Is the US a dystopia?

option 3 ftw

US perfidy always comes back to tea

not really

hm sounds like you're either a "no" or "The Beatles" but afaict you can still secretly vote however you wish

it's going to take a lot of restraint not to shoehorn this in to thread connections

I figured it was what it was for.

least serious answer is the correct one

by that you mean "yes"?

oh misread "least" as "last" nevermind

This question is unhelpful and I have no idea why it is being asked.

Badly trimmed shrub = dystopiary

Dropped the clay - dyspottery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeu3iH0R_GM

I mean, pulling up the forecast today and seeing tornado warnings for Chicago in mid-December doesn't make me not think it's a dystopia.

an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.

not imagined, authoritarian rather than totalitarian and pre-apocalyptic instead of post IMO

so maybe it's not a dystopia but merely dystopic

dystopic? I dunno. but ilx is def dyspeptic today.

I did not remotely intend this thread to be serious, but there's an argument to be made that 1492 counts as the apocalypse

Can the apocalypse be local?

Americans rly struggle with not being the world and i think its quite telling tbh

let it beatles

Climate catastrophe is going to be pretty universal IIRC.

which is v little to do with the point about 1492 is it

you can get with dystopia, or you can get with datopia

just throwing this out there but maybe dystopia fans are blind to dystopias

I dunno I think most fans of the crust punk band Dystopia probably would agree that the USA is a dystopia fwiw

let me see, is the US a dystopia.

the republican party is trying to actively KILL a lot of people. let me just see how that plays in the polls

The approval rating among those who voted for [Biden] has dropped from 80% to 69% in the April survey. There have been notable declines among Americans 18-34 and suburban residents, both of whom, in dramatic swings, now register net negative views on the president.

As bad as Biden’s number may be, the polling data for Democrats in Congress is far worse.

Republicans now sport a historic 10-point advantage when Americans are asked which party they prefer to control Congress, holding a 44%-34% margin over Democrats. That’s up from a 2-point Republican advantage in the October survey.

In the past 20 years, CNBC and NBC surveys have never registered a double-digit Republican advantage on congressional preference, with the largest lead ever being 4 pints for the GOP.

“If the election were tomorrow, it would be an absolute unmitigated disaster for the Democrats,″ said Jay Campbell, partner at Hart Research Associates and the Democratic pollster for the survey.

yes it's a full blown dystopia

nah but rich people have never had it better tho

A 4 pint lead is difficult to overcome tbh. sorry

Can the apocalypse be local?

Americans rly struggle with not being the world and i think its quite telling tbh

― fix up luke shawp (darraghmac), Friday, December 10, 2021 8:10 PM (one hour ago)

I was addressing "the apocalypse" that it could be argued helps to confirm the US as a dystopia, the subject of this important poll. So I guess I do think it can be local, idk, why not? Anyway Columbus never even entered future-US territory, it's more of a symbolic hinge year for everything being terrible from then on

I'd figure most people using the term think in the sense of dystopian science fiction and I kinda think 2021 has quite a few elements that seem like out of such.

There's no utopia that's not someone's dystopia, and vice versa.

The notion of local dystopias is an interesting one. Could be that there was an egalitarian paradise unfolding just a continent or two over from Mad Max.

If the US ticks all the boxes- and there's a case- then clearly plenty of very nice places to live in exist besides so id say thats a clear yes

Have we ever not been? Slave state — apartheid state — Vietnam/Watergate — Corporate state — Fury Road (2016-present)

the people in the mayfield candle factory that collapsed worked 12-hour shifts that paid $8 an hour. 110 ppl were inside. 40 ppl are still unaccounted for. they haven’t recovered a survivor since 3 am. pic.twitter.com/CsIIfLw3Pc

— Tracy Moore (@iusedtobepoor) December 11, 2021

it’s legal in kentucky to fire someone for refusing to work mandatory overtime

— Tracy Moore (@iusedtobepoor) December 11, 2021

The notion of local dystopias is an interesting one. Could be that there was an egalitarian paradise unfolding just a continent or two over from Mad Max.

