Potential Rule 8 Question: Regarding the Recent Anti-NSFW Content Bans...

[Nyaa]

On the topic

Click to shrink...

You can uninstall apps, including system ones, via adb, even without root. Note that uninstalling actually useful system apps can brick your phone or require factory reset.

Also, Spain is a part of EU, right? EU has at least semi-functional consumer protection laws last I heard. Can local governments really get away with such totalitarian bullshit?

 

[Laath-]

You can uninstall apps, including system ones, via adb, even without root. Note that uninstalling actually useful system apps can brick your phone or require factory reset.

Also, Spain is a part of EU, right? EU has at least semi-functional consumer protection laws last I heard. Can local governments really get away with such totalitarian bullshit?

Click to shrink...

thanks! Didn't know about adb, and yes, they totally can get away with such bullshit even if it contradicts the own spanish constitution. If the whole catalan debacle has taugh me something is that politicians can and will bend even the most basic of rights if it suits them.

 

[Lady Naga]

Lol.... that was what it was like in the 80s and 90s, brah.

VHS and CDs and then DVDs was how anime and hentai got passed around...

Click to shrink...

ɐnd occasionally, you'd find a huge stash in the woods from the porn fairy or something.

 

[da3monh0st3d]

Yeah, try watching porn when it takes an hour to load a single frame of video. Or stop being a cheapskate and pay for a proper VPN.

Click to shrink...

Introducing wget and yt-dlp for videos and various kinds of data.

The oldschool way of doing it that isn't stupidly inconvenient is to batch download things locally while you're doing something else, such as sleeping or working. Not to rely on highspeed networking and the indefinitely long (or short) existence of the data on remote hosts. One should never trust remote hosts to not lose data for any number of reasons.

For doujins and such, gallery-dl is pretty nice too (even if I wrote my own thing instead). For erotica and written fiction in general, there's FanFicFare (it can in fact save images from stories too, just needs configuration).

All of those can be used with torsocks/torify or whatever other means of forcing routing through proxies one wants (many have built-in support for proxying too).

Mullvad's expensive and ultimately relies on trusting the corporation that their proxy vpn network actually works how they say, which is a problem compared to either Tor or I2P where one can actually verify what code is running at various layers (sure you can connect to Mullvad using Wireguard, but from there it's anyone's guess if they're full of air (or feds) or not) and what it does.

 

[Vajra]

You know a great number of TOR exit nodes are ran by the feds, right? And you can never tell which ones. And all of those things can be done a great deal faster with a VPN.
And no, mullvad is not expensive. It's 5 bucks. That's about as cheap as subscription services get, and mullvad haven't raised prices ever in the 15 years they've been active, so they're actually getting cheaper due to inflation.

If you want a VPN where the nuts and bolts are exposed to you, you can get AirVPN. I used it for about 2 years before switching to mullvad after an update caused performance issues on my old computer. AirVPN is the VPN for nerds.

 

[da3monh0st3d]

You know a great number of TOR exit nodes are ran by the feds, right? And you can never tell which ones. And all of those things can be done a great deal faster with a VPN.

Click to shrink...

Timing attacks & global observers aside, Tor still provides better anonymity than most VPNs (Mullvad only recently added mitigations against timing/size analysis (or so they say) and it's literally the only one).

(Understanding the threat model and what guarantees it does claim matters.)

The better option though is to not need nor use exit nodes at all, and to have such mitigations as part of the network. I2P does that to some degree, though constant size isn't implemented at the moment and timing/batching could be improved. Cover traffic is present (to some degree) though.

I would indeed prefer if a new Loopix/Katzenpost-based network (proper mixnets) caught on (since Gnunet has the same kind of readiness forecasting as fusion power, i.e. "ready eventually™", so while it aims to address all the problems in a holistic manner... I'll probably be dead when it finally does so).

And no, mullvad is not expensive. It's 5 bucks. That's about as cheap as subscription services get.

Click to shrink...

5 USD is expensive. If one goes for cryptocurrencies to obfuscate payment data, there's even more overhead cost.

I indeed do not have subscription services because they're typically scams and fail hard on the reliable long-term availability metric & on the short term (geoblocking is bullshit, I don't give a shit about distribution license agreements).

