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Messages - Flee
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2341
« on: May 11, 2017, 03:00:40 PM »
Seems reasonable at first sight.
2342
« on: May 11, 2017, 02:06:29 PM »
I only skimmed the post but I'm not really seeing where the sexism comes in. This seems like a general critique of having support characters in a game which then supposedly becomes sexist when it happens to be a woman instead of a man. In Bioshock Infinite, Elizabeth is a crucial and main character of the game. Booker and her talk constantly. She has her own motives, is necessary to progress through the game and is a complex character that is treated as an equal. Booker is amazed by her talents, regularly thanks for her helping and discusses the mission with her. The reason he is the one taking charge is because he is a combat veteran who has fought in several wars, while she is a girl who has spent literally her entire life locked away from society and avoids violence. Were we playing as a boy with zero experience who takes charge over a female combat vet then sure, it would be bullshit, but this is nothing like that.
Having disagreements with support characters refusing to do what you want can work in certain games, but in most it's probably just annoying. There's countless scenarios in which people give commands to others without it being a discussion or openly questioned (ranks in military / police, professional relations, deep trust, de facto leadership because of experience / strength / knowledge...) and I don't see anything wrong with this in video games too, especially when the supporting character does speak up (afterwards or in private, rather in the middle of a firefight) is well developed. I understand why some wouldn't like this mechanic, but just because the supporting character happens to be a woman does not make it sexist when she isn't put in that position because of her being a woman. Replace Elizabeth in Bioshock with a young man who has never left his room, doesn't know how to fight, avoids violence and has never seen the outside world, and the game and his interactions with Booker would've played out the exact same way.
2343
« on: May 11, 2017, 11:16:10 AM »
There is no Alt-Right, and there never was to begin with. That's just a shitty buzzword used to describe anyone who isn't a Leftist/Neocon.
The alt-right is just another movement within conservatism. It may have been used too broadly in the media, but I don't see how it's any less real than the neo-conservatists you mention. To my knowledge, it's the part of conservatism that recently arose as a counter-movement to the "regressive left" and is typically characterized by views like immense populism, anti-immigration, anti-feminism, significant economic and cultural protectionism, anti-political correctness and (depending on who you ask) white supremacism and Islamophobia. It might lack a single platform, leader or program, but that doesn't mean it's not a thing.
2344
« on: May 10, 2017, 10:29:20 AM »
Also, what is up with the bathroom stalls here? Gaps in the door are like 2 inches wtf.
2345
« on: May 09, 2017, 09:04:09 PM »
flee i must meet you with and bring my assault rifle so i can convert you to an american
I'm leaving first thing in the morning man, you're a bit late. And I have been presented with plenty of guns when I was in Virginia.
2346
« on: May 09, 2017, 07:24:55 PM »
2347
« on: May 09, 2017, 07:23:52 PM »
What is your opinion on fried chicken and I swear to Christ if it isn't a positive answer....
Call 9/11 and screech. I like it at home and I liked it here too. Didn't have too much of it though. I was more partial to the pulled pork and such when we're at SouthernBBQ / Grill places.
2348
« on: May 09, 2017, 07:05:04 PM »
How are you going to handle coming across people who own "assault weapons"?
Call 9/11 and screech.
2349
« on: May 09, 2017, 04:33:19 PM »
Things have been pretty good. Hot weather and pretty humid, but still enjoyable. Got to see plenty of wildlife like alligators, dolphins, massive turtles and some rare birds. Interesting sights to be seen and top tier food (good barbeque and stuff) in massive portions. Friendly people, nice beaches, blue skies. Not a fan of the toilets with a ton of water in them though, and a lot of people I've seen could really do with some more driving lessons. Didn't get to do much sightseeing because most of my time here was spent with family for the wedding, so that was a bit unfortunate. Still: 9/10, would come back and recommend.
2350
« on: May 09, 2017, 03:56:47 PM »
To be fair, I wouldn't judge America by the south or chunks of the midwest. There's a difference between The United States and Muricuh. Go to New England.
But now that you're there...uhhh eat fried butter, get some moonshine at a gas station, and buy a gun at Walmart?
