Talk About Tennis 2.0

ti-amie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 2:08 am

I'd been thinking about posting something related to WWII and the present, but wasn't sure about the best place or time prior to seeing the previous post in this thread.

All my late grandparents had traumatizing experiences during the second world war. One grandfather got to ride into Germany in the final days of the war with the Americans. He'd been studying to become an anesthesiologist and that specific knowledge combined with his broader medical training meant he could be of some use. What he saw in terms of human suffering - psychological as well as physical damage - stayed with him 'till the end. My other grandfather had seen his older brother arrested by the Germans (he was forced into hard labour) and had to go into hiding for several years to escape the same fate.

One grandmother grew up in a little village in the North of the Netherlands and her father owned a small transport company. When the Germans invaded all their trucks were taken from the family and her parents sent her and a sister to live with distant relatives in a part of the country that was considered safe(r) at the time and also increased the chances of there being enough food to go around for those who stayed behind. The other grandmother grew up in Indonesia (then still under Dutch rule) and spent "a certain amount of time" in a Japanse internment camp. Whatever happend in that time was not talked about.

There is a lot more to these four wartime stories as well as the people themselves, but an equally important lesson can be taken from what they saw prior to 1939. They saw the rise of fascism and clearly remembered the "growing unease" about what was happening in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and then the gradual realisation of the inevitable. All the warning signs that were brushed off a decade earlier. All the fears that were dismissed. And now, with most of that generation no longer with us, it seems we're increasingly lacking a rearview mirror to fully comprehend what millions upon millions of people died for. Especially the younger generations who grew up in freedom in countries without war on their own soil mostly lack the full understanding of what their current freedoms are worth. And how they were attained. What the parallels are between then and now.

What I'm trying to tell my (step)children and nephews and nieces who bring up current politics is that there is, currently anyway, still a lot of information out there. In books, recordings (with or without moving pictures) and other kinds of archives, but also in the stories great grandparents perhaps told their parents. Who are now our parents or (great)grandparents. It's like... Don't take my word for anything, but do make an effort to find information outside of "social" media and other sources of polarized information, and take that into consideration going forward.

One "thanks" is too few, Oploskofie. Many, many for that post.
I am on the side of Pinker; things have gotten, overall, better. I do believe in progress.
But such progress is measured over long spans of time. Nothing says there can't be steps backwards, or that the progress attained can't be lost. One change in administration and a lot can be lost.
Women's rights.
LGBTQ rights
The steps towards equality that have been taken, and which are the stepping stones for the rest of what needs to be done.

What has happened in Venezuela, compared to what you talk about, is menial. But there is one similarity. In 1998, about 1/3 of the people in Venezuela voted in a buffoon, not realizing how fragile our democracy was. So fragile it is now gone. And it happened because of the arrogance of ignorance. The believe that you are truly informed of what will happen. In the USA, 77 MM Americans have set the path towards a very dark place. Let's see if the American system can withstand this decision. I hope yes. But I believe not.

I wonder if an armed citizenry can change that course?

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2025 2:35 pm I wonder if an armed citizenry can change that course?

No.
If you are talking about Venezuela, we would need a revolutionary army to fight our army. Which is a pretty army, but still.
If you are talking the USA.
Just check Neal Brennan's joke about it:

More like, "Here comes the SS to arrest us, we should kill them before they kill us."

I watched this twice because I thought she was joking or it was a challenge like there always is on that site. Turns out she's really that dumb.

The comments are interesting.

Well, the guy explaining is not that smart either. How about if he mentions "angles"?

Went to a "protest" against musk/trump this afternoon in NYC. I would say the median age was around 50-55. Marched from Union Square to Washington Square Park(.56 miles) which disrupted traffic for about 20-30 mins on Broadway. There were probably 7,000-10,000 people, enough to really disrupt things, but no. A missed opportunity to actually disrupt, done in the wrong part of town.

Was watching a Federer highlight compilation and the Aussie guy, I forget his name, called Roger's reflexes "like a mongoose on amphetamines". Gave me chuckle.

Greenmantle22
•
9h ago
Designer luggage? Check

Knockoff fur-trimmed coat to be placed in the overhead? Check

Three pieces of luggage, two of which are too big for underseat stowage? Check

She just wants to be seen. And you don’t mind if she gathers her crap before she jumps down the slide, do you? She bought that tote bag in Metropolitan Orlando!

I'd be the guy helping people get out, her bags would not have gone with her, I probably would have had to push her out cuz, ain't nobody got time for that, time is of the essence. Sue me.

If only there were a regulatory agency, properly staffed, to find this woman and slap her with a 5 figures fine and a flying ban for ten years.