Hotter, Badder, and Unpopularer Takes

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'm talking about the entire idea. Far cooler to rebuild team with the B-list guys (I'm stealing a page from the Mike Allred run on X-Force here) and go and take on Thanos or whomever and win. IDK. I didn't follow the Marvel franchise. I don't have an emotional stake in this. Just not a fan of resurrecting half your cast so you get points from killing them and then increased points from being able to continue using them.

Would you say that a generational divide is at play? With older people have older preferences and so on...

I have no analysis here. I was in college when a lot of the movies came out and generally too poor or involved in other things to bother going to two movies per year from the same franchise. I also just wasn't reading as many comic books as I had been in high school so I know that I personally have a divide with people who may have viewed the MCU as either a gateway to the comic world, or for whom the MCU was the end-all, be-all for a universe and group of characters I'd been connected to in other ways. I suppose that's hipsterish snobbery, but I'll cop to it. Aesthetically, my preferences are much more in line with the Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan "Batmans" anyway, and while I've loved comics where superheroes might have world-crushing powers or get involved in intergalactic hijinx, it's not my film preference. I can certainly respect the creators for putting together a coherent 20-movie universe, something that has probably never been done before, but it doesn't mean I have to have some weird emotional attachment to the content.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I really don't care much for the MCU in general (there are a few individual movies I really like, but most are paint-by-numbers and forgettable) so that's my hot take.

[Badger]

He still wouldn’t win, but the person who would do the best in an election in Oklahoma as a democrat is Toby Keith.

10 or 15 years ago maybe. He's rather old hat now.

Imagine a Democratic Senator who comes to work every day in a flag suit.

he hasnt been a democrat in 12 years.

I mean, if you're going to run an Oklahoma country singer who has been something of a has-been for better than a decade, nominate one who's an actual Bonafide Democrat like Garth Brooks or Billy Ray Cyrus.

[morgankingsley]

I really don't care much for the MCU in general (there are a few individual movies I really like, but most are paint-by-numbers and forgettable) so that's my hot take.

It's a half and half for me. I adore about half, but genuinely really dislike about half as well. I'm too lazy to now but when I feel the mood for it I might review them all on the off topic board

[Hindsight was 2020]

The Seinfeld finale was good

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The Seinfeld finale was good

repent you heretic! /s
seriously speaking, what is your reasoning?

[MasterJedi]

The Seinfeld finale was good

repent you heretic! /s
seriously speaking, what is your reasoning?

It's not as bad as people make it out to be.

[Hindsight was 2020]

The Seinfeld finale was good

repent you heretic! /s
seriously speaking, what is your reasoning?

Honestly the group getting arrested for not obeying a “Good Samaritan” law kinda sums up the show in its entirety so it’s really hard to knock on it when it is keeping in spirit of the show  

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Believing in freedom of movement is incompatible with believing that sub-Saharan Africa is "for" black people or North America should have been "for" First Nations people. The problem with the conquest of the Americas and the colonial empires of the more recent past was that the people who lived in these places were being subjugated to unaccountable foreign rulers who enacted genocidal policies against them, not the mere fact that new people were coming in.

i'm afraid that with a more amiable style of interaction, the initial death toll in the new world would have sadly still been nearly the same magnitude, given lack of immunity.  perhaps there could have been a way to avoid this but what i don't know.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Believing in freedom of movement is incompatible with believing that sub-Saharan Africa is "for" black people or North America should have been "for" First Nations people. The problem with the conquest of the Americas and the colonial empires of the more recent past was that the people who lived in these places were being subjugated to unaccountable foreign rulers who enacted genocidal policies against them, not the mere fact that new people were coming in.

i'm afraid that with a more amiable style of interaction, the initial death toll in the new world would have sadly still been nearly the same magnitude, given lack of immunity.  perhaps there could have been a way to avoid this but what i don't know.

That's a very good point. Ugh.

The Seinfeld finale was good

repent you heretic! /s
seriously speaking, what is your reasoning?

Honestly the group getting arrested for not obeying a “Good Samaritan” law kinda sums up the show in its entirety so it’s really hard to knock on it when it is keeping in spirit of the show 

People hold that this isn't the case?! I've always thought the finale was utterly in the show's tradition, and so does everyone else I know who's familiar with it.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

okay here's a good one:

Bill Cosby did more to fight racism in America than anyone since Nixon.