Been to the US plenty of times before, so I'm not too bothered by it. Some of the stereotypes do seem to hold true (first person I saw out of the Florida airport was a shirtless man on the side of the highway waving around a sweater while talking to himself), but people here are generally very friendly. The Southern hospitality and all that.
2351
« on: May 09, 2017, 03:38:08 PM »
I always thought it was what Orion said. I've never seen them on TV or in theaters either, so I figure they're just timed to avoid the skipping feature you see on sites like Youtube.
2352
« on: May 09, 2017, 03:24:47 PM »
So it would seem that you are much more concerned with his attitude towards your perspective on Macron's comment than his perspective on Macron's comment.
Well that's certainly something I have no desire to mediate.
Pretty much, yeah. I disagree with his perspective too, but I understand what he's saying. I just think it's too narrow of an interpretation. In your example, gang violence affecting the lives of people in your city does not mean that they wake up in the morning and actively think about the threat of gangbangers and fear the violence. It includes the more subtle and indirect things, like the metal detectors at school or the detour you might take to avoid the dangerous neighborhood in the evening. But I get why he'd say otherwise. As you said, it's more his attitude and assumptions of what it means for me to see where Macron is coming from that I thought were silly.
2353
« on: May 09, 2017, 03:16:45 PM »
Not to nick pick one thing out of your entire comment but why would my trust in police begin to falter because of terrorism? Police are perhaps the only authority figures these days I have nothing but respect for.
It's not about every single French person directly encountering terrorism. It's about how the new threat of it affects us all, whether physically, or by new security measures, or by how we see people in neighborhood, or by how we experience our safety, or by reducing our trust in police services. Not so much police alone, but law enforcement or intelligence as a whole. I fully agree with you, but I can see how some would lose faith in their ability to keep us safe. There was a 650% increase in terrorism deaths in the West in 2015. We've seen, very clearly, that it doesn't take many resources. No elaborate plot involving months of planning and training to launch a coordinated strike involving planes. No anthrax, no bombs, no "assault weapons". A man driving a truck into a crowd is all you need to kill dozens. And even if you would want to use bombs or guns, it's pretty clear that it's not impossible to do so. Despite all of our surveillance and resources, these attacks still happen and more often than not, they're followed by press releases showing that these people did get in trouble with police before, that they were considered dangerous by law enforcement or that there existed indicators of radicalization and violence. I don't think it's unimaginable that this gives some an impression of futility and might cause them to lose some trust in our police and government's ability to keep us safe from this happening (as much as it currently is). Kind of like a "so you have military checkpoints in public places, police with more powers to detain and investigate people, growing numbers of cameras everywhere, intelligence agencies monitoring everything I do online, restrictions on travel and so forth, and yet these attacks continue to happen at an alarming rate. Why trust you or believe that even more inconveniences or security measures are going to stop this?"
2354
« on: May 09, 2017, 02:35:56 PM »
I'm not sure why you would label that perspective as moronic. The basis for it is quite obvious and is not irrational. It's not the basis, it's his whole response. The extremely narrow definition of what it means for something to affect the lives of people living in a country. I can't help but see a lot of bias in interpreting the words of the president who is clearly speaking for society as a whole as meaning that people are worried about having to avoid shrapnel on their way to work, or that we should cower in fear and just accept that terrorism is just something we have to accept as commonplace. Macron is talking not just about terrorism affecting you in the sense of being shot by a Jihadi on your way to work, but in an indirect manner as well. If the police in your city would decide to tackle gang violence by starting to patrol in every street 24/7 and pat down every single person they see, you included, your life would be affected by gang violence even though you might not be shot dead by a gangbanger in an alleyway. If you take a detour coming home from work to avoid a sketchy area, your life is affected by that gang violence. If you have a metal detector at your school, if hand signs are banned in class because they might resemble gang signs, if cameras are present at more and more street corners, or if stores close a little earlier than they did 15 years ago as to avoid the peak hours for robberies, the lives of the people in your community have been affected by gang violence even if you end up living your entire life without ever seeing a shooting. It's not about every single French person directly encountering terrorism. It's about how the new threat of it affects us all, whether physically, or by new security measures, or by how we see people in neighborhood, or by how we experience our safety, or by reducing our trust in police services. The only times I've seen his comments interpreted that way are on fringe Breitbart-tier sites and by people who really want to read that into it. But what more so made me consider his response moronic is the extreme black/white tribalism. He knows nothing about my views on immigration (I'm actually largely in favor of more closed borders). He knows nothing about how I feel about security and counter-terrorism (I fully support many of the security and preventive measures taken to combat terrorism). But the mere fact that I interpret Macron's comment as meaning that we're all indirectly affected by terrorism triggers these assumptions and sneers. "Oh, you think it's fair to say that the threat of terrorism changes parts of our lives? Defeatist much. How weak to think that while we are brave, so we sure don't and never will. What a pathetic and servile outlook. It's just because your country sucks. If you don't think this means exactly what I think it does, you must completely follow the completely other extreme." That's toxic tribalism and, much more so than his in my opinion way too one-sided and limited understanding of what Macron means, is what had me post what I did. So yeah, part of it is because we have different opinions on what it means for the threat of something to affect the lives of people. But most stems from how I see his comment as being incredibly one-sided, combative and very divisive. I probably agree with him on much of how he sees the fight against terror, but I can't come to terms with this "you interpret X as Y so you must think and feel all of this".
