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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
^True, but most of those are still given an implicit legitimacy even when they're being joked about, because they come from major religions that are widely followed. Using 'spirit animal' for jokes just underscores how little people know or care to know about what it actually means to indigenous people. It's punching down in a cultural sense.
Aaaanyway, that's enough from me. Sorry folks.
Edited by RedSavant on Aug 7th 2018 at 1:28:08 PM
It's been fun.Personally, I'd recommend sticking to your own religion when making religious jokes - that way, you lessen the risk of being offensive through your ignorance.
Oh God! Natural light!I find it... Funny... That there's people dismissing the use of a term that's cultural appropriation as 'fine' on the basis that it's in common parlance.
Makes you think that, perhaps, one should look up what a term being used to criticise what one has been doing means before trying to excuse why one should just get to keep going on doing what one has been doing.
Angry gets shit done.I think if you use appropriation too casually it loses its power. This is my go to example for a guy who stole and profited off First Nations culture.
He's the guy Star Trek Voyager hired to create Chakotay.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Aug 7th 2018 at 11:00:24 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.^That's a reasonable concern, but you don't need to profit off of something to use it in a casual and disrespectful manner for your own convenience, is my point. They're both symptoms of the same societal disregard for cultures that are seen as lesser, and picked apart for what's convenient while the rest gets tossed.
It's been fun.The problem is that our cultures are supposed to influence each other. That is how we develop, by getting inspiration from people outside of our respective communities.
It's like the difference between stereotypes, which actually are something humans are hard wired to use (ie someone tells us that she or he is a Muslim we might ask if a specific dish is okay to serve, even though not all Muslims are following the same food rules, but it is still polite to ask, just in case) and harmful stereotypes, which are designed to create the notion that another group of people is somehow lesser than your own.
It probably draws its roots from the spirit animal concept but like the Patronus there’s the Dæmon if you’re a His Dark Materials fan.
For a more general cultural idea you’ve got the familiar from English witchcraft.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranBring honest (and coming from a fat white guy so take this for what it's worth) I feel like this spirit animal thing is getting a bit blown out of proportion, especially given wisewillow's actual complaint, to me, amounted to "I think other people will be offended".
I could understand it if it were an actual Native American troper upset by it (which I don't know if wisewillow is), if this were an expression that is considered offensive regardless of whether anyone actually is (which is not an impression I got), or if the person who originally used the expression were actively being offensive (the statement seemed genuine, if maybe thoughtless given the discussion that erupted). But this comes off in my eyes as getting all up in arms over a random turn of phrase.
But that's just my opinion and I have no real stake in this one, so (shrug).
Edited by sgamer82 on Aug 8th 2018 at 6:22:41 AM
So, the Ohio election is going to be hanging in the balance with provisional and mail in ballots. As per Nate Silver from 538's live blog of election night:
There'll be a 10 day delay before the provisional and absentee ballots are counted.
Also interesting form 538's number crunching is that turnout is down overall in Ohio-12 from 2014, but up in the main Democratic county/counties, and down in Republican.
Other interesting notes from last night:
The top prosecutor in St. Louis, who was very reluctant to move against the police despite their abuses, particular in Ferguson, was voted out and replaced by a black criminal justice reform advocate.
As I noted last night, most of the Bernie wing took it on the chin, mostly losing lopsidedly. The only exceptions are Brian Welder in the Kansas's 3rd district who's currently down by a couple hundred votes, and Rashida Tlaib, who won in the Michigan 13th.
If she pulls through and wins the November general (extremely likely given the district's history) she'll be the first Palestinian-American and first Muslim woman to serve in Congress. Tlaib has a history as a state rep in Michigan.
The ballot proposal to end so called "Right to work" laws in Missouri went down overwhelmingly, with more than 64% voting against right to work.
Recent news stories worth mentioning:
Thanks to Trump's executive orders
, public sector unions are being evicted from the offices of workers they represent
, drastically cutting down on the ability of union members to easily or privately meet with union reps.
Both Steve Bannon
and 538
agree that Republicans have lost educated white women. In 2016 Men favored the Republican party by 12 percentage points while women favored Democrats by 10 percentage points. That's a 22% gap, which some polls have already shown widening to 24% in 2018, maybe perhaps further with time. Among women with a college degree, and it's much, much wider.
“College-educated Republican women in the suburbs are a challenge,” he said. “You are not going to be able to easily secure their support, a top target for the Democrats. Maybe they don’t vote for the other side and maybe they straggle in because their 401(k) is up. But it’s gonna be a challenge.”
Talking to Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman more recently, though, Bannon was much more pessimistic.
