• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 14:05
CET 19:05
KST 03:05
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT29Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Blizzard Classic Cup - Tastosis announced as captains10Weekly Cups (March 2-8): ByuN overcomes PvT block4GSL CK - New online series18BSL Season 224Vitality ends partnership with ONSYDE20
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest - Preparation Notice SC2 Spotted on the EWC 2026 list? Terran AddOns placement Blizzard Classic Cup - Tastosis announced as captains GSL CK - New online series
Tourneys
[GSL CK] Team Maru vs. Team herO WardiTV Team League Season 10 Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 516 Specter of Death Mutation # 515 Together Forever Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year
Brood War
General
ASL21 General Discussion BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Gypsy to Korea Are you ready for ASL 21? Hype VIDEO
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues IPSL Spring 2026 is here! ASL Season 21 Qualifiers March 7-8 BWCL Season 64 Announcement
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Fighting Spirit mining rates Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread PC Games Sales Thread Path of Exile No Man's Sky (PS4 and PC) Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Five o'clock TL Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
NASA and the Private Sector US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Mexico's Drug War Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [Manga] One Piece
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2026 Football Thread General nutrition recommendations Cricket [SPORT] TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
Gaming-Related Deaths
TrAiDoS
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1549 users

US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5217

Forum Index > General Forum
Post a Reply
Prev 1 5215 5216 5217 5218 5219 5552 Next
Now that we have a new thread, in order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a complete and thorough read before posting!

NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.

Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.


If you have any questions, comments, concern, or feedback regarding the USPMT, then please use this thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/website-feedback/510156-us-politics-thread
ThunderJunk
Profile Joined December 2015
United States726 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-09-11 21:38:12
September 11 2025 21:37 GMT
#104321
On September 12 2025 00:46 Magic Powers wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


Ok sure, but have you considered that Biden started all of this? And who was it that forced Charlie to be a such an extremely random moderate? Perhaps it's time for ya'll to read a few right-of-center publications to escape your left-wing echo chamber here. I say if we let Trump break every conceivable law, he'll eventually tone down the criminality.


It's not a question of being on the right or the left for me. It's a question of intellectual honesty versus intellectual dishonesty. I don't really have love for any of the mainstream politicians... but I reserve a special circle of hell for people who claim to be educating others on how to think critically and correctly, but are actually just using that as a veneer to make a ton of money by cashing in on groupthink and tribalism.

Krystal Ball and Ben Shapiro are equally ugly human beings in my view.
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland26343 Posts
September 11 2025 21:46 GMT
#104322
I feel some decorum is absolutely in order, as Charlie Kirk himself demonstrated after Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked

Snark aside, I do mean that. Things just seem to be ever-escalating and I don’t like where that road leads.

Now the UK is no perfect place, far from it, but I’m really struck at the difference in the wake of political assassinations in our neck of the woods in Jo Cox and David Amess (Labour and Conservative respectively) and what one observes with increasing frequency in the States.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States45342 Posts
September 11 2025 21:46 GMT
#104323
Multiple HBCUs have just received terrorist threats. I don't know if there's been any confirmation yet that these are/aren't linked to Republicans immediately calling for retribution and retaliation against Democrats/non-Republicans for Charlie Kirk's murder (and we still don't even know who murdered him yet): https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/09/11/hbcus-lockdown-threats/86094019007/
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
ThunderJunk
Profile Joined December 2015
United States726 Posts
September 11 2025 21:51 GMT
#104324
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.


I don't think he was a threat to my ideology at all. I think he was an ugly human that made society worse by claiming to be an advocate for truth and actively denying legitimate chances at self-reflection so he could continue to capitalize on escalating a culture war.

There's not really a logical way to say, "Well look at yourself!" because I regularly examine my own beliefs and don't make a crap ton of money enflaming a culture war. It's a pedestrian comparison.

The only thing you know about me is that I'm glad he died. Everything else is conjecture. I suppose I could try and feel shame for being happy someone is dead... but I don't think that's necessary or right in this case.
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland26343 Posts
September 11 2025 21:59 GMT
#104325
On September 12 2025 06:37 ThunderJunk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 00:46 Magic Powers wrote:
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


Ok sure, but have you considered that Biden started all of this? And who was it that forced Charlie to be a such an extremely random moderate? Perhaps it's time for ya'll to read a few right-of-center publications to escape your left-wing echo chamber here. I say if we let Trump break every conceivable law, he'll eventually tone down the criminality.


