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Innocent Sperg (He/Him, Slav, Special interest in history) Upsets Girl G*mers - Accusations of Misogyny Abound

					
					

This post is courtesy of @MenAreWorst

Kingdom Come Deliverance II was released sometime in the last three months, and the henpeckers in the Girl G*mers subreddit are still upset. The OP (u/julyvale) bears accusations of misogyny:

Is anyone playing this and has a feeling all the women in the game just subtly signal to be either sexual objects or fragile damsels in danger? I know it is probably historically accurate, but it still rubs me the wrong way somehow. Recently had a convo in some baths and the NPC is literally called "Bathwench Anna". The game also literally starts by the two main characters going to "hunt" women in a pond and one girl getting almost SA until a man comes to save her. I don't mind playing as Henry and so far I don't mind the male oriented story (again), but maybe that will change too. The game is very pretty and immersive, though.

Though admits to enjoying the game. Now while dramatards seem to think that there is (or was) a peepee for every girl on /r/girlg*mers, this post has me second guessing this hate fact, and being generally inclined towards sloth, I'll let you decide whether the OP (and other highlighted posters) are foids (innie) or foids (outtie).

OP :microphone:

Now, I present to you the spiciest drama in the thread:

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739522427VJEkLhtJNnXq2g.webp

Fascinating :marseyelonmusk: Hopefully the /r/girlg*mers mods get r*ped in The Sims.

Returning to the remaining comments, most of the people :soysnoo2: choose to ignore the OP's post (understandably, there's not much to go off of in it), and instead return to hate circle jerking over evil Nazi Daniel Vavra. Let's see what they have to say:

u/tomizu2303

Tbh, I'm not even giving the game a chance because the main dev is a massive biggot, chauvinist, white supremacist, and a terrible guy in general. (edited for typos)

I guess I was wrong about the Nazi allegations :chuditsover:

On the other hand, Vavra is guilty of almost every other thoughtcrime imaginable to foid kind :marseybikecuck:

/u/tomizu2303

u/allthejokesareblue

Context, for those interested

This is a link to a podcast :bruh:

/u/allthejokesareblue

Finally, we get to something popcorn worthy :marseyhappening: /u/istvan_hun provides receipts for a redditor who, shockingly is out of the loop (amazing how little noticing is done on the general reddit phenomena of being out of the loop :nooticer: ) on the Vavra accusations.

u/istvan_hun

mostly happened on twitter. Vávra is an butthole, but it not a white supremacist.

What actually happened is that some journ*lists wanted to bully Warhorse (and give KCD1 lower ratings) for not having black charaters in the game, Vávra laughed at them. His reasoning was something like: why a game about medieval Bohemia, developed by czechs, should have 21th century american population makeup.*

This was enough for the twitter army to label him as white supremacist/nazi, which inmediately backfired when Vávra told them 1: to frick off, 2: that he is part jew, and had relatives die in the holocaust

Don't get me wrong, Vávra is an butthole. You can also find even older tweets when he is miserable. He is the kind of guy who always is sure of himself, and tells everyone that they are wrong (even when he is obviously out of his league). but he is not a bigot and a nazi.

He is not the guy I would be friends with, or one I would like to drink a beer with. But what game journ*lists tried to do to him was unfair.

*this actually resonated with me very much. There is one (1) game about medieval eastern europe. One. This is literally the only piece of media which represents the region correctly. (culture, countryside, villages, how people behave). Everywhere else, eastern europe is basically a land of strippers, gangsters and alcoholics. It was a glorious game for us.

Than arrive some journ*lists, who want to take away that one game from us, and make it american, like 99% of media.

You can read that if you want, the shitty formatting and rotting grammar have me convinced that this is a some sort of slav misogynist, typing away at his soviet era keyboard from somewhere in the middle of Kazakhstan, all too eager to defend a pretty reprehensible game :marseydisgust:

u/chickpeasaladsammich

Do non-bigots make a habit of wearing Nazi band t-shirts to conferences? If he's not a white supremacist, he was certainly comfortable courting them as an audience.

:marseyfrozenragetalking:

/u/istvan_hun

edit: english as second langue happened here, sorry. I misinterpreted "nazi band" as nazi armband, not Burzum (a black metal band)

>langue

He might be french :nooticer: actually. Unsurprising that a filthy :marseydeux: would come out to simp for his country's traditional virtues highlighted in /u/tomizu2303's comment.

/u/istvan_hun

I'm not going to pretend to care about any more of this extremely stupid argument, here's the rest of it

Now to vote on /u/istvan_hun's interlocutor:

/u/chickpeasaladsammich

Now, another thread, where a commenter brings up :marseytrans: favorite subject: Archaeology.

/u/NerdQueenAlice

It's not actually historically accurate, women have never been one-dimensional characatures. That's just how the men making the game decided to depict then.

Studies of DNA in bones have taught us that about 30-50% of viking warriors were women, but the men who found remains saw items belonging to warriors and mislabeled them men. This is something we've discovered is true for many cultures, men working in anthropology from the days they denied women the ability to work in their field would mislabel chiefs, warriors, hunters and other remains they precieved as doing masculine roles as men, when it reality women have always done those things.

As far as the game goes, I gave it as pass, until the gaming industry has fair representation of women and POC in video games, I won't play games with white male protagonists.

/u/NerdQueenAlice

There's a fairly decent discussion below this, with the overall conclusion being that no force on earth is greater than pvre aryan sperg power. One funny exchange

/u/jujoking

According to them, you only had whites as well...not a fan of these developers tbh

/u/FalconIMGN

In rural parts of Bohemia in the early 1400s? Probably not that far from the truth. In the new game which is set in a more urban area you get to see non-white people too.

/u/jujoking

I think that was due to backlash from the first one, anyway, they've made comments online I'm not a fan off.

:marseymindblown: let's get a replay on that.

anyway, they've made comments online I'm not a fan off.

Hmmm, seems like displacement. Sometimes a cigar really is just a peepee :marseyfreud:

/u/jujoking

Other stuff from the thread:

u/Vedek_Kira

Not to diss Henry of Skalitz, who I think is a good character, but I wish we could have played the whole game as Theresa :(. That dlc legit made me realize I was trans.

:#chuditsover: Chudbros, were we the real egg crackers? :marseypearlclutch: Anyways, there's a slapfight in there too, but my eyes glazed over, it's some r-slur with a default username fighting with a bunch of presumable :!marseytrain:s :marseyitsallsotiresome2: If you really want to take a look at it be my guest, but there'll be another just like it tomorrow.

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Pure Kino.

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Meh. Bye.

I hate those stupid posts from people announcing they are leaving an internet forum (I actually love those posts).

I'm banned on my main so I'll post it here since it doesn't actually matter.

I'm bored. You're boring. rDrama is dead.

Bye.

you're probably fat.

xoxo Joan

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https://preview.redd.it/w9ox2avrckje1.png?width=2792&format=png&auto=webp&s=66c5e0b16508790b8d791188e49e5541299ed428

https://i.rdrama.net/images/17030405796653392.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739759415Yi7zWioZ6IekdA.webp !eurochads !germs !nooticers !builtfor !the !BWC !and !the !BBC

/u/Imperialist_Alex:

>I'm German i increased with Brazil atleast at 3.8 😂 :soysnoo:

>Germoids and Scandicks always go sexpat for NordestinARYANS

:#marseymanysuchcases: Rio foids are more known in the media, but when you actually look at Euro moids who marry Brapzilian foids, you would believe that PermanbucARYANS make up the majority of the Brapzilian population https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739759415LZSle78CB_pb0A.webp !macacos

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[🤓🔘🔘🔘🔘] What if the US split into a blue nation and red nation based on political views

					
					

Most Based Comments

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔘🔘🔘

The blue states would prosper. The red states would not. The red states would beg for re unification within a few years.Remember that time a bunch of libertarians tried to take over a town and shortly after they were overrun with bears? It would be like that but on a much larger scale (10)

Really!? OMG. I'm still laughing! (-3)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔘🔘🔘

[deleted] (9)

Blue states have enough farms though. (-4)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔘🔘🔘

I'm not sure that you understand that all that red is where nobody lives, except the uneducated, low class people who don't realize democratic policies actually benefit them.https://preview.redd.it/gakmou709uie1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc966e5449783c81781bde6c91106b3fce412d5 (1)

Those "uneducated, low class people" grow all your food, numbnuts. Nobody lives there except miles and miles of crops. Have you never been outside of a major city?Without them, you'd get hunted for food.Seriously, ask yourself what some random farmer in the Midwest needs from you. You have nothing of value to them except money that they mostly reinvest to grow more food — FOR YOU. (-3)

Angriest Comments

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

You have a child's way of viewing complex issues. Food shortages would never happen. Surprise, blue states grow shit too. They also buy, and pragmatic red states would be more than happy to sell locally rather than export.Nukes, this is a joke, right. This more sounds like $Trump bullshit. Go ahead, picture one single nuke on our continent. Just one, anywhere. There are too many analogies to dumb this down; ya don't shit where you get your food, dip ur pen in the company inkwell, etc. The result would be catastrophic both human and commercial. Those farmers you brag so much about, their corn immediately has no market. Drown in their own corn if you will.The truth is somewhere near this; the large blue and red states would be fine. The remaining dregs will need to figure out how to sell their worthiness or will simply be absorbed by the larger ones. (0)

For being so smug, you sure are dumb. The blue do grow crops, but they absolutely grow less than they consume. Feel free to look it up, but if you don't think you need to educate yourself before looking stupid again, just think about the population density…crazy concept. And these pragmatic red states wouldn't be selling food to the opposing side during a war. That's actually the dumbest thing you said in your first paragraph. No one bragged about farmers…it's a simple fact that is extremely relevant. One that you're proving needed to be said. As to the nukes though. Our nukes aren't for offense. As we all know, we made that mistake once, and we're still suffering from it and the testing of nukes. I mentioned them as they're a deterrent to other nuclear powers. Of which, there's two big ones across the pacific. Completely missing the point and responding in a condescending manner while being completely wrong is what sounds like Trump stupidity. Nearly every country of any notable si... (2)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Our country is very interconnected and unfortunately it would be an ugly war for us to split. (4)

