Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@nessisonett
Aye, I totally understand what you mean, I'm 100% with you on standing against any form of discrimination.
And as the PS5 event has been delayed, I think my previous suggestion will probably be incorrect. Would be hard to find a way not to report on that.

@Ralizah I think I should clarify that I don’t mean to say all us average Joes are the direct cause of all our nation’s problems and I apologize if it came across that way. But indirectly, we (collectively speaking) elected these the leaders, both locally and federally. Who voted these police chiefs and sheriffs into office? What city council members and mayors have been turning a blind eye to the corruption that exists in some of these communities? I mean, someone voted for the people we have. Amazingly, a majority of people have chosen the leaders that are in place. For that, the voters share in the responsibility. Pointing fingers at other entities who are the cause of all our problems can only get us so far. It is my belief that we take a little ownership individually as well.

And perhaps small groups of people do hold more influence. But I think that is likely true of every society on the globe. Some places of course are worse than others and I only know what it’s like here, although I’ve had various contacts in foreign lands over the years. I also agree on the point that things may not necessarily be worse nowadays than in the past — rather we just know about the nefarious activities in more detail due to social media, camera phones, the internet, increased public discourse, and a general boost in public information versus the 1950’s or heck, the 1820’s. However, by extension, the current state of things behind the proverbial curtains of the individual lives of leaders in most nations is way less accessible than in the U.S. I think things are quite hidden in every “democracy”, monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship, theocracy... etc. in the world. No place plasters our problems all across every household quite like the U.S.

But although corruption and a trend toward rule by the elect exists here, I’m not sure where else there exists the ability to put people in office in a more open manner. And to be sure, we did have a black president for the preceding 8 years who came from a humble upbringing (at least comparatively speaking). I still think the system can work. I suspect the electoral process is quite overtly more corrupt in many of the world’s nations, sometimes because we’re involved and sometimes without our input.

In short, I’m all in favor of what @mookysam suggests — each of us, whether minority or otherwise, needs to speak up within our own homes and communities and not only speak up, but also serve in local government, participate in community town halls and service groups, and care for our own people. Leading by example and get involved. I still believe the power of the individual. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing” (Edmund Burke). Especially when we band together. I fear that adhering to the “Welp, it’s a corrupt system and there’s nothing I can do about that” is only going to propagate the status quo. But I’m sure we are all pretty much in the same page here. The Push Square community has always struck me as one of care, equality, and a group who spreads their good influence.

@LieutenantFatman After a quick browse of the comments on that very article, I now fully understand why you thought it might not be a great idea! But alas, the systematic oppression of African-Americans ‘doesn’t affect the gaming world’ so of course Sony should hold a massive event backed by the big bucks 😂😂 I actually cannot

@nessisonett people like that make me never want to interact with the comment sections on big articles like that and some others surounding some controversy since i know half of them are filled with suphumans. it's sad that those kind of people make others wary of interacting with the community.

@nessisonett After reading the comments on that article my faith in humanity, which was pretty low today after seeing queues for Ikea, has gone into minus figures.

@Rudy_Manchego
I understand how you feel. A disturbing lack of empathy seems to be the norm more and more. Part of why I abandoned social media, so many are so focused on their own little bubble, anything else is too inconvenient to be worth consideration.

@Th3solution Yeah, I think people have a duty to speak out. This isn't okay and it can't be accepted as normal. If people who enjoy the privileges of being white keep silent then what's it really saying?

@nessisonett @Rudy_Manchego @LieutenantFatman I deeply regret reading those comments and honestly feel like banging my head against the wall. No idea what is wrong with people.

@mookysam @nessisonett @Rudy_Manchego @LieutenantFatman
That comment section is a new low. The people on there making disrespectful and blasé comments about the events in USA should be ashamed of themselves. The PS5 event had been delayed, not cancelled so it is not like it will not be happening.

I perfectly understand people are disappointed about it being postponed but calling George Floyd a criminal who deserved to die all because you’re upset about the PS5? Really?

@Th3solution I didn't mean to imply that "everything is corrupt so who cares?" or that there was nothing individual citizens could do. I just think the extent to which the United States is held under the thumb of corporate interests, especially compared to a lot of other affluent, first-world nations, is troubling, and unless we address the systemic economic and political factors that protect corruption and discourage social change, nothing is ultimately going to change that much.

So many Americans have this belief that our country is the greatest and freest land in all the world, and nearly everywhere else is a despotic hellhole desperately clinging to us for protection of the few freedoms they do enjoy, but, in reality, when you look at almost every available metric measuring education, quality of life, political freedom, access to healthcare, etc. we're usually lagging behind much of the developed world in all of these areas. This is certainly the case when it comes to how fully democratic a society we are, and how open our elections are.

People absolutely should take on some responsibility and try to "be the change they want to see in the world." But it's not enough on its own to solve most of the problems we're facing as a nation. You can't solve the issues of inequality, both social and economic, inherent to oligarchic rule without fingering the reasons behind them.

@nessisonett it's coments like those that made me wish the staff would be less lax when it comes to bans.

i mean this is bordering on approving hatecrimes.