“The Republican college-educated woman is done,” Bannon replied. “They’re gone. They were going anyway at some point in time. Trump triggers them.”
I spend a decent amount of time looking at polls and data, and Bannon’s comments struck me as accurate. On Monday, I looked at how women broadly were lining up in opposition to Trump and the Republican Party at unusual levels; the idea that white, college-educated women might be out of play rings largely true.
...
In the most recent Post poll, conducted with the Schar School, the gap was 47 points in favor of the Democrats among white women with college degrees
Bankruptcy rates among seniors have tripled since 1990
, and that's despite Bush era laws
that make it harder to declare bankruptcy and which gives the bankrupt fewer protections.
The President begging someone else to do something is always a good look.[/sarcasm]
Edited by TheWanderer on Aug 8th 2018 at 8:39:35 AM
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |![]()
I’m not Native American, nor was I particularly upset/offended. My comment was basically “hey, FYI, this phrase is kinda insensitive, here’s why.”
I like learning new things, and I also like sharing what I know. Not everything is a huge deal, but being more mindful of little things isn’t a bad thing either
Edited by wisewillow on Aug 8th 2018 at 8:42:06 AM
Correct me if I am wrong...but isn't the actual native American belief more the totem animal (and that one is not a unified belief), while is is western spiritualism which often has the concept of the spirit guide (most likely inspired by the native American belief), while the spirit animal is something which mostly turns up in fantasy romans (edit: I naturally meant novels, no idea where my mind was)? And I guess there is also the concept of having an animal represent your tribe, but that is not THAT different from the origins of European heraldic.
Edited by Swanpride on Aug 8th 2018 at 8:42:33 AM
His pattern seems remarkably similar certain sexual predators and their uses of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims: hang out the prospect of a punishing court fight, offer a settlement instead, with the agreement that nobody be allowed to talk about it afterward.
It is difficult to imagine the possibility that a man like Ross, who Forbes estimates is worth some $700 million, might steal a few million from one of his business partners. Unless you have heard enough stories about Ross. Two former WL Ross colleagues remember the commerce secretary taking handfuls of Sweet’N Low packets from a nearby restaurant, so he didn’t have to go out and buy some for himself. One says workers at his house in the Hamptons used to call the office, claiming Ross had not paid them for their work. Another two people said Ross once pledged $1 million to a charity, then never paid. A commerce official called the tales “petty nonsense,” and added that Ross does not put sweetener in his coffee.
There are bigger allegations. Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations—which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine—come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.
Not that he sees himself that way. “The SEC has never initiated any enforcement action against me,” Ross said in a statement, failing to mention the $2.3 million fine it levied against his firm in 2016. The commerce secretary also noted that one lawsuit against him got dismissed, without saying it is currently going through the appeals process. Ross confirmed settling two other cases, including the recent one against Storper, but declined to offer additional details.
Those who’ve done business with Ross generally tell a consistent story, of a man obsessed with money and untethered to facts. “He’ll push the edge of truthfulness and use whatever power he has to grab assets,” says New York financier Asher Edelman. One of Ross’ former colleagues is more direct: “He’s a pathological liar.”
...
Ross also allegedly skimmed money by serving on corporate boards of his firm’s portfolio companies. Again, the rule was that a portion of the fees that WL Ross employees got for serving on such boards was essentially supposed to be handed back to investors as rebates. Instead, Ross' firm did not give back enough, according to ex-colleagues. Ross "was like a kid in a candy store," says one of his former employees. "He pilfered it."
Ross is now attempting to distance himself from the management fee issues. “No regulatory agency has ever asserted such charges or any other charges against me and there is no basis for any such allegations,” he said in a statement.
Eight former employees and investors, however, said Ross presumably knew about the issues. And former WL Ross employees add that the costs were far greater than the $14.2 million announced by the Securities & Exchange Commission. A 2015 annual report for Invesco, WL Ross’ parent company, disclosed that the company had paid another $43 million over the last two years in reimbursements and regulatory expenses connected to its private equity business. Secretary Ross has largely avoided scrutiny around those payments because the report does not explicitly tie them to his former firm. Four former employees who worked there, however, told Forbes the $43 million was connected to WL Ross.
With the investors’ claims apparently behind him, Ross now faces a lineup of allegations from his former colleagues, who say he robbed them of money as well. Such accusations are nothing new for Ross. In 2005, former WL Ross vice chairman Peter Lusk sued the future commerce secretary for $20 million, ultimately alleging that he had tried to cut him out of his interests. The executives reached a settlement in 2007, which former WL Ross employees say cost roughly $10 million. Asked to comment on the suit, Ross responded, “The Lusk case ended with mutual confidentiality requirements.”
