Farewell

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If Santander really did post what has been implied here that he did... um... then why hasn't he been banned? Honestly a lot of people have been kicked off this forum for a lot less. Or is it really true that popularity matters massively? It would be very disappointing if that were actually true.

It also implies Santander is popular.

And people wonder why "Nice guy, FF " sentiment is mocked.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

And people wonder why "Nice guy, FF " sentiment is mocked.

"Well, I don't agree with his racism/sexism/bigotry/homophobia but hey, those are just political differences that can't determine the whole picture. Nice guy, FF "

[RI]

communism sounds nice in theory...fascism doesn't.

Plenty of things about fascism sound great in theory. Societal order and cohesion, scientific advancement with unified goals, lack of political gridlock and dysfunction, high levels of societal efficiency, business interests made to serve the common good, high levels of communal care for the poor, very little unemployment, etc.

The bad parts of fascism come about in the means... just like in communism.

[Santander]

Tyranny is comfortable. Communism and fascism are both alluring because they are comfortable.

Liberty is terrifying, which is why defending it is so important.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Tyranny is comfortable. Communism and fascism are both alluring because they are comfortable.

Liberty is terrifying, which is why defending it is so important.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Tyranny is comfortable. Communism and fascism are both alluring because they are comfortable.

Liberty is terrifying, which is why defending it is so important.

meka u thkin

[justfollowingtheelections]

Does anyone give a s***?  Why do attention seekers always feel the need to announce they're leaving?

[Associate Justice PiT]

communism sounds nice in theory...fascism doesn't.

Plenty of things about fascism sound great in theory. Societal order and cohesion, scientific advancement with unified goals, lack of political gridlock and dysfunction, high levels of societal efficiency, business interests made to serve the common good, high levels of communal care for the poor, very little unemployment, etc.

The bad parts of fascism come about in the means... just like in communism.

     This is the important thing to note; fascism and communism are both highly authoritarian ideologies that seek to plan and tightly control the direction of society. It wouldn't be the worst thing if these systems were to arise naturally and voluntarily, but they never will. They arise instead through brutal and repressive applications of power. For this reason, it doesn't make sense to regard either in theoretical terms and ignore the practical reality involved.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

communism sounds nice in theory...fascism doesn't.

some nice guys claim to be communists....usually doesn't happen in case of fascists

To... be able to assert this requires that you be completely disconnected from, well, obviously, the types of people that supported various strains of fascism; to be connected from audience itself as a concept. I'm sure somewhere in the world, and perhaps multiple times over, there are people that would easily dismiss even "communism in theory" as grotesque and antithetical to how "humans ought to be organized." Elections were won and wars fought over fascism. Obviously, it sounded "nice" to someone. And these people included not only trash, or the rich, or the disconnected, or religious fanatics; it included artists and professionals and statisticians. Surely, that causes you to ask some sort of question about human society, human aspiration, and all the rest. In German elections, the Nazis found unlikely allies not only among conservatives, but among socialists who supported a sort of "anti-bourgeois" bloc.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

In German elections, the Nazis found unlikely allies not only among conservatives, but among socialists who supported a sort of "anti-bourgeois" bloc.

Um... no. Whoever told you this was lying.

[Associate Justice PiT]

In German elections, the Nazis found unlikely allies not only among conservatives, but among socialists who supported a sort of "anti-bourgeois" bloc.

Um... no. Whoever told you this was lying.

     Perhaps not direct allies, but the German Communists were quite aggressive in agitating against the mainstream parties, with the effect of contributing indirectly to the Nazis' rise to power. You might say that they played the role of useful idiots for the Nazis in doing so.

[ApatheticAustrian]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_fascism

easy shot but answers all questions.

[Cashew]

In German elections, the Nazis found unlikely allies not only among conservatives, but among socialists who supported a sort of "anti-bourgeois" bloc.

Um... no. Whoever told you this was lying.

     Perhaps not direct allies, but the German Communists were quite aggressive in agitating against the mainstream parties, with the effect of contributing indirectly to the Nazis' rise to power. You might say that they played the role of useful idiots for the Nazis in doing so.

Some of the might have been, but "my way or the high way" has long been the communist M.O., after all, even under a fascist dictatorship they can present themselves as the only genuine opposition since they have been the most intransigent and plot revolution- unless Moscow orders them to hold off of course.

[Associate Justice PiT]

In German elections, the Nazis found unlikely allies not only among conservatives, but among socialists who supported a sort of "anti-bourgeois" bloc.

Um... no. Whoever told you this was lying.

