#anti corporate abuse

[theblackinnkeeper]

Hey guys look it’s a picture of Dan Schneider

#persona 5 #suguru kamoshida #anti dan schneider #I hope you get locked up you son of a bitch #damn the network for letting you get away with all that you filthy bastard #anti corporate abuse

[queerism1969]

#child labor #child abuse #child development #children #traditional moral values #libertarian #republican #constitutional originalism #classical liberal #conservative #fuck capitalism #capitalism #social issues #anti capitalism #late stage capitalism #current events #corporations

[arwenkenobi48]

Rejecting Grimdark, Reclaiming Humanity

Trigger warning: capitalism, emotional abuse, mentions of suicidal ideation

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I’ve never really surrounded myself by grimdark media and I think the fact that I ended up in a severe mental health crisis and experienced suicidal ideation whenever I was exposed to it isn’t a coincidence; it’s just not good for my soul

Don’t get me wrong, I love dark media and I’m a sucker for bittersweet endings, but that’s because there’s a certain beauty that comes with that which I can’t find in grimdark fiction; I just end up wondering why that piece of media even exists. If the characters and the world they live in amount to nothing, what’s the point of even creating something surrounding it? What’s the point in following the journey of characters whose entire purpose is to suffer without any form of recompense?

There isn’t even any catharsis in it like you’d find in a Shakespearean tragedy; it’s just pain for the sake of pain and I think we, as a generation, have had far too much of that already. And the idea that grimdark fiction is pushed as “realistic” and “just how life is” makes me sick to my stomach. The phrase “life isn’t all [insert positive thing here]” has come to mean “[positive thing] doesn’t exist and it’s wrong to expect it” which just reeks of defeatism and honestly feels like a mass scale form of emotional abuse.

Capitalism not only robs us of what we need to survive, but preys on our emotions and systematically destroys our wills through pushing this agenda. Whenever I see someone making jokes about how they thought something good was coming into their lives only for it to be snatched away, my heart breaks bc it’s clear that they’ve internalised that harmful shit. I’ve noticed this particularly with memes about how every year since 2016 people have been hoping for something better and getting that hope crushed. Some say that laughter is the best medicine and I do agree with that sentiment a lot of the time, but there’s a big difference between a genuine, joyful laugh and a sardonic chuckle, which is what I feel is becoming the status quo.

The authoritarian capitalists that currently rule us can only truly thrive when they know they’ve killed every fragment of joy within us. And the way they’re doing that is by twisting even something as wholesome as human laughter into something that just creates more numbing pain. They want us to be numb. They want us to stop feeling. They want us to stop caring. To care, to feel, to have hopes and dreams is to be human. They don’t want humans. They want machines. Machines that were once human. They can build as many robots as they want; it’s not like they can’t afford it. But the idea of humans leading a happy life that aren’t in their elite circle is something they cannot stand. That’s why they’re determined to break us by any means necessary.

I know that we’ve all been hurt. Not just by the capitalists, but by individual traumas we’ve faced throughout all stages of life. I’ve been hurt too. My pain, while it has eased, hasn’t ceased yet. But the worst thing any of us could possibly do is let that pain numb us. The moment we stop feeling, stop caring and stop hoping for something better, that is the moment they win. I know it isn’t easy. I know it’s hard to break free from the pessimistic mindset they’ve been instilling in us for so long, but you can do it. Don’t be afraid.

Don’t be afraid to feel. Don’t be afraid to care. Don’t be afraid to hope for and long for something better than what you have. We all deserve better than what they’re doing to us. Defeatism, pessimism and apathy are our worst enemies and their most powerful allies. There’s only one way to break free of that. And that is to feel, care, hope, dream, aspire, be passionate. To love one another and to love ourselves.

It’s been said, time and time again, that true love conquers all. There’s a large number of people who have a very shallow understanding of what that means. But as sentimental as some may call it, love truly is our greatest strength. Love for our planet, our own human race, for each other, for the life and future we know we deserve. Do you think all the revolutions that toppled the tyrants of old from their thrones would have still happened had the people not been united by love? Just think about it. An entire nation can rise up and defeat evil all because they collectively agreed “We love each other so deeply that we’re going to fight tooth and nail for the lives, peace and happiness we deserve”. There is something beautiful and profound about that. And I still believe that we all have that same fighting spirit in us all. We must do everything we can to keep it alive.

So the next time someone tells you a happy ending isn’t “realistic”, it’s best to politely disagree. We all deserve to live happily ever after. We all deserve happiness and peace in our lives. Life is not a piece of grimdark fiction. We need to realise that. We need to rekindle the warmth inside our hearts. We need to let ourselves be human again.