2355
« on: May 09, 2017, 02:35:26 PM »
You tote around this holier than thou attitude just because you have a law degree then decry people as "morons" who don't subscribe to your pathetic, servile attitude towards terrorism. No, I call people morons when they say moronic things. I disagree with plenty of people and still think that what they say is intelligent or has some merit to it. You know nothing about my attitude towards terrorism or views on immigration yet still hound me for pointing out what I think is a harsh truth. You live in the UK, right? The threat level has been at severe for 3 years, meaning that another terrorist attack is considered "highly likely". A bill was recently adopted that is set to require the implementation of backdoors in encryption so that your secure communications can be read by the government at will. Other sections will have your ISP's monitor your communications and activities in real time for the government to access. Recent counter-terrorism bills are eroding civil liberties and circumventing basic principles of our rule of law, such as by detaining people for months without trial, charge or defense. There's military personnel stationed at the airports and in major cities like London at all times. Schools and universities are required to monitor students and take action to avoid radicalization. Law enforcement now has broad powers to impose a wide array of "prevention and investigation" measures in a way which no longer requires reasonable suspicion but only a "balance of probabilities". The current plan for securing Parliament and surrounding areas involve the deployment of "attack dog" patrols in London. And that's shaping up to just be the start of it after the attack in London two months ago. These are all ways in which the threat of terrorism is affecting the lives of many, even though you don't have to fear Jihadi John 2.0 beheading you in the streets. Of course Macron isn't talking about your particular life. He isn't saying anything defeatist. He isn't telling the French that they're just going to accept terrorism and expect to almost get blown up whenever they leave the house. He isn't saying there will be police officers busting through your door tomorrow to make sure Osama 2.0 isn't hiding under your bed, or that you'll just have to deal with him walking through your town. He speaks for the entire country as a whole, both directly and indirectly. Being faced with military and attack dogs in London instead of your friendly neighborhood bobby? Effect of terrorism. Your government having ISP's monitor all your communications, even the encrypted ones, in real time and putting your name on a list for joking about terrorist attacks? Terrorism. Your university putting you on a list for saying certain things during class? Terrorism. Cameras in new places monitoring your every move, security checkpoint with military personnel in public, extra safeguards and measures on the subway? Terrorism. Am I saying this is bad? No, but it's an undeniable change to society and the lives of those within it because of the threat of terrorism. It doesn't have to be that visible or up in your face to affect your life. Your extremely narrow definition seems to stem from your eagerness to paint Macron in a negative light, and your lashing out seems to reveal that all the more. And if me pointing stuff like that out and challenging this black/white outlook of extremes makes me the worst mod on this forum, then brother, buckle up because I will wear that one with pride. 
2356
« on: May 09, 2017, 07:32:03 AM »
Nigga why didn't you let me know you had MCC?!
What do you want someone with the MCC for? Achievements, custom games, matchmaking or all of the above? I've got it too and am more or less in the same time zone. Yeah man. Haven't played in ages and don't have XBL gold right now, but still got it. Add me, GT: Flee4me.
