Notices by mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io), page 3

@kdw

No. I disagree completely.

If you didn't recognize dangerous fascist policies and rhetoric until someone literally does a nazi salute on stage? Then you probably shouldn't be in charge of a country.🤷🏿♂️

That's specifically my point, that people focus on the performative symbolism more than the horror of the policies. Which is why fashy people take such pleasure in these silly gestures: people are traumatized, and get all spun up in the "Did he? Didn't he?" conversation, and stop talking about the horrific policies themselves.

@kdw

I edited it to say "nazi salutes can hurt you."

@kdw

That's a pretty reductive reading of what I wrote. But if we're being pedantic, then yes, the salute itself can cause psychological trauma.

And yes, I have lived in countries where the gesture is banned.

If your take away from what I wrote is really "We should allow people to do nazi salutes, because they are harmless!" then I genuinely don't know what to say.

@juergen_hubert

Honestly, if people are still waiting for US newspapers to save them? Newspapers? Then I understand that even less.🤷🏿♂️

US newspapers try to make money off the rise of fascism, gaslight people who are its targets, then instantly fold like, well, like paper when it becomes obvious that the fascism they enabled is going to win.

At no point did they offer any meaningful assistance or resistance to fascism. And at many times they were actively harmful to the group's trying to promote democracy, lying about DEI, made up crime waves, immigration, Black voters, and everything in between.

People used to get mad at me for saying all this. Now it's... much more quiet.

No one is coming to save us. We have to help ourselves.

Pour one out for the US Digital Service.

This amazing team was founded during the Obama administration. They convinced some of the best and brightest minds in tech, to give up wealth and RSUs and free lattes, to dedicate their professional lives to service.♥️👍🏿

It just got renamed to DOGE.

@mawhrin

Fair. But I'm not belittling anyone. I'm saying that the policies are worse.

We focus too much on performative racism/fascism, and not enough on systemic racism. A governor can add $100M to police budgets, or ban masks, or be vocally anti-DEI, or talk recklessly about Haitians, and nothing happens. But if it comes out that they wore blackface in a yearbook photo, or said the n-word, then everyone says OMG they're racist. I don't understand this either.

Like I said, our assignment hasn't changed. Protect the most vulnerable.

@ulfr @wonkothesane

They think they're unstoppable now, because they have the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch, all in line.

Their opponents think they're not unstoppable.

One of the two groups is wrong.🤷🏿♂️

@louis

Yes that's one. Another is that the Alt-Right was literally founded by a person that does nazi salutes and wants to ethnically cleanse the US to turn it into a "whites only ethno-state." His words. His plan to do this is through policy at first. His best friend from Duke university, now sets US immigration policy. Again.

All of this has been publicly available knowledge for the past 8 years.

I think some people are still holding out hope that the supporters of these policies would reject them if they only knew that they were ethnic cleansing policies. I... don't have that hope.

The only thing that I've observed that makes people that support these policies decide not to support these policies any more, is when they experience that these policies harm themselves too. It's selfishness, not empathy, or caring about other people, or rejection of fascism, that makes them change.

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... don't deport my family members."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... let me hire H1-Bs."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... keep funding Ukraine's military."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... don't bankrupt my agribusiness."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... I need my government job, so I hope it's not eliminated."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... I need this health insurance, so I hope they leave ACA alone."

"I hope they crush our enemies! But... California needs FEMA help, so I hope they don't take that away."

Etc.

Each group wants fascism for others, even when the fascists promise a little fascism for them too.

@louis

One was literally on stage at the RNC, in a speech honoring Trump.

@kimschulz @tim

Kim, the previous administration is what *you* want to talk about.

That's not what *I* want to talk about.

The only problem is, this is my timeline, and my thread.

But there's an easy solution! In Mastodon, each user has the ability to create their very own timeline, and their very own threads! That way, everyone can discuss whatever topic they want, without derailing another conversation! Brilliant!

So my suggestion: make a new post posing the questions: "Was the Biden administration nazis? Were they closed fascism?" Post that, and I will boost it! I promise! That way, everyone that wants to have that conversation can join in, over there.

@louis

Before Trump was inaugurated in 2016, nazis gave lots of speeches around the country and in DC that were covered by mainstream press, where they did lots of nazi salutes.

Fox News anchors have done similar nazi salutes on stage at other points during Trump's term.

Nazis have been floating around CPAC for years.

I don't see how this is a big difference from those. Like, why is this any more undeniable?

(And no I'm not sharing those videos links. We all know what a nazi salute looks like).

