kibiz0r

I’m American, but more people should know about Alberto Santos-Dumont

Santos-Dumont is a national hero in Brazil, where it is popularly held that he preceded the Wright brothers in demonstrating a practical aeroplane.

No disagreement on the corruption, coercion, or economic exploitation.

Nor that there’s a straight line from their ability to manipulate the economic and legal systems… directly to their ability to evade justice for the worst crimes imaginable.

My concern is:

Tech libertarians using a (nearly-) universally-acknowledged and reviled scourge as a pretense to post in progressive spaces and sneak in neo-metallist sentiments like “taxation is theft” and “money-printing is fraud”.

I’m not saying OP or even OOP is one, for sure. But the meme does advance their narrative.

All USD is printed. Taxes are the only thing that gives USD its value.

I have a problem with the meme playing footsie with the ideas that taxes are theft and money-printing is fraud.

These are common neo-metallist arguments. And in techie spaces like the fediverse, libertarians like to sneak them into the conversation while going “How do you do, fellow progressives?” before they start pitching NFTs.

It’s the human equivalent of a modem saying “Okay, communication channel has been established. I’m going to start transmitting actual data now.”

On the other hand, there’s something kind of beautiful about the way language is able to adapt to hostile conditions.

Strangely, the linguistic contortions of social media are one of the few things that give me hope that LLMs won’t completely destroy mass communication.

What’s a half-ass in metric?

• issuing currency
• collecting taxes
• suppressing evidence of child sex trafficking

One of these things is so outrageously unlike the others that it makes me kinda sus of whoever decided to put them all in the same list

The doctor said Trump had a minor problem.

Which is exactly what the Epstein list said, too.

A Major Test of Gape

I think you just restated their point.

See also: The Whispering Earring

Eating a common egg?