*Knock Knock, Eye!

That’s entirely up to them.

Surgery for trans people to make the chest more masculine or feminine.

Spot on.

Balázs Orbán was constantly presenting the prime minister with his ideas. He argued that the methods of Donald Trump’s 2024 US presidential campaign should be incorporated into Fidesz’s campaign. “He thought those tactics could be copied,” a source close to the Fidesz government said.

(Link to the whole long-ass article.)

By the way, thanks for the downvote. Mature response to arguments backed with sources on a platform meant to foster discussion.

Appreciate your appreciation ❤️

I know, right? At least it’s not otorhinolaryngology.

Thank you! Yay, teamwork makes the fediverse go 'round!

FYI, Dr. Glaucomflecken is an ophthalmologist and has a YouTube channel full of medical comedy bits. I’d link it but I’m too tired from writing and triple-checking “Glaucomflecken” and “ophthalmologist”.

No. The tax plans were shared in their election program (English summary here), but no specific details and actual steps so far.

Not necessarily. They’re currently dismantling the money pits that were designed to support Orbán’s system (e.g. the Sovereignity Protection Office). Also, they’re frantically working on unlocking previously frozen EU funds (with some progress already made) which will be lost by the end of summer unless certain conditions are met. Magyar also campaigned on taxing the rich, so introducing austerity measures would be political suicide.

Some local political analyst said that he’s using the same tactic Orbán did to weaken his opposition - using every opportunity to highlight that his predecessor was an incompetent crook. To me, it seems like they’re building a criminal case against Orbán (see the situation with the Ukranian cash transport) and some of his people (see the controversy about the National Cultural Fund) and they’re fanning the flames of societal support to avoid a major uproad when they make their move.

On a personal note, I know it looks like I’m fanboying for Magyar, but I’m mostly just hooked on the news that have been developing since the election and I’m just super eager to talk about them.

Sadly unsuprising. Orbán spent a shitton of state funds (!) on advertising propaganda and “welfare” programs aimed at key demographics as part of his election campaign. With an economy that was barely holding on to begin with.

Throw in some protein while we’re at it, sell them in a combo package with pre-workout, which we could call the “Gym Speedball”.

Hyphen respected, this person knows their shit.

Hungary. But I spent the term I mentioned in Germany!

Reluctantly downvoted - it is indeed a fantastic game.

This is a great question and I wish I could distill the main take-aways into tangible things that could be used to effectively guide people away from fascism. Here’s my experience:

• Went to a decent university. Met people all over the political spectrum. Made friends with other far-right people and found them to be bitter, weird and kind of dense over time.
• Studied abroad for a semester, getting first-hand experience on what life in a foreign country could be like. Got help from a lot of decent folks.
• Met people from groups I used to hate. Realized they were just ordinary people and not sinister demons out to get me.
• Moved away from my far-right family.
• Got fucked over by other far-right people, who used shady tactics and unfair practices they were accusing other groups of.
• I used to love debating, so I had lots of discussions over a few beers with incredibly patient and validating people from other parts of the political spectrum. These arguments made the first cracks in my belief system.
• My country shifted from a left-wing government (in name, at least) to a right-wing one. I thought the left-wing government was corrupt and incompetent. The right-wing government quickly turned out to be that and more. When they started to agitate people against people fleeing from war-torn Syria to win the next election, I did a full 180, volunteering to help and going to protests, remembering the time when I was trying to get by in another country (as a privileged brat, not an asylum seeker).

I think that’s it, but there are probably many more minor bits that contributed. Ask me anything.

From the sidebar (emphasis mine):

This is a sanctuary for those seeking a break from the incessant negativity and rage (e.g. schadenfreude) often found in today’s news cycle. From acts of everyday kindness to large-scale philanthropic efforts, from individual achievements to community triumphs, we bring you news—in text form or otherwise—that gives hope, fosters empathy, and strengthens the belief in humanity’s capacity for good, from a quality outlet that does not publish bad copies of copies of copies.

The article made me feel schadenfreude and a sense of retribution. I don’t think it aligns with the spirit of this community. I’d be okay with seeing it elsewhere.

I also don’t agree that political views are so entrenched in people and that such extreme options are all that’s left. But I get the frustration this is stemming from.

Yay, DEATH 😊

Emotions convey messages about yourself, but we constantly manage them due to societal norms, priorities and other stuff. Like a colleague screws you over and you want to yell at him but you suppress the feeling because you don’t want to get into trouble. Or you mess something up and someone says “don’t feel guilty, you couldn’t have prevented this”.

After a while, you start to internalize this stuff. Whenever you get angry, you push it down because “it’s not worth it”, whenever you feel guilty, you start rationalizing it. But the real reason you’re feeling these emotions never get addressed because you start managing them before identifying the root causes. So they build up and lead to all kinds of nasty things.

Validation is accepting that you’re feeling an emotion instead of immediately trying to deal with it. It’s useful because then you can start asking yourself questions. What exactly am I feeling? What does it feel like? Why am I feeling it?

Maybe you want to lash out at your coworker because he betrayed your trust and now you feel hurt. That’s a perfectly reasonable response - shit, maybe if the circumstances were different, you’d be expected to act aggressively towards him. And your guilt over your mistake? Maybe you’re afraid that people will not like you if you make mistakes? Now this is interesting because people make mistakes all the time and are still liked. Why do you feel this way?

There are many techniques to help with all this. But it takes quite a bit of work (especially for neurodivergent folks).

TL;DR: Validating your own feelings helps you indentify you deeper thoughts. It takes effort because you’re taught to keep a lit.