@Ralizah Yeah, I think we’re both kind of saying the same thing, just from different perspectives. Clearly the system is corrupt and there are a group of leaders in the country that are dishonest, lacking any moral compass, deceitful, bigots, greedy, and self absorbed to protect their own power and assets. I feel that this applies to both parties and is not specific to one group or individual. We can both agree that we are in dire need of reform.

Whether it’s a broken system that placed the power into the wrong hands or whether it’s the corruption of the population that placed them in power, I guess it doesn’t matter in the end. It’s probably a little of both actually. There is an inherited level of rule and power that money buys through familial and corporate propagation of wealth. But I also believe that the people of our country (and the world at large) have lost their way and allowed some of these things like racism, hatred, and violence as acceptable. You and I are appalled by racism and blatant hate crimes, but amazingly a large number of people apparently tolerate disgusting acts of hatred and criminality because it keeps happening. Unfortunately you and I might be in the minority as it relates to social responsibility.

Is the root cause the 1% and the corporations who corruptly use their power to hold down the poor and the minorities? Or is the root cause the millions of Americans who think that such heinous acts are okay? Again, perhaps a little bit of both. These police officers are not part of the country’s elite 1%. There is no inherent political gain other than the vile disease of racism that drives them to act in the ways we’ve recently seen.

Many parts of Europe, Asia and Africa (and certainly the Middle East) are highly racist, prejudiced, homophobic, and religiously oppressive. We don’t have a monopoly on hate. But I think I agree that for a country that has our level of wealth and influence, that we need to do better. And although I see things through slightly rose-colored glasses, personally I’m not that far removed from lineage that came to the U.S. to flee the oppression and inequalities elsewhere and seek opportunity to live free. Just one generation removed, in fact. Sure, my grandparents could have gone other places and enjoyed freedom and equality, but they chose to come here to set up life for their progeny. Not every American has been as fortunate as I, and the metrics of education, health care access, etc need to be better. But I think that’s a whole other ball of wax entirely.

Anyways, like I say, I think we are all in the same ballpark on what our concerns are, and let’s hope (and work) for better days ahead.

I’ve been trying to teach myself digital art recently. Despite having Advanced Highers in both Art and Computing Science (harder than A-Levels because the Scottish system is weird and yes, I’m absolutely bragging lmao), I bizarrely haven’t put the two together at any point. I’m also kinda sick of my typical programmers’ art, I could design an incredibly sophisticated system but if it looks like sh*t, it looks like sh*t. It’s weird how much I’ve missed drawing when I think about all those hours I spent painting in high school, utterly bored out my mind. It’s bloody difficult and it’ll be a long time before I produce anything that’ll be good enough that it doesn’t make me extremely embarrassed but I do find it relaxing. Lord knows I need something relaxing with everything going on.

@Th3solution The police issue is going to be a toughie to figure out. Partially because this animosity between police and the American black community has deep roots. Partially because the way police are trained in the U.S. conditions them to be as paranoid as humanly possible, to the point where it almost feels like they're being trained to place their own safety over the lives of the people they're supposed to be protecting. Partially because police often learn through personal experience that loyalty to other cops is more important than always behaving with propriety (at least, this is what I've heard; I've never been in that world, so this is pure hearsay).

Really, the police abuse epidemic probably shouldn't be surprising, even if it is inexcusable.

The U.S. isn't going to completely restructure how police train and who is employed with them any time soon, so, if it does get better, it's probably going to be a slow, generational process.

Of course, we really only know about this problem because of the prevalence of cell phone videos and, occasionally, body cam footage, so it makes you wonder how much more common this sort of thing was in the past when the police could essentially act with impunity.

@Ralizah Maybe we could have some kind of federally mandated affirmative action for the police force? I don’t know, just an idea. Of course even such a thing would take years to get through all the channels.

@Th3solution

https://www.npr.org/2014/12/10/369865012/why-police-departmen...

Almost six years out of date, but I doubt the information is too old to be useful.

This article suggests a lot of departments are having a hard time attracting black applicants, and not for lack of trying.

And apparently (circa 2014) 1-in-4 officers were non-white. But in a lot of inner city communities, you get much less of a spread, with primarily white cops servicing areas that are primarily non-white in terms of their demographics.

@Ralizah @Th3solution President Trump says he supports protestors, whilst simultaneously unleashing the immediate police to teargas protestors. To then hold up a Bible for a photo shoot.

What the heck.

@Ralizah Interesting. Well, I guess diversifying the police force may not be a feasible quick fix either. A gradual restructuring of training sounds like a must though.

To the staff the bad comments mean nothing. They want to see an article get 200+ comments be it bad or good. They want traffic and views on a site and by banning people you get less views and traffic. That's why they are so laxed.

@Genrou I don't think they create an article just to have views and bad comments. Pushsquare it's like... a square: many people walk there and those who like it and respect it keep it clean (like we are trying to do now), while others just pass by littering it (users who reveal themselves with stupid comments).
What we can do to help the admin is to report them.
I also consider the ignore button as part of a mini-game: find the idiot and ignore him/her to save the world!