for the U.S.

Edited by Fighteer on May 23rd 2022 at 2:29:52 PM

A guardian article goes into considerable detail,it's mostly what Fighteer just said

.."In February, Abbott Laboratories, maker of popular baby formulas, closed a manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, after it recalled infant formula products when a federal investigation started after four babies taking the formula developed bacterial infections, two of whom died. Abbott has said there is no link between its formula and the illnesses.

Baby formula was already being affected by pandemic-related supply chain problems, but the Michigan plant closure “really exacerbated things”, said Dr Christopher Duggan, director of the Center for Nutrition at Boston children’s hospital.

"Some Republicans have falsely suggested shortages are down to the Biden administration sending baby formula to undocumented immigrants. Steven L Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University told the New York Times that the amount purchased for migrants, “is statistically the equivalent of zero in terms of market share”.

edit:

> The US is the only industrialized nation that does not mandate paid maternity leave.

This does surprise me actually

Edited by Ultimatum on May 23rd 2022 at 6:31:12 PM

4. Private resellers keep buying what few stocks of formula in stores so that they can resale them for higher prices on the Internet or through personal connections. Some arguably do it out of semi-altruism by reselling in communities that simply have no stocks of formula left in stores, but others (who I presume to be the majority) are just trying to earn some fast profits as part of their latest "hustle".

Sure, but that's secondary to the main problem. Any scarce good will give rise to hoarding and scalping behavior, but is that statistically significant or are anecdotal examples getting amplified by the media?

A fifth thing too: The promotion of formula to all mothers as an always superior option to breastfeeding. Yes, not all mothers or infants can properly breastfeed and not all who physically can do so are able to be around to do it (paid maternity leave would help here), but by its original intent, formula is supposed to be an alternative for those who cannot, not the go to solution for all mothers. This creates more demand and makes any disruption even more dire due to how vast the portion of the population that is dependent on formula is.

Yes, that is an historical fact, like how the auto industry convinced everyone to use gasoline-powered cars and to eschew mass-transit. Like that one, it's not a problem that we can fix in the short term.

Edited by Fighteer on May 23rd 2022 at 2:43:10 PM

I know, but it's an important part of how we got here