[RINO Tom]

In general, the vast majority of modern people (of all spiritual types) "dumb down" many types of paganism that our ancient ancestors practiced.  I thought of this when I saw an online question of someone asking, "Why didn't the Ancient Greeks just climb up Mount Olympus to see if there were gods up there?" or something like that.  Intellectual philosophers and the like did not think of the gods as just, like, physical superhumans - even if they did imagine them in human form.  From everything I have seen, many pagans instead saw their gods as manifestations of things that are eternal and affect everyone, and they mostly imagined them in human forms to either drive that home or have their presences work in myths.  Your average person experiences rage, lust, a sudden stroke of wisdom and a ton of other emotions daily ... the ancients saw this is proof that these various gods were present in all of us and eternal and powerful and everywhere.  This is why they were all so willing to synchronize their gods with those of other cultures; those cultures might have gotten some details "incorrect," but they are surely talking about the same universal forces that we all see evidence of over and over.  I don't, like, subscribe to that, lol ... but it's a much smarter version than how we paint their spiritual ideas.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

In all of the discussions of the failures of Sanders and Warren (but especially Sanders) Atlas hasn't spent nearly enough time discussing how the 2020 primaries have been an absolute vindication of IceSpear's/Mizzouian's (RIP FF)/TrendsAreReal's mockery of the " populist" narrative.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

When the rest of Europe besides Belarus is scared of Russian invasions they are looking at a big shadow, Russia rather than the rest of Europe besides Belarus should be more worried about invasion rather than the other way around.

[Hindsight was 2020]

The Seinfeld finale was good

repent you heretic! /s
seriously speaking, what is your reasoning?

Honestly the group getting arrested for not obeying a “Good Samaritan” law kinda sums up the show in its entirety so it’s really hard to knock on it when it is keeping in spirit of the show 

People hold that this isn't the case?! I've always thought the finale was utterly in the show's tradition, and so does everyone else I know who's familiar with it.
[/quote]
I can’t say that for certain of people didn’t hold this as true but that is a reason why I can’t hate on it as a finale

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

In all of the discussions of the failures of Sanders and Warren (but especially Sanders) Atlas hasn't spent nearly enough time discussing how the 2020 primaries have been an absolute vindication of IceSpear's/Mizzouian's (RIP FF)/TrendsAreReal's mockery of the " populist" narrative.

What happened to IceSpear anyways? I miss him

[Virginiá]

i hate the word 'flex' now

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

okay here's a good one:

Bill Cosby did more to fight racism in America than anyone since Nixon.

Care to explain?

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

MyPillows actually suck @$$. I swear that I am not even being bias about it when I say that. There is a good small local chain of tex-mex style restaurants in the DFW area that is owned by a big Trump supporter and donor, but at least his products are good. Terrible guy, good food, I still go there (well at least pre-coronavirus) you get the point. But MyPillows actually just suck @$$. The material makes my skin itch and it feels like a lumpy, bumpy, and clumpy hospital pillow. Shove it Mike.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

MyPillows actually suck @$$. I swear that I am not even being bias about it when I say that. There is a good small local chain of tex-mex style restaurants in the DFW area that is owned by a big Trump supporter and donor, but at least his products are good. Terrible guy, good food, I still go there (well at least pre-coronavirus) you get the point. But MyPillows actually just suck @$$. The material makes my skin itch and it feels like a lumpy, bumpy, and clumpy hospital pillow. Shove it Mike.

You’re crazy, I used my friends pillow when I was crashing on his couch and it was great. Plus I just Mike Lindell’s an interesting if corny character. He’s gonna run for President.

[Gracile]

"Malarkey/No Malarkey" is a horrible slogan. It needlessly talks down to groups who are not in Biden's wing, and it shows a great deal of irony because its overuse makes it seem like Biden's campaign leaning heavily into vapid catchphrases at the expense of substance. I dislike how many on the political center-left refer to left-wingers as unserious (as an earnest left-winger who goes to great lengths to show that my positions are authentic and not part of some edgy act, I take great offense to this). Yet, they are intent on propping up a candidate who uses odd expressions that just makes him sound foolish much of the time.

