100%. I’m hopeful that with increased awareness more people will wake up to the reality at hand and take action. There has to be a breaking point where people finally realize they are being manipulated to be polarized, outraged, fearful, hateful, etc. by an uncaring apparatus that just wants to maintain the status quo (or whatever their particular agenda is) and steal their attention, largely.
Truly, thanks for your response - I understand now that it does seem to be one of the major factors that goes into their ranking.
I guess my problem is that I just feel like ranking press freedom is flawed when things are this fucked. Here in the US, whistleblowers are persecuted or killed, accurate and unbiased reporting of events feels like it almost never happens, omission of newsworthy events is rampant, an oligarch is directly controlling speech in their outlet, independent journalism is at the behest of a few corporations that have total control of the algorithms and the platforms that these journalists rely on, a couple corporations own the entirety of all mainstream media… I could go on, but I’d just be preaching to the choir in all likelihood.
I’m glad that the few (independent or otherwise) journalists aren’t dying in droves here. They just get fired or silenced through various mechanisms if they report on anything that goes against the grain.
I am pretty sure their assessment of US press freedom is wrong. In my opinion, it should be ranked much lower than 57th. Perhaps their assessment is true when you consider the facts of the entire world situation, but media freedom and actual journalism feels pretty dead here.
It doesn’t feel like they are accounting for the entire breadth facts at hand here when it comes to industry/capital/political pressure on media bias/accuracy and their combined effects on reporting (or the lack thereof).
Please don’t hurt yourself. Not everybody here on Earth lacks hope and a determination to do the right thing and see things through. We can do this and make this all mean something for ourselves - letting our future generations inherit a world better than what we did, and universally improve the conditions for all living beings here on this planet.
I have been in a pit of despair just like you seem to be right now. I know it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s there if you seek it out. Start by controlling what you can - help yourself to feel good, get some fresh air and some sun, eat good food that nourishes your body, do fun things and expose yourself to things that uplift you - if it calls to you!
The news often stirs up fear and feelings of helplessness. It’s intentional. It gets clicks and it is exactly what those in power want us to feel - helpless and afraid - small and weak. These violations of human rights will not be able to continue much longer, public awareness is reaching critical mass. Take a break from social media and news if you can. Have a good time with the people that love you, you deserve to be happy and healthy - we all do.
The Solarpunk movement has given me a lot of hope. You can find it on reddit at reddit.com/r/solarpunk and slrpnk.net here on the fediverse. Consider reading about the movement and engaging with the community. But please take a break if there is too much doom and gloom.
We are not doomed! Don’t pay attention to the headlines and articles that reach that conclusion. Even if that is the prevailing feeling many are feeling, we are SO close to being able to expose the artificial scarcity and games of the so-called elite, and start living in balance with our planet and collectively thriving!
Does anybody think that Mozilla will attempt to win their community back and start being good stewards of the money they are given?
They’ve had ample time to wash themselves of Google’s money. They have been too busy justifying their salaries with useless initiatives and acquisitions, when all people care about is Firefox.
When can we directly donate to Firefox’s development?
I’m glad that the SLRPNK community loosely resonates with the ideology that I have argued in support of, for many years. Thanks for providing this space and instance. Libertarian socialist perspectives are underrepresented in online discourse and are often silenced or smeared.
In my experience, whenever I have been able to beat the censorship and shadowbanning and successfully cut through the propaganda, my personal perspectives have strongly resonated with many people.
In my opinion, it is the only path forward for the human species to move past barbarism, to move towards establishing human rights, to move past exploitation. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m naïve. I’m open-minded, though. Regardless of ideology, let’s make the world a kinder and more free place to live in!
“Someone stole my laptop and has physical access to state secrets that Hegseth has yet to blurt on Twitch chat”.
Thanks for making me laugh. It’s been a while.
Damn, here you are with all the gotchas. That’s it, I concede the debate. You win. Congratulations to FreedomAdvocate for successfully arguing for the involuntary commitment of individuals accused of no crime.
The article doesn’t specify, it only specifies additional training for law enforcement officers, but I highly doubt it will be the case that educated professionals go on the scene. The various mentions of first responders reads as first responders to me.
Democratic officials nationwide have increasingly embraced civil commitments in recent years as a way to address the colliding crises of homelessness, mental illness and crime in their communities.
You can’t solve homelessness and crime with involuntary commitment. This is woefully ineffective policy, no matter how you cut it.
Are they getting a Masters? That’s what a therapist needs. A bachelors? An associate degree?
None of the above? Then, they are not mental health professionals, and they are not qualified to identify mental illness.
Asking for our country’s government to stop meddling in the Middle East and funneling a very large chunk of our money paid into it by taxpayers for war and offense isn’t asking the world. We aren’t barbarians, we can effortlessly provide for human needs with our technology and organization as a society.
Helping individuals live a basic life is a not an “expense”. It’s a misnomer to call it that. There would be many who would create more value to the economy than what is spent on them if they received the proper support and weren’t put under so much pressure.
I have lived in the United States and I am privy to what our cops do. Qualified immunity is pretty all-encompassing.
They still aren’t mental health professionals. A cop/etc. with a little training is not a replacement for a psychiatrist or other mental health professional. The bar for being even a therapist is very high in the US. There is absolutely no comparison to be made here between their level of education and training.
You are claiming that police respect due process and rights. You do not know the extent to which rights are violated by US law enforcement, or more recently and publicly, by ICE and the current administration.
I want to live in a kind and free world. Sorry you feel differently.
But many of these people couldn’t afford “affordable housing”, so it would need to be free. Food would need to be free, electricity would need to be free, water, internet, etc would all need to be free (for them, but paid for by taxpayers). Also where is the new affordable housing being built, and who is paying for it?
That would be up for the state of New York to determine. Housing is a right, whether or not the laws have caught up. Food is a right and so is water. Electricity isn’t a luxury. If they could afford the housing at a later date, their eligibility for things being “free” should be re-evaluated.
Perhaps the many corporations and billionaires that dodge taxes could pay for it. Perhaps the federal government could stop spending trillions on war out of US taxpayer money and provide homes for homeless and vulnerable individuals? Perhaps, if we allow these individuals to feel safe and heal, without punishing them criminally or otherwise traumatizing them, they would later offset the expenses spent to better them.
Huh? The point was that using YOUR scenario, people could easily abuse the system to simply get free housing/food/etc by missing a rent payment and getting taken away and given a free house/food/etc.
You aren’t abusing the system by needing a house. If we’re talking free or affordable housing, again, there is a crisis, and it should be provided to individuals.
I didn’t suggest that people are locked up for “simply for missing their rent”. Never once did I suggest people are locked up permanently.
There are no mental health professionals that arrive on the scene. It could be EMT, firefighters, or police that initiate contact. None of the above are mental health professionals. A little training does not make you qualified.
Go advocate for freedom instead of arguing with me. Presumably, you aren’t even from the United States, so how can you claim to be an expert?
When it comes to psychiatric holds, yes, that is effectively what happens. And definitely yes in many other instances.
The best thing to prepare is to not be fearful and to not panic.
I suggest that everybody protest against factory farming and participate in boycotts. Call lawmakers and regulators to take direct action against these companies and their dangerous practices (and hold them responsible).