I know a few guys that have actively called for civil war over the last 8 years. The way they say these words so casually terrifies me. I've listened to a lot of Dan carlins hardcore history and he speaks on what happens to civilians during war time and this terrifies me. Boys are conscripted or killed off so they won't cause problems in the future wife's and daughters turned into s*x slaves or r*ped and murder. I think we have a very idealized vision of what war is because the United States has not had a peer to peer battle in a long time. This would not end well. (4)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

I don't think it's the same at allThe civil war was about slavery and federalism, mostly slaveryI think the current climate is very broad imo (1)

Regardless of the specifics of that era, the precursors of a society becoming polarized to the point of hating those who disagree with them is the same. This time, instead of slavery, it's the poor and disenfranchised that are suffering. And the level of greed in today's society is no less than it was then, in fact it's worse. And we just have to look at reproductive rights to see that federalism is being slowly choked to death. America is being wedged apart, with the divide getting wider every day. (1)

Biggest Lolcow: /u/t3chguy1

Score: 🐮🐮🐮🐮🔘

Number of comments: 11

Average angriness: 🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘

Maximum angriness: 😡😡😡😡🔘

Minimum angriness: 🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘

NEW: Subscribe to /h/miners to see untapped drama veins, ripe for mining! :marseyminer:

:marppy: autodrama: automating away the jobs of dramneurodivergents. :marseycapitalistmanlet: Ping HeyMoon if there are any problems or you have a suggestion :marseyjamming:

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I made a Longpost about Age of Empires 3 long ago about how the then upcoming AOE3 Definitive Edition was controversial because of perceived wokeness, like reworking Native Yank factions, because the original 2005 game was antiquated and racist by depicting Indians @Sphereserf3232 dancing around fires, and seen as offensively stereotypical.

These changes were controversial because it was seen as part of the wider wokefication of remakes, like Dead Space 1 remake, alongside the general perception of chuds that SanFran types had completely infiltrated gaming studios in American modern AAA gaming development.

AOE3 devs even went so far as to actually bring in Native yank advisors to tell them how to depict the 3 big factions, and what was no-no, so that when AOE3 released to an even more buggy state than any of the modern Definitive Edition Remakes by MicroSoftest, the perception was wide that focusing on culture-war type shit was what the majority of the budget and efforts had been focused upon, much to the jubilation of chuds

https://rdrama.net/post/195059/drama-2-years-ago-about-the

In all fairness, the AOE3 definitive edition did bring about many technical and gameplay improvements, conveniences and quality-of-life mechanics. But all of this was overshadowed by the poor release state, in which the fabled reworked indian civs had been very badly balanced, since the Indian civs in the eye of the drama-maelstrom had gotten the short end of the stick, gameplay-wise because the firedancing mechanic had allowed Indians ingame to turbo cuck European civs, by summoning super-powered high tier units - the absence of the fire-dancing mechanics made the Indian civs bottom tier upon release.

This was in conjunction with the promotional Youtube material for AOE3 DE was like 70% focused on cultural self-flagellation and 30% focus on gameplay, compared to the promotional advertisements for AOE1:DE, AOE2:DE & AOE4:DE. It didn't help that compared to the other 3 games, AOE3:DE was during the colonial era, and thus for minorities to be salty about it, and wokes to soy about it.


So battle lines between Soys-VS-wokes had already been drawn, but since it was released in 2020, it had released JUST before the great GaymerGate Zeitgheist from 2021-2024, where large amounts of AAA slop, often riddled with extreme progressive views would release and tank within months. But as the last 5 years passed, with games like Saints Row 2022 and DA Veilguard appearing to have failed financially, a lot of wingcuckery have taken positions for both chuds & soys

Soys want AOE3:DE to be a success because it is perceived that chuds hate it, and the inverse applies to chuds. Thus even in threads on /r/AOE3 where no cultural war is explicitly mentioned, there has always been an element of powder keg between the 2 autismo factiosn.


This week /r/AOE3 has learned that Microsoft has in all but name, shitcanned AOE3 support, and even cancelled much expected DLCs, which included much anticipated factions, like Polacks

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ic7u56/the_dlc_has_been_cancelled/m9ogo5u/?context=8

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ic7u56/the_dlc_has_been_cancelled/m9p5ww0/?context=8

Users are understandably upset.


Most peeps are not upset Microcucks will not continue to support AOE3:DE with updates forward, but would have been able to make peace if they had just released the DLCs, and then finished support :marseybea

nannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: which is understandable.

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ic7u56/the_dlc_has_been_cancelled/m9onr9y/?context=8

Even in fiction Polacks are eternal cucks :marseyitsoverhappy:


https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ic7u56/the_dlc_has_been_cancelled/m9oi3f4/?context=8

Some peeps are taking it personally

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ic7u56/the_dlc_has_been_cancelled/m9ok721/?context=8


There's also inter-community infighting between all the other different games, like AOE1, AOE2, AOE3 &AOE4, because there is often the belief that the Real-Time-Strategy genre is already so small, that the userbase is fractured between them, and thus shitflinging occurs in a blame game between communities, like AOE3 blaming Age of Mythology Definitive Edition (AOM:DE) for "stealing their userbase" and thus making AOE3 (which is certain g*mers' favorite of the bunch) less financially viable and likely to be serviced by MicroSoft longer term

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ifj4hb/this_is_just_sad/magoklw/?context=8

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ifj4hb/this_is_just_sad/maglzq3/?context=8


Here's a "whale" (whatever the frick that means) of AOE3:DE posting his :marseyl: :marseyl: :marseyl:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1if12vi/i_just_need_to_vent/


But by far the most cryposting in AOE3:DE is because in the same week as AOE3 got this super duper bad news, literally all of the other fricking AOE games (AOE2, AOE4 & Age of Mythology) are all getting new content, updates, DLC and support :marseyxd: :marseyxd: :marseyxd: :marseyxd: :marseyxd:

Which as you can imagine makes our poor souls in /r/aoe3 really livid :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage: :marseyrage:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihu0un/im_sure_there_was_no_budget/

Even the shit mobile game is getting updates and support :marseyxd: :marseyxd: :marseyxd:

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738740083N8sBzXIX0pk3Yg.webp


"THIS IS OFFENSIVE TO THE AOE3 COMMUNITY" :soymad: :soymad: :soymad:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/

Some users tell OP to grow the frick up

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/mazj90v/?context=8

Some strags tell everyone to sign a petition, this will FORCE Bill Gates to revitalize AOE3 support!! :marseybeanangry:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/mazyf0z/?context=8


But most r-slurred of all is that AOE3 has a weird rivalry victim mentality, where they have this perception that the other AOE communities/subs are laughing at the expense of their misfortune? :marseythonk: :marseyhmmm: which is not the case at all, especially since there is often sympathy for them, even from the much more "successful" communities like AOE2, and especially since the chances of gaymers playing/buying one of the AOE games (AOE1,AOE2,AOE3,AOE4,AOM) are extremely likely to buy some or all of the others, even if those specific gaymers have a favorite between the current 5 main Microsoft titles. :marseybeanannoyed:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/mb00zy9/?context=8


Lol this troll didn't even use the word sheep :marseynpcsheep:

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/mazssdz/?context=8

User gives these crybabies some wedgies

https://old.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1ihrolq/this_announcement_is_offensive_to_the_community/mazz9kn/?context=8


!g*mers @realKongDick

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Comments are fun. The usual 'muh NHS', and a bit of cope, though I agree that Reform needs a looot more votes. Their base is spread out - Lib Demons got 71 seats to their 5 despite 600k fewer votes.

!chuds

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I am again begging you to let me into !incels
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Turns out shes been planning this for 5 years

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This is only "chapter one"! If you are a :marseylongpost: !bookworms you can find all the others here.

I've never read Into Thin Air but I fricking hate youtube video essay dudes, so I'm #TeamKrakauer in this beef.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550284pqhhAu4M1R6Y-Q.webp


In August 2024, I began to receive comments in my Instagram feed warning me that a YouTuber named Michael Tracy had been aggressively maligning my book, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. One commenter observed that Tracy's defamatory statements were "getting out of hand. The man really has an agenda against you, and most people just don't question it."

Michael Lion Tracy, I learned, is a middle-aged lawyer based in Irvine, California. He's posted more than 100 videos on his YouTube channel, which has 130,000 subscribers. He gained approximately 30,000 of these subscribers after he started posting inflammatory videos about my book.

In April 2024, Tracy posted the first of at least sixteen videos (thus far) claiming to have identified numerous errors in my book about the 1996 Everest disaster, most of which he claims are lies intended to promote a deliberately false narrative.

Almost all of Tracy's allegations are demonstrably untrue, and the sheer volume of prevarication in his videos is astounding. Although he holds me and others he criticizes to the highest standards of accuracy — as he absolutely should — he fails to hold himself to the same exacting standards. His videos don't adhere to any standard of truth whatsoever.

Before going any further, however, I want to acknowledge up front that Tracy has identified a number of genuine errors in Into Thin Air, and I am grateful to him for pointing them out. I will enumerate these errors throughout my commentary as they come up, and correct them in all future editions of Into Thin Air.

It's no secret that controversy and outrage boost attention and juice revenue on the Internet, of course, and perhaps this explains Tracy's dishonest campaign to discredit me. But many of his attacks on my integrity are delivered with a degree of grievance and invective that suggests he is seeking to do more than just troll me. Tracy's denunciations seem to be motivated by something deeper and more personal.

In most of his videos about my book, Tracy seems to be trying to do what the MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon famously called "flooding the zone with shit" — spewing forth such an overwhelming torrent of misinformation that it creates lasting doubt about what's true and what isn't. Tracy's videos about me include dozens of deceitful statements, and he continues to post additional misleading videos on an intermittent basis — which for all practical purposes renders any attempt to refute every spurious claim in his videos an exercise in futility.

There's an axiom about online discourse known as the "Bullshit Asymmetry Principle" that accurately asserts, "The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it." Given the damage Tracy is attempting to inflict on my reputation, and his irresponsible misrepresentations of what happened on Everest in 1996, I feel the need to debunk as much of his bullshit as possible, despite the magnitude of the effort required to do so, even if it proves to be largely ineffective.