[Hindsight was 2020]

MyPillows actually suck @$$. I swear that I am not even being bias about it when I say that. There is a good small local chain of tex-mex style restaurants in the DFW area that is owned by a big Trump supporter and donor, but at least his products are good. Terrible guy, good food, I still go there (well at least pre-coronavirus) you get the point. But MyPillows actually just suck @$$. The material makes my skin itch and it feels like a lumpy, bumpy, and clumpy hospital pillow. Shove it Mike.

I’m sorry I thought this thread was for hot/unpopular takes not undisputed facts

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

"Malarkey/No Malarkey" is a horrible slogan. It needlessly talks down to groups who are not in Biden's wing, and it shows a great deal of irony because its overuse makes it seem like Biden's campaign leaning heavily into vapid catchphrases at the expense of substance. I dislike how many on the political center-left refer to left-wingers as unserious (as an earnest left-winger who goes to great lengths to show that my positions are authentic and not part of some edgy act, I take great offense to this). Yet, they are intent on propping up a candidate who uses odd expressions that just makes him sound foolish much of the time.

I thought the "malarkey" moment was great when it happened back in 2012, but I don't think "hey, remember that I time when I was Barack Obama's Vice President and took the now-thankfully-irrelevant former Speaker of the House to the woodshed?" does much to dispel the narrative that Biden is a has-been.

[RINO Tom]

The talking point of encouraging people to "deal with it" RE: quarantines is very disturbing, if you ask me.  It usually brings up how healthcare and essential workers are out there on the front lines and all you have to do is stay home or how your ancestors dealt with World Wars, a Great Depression or possible nuclear fallout threats, and all you have to do is entertain yourself inside to save lives.

Don't get me wrong - I am not defending people who choose to disobey the measures to slow the spread, and I certainly have an appreciation for essential workers still doing their jobs, including the nurse I drive to her night shift every time she works.  However, this is a truly unique ordeal for EVERYONE, and the mental health effects of it are NOT good.  They can't be.  I would imagine nearly everyone is feeling an increased sense of hopelessness, stress, loneliness and a number of other negative emotions while getting through this, and I think treating the stay-at-home orders as if they are this easy thing to deal with or something that you *should* be able to handle is not productive in literally any way.  They suck, and I know they're certainly taking a toll on me ... I can't imagine what people who are already dealing with depression or other mental battles are going through.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

The talking point of encouraging people to "deal with it" RE: quarantines is very disturbing, if you ask me.  It usually brings up how healthcare and essential workers are out there on the front lines and all you have to do is stay home or how your ancestors dealt with World Wars, a Great Depression or possible nuclear fallout threats, and all you have to do is entertain yourself inside to save lives.

Don't get me wrong - I am not defending people who choose to disobey the measures to slow the spread, and I certainly have an appreciation for essential workers still doing their jobs, including the nurse I drive to her night shift every time she works.  However, this is a truly unique ordeal for EVERYONE, and the mental health effects of it are NOT good.  They can't be.  I would imagine nearly everyone is feeling an increased sense of hopelessness, stress, loneliness and a number of other negative emotions while getting through this, and I think treating the stay-at-home orders as if they are this easy thing to deal with or something that you *should* be able to handle is not productive in literally any way.  They suck, and I know they're certainly taking a toll on me ... I can't imagine what people who are already dealing with depression or other mental battles are going through.

My flaming hot follow-up is that life has been steadily moving in this direction for a while now--technological mobility, telecommunications, and physical immobility--and that, for whatever reason, there are some folks who seem to have an interest--perhaps simply ideological--in this continued trend. This is most subtly disturbing in the chorus of folks who are like "Ah, a month staying home just playing video games!? What a blessing!" Perhaps that's just the way that popular dialogue has to reflect the "lowest common denominator", but IMO life is already constructed in such a way as to promote loneliness and reliance on a combination of entertainment tech and telecomms to even simulate having being social or having hobbies, and we shouldn't be celebrate throwing up any more barriers to human interaction (let alone with something relatively unproductive billed as a viable alternative).