(Author’s Note: That took a lot out of me. What started as nothing more than an introspective throwaway post turned into a full blown manifesto. I’m glad I wrote it, though, and I want to share it. I hope that it inspires some positive change.)

#manifesto #anti capitalism #anti corporations #unity #philosophy #pessimism #optimism #tw: emotional manipulation #tw: emotional abuse #media manipulation #cynicism #humanity #the human condition #love #the power of love #revolution #grimdark #life #life philosophy #epiphany #courage #hope #human spirit #arwen speaks

[sturnmad]

My mom genuinely pisses me off soooooooo much bro like it's crazy. Her ability to rewrite the past & believe that she's a good parent should legit be studied by a team of harvard psychologists. Ive been trying to let it go bc the past is passed forgive & forget etc etc + she's getting me through college so I'll have to put up w her for at least a few more years, and like I barely care/remember most of what she did anyways, but. Oh my godddddddddddd

#OH MY GODDDDDDDDDD . #my mom is the main reason im so anti corporal punishment #BRO SHES LITERALLY GOT ME GRINDING MY TEETH LIKE???? #'i never abused my kids' YOUUUUUU WATERBOARDED A 7YO. FOR THROWING A TOY. PSYCHO BEHAVIOR. #madspeaks #like when i was younger i rationalized it bc i was a 'bad kid' or wtv #but now that im watching my brother grow up. nothing a 7yo does could justify that :/ #vent

[jaythelay]

Alot of people make the horror for themselves, it's kinda cute. Like being scared to play Resident Evil (any of them) or Bioshock.

Ya really do just have to make the horror of the unknown for yourselves. Trust me, none of these games are scary, they're just action comedies pretending to be serious. They have themes of horror, but they will never explore them.

#like resident evil 4 #guessing the remake kinda sucks we have to differentiate between the good game and the corporate shit people ate up without a second though #It's kinda cute really #there's nothing inherently scary about these games #like you played them as kids and just had fun with it #but years later someone with absolutely no knowledge comes in having not played it #and are scared #It really makes you wanna watch them play #because initially they'll be apprehensive but eventually they fall into the amazing gameplay loop of these games and forget #It also makes me want to see what they imagined the game to be #Idunno about ya'll but that aspect has left my brain for safety #companies abuse the FUCK out of your imagination #looking at you #fallout 4 #E3 presentation #that game singlehandedly created more anti-capitalists than any republican policy #Bar none #but those still innocent #tell me what you think games you haven't played yet are #what are you expecting #what kinda game do you think you'll be having #like screw events in the story #what events in gameplay has you scared #genuinely that's so imaginative and fresh ground to explore #And it CAN GO AWAY #Which sucks

[daemonhxckergrrl]

you fool, you clueless menace. making everything glass and sticking useless vivid coloured lighting on everything doesn't make it Cyberpunk, you total buffoon ! that's just Corporate Hell: RGB Edition™

#daemon.md #gotta put the punk in cyberpunk #cyberpunk dystopia value aesthetic over substance but that's just the late capitalist setting #to be Cyberpunk is to rebel against that #yes while looking sick af #but it's punk #it's anti-corporate #it's anti-capitalist #it's fixing your own shit and DIY #it's the fight for freedom the fight to live #standing against the abuse of people and against the abuse of technology #but not necessarily against the use of tech

[tyrannuspitch]

started typing out a rant and then my ever-wise laptop shut down on me without warning. but. it is incredibly tiresome how people on this website persist in presenting media going in and out of fashion through a moral lens, especially when there is no meaningful difference in quality between the things that are In and the things that are Out.

#your detective films' anti rich hashtag Themes are no more profound than like. the narrative about child abuse in disney's tangled #and that's fine! that doesn't make them bad! just average! #but could we shelve the hollow corporate brainworm etc etc etc rhetoric just this one time lmao #YOUR BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES. ARE THE SAME

[heliianth]

for some reason the atla reddit is like one of the most chill atla spaces on the internet but that comes with the caveat that they defend the choice to make adult toph a cop. "oh she did it so that she could make the rules! she wouldnt be beholden to them if she was the one enforcing them!" so youre admitting that you believe toph would be a corrupt cop? that she doesnt have any opinions on controlling hierarchies as long as they dont effect her? like. even if this was an in-character thing for her to do, katara would go fucking ballistic

#''shes 12 shes not gonna stay like that forever'' ok one: theres absolutely no evidence for this claim #two: it is so fucking annoying when people insist anti-authoritarianism and rebellion are things to grow out of #three: tophs hatred of control and rules come from her abusive upbringing #this is like saying zuko would support corporal punishment #heliichats

[reasonsforhope]

"For the first time in almost 60 years, a state has formally overturned a so-called “right to work” law, clearing the way for workers to organize new union locals, collectively bargain, and make their voices heard at election time.