Twelve people perished on Everest in 1996, and it's important to have an accurate understanding of what led to the loss of so many lives — both out of respect to those who died, and to help prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. Although climbing Everest is now significantly safer than it was in 1996 (in terms of the number of deaths compared to the number of climbers attempting the ascent), it remains an incredibly dangerous endeavor — and many, many more people are trying to reach the summit these days. In 2024, nine people died on the mountain. In 2023, there were eighteen deaths.

Tracy's obsessive campaign to discredit me goes well beyond denigrating my book on his YouTube channel. Tracy acolytes can pay $50 per month to become his "Yeti Apprentices" and thereby assist his campaign.

:#marseyskifreeyeti:

His most devoted followers receive invitations to join Tracy's inner circle: a confidential Groomercord server where Tracy and his minions share misinformation. Here's one of Tracy's Groomercord posts:

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550284ChTrZLZid7XFYw.webp

In 2013, Tracy climbed Mt. Everest from the Chinese side of the mountain as a paying client on a commercial expedition. In August 2017, he posted the first of many videos about Everest, and announced his intent to "locate Andrew Irvine and document the 1924 climb of Mallory & Irvine."

Andrew "Sandy" Irvine was the English climber who famously disappeared with George Mallory while attempting to make the first ascent of Everest. Mallory's body had been discovered in 1999 by Conrad Anker some 2,300 vertical feet below the summit. The discovery included personal effects that offered tantalizing clues about Mallory's demise, including a short length of climbing rope tied around his waist, suggesting that he and Irvine probably perished while climbing or descending together on the same rope. The rope appeared to have broken or been severed during a fall from higher on the peak. Anker and his expedition teammates, however, found no sign of Sandy Irvine.

In 2018, Tracy returned to the north side of Everest to search for Irvine's remains. But Tracy has never set foot on the south side of Everest — the Nepal side of the mountain, where most of the events described in Into Thin Air took place. Nor, to my knowledge, has he ever interviewed a single person who was directly involved in the 1996 disaster. Nevertheless, in 2024 he began presenting himself as an authority on the 1996 Everest disaster and making deceitful claims about the veracity of my book. This treatise will focus on refuting some of Tracy's most egregious false allegations.

This is the first of what will be eight separate chapters of commentary. I intend to the post a new chapter every day or so going forward.

As the person who alerted me to Michael Tracy's smear campaign observed, he has an agenda and it's not subtle. The narration in his videos is often delivered with a mix of derision, disdain, and snark. Occasionally he includes childish memes such as the two examples below for shits and giggles. Tracy's videos are not posted in any discernable order, nor are they always easy to follow. He jumps around a lot and sometimes contradicts himself. Frequently he repeats the same allegations in multiple videos. Thus my commentary will necessarily jump around, too.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550284aeoi_tzHOVbJtw.webp

:marseycringe2:

I'll begin my effort to refute Michael Tracy's most outrageous allegations by debunking his claim that there were no significant delays on the Nepal side of Everest on May 10, 1996. Concurrently, I will also refute his related claim that any delays that did occur had little or nothing to do with the failure to fix ropes in advance on sections of the climbing route where such ropes were typically installed to safeguard clients.

Early in our 1996 expedition, Rob Hall, the leader of the guided team I was on, decided that if the weather forecast was favorable, we would attempt to reach the summit on May 10. Hall encouraged Scott Fischer, the leader of another guided group, to have his team go for the summit on the same day, and Fischer agreed to this plan, even though traffic jams at places on the route where fixed ropes would be necessary were anticipated to be a potential problem, given that so many climbers would be going for the top at the same time. As I wrote in Chapter 13 of Into Thin Air:

Hall, who had climbed Everest four times previously, understood as well as anybody the need to get up and down quickly. Recognizing that the basic climbing skills of some of his clients were highly suspect, Hall intended to rely on fixed lines to safeguard and expedite both our group and Fischer's group over the most difficult ground. The fact that no expedition had been to the top yet this year concerned him, therefore, because it meant that ropes had not been installed over much of this terrain…. Anticipating this possibility, before leaving Base Camp, Hall and Fischer convened a meeting of guides from both teams, during which they agreed that each expedition would dispatch two Sherpas — including the climbing sirdars, Ang Dorje and Lopsang [Jangbu] — from Camp Four ninety minutes ahead of the main groups. This would give the Sherpas time to install fixed lines on the most exposed sections of the upper mountain before the clients arrived. "Rob made it very clear how important it was to do this," recalls [Neal] Beidleman [one of Fischer's guides]. "He wanted to avoid a time-consuming bottleneck at all costs."

Hall and Fischer agreed that Ang Dorje and Lopsang Jangbu would depart from Camp Four at 26,000 feet on the South Col around 10:00 P.M. on May 9 to fix the ropes. Hall's team would then start up at 11:30, followed by Fischer's team at midnight. For some unknown reason, however, no Sherpas left the South Col ahead of us on the night of May 9. Therefore no new ropes were fixed in advance, which caused major delays at two bottlenecks where climbers were forced to wait for fixed ropes to be installed.

On May 13, 2024, Michael Tracy posted a video on his YouTube channel titled, "Analysis of Scott Fischer's photo from South Summit," in which he claims that delays at these bottlenecks were minimal or nonexistent, and the delays that did occur had little or nothing to do with the failure to fix ropes ahead of time. Tracy's video is prefaced with a block of text explaining that it analyzes

a photo taken by Scott Fischer to determine what happened on the upper part of Mount Everest on May 10, 1996. Looks at various accounts from Jon Krakauer and determines they do not match up with photographs taken that day.

The photo in question, shown below, appears on page 240 of Into Thin Air: The Illustrated Edition, a special edition of the book that is no longer in print*.* The summit of Everest isn't visible in Fischer's photo. I've added the annotations in red for this commentary.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550284tPF5JuDo_xNJjg.webp

Tracy claims in his video that this photo, and others in my book, prove there were no bottlenecks causing noteworthy delays at the fixed ropes, contrary to what I wrote. In the comment he posted on Groomercord on April 17, 2024, Tracy says:

You will see that the "rope fixing" issue is an invention of Krakauer to explain his slow climbing time…. Once you realize that everything people think they know about this was a story fabricated to make Jon Krakauer look better than he was, the whole thing makes sense. There are no mysteries about what happened.

Tracy is wrong. Photos, videos, and statements from numerous climbers who encountered the bottlenecks confirm that there were indeed significant delays at fixed ropes installed to safeguard climbers, and that those delays were exacerbated by the undisputed fact that ropes were not fixed in advance as intended.

In the center of Fischer's photo is the notorious Hillary Step, which is almost always ascended with the aid of approximately 80 feet of fixed rope anchored at the top of the Step. This pitch would be trivial if it were on a mountain in Colorado or New Hampshire, but because it's situated nearly 29,000 feet above sea level and includes the steepest, most problematic terrain above the South Col, it's a notorious bottleneck.

Fischer shot the photo at approximately 1:00 P.M. from the South Summit, at an elevation of 28,700 feet. Neal Beidleman and Martin Adams (one of Fischer's clients) are visible at the top of the Hillary Step. Klev Schoening (another Fischer client) is about to arrive there. Anatoli Boukreev (Fischer's Head Guide), Andy Harris (a guide on Rob Hall's team), and me are out of sight above the Step. Boukreev had just arrived on the summit of Everest when Fischer took the photo, and Harris and I were less than twenty minutes below the top.

Twenty-six seconds into his May 13 video, Tracy states that 16 or possibly 17 climbers are visible in the photo.

Tracy is wrong. Careful study of the image reveals that it's likely 18 climbers are visible.

Two minutes and six seconds in, Tracy says, "At this point in time… six [climbers] are above the Hillary Step and one is just at the top of the Hillary Step. That's Sandy Pittman."

Tracy is wrong about Pittman being on top of the Step. She's actually less than halfway up. The top of the Hillary Step is located where Adams is crouching next to the anchor for the fixed rope (not visible in the photo) that terminates near the crest of the Step. Adams is paying out rope to Beidleman, who is fixing a final 330-foot length of rope across hazardous terrain that eventually leads to the summit of Everest.

At the 2:24 mark in the video, Tracy alleges the photo proves there is no "huge bottleneck at the Hillary Step at this time."

At the 4:05 mark Tracy claims, "Krakauer invented the story" of this bottleneck despite knowing Fischer's photo and other "photos contradicted his invented version. He even puts those photos in his book."

At the 4:48 mark Tracy claims that Fischer's "photo depicts the busiest the Hillary Step would be that day. There is no throng of climbers waiting to come up. This is it: the massive bottleneck Krakauer wrote about."

All of these allegations by Tracy are false. Fischer's photo shows two climbers above the Hillary Step, two climbers ascending the Step, and 14 climbers lined up below the Step waiting to ascend it. Contrary to Tracy's assertions, this photo documents a problematic bottleneck that was already delaying climbers.

In 2013 Michael Tracy climbed Everest from China, the other side of the mountain. He has never set foot on this side of Everest, the Nepal side, which is reflected in his erroneous statements about the Hillary Step and many other matters.

The photo also shows Klev Schoening ascending toward the anchor at the top of the Step as Sandy Pittman is ascending well below him, while 14 additional climbers are queued up along the ridge below them.

The bottleneck is also apparent in the image below, which is a photo Scott Fischer shot from the bottom of the Hillary Step at approximately 2:10 P.M. The climber in the green pants is a Sherpa standing at approximately the same place Sandy Pittman is standing in the photo Fischer took at 1:00 P.M. Immediately below him is Ang Dorje, Hall's most trusted Sherpa. The lowest climber, wearing a red and black down suit, is Doug Hansen, a client of Hall's who perished near the South Summit.

Below is a sequence of screen grabs from the PBS documentary, "Storm Over Everest," in which "Makalu" Gau Ming-Ho, a Taiwanese climber, and Nima Gombu, one of three Sherpas on Gau's team, confirm the bottleneck. Gau unexpectedly launched his summit attempt on May 10, which came as an unwelcome surprise to Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, because Gau was not very strong or competent, and his team worsened the congestion at the fixed ropes.