No more Quake?
Quake is love, Quake is life, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a bit of room for Halo. Especially with Champions being in beta still.
2357
« on: May 09, 2017, 12:13:03 AM »
Nigga why didn't you let me know you had MCC?!
What do you want someone with the MCC for? Achievements, custom games, matchmaking or all of the above? I've got it too and am more or less in the same time zone. Yeah man. Haven't played in ages and don't have XBL gold right now, but still got it. Add me, GT: Flee4me.
2358
« on: May 08, 2017, 11:29:42 PM »
What do you want someone with the MCC for? Achievements, custom games, matchmaking or all of the above? I've got it too and am more or less in the same time zone.
2359
« on: May 08, 2017, 04:06:06 PM »
Yeah, it can be rough. My full-time work week is 36 hours and I more or less pick my own hours.
2360
« on: May 08, 2017, 03:49:51 PM »
>not having at least two life-size My Little Pony stuffed animals in your bed
Wew.
2361
« on: May 08, 2017, 10:57:16 AM »
He said that the threat of terrorism is part of our daily lives in the near future, which is completely and undeniably true for all of us. lmao what
How is this so hard to understand? The number of terrorist attacks and deaths in the West has increased rapidly over the last few years. The US, UK, France, Belgium, Germany and so on have all been the victim of high profile attacks. For the first time in ages, we are facing an actually organized terrorist enemy that does not hole itself up in a cave but actually has something resembling an army that managed to take over large amounts of land and city. An enemy that is media conscious, appeals to many, sucessfully recruits across the globe and takes advantage of war torn countries and the current immigration crisis. There's regular stabbings, shootings, bombings and vehicles driving into people and it's gotten to the point that the question is "when/where" rather than "if" they will happen again sometime soon. National threat levels across the West are elevated and military rather than police presence is a growing thing in airports and public spaces. The war on terror is no longer a buzzword describing troops in Afghanistan, but extensive security measures at home too. Counter-terrorism hasn't been this "popular" since 9/11 and everything from immigration bans to extended mass surveillance is being explored as an answer to the issue. Intelligence services everywhere are being reformed and counter-terrorist / security units are expanding everywhere.
We live in a time where terrorist attacks and deaths in the West have recently skyrocketed. Where the government is pushing for growing mass surveillance and access to our private lives just to combat terrorism. Where elevated threat levels have become normal and military presence in public places is the new standard. To suggest this threat is not part of our lives now is absurd and I commend Macron for mentioning it despite of the terrible right wing blogs that are all too eager to frame this as "OMG he says terrorism is just something normal we will now have to live with wow he's saying we should give up!?"
Maybe Belgium and France take this sort of defeatist approach to terrorism, but the rest of us don't. UK and US intelligence services have prevented innumerable plots and I can assure you terrorism isn't "a daily part of our lives" for us, nor will it ever be, and I find it disrespectful that you would even suggest that.
I'm sorry, I just don't accept that this is just something that's going to be a thing we have to put up with, because it isn't, and it shouldn't be. Our intelligence services have proven that time and time again, although I guess from your country's perspective you aren't really accustomed to competent counter terrorism.
I'm not suggesting for a minute that terrorism will be hounded out completely. There will always be fanatics that manage to slip through the cracks and threaten the possibility of an attack. But it should be a slim possibility, not something that the public just have to buck up and accept as a """daily part of our lives""" lmao.
Then you're just a moron, because it is. Counter terrorism units have stopped plots like this everywhere. Some people just aren't as blind to these threats as you are, and it's not at all "defeatist" to realize this.
2362
« on: May 08, 2017, 10:36:06 AM »
I really wish people would stop using populism in a sense that it's a bad thing. The concerns of the ordinary citizen are completely valid to have. It's why we let every citizen vote in the first place.
they're just here to normalise the ideas of this populist tide. I think it's fair to portray contemporary populism as a pretty bad thing because nowadays it's pretty much always tied to bad shit.
