🎓 Dr. Freemo 🇳🇱 @freemo@social.cleverlibre.org

@lonelyowl Not so weird when you consider that even when used as a symbol of freedom, it stillhas a connotation of southern pride and southern independence... something other flags wouldnt have and therefore less appealing as a symbol for those int he south.

@lonelyowl

> I know that wikipedia is not always super neutral and accurate, but it says that the flag is definitely associated with racism and some other evil garbage, and has a long history of being used in racist context after the civil war 🤔

We all know it, like the USA flag itself, has associations with racism.. Its hard for a flag to exist as long as it has and not be. And sometimes Im sure its been used explicitly as a sign of racism, but that is the exception and doesnt say much about other people who fly it.

> But okay, i'll assume you're right, then what do they mean by flying that flag?

I have asked this of a lot of people. Usually the answers I get are some of the following:

1) As a symbol of rebelion against the government
2) Southern pride / heritage
3) Freedom

I'd say the overwheming majority was #2.

@lonelyowl

Say what you will, and i think its fair to question if the association is generally good or whatever.. but the facts are, these flags and symbols arent treated the same...

1) Virtually everyone with no exception who adopts the swastika specifically in a way that is linked with Nazis (it is a positive symbol in other cultures) uses it with racist intent.

2) The over whelming majority of southern people who fly the confederate flag do not do so with racist intent and are generally kind people who arent very racist at all.

To me anything else about if its a good look or not is scondary.. intent means far more than anything else, and the intent of people who fly the confederate flag is almost never a racial one.

@lonelyowl Yea nazi flag isnt remotely comparable however...

For starters the north was **extremely** violent against Native Americans. So there was not one side that was clearly the racist and the other the good guy. Native Americans almost entierly fought for the south since the north was still actively trying to wipe my people out.

Moreover the north still had slaves at the start of the civil war and the emancipation proclimation only freed the southern slaves not the northern (though the states did free them later in time). Largely pointing to the less than obvious divide, it was very much a grey area.

Redoing this poll due to a suggestion by @kilroy_was_here ...

What name do you like best for a non-profit #FOSS community for Ham Radio? Think Apache incubator but for Ham plus other open-source services and resources for the community.

FYI I have both the dot com and dot org as well as the hyphenated and non hyphenated versions of the below. Please mention which variant you prefer in comments.

#Ham #HamRadio #Amateur #AmateurRadio #RF #Radio #Foss #Floss #OpenSource #Programming

After posting this yesterday, and one person throwing a fit it made me want to check myself.

So I reached out to all my black friends who grew up and currently live in the south.. I asked them their impressions about people wholly the confederate flag.

Every single one of them said that they agree with what I said, the southern flag wavers were always the kindest people they met and while they have experienced racism (of course) it was never targeted from them and in fact they were some of the least racist people they have ever met...

No surprise, as usual the racists are the ones trying to pretend they are the heros vilifying the good ones.

@peterdrake Good luck, feel better... I've had it 7 times so far plus a vaccine (which i got before i ever caught it)

@freepeoplesfreepress

You guys have a website or anything? If so, and if you post it, I'll be happy to reshare it.

@Baley My expiernce is a bit different. I grew up int he city with my single mom with little or no exposure to rural life (though i myself always prefered being in nature so we did spent a lot of time for fun int he mountains, but never hunting).

When I got older long after I moved out my mom married a rich man, my step dad now. He was born and raised in the middle of nowhere in montana... So ever since I moved out my freezer has pretty much been non-stop stuffed with elk, deer and other stuff.

While I still dont hunt cause I just dont have the heart for it I have some exposure to it through him. He also raised cattle and horses on his farm so im familiar with the meat industry through that.

@Baley :) I mean they lived a life in the wild, and will probably be delicious... short of being vegan (which im not either) its probably the most ethical way to get meat.