This week, Michigan finalized the process of eliminating a decade-old “right to work” law, which began with the shift in control of the state legislature from anti-union Republicans to pro-union Democrats following the 2022 election. “This moment has been decades in the making,” declared Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber. “By standing up and taking their power back, at the ballot box and in the workplace, workers have made it clear Michigan is and always will be the beating heart of the modern American labor movement.”

[Note: The article doesn't actually explain it, so anyway, "right to work" laws are powerful and deceptively named pieces of anti-union legislation. What right to work laws do is ban "union shops," or companies where every worker that benefits from a union is required to pay dues to the union. Right-to-work laws really undermine the leverage and especially the funding of unions, by letting non-union members receive most of the benefits of a union without helping sustain them. Sources: x, x, x, x]

In addition to formally scrapping the anti-labor law on Tuesday [February 13, 2024], Michigan also restored prevailing-wage protections for construction workers, expanded collective bargaining rights for public school employees, and restored organizing rights for graduate student research assistants at the state’s public colleges and universities. But even amid all of these wins for labor, it was the overturning of the “right to work” law that caught the attention of unions nationwide...

Now, the tide has begun to turn—beginning in a state with a rich labor history. And that’s got the attention of union activists and working-class people nationwide...

At a time when the labor movement is showing renewed vigor—and notching a string of high-profile victories, including last year’s successful strike by the United Auto Workers union against the Big Three carmakers, the historic UPS contract victory by the Teamsters, the SAG-AFTRA strike win in a struggle over abuses of AI technology in particular and the future of work in general, and the explosion of grassroots union organizing at workplaces across the country—the overturning of Michigan’s “right to work” law and the implementation of a sweeping pro-union agenda provides tangible evidence of how much has changed in recent years for workers and their unions...

By the mid-2010s, 27 states had “right to work” laws on the books.

But then, as a new generation of workers embraced “Fight for 15” organizing to raise wages, and campaigns to sign up workers at Starbucks and Amazon began to take off, the corporate-sponsored crusade to enact “right to work” measures stalled. New Hampshire’s legislature blocked a proposed “right to work” law in 2017 (and again in 2021), despite the fact that the measure was promoted by Republican Governor Chris Sununu. And in 2018, Missouri voters rejected a “right to work” referendum by a 67-33 margin.

Preventing anti-union legislation from being enacted and implemented is one thing, however. Actually overturning an existing law is something else altogether.

But that’s what happened in Michigan after 2022 voting saw the reelection of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a labor ally, and—thanks to the overturning of gerrymandered legislative district maps that had favored the GOP—the election of Democratic majorities in the state House and state Senate. For the first time in four decades, the Democrats controlled all the major levers of power in Michigan, and they used them to implement a sweeping pro-labor agenda. That was a significant shift for Michigan, to be sure. But it was also an indication of what could be done in other states across the Great Lakes region, and nationwide.

“Michigan Democrats took full control of the state government for the first time in 40 years. They used that power to repeal the state’s ‘right to work’ law,” explained a delighted former US secretary of labor Robert Reich, who added, “This is why we have to show up for our state and local elections.”"

-via The Nation, February 16, 2024

#michigan #united states #us politics #labor #labor rights #labor unions #capitalism #unions #unionize #gretchen whitmer #democrats #voting matters #right to work #pro union #workers #workers rights #good news #hope

[inkskinned]

one of the things that i think we should pay attention to, socially, about the disney v. desantis thing is that it is really highlighting the importance of remembering nuance.

in a purely neutral sense, if you engage in something problematic, that does not mean you are necessarily agreeing with what makes it problematic. and i am worried that we have become... so afraid of any form of nuance.

disney isn't my friend, they're a corporate monopoly that bastardized copyright laws for their own benefit, ruin the environment, and abuse their workers (... and many other things). this isn't a hypothetical for me - i grew up in florida. i also worked for the actual Walt Disney World; like, in the parks. i am keenly aware of the ways they hurt people, because they hurt me. i fully believe that part of the reason florida is so conservative is because it's been an "open secret" for years now that disney lobbies the government to keep minimum wage down, and i know they worked hard to keep the parks unmasked and open during the worst parts of Covid. they purposefully keep their employees in poverty. they are in part responsible for the way the floridian government works.

desantis is still, by a margin that is frankly daunting, way worse. the alternative here isn't just "republicans win", it's actual fascism.

