worker_bear [comrade/them]
i’m sure you already know people directly affected by this war, but if you don’t and need a good “I know someone with family in Ukraine and they think ____” (because lived experience is a wedge you can use in conversations with liberals, at least sometimes) – feel free to tell them that your friend worker_bear (make up a cool name) has family fighting on the frontlines, and appreciates when Americans don’t blindly buy into narratives that call for ever-escalating bloodshed, since it ain’t their cousins and nephews who are going to die in the firefights.
if they ask “well what does worker_bear suggest we do about it,” I wrote a very rushed piece about a year ago when the war broke out (wrote over 2-3 sleepless days/nights, admittedly it could use some editing), but you can send them this: https://medium.com/@pyotrbarannikov/what-is-happening-in-ukraine-and-what-can-we-do-about-it-cbc6902d6c50
good luck comrade o7. as others have mentioned, don’t get yourself fired. Habermas was a dork anyway
Was the WTC where the actual execs and shit were working though? From what I understood I thought it was mostly middle management and lower type employees in those buildings. This makes a lot of sense, though - I never really connected the contents of the WTC building with its selection as a target for the attack. Still, as much as we collectively deserved 9/11, it’s hard for me to lean in and say ‘those guys ESPECIALLY deserved it’ if they were just middle of the rung 9-5ers. If that was the case, they’re like… a degree or two closer to the imperial core, but this country basically forces you to work for those assholes if you want to be even lower-middle class. Unless I’m totally wrong, in which case forget everything I just said. But I prefer to think along the lines of how Chomsky described our collective guilt via our indifference during the Vietnam war era, namely that we were all equally culpable for not doing everything in our power to stop this project. Every American (us included) should be doing more.
They’re great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
5-speeds are definitely a pain in the ass in stop and go traffic, but the benefits of driving a manual transmission goes beyond use cases. For example, manual transmissions will always be cheaper to repair and easier to diagnose than automatic ones. Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
Note too that a 5-speed Honda civic made 20 years ago will easily get 45 mpg, simply because by the time you get to third gear, the car is light enough that you can just ride the clutch for the next 1,000 feet. My 05 manual civic ex gets around 40 mpg combined easily, and I’ll never have to worry about potentially paying a third of the car’s out the door price if the engine ever decides to self destruct. I know we’re discussing transmission and not engines, but since you brought up the newer fuel efficient automatics, it seems worth noting.
It’s all preference at the end of the day, though. I personally like how connected to the car you feel with manual transmissions, use cases/utility arguments aside. I also kinda wonder if manual drivers are less likely to crash, since it’s difficult if not impossible to be on your phone while driving.