2363
« on: May 08, 2017, 10:29:53 AM »
How is terrorism an undeniable reality of our daily lives? I can't accept the belief that a bomb exploding in the street or a deranged religious radical running around shooting people is something all of us have to deal with on a daily basis. His statement just comes off as contradictory then. I'm glad he's planning to be tough on security and he plans to address it, but that only makes it more bizarre that it's something that's going to be more common place. If anything it should become rarer and rarer to see terrorism if we tighten security and take more steps to halt it.
See my comment above. He's not saying that it's going to become worse. He's saying that the threat of terrorism is a current reality in the West and that it won't just disappear right away. I think he's completely right in doing so and that you can't honestly deny that the recent rise in terrorist attacks is affecting our society and that it is a very real threat. And yeah, I agree with the rest of his speech too.
2364
« on: May 08, 2017, 09:11:47 AM »
He said that the threat of terrorism is part of our daily lives in the near future, which is completely and undeniably true for all of us. lmao what
How is this so hard to understand? The number of terrorist attacks and deaths in the West has increased rapidly over the last few years. The US, UK, France, Belgium, Germany and so on have all been the victim of high profile attacks. For the first time in ages, we are facing an actually organized terrorist enemy that does not hole itself up in a cave but actually has something resembling an army that managed to take over large amounts of land and city. An enemy that is media conscious, appeals to many, sucessfully recruits across the globe and takes advantage of war torn countries and the current immigration crisis. There's regular stabbings, shootings, bombings and vehicles driving into people and it's gotten to the point that the question is "when/where" rather than "if" they will happen again sometime soon. National threat levels across the West are elevated and military rather than police presence is a growing thing in airports and public spaces. The war on terror is no longer a buzzword describing troops in Afghanistan, but extensive security measures at home too. Counter-terrorism hasn't been this "popular" since 9/11 and everything from immigration bans to extended mass surveillance is being explored as an answer to the issue. Intelligence services everywhere are being reformed and counter-terrorist / security units are expanding everywhere. We live in a time where terrorist attacks and deaths in the West have recently skyrocketed. Where the government is pushing for growing mass surveillance and access to our private lives just to combat terrorism. Where elevated threat levels have become normal and military presence in public places is the new standard. To suggest this threat is not part of our lives now is absurd and I commend Macron for mentioning it despite of the terrible right wing blogs that are all too eager to frame this as "OMG he says terrorism is just something normal we will now have to live with wow he's saying we should give up!?"
2365
« on: May 07, 2017, 09:55:23 PM »
There's no logic in telling people terrorism is something you're going to have to live with, quite literally the modern day version of "let them eat cake". Especially with police officers getting chased by a bunch of people acting like animals. That's a very loaded way of framing his comment. He said that the threat of terrorism is part of our daily lives in the near future, which is completely and undeniably true for all of us. He never said it's just something we're going to have to live with or that it's an unsolvable reality now. Given how he's shaping up to have a pretty harsh stance on security, framing it that way comes across as pretty misleading. Listening to the entire interview, it's pretty clear he's saying this as "we're experiencing a threat of terrorism in our lives now, and this is why we have to...". He's stating a painful reality for many Western countries not as a resignation to it being permanent, but as something he plans to address. I see little wrong with his comment.
2366
« on: May 07, 2017, 09:22:36 PM »
If that party wasn't so off its rockers, it could have been an easy win.
I doubt that. FN has a bad connotation (hence the upcoming name change), but there's no way that accounted for over 30% of the vote or meant the difference between a massive loss and "easy win". Not that it didn't contribute, but I doubt it was the deciding factor.
2367
« on: May 07, 2017, 09:16:59 PM »
Y'all celebrating but none of you would let your mothers/sisters/wife's walk through France in 2 years by themselves.
Okay bud.
2368
« on: May 07, 2017, 04:20:46 PM »
Y'all celebrating but none of you would let your mothers/sisters/wife's walk through France in 2 years by themselves.
Okay bud.
2369
« on: May 07, 2017, 03:28:58 PM »
Great news for France, the EU and therefore the world. After Brexit and Trump, the Dutch and French are back on track against the mess plaguing politics these days.
Wonderful.
2370
« on: May 07, 2017, 09:31:07 AM »
how does this make you feel?
Assault weapons of war like that have no place in civilian hands.
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