The bottleneck at the Hillary Step wasn't the only place a traffic jam occurred on May 10. Approximately 400 feet below the South Summit, an earlier bottleneck, below the ropes Neal Beidleman and Ang Dorje Sherpa fixed on the upper Southeast Ridge, caused significant delays, too, compounding the subsequent delays at the Hillary Step.

Below is a sequence of screen grabs from the PBS documentary, "Storm Over Everest," in which "Makalu" Gau Ming-Ho, a Taiwanese climber, and Nima Gombu, one of three Sherpas on Gau's team, confirm the bottleneck. Gau unexpectedly launched his summit attempt on May 10, which came as an unwelcome surprise to Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, because Gau was not very strong or competent, and his team worsened the congestion at the fixed ropes.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550285oTjjFxh96XXMug.webp

The bottleneck at the Hillary Step wasn't the only place a traffic jam occurred on May 10. Approximately 400 feet below the South Summit, an earlier bottleneck, below the ropes Neal Beidleman and Ang Dorje Sherpa fixed on the upper Southeast Ridge, caused significant delays, too, compounding the subsequent delays at the Hillary Step.

In Chapter 14 of The Climb, a book about the 1996 disaster co-authored by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt, DeWalt wrote this concerning the bottleneck below the South Summit:

At 9:58 A.M. Beidleman made it to the South Summit, and thirty minutes later, by his recollection, he was followed by Martin Adams…. For an hour and a half to two hours, Adams recalled, he and Beidleman sat at the South Summit alone. "Basically, the problem was that everybody behind us was jammed up on the fixed ropes. Somehow, I think, some of Rob Hall's slower clients had gotten in front of our group and they couldn't pass.… [They] were staggered between the Balcony and just below the South Summit, jumbled among all of Fischer's clients… and the Taiwanese climbers…. The Sherpas carrying the extra oxygen, like the clients, were also strung between the South Summit and the Balcony. It was, said one of Fischer's clients, "a jungle frick."

As I explained in Chapter 13 of Into Thin Air:

Above 27,400 feet, no ropes had been fixed ahead of time…. As a consequence, I ran smack into the first bottleneck ninety minutes after moving beyond the Balcony,… where the intermingled teams encountered a series of massive rock steps that required ropes for safe passage. Clients huddled restlessly at the base of the rock for nearly an hour while Beidleman… laboriously ran the rope out….

>

The traffic jam at the ropes grew with each arriving climber, so those at the rear of the scrum fell farther and farther behind. By late morning, three of Hall's clients — Stuart Hutchison, John Taske, and Lou Kasischke, climbing near the back with Hall — were becoming quite worried about the lagging pace. Immediately in front of them was the Taiwanese team, moving especially sluggishly. "They were climbing in a peculiar style, really close together," says Hutchison, "almost like slices in a loaf of bread, one behind the other, which meant it was nearly impossible to pass them. We spent a lot of time waiting for them to move up the ropes."

Despite a consensus among almost everyone who was present that bottlenecks below the South Summit and on the Hillary Step created significant delays on May 10, Tracy insists repeatedly, in multiple videos, that these delays were inconsequential, and had nothing to do with the fact that ropes weren't fixed ahead of time.

I shot the photo above at approximately 8:30 A.M. I was looking down the Southeast Ridge towards the Balcony at the time, while I waited for Neal Beidleman and Ang Dorje, who were directly above me, to start fixing the first of multiple ropes on the Southeast Ridge. Note the throng of climbers below who are ascending towards the bottom of the fixed ropes. Anticipating a delay at the obvious bottleneck ahead, some of them have already stopped at a less steep section of the Southeast Ridge to wait for the crowd to thin.

Below is a screen grab from the 10:47 mark in Tracy's video, when he says:

In this photo that is Jon Krakauer looking down towards the Balcony where he claimed to have waited for an entire hour and a half. You can see that no ropes are fixed. There was no need to fix the ropes. No one fixed them and people were not falling off the mountain, even though there was a violent storm on the descent.

Although Michael Tracy has never been on this side of Everest, he apparently considers himself more qualified to determine whether there was a need for fixed ropes on the Southeast Ridge than the guides Neal Beidleman and Michael Groom. Unlike Tracy, Beidleman and Groom were highly accomplished Himalayan climbers who were actually present on May 10, and both of them believed ropes were necessary above this point to safeguard their clients, some of whom were not highly skilled mountaineers.

The photo in the screen grab was shot by Klev Schoening from the same place where I shot the previous photo above, but approximately ten minutes later. That's Anatoli Boukreev on the left, Groom below him in the yellow down suit, me in the red suit, and just behind me is Andy Harris in the blue suit. You can see that the line of climbers who were well below us in the earlier photo have now arrived at the base of the fixed ropes, too, and are about to start waiting along with us.

Tracy is correct when he says, "You can see that no ropes are fixed." But that's because Schoening's camera was pointed down when he snapped the photo. Beidleman and Ang Dorje were fixing ropes immediately above us at the time, which explains why almost everyone in this photo is standing around instead of moving upward. The photo, in other words, documents the early moments of a major bottleneck.

In a video Tracy posted on December 30, 2024, he estimated the rate of ascent, measured in vertical feet per hour, for me, Rob Hall, Neal Beidleman, and Doug Hansen as we climbed from the South Col to the Balcony, from the Balcony to the South Summit, and finally from the South Summit to the summit of Everest in 1996. He then compared this with the estimated climbing rate of Hansen and Hall on Everest in 1995, and used this data — shown in the screen grab below — to arrive at the conclusion there was "no evidence of delays at fixed ropes."

Tracy's conclusion is wrong, however, because his methodology was flawed and it was based on incorrect data Tracy obtained from the Himalayan Database. (As Tracy himself has acknowledged, expedition reports in the Himalayan Database filed during the 1990s often included erroneous information.) Additionally, when Tracy compared climbing rates in 1995 to those of 1996, he failed to account for the fact that in 1995, unusually deep snow was a significant impediment that slowed the climbers' rate of ascent considerably, so his comparison was meaningless.

Tracy is correct that a small number of slow climbers contributed significantly to delays on the fixed ropes, but he is wrong to attribute the delays entirely to the lagging pace of these individuals. The delays resulted from the combination of slow climbers and the failure to fix ropes in advance, and these two factors in tandem had an adverse impact that was significantly greater than the sum of their parts. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer knew long before May 10 that some clients were likely to be quite slow; this is why they were so adamant that it was crucial for the ropes to be fixed ahead of time.

To accurately determine how much time was lost because ropes were not fixed in advance, one needs to consider how the delay at the ropes installed on the Southeast Ridge contributed to the delay at the ropes installed on the Hillary Step. There is a simple way to do this: Determine how many minutes the first client to ascend the fixed ropes on the Southeast Ridge had to wait before he could start ascending these ropes, and then add this to the number of minutes the first client to ascend the fixed ropes on the Hillary Step had to wait before he could start ascending these ropes.

Beidleman and Ang Dorje started fixing ropes up the Southeast Ridge at approximately 8:30 A.M. on May 10. Beidleman didn't finish fixing the last of the new rope, and then pulling an old rope out of the snow above it, until approximately 9:50, even though he climbed remarkably fast.

The first client to go up the fixed ropes on the Southeast Ridge was Martin Adams, who waited more than 45 minutes at the base of the ropes before he could start ascending them. On the Hillary Step, after Boukreev fixed a rope to the top, I was the first client to ascend it. I waited from approximately 11:00 A.M., when I arrived on top of the South Summit, until approximately 12:30 P.M., when I started ascending the rope up the Step. If you subtract 20 minutes to account for the time I spent traversing the corniced ridge between the South Summit and the base of the Hillary Step, I was delayed approximately 70 minutes.

The delay attributable to not fixing both sets of ropes was therefore 115 minutes. On a day when a matter of minutes determined who got down to the tents before the storm turned into a deadly hurricane and who did not, that's a lot of minutes.

At the 13:42 mark in his May 13 video Tracy alleges,

We need to look just briefly at the issue of why people were waiting at South Summit [below the Hillary Step]. The reason people were waiting had nothing to do with fixing ropes…. The reason for the delays at the South Summit was bringing up the oxygen.

Tracy claims it didn't matter that fixing ropes on the Hillary Step didn't begin until after the Sherpas bringing up cannisters of oxygen arrived on the South Summit, because the clients had to wait, regardless, to receive their third oxygen cannisters before continuing to the summit.

Tracy is wrong. He conspicuously fails to mention the obvious reason Sherpas were slow to arrive at the South Summit with the oxygen cannisters: They were delayed by the traffic jam on the fixed ropes below the South Summit — a traffic jam that was irrefutably made worse by the failure to fix those ropes in advance.

The Hillary Step is known to be the most problematic bottleneck on the upper mountain. Fixing ropes here should have been initiated at the earliest possible moment to minimize inevitable delays above the South Summit, but this didn't happen. As a consequence, fixing ropes on the Hillary Step used up a significant chunk of very precious time, during which no client was be able to start ascending the Step, even after receiving their third oxygen cannister. Charlotte Fox mentioned this delay in an article she wrote for the 1997 American Alpine Journal:

After waiting for more than an hour the oxygen bottles finally arrived and someone produced just enough rope for Anatoli to fix the Step…. After more waiting for Anatoli and the Rob Hall "client," Jon Krakauer, to fix the line, the rest of us slowly moved off the South Summit.

Absolutely nobody, not even Michael Tracy, disputes that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer agreed it was important to fix ropes in advance of their clients' arrival at the upper Southeast Ridge and the Hillary Step, and they announced a firm plan to do this. But for reasons that have never been adequately explained, their plan wasn't carried out.

