one of the things that's the most fucking frustrating for me about arguing with climate change deniers is the sheer fucking scope of how much it matters. sweating in my father's car, thinking about how it's the "hottest summer so far," every summer. and there's this deep, roiling rage that comes over me, every time.
the stakes are wrong, is the thing. that's part of what makes it not an actual debate: the other side isn't coming to the table with anything to fucking lose.
like okay. i am obviously pro gun control. but there is a basic human part of me that can understand and empathize with someone who says, "i'm worried that would lead to the law-abiding citizens being punished while criminals now essentially have a superpower." i don't agree, but i can tell the stakes for them are also very high.
but let's say the science is wrong and i'm wrong and the visible reality is wrong and every climate disaster refugee is wrong. let's say you're right, humans aren't causing it or it's not happening or whatever else. let's just say that, for fun.
so we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making the earth cleaner, and then it turns out we didn't need to do that. oops! we cleaned the earth. our children grow up with skies full of more butterflies and bees. lawns are taken over with rich local biodiversity. we don't cry over our electric bills anymore. and, if you're staunchly capitalist and i need to speak ROI with you - we've created so many jobs in developing sectors and we have exciting new investment opportunities.
i am reminded of kodak, and how they did not make "the switch" to digital photography; how within 20 years kodak was no longer a household brand. do we, as a nation, feel comfortable watching as the world makes "the switch" while we ride the laurels of oil? this boggles me. i have heard so much propaganda about how america cannot "fall behind" other countries, but in this crucial sector - the one that could actually influence our own monopolies - suddenly we turn the other cheek. but maybe you're right! maybe it will collapse like just another silicone valley dream. but isn't that the crux of capitalism? that some economies will peter out eventually?
but let's say you're right, and i'm wrong, and we stopped fracking for no good reason. that they re-seed quarries. that we tear down unused corporate-owned buildings or at least repurpose them for communities. that we make an effort, and that effort doesn't really help. what happens then? what are the stakes. what have we lost, and what have we gained?
sometimes we take our cars through a car wash and then later, it rains. "oh," we laugh to ourselves. we gripe about it over coffee with our coworkers. what a shame! but we are also aware: the car is cleaner. is that what you are worried about? that you'll make the effort but things will resolve naturally? that it will just be "a waste"?
and what i'm right. what if we're already seeing people lose their houses and their lives. what if it is happening everywhere, not just in coastal towns or equatorial countries you don't care about. what if i'm right and you're wrong but you're yelling and rich and powerful. so we ignore all of the bellwethers and all of the indicators and all of the sirens. what if we say - well, if it happens, it's fate.
nevermind. you wouldn't even wear a mask, anyway. i know what happens when you see disaster. you think the disaster will flinch if you just shout louder. that you can toss enough lives into the storm for the storm to recognize your sacrifice and balk. you argue because it feels good to stand up against "the liberals" even when the situation should not be political. you are busy crying for jesus with a bullhorn while i am trying to usher people into a shelter. you've already locked the doors, even on the church.
the stakes are skewed. you think this is some intellectual "debate" to win, some funny banter. you fuel up your huge unmuddied truck and say suck it to every citizen of that shitbird state california. serves them right for voting blue!
and the rest of us are terrified of the entire fucking environment collapsing.
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We love Bruce's tragic ignorance of Sheila's role in Jason's death.
We love Jason never telling another soul what Sheila did, because he loves her, because he's grateful she showed him compassion as soon as it didn't cost her anything, because nobody needs to know.
We need to go further.
Jason's last act as Robin got an innocent woman killed. His own mother, a doctor who should've lived many more years making the world a better place.
Poor Doctor Haywood might've survived being forced to work for the Joker, but Jason dragged her into a dangerous confrontation instead.
It's obvious what happened: Jason was trying to show off. He wanted to impress his mother by revealing himself as Robin and taking down the Joker. Treating everything like a game, never considering the consequences.
And despite losing everything to his recklessness, Sheila still used her dying breath to praise him. It's a tragedy that such a sweet woman dedicated her life to caring for others, but her own son doomed her with his carelessness.
