#Civility

[philosophybitmaps]

[probablyasocialecologist]

Demands for mannerliness and propriety are increasingly being replaced by demands that those in conflict just tolerate their disagreements. The civility of politeness, in other words, is being supplanted by what I term an “agree-to-disagree civility.” This emergent civility, I argue, legitimizes reactionary stances and valorizes the status quo. Such agree-to-disagree civility is on clear display in the seemingly cordial statement issued by all the US Presidential Foundations and Centers in anticipation of the acrimony of the recent election cycle. The leaders of the Obama Foundation, the George W. Bush Presidential Center, and 11 other similar organizations admit that they hold “a wide range of views across a breadth of issues.” Still, they insist that “these views can exist peaceably side by side.” The statement goes on to affirm that “debate and disagreement are central features in a healthy democracy,” and that “civility and respect in political discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential.” One might be moved, perhaps, to see politicians of different parties standing together against the violent bigotry of the Trump campaign. But look closer. To be sure, the civility of this statement is more productive than repressive, more interested in prompting speech than foreclosing it. Yet while the centers valorize the clash of countervailing perspectives, they’re also conspicuously silent regarding how such disagreements might be resolved. Basically, the Centers’ statement suggests, we should all just agree to disagree. It’s easy to see the appeal of this agree-to-disagree civility, because the tolerance it calls for is often taken as a transcendentally good ideal. As the political theorist Wendy Brown reminds us, though, there’s reason to look upon tolerance talk with a more ambivalent eye. For Brown, toleration is less a political ideal than a “practice of governmentality,” a body of commentary and rhetoric that sets the terms for political discussions, and not always in salutary ways. “There are,” she notes, “mobilizations of tolerance that do not simply alleviate but rather circulate racism, homophobia, and ethnic hatreds.” Agree-to-disagree civility, I argue, circulates and sustains such malign paradigms by neutralizing critique and forestalling social change. This civility robs us of our ability to say “x is wrong”: Its principles make racism, homophobia, misogyny, and the like perspectives to be respected, not paradigms to be defeated. Endlessly tolerating divergent outlooks on social inequities is categorically different than working to discern and pursue the most ethical and efficacious modes of redress. In short, this civility allows nothing to happen.

4 February 2025

[nodynasty4us]

It’s also time to end the asymmetrical decency. You don’t owe any deference or reverence to “the office” of the presidency when the man occupying it is a vulgar thug who’s exploiting the office to enrich himself and smite his enemies and whose administration is provoking a constitutional crisis by openly defying the federal courts. You needn’t respect “decorum” during a speech in which the president is blood-libeling immigrants, threatening allies, promising to wreck the economy, and telling lies that everyone knows are lies as a raw display of power. And it is especially craven to scold one of your own for a modest act of defiance against an administration that has threatened to arrest and imprison you over protected speech.

Radley Balko, Three things the Democrats can do right now

[trump666traitor]

[corvianbard]

The civility which money will purchase, is rarely extended to those who have none.

Charles Dickens

[spacedadsupport]

Jean-Luc Picard @SpaceDadSupport Don't waste your resources trying to educate random adult individuals who have no intention of ever learning, growing, or doing better. You're allowed to block and walk at the first sign of incivility rather than waiting for an increase in hostilities. 1:34 PM · Mar 9, 2024

[vox-anglosphere]

1924

[jsietasphd]

[dorkydegeneracy]

I hate that the vocal minority who made a big deal about the karaoke scene being cut had such a presence that Tim Minear felt the need to give y'all what amounted to a tasteful spanking. Now would I have done what Tim did, probably not. But I think he still makes a valid point.

It's a shame, because Tim Minear literally holds the fate of Buddie in his hands. That is not to say that I think he would be petty and not make Buddie endgame because of all of the bitching (he's going to do what's best for the story which I believe is Buddie), but it puts all of us fans of 911 in a terrible light.

As Tim points out in his post, it is 100% understandable to have a level of disappointment that a scene we were all looking forward to because of promotional materials got scrapped. Nevertheless, that does not excuse the bat shit crazy behavior from those few who had such a powerful presence.

Of course, this is really all a microcosm of the nature of a level of anonymity on the internet. People are gonna be dumbasses, and my way too long rant isn't gonna change a damn thing. I'm just using this post to vent.

There is a way to voice your displeasure or ask for something that you would love to see without making a fool of yourself, us Buddie fans, and 911 fans as a whole. If you are one of those who lost their mind the other day just keep that in mind when something similar happens in the future.

God I swear some of y'all need to retake Kindergarten.

[im-madam-baby]

I may maintain civility with those who choose to walk away, but to return? The door remains closed. I can still be polite, but don't expect more.