It's not a question of being on the right or the left for me. It's a question of intellectual honesty versus intellectual dishonesty. I don't really have love for any of the mainstream politicians... but I reserve a special circle of hell for people who claim to be educating others on how to think critically and correctly, but are actually just using that as a veneer to make a ton of money by cashing in on groupthink and tribalism.

Krystal Ball and Ben Shapiro are equally ugly human beings in my view.

That pretty much is it. How many of these political commentators/‘influencers’ start playing a rather different tune when they strike it big and don’t want to offend and potentially lose some of their audience, or when they get proximity to those in actual power?

It’s the stench of the grift that most offends. Of U-turns, of utter bullshit, of complaining about the standards of the ‘mainstream media’ while playing so fast and loose with journalistic ethics that you’d be fired from the local paper of Bumtown, pop. 40.

I’m sure leftist equivalents do this just as much incidentally, I don’t really keep tabs as I don’t really need that content to inform my worldview, but do dip into the right sphere just to see what they’re saying.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
FlaShFTW
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States10333 Posts
September 11 2025 22:04 GMT
#104326
On September 12 2025 03:52 Vivax wrote:
Either side trying to salvage the event politically is bad.
What‘s required is less polarization, not more.

It‘s not good for anyone if deadly violence gets normalized more than it already has been. It‘s something that stokes fear and pushes people to the right.

Think we're well past that when the other side was cracking jokes about Paul Pelosi getting his head bashed in and not a peep about Melissa Hortman getting assassinated. Trump didn't even pick up the phone to call Waltz after the shootings in Minnesota.
Writer#1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Teamliquid Political Decision Desk
TL+ Member
Biff The Understudy
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
France7992 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-09-11 22:13:27
September 11 2025 22:07 GMT
#104327
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.

Would you say the same thing about Alex Jones? And if not what’s the difference?

To be clear, i am not a partisan of assassinations, ever. Just, that guy was an absolute and utter piece of shit, and while i think the escalation in political violence upsets there benefits of not having him absolutely poison people’s minds, I’m really not going to shed a tear for him.

What is it that he said, that “it was worth it for people to die so that we could have the second amendment”?

As Mark Twain once said, “I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure”.
The fellow who is out to burn things up is the counterpart of the fool who thinks he can save the world. The world needs neither to be burned up nor to be saved. The world is, we are. Transients, if we buck it; here to stay if we accept it. ~H.Miller
LightSpectra
Profile Blog Joined October 2011
United States2212 Posts
September 11 2025 22:30 GMT
#104328
https://theonion.com/witnesses-assumed-charlie-kirk-shooter-was-just-ordinary-gunman-on-school-campus/
2006 Shinhan Bank OSL Season 3 was the greatest tournament of all time
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7393 Posts
September 11 2025 22:33 GMT
#104329
On September 12 2025 06:06 G5 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 05:50 KwarK wrote:
Lots of villains are described by their friends as nice guys. That can’t be the bar. The bar should include not devoting your life to spreading misinformation and fear against the most vulnerable people in society. The bar should include not dehumanizing people. He doesn’t pass the bar. He was an openly racist openly sexist demagogue who contributed nothing but hate.

He devoted his life to making America a worse place, a more hateful place, a place in which the other was the enemy to be feared and destroyed. He was killed by the monster he worked tirelessly to create. Ideally nobody would be killed, ideally we wouldn’t live in an America in which Americans are the enemy. But he took that from us.


I couldn't disagree with this take more. And again, I don't agree with him politically or ideologically. But anyways, I honestly am not here to get into an internet debate with people, so I'll leave after this message. I said my piece.

Last thing though. I would like to point out that while you say the bar should include not dehumanizing people, you are actively dehumanizing people.

Take care.


Wait, being a nice guy is all it takes for you? Lmao, you'd have been defending ol Uncle Adolf then. Plenty of people reported than Hitler was very nice to them as children, is that enough good in the world for you? Does that out weight the unholy genocidal societal damage that Hitler facilitated?

Or do you just disagree that Charlie Kirk was causing any societal damage?
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States45342 Posts
September 11 2025 22:37 GMT
#104330
On September 12 2025 07:30 LightSpectra wrote:
https://theonion.com/witnesses-assumed-charlie-kirk-shooter-was-just-ordinary-gunman-on-school-campus/


Yet another example of "this is supposed to be satire but it's also reality". Sigh.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
Magic Powers
Profile Joined April 2012
Austria4478 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-09-11 22:44:40
September 11 2025 22:44 GMT
#104331
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.