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Thinking about the KaeyaJeanDiluc friendship where they grew up together and they were CLOSE & sure maybe Jean felt like Diluc & Kaeya were closer since they were brothers & sure maybe Kaeya felt like he had to keep secrets from the two of them bc they would never understand but they were like. A trio! A team!
& then Diluc’s 18th birthday comes around and everything goes to shit and Diluc LEAVES so they’re no longer KaeyaJeanDiluc but just Kaeya & Jean & in some ways Kaeya and Jean get closer because of it but there’s also a pronounced DISTANCE where Jean doesn’t know how to reach Kaeya anymore & Kaeya is even more determined not to tell Jean anything & they both lose themselves in their duties to Mondstadt while also missing Diluc and ALSO, despite everything, offering each other unconditional support
& then Diluc comes BACK & in addition to Kaeya & Jean there’s the shaky reestablishment of Jean & Diluc and Diluc & Kaeya but it’s not THE SAME. they’re no longer KaeyaJeanDiluc; Jean & Kaeya are knights and Diluc will never be a knight again & they all changed while Diluc was away & none of them know how to talk to each other anymore AND YET there’s still an undercurrent of trust!! Not fully, especially between Kaeya & Diluc, but Diluc still calls on Jean during the archon quest, trusting that she will keep their secrets even though as the acting grandmaster she should probably not. Jean says in her about Diluc voiceline that she understands why Diluc hates the knights & is working hard to make them an organization he can trust again. Kaeya covers for Diluc’s darknight hero escapades & fondly reminisces about their childhood in front of him. Diluc invited Kaeya to dinner at the winery & (afaik) never told anyone about Kaeya’s origins. Kaeya tells the traveler that they need to give Jean their full support and planned a birthday party for her. Jean left Kaeya in charge of Mondstadt when she went to the golden apple archipelago! On some level they recognize that their goals still align!! There’s still trust and love there but there’s also this gap between them that none of them know how to cross and I just!!!
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I'm so normal about the fact that the crew chose to use the unicorn hoof of all things for Izzy's new leg, its unbelievably moving. The unicorn was the figurehead of the ship, and back then figureheads embodied the spirit of the vessel, offering the crew protection from harsh seas and safeguarding their homeward journeys.
Now i don't think i need to really explain just how beautiful this is, but, I'm also incapable of shutting up about Israel Hands, so.
Izzy seems to assume everyone still hates him, and is drinking his many sorrows away, alone in his room, not knowing that the crew fully recognizes that Izzy saved them from Blackbeard, that he chose to protect them.
The note said that Izzy is the ships "new unicorn" i.e. the new figurehead, this means that he also embodies the spirit of the vessel, and that they have faith in his continued ability to protect them, as is the job of the figurehead.
Even the fact the hoof was painted gold seems intentional, gold in the bible represents love and protection, as if they are saying thank you for protecting us, now let us paint you in our protection as well Izzy.
When they knocked on his door to give him his present, Izzy derogatorily calls himself a cripple, showing that he's feeling particularly clumsy and weak after his fall in front of everyone, and assumes this must be how everyone sees him now as well. But, unicorns actually represent power and grace, they've not only enabled Izzy to feel sturdy again physically with a new leg, they've also taken a bit of the weight off his shoulders emotionally by proving to him that he's not alone. Similar to his new leg, they're willing to bear some of the burden for him.
And that's the thing, Izzy always tries to do things on his own, he gets drunk alone, he cries alone, his version of self-healing involves coming up with stories about sharks biting his leg off, and he even does that alone too. Yet they're giving him a sign that no matter how much he tries to self isolate, he's actually shit out of luck because they're there for him.
What I appreciate about this show of support is the fact that they didn't force Izzy to accept the gift face to face, rather, they left it outside his room, proving that they know him quite well, and didn't want to push him too far too fast. Just like their extending of friendship, they are letting Izzy come to them when he's ready.
But what i love most of all is that it actually works, this is what finally snaps him out of his spiral of depression, and gets him sword training again, improving himself rather than giving up, and engaging with the crew and helping them. This one show of solidarity, gratitude, and compassion, opens his eyes to the fact that he's a part of their messed up family, he belongs to something, and this fact alters Izzy forever.
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