The Four

Legomancer wrote: All four of these suck shit, but there's no such thing as ethical consumption under Capitalism. Kill these heads all you want, until you kill the body they'll just grow back.

Ha, what a fucking joke. Here's a little tidbit to shit all over your anti-capitalist bollocks:
I wanted to add a workout studio to my home. I hired two local guys. They bought the materials at my local, independent hardware store. The windows were bought from my local, family owned Cincinnati factory. The flooring is the only thing purchased from a "big retailer" (lumber liquidators) and I paid for that one in pain and suffering.

No big company involved. No foreign labor. No "unethical capitalist hydras" got rich.

I buy EVERYTHING locally, where possible. I buy my meats at a local butcher. I buy most of my produce from a local farm via their Saturday farmer's market. I buy my lumber from my local hardware store. I go out to eat at my local, independent Mexican restaurant, or my local, independent Chinese place. On "fancy days" we go to on of two local bar/tavern which is higher end, both have live local acts playing. I buy Kentucky bourbon. I buy all my guitars used, and from local or semi-local people. The only new guitar I've ever bought was from a private, family owned private company. I buy local services (pest control, lawn care, etc) because if they make a mistake, I can wrap my hands around their necks if needs be, and also, they're local companies employing local people. The cars I buy are built locally in large part. We just got a Jeep Cherokee last week. It was built in Toledo, Ohio. I've sold many of their subcontractors items in the past back when I was a salesman. The car prior to that was a Mitsubishi Eclipse, built in Normal Illinois. Parts for it were made in Maysville, Kentucky (a plant I also sold to). The ECM modules are built at Sumitomo EWS in Owensboro, KY, another plant I served (and made a fuckton of money from). Prior to that, we got a Nissan Altima, built in Smyrna, TN. Prior to that, a used Caddy CTS. Prior to that, an Explorer, made in Kentucky.

Obviously, it's harder when buying consumable electronics and some durable goods (although I buy American made when I can, like the Frigidaire fridge I just got because my shitty Best Buy Samsung fridge died in 4 years) but for the most part, being smart about your money isn't hard. It's actually easy. Best part is I don't enrich California or elsewhere, I keep Kentucky money in Kentucky, and when I can't, I keep it in the US, and as much in private hands as possible. I don't mind if you're a 1%'er as long as you MADE IT YOURSELF, which most did and if you have ethical business practices, which many do.

So, sorry to burst your self-loathing bubble, but if you want to buy shit, you can do it ethically by buying local and being discriminatory. Doing the research to see who you're voting for with your wallet. I pay less for food that's healthier for me. Laziness has a price. If you're buying something from a publicly-traded company, chances are that you're supporting a stock price and they don't give a fuck about you.

Anyhow, carry on holding the socialist hammer and sickle while living in a house that capitalism made, on an electronic device built by capitalism, using power derived from a capitalist power plant, bought by you freely trading your time for a salary in a capitalist system.

The problem isn't capitalism, the problem is that you and people that think like you somehow believe that this corporate cronyism and corporate-government power structure is actually capitalist in any way. You aren't old enough to have lived in a truly free market and neither am I. The closest thing you're going to get to it is buying locally, like I do, and AMAZINGLY, there's no ethical quandaries about freely and voluntarily exchanging your money for their good or service, nobody unworthy becomes enriched unjustly, and no government agency gave them grants or subsidies, thereby choosing a winner or loser.

SHOCKER

...also, I'm done with this thread!

I'm sorry. i was hoping it could have been more productive to bounce some ideas and thoughts around.

don't be silly Jeff, there's still lots to talk about. I thought that mall tangent was interesting. The Walmart vs Amazon thing is interesting to me too.

I don't think we ever talk about the benefits to the consumer in the end. We usually only talk about big bad corporations.

I’m not sure I get the concern. It’s not like these are feudal warlords, “concentrating” wealth. They are publicly traded companies. Wealth goes to their employees and shareholders. I own quite a bit of their shares (indirectly, through index funds) and I am pretty happy with their performance.

I remember something Bill Gates said once in the mid 90s when all the talk was about the horrible Microsoft monopoly. He said that if he had to bet money on which was more likely to be around in a hundred years between Microsoft and Coca-Cola, he’d choose the latter in a heartbeat.

To the immediate question, I don’t use Facebook. Don’t miss it. I used to be a big Google user but have been gradually divesting it.

I have an iPhone and have mixed feelings about it. It works well enough. The main reason I go with Apple is that to Apple, my data is an annoyance to be dealt with. To Google and Facebook, they want to know everything possible about my entire life for the purpose of selling me shit I don’t need or want.

I am getting a Purism Librem ( www.puri.sm ) that will hopefully replace my iPhone.

Amazon is the hard one. It’s way too convenient, and living in a rural area means that it’s hard to support local stores.

Hardware Kill Switches for Camera, Microphone, WiFi/Bluetooth, and Baseband

That's great. Thanks for sharing that, man. That's a big deal.

Black Barney wrote: Because you can get almost anything delivered to your house in a box with a smile on it.

I always thought it was more of a smirk.

oh hey...

there's no ethical consumption under Capitalism

Gregarius wrote:

Black Barney wrote: Because you can get almost anything delivered to your house in a box with a smile on it.

I always thought it was more of a smirk.

I always thought it the bottom view of a circumcised, very curved penis. Like it was straight when the company was called AWESOMEZON but they changed the name to AMAZON, and the penis was glued on the ends, so when they shrunk the name, it got all uncomfortably bent up.

SuperflyTNT wrote: Hardware Kill Switches for Camera, Microphone, WiFi/Bluetooth, and Baseband

That's great. Thanks for sharing that, man. That's a big deal.

No problem. Their laptops are already out. I’ve used its OS (PureOS) in a virtual machine and it’s super slick.

Also: there’s a podcast, “The Complete Privacy and Security Podcast” that talks about a lot of strategies for ridding your life of companies like this. Granted the focus is on privacy instead of consumption or wealth concentration. Strategies range from straightforward (use an adblocker) to gonzo tinfoil hat.

(Aside: why isn’t there a tinfoil hat emoji? It seems useful in our current cultural moment.)

Re: no ethical consumption under capitalism. I guess, but it’s not like it’s a binary choice. There’s also no way to completely avoid polluting, but it’s still better to ride a bike.

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Yeah, several people at work have post-its on their laptop camera.

Is that threat legit?

Guess I figured I was enough of a nobody to not have to worry.

Plus...I always wear my mask...

Mr. White wrote: Yeah, several people at work have post-its on their laptop camera.

Is that threat legit?

Guess I figured I was enough of a nobody to not have to worry.

Plus...I always wear my mask...

I loved you in Pulp Fiction by the way

Yes. Snowden said it, Zuck says it. If I could buy a phone that I could easily hard-disable the mic, camera, WIFI, and GPS, I would.

www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-delete-and-di...le-location-history/

Check out how Google tracks your every movement. At some point you’re going to walk by shops and a video screen will market to you, specifically. That’s scary big brother shit.

Also worth noting (tin foil time) that the government (in theory) cannot spy on its citizens. But it CAN buy data from companies. Cops are already using data on your phone, and using Facebook posts to convict people. Imagine if FBI/CIA bought all that data and used an algorithm to survey everyone and everything from credit cards to where you’ve been and who you associate with. Then imagine a guy like Trump who decides to go after political opponents (almost everyone). Because of the data we wilingly surrender for “free” apps, you’re setting yourself up.

Based on the thread title, I was expecting to talk about this: