arctanthrope

I mean, the original’s not great either, it’s a bunch of guys wrapped in Confederate flags singing about how Watergate wasn’t even a big deal actually, and guys who criticize racism like Neil Young should just shut up

ok I see. my understanding of imperialism is that it encompasses both of those, meaning broadly, expansion of influence, especially (but not necessarily) by claiming areas of land, in order to gain control of resources currently held by others. but I agree, there are two types within that, and the distinction between them is whether the people currently occupying the land (or in particular their labor) are part of the resources that the empire is trying to claim

so, just walking through your own argument as I understand it: situations that are similar to the treatment of indigenous North Americans by the US can be considered imperialism, if it’s done by one nation to another nation. but the actual treatment of indigenous peoples by the US doesn’t meet that condition. the result of that syllogism must be: between the US and the indigenous peoples, one of them is not a nation. I assume you’re not saying that the US is not a nation. so the conclusion must be that the indigenous North American peoples were not a nation, or multiple nations; that there was no political or societal organization in the Americas before Europeans came. is that what you mean, or have I misunderstood?

and my question is why do you think that’s not a form of imperialism

the “neighboring nation” I was referring to were the indigenous people. North America was not a blank slate before Europeans arrived. “manifest destiny” was imperialism

so you’re saying going to war against a neighboring nation to expand your territory is not what an empire does?

when I see people bragging about their high IQ it reminds me of those people who buy sports cars and then take them around to shows on a trailer with 5 miles on the odometer to talk about how it has 750 horsepower and a top speed of 300mph

one of the most retroactively embarrassing moments in my life is in like 2015 or '16 I was doing some dumb team-building thing for some school-adjacent activity, and the task was to create a “new Mount Rushmore,” basically as a group nominate four people who are doing good and important work in the world. I suggested musk. at the time most people there hadn’t heard of him, so I gave a little spiel about how he was the “founder” (which I thought was true at the time) of PayPal, Tesla (which people were just becoming aware of), and SpaceX. every time I remember it I cringe and hope nobody else does. although most other people in the group suggested Beyonce as someone doing “important work for humanity” so idk if they have much of a leg to stand on to criticize my choice

I had to check if this was loss.jpg

I don’t know a lot about the subject, but from what I’ve heard in many cases there are indications that bog bodies were people of high social status. so not the kind of people who were likely to be assaulted by bandits, but the kind of people who might shoulder blame for societal issues. that’s (at least in part) where the assumption that they are ritual sacrifices rather than random murders comes from

a million documents is on average about one document every 35 minutes for his entire life. that seems like a lot, even for a broad definition of “document”

live SpongeBob reaction

Saturn’s coming back around for older gen-z’s

not necessarily. for example we say things like “the lion is the king of the jungle,” but that doesn’t mean there’s only one lion per jungle. sometimes we refer to an archetypal singular to convey something about every member of a group

it always bugs me that this phrase isn’t even grammatically correct. mitochondria is plural. it should be “the mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell”

this isn’t new, “making smaller marks on a rock” has been mankind’s method for expanding data storage for thousands of years

edit - hmm, needs workshopping I guess. maybe something like: “over thousands of years, humans have refined data storage from its most primitive beginnings as marks on rocks, to its most advanced novelty, different marks on different rocks”

apparently the ancient Greek word being translated as “soup” doesn’t actually mean soup in general, but specifically a sort of pea porridge

I don’t know for sure actually. definitely Sauron would have commanded the Balrogs during the Years of the Trees when Morgoth was imprisoned by the Valar. but then the Balrogs fled and scattered during the War of Wrath when Morgoth was defeated at the end of the first age. and then my knowledge of the 2nd and 3rd age history is pretty fuzzy, so I don’t know if Durin’s Bane (or any other Balrogs) would have been in contact with Sauron, or if he tried to regather them (which I imagine he would if he knew of any that still existed), or if they were all just isolated in hiding for thousands of years. but in any case, if the confrontation with the Fellowship had gone differently, Durin’s Bane might have been flushed out of hiding, and gone out into the world to discover that Sauron was regathering his forces, and in that case I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t agree to ally with Sauron

good points but I have a nit to pick. I don’t think Flame of Anor refers to Narya, the Ring of Fire. keeping the 3 rings secret was imperative, so much so that Aragorn chides Frodo for mentioning that Galadriel has one, even though that’s a pretty obvious guess, and they were completely alone in the wilderness when it was said, and assaulting Lorien to get it would be difficult for Sauron’s forces. so for Gandalf to say directly to one of Sauron’s highest captains that one of the 3 is directly in front of him, carried by someone unexpected, as easy to take as defeating a single enemy (powerful as that enemy may be), just doesn’t make sense

Anor is the sun, so I think Gandalf is just saying “we both wield fire, but mine is bright like the sun, and thus superior to yours which is dark”

well mostly it’s explained by the fact that it didn’t happen.

"In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.

All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen.

‘You cannot enter here,’ said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. ‘Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!’

The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.

‘Old fool!’ he said. ‘Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’ And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.

Gandalf did not move."

and then the Rohirrim arrive and the Rider leaves.