@kimschulz

Everyone else got it except for you.

And I'm not rewriting what I wrote just for you.

If a teacher teaches a lesson, then gives a test, and all students get an A except for one student who got an F? That's very sad for that one student.

Everyone learns differently. I would agree that the way the teacher explained it might not have been clear *for that one student*. I can see how that one student might genuinely think that the best approach is for the teacher to change their whole lesson plan and teaching style, to be more clear for them as an individual.

But that's not going to happen.

@Kierkegaanks

Follow that thought through: intent to do what?

Intent to enact nazi policies.

But... they have already, vocally, and literally, very publicly expressed that intent to enact those policies.

In fact, they *promised* to enact those policies.

If a dog is already biting your leg and shaking its head viciously from side to side, don't worry about if it's barking or not. Yes, barking can be a sign of aggression... but that dog has already "expressed intent" to bite you. Because it's biting you right now. You don't need to panic. You don't need to despair. You just need to know what to do when a dog bites your leg. And "listen for barking!" or "these are other common signs of dog aggression!" don't really play into protecting yourself from an ongoing dog attack. Staying calm does.

@kimschulz

"So you think pancakes are waffles?"

Nowhere in my post did I even hint at the previous administration. I have literally thousands of posts criticizing the previous administration. You can go through each and every one of them and see if I called the previous administration nazis even once. My numerous criticisms of the previous administration are in no way unclear. I have been extremely, excruciatingly, specific.

This post is about people being concerned over a nazi salute.

I said what I said. Nazi salutes can't hear you. Nazi policies can.

Nazi salutes can't hurt you. Nazi policies can.

How're people more agitated by a nazi salute than by nazi policies? I don't get it.🤷🏿♂️

👨🏼"Well, now it's open fascism!"

Why is closed fascism any better? The same policies are happening.

Your assignment hasn't changed: Protect the most vulnerable.

@mekkaokereke @GottaLaff @dave @SnowshadowII likewise, very few issues!

@NohatCoder @Greengordon

You wish.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_n-4fj-j5A

@GottaLaff @dave @SnowshadowII @molly0xfff

Honestly, I haven't experienced many bot problems since joining Hachyderm.♥️👍🏿

I think I can remember two major bot spikes in my entire time here? Both were within a few weeks of each other, and were the same Japanese instance auto-generating new accounts that disappeared very quickly.

Running a losing election strategy, then sinking Kamala's chances with the anchor of that failure, then pardoning your own family members on the way out, is like letting zombies into the compound, and then driving away from the carnage that you created in a reinforced and armored school bus.

Why you don't need to train with super heavy weights at low reps to get stronger, and why pilates and bodybuilding are effectively the same thing. I train in the 10 - 20 rep range. This is the first time I've used 405 lbs on the bench in months.

And you don't have to train to absolute failure to get stronger. I don't train to failure. You just have to know where you would have failed (ie, I could have gotten 3 more).

Picture an elephant standing on a square platform, happily eating hay.🐘

The platform is suspended 3 feet off the floor by chains at each corner.

The chains connect to a bundle of 200 ropes, that each go through a hook in the roof. The ropes are each securely tied to mooring cleats on the floor.

If I have enough force on each of those 200 ropes, I can gently lower the elephant 3 feet to the ground, then raise it back up again, then reattach the ropes to the mooring cleats.👍🏿

It's about 75 lbs per rope to lower an elephant under control.

If I have 20 school kids, that's... not enough kids. But if I have 600 school kids, that's more than enough kids!

But... if the kids just run into the gym and start untieing ropes? Someone is going to get hurt.😬

The kids have to be coordinated.

I both need enough kids in the gym, and I need the kids to be able to apply their little force in a coordinated way, that sums up to the weight of the elephant.

Muscle mass is a *physical attribute*. It can be developed. (Add more kids!)

Strength is a *skill*. It can also be developed. (Practice taking up the slack and pulling at the same time!).

Training close to max strength builds muscle mass, but in a risky way. You can add mass with lower weights.

One of the best ways to build muscle mass, is "stretch mediated hypertrophy," and "lengthened partials." That's a fancy way of saying "Stretch! But stretch while holding a moderate weight!"

Pilates and bodybuilding are almost the same thing. Your butt looks better because you added muscle to it.🤷🏿♂️

In the elephant gym analogy, this is "Use a longer rope! When kids find out there's a live elephant in the gym, more will naturally want to join the 'lower the elephant' project! So make sure that there's room on the rope for them to join!"

(Sarcomeres. The kids are sarcomeres).