 

[Vajra]

Last time I tried I2P I could not get it to function properly, and I have no clue whether it was a problem with my network or a problem with my brain.

 

[da3monh0st3d]

Last time I tried I2P I could not get it to function properly, and I have no clue whether it was a problem with my network or a problem with my brain.

Click to shrink...

It was probably either firewall-related or network bootstrap related. The latter differs in I2PD and might work better for you (although that implementation is written in C++ and I have reservations about making security software in languages that disregard memory safety as a matter of course).

edit: Much of the FAQ "help it doesn't work" here applies as much to I2PD as Java I2P.

 

[Vajra]

It was probably either firewall-related or network bootstrap related. The latter differs in I2PD and might work better for you (although that implementation is written in C++ and I have reservations about making security software in languages that disregard memory safety as a matter of course).

Click to shrink...

My network has some strange issues that cause problems with some P2P programs. The most annoying one is that I can't get port forwarding to work, even when following the instructions from my router manufacturer to the letter. Funnily enough, VPNs were a way for me to get around that issue and get forwarded ports through the VPN server, until they started removing the ability to forward ports due to abuse.

I just want to use Perfect Dark. Is that too much to ask?

 

[da3monh0st3d]

My network has some strange issues that cause problems with some P2P programs. The most annoying one is that I can't get port forwarding to work, even when following the instructions from my router manufacturer to the letter. Funnily enough, VPNs were a way for me to get around that issue and get forwarded ports through the VPN server, until they started removing the ability to forward ports due to abuse.

Click to shrink...

This makes me wonder if it isn't your ISP pulling shenanigans, rather than anything strictly in your home.

Didn't Perfect Dark's security get broken a while ago? Or were those just OPSEC failures?

edit: Well, in any case Perfect Dark should be subject to basically the same problem as Freenet/Hyphanet. The correlation one has been used for arrests with Freenet in the past.

 

[Vajra]

This makes me wonder if it isn't your ISP pulling shenanigans, rather than anything strictly in your home.

Didn't Perfect Dark's security get broken a while ago?

Click to shrink...

It could be, but I'm more inclined to believe it's my router. The ISP I use has the second best reputation in my country. The one with the best reputation is not available where I live.

As for Perfect Dark, it's actually received a few updates in the past couple of years after a decade of nothing, probably to address security issues. Anti-piracy laws in Japan have become extremely draconian lately. I don't know of another way to get access to the Japanese market, though. Nyaa and DJT are somewhat limited in what kind of stuff they have.

 

[Laath-]

Hello everyone, there are dark times ahead of us.

It seems that reddit has passed from the good ol' "press this to confirm you're 18" to asking for a photo of your face/your id, noticed when I tried to enter the nsfw CYOA subreddit over there.

Apparently, this shit comes from the UK so its a matter of time for europe to follow suit and ask you to do a selfie whenever you want to enter an "adult site"

For clarification, this law affects all "adult content", not just nsfw reddits.

...Funny thing is that it affected me even though I'm not from UK, apparently my old VPN was pretty shit at its job, so I'm now using another. For anyone interested now I'm on proton VPN (free version) before that I was with Kaspersky VPN.

I'm still fucked anyways since I'm from europe but for now I'm off the hook

Any advice for when shit hits the fan and my country passes a similar law?

 

[xihute]

Any advice for when shit hits the fan and my country passes a similar law?

Click to shrink...

Good question. How can we escape growing censorship of internet and the governmental oversight as an average user?

 

[NumberSix]

Good question. How can we escape growing censorship of internet and the governmental oversight as an average user?

Click to shrink...

VPNs and hosting in countries that are not populated by retarded puritans.

For cloud replacement (Docs, sheets, messaging) there are various approach to self-host.

