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No! Not you, Mittens!
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2023
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All cats are Republicans. That's obvious.
I do wish the libertarians would get their shit together and stop running the most batshit crazy candidates they can find. Libertarian philosophies are hit and miss - like their obsession with privatizing everything and letting the "free market" basically run the country is a recipe for some dystopian hellscape shit; but I can respect things like the non-aggression principle, and they at least follow a logic in placing personal liberty as a golden standard that should only ever be infringed when absolutely necessary.
That's all in contrast to the GOP, which has no principles at all other than "if the left wants it, it's bad!" or "because putin said so!" all wrapped in star-spangled veneer with a bible on top.
I'm hoping that as the GOP continues to devolve into total unapologetic ignorance and hatred, that it'll eventually swap places with the libertarians, with the GOP becoming the fringe crazies and the libertarians becoming the Democrat's main competitor.
They may not be progressive, but they at least bring something to the table; and them getting into power would be a lot less destructive than the GOP having that same power.
Dunno how realistic that hope is, but still.
Libertarianism was actually invented as a Leftist political philosophy where the people leveraged the state's power to maximize freedoms (beyond liberalism). That's why right wing Libertarians don't make sense. It's been invented by think tanks to confuse us. Ask a right wing Libertarian what they believe outside of their economic principles, and it's often just nazi shit. Or anarcho capitalist shit. Oof.
Libertarianism in general doesn't hold much water when you start looking for holes. It's one of those things that sounds good on paper at first glance, but the more detail you dig for, the shittier it becomes.
I don't think it has any potential in-and-of-itself; but as a party to keep a healthy amount of pressure on big blue, and occasionally put out a not-horrible policy... I could see it.
The libertarian party views democrats and the left as a lost cause though. Theyve snuggled up to republicans but are too cowardly to label themselves as one. Tbh the party's main purpose seems to be as a spoiler to drag away a couple percent of conservative leaning people from voting for Trump and the like.
That's why I think they have potential to replace the GOP - functionally they're Republican Lite™, which is fucking great cuz Republican Classic™ is literally killing us.
I don't see us ever steering away from a two party system, so best case scenario is for one of the big two to be completely replaced by a less toxic version of itself.
Tbh having known a fair number of libertarians and kept tabs on the libertarian party over the years, I am not really convinced that theyd really be an improvement. Their ideas on economics are straight up even more extreme than the republicans and their ideas on social issues boil down to the government just not doing anything to intervene which is less than ideal given that would eliminate policies like the ADA. They oppose the government doing things that harm social freedoms which is good but its at the expense of just letting private companies do effectively the exact same thing based on the theory that you have a choice to be subject to it or not which doesnt really work out in reality if you are effectively chained to your job with no realistic escape and/or the companies you deal with are monopolies (which they oppose antitrust legislation to deal with)
The GOP deserves to be replaced with something else but I am not really convinced libertarian philosophy is the replacement we need. I would rather deal with a party that is more focused on finding market alternatives to government intervention but does not strictly oppose intervention when those market alternatives aren't working or otherwise are untenable. I want a party that at least acknowledges global warming and wealth/income inequality is a problem and that maybe we shouldn't be untethering corporations from all regulation, just the regulations that serve no purpose other than to stifle competition.
TBF most cats do just fine in the wild
Cats are literally apex predators.
Accurate. They can catch, kill, and subsist on more creatures than any other land animal. They are peerless predators on land.
Outside humans, wolves are the most successful land predators. They have spread the farthest, into the most diverse ecosystems etc.
No. They’re not.
Apex predators are those that aren’t also prey.
House cats are predators, but they’re also prey to hawks, eagles and owls. Dogs, coyotes, etc.
I'm not convinced by maybe 50% of this. Especially if you remember Europe exists.
Europe has raptors too. Europe has species that fill the same niches... and absolutely will take a domestic cat if the opportunity present.
This is why, for example cats like to hide in things like boxes and cat caves. it's because they are not apex predators- they're very skilled, don't get me wrong. but they're not apex.
They may not be apex predators in that sense but theyre a lot like us in that theyve wiped out the 2nd most number of species in the modern era only losing 1st place to humans.
Wow you’ve described some North American animals and extrapolated that to the experience of cats across the world.
Cats are apex predators in their environments across most of the world.
Domestic cats?
Because the only places that don’t have owls are Antarctica and very-far-north in the artic circle (ie on the polar ice,)
Most places in the world have something that fill the niche of hawks and eagles and owls.
The only cats that are apex predators are the big cats(lions, tigers leapords, panthers jaguars… etc). Domestic cats are prey animals as well as predators.
Even if in the places domestic cats are let out, humans have killed off most their predators.
I can’t imagine any bids of prey large enough in Australian cities to consistently prey on cats.
The only predator that really eats cats here are Tasmanian Devils and well they live on a seperate island from the mainland and 99% of all cats here.
And I’d wager across other places eagles or owls aren’t snacking on cats outside of chances of opportunity.
I get it. You want to think of cats as fierce hunters. And they are that. none of what that is invalidated by them occasionally being hunted. The reality is that kind of thinking- that the cat will be okay, because they're fierce apex predators is wrong... and besides man made hazards... there are other animals that will absolutely attack a cat. especially one with a dinner bell on it's collar.
I get it. You want to think of birds as fierce hunters. And they are that. none of what that is invalidated by them occasionally being hunted. The reality is that kind of thinking- that the bird will be okay, because they’re fierce apex predators is wrong… and besides man made hazards… there are other animals that will absolutely attack a bird.
Mate you're a fucking moron. Cats are apex predators in many locations, especially cities where they surprise surprise are largely found, this isn't up your personal feelings about fucking eagles swooping down and eating them or whatever fantasies you dream of.
Never said birds were. But I wouldn’t argue it based on what happens in cities… That would be like arguing tetras are apex predators because they’re the only thing in the fish tank.
To think otherwise is ridiculous.
If you don’t take local environment into account, than you’re comparing a planets worth of species in which case an Orca could kill any other species and the only thing that hunts them is us, so they’re not even an apex themselves.
You might as well argue there is not one apex predator on the planet.
You do know dogs chase and kill cats and dogs live in cities, right?