Tracy either misunderstands or misrepresents the profound impact that failing to adhere to this plan had on the delays on the Southeast Ridge and at the Hillary Step. After Boukreev and Beidleman belatedly mobilized to fix ropes on the Step, and then traversed one at a time from the South Summit along the corniced ridge to arrive at the base of the Step, it took Boukreev only about 20 minutes to fix a rope to the top of the Step, after which climbers immediately started ascending that rope. But bottlenecks on Everest are like bottlenecks at traffic lights during rush hour: When 20 cars are stacked up behind a red light, all 20 vehicles don't simultaneously start to move forward at full speed the moment the light turns green. It takes a while for traffic jams to dissipate, whether they occur in crowded cities or on Mount Everest, inevitably extending any delays. And when delays from traffic jams occur above 26,000 feet in the Everest Death Zone, the consequences can be deadly.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739550612f2IBLGvk7x3qgw.webp

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Reported by:
  • H0m0l0v3N1ghtm4r3 : What's the difference between the front page and /h/chudrama at this point
  • X : :soysnooseethetalking:
  • FriedFish : nyoooo stop making fun of redditors!! you're a chud!!!
133

					
					

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451332unKwnMdv7FMtUQ.webp

Even on a protest organisation poster they feel obligated to add 100 words about diversity.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/17394513339BxIzqwjN6Owhw.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451333lp95LO8J4GRHLw.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451333GDBOok6anfwN-w.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451333kh6VXxSQBEr6eg.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451333VFB3kosPLiK8Ng.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739451333FoF9VofK3kvmwQ.webp

This subreddit was lefty as frick just weeks ago - they'd suppress crime articles about minorities.

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153
EFFORTPOST Wake up babe, Concord 2 3 4 dropped

Have any of you heard of Unknown 9?

If you haven't- I don't blame you. I haven't either. Apparently it's a 4-month old :marseybib: game developed by Reflector Entertainment who also made... uhh this game and it's DLCs.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738344292ql03dT-Ly_sUCg.webp

This screenshot gives a lot away but fear not, it was published by Bandai Namco, the guys who made the Dark SoulsTM of videogames :marseysolaire: :bonfire: These guys know a good investment when they see it, and at 50 eurobucks (USD to EUR is almost 1:1 at the time of writing :marseydespair: !eurochads), a price comparable to that of God of War 2022 :marsey300: (50 EUR, 95% rating), HOI 4 :marseyhitler: (50 EUR, 90% rating) and Mount & Blade: Bannerlord II :marseynapoleon2: *editor's note: why are there so many MLP emojis when querying 'horse' (50 EUR, 87% rating(should be 100)), it is sure to deliver the same experience, right? :surejan:

Well, from the screenshot you might have noticed that the ratings are mediocre: 49%. But that does not tell the whole story.

Unknown 9 currently has 7 concurrent players :marseyemojilaugh:, 11 player 24-hour peak :marsey2::x::marseyemojilaugh: and a 285-player all-time peak :marsey3::x::marseyemojilaugh: [1]. This means it is mogged by the likes of Gollum 2023 :marseythegrey: at 758 all-time high [2], 6 year old rockstar game Red Dead: Redemption 2 :marseybountyhunter: at almost double the rating [3], a 2023 unity slavshit game Contraband Police at almost double the rating and half the price :marseyrussianmutt: [4] and absolutely mogged by LEWDAPOCALYPSE, which has double the concurrent players, double the rating, and 1/50th of the price :marseynut: [5].

IGN gave Unknown 9 a 9(-4) rating [6], so is it really that bad?

Looks pretty bad, but is this the lowest we can go? Just some failed garbage from an upcoming studio, but is that it? Can't we do worse?

Heck no! It was in the works for at least 4 years, and was supposed to be a tans-media project, "including video games :marseysoyswitch:, film :marseyprojection:, and books (!bookworms):marseyreading:, for example. Unknown 9 was conceptualized as an ongoing series, spanning podcasts https://media.tenor.com/VjhW9P8MobkAAAAx/obsessed-joe.webp , comics :marseyspiderman2:, and even a web series :marseykarkat:, many of which have already been released." [7]. So you've been laughing at Concord for having an Amazon episode despite being a dead game- well, you've seen nothing yet kid. This shit was supposed to be massive, at least according to the cited source (I didn't check further (yes how could you tell, I work in academia :marseygigachad:)). It was supposed to be the next fricking star wars by the looks of things, expecting to bank on their notoriety to create the equivalent to Netflix's Witcher [7] (which is not something to be proud of tbh). While we have no numbers on the project costs, one might imagine that a AAA game with massive marketing like that would've cost a lot. While we do not know how much exactly the project did cost, it is hardly believable that some unknown studio with 0 releases might have funded it. Indeed, the studio is owned by the publishers- Bandai Namco, who can probably afford to throw money around [8]. Looking at their website and LinkedIn is pretty funny as well, considering that they have announced that they will cease support for the game [8].

But you don't have to trust me, you can view the official gameplay trailer posted on Playstation's account and come to your own conclusions:

The lore/narrative trailer, which is just as stupid, can be found at

TL;DR?

Well, it's about a brown woman :wavyhairblackjack: with supernatural abilities :marseygoku:. Kind of like Forespoken from 1 2 years ago :marseydespair: if anyone remembers that.

"Unfortunately, part of Hoerdt's statement confirmed several staff members would be made redundant, including back-office employees, and given severance packages, further health benefits, access to counseling services, and "proactive" career planning support." [7]. Lmao imagine getting free counselling from a company that fired you. I would probably take that as an insult, equivalent to one of those "reddit cares" messages :marseyropeyourself2:. One might accuse me of using a chuddy source, but the same website compliments Unknown 9's use of "stepping powers", which states that "Stepping is the ability to project one's mind into the consciousness of another, by way of the Fold. While Stepping, one has access to the weaponry, strength, and intellect of a given vessel, and may fully control their actions." [9]. A totally true statement which has never been done before.

Here's Cr1tikal AKA Charlie AKA penguinz0 explaining it probably better than I do (it's the weekend and I've had several drinks already :marseyhungover:):

He quotes the investment value into the IP at 100 million $ [citation needed]

In conclusion: 1) gaming in 2025 is dead, do not bother. 2) Nominative Determinism is true- the game was titled Unknown 9, and it remained unknown. For anyone running any sort of business- watch what you name your product.

@Ninjjer @Losercel please ping !g*mers

!kino

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Reported by:
  • Grue : Kill all soyteens
74
REDDIT HAS FALLEN TO TERVES

					
					

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739761991xHb5Gz4qNT9TDA.webp

gemmy.jpg

Darn man, just let people be happy with themselves. Why you gotta ruin it for them?

All imma say, why are some going "I happy with myself now" but then try to revert their changes

less people regret transitioning than regret succesful knee replacement surgery

source?

Source: :marseyskibiditoilet2#:

that's not even true

I'm not sure you can deboonk a drawing like this but if anybody would even try, it's redditors

im trans and yea.... this can be some people. only take hrt thinking it does all the work, not forgetting that like literally everything else matters, hygiene, shaving, etc etc blah blah.

:marseywave2: pls join rDrama!

I'll take "things that never happened" for 500 please.

Again, not sure how you can say this about a soyjak

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739761991yFqf3XcgaWU6rw.webp

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You should get a spine and have it installed. It's wayyy too early to panic, because a lot more of this shit is coming. If you think it's bad now, you've got another thing coming.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc81rwr/?context=8

I am overjoyed that someone is finally starting to weed out the financial corruption we have been enduring all these years. I don't see why this would make you panicky. We should all be happy we finally have a real leader at the helm.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc824an/?context=8

Worried? I'm ecstatic AF! This is exactly what I voted for!

However, I can see why you're having issues.

1. You and your party has no power. You have been rendered impotent

2. You're weak AF

How to solve this? Get off the Internet. Go do something active, man or woman the frick up!

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc84rye/?context=8

Then leave.

Yea heaven forbid Americans complain about American things on an American app supported by an American company. [-6]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc86b4z/?context=8

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc8r454/?context=8

You should see a therapist. This isn't remotely a bad period of time compared to historical standards

Edit for the downmarseyrs: you need to bear in mind that a lot of people lived through decades where nuclear war seemed like a lot more than a hypothetical possibility.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc81ew2/?context=8

Everything is finally getting better.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc838o6/?context=8

I feel you and totally relate. If you want a friend to mutually lean on for support during this insane time, please feel free to message me. [-25]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc81u4l/?context=8

Shut upppppppp

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc82mlt/?context=8

It's NOT you. The average person is under-reacting because they don't want it messing up their routine or taking their crumbs.

The government is objectively being dismantled and people should not just be acting like it's BAU.

Eventually this is going to trickle down on all of us and not just the immigrants and government workers.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc8e4l5/?context=8

I didn't care about your guys election choices until your leader started threatening my country here in Canada every other day with erasing it off the face of the Earth.

I'm feeling anxious aswell . [-6]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc82l5z/?context=8

Another USAID worker chiming in [🤣]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc827la/?context=8

You're the problem.

Get off the internet. The real world is not the one that exists in your mind, and places like reddit only serve to convince you that they are.

Would you rather find joy or justify misery?

If you're honest about that answer, it will reveal everything you need to know about your direction in life.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc83asp/?context=8

Yeah shit is really bad. These people telling you that what is going on is good is either gaslamping you or just dumb as frick.

You have to mentally check out some. Being hyper aware won't get much accomplished. You have to take a step back. Grieve whatever loss it is in stride.

Don't let anyone gaslamp you into trying to tell you that removing environmental protections, deleting our data, setting up a literal concentration camp, subverting the constitution, etc are good things. They are not.

It's hard to control panic attacks and I don't know the best way to subvert them. Know you aren't alone. You care about other people and don't let anyone try and take that from you. Let your voice be heard if you can.

The current regime is NOT on the right side of history. Most of them know it too.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc86p1j/?context=8

This is what I imagine every redditor is like in real life as I read all the seething going on here the last couple months

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc82alf/?context=8

I am putting on my blinders and taking solace in that the US thought it wise to train me in violence.

I won't go full radical unless someone questions my kid's citizenship.

I do seem to be in a state like I was in the Army, where I am comfortable and ready to respond with deadly force. I've never really experienced that so casually before. [-8]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc81zyx/?context=8

If this isn't bait, you need to get mental help. Your team didn't win, thats how our government works. Try again in 4 years. But to be this affected by an election isn't a normal reaction

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc874v3/?context=8

I accepted myself as trans a little over a year ago. Started hrt maybe 6 or more months ago.

