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j4d3's comments
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j4d3  ·  3124 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How would you stop mass shootings?

I appreciate that it sounds like your mind is open, but it’s silly and a pet peeve that people who have no interest in being anywhere near a gun ever should have to know what distinction you and the NRA are drawing between an AR-15 and an assault rifle. Wikipedia doesn’t know the difference, either. People who have zero interest in violence shouldn’t have to go to the shooting range to feel the zen of shooting.

Though my depression, combined with a reasonable IQ, combined with a beautiful family have made the decision for me to never have a gun in my home, I do know about guns. I “grew up around guns”. So did my dad, and when his life took a bad turn, rather than turn things around, he used his .22 shotgun, bought cheap in the classified ads, to end his life. The night before he shot himself, my mom awoke to find him standing at the foot of the bed, watching her sleep. My sisters and I had been sent to stay with family, probably because my parents knew shit was hitting the proverbial fan, but every time I think about how easy it is for sick people to have guns, I wonder how many synapses my mom, sisters, and I were from being one of the many many families that gets shot to death by their dad.

There should be universal, effective background checks and waiting periods. Any sign of mental illness or domestic violence should be disqualifying (though I worry that this will prevent people from seeking help). Guns should be taxed like the death and disability machines they are. Guns shouldn’t be able to kill tons of people without reloading. We should do buybacks and whatever else Australia and Canada do. Gun owners should face prison time if their guns are stored so a child or criminal can get to them. When there’s a murder, we should all hear whose gun that was that killed that child and who sold/gave it to the loser who did it.

I was thinking the other morning, “What if the NRA started using some of the money they make after these shootings to help people see the signs that they shouldn’t be around a gun? Feeling blue? Don’t buy a gun. Got a kid who’s a little weird? Don’t buy a gun. Have kids and you’re not so great at putting things away when you’re done with them? Don’t buy a gun.” And then I remembered that the NRA exists to sell guns.

So. That’s what I think.

The headline from TIME said "Google Blames Humans for Self-Driving Car Crash — Again". Indeed, rear-ending a stopped car without even slowing down seems like human error.

j4d3  ·  3183 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Some people worth following
j4d3  ·  3184 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 00000000000000000000000000000000000000

Those people leak all over Reddit. So if you want news about your city or your career, you are also looking at these gross monsters who think their gross monster opinions are normal because Reddit tells them so.

j4d3  ·  3198 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A Case Against Bernie Sanders by Barney Frank

I would like see numbers before I write Sanders off as unelectable. Obama wasn't the front-runner, either.

j4d3  ·  3199 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: US surveillance drone crashes in Iraq, selfie ensues

Yes, having military planes flying over your home seems like it would be.

j4d3  ·  3199 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Sandra Bland Arrest Video Appears Edited

Sketchy.

I wish all the media outlets showing the dashcam today would show the bystander's video of what was happening after the officer took her out of view of the dashcam.

j4d3  ·  3161 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: My hubski feed has been static for the last week.

Disclaimer: I'm new here. What do I know.

I've been missing a particular user who stopped talking a couple weeks ago. She (I think) requested a feature to make bad comments less visible, people didn't like it, and they piled on. These are people who probably pat themselves on the back for being the heart of the site. The user they shouted down didn't rage-quit. She just stopped talking, and it's a shame. Then I saw a similar group of users shout down two other good users who dared suggest that people who send death threats on the Internet may give up the expectation of anonymity. One of the people who was piled on rage-quit, and another has stopped talking.

But I'm not really interested in joining Hubski's chit-chat club. If I want to nurture friendships, I want those people to be able to pick me up at my local airport. I am here to look at interesting content. I do read the comments, and I think Hubski's moderation is original enough that it may turn out to be what I need to read Internet comments without despairing for humankind. It's a shame that some commenters here would rather get really aggressive over minute disagreements than just hush someone and move on.

j4d3  ·  3181 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Ugh

Sometimes rage-quitting is the only answer. Every few months, one too many rape apologists or horrifying subreddits gets me down, and I rage-quit Reddit.

Here, I'd already blocked the "Fuck Black Lives Matter" guy, but I still saw that comment. Self-moderation is great, but some sort of "I want to forget that this person even exists" mode may be in order.

j4d3  ·  3193 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Map of the US in 1947, from the point of view of Californians  ·  
j4d3  ·  3199 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: US surveillance drone crashes in Iraq, selfie ensues

True, I don't want to be there taking a selfie, but I'm glad people braver or more curious than me are going over and taking a look at the freakshow in the middle of their desert.

j4d3  ·  3148 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Microaggressions and the Rise of Victimhood Culture - The Atlantic

Are more white people going to think twice before sprinkling in some Spanish next time they talk to a brown person? If yes, then this guy’s response was effective. The frame I would use is not (lame-ass whiny) victim versus dignified person as this article’s author would like to do. It is effective versus ineffective.

If complaining that my boss gave me my first negative feedback the very day I announced my pregnancy gets me fired, that is ineffective toward my goal of me (and other women) continuing a career in tech. If it results in him not doing it to the next gal, it’s a win. It’s impossible to predict what will happen, so I’ve kept my mouth shut. I don’t think keeping my mouth shut is “dignified.” I think it can be read as craven.

j4d3  ·  3182 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: That's Not Funny- Today’s college students can’t seem to take a joke.

Caring about subtle racism is for babies.

Real men care about the PC SJW's (allegedly) censoring comedians at colleges.

j4d3  ·  3195 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Oppressed Rulers of the Games Industry

I also stopped reading when it became clear that the author was saying women should shut up about online harassment. Unless he really buried a 180-degree turn somewhere in that text wall, his argument seems to be that the reason women stay out of tech isn't vicious misogynist attacks; it's all these dreadful women speaking up about it.

Nope. Disagree.

j4d3  ·  3203 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Stop Acting So Surprised: How Microaggressions Enforce Stereotypes in Tech

If in some parallel universe all programmers cared about indie music, craft beer, Pinterest, and potty training woes, I might not want anything to change. But if marginalized people said they felt excluded because they don't looooove glitter, I hope I would be decent enough to shut up about craft projects for five seconds and try to find common ground.

I would still be nervous to get in one now, but I'm glad they're working on it. Tens of thousands of fatalities a year say that humans really can't be trusted to drive safely.

j4d3  ·  3126 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Hubski Challenge: Videos, music, artwork, fashion, or whatever. Drop a nostalgia bomb

j4d3  ·  3141 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What it's like to be a black employee at a predominantly white tech company

    The most impactful detriment to diversity in Silicon Valley is the idea of “culture fit.”

Yup. Glad people are saying this. Hope companies are hearing it.

(Also, I dunno if you can edit the title, but it's "predominantly".)

j4d3  ·  3174 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Tumblr vs. Hubski

A fun browser extension for conversations like this: PC2Respect.

    "Those same people who might not go along with considerations of treating people with respect may also be in support of issues that are most definitely leftist."
j4d3  ·  3181 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Anyone here see this? Bernie Sanders speech stopped.

Unfortunately, saying that these people should have a face full of pepper spray is the kind of thing that will ensure this keeps happening.

In the video, it looks like Sanders himself is ready to listen on this issue. It's a shame that the other white guy who took over the mic instead of just letting that gal speak for a little while didn't handle it better. From what I've read, some people in the crowd weren't particularly cool, either.

I think Sanders and many of his supporters are well-meaning and angry about injustice as well. But I think the solution here is listening until they (we -- I support both Sanders and Black Lives Matter as well) can convince folks they've been heard, rather than fighting against people who are on the same side.

j4d3  ·  3186 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: #IfIDieInPoliceCustody tell them I was a lion.

It's fine to care about both human suffering and people who kill animals for fun. But people who have tweeted about Cecil the Lion and not Trayvon Martin need to fuckin' reflect on their values.

j4d3  ·  3198 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How Pluto's most spectacular image was made—and nearly lost

It was also a relief that even NASA scientists get dumb on sleep deprivation.

j4d3  ·  3203 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Bernie Sanders doesn't talk about race

One solution that seems to make sense in police brutality cases is body cameras. Sanders supports those.

    Sanders said he supports requiring police officers to wear body cameras and other reforms so that "suspects are treated with respect."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/30/politics/bernie-sanders-presidential-run-first-interview/

Are there other things you'd like to hear him saying?

Glancing up from a cell phone to see if the light is green seems like it might cause such a phenomenon. To speculate.

j4d3  ·  3141 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What it's like to be a black employee at a predominantly white tech company

Well, but people with families work hard without the hangovers. Yeah, there's health stuff, but hiring grown-ups has its own rewards.

j4d3  ·  3149 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Half of Everything

Money schmoney. I just hope that if things fall apart, my husband tells a judge that he's willing to split the kids in half.

j4d3  ·  3153 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The War Photo No One Would Run

    As an angry 28-year-old Jarecke wrote in American Photo in 1991: “If we’re big enough to fight a war, we should be big enough to look at it.”

I'd love to do neither some day.

j4d3  ·  3164 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Men: Older? School-Age? College-Age?: Do You Ever Ask These Questions?

The Implicit Assumptions Test is very revealing of biases one doesn't think one has.

j4d3  ·  3174 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Warning signs for "blocked/filtered poster ahead"

So brave.