Three years ago, Storper launched what became a $4 million lawsuit against both his former employer, WL Ross, and former boss, the commerce secretary, alleging that Ross stole his interests. Attorneys for Ross admitted in court filings that one of his companies took Storper’s interest and reallocated part of it to the commerce secretary. But Ross’ lawyers also insisted all of that was allowed under internal agreements. “Simply put,” they wrote, “this lawsuit is a personal vendetta against Mr. Ross.” After a judge rejected attempts to prevent the case from going to trial, just days before the jury selections the two sides agreed to settle.
What makes it all more than a typical “he-said, she-said” dispute is the number of similar complaints against Ross. A third former WL Ross employee, Joseph Mullin, filed a $3.6 million lawsuit in December 2016, saying WL Ross funds “looted” his interests “for the personal benefit of Wilbur L. Ross, Jr.—and attempted to conceal their misconduct through opaque and misleading tax statements and disclosures.” A New York State court dismissed that case in February on technical grounds, saying Mullin, who left WL Ross in 2007, waited too long to file it. He is now appealing.
Storper and two other former high-ranking executives at WL Ross filed yet another lawsuit against the commerce secretary in November, alleging that he and his firm charged at least $48 million of improper fees, then pocketed the money. It was a slow siphoning rather than a one-time heist, according to the lawsuit. Private equity firms typically collect management fees—those 1.5% charges—only from their outside clients. But the lawsuit alleges that Ross and his firm seemingly charged current and former company executives as well. It would be like a restaurant owner telling his employees that they can eat for free—while taking the meal money out of their paychecks. In a statement to Forbes, Ross called the case “without merit.” He moved to dismiss it in February, but the suit remains active.
Only the best people.
Beware of bias and selective editing, of course, but here's some footage
from before and during the police crackdown in the Portland white supremacist rally. Footage includes snippets of interviews with both antifa/anti racist protestors, facist white supremacists, and the moments that the police crackdown began. My "favorite" moment is no doubt the one guy wearing a "Pinochet did nothing wrong" t-shirt. (Referring to stories of Pinochet's regime taking communists, protestors, and various other torture victims and such in helicopters
over the ocean, then throwing those poor people out the side, to either die on impact with the water or drown. For those who don't know it's a favorite meme among fascists, and one they dream about getting to partake in someday.)
Edited by TheWanderer on Aug 8th 2018 at 9:38:54 AM
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |He seems pretty Trumpy, and tied himself thoroughly to Trump.
That said, it's not lost yet. Balderson is up by ~1,700 votes and there are somewhere around ~9,000 provisional and absentee ballots to be counted, if I'm remembering both numbers correctly. It could be enough to put O'Connor over the top, or to force a recount. We'll have to see how it al pans out.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |'New York Rep. Chris Collins indicted on insider trading charges [1]
Collins, 68, faces insider trading charges along with his son, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins' fiancée, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.
The case is related to Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company, on which the elder Collins served on the board.
Collins, one of Donald Trump's early supporters in his bid for president, is expected to appear in federal court later Wednesday in Manhattan.
The three-term incumbent represents New York's 27th Congressional District, which includes suburbs of Buffalo and Rochester, and is up for re-election in November. He has raised more than $1.34 million in his campaign war chest, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filing.
Political analysts have considered his Democratic opponent's bid a long shot, the Niagara Gazette reported last month.
Edited by megaeliz on Aug 8th 2018 at 10:14:52 AM
An underappreciated factor into the whole US-China trade dispute is that the US's strong economy is what's encouraging Trump to go to a trade war, not step back from one.
As long as the US economy is strong, Trump will feel emboldened to hurt China in whatever misguided way possible, regardless of the collateral damage.
Meaning? The only way I see a way out is if there's an economic collapse, which is one of the Trump presidency's worst-case scenarios because it would be the 1930's all over again, and by the time progressives (if they do) retake power in the US the rest of the West's democracies will be run by outright fascists with no belief in deterrence or restraint because of the economic meltdown.
Edited by Mario1995 on Aug 8th 2018 at 10:26:16 AM
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam Gallagher

^I would agree with that if it was being used in a respectful manner or with any indication that people understand the actual religious significance it has, instead of it being a punchline for people who say things like "lol the mcdonalds ice cream machine is my spirit animal its never working either #mcdonalds #burn', or as in the quote from last page, 'Beyonce riding a bear in the manner of Vladimir Putin'. It's not being treated as a religious concept, it's being treated as a jokey way to say 'I like this thing'.
Edit: Well, that's a pagetopper.
Edited by RedSavant on Aug 7th 2018 at 1:13:34 PM
It's been fun.