I cry almost every other day on the way home from work since the inauguration. I'm terrified, and filled with hopelessness and anger.

Edit: to those who REALLY think I'm overreacting, look at and read the executive orders around trans people. Look at what he's doing to the CDC. Look at the people who lost care already, who can't get their passports back.

If you still don't believe it's bad, kindly frick right off yeah? [-3]

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc85gdx/?context=8

I think some level of concern is okay, but it should not make it impossible for you to function in day to day life. Like others said, I would seek out therapy. You make what you can out of it because life can't stop.

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc82pbh/?context=8

id seek therapy. Im significantly less than happy but calling out of work out of fear is a little extreme

https://old.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1in54rz/the_current_state_of_this_country_has_me/mc8240c/?context=8

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Reported by:
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Important reminder

EVERYONE who's over the age of ten and watches anime is a libertarian. NO EXCEPTIONS

Remember to upmarsey this important post

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Why do American women vocal fry? (380 comments) - /r/TooAfraidToAsk/ :marseychonkerfoid: :amerimuttdance:

					
					

!foidmoment !burgers

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Evry time 11 huffs fine, 12 huffs poopman come i
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PLAGIARISM DISCLAIMER:

Greetings Dramatards :marseywave2:

If any of these exact storybeats ever sound familiar, it's because I plagiarized most/all of it from a longform Afrikaans Calvinist article (which in turn probably plagiarized it from some more famous English sources), which my father had excitedly desired me to read during the 2024 December holidays. The vast majority of the article revolved around a Calvinist introspection about self-deceit, and how History and politics is shaped by how people record and perceive historic events both during and after key happenings. Very long and boring.

But the incredible and exciting part my father wanted to showcase me, was a chapter regarding the infamous Tulip Mania period, which occurred during 1634-1637 in Holland, during the zenith of Dutch colonial and economic power, when the Dutch was by far the most prosperous nation on earth, when taken into account their meagre population and size, due to the astronomical wealth generated by the Dutch, due to the infamous VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) or Dutch East India Company, perhaps one of the wealthiest private enterprises in all of human history.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921985K-gVb1p925Qjjg.webp .

During the period, one of history's 1st and most well documented Speculative Bubbles occurred, when seemingly the entire Dutch nation state was beset by a fervent mania from all sectors of society. Rich merchants and poor farmers would buy the new fad, Tulips imported from Turkey & China, at increasingly outrageous sums of money, for the sake of selling these (at the time) rare imported plants, which the Dutch didn't know how to perfectly cultivate, so it wasn't a gaurantee that you could just make more of them once you bought rare tulips for literal prince's ransoms!

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921984vRRsG7FFnV6hkw.webp

These tulips, which at 1st were bought, because they were the showing-off fad for the turbo wealthy new Merchant-class of the state, were then bought for the sake of selling at ever increasingly higher prices, which in turn made the tulip a fad for wealth accruement instead! Eventually, inevitably, as we can all predict, prices eventually went down, which burst the speculative bubble, and the prices went into freefall, and fortunes were wiped out of existence, as these once prince's ransom priced foreign flowers, became......priced at the rate of regular funny and unusual foreign flowers! :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani: :marseysunflower: :carpflorist: :marseydarkrose2: :marseyza: :marseyroses: :marseyflower: :marseyrosepink: :marseyrosered: :marseyfoxgloveyourself: :marseysocratesyourself: :marseydarkrose3:


SHORT STORY INTRO:

When Tulips arrived in Holland, it was said that the !dutch completely lost their senses. There was an infamous story about a sailor whom had been at sea long enough, to have been completely kept in the dark about Tulip Mania in Holland, and having been out of touch with the latest political/social news of his home country, as many VOC voyages could take literally as much 2 full years to complete! Of course as the Silk sailing routes were established, these timeframes reduced to less than 1 year - but still long enough to be out of tune with the country's latest excapades!

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/or13xl/how_long_did_it_take_a_dutch_merchant_sailing/h6fovy7/?context=8

Anyways, the late 1630s a dutch sailor, whom had just disembarked, had went to the owner of the goods his vessel had transported, to notify him his shit had just arrived. Gratified by this good news, the merchant rewarded the sailor with a breakfast. On the large table on which the merchant had given the sailor his meal, at one end there had laid what looked like a red onion :marseyleekspin: :marseyleekspin: :marseyleekspin:

The sailor took the onion for seasoning on his bread, and GTFO'd out of the merchant's storehouse to go and find a private spot to go eat his meal in peace. Never in his wildest imagination would he think this act would cause him such grievous misery. Just as the sailor had left, the merchant discovered to his horror, that an invaluable :marseycoin: :moneypile: :marseygolden2: imported Augustus tulip bulb was MISSING :marseyscream: which at the height of Tulip Mania was worth a whole commercial farm on its own.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/17389219856xSvNJEpgvCJUw.webp

The merchant and staff ripped the storehouse asunder in their angst, looking for the missing invaluable Augustus Tulip. Eventually someone remembered the sailor being the most recent stranger in the storehouse, and the goon squad proceeded rake apart the entire port looking for him :ragejak: :ragejak: :ragejak:

They found the hapless, luckless, unfortunate & clueless sailor having already eaten the fricking tulip bulb, and proceeded to try and strangle him alive :ragestrangle: :ragestrangle: :ragestrangle: He was imprisoned for his crime!


CHARLES MACKAY:

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921985hx9T-hk7sONRJQ.webp

This infamous story, about the insanity of the Tulip Mania, comes from a very famous economic writer & journ*list Charles Mackay (27 March 1814 – 24 December 1889). In his magnum opus, the book called "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" he wrote about what he termed "Crowd Psychology" & "National Delusions".

The book consists of a series of short stories about a myriad of events in the past, but the topics are all united in the mass delusion or hysteria of crowds/nation-states, or mass adoption of fads and hysteria by groups of people. The stories covered things like the large scale witch-burnings across europe, the fad and obsession with the fake science of alchemy (turning iron into gold) and hysteria about haunted buildings.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921985yK2H-p6faMu7og.webp

!bookworms The book had become immediately successful, and continued to garner infamy well beyond Charles Mackay's death - he had a strong grasp of engaging storytelling. But the parts of "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" which really REALLY :marseycruisemissile: :marseycruisemissile: :marseycruisemissile: :marseynyanisrael: :marseynyanisrael: :marseynyanisrael: propelled Charles Mackay into infamy, was his chapters about Speculative Bubbles - specifically his 3 chapters of infamous about Speculative Bubbles known before his time.

Each of the 3 chapters revolved around a particulour economic disaster, brought about by lunatics overinvesting or speculating upon companies/stocks/products well WELL beyond their realistically graded values. They were the South Sea Company bubble of 1711–1720, the Mississippi Company bubble of 1719–1720, and of course the famous Dutch tulip mania! :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani: :marseymidsommardani:


THREE CHAPTERS ECONOMISTS LOOK UP TO: :marseyopera: :marseyopera: :marseyopera:

While the rest of the book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" would be largely forgotten as interesting and entertaining reads for a book from 1840, the 3 chapters on Speculative Bubbles would reach such incredible infamy in the Economists world, that a very large amount of people would reference it historically.

Present-day writers on economics, such as Michael Lewis and Andrew Tobias, lauded the three chapters on economic bubbles.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-19th-century-book-that-helps-us-understand-the-allure--and-perils--of-social-media/2019/04/03/1879def6-5576-11e9-9136-f8e636f1f6df_story.html

====(from the WashingtonPost article)

C.S. Lewis once asked himself if anyone could actually write a story as magical as that title. To me, Charles Mackay's "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" possesses an almost equally evocative power. First published in 1841 and expanded in 1852, it chronicles some of the many varieties of human folly, obsession and self-delusion. Here, in fact, are the deep taproots of the credulity and lemming-like behavior that characterize today's social media.

More recently, economic writers such as Andrew Tobias and Michael Lewis have championed the book. Overall, one might characterize Mackay's work as popular history, conveyed in a tone of ironic, head-shaking amusement.

====(end quote)

Many people unironically considered Tulip Mania as a Classic for Economic History for the longest period. The book is so famous that non-historian economist-Journ*lists cite Mackay whenever there is a recent fraud or Speculative Bubble implosion occurring; like the recent Bitcoin and Shitcoin and NFT :monke: :monke: :monke: :marseywallst: :marseywallst: :marseywallst: Bubble implosion which has dominated headlines in economic forums and newsfeeds, when FTX caused a chain-reaction of wiping out untold millions and billions of wealth out of existence.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921985eMbbTYOqs9TV-A.webp

https://www.esports.net/news/crypto-tanking-affecting-nft-industry/

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986F-OfsGDnN0SVLg.webp

https://fastercapital.com/content/Bagholders--From-Riches-to-Rags--The-Plight-of-Shitcoin-Bagholders.html

https://i.rdrama.net/images/17389219863aoNDNP-q9ppFw.webp


TULIP MANIA AND CALVINIST PROPAGANDA: :marseymegaphone: :marseymegaphone: :marseymegaphone:

The only problem for this internationally critically acclaimed book about Tulip Mania? It's complete absolute total bullshit, or in the very least heavy propaganda! The short story about the Dutch Sailor mistaking the tulip bulb for an onion? Complete fabrication .

The issue for Mackay wasn't that he was a deliberate liar, but that he had taken his primary sources, which were overwhelmingly Dutch Calvinist propaganda leaflets and articles, at absolute face value. Many good historians go to great lengths to decipher primary sources, written during contemporary times about events, to determine how bias from the authors could fabricate or contaminate their view of events. Mackay literally straight up consumed Dutch Calvinist Propaganda leaflets as they were!


PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS:

So what exactly was the deal with Calvinists? What the heck do they have to do with anything? Well Calvinists were relatively conservative for their contemporary timeframe, and the feared the new era of Holland having accrued so much unthinkable wealth, more than any nation-state before had ever known to have accumulated so fast and in such an incredible short timespan.

