I think some do believe it likely due to such millenarianist beliefs (pattern of things needing to reach peak bad before ultimately the good wins and then everything is so much better) being common among Christians and in fantasy and scifi entertainment, both of which most in the US grow up being heavily exposed to. Of course, they aren't thinking that's why they think it's both necessary and inevitable that for true socialism to occur, the main villains need to be in full power first, which will unite people in opposition, exacerbate "collapse," and want to replace the current way with full socialism.

(Similarly, many likely grow up around Republican parents who bash Democrats and "libs" all the time and likewise in the infotainment "news" they watch, so they just think that's the norm and also a way they can remain connected to their parents (bashing Democrats and libs) despite thinking they're on the opposite end of the political spectrum.)

But not all are thinking that far ahead. Probably more care about fitting in with a superior and exclusive true "left" in-group (but when amongst just themselves, are divided by various factions), which does not include Democrats and their base ("libs"), feeling the most righteous, and being all about the current trending issue.

The portion of the "left" heavily influenced by Russia, going back to the Soviet Union, and China (where being left to them means bashing Democrats and their base (the evil "libs" and liberalism as a whole) all the time and placing high priority on global conflicts, present and past, with an anti-US/west campist world view) are more influential online but in actual data, are still a small percent of the population. Of course, the presidential elections are decided by a small amount of voters in a few swing states. Their talking points in addition to the very similar Republican / right ones (as well as clickbait, ragebait pumping for-profit "news") influence many people who don't know better, particularly people who are very online and/or watch a lot of 24/7 cable news, especially Fox of course.

I think an even larger problem is the many people who avoid following politics and vote based largely on the price of things (which they think is the "economy"). They don't align Republican, and especially not Trump fans, but are leaning towards voting that way or not at all largely based on that. Due to covid related inflation (both the real increase in core costs but also the ease for companies to exploit it to increase profits) as well as lower wage workers earning more (and those at the top of the companies not wanting to cut into their paychecks and profits and passing that on to consumers), they were up noticeably more for a couple of years following the peak of covid. The rate returned closer to normal for the past year or so but the prices have not gone down much, which is what people seem to be mad about, comparing what they think prices were before Biden became president to now. Likewise with the cost of housing and renting being up for various reasons.

I assume the percent of such people who vote is lower but still, some will and they are harder to reach since they are already able to avoid following politics pretty almost completely. I assume these are the type of people who do not align as Republican and especially not Trump fans but think, "things were cheaper when Trump was in power and if he is in power again, they will certainly be cheaper again and that's all I care about."

Same too lol. I think how acceptable it is depends on where you live. In some places, I think there's more pressure to follow norms (to look a certain way based on age) but in others, not so much.

There are still the diehard BBT fans, a lot of them in this thread, but I also suspect it won't remain as popular as Friends has.

I couldn't get into it but it is/was a top watched show. Keep in mind those still watching fictional prime time shows on major networks (and cable) likely skew older, like early Millennials and older. My hunch is they figured many of the original BBT fans were hitting their late 20s to 50s by the end of it and the spin-off was designed to be more relatable to them in that sense (mostly family oriented, set in the suburbs, etc.)

Sheldon & Friends. It takes place in Pasadena with 20 something Caltech physicist Sheldon, a fellow physicist, an aerospace engineer, and an astrophysicist always hanging out with each other, often in Sheldon's apartment.

"...so you should get them fired and sue them mommy."

Cardboard shipping boxes.

I agree with the point but it's not just people from the US who buy shit from them (Temu), likely most of the sales are in China but they ship to many countries.

This clip is from Temu in China.

They're authoritarian, demagogue seekers though many don't realize it and think they're actually grassroots and just want someone who will push through what they, the (silent) majority good folk (those who agree with them and fit other criteria) want and that it's actually easy if just the right person is elected (and it just hasn't happened yet because previous leaders are bad and various conspiracies). They tend to rally behind political figures they see as less or anti-"establishment" and populist.

More likely left (aligning left of Democrats) and "I don't follow politics, both parties are the same" types. Those who proudly align right or Republican are more likely to just credit Trump and Republicans and say they support what they did.

Some are but spend a lot of time online pushing their views making them seem like a larger percentage of people (along with the help they're getting from other countries who are at odds with the US and likely Republican connected efforts like Cambridge Analytica). Either way, it's not worth the effort arguing with them, except to try to counter them from influencing others reading. Just they can't be convinced to vote for Democrats.

I think most that align as "progressive" are likely to vote but can say / repeat things pushed by people to their left that can encourage others not to vote. They're essentially the left portion of the Democratic Party, where the majority (of the Democratic Party) fall under social liberalism and a small portion, like Manchin, are borderline conservative but not enough to align Republican. The Progressive Caucus is the second largest in the House with 96 members.

Those who align "left" usually mean left of Democrats and left of progressives and a large percentage of them say what you're describing (and are very vocal online, though not in every discussion, and influence others). They spend a lot of time blaming Democrats, their base, and the on the global level, have an anti-US/west campist world view that conveniently aligns with Russia and China's interests.

There are also the anti-establishment populists who often sound like they want a demagogue that will find ways around congress and the Supreme Court to make everything better and do as they demand of them. They may not align as as a variation of socialist or even socialist at all but rally behind political figures they think would do what they want, the most recent like that being some diehard Bernie Sanders supporters who continuously bring him up to trash Biden and Democrats (even though Bernie encourages people to vote for Biden and Democrats).