Zardoz is another one. Although The Eternals are mainly a bunch of insufferable bores and their egalitarian paradise is pretty lame, but you wouldn't complain about it if you were being held captive by Charlotte Rampling.

Slave state — apartheid state — Vietnam/Watergate — Corporate state — Fury Road (2016-present)

We didn't start the fire, etc.

Let's see what all we have...you got this one.

US combined laissez-faire capitalism on it's drug industry and combined with heroin blow-back from the 'war on terror' created the opioid epidemic for fun and profit killing over a million Americans since 1999.

Getting back to the topic at hand, Le Guin wrote a book about a moon. Also was there some Cold War global political framework in her gender-bender book? I don't recall.

Climate catastrophe is going to be pretty universal IIRC.

― papal hotwife (milo z), Saturday, December 11, 2021 1:14 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

which is v little to do with the point about 1492 is it

― fix up luke shawp (darraghmac), Saturday, December 11, 2021 1:17 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

It is though (unless I'm misreading). The USA is the biggest historical contributor to the climate crisis. An argument could be made that if 1492 never happened, there would be no global crisis. Same for much of global environmental destruction -- Amazon forest all gone? Thank Ronald McDonald.

Local teachers in South Dakota “Dash for Cash” to help their classrooms by fighting over $5,000 in $1 bills while the crowd hoots and hollers. pic.twitter.com/azwGJKhaKU

— Eoin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) December 12, 2021

they're going to remove that rug at some point

and then charge them for it!

An argument could be made that if 1492 never happened, there would be no global crisis.

Are we talking a world where Europe never came into contact with the Americas?

I can’t live without potatoes

-LL McCooljay

It would have happened eventually.

I can’t live without potatoes

OTM

Lol, Neanderthal.

NEW: Drone startup BRINC, which just pulled a $25 million VC round, says it was inspired by the 2017 Vegas shooting to build non-violent robots. I obtained a video showing their original mission was a border patrol drone system designed to tase migrants https://t.co/TclkWOO3eM

— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) December 13, 2021

Losers will be immediately sent to El Salvador gulag

how could they not, loading them onto the plane in cuffs, that's must see tv!

what is even the conceivable audience for this?

Guys with tactical Oakleys driving trucks that have never carried anything.

70 million maga chuds who think they're watching bumfights 2.0

I for one am very excited to root for Sub Zero.

those people would watch it if it villainizes the contestants but I think even something like that would be far too dystopian for anyone to the left of Stephen Miller. the whole point of reality shows is you root for certain people to win

As long as anyone who has hope and does not have superior power loses in a way that crushes that hope, we win as viewers. Because that is the totality of our own perception of life. /chud

Can see a show like that appealing to even a pre-Trump republican mindset - you add in some ppl with criminal records or abrasive personalities to illustrate how We Can't Let Them All In and some saintly type to win, because that's meritocracy and the American Dream.

this is the worst concept for a television show i ever heard of

saw an ad on the subway for the nyc food bank w/ a photo of a father and son smiling in embrace with the text "FOR THE PARENTS WHO SKIP DINNER SO THEIR KIDS DON'T"

All the “contestants” would be from white countries

Suspected serial killer shouts out Trump in last words before he's put to death: 'Keep making America great'

Glen Rogers once told police he had killed about 70 people. He was executed by lethal injection Thursday in Florida.