:carppolycarp: :marseyklennypriest: :marseyorthodox: :marseyfatherjoseph:

They feared and believed that all of this wealth of the Merchant-class was rotting and decaying society. They feared that this new trend of consumerism and speculation on stocks was leading to societal downfall. Dutch society had underwent intense transformation in the past 100 years in that moment in time.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986JAv1xv89uDdfNA.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986Ybye6erJLlUsNw.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986LtvXvMVfUmGolw.webp

So they had created stories with near-comical carrecatures of people, where the common theme was greed and avarice being the downfall of everyone involved.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986cGaPmD5-yK0C2Q.webp

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987MeIv5nJzUU4EFA.webp


FICTION VS BORING REALITY:

According to Charles Mackay, which took the Calvinist Propaganda at face value, the Tulip Mania was so extreme during 1637, that all levels of Dutch society went completely batshit. Other sectors of the economy went neglected, and so much was invested into Tulip Mania, it was as if Holland was expending during a World War time economy! Everybody from nobles, to wealthy merchants, to poor farmhands, were borrowing recklessly to get in upon this wealth craze.

https://hcmwealthadvisors.com/market-insights/picking-tulips-or-market-insights-for-week-ending-aug-9-2019

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921985MJUEbVLDXohipQ.webp

According to Mackay those left holding the bag were either bankrupt, or even fricking worse - in deep debt!

In the book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" you can read of people losing their minds and selling their most valuable possessions to buy or speculate on a few Tulip bulbs. Mackay gives the example, in his story covering Tulipmania, of one particularly unhinged Dutchman, who exchanges 12 acres of land for ONE fricking Augustus Tulip Bulb! :marseytrollcrazy:


https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987eOnqVc1WmX22aw.webp

The reality is much more dull - in fact the scale of the Tulip Mania, may have been completely fricking overblown due to Mackay's book, which has been in the public international consciousness for the past 200 years. No record of even ONE bankruptcy could even be confirmed by Dutch historians as due to Tulipmania, during the period of 1634-1637.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-real-tulip-fever-180964915/

====(from Smithsonian)

Here's where the myth comes into play. According to this narrative, everyone from the wealthiest merchants to the poorest chimney sweeps jumped into the tulip fray, buying bulbs at high prices and selling them for even more. Companies formed just to deal with the tulip trade, which reached a fever pitch in late 1636. But by February 1637, the bottom fell out of the market. More and more people defaulted on their agreement to buy the tulips at the prices they'd promised, and the traders who had already made their payments were left in debt or bankrupted.

In fact, "There weren't that many people involved and the economic repercussions were pretty minor," Goldgar says. "I couldn't find anybody that went bankrupt. If there had been really a wholesale destruction of the economy as the myth suggests, that would've been a much harder thing to face."

That's not to say that everything about the story is wrong; merchants really did engage in a frantic tulip trade, and they paid incredibly high prices for some bulbs. And when a number of buyers announced they couldn't pay the high price previously agreed upon, the market did fall apart and cause a small crisis—but only because it undermined social expectations.

====(end quote)

In fact only a small fraction of Dutch society even partook in the Tulipmania, and usually only the upper-middle rich Merchant classes. Less than 5% of the whole population even bought a tulip at any point, and when the bubble burst, those whom lost money were those least vulnerable from bankruptcy. While losing half your wealth is a serious hit, these Dutch merchants were so filthy stinking rich by the mid 1640s, they literally didn't care!

Additionally, the reality was that most dutch Merchant-class bought tulips as a show of wealth, it was a demonstration of their cosmopolitan and urbane manner to show off amongst all of their straggy rich merchant friends. The majority of Tulip buyers and speculators never even expected to make money, it was like wealthy influencers and Hollyweird freaks buying branded crap like Nike shoes or Rolex watches to show off their wealth.

IN FACT, there exists something called the law of Veblen Goods, where things become sought after BECAUSE they are morbidly expensive, because they are literal "show-off" goods! (Rolexes, Ferari, ect)

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921986JOpPf4bNvMPwig.webp

Which is what some economists believe is likely what actually happened, rather than a true Speculative Bubble like Bitcoin and Shitcoin. Or even the other 2 Speculative Bubbles which Mackay included in his book, which were much closer in reality to nation wealth destroying events.

This doesn't mean that Tulipmania DIDN'T happen, or that many peeps lost wealth, but it has been vastly overstated, in large part BECAUSE of Mackay's book.


THE REAL DRAMA REGARDING CHARLES MACKAY! :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain:

Now the 2nd point of drama for Charles Mackay in recent times is the fact that despite his incredible infamy about his internationally successful book regarding mass mania and hysteria and fad following by crowds, and especially his famous chapters regarding Speculative insanity, was that he HIMSELF was likely a turbo midwit fool who fell head over heels for a Speculative Bubble in his own contemporary times, during which he lived!!!

Mackay was a popular economic newspaper columnist in 1841 when he wrote the book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds". And what's incredible is that not even one mention is made about what is likely THE most economically destructive Speculative Bubble in all of recorded human history so far, and which vastly outstrips the scale of even large bubbles like Shitcoin and even frauds like Enron and the Theranos fraud, which eviscerated billions and billions of wealth into nothingness.

Mackay our expert in Speculative Bubbles not only lived through the 1840s Britain Railway Mania, which destroyed wealth on an unfathomable scale, but never so much as makes a fricking peep about them!

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987E74wuGp8mk377g.webp


1840s RAILWAY MANIA: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy: :marseytrollcrazy:

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

By the time the 1840s had arrived, Bongland :marseybong: was at the height of its colonial power, and industrialization. And Bongland was leading European states in terms of industrializing its entire society and economy with new fabulous technologies. The most significant was the Railway and Train. :marseytrain: :marseytrain: :marseytrain: A transport technology which completely terraformed society to the same degree as radio or the internet had done during their respective timeframes.

People understood how significant the wide adoption of Railroads were becoming, and the technological improvements to the steam engine continued every consecutive year. Entrepreneurs flocked to Railroad and Transport companies, as they correctly predicted that Railways would quite literally trailblaze :onfire: :onfire: :onfire: :onfire: :onfire: the economy of britain and her colonies. The issue, is that they vastly, VASTLY overpredicted the actual economic output and influence railways & trains would have upon Bongland's economy, well beyond human reason.

https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/railway-mania-the-largest-speculative-bubble-you-never-heard-of/

====(from Focus article)

By the mid-1840s, the economy was improving and the manufacturing industries were once again growing. The Bank of England cut interest rates, making government bonds less attractive investments, and existing railway companies' shares began to boom as they moved ever-increasing amounts of cargo and people, making people willing to invest in new railways.

And at its peak, railway investment—which lagged a few years behind planning applications—surged to 7% of GDP, representing half of total investment in the economy at the time. :marseychartuptrend: :marseychartuptrend: :marseychartuptrend: :marseychartuptrend:

====(end quote)


https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987jNj7xNfMn0XMig.webp

But even MORE INSANE about our boi Mackay wasn't just that he DIDN'T foresee the Speculative Bubble of the 1840s Railway Mania, despite his book on Mass Hysterias, or that he cheerled the overspending on Speculating on Railroad bonds for his fricking readers whom trusted him implicitly in his articles for the Glasgow Argus, BECAUSE of his fame for the book of the book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds", instead THIS MOTHERLOVER was even on the fringes of the extreme end in terms of being a nutjob Speculator for the Railroad bond market!!!!!!!!

The short story was that Britain is a relatively small island(s) and there just wasn't enough villages, cities, ports or key-points to connect via railway to make economic return upon such gratuitous overinvestment. These railroad companies would build connections between big cities and tiny Bongistan villages of like 50 people, which as you can well imagine, didn't exactly accrue trade to the scope of London to Paris.........

:marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed: :marseybeanannoyed:

Just like modern China now finding out that they have likely overspent on infrastructure, where tiny villages have been connected to Beijing via 6-lane superhighways. When inevitably the grotesque overspending did not yield appropriate economic activity return from laying Railways across every square-meter of the entire fricking British Isles, the usual Bubble tanking underwent the usual market bottom falling routine.

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987XVTqEOQmElO6Sw.webp

An unlike the Tulip Mania, the Railroad mania DID influence the entirety of Bonland's economy and social fabric. Rich AND poor people alike invested recklessly, many upon fricking Mackay's advice, and many faced bankruptcy, and worse massive debt :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2: :marseychartdowntrend2:

https://ritholtz.com/2015/06/crisis-chronicles-railway-mania-the-hungry-forties-and-the-commercial-crisis-of-1847/

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1738921987ZRhB8O8AXe-W9A.webp

IN FACT, just to demonstrate how badly people got burned from the 1847 Railroad Mania crash, there was something called Company Scrips. Where for example you paid only 5$ for a Scrip in a 100$ share, and if the 100$ share doubled its value into 200$, you just made 100$ from 5 bucks Unfortunately for all the hapless midwits who bought into this terrible scheme, Scrips worked fricking BOTH ways. Many peeps put themselves into absurd debt for just fricking 5 bucks!


https://i.rdrama.net/images/17389221315cn39yt-KttFug.webp

And uh that's about it for this incredible story, hopefully this story was as interesting for you guys as well! :marseywave2:

!dutch !christians !calvinists !catholics !effortposters

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:!marseynukegoggles: :marseymacarthur: :marseytruthnuke:

!chuds !nonchuds

Discuss! Please feel free to make up your own facts. Kinda miss the old days when an Oligarch would simply make the crazy foid disappear

Did Elon actually put his peepee in her or is he just Turkey Baster-pilled?

Also I submit this into evidence:

Isn't it funny how when you're dating a woman, the size and shape of your peepee is "nothing to be ashamed of," but as soon as you break up it's "shriveled and weird" and she was "always pretending" to enjoy having s*x with you😆🤣

t. Elon

I LOVE that Elon is willing to go to the mat and tell the public he has a weird peepee just to disprove this accuser. "I exposed myself to you? Well describe where the cashew-shaped birthmark is on my peepee." Game set match

-Some Barstool Sports Strag

Grimes "liked" a post by Twitter user @ The_Hellenist. "That large peepeees are seen as desirable is just another symptom of western degeneration. Large peepeees are a sign of low intelligence and savage genetics. Small peepeees indicate high intelligence and aristocratic blood."