in a case like this, where the alternative is to allow actual fascism into united states legislation - where, if desantis wins, there are huge and legal ramifications - it's tempting to minimize the harm disney is also doing, because... well, it's not fascism. but disney isn't the good guy, either, which means republicans are having a field day asking activists oh, so you think their treatment of their employees is okay?

we have been trained there is a right answer. you're right! you're in the good group, and you're winning at having an opinion.

except i have the Internet Prophecy that in 2-3 months, even left-wing people will be ripping apart activists for having "taken disney's side". aren't i an anti-capitalist? aren't i pro-union? aren't i one of the good ones? removed from context and nuance (that in this particular situation i am forced to side with disney, until an other option reveals itself), my act of being like "i hope they have goofy rip his throat out onstage, shaking his lifeless body like a dog toy" - how quickly does that seem like i actually do support disney?

and what about you! at home, reading this. are you experiencing the Thought Crime of... actually liking some of the things disney has made? your memories of days at the parks, or of good movies, or of your favorite show growing up. maybe you are also evil, if you ever enjoyed anything, ever, at all.

to some degree, the binary idealization/vilification of individual motive and meaning already exists in the desantis case. i have seen people saying not to go to the disney pride events because they're cash grabs (they are). i've seen people saying you have to go because they're a way to protest. there isn't a lot of internet understanding of nuance. instead it's just "good show of support" or "evil bootlicking."

this binary understanding is how you can become radicalized. when we fear nuance and disorder, we're allowing ourselves the safety of assuming that the world must exist in binary - good or bad, problematic or "not" problematic. and unfortunately, bigots want you to see the world in this binary ideal. they want you to get mad at me because "disney is taking a risk for our community but you won't sing their praises" and they want me to get mad at you for not respecting the legit personal trauma that disney forced me through.

in a grander scheme outside of disney: what happens is a horrific splintering within activist groups. we bicker with each other about minimal-harm minimal-impact ideologies, like which depiction of bisexuality is the most-true. we gratuitously analyze the personal lives of activists for any sign they might be "problematic". we get spooked because someone was in a dog collar at pride. we wring our hands about setting an empty shopping mall on fire. we tell each other what words we may identify ourselves by. we get fuckin steven universe disk horse when in reality it is a waste of our collective time.

the bigots want you to spend all your time focusing on how pristine and pretty you and your interests are. they want us at each other's throats instead of hand in hand. they want to say see? nothing is ever fucking good enough for these people.

and they want their followers to think in binary as well - a binary that's much easier to follow. see, in our spaces, we attack each other over "proper" behavior. but in bigoted groups? they attack outwards. they have someone they hate, and it is us. they hate you, specifically, and you are why they have problems - not the other people in their group. and that's a part of how they fucking keep winning.

some of the things that are beloved to you have a backbone in something terrible. the music industry is a wasteland. the publishing industry is a bastion of white supremacy. video games run off of unpaid labor and abuse.

the point of activism was always to bring to light that abuse and try to stop it from happening, not to condemn those who engage in the content that comes from those industries. "there is no ethical consumption under late capitalism" also applies to media. your childhood (and maybe current!) love of the little mermaid isn't something you should now flinch from, worried you'll be a "disney adult". wanting the music industry to change for the better does not require that you reject all popular music until that change occurs. you can acknowledge the harm something might cause - and celebrate the love that it has brought into your life.

we must detach an acknowledgment of nuance from a sense of shame and disgust. we must. punishing individual people for their harmless passions is not doing good work. encouraging more thoughtful, empathetic consumption does not mean people should feel ashamed of their basic human capacities and desires. it should never have even been about the individual when the corporation is so obviously the actual evil. this sense that we must live in shame and dread of our personal nuances - it just makes people bitter and hopeless. do you have any idea how scared i am to post this? to just acknowledge the idea of nuance? that i might like something nuanced, and engage in it joyfully? and, at the same time, that i'm brutally aware of the harm that they're doing?

"so what do i do?" ... well, often there isn't a right answer. i mean in this case, i hope mickey chops off ron's head and then does a little giggle. but truth be told, often our opinions on nuanced subjects will differ. you might be able to engage in things that i can't because the nuance doesn't sit right with me. i might think taylor swift is a great performer and a lot of fun, and you might be like "raquel, the jet fuel emissions". we are both correct; neither of us have any actual sway in this. and i think it's important to remember that - the actual scope of individual responsibility. like, i also love going to the parks. Thunder Mountain is so fun. you (just a person) are not responsible for the harm that Disney (the billion dollar corporation) caused me. i don't know. i think it's possible to both enjoy your memories and interrogate the current state of their employment policies.

there is no right way to interrogate or engage with nuance - i just hope you embrace it readily.