It's hard to argue with people who think that Charlie Kirk has lost his humanity and has brought many thousands if not millions of other people much closer to losing their humanity as well. You know, at some point you have to ask yourself whether free speech is really this holy relic that should be worshipped until everything breaks. Should it, really?

There's a reason why speech is not actually free. Not even in the free land of the free, the most freedom loving of all the free countries in the history of freedom. This idea that speech can't destroy a nation is, well... I'd call it naive at best.

I won't say Kirk's death was justified. But it's hard to argue that he didn't have some really bad shit coming his way. It shouldn't have been death, but something had to happen. The guy was on a quest to destroy America.
If you want to do the right thing, 80% of your job is done if you don't do the wrong thing.
KwarK
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States43672 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-09-11 23:19:40
September 11 2025 22:58 GMT
#104332
On September 12 2025 07:07 Biff The Understudy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.

Would you say the same thing about Alex Jones? And if not what’s the difference?

To be clear, i am not a partisan of assassinations, ever. Just, that guy was an absolute and utter piece of shit, and while i think the escalation in political violence upsets there benefits of not having him absolutely poison people’s minds, I’m really not going to shed a tear for him.

What is it that he said, that “it was worth it for people to die so that we could have the second amendment”?

As Mark Twain once said, “I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure”.

For some reason people excuse pushing for institutional violence against political opponents as not political violence. If you shoot one man then you're a terrorist but if you encourage the national guard to forcibly disperse a crowd of leaderless pacifist students milling around at Kent State then you're doing your job. Once you clothe it in uniform then it becomes fine.

The idea that everything other than pulling the trigger is just words is baffling. Zambrah used the classic example of Hitler who, as far as I know, never killed anyone. And the people who did the killing generally argued that it was all legal under German law at the time.

On a playground words are just words. Someone can call you names and you shouldn't beat the shit out of them. The world outside the playground isn't so simple and G5's "it's just words" absolutism is inapplicable to the complexity of the real political environment.

A populist demanding that we clean up the streets and clear the homeless camps is speech. The police showing up with dogs and forcing the homeless into a group at gunpoint while the sanitation department throws everything they own into bin lorries is violence. Especially when they’re subsequently locked up for not being able to produce documents that were forcibly taken from them by the state. Criminalizing the existence of out groups is violence.
ModeratorThe angels have the phone box
Mohdoo
Profile Joined August 2007
United States15742 Posts
September 12 2025 00:20 GMT
#104333
One thing I think people don't focus on enough is how populist movements heavily rely on stoking existential fear in order to unlock the full power of populism. The right has managed their population's fear much more effectively than the left. As I touched on before, I think many people on the left don't understand how different it is to fear a group rather than feel condescension towards a group.

When a group (the left) views an opposing group (the right) with condescension, they view the opposing group negatively.

When a group (the right) views an opposing group (the left) with genuine existential fear, they view the opposing group negatively.

These are very different "types" of negative. They also can be weaponized very differently. The reason even a unified EU is a second thought on any national power stage is their population doesn't, on average, feel genuine fear of rivals. The risks, costs, and sacrifice the average EU citizen is willing to commit to fighting their rivals is very low because of that. If you aren't scared of something, or don't think anyone will go wrong, why prepare for the event of something going wrong? In short, Europe doesn't actually think anything bad will happen.

Similarly, a lot of people on the left don't really think anything super terrible will happen even if Trump had a 3rd term or something. Many don't genuinely think "actual" nazi shit will happen.

Now stick with me a moment and do this mental exercise: Imagine what most right wingers said would happen if Harris was elected. Now imagine her serving 2 terms. What is the state of the nation at the end of those 8 years, in their eyes? Assume their assessment/fears are accurate and they would happen. After 8 years, the country they once loved would essentially be lost to history, right? The fundamental character of the nation, the country they love, would no longer exist, right?

What would *YOU* do to prevent the country from imploding into a condition as bad as that? You'd do a lot more than you are willing to do right now.

These populations are not actually cohesive in this way. Its more of a normal distribution and its just a matter of where that normal distribution is centered. Is it centered closer or further from "absolute fear"? If it is centered closer to absolute fear, statistically speaking, more of those people will commit acts of political violence. If it is centered further away from absolute fear, less of those people will commit acts of political violence. Its the same reason Russia's population is willing to sacrifice more than Europe's population is. They believe all the "evil imperialist NATO" stuff.

