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robertsibue commented on     · Posted by u/keepamovin
robertsibue · a year ago
There's a lot of bullshit in conservative thinking. (Keep reading for the "but...")

Some of it is expressed by Frank Wilhoit famous quip: "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition. There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

Some of it is inherited from the close-mindedness of its historical origins in British shopkeeper mentality, horrified at the violent jolts of the French Revolution. (Burke, Dickens)

And some of it comes from the hijacking by billionaires trying to enroll conservative movements in the defense of their interests.

BUT...

(says the 55-year old graduate student in ethics)

There's also a lot of respectable thinking there, and a healthy disrespect of pharisaism. Contemporary liberalism too often degenerates in simple rules for being holier-than-thou.

Against the doctrinal excesses in display in the US academic setting, one should pay some attention to the reasonable dissenting voices.

As Albert Maysles is supposed to have said: "Tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance."

robertsibue commented on Pattern of brain damage is pervasive in Navy SEALs who died by suicide   nytimes.com/2024/06/30/us... · Posted by u/thelastgallon
solardev · a year ago
Side question: Why are round chutes so much worse than rectangular ones?
robertsibue · a year ago
(former - non-US - army airborne captain)

Round chutes (cupolas) are designed to get soldiers from the plane to the ground quickly.

Quickly enough to remain the least possible amount of time in the air where they are an easy target for any ground troop. (This is why soldiers are dropped from very low altitudes; 400m is usual, but some combat drops occurred at even lower altitudes) But not too quickly that too many of the dropped soldiers end up unable to fight from the hardness of the landing. Please note that it is assumed that some will get hurt on the landing, and the calculus is designed to balance the risk in the air with the risk of the landing.

In contrast, rectangular chutes (wings) are designed to be dropped from higher than 900m, steered in the air, and to provide a very comfortable landing (as long as the surface of the wing is adequate for the suspended weight). They were also introduced for skydiving as a sport, and only later found some military use.

u/robertsibue

KarmaCake day9December 29, 2022View Original