[thepersonalwords]

If the idea of loving those whom you have been taught to recognize as your enemies is too overwhelming, consider more deeply the observation that we are all much more alike than we are unalike.

Aberjhani, Splendid Literarium: A Treasury of Stories, Aphorisms, Poems, and Essays

[battleangel]

Small Talk, Ecocide & Genocide

The societal obsession with civility, small talk, decorum & “being nice” is slowly killing the planet & allowing a merciless genocide to continue unabated for nearly a year.

Its not “polite” to engage in small talk about climate change or the fact that the fucking planet is literally dying and there is an impending ecocide that over a hundred studies predict could happen by 2100.

Literally in less than one human being's lifespan from today, the earth is predicted to be uninhabitable.

But thats not “nice” to say and its not “polite small talk”.

Last year, on my birthday three days before Halloween, for the first time in my life — 42 years — it was 80 fucking degrees on fucking Halloween weekend!

I even wrote a tumblr blog post about it because I was so fucking gagged by the weather.

Still, societally, you are only allowed to acknowledge that its “kind of warm for October” or “its going to be a hot Halloween”.

Banal small talk to cover up extreme unprecedented weather never before seen instead of calling it for what it is — the literal destruction of planet earth.

The sky is actually falling but still anyone wants to do is discuss unprecedented weather as it pertains to their Labor Day weekend, beach, travel, party and dinner plans.

Never about climate change, never about fossil fuels, never about forever chemicals, never about landfills, never about deforestation, never about excessive central air conditioning and heat usage, never about replacing air conditioning with open windows and a ceiling or box fan, never about maximalism, hypercapitalism, industrial pollution, industrial runoff, oceanic & air pollution, logging industry, big pharma, big ag, 9 billions tons of single use plastic, oil, coal, meat packaging, airplanes, cruise ships, automobiles, not owning a personal vehicle, the toxic forever chemicals produced by the batteries in electric vehicles, cobalt, mining, factory farms, sweatshops, war pollutants. . .

Ive lived in NJ my whole life for 42 years and for the first time in my life there was an earthquake earlier this summer.

Still, its just a dinner party topic, an icebreaker, something to discuss with a coworker.

Similarly, earlier this year, for the first time in 42 years of being a NJ resident, there was a tornado.

Still, no actual climate change legislation is ever enacted that would produce results that would actually save the fucking planet.

Elon Musk is already planning to colonize Mars.

Once Earth has been humped, pumped and dumped, they will repeat the pattern again with Mars.

Rapists.

It is the beginning of September. Labor Day was yesterday.

I do get that its Fall and that Summer is over.

However, a TWENTY SIX DEGREE DIFFERENCE IN WEATHER IN ONE FUCKING DAY IS THE VERY FURTHEST thing from normal.

I live in a one bedroom apartment and do not utilize air conditioning.

I live in NJ and we do have heat waves that get up to 100+ degrees which happened several times this summer. My apartment has gotten as hot as 90 degrees. 

I still did not turn my air conditioning on.

I opened the windows and turned on a ceiling fan.

I wear light, minimal clothing and stay hydrated and drink water.

92% of American homes utilize air conditioning — 92%!

The EPA states via a survey that Americans keep their thermostats at a disgustingly wasteful and fucking ridiculous 68 degrees to 72 degrees and the vast majority (76%) dont even bother to fucking adjust the thermostat up when they arent home.

So fucking disgustingly wasteful.

Air conditioning utilizes the most energy in a home outside of heating and refrigerators.

It emits the equivalent of millions of carbon units a year.

Americans use more air conditioning than the rest of the world COMBINED.

Most homes in the UK, France and Germany dont have air conditioning.

Many public buildings and residential homes in Japan dont have air conditioning.

In certain Scandinavian countries, it is illegal for offices to utilize air conditioning.

The EPA suggests in their guidelines that Americans keep their AC thermostats at 80 degrees.

I suggest Americans do what I do and just turn their air conditioning off and open the windows and turn on a ceiling or a box fan.

My grandparents in rural Georgia where it got very hot did not have air conditioning when I would visit them for a month every summer as a kid.

Air conditioning was only invented in 1906 — it isnt a NECESSITY, it is a LUXURY and Americans pretend otherwise even though in my own lifetime, there were plenty of homes and buildings without air conditioning!

Air conditioning is completely ubiquitous in America to the level of brainwashing — you can literally go an entire summer in America and never once encounter an internal environment or building without artificially cooled air!

That is brainwashing!

My windows have been open every single day all summer — June through August.

I came out to my living room this morning and it was fucking frigid.