New game show for death row inmates trying to get a Trump pardon

All the “contestants” would be from white countries

the winning contestants would be white. they would definitely sprinkle in some brown people to demonize in the editing and then send off

ugh playing this out even sarcastically is gross, i feel like i'm reviewing the kanye track

Rob Worsoff

truly a great name for our era

Rob Worsoff FB post —

Welp. Guess it's time for me to address this publicly. First off, I haven't spoken with Kristi Noem. Not yet, anyway. I have been working with some people under Kristi at the DHS on this project. I also worked with the DHS under Obama and Biden. It was never a flat-out NO from any admin. It was always just about timing. The show itself is literally the OPPOSITE of what it appears to be in the Daily Mail. It's not mean spirited. Instead, "The American" is a celebration of what it means to be... well... American - At a time when our morale is at an all-time low. I am an immigrant to America, and I went through a long process to get here. I think it's time - in a positive and kind and meaningful way - to celebrate that process. To get to know the backstories of our American-hopefuls... and to go on the journey alongside them. To welcome them - with fellow Americans helping in every state along the way. NOBODY in this show will move backwards in the citizenship process, and no - nobody gets kicked out if they lose. When i worked on the earliest iterations of the Biggest Loser - people also assumed the worst - that we were exploiting fat people - shaming them - that we were toying with their health, etc. And they they actually *watched* the show and went "ohhhh - right - of course - that's not what this show is at all." And that's what I want to make here - a heartfelt series with tears of joy and fun loud American challenges - be they mental, or physical. But always safe, and always well-intentioned. A national conversation of what it means to be American. A reminder of how lucky we are - through the eyes of the people who want to be a part of it. I am equally proud of my Canadian citizenship and heritage. It is an honor to be a citizen of both countries. I look forward to more updates on this in the future.

What a bunch of bullshit obviously. The world of docu reality tv like so many industries is full of craven monsters but this is a new low.

lol what a piece of shit

“ I think it's time - in a positive and kind and meaningful way - to celebrate that process.”

So he’s teaming up with Kristi Noem lol, what a worthless guy.

Unscripted TV creators/producers are some of the biggest arseholes in the whole world.

disagree that it would be a bunch of Afrikaners and white Argentinians vying for citizenship, white racists love finding Good Ones, especially if those Good Ones embody What's Great About Being American... then they can flip the channel and go back to cheering with bloodlust when a cop murders a Black child.

like that TV producers line is probably very much what the show would be but gauzy soft focus nationalism with the heartwarming Salvadoran single mom who's definitely not MS-13 (we did the research) is just as dystopian as an openly cruel show

it's definitely a lot of cognitive dissonance. additionally, selectively championing the "good" brown immigrants helps to reinforce the conservative narrative that liberals are obsessed with race whereas conservatives don't see color etc etc

Love it

Three Democrats who would've made the losing vote 214-217 died in office this year. So basically, the budget Democrats have warned non-stop is a disaster will pass directly because of their insistence they stay in Congress until death. https://t.co/Bp0hRNSUb5

— Branko Marcetic (@BMarchetich) May 22, 2025

They would have lost even if all those Dems were still alive

let's focus on the real enemy--Democrats who are dying

I think it's fair to be mad at the tendencies in Democratic politics that result in having candidates who are more likely to die in office, though it's probably a mistake to focus on these particular cases.

Take it to some dumbshit politics thread, waterface. This is the dystopia thread.

fair

TBF it's the dystopia with a question mark after it thread

do we have a "dystopia?!" thread
or an "i can't believe it's not dystopia" thread

just need to add a word to the start of the threat title, like, Boy, is the US a dystopia!

https://frinkiac.com/meme/S07E18/561494.jpg

Better that the aged Democrats die now while they're not impacting control IMO, guarantee some fresh blood.

I want to congratulate @Israel on its mostly peaceful bombing of Iran.

— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) June 13, 2025

makes you think

Texas Approves Use Of Fracking Wastewater To Irrigate Crops
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/06/12/texas-approves-use-of-fracking-wastewater-to-irrigate-crops/

texas is the reason

it never whispers

Frackshit has whut plaints crave.

🐦[I want to congratulate @Israel🕸 on its mostly peaceful bombing of Iran.
— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) June 13, 2025🕸]🐦

It is! And still up

Randy's one of our ghouls and he is one of the absolute worst. a complete monster.

but he's our ghoul.

Ran All-Ghoul

Ras Al'Green

Ras Al’Gore

Randy, you're a Fine ghoul

https://i.imgur.com/yV83zW2.jpeg