Doomscroller General
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vengefulmeme.bsky.social
Doomscroller General
@vengefulmeme.bsky.social
Machiavelli wrote that a Prince should try to be both loved and feared, but if he can't be both fear is the more reliable way to retain power so long as he doesn't become hated.

Because hate's a powerful motivator that fear can't fully suppress.

A lot of leaders seem to have missed that last part.
March 14, 2025 at 4:10 AM
The strongest fortress provides no defense if there is no one manning the battlements.
one thing i keep thinking about is how there is simply no way to design a constitutional system that can resist authoritarian incursion if participants in that system do not actually care that much
March 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM
It feels like every day Network (1976) becomes more and more relevant. Aesthetically it's very rooted in the 70s, yet the social commentary somehow becomes more and more true even as the specifics of what they were commenting on at the time do not.
February 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM
It doesn't speak particularly well of our timeline that Cyberpunk 2077's Night City is a more walkable, less car-centric city than probably 99% of actual real-life cities in the United States.
December 31, 2024 at 7:00 PM
The fact that Scrooge becoming nice resulted in Tiny Tim not dying implies 1 of 2 possible scenarios.

1. Scrooge's newfound generosity results in Tim receiving proper medical care.

2. Before the Spirits intervened, either Scrooge was going to murder Tiny Tim and die in the attempt or vice versa.
December 26, 2024 at 4:33 PM
December 26, 2024 at 2:48 PM
"You'll be visited by three spirits."

The three spirits:
December 24, 2024 at 6:07 PM
I think a reason why so many kids look terrified in photos of them with Santa is because to adults, he's a jolly old elf, but to them he's a being of unimaginable power, a nigh-omniscient eldritch god. We're basically telling kids to sit on Cthulhu's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas.
December 11, 2024 at 5:27 PM
The whole situation with the United Healthcare CEO feels like an Agatha Christie mystery to me, in that figuring out who did it is complicated on account of it probably be easier to list the people who *don't* have a motive.
December 4, 2024 at 10:26 PM