This whole situation has been interesting to me because it has highlighted how a political/national leadership has a core responsibility to maintain a certain level of fear to preserve their group's influence and identity.
EnDeR_
Profile Blog Joined May 2004
Spain2780 Posts
September 12 2025 00:41 GMT
#104334
www.theguardian.com

Judge allows Trump to cut more than $1bn in National Science Foundation grants


Well, I guess the DoW rebrand money has been found. Clearly a much better use for it.

estás más desubicao q un croissant en un plato de nécoras
Razyda
Profile Joined March 2013
911 Posts
September 12 2025 01:38 GMT
#104335
On September 12 2025 07:44 Magic Powers wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.


It's hard to argue with people who think that Charlie Kirk has lost his humanity and has brought many thousands if not millions of other people much closer to losing their humanity as well. You know, at some point you have to ask yourself whether free speech is really this holy relic that should be worshipped until everything breaks. Should it, really?

There's a reason why speech is not actually free. Not even in the free land of the free, the most freedom loving of all the free countries in the history of freedom. This idea that speech can't destroy a nation is, well... I'd call it naive at best.

I won't say Kirk's death was justified. But it's hard to argue that he didn't have some really bad shit coming his way. It shouldn't have been death, but something had to happen. The guy was on a quest to destroy America.



See free speech actually should be free. If you think otherwise you are just misguided. Why would you be against it? What happened to Kirk is very result of believing that he shouldn't be allowed to say what he was saying. Mind I dont think anyone should be banned for expressing their opinion on this murder. I am actually glad that given opportunity to show their true colours, people will do just that.
You see I used to like you. I did considered your ideas idiotic, but overall it seemed like they were coming from the good place. Now I see there never was a good place.

As for everyone else cheering for this murder: line which shouldn't have been crossed was crossed, enjoy and bear the consequences. Might be worth to remember that right wing people actually went to capitol on January 6, didnt limit themselves to posting mean posts on internet.


ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
9037 Posts
September 12 2025 01:48 GMT
#104336
On September 12 2025 10:38 Razyda wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 07:44 Magic Powers wrote:
On September 12 2025 05:11 G5 wrote:
On September 12 2025 00:32 ThunderJunk wrote:
Honestly... I don't feel even a little sad about Kirk's murder.
He was a morally grandstanding rage baiter who accrued a net worth of 12 million dollars by "DESTROYING" dumb college kids publicly. He was also intellectually dishonest. His entire life's thesis supposedly revolved around his faith in scripture and the basic protestant brand of Christianity, but when confronted with the simple reality that, in fact, the King James bible is necessarily a linguistically ambiguous translation through the British lens of the original language the bible was written in - which would by his own definition be the most technically holy type of scripture, and therefore not as a reliable source of what is right and good as he maintained.. he just ignored the point, pressed forward with his views, and never took that fundamental problem with his conceptual framework seriously - nor would he ever.

I have a problem with people who claim to be fighters for truth who refuse to look at their own beliefs critically when confronted with evidence contrary to what makes them rich and powerful. That, to my mind, is fundamentally evil.

Also... And this is more of a petty point - but still completely fair: He was a staunch advocate from the right to bear arms. So, this way of getting killed was pretty poetically satisfying.

If freedom of speech is truly at issue here - I'll maintain the right to express that I think whoever killed Charlie did humanity a big favor.


This type of thinking is so dumb. To think murdering someone for voicing his opinions is doing humanity a favor is so backwards, I don't know where to even start.

You have lost the entire point of what humanity is. If this guy was truly a threat to you and your ideology so much, you should take a hard look as to why he was connecting with so many people and question your own ideology. Taking an intellectual debate to the level of violence is an intellectually cowardly way of debating and everyone loses in that scenario. You can have your opinions but imo you are despicable for having those beliefs. You've let group think and tribalism ruin a beautiful part of your humanity and I hope you get it back some day.

Charlie Kirk was a partisan political commentator, political fund raiser, and political influencer. He was a family man and most people described him as a very nice guy. He had strong opinions and even though I'm on the complete opposite side of him, I respected his courage to put himself and his beliefs out there.

No person deserves to be killed for speech. No one.

Say what you want about his beliefs and opinions but if you're cheering this murder, you're a disgusting human being who completely misses the point of humanity.


It's hard to argue with people who think that Charlie Kirk has lost his humanity and has brought many thousands if not millions of other people much closer to losing their humanity as well. You know, at some point you have to ask yourself whether free speech is really this holy relic that should be worshipped until everything breaks. Should it, really?

There's a reason why speech is not actually free. Not even in the free land of the free, the most freedom loving of all the free countries in the history of freedom. This idea that speech can't destroy a nation is, well... I'd call it naive at best.