#does this make sense #to do be deleted probably yikes #(takes a swing at a wasp's nest) #like i think ppl have started to just be really quiet when they like something 'problematic' #and im like... u can be like - #girl tswift NEEDS to just TAKE A BUS . LIKE????????????????????? #while also being like. #''she's a lot of fun'' #if ur personal policy is that u don't support her for that reason that's great #but it's like. eating meat??? #like yeah some people won't bc the environment. but the fact i eat meat doesn't mean i hate the earth #like i can say that i think the meat industry is HORRIFIC and also downright cruel to its employees #but like. still enjoy a chicken nugget.... #there are people who choose otherwise. it's okay . we are people. i make like no money. u probably don't either #us fighting about whether or not it's Right To Eat The Chicken Tender just distracts from like. #actually turning your ire on the corporation #i hope it's clear what i'm saying here is like. when we fight each other for Purity Reasons #we are just doing the work of corporations . for free. like they WANT us to be doing this lol #it's the fucking DREAM of the upperclass that now ALL forms of responsibility fall on the individual

[vaspider]

Simply put, there is a ton of fascist-chic cosplay involved. Once an officer joins the Grays, they get a special uniform designed by their tech overlords. The Grays will also donate heavily to police charities and “merge the Gray and police social networks.” Then, in a show of force, they’ll march through the city together. “A huge win would be a Gray Pride parade with 50,000 Grays,” said Srinivasan. “That would start to say: ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’ You have the A.I. Flying Spaghetti Monster. You have the Bitcoin parade. You have the drones flying overhead in formation.... You have bubbling genetic experiments on beakers.… You have the police at the Gray Pride parade. They’re flying the Anduril drones …”

Everyone would be welcome at the Gray Pride march—everyone, that is, except the Blues. Srinivasan defines the Blue political tribe as the liberal voters he implies are responsible for the city’s problems. Blues will be banned from the Gray-controlled zones, said Balaji, unlike Republicans (“Reds”). “Reds should be welcomed there, and people should wear their tribal colors,” said Srinivasan, who compared his color-coded apartheid system to the Bloods vs. Crips gang rivalry. “No Blues should be welcomed there.”

While the Blues would be excluded, they would not be forgotten. Srinivasan imagines public screenings of anti-Blue propaganda films: “In addition to celebrating Gray and celebrating Red, you should have movies shown about Blue abuses.… There should be lots of stories about what Blues are doing that is bad.”

Balaji goes on—and on. The Grays will rename city streets after tech figures and erect public monuments to memorialize the alleged horrors of progressive Democratic governance. Corporate logos and signs will fill the skyline to signify Gray dominance of the city. “Ethnically cleanse,” he said at one point, summing up his idea for a city purged of Blues (this, he says, will prevent Blues from ethnically cleansing the Grays first).

#gif #san francisco #us politics #us police

[usereddie]

hi so I just looked up what proship means. and I just wanted to ask if you like/support incest or pedophilia ships?

i support uncensored media. does that mean i like all of it? no. do i believe it’s important it exists and continues to exist? yes.

you don't have to like/support "problematic" content to believe it shouldn't be censored. censorship affects all of us, but especially lgbt and poc creatives. it starts with the things that everyone agrees is bad — no one, not even the people who read underage, thinks harming kids is okay in any capacity.

but it never stops there. it doesn't stop at underage or incest or rape. once a corporation realizes it has your stamp of approval to censor shit, they'll keep going until it's a white cishet conservative's dream. nothing queer, nothing where poc struggles are a focal point and it's talking negatively about white people and white supremacy. no sex. no sex no matter how vanilla. that's a problem. everyone, especially people who fall into marginalized identities, should be really, really against that.

this purity culture that's started to run rampant in fandom, this need to sanitize everything, to make sure everything exists very neatly within the box of Morally Right is harmful. fiction is not inherently good or bad because it's not real.

reading about siblings having sex doesn't actually hurt anyone, neither does writing it.

this shame surrounding taboo sexual topics, though?

that hurts people. that hurts kids. purity culture is spreading in fandom but it didn't start here. people are so worried about being "morally good" about media that has no moral responsibility in the first place that they completely ignore the real life repercussions of telling children that talking about sex is wrong, that if you've ever had thoughts that don't align with the purity mindset that you're gross, that if something ever happens to you you shouldn't talk about it, that if something happens to you and, in your trauma, it becomes something you're into in a consensual, pro-kink context that you're dirty.

the vast majority of people i know and have seen both online and in person with rape or ageplay kinks are victims of sexual abuse.

fiction is a comfort and it's allowed to be no matter how weird someone else thinks it is.

no one's telling you you need to go on ao3 dot com right now and filter everything with "underage". no one's telling you to make nsfw fanart of siblings if you don't want to. the point of being pro-ship is that you're in favor of people doing what they want with fiction. i know it's got "pro" in the name, but the point of being pro-ship is to be anti censorship.