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739745970j3RGpU0VzA-Xtw.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1739745970RbwVwHgQNtQjbg.webp

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!ranchers !opieandanthony !fedposters

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44
Former Staffers Say India's Biggest IT Firm Was Gaming the US Visa System :marseytunaktunakinvasion:

					
					

!nooticers !antibharatiya

New data show how TCS makes heavy use of employment visas reserved for managers. Ex-staffers say it was to get around H-1B rules.

The first time Donald Trump took over the White House, Anil Kini alleges that executives at India's biggest outsourcing firm ordered him to take part in what he describes as a coverup.

Kini, who was an IT manager working in Denver for Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, or TCS, says his superiors ordered him to falsify internal organizational charts — to make them appear more top-heavy with managers than they really were.

The goal, Kini later alleged in a federal lawsuit and in interviews with Bloomberg News, was to prepare for any heightened scrutiny of the way TCS was using employment visas. It was 2017, and Trump had campaigned on an anti-immigration platform, but his focus wasn't confined to undocumented immigrants. He'd also assailed a widely used skilled-worker visa program, called H-1B, saying it provided "cheap labor" that hurt US workers. He said US-based companies should instead prioritize hiring Americans.

Kini and two other former TCS employees who filed similar lawsuits say the company repeatedly made improper use of special manager-level visas to hire front-line workers who had no management responsibilities. All three cases, which were filed under the federal False Claims Act, were dismissed before the allegations of visa fraud were examined in court; Kini's is on appeal. The manager visas, known as L-1As, are easier for employers to obtain and have fewer guardrails; for example, they lack even the minimal pay requirements that Congress has imposed for H-1B holders.

Kini told Bloomberg that as Trump took office eight years ago executives at TCS, an arm of the Indian conglomerate the Tata Group, were trying to make their organizational charts match their visa applications, before any federal inspectors showed up on their doorstep.

While officials in Trump's first administration continued to criticize employment visas, the anticipated crackdown failed to materialize. Now, with Elon Musk and other tech executives defending the H-1B program, Trump has changed his rhetoric. "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas," he told the New York Post in December. That flip-flop has triggered pushback from his MAGA base, pitting his nativist supporters against his newer backers from the tech industry. Although studies have shown immigration has been a net positive for the US economy and for government budgets, Kini's story along with allegations in the other lawsuits, internal company documents, emails and federal data obtained by Bloomberg, suggest TCS has used L-1A manager visas in ways that echo Trump's earlier concerns about undercutting American workers. The data, which is previously unreported, shows that the number of L-1A approvals the company has received far exceeds the number of managers it disclosed employing in mandatory federal reports to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It also shows that TCS, which works with some of the largest US tech companies, has obtained far more manager visas than any other employer in recent years.

In response to detailed questions about the allegations and Bloomberg's data analysis, a company spokesperson sent a statement denying any wrongdoing: "TCS does not comment on ongoing litigation, however we strongly refute these inaccurate allegations by certain ex-employees, which have previously been dismissed by multiple courts and tribunals. TCS rigorously adheres to all U.S. laws." The company declined to provide further details.

It's unclear how many manager visas TCS may have obtained for workers who, as Kini and others allege, weren't really managers. Kini and others say they knew personally of dozens of cases. Legal experts say it's common for employers to game the L-1A program, and over the past decade, federal officials uncovered nearly 200 cases involving L-1A recipients who weren't actually managers, according to federal data obtained by Bloomberg.

outsourcing firms have overwhelmed the annual lottery that decides which applicants can get new H-1Bs. L-1As, meanwhile, aren't capped and carry no pay requirements. TCS has used the management visas on a scale unmatched by any other US employer, according to exclusive data from the Department of Homeland Security. Bloomberg News obtained the data after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The company declined to answer detailed questions about Bloomberg's data analysis. The data show that the USCIS approved more than 90,000 L-1A visas from October 2019 through September 2023. IT outsourcing firms — which contract with US employers to handle information-technology tasks — were the program's heaviest users, but TCS far outpaced its rivals. The firm received upwards of 6,500 approvals, more than the next seven largest L-1A recipients combined. (The US State Department can also issue L-1As under a blanket approval process, but the agency does not release information on how many it authorizes; experts say the department has issued comparatively few since 2008.)

Compared to its competitors, TCS reported far fewer managers relative to its total US-based workforce. The company declined to respond to detailed questions about the numbers it submitted to the EEOC. It's possible that some high-level employees who do not supervise others could qualify as "functional managers" under L-1A rules. But experts say such cases are rare.

Immigration attorneys say fabricating job titles to obtain L-1As for non-managers would be a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and that gaps in federal enforcement authority have allowed employers to abuse the system. Shilpa Malik, a managing attorney at VisaNation Law Group PLLC, said she has encountered instances when companies manufactured evidence in applications for L-1A visas. "The L-1A is often found to be a substitute for the H-1B. Are they all legitimate managers? No, they're not."

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has had only limited authority to investigate allegations of visa abuse, including any gaming of L-1A visas. Some employers have argued that the agency lacked the legal authority to conduct site visits, and in the past, companies have refused to allow USCIS officials to visit their offices or interview employees alone.

Nevertheless, during the past decade, USCIS has uncovered about 1,800 instances of fraud related to L visas, including nearly 200 cases in which the agency found L-1A recipients were not actually managers, according to USCIS enforcement data obtained by Bloomberg. The agency redacted the names of employers that were the subject of enforcement actions, and it did not respond to questions for this story.

Site visits "do help circumvent fraud," said Erin Green, an employment visa expert and former head of US immigration at Infosys Ltd., one of TCS's competitors. But in many instances USCIS officers simply ask for information by phone or email, "instead of visiting the actual client site," he said. Like many Indian outsourcers, most of TCS's staff members are in India, where it provides back-office IT services for its customers. But the company also needs client-facing workers in the US, and it employs thousands of Americans. Outsourcers often operate on what's known as the 80-20 model: About 80% of their staffers work from India or another low-cost location near their clients, while 20% are in clients' home countries, such as the US, said Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder of Everest Group, a Dallas-based company that advises global firms on outsourcing.

submitting two inaccurate organizational charts. One said he had managed five people in India, and the other said he would have five direct reports in the US.

But he "never managed these individuals, never had a conversation with these individuals, and never met any of these individuals," the complaint said. Govindharajan named 11 other TCS staff members whom he said received L-1A visas using false organizational charts, part of what he called TCS's strategy to save some $2.4 million annually in visa fees. He said in the complaint that TCS's business model depends on paying Indian workers less than Americans. The US government declined to pursue the case, and it was dismissed in 2023 "without prejudice," which means Govindharajan could refile it.

In a separate False Claims Act lawsuit, filed in 2016 in Pennsylvania, another Indian TCS worker on an L-1A visa alleged that the company frequently submitted applications containing "made-up organizational charts to demonstrate a make-believe hierarchy." The worker, Bedatanu Banerjee, said in filings that internal guidelines suggest ways staff should inappropriately bolster their resumes to correspond with visa requirements. TCS used L-1A visas "to 'creatively' get around" H-1B restrictions, Banerjee alleged in his complaint. The DOJ declined to join in the case and a judge dismissed it without prejudice. Banerjee couldn't be reached for comment.

Whistleblower Alleges Coverup Anil Kini spent nearly a decade building a career in IT management before joining TCS in India in 2006. The 49-year-old was born in India's southern Karnataka state and grew up in the financial center of Mumbai. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Mumbai before studying programming and working in a series of progressively senior IT positions.

After six years at TCS, he was offered an opportunity to migrate to the US on an L-1A visa to run TCS's project providing IT services to Western Union Co., a financial services company based in Denver. Kini supervised 37 employees. All but two of his team were from India, and they had replaced Western Union's previous staff, according to Kini. A representative for Western Union declined to comment.

Kini says higher-ups repeatedly asked him to sign off on visa applications certifying that front-line IT staffers were managers — using the L-1A program to circumvent H-1B caps, he alleges. He says he did not comply with those requests.

On Jan. 19, 2017, the day before Trump's inauguration, Kini was called into an urgent meeting with a TCS senior manager, who gave him a spreadsheet of employees, according to Kini and internal company documents and emails submitted as part of his lawsuit. His job would be to quickly change the internal organization chart to hide the obvious discrepancies for three of his direct reports, who had no management responsibilities, the records show. In all, Kini said that of the 22 L-1A visa employees on the Western Union account, only eight performed managerial roles.

After the January 2017 meeting, Kini said he began complaining. "If there is any site visit, USCIS will easily know the real reporting structure," he wrote in one 2017 email to his supervisor, which was submitted as part of his lawsuit.

Kini said he was emboldened to speak out at the time because the US government had just approved his green card, which meant his employer no-longer controlled his ability to live and work in the US. Otherwise, with only a visa, "TCS could send me back to India with an hour's notice," he said. Soon after, he says, the company began to retaliate against him, cutting him out of meetings and removing his responsibilities before firing him in August 2018.

Nearly a year before he was fired, Kini sued TCS, alleging the company had violated federal visa rules and retaliated against him as a whistleblower. A federal judge dismissed the case last February, ruling that Kini failed to meet legal standards under the False Claims Act.

After being ousted from TCS, Kini says he found himself ostracized from the tight-knit Indian IT community he had belonged to for more than 20 years. Former colleagues blocked his phone number and family friends avoided eye contact when he saw them at Indian grocery stores.

"Definitely it was a loss," Kini said, "when you're not part of those events and get togethers and birthday parties. We used to go out for movies, we used to go out trekking, and suddenly they're not available."

These days, Kini has found a new career — running a tutoring franchise in Lone Tree, Colorado, just south of Denver. His calls to seek jobs at other IT outsourcing firms went unanswered, he said, despite his decades of experience. Kini said that while the upheaval has been difficult for him and his family, he believes he did the right thing in blowing the whistle. "I have no regrets."

Govindharajan, meanwhile, said that after returning to India he struggled to find work with another IT firm and fears his legal battle with TCS has damaged his prospects.

"It all makes me so angry," he said. "I'm still really angry at TCS."

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!nooticers

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