• psvrh@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Israel and America are trying to wrestle for that one, too

      • glimse@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Israel’s got us beat by a lot, man. In the US we have grasps for religious power (some successful) but it doesn’t describe everyone in government

        • Shenanigore@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          It’s almost…Like when everyone in government is of the same religion, it’s similar to everyone in government being of no religion at all.

      • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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        4 months ago

        There sadly are even more countries that are completely under control of religious leaders. Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, … Vatican City (they even have something like their own military).

  • rtxn@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I think I missed the “mysticism and spirituality” period. Twenty years ago I knew India for cows, castes, and crap in the rivers.

  • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Idk how the general public viewed India 40 years ago, but from my vague understanding of their modern history they’ve always been known for a cruel caste system resulting in poverty and disease, which was massaged by the English introducing more widespread transportation and education but castes and disparity still persists after several revolutions. Don’t get me wrong, the English were cruel and apathetic, but clearly the locals learned a lot from them in good and bad ways both.

    I recently learned about CPI parties of India but they also ingrain religion into their politics? That sounds like one step forward two steps back. I’d love to see more Indian politics and international news in the news and politics communities on Lemmy, sounds like a lot is going on over there and I’m getting real sick of hearing about Taylor Swift’s jet and Biden’s Cookies.

    Oh and also, skin whitening cream is pretty fucked imo. I saw a story awhile back where a famous light skinned actress played an ethnic minority role where they blackfaced and lived in filth, clearly something is wrong there.

    • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Skin whitening is not unlike tanning in the west, an indication of status/wealth. In India lighter skin shows you don’t need to work outside. In the west tan skin shows you can take vacations.

      And in both cases people fake it with creams and tanning salons. And it becomes so entrenched people don’t realize why they are actually doing it. Just like makeup and clothing choices.

      Yes, there are problematic racial undertones…and in general is definitely fucked up…but I think it’s more complicated than just a race thing. I mean, people in the West are literally exposing themselves to cancer causing UV to fake the look of having recently taken a trip to Hawaii or whatever, which is also kinda fucked up.

      • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Pretty sure lighter complexion in non-white countries is status symbol in the same way tanning is among white Westerners. You don’t need to work outside means you are affluent enough not to do so. Getting tanned means you are also affluent enough to go on holidays abroad to somewhere exotic.

        Before the European colonisation in non-white majority countries, light skin has always been seen as status symbol. The racial aspect came later upon Western colonialism.

      • Leviathan@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        In the west tan skin shows you can take vacations.

        What? I see a dude with a tan in the middle of winter and I automatically think “he spends way to much time in tanning booths” and “that’s a lot of skin damage”. I never once thought “that guy can afford vacations”. If that’s the effect they’re going for they need better PR.

      • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Spray on tans are also frowned upon, where I’m from. But the natural production of pigment in response to sunlight isn’t nearly comparable to chemically changing tones or caking on makeup to hide your ethnicity.

        I still don’t see them on the same level as attempting to change ones race as a show of wealth. People should see the beauty of their natural skin.

        UV Radiation is required to produce Vitamin D, the World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 5 minutes of direct sunlight exposure a week to avoid deficiency.

        • Rediphile@lemmy.ca
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          4 months ago

          Your take away from what I wrote was that I think people should never expose themselves to the sun/UV? The benefits of moderate UV exposure are completely irrelevant to the point I was making.

          I just explained how they are comparable and really don’t know what else to tell you. Maybe someone else can give it a go.

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              4 months ago

              I’m not in any way shape or form doing that. This is abundantly clear from what I wrote.

              I was only comparing cosmetic skin whitening to cosmetic skin darkening, since they are completely comparable and I have already explained how.

        • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
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          4 months ago

          I think you’re missing the point.

          Some cultures find tanned skin to be beautiful, others find light skin to be beautiful.

          In either case, wealthier people can achieve either darker or lighter skin by spending more or less time in the sun.

          Poorer people who’s length of exposure to the sun is a function of their work, can emulate lighter or darker skin with various lotions and potions.

          • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            I think a more utilitarian and functional approach to beauty standards would be better for everyone. Paler is less healthy, so is being overly tanned, natural is best. People can be lighter or darker to a certain extent but their natural pigmentation has a range defined by their racial characteristics, and they should never be ashamed or disgusted of their natural tone. To say lighter or darker is more beautiful is racism, simple as.

            • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
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              4 months ago

              You sound like a real idiot.

              People will perceive beauty according to societal and cultural norms established over millennia.

              You can’t tell someone what they ought to find beautiful.

              It’s not racist, given that we’re taking about variations within a single race, not comparisons between races.

              • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                Some cultures perceive being fat or skinny differently because of the correlation of wealth which changes between impoverished nations and developed nations. Being overly fat or thin purely for cosmetic purposes is almost universally shunned by progressive movements because it is factually and objectively worse than a healthy weight. Skin Tone will be the same way. Future generations will look back and agree with me on this.

                • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  4 months ago

                  Imposing your own ideas on what other cultures ought to feel is the height of arrogance.

                  Similarly, it’s incredibly arrogant to presume that your own “enlightened” attitudes will be more prevalent in the future.

        • EssentialCoffee@midwest.social
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          4 months ago

          But the natural production of pigment in response to sunlight isn’t nearly comparable to chemically changing tones or caking on makeup to hide your ethnicity.

          My asian “whitening creams” are called “brightening creams” in the West. They remove redness. They don’t chemically alter your ethnicity.

    • phx@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Yeah, but it’s often in the form of a YouTube video with narration that’s not always so easy to understand. I miss written tutorials, but most of the good ones I find these days tend to come from Central/Eastern European forum posts.

  • Kanda@reddthat.com
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    4 months ago

    I guess Germany after the 30’s (and maybe even after 1919), France after the whole Revolution and Napoleon thing, the UK after voting to KEKW their economy, Norway after being ruled by Sweden… The list probably goes on

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      Which french revolution? ;) There’s lots of people who saw and still see the whole french revolution thing as a net positive. The UK has never had a good proper revolution and it shows.

      Napoleon did a lot of things, but those bad things were in line with the absolutist rulers from before the revolution, he just happened to be more successful at it. But he also did many good things during his rule. Fe, the Napoleonic code was hugely influential worldwide and a major change for the good. 2 centuries later it doesn’t hold up as well in the countries that still use the same justice system, but for it’s time, it was really good. Overall, I’d say Napoleon still has a stellar reputation, unlike India.

      How was Norway worse after they last gained independence from Sweden?

      • cashews_win@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        never had a good proper revolution

        Are you forgetting or discounting the English Revolution and Glorious Revolution?

        • RunawayFixer@lemmy.world
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          I’m discounting that one yes. The powerful politicians that came out on top (all who were already upper class and power brokers beforehand), called it a revolution, but there was no class/societal upheaval, redistribution of wealth/land or anything else like happened in the many popular revolutions in Paris. It was just a change of government with some help from a foreign power at the end. A forced change of government or coup d’etat can alo be called a revolution, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s not the same thing as fe the 1789 revolution in Paris.

          I’ll refine my previous statement: what the UK needs is a good proper popular revolution.

      • Kanda@reddthat.com
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        A lot of good came out of it in the end, but I doubt the French felt great after the battle at Waterloo and the resulting peace treaty

        • RunawayFixer@lemmy.world
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          For France that was a great peace treaty, way better than what many French people would have expected, Talleyrand had worked wonders. After Waterloo there were many who would have wanted a complete dismemberment of France, but instead the pre Waterloo negotiations were followed and a relatively strong state was created, with all the territorial gains of Louis 14 left intact.

          That peace was also far better for French people than Napoleon’s endless large scale wars of the prior 15 years. It’s that massive death toll that we should blame Napoleon for, not the treaty of Vienna. And after a bit of a respite, the french did kick out the Bourbons again, so that peace did work out ok for France. It was easily a far better peace than the “peace” of Versailles after WW1.

          • Kanda@reddthat.com
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            Yeah I guess you’re right that it came out about as well as it possibly could for France. I still feel there was a significant bit of humiliation at play for the great power that France was at the time, but then again it took a coalition to get there and this was an army of a country torn between monarchists and republicans.

      • lemmingrad@thelemmy.club
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        The UK had to murder his king to get a parliament though :D and tbh the french revolution was a great moment, but also a hugely violent one, and the people did not prevail. The liberals did.

        • systemglitch@lemmy.world
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          It’s still a leadership issue and not a people issue. I can see why someone would want to relate the two, but it’s not a just comparison on this case.

  • SuperSaiyanSwag@lemmy.zip
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    This is insanely relevant to me right now. I left India in 2004 and I am there right now for my cousins wedding. I legit hate it everywhere I look. Love my family, but idk if I want to come back.

  • spez@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    4chan is gonna know the world through the perspective of an average 4chan user.

    • Clbull@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      America has been full of New Thought/LoA grifters like these too: Neville Goddard, Napoleon Hill, Joseph Murphy, to name a few.

  • balderdash@lemmy.zip
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    Good luck with this post OP lmao

    edit: Did way better than I expected. Maybe I think too poorly of Lemmings