(and, yeah, i ship the brothers from supernatural.)

#i wasn't going to reply tbh but i think this is actually. important. #bia gets mail #anon #pro ship

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The unexpected upside of global monopoly capitalism

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TODAY (Apr 10) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Here's a silver lining to global monopoly capitalism: it means we're all fighting the same enemy, who is using the same tactics everywhere. The same coordination tools that allow corporations to extend their tendrils to every corner of the Earth allows regulators and labor organizers to coordinate their resistance.

That's a lesson Mercedes is learning. In 2023, Germany's Supply Chain Act went into effect, which bans large corporations with a German presence from using child labor, violating health and safety standards, and (critically) interfering with union organizers:

https://www.bafa.de/EN/Supply_Chain_Act/Overview/overview_node.html

Across the ocean, in the USA, Mercedes has a preference for building its cars in the American South, the so-called "right to work" states where US labor law is routinely flouted and unions are thin on the ground. As The American Prospect's Harold Meyerson writes, the only non-union Mercedes factories in the world are in the US:

https://prospect.org/labor/2024-04-08-american-workers-german-law-uaw-unions/

But American workers – especially southern workers – are on an organizing tear, unionizing their workplaces at a rate not seen in generations. Their unprecedented success is down to their commitment, solidarity and shrewd tactics – all buoyed by a refreshingly pro-worker NLRB, who have workers' backs in ways also not seen since the Carter administration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

Workers at Mercedes' factory in Vance, Alabama are trying to join the UAW, and Mercedes is playing dirty, using the tried-and-true union-busting tactics that have held workplace democracy at bay for decades. The UAW has lodged a complaint with the NLRB, naturally:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/alabama-mercedes-benz

But the UAW has also filed a complaint with BAFA, the German regulator in charge of the Supply Chain Act, seeking penalties against Mercedes-Benz Group AG:

https://uaw.org/uaw-files-charges-in-germany-against-mercedes-benz-companys-anti-union-campaign-against-u-s-autoworkers-violates-new-german-law-on-global-supply-chain-practices/

That's a huge deal, because the German Supply Chain Act goes hard. If Mercedes is convicted of union-busting in Alabama, its German parent-company faces a fine of 2% of its global total revenue, and will no longer be eligible to sell products to the German government. Chomp.

Now, the German Supply Chain Act is new, and this is the first petition filed by a non-German union with BAFA, so it's not a slam dunk. But supermajorities of Mercedes workers at the Alabama factory have signed UAW cards, and the election is going to happen in May or June. And the UAW – under new leadership, thanks to a revolution that overthrew the corrupt old guard – has its sights set on all the auto-makers in the American south.

As Meyerson writes, the south is America's onshore offshore, a regulatory haven where corporations pay minimal or no tax and are free to abuse their workers, pollute, and corrupt local governments with a free hand (no wonder American industry is flocking to these states). Meyerson: "The economic impact of unionizing the South, in other words, could almost be placed in the same category as reshoring work that had gone to China."

The German Supply Chain Act was passed with the help of Germany's powerful labor unions, in an act of solidarity with workers employed by German companies all over the world. This is that unexpected benefit to globalism: the fact that Mercedes has extrusions into both the American and German political spheres means that both American and German workers can collaborate to bring it to heel.

The same is true for antitrust regulators. The multinational corporations that are in regulators' crosshairs in the US, the EU, the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea and beyond use the same playbook in every country. That's doubly true of Big Tech companies, who literally run the same code – embodying the same illegal practices – on servers in every country.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has led the pack on convening summits where antitrust enforcers from all over the world gather to compare notes and collaborate on enforcement strategies:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077

And the CMA's Digital Markets Unit – which boasts the the largest tech staff of any competition regulator in the world – produces detailed market studies that turn out to be roadmaps for other territories' enforces to follow – like this mobile market study:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63f61bc0d3bf7f62e8c34a02/Mobile_Ecosystems_Final_Report_amended_2.pdf

Which was extensively referenced in the EU during the planning of the Digital Markets Act, and in the US Congress for similar legislation:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2710

It also helped enforcers in Japan:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-to-crack-down-on-Apple-and-Google-app-store-monopolies

And South Korea:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/skorea-considers-505-mln-fine-against-google-apple-over-app-market-practices-2023-10-06/

Just as Mercedes workers in Germany and the USA share a common enemy, allowing for coordinated action that takes advantage of vulnerable flanks wherever they are found, anti-monopoly enforcers are sharing notes, evidence, and tactics to strike at multinationals that are bigger than most countries – but not when those countries combine.