Nextcloud Documentation

Nextcloud is an open source, self-hosted file share and communication platform. Access & sync your files, contacts, calendars & communicate and collaborate across your devices. You decide what happens with your data, where it is and who can access it!

docs.nextcloud.com

ownCloud - share files and folders, easy and secure

ownCloud, your file platform. The most essential business tool for enterprise-grade file sync and share.

owncloud.com

As well as non-US based services that are privacy focused and provide end to end encryption like Tutanota and Proton.

For communication you have Telegram and Mastodon, which is decentralized and peer to peer.
And in Eastern Yurup we use telegram extensively to do stuff like fight censorship.
Lots of spicy e-girls have channels there, btw.

Also you might consider not shitting where you est and banning the country where you host your stuff from accessing it, basically.
No local Karen or puritan NGO can object if they can't see it and even if they did the gubrmint might not be able to.


You could still use the major cloud providers and such for backup, just make sure your stuff is encrypted just in case some retarded laws are passed.

Edit: oh and also forgot to mention that you can get a cheap ass NUC or other mini-PC/server for a few hundred USD.
here are a few options.
Of course to could try and go the Pi route, but that is not a serious piece of tech for serious workloads and you'd need to play around with stuff like enclosures, cooling and etc.

And SSL certificates can be gotten free of charge for 90 days and auto renewed from Let's Encrypt.

 

[CptTagon]

For Americans, I would also recommend this
https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy
and this
https://stopcensoring.games/

Dear [Legislator Name],
I am concerned about the recent rise in censorship of legal adult content.
1) Regulate Visa/Mastercard/PayPal to prevent them from blocking legal fictional adult content from their network.
Recently, many legal 18+ videogame titles were removed from the popular video gaming platform Steam due to requirements from payment processors. Fictional content should not be censored as this is a violation of our First Amendment rights. Visa, Mastercard & PayPal represent a payment oligopoly -- it is not possible for merchants to survive in the United States without using their networks. There is no other viable way for creators to be paid for their fictional works, but all three have engaged in heavy censorship. Thus, I request you introduce or support a bill to regulate Visa/Mastercard/PayPal and ensure all legal fictional adult content may be sold on their networks.
2) Institute a nationwide halt to mandatory Age Verification for adults to access 18+ content.
Many states have passed Age Verification laws that impinge upon Americans' First Amendment right to access adult content. These laws harm our privacy and put us at risk. You should not need to upload your ID to a website to access free speech. These restrictions are unreasonable, and do nothing to prevent children from accessing adult content. Uploading IDs is inheritly unsafe: one of the members of the pro-AV lobby is Experian, a well known data broker who has suffered a catastrophic data breach in past. And most users are not willing to do so: a major traditional adult content site cited a ~90% reduction in traffic after implementing Age Verification checks, signaling that creators that comply with the legislation are doomed to fail financially. I request new legislation to eliminate mandatory age verification requirements nationwide for adult content.
I thank you for your time. These are important issues to me and will affect my voting in the next election.
[Optional: I am a voter in your legislative district and requesting a written response.]
Sincerely,
[First Name] [Last Name]
[Mailing Address]

Click to shrink...

and this too: Calling or emailing in support of the "Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate"

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

Good to see I'm not the only one concerned about the open hostility towards Sites like this.

For Americans, I would also recommend this
https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy

Click to shrink...

I can't remember a single time a petition like this has succeeded... or any petition really.

and this too: Calling or emailing in support of the "Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate"

Click to shrink...

Yeah, no, that'll fail. GovTrack says it's only 2% but I'm more because of patterns and how this Congress can't pass anything worth a damn and it'll evaporate at the beginning of January because that's how Legislation works leading to it needing to be reintroduced yet again. This isn't the first time its been put out. On top of that the Government has long pivoted towards being funded by bribery "Lobbying" even before the current makeup of either being avarice fueled Sociopaths or Purityrannical Psychopaths. The Government is bought by the highest bidder with preferential treatment for whoever wants to sterilize the Internet. Wouldn't be surprised if it does pass it will be because it twisted around to be the antithesis of how it is now. Maybe other countries like Japan or one in Europe would be able to but that's because they're no where near as off the deep end as the US is but they have their own Censorship so it less would be because of "you shouldn't be able to decide someone else's content" and more "step off our territory, only we can beat people with that stick!".