He was really into drugs when he was younger and then sobered up. Perhaps some of that negatively affected his brain but he also was never considered insightful about anything serious before, just charismatic and decent at conversation on celeb interview type shows. I think he's just a typical new age-ish anti-establishmentarian that believe most official medicine is bad, natural and alternative medicine can cure everything, the government and "establishment" (ie, every political figure that is remotely close to "center" and not populist and not spouting conspiracy theories) is bad and prone to fall for a mix of right and left conspiracy theories.

On top of that, I think he's likely addicted to attention and isn't getting that through the traditional celeb route but has found an audience online via his Youtube channel, but based on what he'll see in the comments on his videos, those will be mostly "anti-establishment" right and left people and bots, so he's likely persuaded to appeal to that type as well.

Likely a bot exactly like the article is about. New, adj+noun+number username, maybe triggered by a key word or poor reading comprehension but is unrelated to the comment, and the comment may seem just informative but on Reddit where there is a near even split on the I/P conflict but varying by sub (and likely many more just not getting involved), it's more likely to lead to those heavily siding with the P side to think Ukraine and Ukranian people must be bad too, which of course benefits Russia.

It was like that with the Ramones t-shirts in the 90s and early 2000s. They were sold at a lot of mall shops so random people who never heard them wore their shirts. Nirvana still had an edgier alternative reputation then so it was mostly those actually into that music that wore it. They then became a heavy rotation band on "REAL ROCK 101.1!!" type stations sandwiched between Nickelback and Creed and kind of lost that appeal until the late 2010s when shirts of theirs started popping up at fast fashion chains like Urban Outfitters. The crowd shopping at places like that by then likely listen to most of their music via apps so they are less likely to think of Nirvana as a less cool "REAL ROCK" type band.

I think the diehard fandom is declining but there are a few reasons why it'd be foolish to assume Biden will easily win.

1. The right (most of the Republican base) has the opposite reputation as the those left of Republicans (so the Democratic base plus those that identify as distinctly "left") in regards to voting. They are known for consistently voting and for Republicans, not say things like, "they have to earn my vote!" or "I'm not voting for them because they don't share my view enough on this thing!" or just not show up.

2. A lot of potential voters tune out politics as much as possible and things like the price of groceries, fast food, and gas can heavily influence their vote. Too many foolishly believe Republicans are better for the economy and will make everything cheaper and them wealthier. These are not people who align Republican and especially not as Trump supporters but say "I'm undecided," "I don't follow politics," or "both parties are the same."

3. Protest voters that align left of Republicans (and usually left of Democrats as well) help Republicans, though not as much as the above who may have voted for Biden before but could vote for Trump due to the price of things. Protest voting as in voting 3rd party or not at all.

4. Presidential elections are decided by electoral votes and in the "swing" states, the difference is often quite close. A mix of the above could lead to Trump winning so it's important those who want Biden to win (or at least prevent Trump from winning) still need to do as much as they can to help make that happen and not assume it's a sure thing.

I live in NYC and work in an area where many middle class and more affluent teens to 40 somethings pass by, and many of them tourists as well, not SoHo but still the vast majority are following fashion trends.

There are different variations of baggy and styles and there is a certain one that is more common with Asian dudes (ones mostly born in east Asia, particularly Korea and China) that look like they are copying K-Pop groups. It's not that there is a single baggy trend everyone is following. Some (not the east Asian type I just mentioned) have been trying to start a new trend with boot cut / flare style pants for the past couple of years (based on the late 90s revival of the 70s look) but it really hasn't caught on that much yet.

A lot of the top responses are at the top because they were made early enough and don't sound completely absurd (as in very easy to prove wrong and very few would agree with the comment). This one, like a few others, falls in the "huh, that doesn't sound right but I also am not sure if it's wrong either and since it's already near the top of the thread, I guess it must be true then."

It's not a 100% thing. Just those that care more about looking on top of trends make a big deal about it but you can find gen z with side parts. The trendier gen z styles have been middle part medium length, cleaner variations of a mullet but not full on mullet, and the "broccoli" style where it's made curly and front bangs forward. A newer one is the late 90s Brit-rocker look with wavy medium length hair and front bangs. Really not liking that one and don't think it's really catching on as much as the others did, but you see it a lot with the male fashion models on clothing apps.

Yeah, big problem with Reddit. If the comment is made earlier enough and doesn't seem completely wrong, it'll more likely stay near the top of the thread by default sort and many will just assume it must be true and then are more likely to upvote it too thinking it must be near the top for good reason. There is no evidence this is though. I can only assume "Fun_Category_3720" has noticed the gen z they chat with don't use it but that is purely anecdotal. They maybe completely made it up as well.

Plus thats assuming that young pro Palestine Democrats left (most are not aligning as Democrats specifically) would even forgive and vote for him if he actually did drop his support for Israel which isnt guaranteed likely (as they have a solid record of both not giving credit at all to anything positive Biden and Democrats do or attempt and moving goal posts).

I agree with your overall point but highly doubt Russia is directly paying him. I think their strategy is generally to bombard social media, in the right spaces, to manipulate people to think the views they're pushing are more popular than they are and they will push various angles at the extremes to increase division. It unfortunately works well, especially when political and popular figures (like Macklemore) get influenced by it. Thankfully, most adults (under retirement age) are too busy to be online that much but those who are more online, especially engaging in political content on social media (which is hard to avoid but some manage to), are most susceptible to it. And politically not just division between Democrats and Republicans but also make sure the left is busy hating on Democrats and their base since that hurts Democrats and it seems pretty obvious Russia prefers Republicans in power.