I won't say Kirk's death was justified. But it's hard to argue that he didn't have some really bad shit coming his way. It shouldn't have been death, but something had to happen. The guy was on a quest to destroy America.



See free speech actually should be free. If you think otherwise you are just misguided. Why would you be against it? What happened to Kirk is very result of believing that he shouldn't be allowed to say what he was saying. Mind I dont think anyone should be banned for expressing their opinion on this murder. I am actually glad that given opportunity to show their true colours, people will do just that.
You see I used to like you. I did considered your ideas idiotic, but overall it seemed like they were coming from the good place. Now I see there never was a good place.

As for everyone else cheering for this murder: line which shouldn't have been crossed was crossed, enjoy and bear the consequences. Might be worth to remember that right wing people actually went to capitol on January 6, didnt limit themselves to posting mean posts on internet.

Right. We should all aspire to be rioters and storm every building that we have a grievance against.

Free speech doesn't mean you're free from consequences. This was a consequence of that. Tough titties.
Razyda
Profile Joined March 2013
911 Posts
September 12 2025 01:52 GMT
#104337
On September 12 2025 10:48 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:


Free speech doesn't mean you're free from consequences..


It is exactly what it means. Otherwise you can argue Hitler as a champion of free speech. Of course you could go and say he is an idiot. You would have to face a consequences, but you were free to say it.
ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
9037 Posts
September 12 2025 01:53 GMT
#104338
On September 12 2025 10:52 Razyda wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 10:48 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:


Free speech doesn't mean you're free from consequences..


It is exactly what it means. Otherwise you can argue Hitler as a champion of free speech. Of course you could go and say he is an idiot. You would have to face a consequences, but you were free to say it.

And I'm finished with this conversation. You know nothing Jon Snow.
Razyda
Profile Joined March 2013
911 Posts
September 12 2025 02:03 GMT
#104339
On September 12 2025 10:53 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 10:52 Razyda wrote:
On September 12 2025 10:48 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:


Free speech doesn't mean you're free from consequences..


It is exactly what it means. Otherwise you can argue Hitler as a champion of free speech. Of course you could go and say he is an idiot. You would have to face a consequences, but you were free to say it.

And I'm finished with this conversation. You know nothing Jon Snow.


Oh my, you watched tv show, holly erudite (R.R. Martin is a twat, for not finishing the series).
You seem to forgot the "north remembers" part.
Fleetfeet
Profile Blog Joined May 2014
Canada2653 Posts
September 12 2025 02:20 GMT
#104340
On September 12 2025 10:52 Razyda wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 12 2025 10:48 ZerOCoolSC2 wrote:


Free speech doesn't mean you're free from consequences..


It is exactly what it means. Otherwise you can argue Hitler as a champion of free speech. Of course you could go and say he is an idiot. You would have to face a consequences, but you were free to say it.


If I think you're a moron for this post, does that mean I've violated your free speech?

(I don't think you're a moron, just pointing out that 'free speech' very obviously does not mean 'freedom from consequence')
Prev 1 5215 5216 5217 5218 5219 5552 Next
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
WardiTV Team League
12:00
Group B
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
UpATreeSC 153
JuggernautJason46
elazer 44
Livibee 1
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 34154
Jaedong 1467
Mini 663
EffOrt 517
Larva 434
BeSt 329
firebathero 228
Rush 113
Dewaltoss 101
actioN 61
[ Show more ]
sSak 25
Bale 23
Rock 22
scan(afreeca) 21
ajuk12(nOOB) 12
Dota 2
Gorgc5749
qojqva2258
Counter-Strike
byalli374
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor83
MindelVK10
Other Games
Grubby2033
FrodaN973
Beastyqt601
Fuzer 137
ToD132
ArmadaUGS103
KnowMe100
C9.Mang086
Trikslyr55
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream15515
Other Games
gamesdonequick1382
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 63
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis9165
• TFBlade1153
• Shiphtur269
Other Games
• imaqtpie587
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
5h 55m
Replay Cast
1d 5h
CranKy Ducklings
1d 15h
RSL Revival
1d 15h
WardiTV Team League
1d 17h
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 22h
Patches Events
1d 22h
BSL
2 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Team League
2 days
BSL
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
Wardi Open
3 days
Monday Night Weeklies
3 days
WardiTV Team League
4 days
GSL
5 days
The PondCast
6 days
WardiTV Team League
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-03-11
WardiTV Winter 2026
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
BSL Season 22
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

CSL Elite League 2026
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
2026 Changsha Offline CUP
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
CSLAN 4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
NationLESS Cup
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.