The Culture has shifted even further into a corner where the Purityrannicals are likely to get their way now especially with the way the world is going now more then ever being advantageous to their festering cancer. Especially in the US where the Idea of an adult doing anything other then eating, sleeping, and working is in itself consider a taboo. Having interests and hobbies being seen as a form of degeneracy. Even sleeping and eating, being possible distractions from working, are almost themselves taboo as well. Becoming a Culture of cruelty where humans not being literal robots is seen as a moral failing.

It's less an uphill battle and more like telling Sisyphus to sit down so you can try your hand at rolling the boulder. When one side needs to win all battles all the time and the other just needs to win some battles some of the time it's inevitable for the one that needs to do the least work over the longest time to succeed. And of course no one will publicly support Porn even if they privately do. There's the crab bucket: what's the point of the majority supporting something if they believe everyone else is against it, it's just everyone dragging each other down because they see everyone else doing it.

 

[Daytripper]

Good to see I'm not the only one concerned about the open hostility towards Sites like this.


I can't remember a single time a petition like this has succeeded... or any petition really.


Yeah, no, that'll fail. GovTrack says it's only 2% but I'm more because of patterns and how this Congress can't pass anything worth a damn and it'll evaporate at the beginning of January because that's how Legislation works leading to it needing to be reintroduced yet again. This isn't the first time its been put out. On top of that the Government has long pivoted towards being funded by bribery "Lobbying" even before the current makeup of either being avarice fueled Sociopaths or Purityrannical Psychopaths. The Government is bought by the highest bidder with preferential treatment for whoever wants to sterilize the Internet. Wouldn't be surprised if it does pass it will be because it twisted around to be the antithesis of how it is now.

The Culture has shifted even further into a corner where the Purityrannicals are likely to get their way now especially with the way the world is going now more then ever being advantageous to their festering cancer. Especially in the US where the Idea of an adult doing anything other then eating, sleeping, and working is in itself consider a taboo. Having interests and hobbies being seen as a form of degeneracy. Even sleeping and eating, being possible distractions from working, are almost themselves taboo as well.

It's less an uphill battle and more like telling Sisyphus to sit down so you can try your hand at rolling the boulder.

Click to shrink...

So is it all hopeless?

 

[IHev9Sun]

So should I kill myself since it's hopeless?

Click to shrink...

Japan is fighting back against Visa/Mastercard legally, by calling them out as a monopoly.

It's the first time they've been slapped by ANY country before, so there is still some hope, because once one stands up, others follow.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Fi...titrust-watchdog-to-reform-credit-info-system

 

[Daytripper]

Good thing I'm seeing a therapist by the end of the month.

 

[Smuthunter]

Good to see I'm not the only one concerned about the open hostility towards Sites like this.


I can't remember a single time a petition like this has succeeded... or any petition really.


Yeah, no, that'll fail. GovTrack says it's only 2% but I'm more because of patterns and how this Congress can't pass anything worth a damn and it'll evaporate at the beginning of January because that's how Legislation works leading to it needing to be reintroduced yet again. This isn't the first time its been put out. On top of that the Government has long pivoted towards being funded by bribery "Lobbying" even before the current makeup of either being avarice fueled Sociopaths or Purityrannical Psychopaths. The Government is bought by the highest bidder with preferential treatment for whoever wants to sterilize the Internet. Wouldn't be surprised if it does pass it will be because it twisted around to be the antithesis of how it is now. Maybe other countries like Japan or one in Europe would be able to but that's because they're no where near as off the deep end as the US is but they have their own Censorship so it less would be because of "you shouldn't be able to decide someone else's content" and more "step off our territory, only we can beat people with that stick!".

The Culture has shifted even further into a corner where the Purityrannicals are likely to get their way now especially with the way the world is going now more then ever being advantageous to their festering cancer. Especially in the US where the Idea of an adult doing anything other then eating, sleeping, and working is in itself consider a taboo. Having interests and hobbies being seen as a form of degeneracy. Even sleeping and eating, being possible distractions from working, are almost themselves taboo as well. Becoming a Culture of cruelty where humans not being literal robots is seen as a moral failing.

