"Trump and Vance are teaching us that the government cannot do anything except turn us against one another.

[piousunyn@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy Now I keep getting 504 on my posts. After I used hash tags.

[piousunyn@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy I have always thought God was a women, thanks for clearing that up.

[heloween@digitalcourage.social]

@wdlindsy

I keep this quote around. It's from 1980. It's not a new problem. And although Asimov specifically mentioned the United States, unfortunately I can assure you it is not restricted to the U.S.:

It’s hard to quarrel with that ancient justification of the free press: “America’s right to know.” It seems almost cruel to ask, ingenuously, ”America’s right to know what, please? Science? Mathematics? Economics? Foreign languages?”

None of those things, of course. In fact, one might well suppose that the popular feeling is that Americans are a lot better off without any of that tripe.

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
-- Isaac Asimov

[wallyapplebee@mastodonapp.uk]

@wdlindsy what do you think #kevinsorbo will be most remembered for? His lack of talent? Or his stupidity?

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@HelOWeen Yes, the cult of ignorance has always been there in the US. Richard Hofstadter dissected it for us powerfully.

But something is new today. That cult is on steroids due to the internet and especially social media. And it's being exploited by some exceptionally maleficewnt and powerful fascists from Trump and Vance to Musk and Bannon.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Piousunyn You'll have to thank the anonymous person writing that blog and speaking on God's behalf for gendering God as male. The God I envisage is beyond gender and manifests herself as female over and over in the Jewish-Christian scriptures.

[missgayle@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy

Also, republicans are allowed to say their god is punishing blue states for women's lib and lgbtq folks and all that, but if a democrat dare says that their god is punishing THEM for misogyny, bigotry, racism, greed, selfishness, hate and violence, people jump all over you. It's a weird double standard.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Piousunyn You'll have to help me understand what you mean. I don't know what you're saying — that you post replies here and get 504 messages? This is the second reply to me you've posted today, that I've seen, so some are coming through. Can you please help me understand what you mean and I'll see if I know a solution?

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@MissGayle Yes, you're right, a very weird double standard.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Wallyapplebee I'll take both A and B.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@CatDragon Well-stated. I like that.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@hakona

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@phaedral Absolutely. It's the way of ruthless, unbridled capitalism, built right into the system.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Christo_459 Precisely. Hardest hit because they're economically struggling and in areas of the world that are increasingly the hardest hit.

[piousunyn@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy When I posted the last post, with hashtags the number 504 pops up on my screen. Suspect it may be Universodon or something else?

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Piousunyn That's strange. I think I've seen that number pop up for postings that have been deleted. When I click to reply to a deleted message — the message can still show in my feed — if it is now deleted, I think I get a message that says 504. I don't know why that could be happening in your case, unfortunately.

[lanaehforaday@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy @Piousunyn

Universidon has been throwing 504s and 503s for about a month now.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@LaNaehForaday @Piousunyn Thanks for pointing that out. Since I'm not on Universidon, I haven't seen that happening — good to have an explanation. I'm sorry it's happening to you, Pious.

[piousunyn@universeodon.com]

@wdlindsy @LaNaehForaday Several other factors may be causing it? My VPN, or Anti virus, or possibly my browser, which tells me Universodon was tracking me, though not at this time, was thinking moving to another server, but it seems better now?
Let me hashtag as an experiment: #Trump #Vance #fascism #Putin

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@Piousunyn @LaNaehForaday I'm so very non-tech-savvy that I doubt I have any useful suggestions — other than to note I experienced a serious problem with a website I often use recently, convinced myself that the problem was different from what it was and had something personal to do with me, and eventually found out the explanation for what I was experiencing was quite simple and the problem easily solved. I discovered this through the kind assistance of several others dealing with that matter.