56 degrees outside.

But I wont bother closing the windows because due to climate change, the high today is an unbelievable 76 degrees and the low is 50 fucking degrees.

Still, noone just says, you know it was never the norm for a twenty six fucking degree change in weather in one fucking day.

I have an oversized sweater, leggings and socks on inside my apartment with the windows open and my fingertips are legitimately numb.

And the average American on a day like today just shuts their air conditioning off mindlessly in the morning then just as mindlessly blasts it in the afternoon when the temperature is going to jump twenty fucking degrees to a high of 76 then just as mindlessly shuts their air conditioning off at night as the low is a fucking disgusting 50 degrees tonight.

Never with one single solitary fucking thought.

I left corporate in 2019 and have been a work from home freelance podcaster since 2021.

But I worked in corporate for 15 years — six years in customer service, five years as a recruiter and then I owned my own career coaching and resume writing business for 3 years.

I know for a fact if I was still in a W-2 job that the weather today instead of being correctly and honestly flagged as one of the most fucking egregious and disgusting examples of climate change I have ever witnessed — along with the earthquake and tornado both for the first time fucking ever earlier this summer and the 80 degree weather Halloween weekend last fucking October — it would have just been another inane topic of small talk.

And if I had dared to bring up climate change, I would have been accused of “politicizing” things.

For telling the fucking truth.

So then, instead, someone tells a “joke” about how Starbucks brought the Pumpkin Spice Latte back “early”. Then someone says Dairy Queen also brought their Fall menu out early. Then someone chimes in that Ritas Italian Ice did the same.

Cue laugh track.

Instead of telling the fucking truth — that these extreme weather patterns, these extremely humid and hot heat waves, earthquakes and tornados in fucking NJ, 80 degree weather Halloween weekend in NJ, a TWENTY SIX DEGREE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER IN ONE FUCKING DAY has been proven in study after study to be a sign of our impending planetary doom and incoming ecocide and death of our planet if we dont change our hypercapitalist, maximalist, overconsumptive, consumerist, materialistic, wasteful, single use plastic, throwaway culture, fast food eating, Doordashing, fast fashion obsessed, toilet paper obsessed, air conditioning addicted, automobile addicted, vacation addicted, airplane flying, cruise shipping, retail shopping addicted, Amazon delivery addicted, Starbucks coffee addicted, Runs on Dunkin addicted, trash generating, food wasting, Amazon landfilling ways. . . 

But no, instead of that truth, which we can all evidently see and feel — climate change and the extreme weather, heat waves, natural disasters, 30+ degree weather changes in ONE fucking day, 80 degree weather in October that should have been a wake up call to change our ways and save our planet — it just becomes yet another inane small talk topic of discussion.

Add it to Paris Olympics, Met Gala, NFL, Oscars, Kamala, Biden, Trump, Vance, Walz and all the other bullshit.

Anything to avoid discussing a genocide that every American adult that earned more than $400 as a freelancer, all entrepreneurs that generated income and all W-2 earners are funding that has murdered over 198k Palestinian civilians despite it being livestreamed to us in real time every single day on social media in the palms of our hands on our phones.

We're seeing elderly men handcuffed being run over by armored Israeli tanks.

Were seeing children be stepped on, bombed, cut to pieces, exploded, injured, dying, crying, screaming, running, evacuating, mourning murdered family members.

Were seeing executions, war crimes, atrocities, crimes against humanity, torture, rapes, mass graves with hundreds of civilian bodies and bombings of refugee camps, open air street markets, residential areas, hospitals, schools and homes by the IOF — Israeli OCCUPATION Force — a genocide is not defense — with total impunity as the IOF is calmly documenting their own war crimes and uploading them to social media.

Still, the ICC and ICJ do nothing.

Ten months of this!

Still, Netanyahu and Gallant arent arrested.

Still, the US continues to send Israel billions — $17 billion this year alone by the Biden/Kamala administration but all anyone cares about is that Kamala is half Black??

Still, the US continues to supply the IOF with 500 lb bombs by Boeing meant to be used on fortified military bunkers being dropped on tents in refugee camps instantly incinerating the civilians within.

Still, the world stands by in silent complicity and streams it live like an updated reality TV show. Every day, more images of death, destruction and despair as you stream peoples deaths live on your couch.

Survivor: Genocide Style!

Who will be voted off the Gaza Strip next?

Netanyahu demands the Phillipi corridor in any ceasefire agreement and in the map during his genocidal press conference he has the absolute fucking unmitigated gall to claim West Bank as part of Israel.

Still, mainstream western media stays complicit referring to this genocide, the mass slaughter of Palestinians, tens of thousands buried unidentified under rubble, tens of thousands blown up bombed and incinerated into pieces unidentified — 198k dead Palestinian civilians & 4k dead Israeli civilians and you have the motherfucking audacity in the mainstream Western media complex to call that a “war”, a “conflict” and “complicated”?

Israel was created in 1948. The Nakba happened in 1948 displacing and murdering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

There is nothing “complicated” about that.

The state of Palestine was first recorded in history thousands of years ago.

Israel is a false creation by the US & UK. 

This is readily admitted to.

Biden stated while addressing Congress in 1986 that if Israel didnt exist, “we” would have had to create her.

Ask yourself who “we” is.

But even an ongoing streamed in real time live on your nearest cell phone in gory 4K clarity realness genocide isn't enough to slow down the small talk dick sucking for clout social climbers that use even a genocide as social currency and capital.

Just another blip on the small talk radar.

And if you dare to tell the truth that polio reappeared for the first time in decades for the first time in Palestine because of Israel destroying Palestines infrastructure which has caused open sewage, mountains of trash, bacteria, insects, infections and now polio and even scabies. . .

So, Israel caused the reappearance of polio in Palestine — how can anyone not question the IOFs intentions this weekend temporarily pausing their butchering and murdering (“pausing hostilities”) to distribute a fucking vaccine for a goddamned disease that they are responsible for reintroducing to Palestine?????

The same genocidal fucks that have murdered at least 15k children (probably double or triple that if you count the bodies buried under rubble and cut up into unidentifiable pieces) now all of a sudden care about these same exact children getting polio when they have been indiscriminately murdering them for the past ten fucking months which we have seen endless literal videos for????

If Israel was so “concerned” about a polio outbreak in Palestine spreading to Israel, dont you think that Israel would be vaccinating THEIR OWN POPULATION and NOT vaccinating Palestinians?

Its not a vaccine, you dumb fucks.

The US has done this before — it is the exact same playbook.

The US gave blankets to Native Americans as a “gift” which they actually infected with diseases that they knew the Native Americans had no immunological defense for killing thousands.

Some gift.

The US medically experimented on Black Tuskegee airmen trying to develop vaccines for STIs.

The US has forcibly sterilized women in Puerto Rico without their consent against their will.

Why do you think Israel isnt sterilizing Palestinians and lying and claiming its some vaccine?

The US has done this exact same thing in the very recent past.

You'll notice noone in the IOF is injecting themselves with this “polio vaccine” — why do you think that is?

If Israel is so worried about the polio outbreak in Palestine — wouldnt they be vaccinating their genocidal troops with the same vaccine Israel is administering to Palestinians?

I post videos about this and TikTok and Youtube immediately removed them.

“Medical misinformation”?????????????

Wake the FUCK up at some point!!!!!!!

[nodynasty4us]

From the March 10, 2025 opinion piece:

Recently we have seen an onslaught of awful behavior and policy from the Republican majority, not only at the Iowa statehouse but nationally. In each case the Republicans have acted deplorably, while Democrats seem to think that the proper way to respond to deplorable behavior is to adjust their monocle, straighten their suit jackets, and have a respectable and demure silent protest before tut tutting on the drive home.  ... Regardless of how you feel about the party as a function, on paper Democrats are supposed to stand for labor, for the citizen, for democracy, for fairness and equality under the law. Nowadays they seem to care more about appearing a certain way than addressing what their opposition is doing. ... Republicans have made it abundantly clear that they do not value decorum as a way to facilitate an honest exchange of ideas. Republicans value decorum as a tool to undermine open discussion and destroy any semblance of truth or consistency. ... Why not schedule public meetings, not with just constituents in town halls, but with our foreign allies, showing a commitment by the minority party to stand by American values? Instead of silently sitting at a presidential address to Congress, why not leave or face away from the liar in chief when this occurs. The public knows this isn’t normal, but all your behavior indicates that you think it is normal. Democrats should be eschewing the old politics of the honest opposition. For one thing, “normal decorum” is what got us here. Second, there is no such thing as an honest opposition to democracy or a functioning federal government. ... Stop being decorum-crats. You’re the opposition party, with a mandate from your constituents to oppose fascism infesting the seats of power both at home and nationally. Do not be complicit in your own destruction.

[sedlex]

*dumps a decaying head on a plate*

[spacedadsupport]

Jean-Luc Picard @SpaceDadSupport Adults incapable of conducting themselves with even a modicum of civility - especially adults within a socially privileged set - are not worthy of your time and efforts beyond the bare minimum required to get past them and move on with your much more important things to do. 4:00 PM · Nov 4, 2023