It's less an uphill battle and more like telling Sisyphus to sit down so you can try your hand at rolling the boulder. When one side needs to win all battles all the time and the other just needs to win some battles some of the time it's inevitable for the one that needs to do the least work over the longest time to succeed. And of course no one will publicly support Porn even if they privately do. There's the crab bucket: what's the point of the majority supporting something if they believe everyone else is against it, it's just everyone dragging each other down because they see everyone else doing it.

Click to shrink...

It's pretty lame of you to shit on other peoples' solutions and offer none of your own.

So is it all hopeless?

Click to shrink...

"Don't bother taking action because it won't won't work" is not only useless, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Do whatever you think you can on the outside chance that it might work, that's how real change happens. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take and all that.

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

It's pretty lame of you to shit on other peoples' solutions and offer none of your own.

Click to shrink...

I'm saying prepare for disappointment and keep looking for solutions but unless there's a flood of solutions then it won't be enough. Also a dose of realism of how most of the planet already sees NSFW material as something to get rid of either because of not wanting to be seen supporting it by others they think also are against it or because they're one of the ones that genuinely want to do away with it.

Don't get complacent. That's how this cancer wins. Especially now that they've gotten comfortable enough to start openly gloating about this stuff and how they intend to use it.

Another thing about this is that it's seen as the last proper acceptable target with "getting rid of Porn" to "protect the children" as code for getting rid of those they deem "undesirables" via association and usually tricking the actual ones concerned about children seeing NSFW things who would rather the state Censor all Media for them so parents don't have to actually parent into helping them. NSFW stuff being gotten rid of is just a bonus for their Fetish for control and "Moral Purity", establishing wrongthink with vague terms that can be applied to whatever they feel like. The Atwater Vocabulary* applied to Law and Politics itself. While I am of the mind there should be a way to restrict children from getting onto NSFW Sites I have absolutely zero clue how you could stop it without overly restricting adults from it, threatening identifying Information, or allowing for these people their means of control. Closest I can think is like how QQ does it but that only really works for Sites like QQ.

*Lee Atwater, one of the masterminds behind the Southern Strategy (wherein the Republicans became the state party of the South by making them more racist then the Democrats), had some stuff to say about how Language needed to evolve with Politics. That every new Term is irrelevant to what it means and is just to cover for what they really mean to appeal to both those who want to make the world worse but only if they have a moral molehill and more appealing to those who wouldn't support if they said what they really mean. Example: "Woke", "DEI", "Government Fraud", "Critical Race Theory". Words gutted of Definition to apply to whatever is wrongthink. The only consistent part of their Philosophy is, as one put it back in February or January, "Empathy is a Sin".

 

[NumberSix]

I'm saying prepare for disappointment and keep looking for solutions but unless there's a flood of solutions then it won't be enough. Also a dose of realism of how most of the planet already sees NSFW material as something to get rid of either because of not wanting to be seen supporting it by others they think also are against it or because they're one of the ones that genuinely want to do away with it.

Don't get complacent. That's how this cancer wins. Especially now that they've gotten comfortable enough to start openly gloating about this stuff and how they intend to use it.

Another thing about this is that it's seen as the last proper acceptable target with "getting rid of Porn" to "protect the children" as code for getting rid of those they deem "undesirables" via association. NSFW stuff being gotten rid of is just a bonus for "moral purity" and establishing wrongthink with vague terms that can be applied to whatever they feel like. The Atwater Vocabulary applied to Law and Politics itself.

Click to shrink...

Credit card companies and e-karens have been a pain in the ass for multiple groups of people all over the planet.

If a small group of crying idiots can get them to put in bullshit limitation on what a larger group can and can not buy guess what that larger group can do.

And there are alternate ways to fight these buffoons that have nothing to do with writing idiot politicians, allow me to elaborate:

Go after the Karens that started this in the first place by ridiculing them and attacking them for being ineffective slacktivists by going after pixels while they do crap like shelter real pedophiles and defend the real exploitation of children. Post images of empty planes labeled Collective Shit going to afghanistan to stop female exploitation there.
IIRC Collective Shit which pushes for much of this covered for the likes of Diddy and endorsed that movie called Cuties.

