Spoiler alert: it’s not much better here.
Okay, it’s not as bad, but you’ll find plenty of over-strict civility rules and political bias in moderators. Reddit is just further down the development chain and perhaps nudged to be a bit more PC due to advertisers. You’ll find the same basic problems here though.
Something Cohen doesn’t address is what getting the U.S. directly involved in a war with Iran would look like so close to Election Day in the U.S. It could hurt Harris’ chance for victory, and I would argue that keeping Trump out of the White House is far more important than taking advantage of a weak moment to hamstring Iran’s nuclear program.
However, I do have to say I agree that it would be great if we could somehow deal a heavy blow to Iran that cripples it further both militarily and economically. The article mentions American refueling aircraft improving the strike distance of Israeli attack fighters, which seems like an indirect way to get involved. I’m wondering if American intelligence agencies can cooperate with Mossad to successfully cripple Iran’s nuclear program, but they’re likely already sharing intel on that front.
At the end of the day, it’s imperative the U.S. doesn’t get directly involved. I personally would like to see the U.S. give Israel fewer blank checks in the form of raw arms for Netanyahu to use on hospitals and refugee camps, but we should still endeavor to find ways to help Israel hit strictly military and terrorist targets. Destroying Hamas and Hezbollah, and disarming Iran is in the interest of peace in the entire region.
Relevant fact for those who don’t know: after roughly 72 hours without sleep, you will start hallucinating, which is a symptom of psychosis.
Anecdotal experience, admittedly, but I started out thinking this place was better too. And it was, for a time. I wasn’t getting cited or banned for the same types of comments as I was on Reddit. It seemed legitimately better. Then I started disagreeing with people on this platform, and BOOM, comment removals, bans, same as Reddit, just geared towards different political views. I realized that while Reddit protects the mainstream, Lemmy protects leftist views, and in some cases far leftist views. The super-left extremists are largely confined to extremist instances, but Lemmy.world is plenty extreme itself, just in more muted ways.
I consider myself a leftist, but one with an appreciation for moderate-left sensibilities. For example, I support socialist political platforms, but not at the expense of moderate liberal institutions. Sometimes, that’s not okay here. I support Palestinian rights, but objections to calls to destroy Israel will sometimes get you in trouble here. I support gun reform, but if you defend the 2nd amendment in any capacity, you’re liable to get targeted. Lemmy is not a place that defends a middle ground. The fights between communities are between different forms of leftism, but they all lean Left; if you have any centrist views, you’re going to be targeted.