     Perhaps not direct allies, but the German Communists were quite aggressive in agitating against the mainstream parties, with the effect of contributing indirectly to the Nazis' rise to power. You might say that they played the role of useful idiots for the Nazis in doing so.

Some of the might have been, but "my way or the high way" has long been the communist M.O., after all, even under a fascist dictatorship they can present themselves as the only genuine opposition since they have been the most intransigent and plot revolution- unless Moscow orders them to hold off of course.

     Even before the dictatorship they insisted that they were the only genuine opposition. When I characterize them as "useful idiots", it is because they did a decent bit of the legwork for the fascists in terms of assailing the mainstream parties and setting the stage for the ultimate catastrophe.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Yeah, I am sure I am overstating their role in the affair. Perhaps the biggest reason Hitler was able to rise to power was that he referred to concerns that people had and that the existing political paradigm couldn't address.

[Mr. Morden]

Very few who declared "won't see any of you again" actually manages to leave for good.

*bump*

Good call. 

The most impressive "I'm leaving" ever remains Gabu, who managed to make over 28,000 posts in about three and a half years, and then one day said he was leaving, and has managed to stick to that for the past 10 years. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Very few who declared "won't see any of you again" actually manages to leave for good.

*bump*

Good call. 

The most impressive "I'm leaving" ever remains Gabu, who managed to make over 28,000 posts in about three and a half years, and then one day said he was leaving, and has managed to stick to that for the past 10 years. 

Of course, the one person to stick to it is one of the best posters in Atlas history.

[Mr. Morden]

And he did it again.  Saying "posting here is still impossible" and "my presence here and self-respect are incompatible", and then coming back to post again about a month later. 

[Virginiá]

He just needs to embrace the only realistic option: a love-hate relationship with Atlas Forum.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

He just needs to embrace the only realistic option: a love-hate relationship with Atlas Forum.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

He just needs to embrace the only realistic option: a love-hate relationship with Atlas Forum.

[DINGO Joe]

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Leeeaaaannnniiiiinnnnnggggg

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Atlas is a cruel mistress.

[Fuzzy Bear]

hated white folks,

Sure, I hate you. Please feel free to reference that fact.

hated white folks,

Sure, I hate you. Please feel free to reference that fact.

Ok. Let me make a serious statement, for once.

1. I, actually, understand where the Trump support is coming from. Yes, there are many people in the US who feel that "the elites" are usurping the power, do not care about them, do not share their values, etc. I, of course, do not share those sentiments, but I do see how this can be a strong feeling.

2. This feeling is not limited to the US, of course. In fact, in much of the world the same feeling of impotent rage against the elites that many Americans feel domestically is directed against all Americans as a group. Aren't Americans the worldwide "elite"? Many Russians, for instance, would, as a matter of course, answer in the affirmative. The world, in their worldview, is governed by the "Washington obkom".

3. Of course, there are no real elites governing the world. Society is a complex organism, and no group of people can control or direct it. Nor is there a cohesive group with alligned interests that could try to do so. The world, really, is a lot more chaotic than many people suppose.

4. Miraculously, this chaos over the last 70 years has been, at least in the "first world", resolved without major conflagrations that had been the norm for most of our history, and remain the norm in many places till now. This has been achieved, in great part, because after the catastrophe of the two world wars societies converged to some modicum of political and social moderation. They say that Mexicans are so polite (and Mexican conventions are those of exaggerated politeness) because 100 years ago an impolite word could have resulted in shooting. In a sense, the same has been true of our societies in general. We could continue to think whatever we thought of those not like us (be that socially, ethnically, religiously, racially or whatever) but we tended to hold our mouths under some control. Having survived the World Wars nobody was willing to risk provoking them anew.

5. Well, this is, increasingly, no longer the case. The generation which survived the wars is gone. Their children do not understand where the politeness conventions are coming from: they think these are elite plots to subdue the straight-talking simple folk.

6. Trump has done away with courtesies of the recent decades and his supporters love it. Well, I view my role here as educational. I am performing, of course and I am being nasty and offensive. I do this for a reason. You have insisted on taking away the veneer of civilization that has maintained peace. Well, live with it. Smell the urine. Alas, unless we collectively recoil, soon we all will be smelling blood.

Yes, I am scared. And I am screaming.

You make is sound as if Donald Trump is the key to all problems facing the world

No, not Trump. Trump's supporters. The are the "deplorables". Trump is a run-of-the-mill scoundrel. His supporters are much worse.

Hillary is scum honest for showing such contempt and loathing for millions of hard working, tax paying Americans with this deplorable prepared text. scum

Corrected.

I hope he stays gone.  I don't understand why there wasn't a permaban issued.