So make sure to air their dirty laundry.

And if the credit card companies want to virtue signal about muh exploitation why not demand they blacklist Dubai for the porta potty stuff and that Ukrainina model that got beaten up almost to death while attacking them about being low effort greedy and lazy?

In fact, demand they blacklist every single group or country that triggers every single side of the political divide.


Then when they don't do anything attack them for not doing anything.

Ughurs in Tibet or something with Taiwan or whatever - demand they blacklist China.

Forced marriage and bad treatment of women in India and Pakistan, stonings, etc nasty shit - demand they blacklist India and Pakistan.

It is irrelevant if you care about most of the stuff you attack them for IMHO, the important thing is to shame them and hit them hard.

Either they follow simple rules and transact for anyone who is not doing something explicitly illegal or fling whatever sticks into their face, left, right, center, pro or anti every single country and political movement you can think of.

This is war, and if people try and destroy my hobbies then my new hobbies shall be to destroy their hobbies and drag them through the mud, perhaps for absolutely unrelated reasons I don't care much about.

Find every single political circus, kayfarb and slanted slop that is in the sensationalist biassed press's mouth and use it to brow beat these people with it.

An organized and motivated minority can frankly do far more than a disorganized majority, these buffoons prove it, it is time they get a taste of their own medicine.

And remember what Lord Palmerston said:

We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.

Click to shrink...

 

[knyght]

I do wonder... what about QQ in the British Kerfuffle? I think that law from the UK was a bit obtuse and overreaching so probably in a gray area or maybe actually infringing. Seems it is that crazy. I mean for example Civitai gave up and just blocked the whole country.

 

[NumberSix]

I do wonder... what about QQ in the British Kerfuffle? I think that law from the UK was a bit obtuse and overreaching so probably in a gray area or maybe actually infringing. Seems it is that crazy. I mean for example Civitai gave up and just blocked the whole country.

Click to shrink...

QQ posters from the UK will just have to use a VPN I guess.

Probably the same will be the situation for those from Australia and Canada.

Britain and it's former colonies aside for the tea tax rebels appear to be very bad about this stuff.

Guess we just wait until the Emus, Char Azanabe or an alliance made up of Immortan Joe, Toecutter, Humungus and Aunty Entity fix the problems in the false land that can't exist because the Earth is flat.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Credit card companies and e-karens have been a pain in the ass for multiple groups of people all over the planet.

If a small group of crying idiots can get them to put in bullshit limitation on what a larger group can and can not buy guess what that larger group can do.

And there are alternate ways to fight these buffoons that have nothing to do with writing idiot politicians, allow me to elaborate:

Go after the Karens that started this in the first place by ridiculing them and attacking them for being ineffective slacktivists by going after pixels while they do crap like shelter real pedophiles and defend the real exploitation of children. Post images of empty planes labeled Collective Shit going to afghanistan to stop female exploitation there.
IIRC Collective Shit which pushes for much of this covered for the likes of Diddy and endorsed that movie called Cuties.

So make sure to air their dirty laundry.

And if the credit card companies want to virtue signal about muh exploitation why not demand they blacklist Dubai for the porta potty stuff and that Ukrainina model that got beaten up almost to death while attacking them about being low effort greedy and lazy?

In fact, demand they blacklist every single group or country that triggers every single side of the political divide.


Then when they don't do anything attack them for not doing anything.

Ughurs in Tibet or something with Taiwan or whatever - demand they blacklist China.

Forced marriage and bad treatment of women in India and Pakistan, stonings, etc nasty shit - demand they blacklist India and Pakistan.

It is irrelevant if you care about most of the stuff you attack them for IMHO, the important thing is to shame them and hit them hard.

Either they follow simple rules and transact for anyone who is not doing something explicitly illegal or fling whatever sticks into their face, left, right, center, pro or anti every single country and political movement you can think of.

