Venting thread

[doctor shark]

Triple Vent!

More: show

(1) I went to the doctor today for a flu and a Covid vaccine: since I'm traveling to the US soon, I don't want to bring any unwanted guests back with me. I found a nearby doctor that offered , went in, appointment went well, and I went to pay... and it turned out they refused cash. (Which, as it turns out, is actually illegal in Luxembourg!) Had I known they refused cash, I would have gone to another doctor, mostly out of principle (even though I have a bank card and can pay for it with card): it's really a waste and very inconvenient to pay a small amount by card. Now I also need to figure out if I want to go through the trouble of filing a police complaint...

More: show

(2) A bit less than two weeks ago, I bought a TV at a local electronics store during their Black Friday promotions, and I found a nice 40" TV for a reasonable-ish price. (After all, why not play Zelda on the big screen?) Well... as I was playing today, I discovered a dead pixel pretty much in the middle of the screen. Not acceptable. Fortunately, Luxembourg has a pretty generous garantie de conformité* law that probably will cover this, but I need to talk (and hopefully not fight) with the retailer to see how I can get it repaired.

*Products sold in Luxembourg, like in most of the EU, are guaranteed against defects for at least two years from purchase; however, if a defect appears within 12 months of purchase, it's presumed to be the manufacturer's fault, while after that it's presumed to not be. However, notably, the Netherlands doesn't have a definite fixed period for the guarantee of conformity, but just "as long as the product is reasonably expected to last", though still subject to the 12 month clause. Useful for all those things I bought in Tulipland!

More: show

(3) AAAAAAH I FLY BACK TO THE US IN ABOUT 8 DAYS SO MUCH TO PACK SO MUCH TO FINISH PRE-TRAVEL ANXIETY AAAAAAH

[Man in Space]

Now I also need to figure out if I want to go through the trouble of filing a police complaint...

Do it. Just today I filed a complaint with the FTC regarding a giveaway thrown by a local-ish car dealership. At my previous employer, I had to go through a training on UDAAP (unfair, deceptive, and abusive advertising practices), and I felt that the presentation was deceptive.

TL;DR – They made it look like the winning codes were linked to certain specific prizes but they actually weren’t. With UDAAP, having gotchas in the fine print does not necessarily protect the advertiser from enforcement actions (surprisingly enough). It looked like I had won a TV, but the code wasn’t actually what determined the prize, despite appearances to the contrary—there is no legitimate reason for them to display the information in the way they did other than to imply that the first code was associated with a specific prizes. They handed me a shitty Bluetooth speaker, I immediately left, and before I started my car up I went to the FTC web site and filed a complaint. (I am thankful I took photographic evidence of the flyer as it was taken from me when I went to claim the prize.) It is in the big G’s hands now.

Also. It sickens me seeing how people are trying to lionize/champion/promote/support/absolve the guy who murdered that CEO the other day. I’ve seen someone redraw that scene from Spider-Man 2 (“Careful, he’s a hero”) with the gunman in place of Tobey Macguire. People have been flooding the FBI and NYPD with deliberately false tips. There have been explicit lamentations that the alleged perpetrator has been caught. There are people actively campaigning to get the guy found innocent in a jury trial and/or trying to poison the jury pool.

I was accused of “white-knight[ing] for a capitalist” because I called someone out on this. Oh, I’m sorry, so murder is OK when it’s someone you don’t like? Fuck that shit!

[Man in Space]

They are calling him “The Adjuster”. It’s trending. It’s in hashtags.

THE MURDERER IS NOT A FUCKING SUPERHERO.

[Man in Space]

I think I’m having another episode…shit.

[Ares Land]

They are calling him “The Adjuster”. It’s trending. It’s in hashtags.

THE MURDERER IS NOT A FUCKING SUPERHERO.

People certainly aren't going to mourn UnitedHealthcare CEO. But as could be expected, the killer is not a superhero, but some kind of crazy dude that happens to be a fan of the Unabomber.
Also, it's likely people are cheering for vigilantism and political violence. They're not cheering for socialized healthcare.

[Man in Space]

A new nickname has emerged: “Robin Hoodie”.

I can’t even.

[Travis B.]

Just remember - one death is a tragedy, 10K-25K excess mortalities over five years is a statistic.

[Raphael]

People certainly aren't going to mourn UnitedHealthcare CEO. But as could be expected, the killer is not a superhero, but some kind of crazy dude that happens to be a fan of the Unabomber.