The **only** reason im ok with guns but dont hunt is because I would feel way too bad to look something in the eye and kill it.. Even if objectively the way I normally eat meat is worse and literally tortures the animals in some cases... but I guess out of sight out of mind...

But yea either way your good :) enjoy your dinner.

@freepeoplesfreepress

That is the catch-22 so much news oriented people need to face... you may want to have an unbiased opinion, but doing so is almost suicide... you have to be biased and you have to abandon journalistic integrity if you want to survive at all... its unfair and adds to the problem.. doesnt make it your fault per se.

@Baley Not at all.. as I said i see nothing mean or wrong with this. Doesnt make me feel any less bad about the birdies though :)

@peterdrake Ahh the five types of alkanes:

Methane
Youthan
Wethane
Usthane
Themthane

@Baley Poor birdies.... enjoy your dinner though! Still more human than buying it in a story so not objecting... just feel bad for the little fellas

@voidabyss You should be skeptical of any information coming from any human... unless you can corroborate it with some evidence you should always be a bit skeptical in life.

@KimPerales

Hi, expert here. I have worked for 2 years as a COVID-19 research scientists.

Yes masks can help reduce infection when worn properly, though this does take training and you should be far more mindful, as improper use may create a false sense of safety... So use a mask if you are at particular risk, but be sure to learn proper safety.

That said also dont let posts like this paint a picture that COVID is "back" like it was before I is around, and it is here to stay, so it always will be. But the current infection rates in the USA is on the order of magnitude of a small fraction of what it was pre-lockdown (about 1/10th) and the death rate is even much smaller than that. So yes be mindful, practice good practices, but as an expert I assure you, no need for panic or over-the-top alarm either... be responsible, and live your life.

@voidabyss Certainly could be BS... without the evidence it self its only curious at best.

@TruthSandwich Even if Trump had access to money at some point, he clearly doesnt after his recently losses.

"Non-human biologics" could be a fricking mouse... So this isnt really proving much..... That said the idea that they recovered non-human remains from UFO... that sounds very interesting...

https://www.youtube.com/live/KQ7Dw-739VY?feature=share&t=7602

#UFO #Aliens #Space

@freepeoplesfreepress

> Dear Dr. Freemo: Yes I am comparing myself to far right conservatives in the Republican Party because Donald J. Trump’s GOP MAGA Republicans seem to control its hierarchy. I know conservatives who hate MAGA Republicans, they no longer have a voice within the Republican Party since Trump managed to create his own cult. I no conservatives who vehemently oppose fascism, so I elected to discuss the far right because they seem to have a stranglehold on the Republican Party for the moment.

Sure you can argue the radicals in the GOP have become more mainstream lately and everything you say ther eis true...

Can say the same damn thing about democrats though.. For the first time they have radicalized under a senial president who is more racist than any president they have produced in my life time by a huge margin.... So i'd say this same polarization and extremism has just as much become a part of the DNC as it has the GOP. The main differenceis the DNC tries to hide it and talks politispeak.. the right is just outright blatant about it.

> Some people I know who are conservatives are afraid now to discuss conservative political ideology due to the anti conservative movement within the U.S.. Trump has caused the conservatives I know to become low key, not surprising when you take into account Donald J. Trump’s Jan 6th Trump Supporters storming the U.S. Capitol. The conservatives I know are really nice people, they are totally against fascism.

This is true, and just as true for democrats... maybe more so. I myself have never voted republican and always been firmly on the middle-left. The only party of the two major parties I've ever supported were the democrats (having voted for them in many elections, such as voting for Obama).

I can say for sure I am scared to talk among democrats... They will be the first to call you a fascist or a racist for having a reasoned nuance opinion or criticism, it has gotten out of hand. Biden as caused the moderate leftists like myself to largely avoid fellow party members and discussions for this reason. So while I do know some liberals who are nice people and against fascism, sadly they are largely the attacked, marginalized and surpressed members of the GOP/DNC and never the mainstream ones.