This is war, and if people try and destroy my hobbies then my new hobbies shall be to destroy their hobbies and drag them through the mud, perhaps for absolutely unrelated reasons I don't care much about.

Find every single political circus, kayfarb and slanted slop that is in the sensationalist biassed press's mouth and use it to brow beat these people with it.

An organized and motivated minority can frankly do far more than a disorganized majority, these buffoons prove it, it is time they get a taste of their own medicine.

And remember what Lord Palmerston said:

Click to shrink...

Demanding things from big money will not work when big money holds the monopoly on force.

Bargaining with them is ineffective because they have no reason to make concessions or even come to the table.

Protests do little when the media outlets which can empower or ignore a protest movement are dominated by big money. Look what happened to poor Greta when she tried to make the jump from sponsored activism to real activism! Apparently power isn't interested in having truth told to it. Who knew?

What can work is to stop talking and start walking. Walk away from some part of big money every month. Don't bother telling them why, the only response they have to offer is lies to trick you into sticking around. Accept some measure of sacrifice on a regular basis, giving up things that are only available through big money. Replace them with ethically sourced things when possible, but admit to yourself from the start that some of those things will just have to go. Make life good without these things, so that those near enough to observe can conclude "I thought I needed [SWIFT payment processing] but so-and-so doesn't have that and he does fine".

 

[Daytripper]

To the abyss I go……

 

[NumberSix]

Demanding things from big money will not work when big money holds the monopoly on force.

Bargaining with them is ineffective because they have no reason to make concessions or even come to the table.

Protests do little when the media outlets which can empower or ignore a protest movement are dominated by big money. Look what happened to poor Greta when she tried to make the jump from sponsored activism to real activism! Apparently power isn't interested in having truth told to it. Who knew?

What can work is to stop talking and start walking. Walk away from some part of big money every month. Don't bother telling them why, the only response they have to offer is lies to trick you into sticking around. Accept some measure of sacrifice on a regular basis, giving up things that are only available through big money. Replace them with ethically sourced things when possible, but admit to yourself from the start that some of those things will just have to go. Make life good without these things, so that those near enough to observe can conclude "I thought I needed [SWIFT payment processing] but so-and-so doesn't have that and he does fine".

Click to shrink...

Big money just caved to a bunch of Emu controlled Karens.

"Big money" is a collection of Pointy Haired bosses from Dilbert, not Arasaka.

They like making money and they hate bad publicity.

Given a chance between sittling quietly and fighting they will chicken out.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Big money just caved to a bunch of Emu controlled Karens.

"Big money" is a collection of Pointy Haired bosses from Dilbert, not Arasaka.

They like making money and they hate bad publicity.

Given a chance between sittling quietly and fighting they will chicken out.

Click to shrink...

Oh Dilbert, so goofy and unthreatening.

• Ha ha, the bosses are dumb!
• Ha ha, the co-workers are dumb!
• This comic is smart just like me!
• I hate my job, good thing I receive this catharsis every morning or I might not show up.

Dilbert: brought to you by the same people who own the offices.

 

[NumberSix]

Oh Dilbert, so goofy and unthreatening.

• Ha ha, the bosses are dumb!
• Ha ha, the co-workers are dumb!
• This comic is smart just like me!
• I hate my job, good thing I receive this catharsis every morning or I might not show up.

Dilbert: brought to you by the same people who own the offices.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it is not like I am not a corporate IT and I don't know what useless self serving passive-aggrrssive clowns most middle and upper managers and other office drones are...

 

[xihute]

Big money just caved to a bunch of Emu controlled Karens.

"Big money" is a collection of Pointy Haired bosses from Dilbert, not Arasaka.

They like making money and they hate bad publicity.

Given a chance between sittling quietly and fighting they will chicken out.

Click to shrink...

Are you sure they caved instead of using it as an excuse or even sponsoring and creating the excuse?

I heard that this model was popular on universities: the faculty wants to do X, a friendly student council starts demanding action in X, the faculty "appeases" students introducing X.

I think that it is the truth, based on how "big money" can quickly shut up, fire, or ignore activist when activism is inconvenient.