Interesting - if we would live in the world the Unabomber wanted, there wouldn't be any king of modern health care, either.

[Linguoboy]

Also, it's likely people are cheering for vigilantism and political violence. They're not cheering for socialized healthcare.

To pull a quote from a post I made in the USA politics threat (where I recommend redirecting discussion of this topic to): "This isn't happiness you're seeing. This is a fury at a system that has turned health, turned people, into a commodity." I really don't think most of those sharing memes and making wisecracks want to live in an actual Purge society. But we do already live in a society where people are murdered for various reasons every single day, and there's a grim satisfaction to seeing someone more privileged and deserving than your average suburban gradeschooler on the receiving end.

[rotting bones]

Trump has literally called for the Purge, and then he got elected. All we hear about that are excuses. It's only when someone powerful gets it that the intellectuals lay a thick load of morality on our faces.

[linguistcat]

Also can we PLEASE remember that just because they brought in a suspect, there has been no trial. And even if Luigi is FOUND guilty of this crime, trials have found innocents guilty before. We went from someone who obviously planned things down to minor details, to the police having NO leads, to a guy being brought in on a tip who HAPPENS to have both the suspected murder weapon and a manifesto on him. I'm not the only person who thinks that says "planted evidence to make the police look good".

[Starbeam]

I was not previously aware of being blocked (and had read his post as saying that he was blocking me right then and there, not that he already had me blocked), and was bothered by what seemed to be an incongruously-extreme reaction to an otherwise-civil discussion, particularly the threat to bring in the mods, which seemed inappropriate and borderline-manipulative (as if I am not supposed to discuss his posts at all just because he says so or else he will complain).

First off, it's not he. I explicitly stated this in my signature.

But more importantly, I had already blocked you a while ago. Feel free to discuss me or what I say, but I don't want you DM'ing or quoting me just because the software lets you. You're not entitled to my attention and time. That's a common thing on the internet: blocked means leave them alone. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for not knowing things, but please just respect this boundary.

[Travis B.]

First off, it's not he. I explicitly stated this in my signature.

I apologize for not reading your signature, but I tend to overlook people's signatures.

But more importantly, I had already blocked you a while ago. Feel free to discuss me or what I say, but I don't want you DM'ing or quoting me just because the software lets you. You're not entitled to my attention and time. That's a common thing on the internet: blocked means leave them alone. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for not knowing things, but please just respect this boundary.

You block me, yet you respond to me, and you then expect me to not respond to you after you have responded to me -- how is that fair? If you are going to block me, please also ignore me too when you see me quoted and like.

[Starbeam]

You block me, yet you respond to me, and you then expect me to not respond to you after you have responded to me -- how is that fair? If you are going to block me, please also ignore me too when you see me quoted and like.

In this case, I understand where you're coming from. For metasocial dialog like this, I don't mind being quoted or anything because I have decided to directly talk to you about wanting you to not bother me. But everywhere else, please stop appearing in my notifications.

[Man in Space]

I really don't think most of those sharing memes and making wisecracks want to live in an actual Purge society.

I do not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation. People have been explicitly calling for jury nullification, comparing this guy to literal Jesus (and slurring the informant as Judas wanting blood money—“thirty pieces of silver” is an actual comparison I’ve seen—this in addition to wishing ill on said informant), and saying “eat the rich”. People I called friends have been calling the guy a “hero”; someone I knew posted a photoshopped picture of a Cleveland landmark with the alleged shooter photoshopped in with a caption that said something like “with my friend Luigi”; this person was one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, having a degree and vocation involving polymer chemistry. “Violence is an acceptable form of protest” is a sentiment I have seen issued with a straight face, multiple times. They call him a “revolutionary”, romanticizing him.

I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.

[Raholeun]

[snip]

Well, what is to say? The deranged generally are not locked up in wards, but are free to meme on the internet.

Although I am not a Christian, there is a Bible quote that is worthy of mention in this context:

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Perhaps you can take strength from it in these times.

[xxx]

the bombardment of information reduces its importance,
and places us in a virtual world
where a man's life is reduced to a disembodied argument,
to the point of thinking of absolving a killer as a punch line...

the opposite of what a Kaczynski would advocate,
who was attached to individual reality rather than disembodied virtual “ideals” for petitioners...
yet he decided to take violent action,
but I don't think he wanted to escape the consequences of his actions once arrested,
or become a meme for avatars of technologically foggy men he was fighting against......