this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2024
162 points (98.2% liked)

memes

22612 readers
375 users here now

dank memes

Rules:

  1. All posts must be memes and follow a general meme setup.

  2. No unedited webcomics.

  3. Someone saying something funny or cringe on twitter/tumblr/reddit/etc. is not a meme. Post that stuff in [email protected], it's a great comm.

  4. Va*sh posting is haram and will be removed.

  5. Follow the code of conduct.

  6. Tag OC at the end of your title and we'll probably pin it for a while if we see it.

  7. Recent reposts might be removed.

  8. Tagging OC with the hexbear watermark is praxis.

  9. No anti-natalism memes. See: Eco-fascism Primer

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 13 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 month ago

truly burgerland

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They are not incompetent, they work exactly as designed and interned.

With no oversight, culpability, or even actual sanctions, in a capitalist setting doing anything more would be stupid. In fact, there is money to be earned with some outages.

I would be furious if I experienced power outages in any but the absolutely poorest countries on Earth, not because of inconvenience, but bcs there is ample money & production to mitigate basically anything that could negatively affect public infrastructure (that should be covered under basic human rights).

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

ERCOT managed to convince Texans it was a good idea to allow their utility company to charge them whatever they want at any given time because capitalism. The people of the state couldn't figure out it might not be a bad idea to let a power company charge you more money in circumstances where you desperately need power and also choose to ignore the regulations the rest of the country operates under that allows the grid to work when it's over 90 or under 40.

At a certain point it's hard to be sympathetic for the people who make being a big huge fucking idiot to piss off anybody who isnt one their entire personality.

I get there are innocent bystanders trapped in the state but at a certain point you run out of sympathy for the guy who has been calling you slurs at the bar all night who got blackout drunk because you told him to pace himself and fell down the stairs.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A neighborhood in Vegas lost power for six hours during the height of this heat wave and the power company just kinda shrugged and said they don’t know why that happened. Things are looking great.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

I live in an area with frequent power outages, and I love my backup generator

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago

I don't see North Korea paying their workers in hamburgers, do you?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

When I was younger, I used to rant all the time about why other countries have their power lines underground (when possible of course). Fiber lines too. Or... having fiber at all in many areas.

I still rant about that, but I used to too. (Thanks Mitch)

But seriously, what a clown ass country where I have had to buy/maintain battery backups for my internet and "important electronics" not really because of black outs... yet... but because of random, maybe once a month, for no apparent reason, "oh, the power went out for 5 seconds. Oops!"

One would think, that a competently run utility of the utmost importance, such as water and electric, that if that event happened JUST ONCE it would be like knife at the CEOs throat, "hey, we don't give a shit what happened there, if these lights even flicker in the next 5 years, you're gone. And maybe prison too. This isn't a fucking joke, dipshit. "Oh the wind was blowing!" No, it wasn't. But even if it was, USE THAT $100B THE STATE GIFTED YOU AND THE JACKED UP RATES YOU CHARGE AND DIG SOME FUCKING TRENCHES AND BURY SOME FUCKING LINES!"

But hey, I guess I just actually give a shit about literally one of the few things which distinguishes civilization from... not. Water and electricity. Those two should completely, fully, totally off limits for anyone to fuck up. Which is why a lot of them used to be owned by the city or state and funded properly and given proper oversight. Yeah, it won't be perfect, especially when you have little weasel fuckers on the outside purposely crippling the funding so that they can buy them at a discount. It could be basically perfect but that requires fully abolishing private ownership of these types of utilities.

Think about the state of shit since 1980-> 2000->now. I was alive for most of that, although conscious of things like electricity for only about half, and it seems to be getting shittier and shittier and shittier. It's all held together with effectively patchworks of duct tape as the underlying infrastructure rots. I don't know the plan, seriously I really don't, when I think to 2040, 2060, etc.

No one really talks about this shit. Sure maybe it's implied by passing infrastructure bills BUT THEN IT NEVER HAPPENS. China literally has built all this kind of stuff in the last couple decades. The US last built out infrastructure in that way in the 1950s, to my knowledge. Who the fuck thinks this doesn't just equate to a collapsed, rusted over, scorching hot hellscape in coming decades while China is gonna be effectively living in a utopian future in comparison? Never discussed by anyone with any actual power. "It sounds like you, sir, are a Chinese Communist! HOW DARE YOU!"

We're just fucked. Fully and totally.

But hey, maybe if you live near a military installation you'll have brand new electrical infrastructure. Because that's what actually matters...

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago

This legitimately sounds like some fake shit she'd say about Best Korea. On par with "the rats pull the trains" in absurdity.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

Water burger execs: how do we monetize this

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

because the privately owned utilities are ~~incompetent~~ corrupt

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

And the state will rectify this problem by outlawing companies from telling people if their power is out.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Has anyone seen Ted Cruz during all of this?