This is an unexpected upside to global monopolies: when we all share a common enemy, we've got endless opportunities for coordinated offenses and devastating pincer maneuvers.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all

#pluralistic #monopoly #labor #nlrb #germany #harold meyerson #supply chain act #right to work #onshore offshore #uaw #vance alabama #vance #alabama #bafa #mercedes #antitrust #trustbusting

[foggywonderlandgentlemen]

Wendell and Wild could not be more blatant if they tried and I love it. The main villains are CEOs who run a private prison, and their corporation name is one K off from being the name of the most notorious white supremacist group in America. The main heroes are a bunch of black and brown children, used and abused by the school to prison pipeline who come together in solidarity against the greed of KK. The main hero has a panic attack, is bullied, angry, and unapologetically punk, and literally faces down her memories to take control of her life back from both her PTSD and the system that exploited her. Jordan Peele and Henry Selick said fuck subtlety, this movie is going to be unapologetically in your face about its anti-prison and anti-capitalist themes all with a majority POC group of heroes who fight back against the system. Sometimes a movie is served by its subtly, but not this one. Wendell and Wild is as bold and beautiful as it’s animation and it deserves all the praise it’s going to get.

#also the trans rep literally made me burst into tears #wendell and wild #Wendell and wild spoilers #mine

[ohnoitstbskyen]

hello skyen! what are your thoughts on vanguard and the way people react to it? really appreciate your videos, keep it up

I'm not a tech guy and I don't know all the technical details of kernel level anticheat.

What I do know is that you cannot trust a corporation. Riot has claimed many many times that they definitely don't want to collect user data or behave in any invasive way with kernel access to millions and millions of players' machines, and literally nobody with a brain and the capacity for memory should believe them when they say that.

The demand of capitalism is this: if you can get away with it and it makes you money, then there is literally no reason not do it. Corporations are amoral, they do not have ethics, and as has been borne out again and again and again, so long as they calculate that the fine for doing something is less than the benefit they can extract from it, they will do it every single time.

I am not saying that the engineers at Riot who came up with Vanguard want to abuse the access the system gives them, I am entirely confident that the on-the-ground workers just want a way to more effectively moderate against cheaters and hackers, and this is the most convenient means they've come up with.

But the engineers don't run the company, and the shareholders (much like cancer cells) demand infinite growth forever, and at some point some suit-and-sneakers wearing silicon valley vulture dipshit executive asshole is going to look at all that access their kernel level anti-cheat has and go "hey we could monetize that," and they fucking will. Not because they are uniquely evil or immoral, but because they are the exact normal level of evil and immoral for a business.

Do not trust a corporation. Ever.

#tb answers #riot games #vanguard anticheat

[saiyanmazen]

Parenting styles in Dragon Ball Z (and Super)

You know, to me, the interesting thing about this scene (and the one where they could to the aforementioned park) isn't the fact that Vegeta keeps his promise.

It's the fact that he uses positive reinforcement to motivate Trunks.

Do you think Vegeta was ever rewarded for landing a good hit? Definitely not. It was expected of him.

As an expert in children's development, I find it fascinating to look at this example of Vegeta parenting Trunks and what it says about his parenting style. I've seen headcanons that go from calling 'Dadgeta' authoritarian to neglectful, but I disagree.

In the following, I will briefly describe the four styles of parenting with focus on the authoritarian and the authoritative styles. I'll also compare them to how DBZ parents appear to raise their children, but mainly focus on Vegeta.

Authoritarian:

This is the old school parenting method where restrictions and punishments go hand in hand. The parents expect the children to obey rules without a clear explanation as to why and corporal punishment is used when the children overstep.

Unsurprisingly, it seems like a lot of people believe this is how Vegeta raises his children (If he is even involved; I'll address this later on.) It was likely how he was raised.

However, the only parent we actually see using this style is Chichi. She's not entirely unreasonable, but we do see her expect things from Gohan without explanations and she has a lot of restrictions set up. This might have something to do with Goku's parenting style, but more on that later.

Piccolo also uses authoritarianism with Gohan, but he isn't trying to parent him, just train him.

What's really interesting is that children raised in a household practicing authoritarianism tend to hold a lot of anger inside. They also have low self-efficacy and high self blame. Remind you of someone?

