this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 83 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The woman said in the lawsuit that the fire ignited on Feb. 26 when one of their poles broke ...

Do you know how old and rotten a lodgepole pine electrical pole has to be to break?????

Jfc. Keep up with your gd maintenance ffs!

[–] [email protected] 56 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Replacing critically deficient infrastructure has been declared a progressive issue in todays overton window. So no chance places like Texas do it.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I swear, Texas’s grid is the sort of thing that would’ve been written out of a dystopian novel for being too cartoonishly evil.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I know you're just trying to dunk on Texas, but Hutchinson County, where they're saying this happened, is part of the Eastern Interconnect, not the Texas Interconnect. Much of the panhandle is not part of ERCOT

[–] [email protected] 26 points 9 months ago

You could have said the whole state and I'd still be with you.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If the cause was due to negligence then some people at the company need to be involved with manslaughter charges.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Oh you sweet summer child. This is America. People, even the corporations who apparently are legally people, never face anything but fines that they can easily pay off with excess revenue.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago

...and still have money left over to "lobby" for easier regulations!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Is there anything I can do to help you not post defeatist stuff like this?

At first, I wrote out a frustrated reply about how this kind of thing isn't helpful: telling everyone there's no hope.

But you don't need me being mad at you. Can I donate to a campaign near you or volunteer some time? What can I do to help you have a sense that if we work together that we can actually change things?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I wouldn't say no hope. I would say very little hope.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Well, what can I do? I'm a random person on the fediverse that wants the world to get better. If there is something I can do that'll help your hope levels, what is it?

My only ask will be that if you start to feel more hopeful, you do the same for at least two other people. That's it.

Want to run for your local city council? I'll be your first donor.

Want to start a local gardening club? Let me get you some supplies.

Prefer time? Point me at a cause you like and if it's up my alley I'll volunteer (and if it's not, I'll choose something similar that works for me).

I am so tired of these responses to EVERYTHING. Time for me to put my money and time where my mouth is. The world doesn't have to be like this.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

None of that would do anything to punish corporations like they deserve. That would require congress passing laws and SCOTUS not shooting them down, two things I hold very little hope for in the current climate.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To the commenters point, there is something we can do: get engaged, capture control of the Democratic Party through primaries (I'm aware this is easier said than done, it's gonna take a grind over multiple elections), and remove conservatives from power at every opportunity.

If you're already engaged, great. Loop in more people, run for office, donate your time/money to progressive candidates. There's plenty of things we can do to move the needle. If everyone expressing disdain for how our government operates actually did these things we'd be in a much better world.

We don't even need hope for this, it works. Look at the GOP and who controls it. Look at statehouses around the country. Look at the judiciary. Look at all the school boards and city councils passing crazy shit. It's all from incremental steps by a bunch of really dedicated awful people over decades. We can use the same playbook to gain power and use that power to improve people's lives. We have one thing they have never had: numbers.

And to anyone brushing this off and thinking I'm naive, what do you have to lose? Would you rather do nothing and accept this bullshit forever?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

MegaUltraChicken explained better than I could, so I'm not going to do that.

What I want to do is repeat: is there something I can do that'll just make you feel more hopeful? I'm being serious in that it sucks for everyone to feel this way, I don't like feeling this way, let's change it - how can I help encourage you (and myself)?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I cannot personally do that, but I kicked a donation his way as a show of good faith. I hope things can change for the better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Sorry. I'm Jewish, my daughter is half-Jewish and queer and my wife is a librarian. If Trump wins, we will have to give up on this country for our own safety. I have the possibilities of both German and UK citizenship and I am looking into them right now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

You have to do what makes you and your family safe, but I also hope you understand there are a lot of people, most people in this country, who want to make this a safe and comfortable place for everyone. A minority in this country is trying to make everyone else feel unsafe and like they don't belong, and they're doing an incredible job at it. I'm trying to do my part to stop it, and I hope that at the least you can see that there are a lot of people out there who are on your side.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I know there are. I just don't know that there are enough considering how many people who would normally vote for him are angry at Biden over Israel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

It's not defeatest, it's just pragmatic.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Power companies and causing wildfires, name a better duo.

I sware half the fires around me are because of some electrical pole sparking.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Jewish space lasers causing fires?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I'd say transfer the grid to the control of the state, but knowing texas they'd just slap a coat of paint on everything and flip it to the highest bidder.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

The move to privatize critical infrastructure AND declare that businesses have the same rights as people is gonna be the downfall of America.