Indulgent

Here we see nurturing, accepting parents who don't have behavioral expectations of their children. They are responsive to the children's needs and wishes, but do not expect them to be the same toward other people. The parents want to be the child's friend rather than a demanding parent.

Children of indulgent parents tend to grow up without a sense of others' boundaries and generally have less discipline than their peers. They lack impulse control and are often irresponsible.

In DBZ we do see signs of this parenting style, but only limited. It's not commonly used in Asia and therefore, Toriyama didn't add it. In GT it's obvious that both Trunks and Bulla seem have been parenting this way by Bulma. It's also why many doubt that Vegeta has been much involved.

It's also easy to argue that Goku parents this way, although it's up for discussion.

Neglectful

Although many think that the indulgent parenting style have created a generation of undisciplined young people, the neglectful parenting style has actually had a greater effect.

The parents are either more interested in themselves and their own goals than their children's. (Although sometimes it's because the parents struggle with stress or depression) Children of these parents are usually lonely and melancholic, often have very low self esteem and are needy after affection and approval. This leads them to be easily manipulated and they are at a higher risk to end up in abusive relationships.

I think many of the Vegeta antis and those claiming Goku is a bad parent would place the two Saiyans here.

However, Goku is clearly involved in Gohan's upbringing, albeit choosing a more casual approach than Chichi, and returns after being dead for seven years, ready to be involved with Goten (and Gohan if he wants it). The reason that Goku mainly focuses on training isn't just because it's his own interest. It's what he knows for sure how to do.

Most importantly: it was how Goku was raised himself. First by Grandpa Gohan and later from his other father figure, Master Roshi. It isn't just in his blood; it's in his upbringing.

And then there's Vegeta’s parenting style which was my main focus for this post. It got a little out of control, but we have finally arrived at the last parenting style:

Authoritative

This is the most modern parenting style, even though it isn't really new. It's been used for years in well functioning familes. This type of parent is both demanding and nurturing, being present and engaged in their children's lives. They explain things to their children, teach them how to regulate their feelings and therefore expect a mature behavior from them.

Children of authoritative parents tend to be more successful in their adult lives, capable of discipline and well-liked. Because they aren't constantly being restricted, they naturally develope autonomy within set boundaries and learn to respect others, regardless of authority.

So, what does this have to do with Vegeta and Trunks?

As I mentioned in the beginning, in the scene in the Gravity Chamber, Vegeta uses positive reinforcement to motive Trunks. Positive reinforcement has proven to be a healthy way to motivate children (and animals) and is a part of the authoritative style. By using it, Vegeta provides Trunks with rules that foster motivation and discipline in the child. The fact that Vegeta knows about the amusement and can use it as an incentive also shows that he is involved enough to know what may get Trunks to do his best.

But the most important thing we see is that Vegeta upholds his promise, despite hating every second of it. It shows that he respects Trunks' efforts and achievement. By honoring his word, he also teaches Trunks to do the same.

Of course, this is a small scene and we don't know how Vegeta behaves otherwise in regards to Trunks. But it's safe to say that Vegeta does take his son's wishes into account and uses it to encourage him to move beyond his limits.

I admit that I'm not a fan of GT and don't consider it canon, especially because of Toriyama's lack of involvement. So, while I dislike many aspects of DBS, I do think it's the best representation of the characters.

In Super, both Goten and Trunks are well adjusted boys who both have discipline and test the boundaries of their autonomy. They act like boys their age, albeit with incredibly strength, and it goes to show that their parents have raised them well.

Of course, it's also important to remember that both DBZ and DBS (and even GT) are a product of their time and the parenting styles reflect that. DBZ is from the 80's where the authoritarian (Chichi) and indulgent (Goku) styles were the most common. GT is from the 90's where the media started to focus on indulgent and neglectful parents - even though it wasn't a new thing - and it's shown that Trunks, Bulla and Goten have grown up as spoiled and undisciplined. DBS shows that the parents in the show have become authoritative and their children's behavior reflects that.

It's clear that the parents are doing their best and that the fathers have become more involved nowadays than before. This is the case in modern parenting as well.

Anyway, this is the end of my long rant. I think, as both an expert in children's development and as a parent myself, it's interesting to look into the relationships between the characters, especially the father-son interactions which are explored the most. There's no doubt that Toriyama knew the importance of being a father and wanted to portray it, mainly in Goku and Gohan's relationship.

I don't think Toriyama saw Goku nor Vegeta as bad fathers, but he knew that everyone has different strengths, even in parenthood.

#dbz essay #parenting styles #vegeta #trunks #goku #chichi #gohan #bulma #bulla #dbgt #dbz #dbs