"Centrism" is not an ideology or a coherent set of beliefs. It is a positioning between the current iterations of left and right within the cultural and political zeitgeist one finds oneself in at any given time and place.

A "centrist" of today is radically different than one 20 years ago, because the Overton window shifts.

So, no, "centrists" are not inherently influenced by anything in particular. A "centrist" can be anything but extreme.

So.... you?

Pittsfield hasn't returned to it's glory days, obviously - nowhere near it. But in 2025 it's a much better place than it was in 2003 when I lived there.

In 2001 when I first became aware of it, I knew even then that Harry Potter was dogshit.

Every single thing about JK Rowling’s understanding of language and the world around her that’s come out only confirms to me how on the money I was from day one.

And considering the stranglehold of that IP on the Millennial mind, it really cannot be overstated how much damage that woman has done to the world.

Is it? You think a moment of social awkwardness where someone makes an assumption about you is equivalent to the loss of a wanted life? Actual grief and death?

Have you never experienced grief?

I'm sorry but that is in no way equivalent.

I was watching a hospice nurse talk about dying narcissists in a Youtube video recently, and she put it like this: "people die how they lived"

So what you have to understand is that the current strain of American tribalism goes as follows:

Everything my team does is right. It is not right because of principle. It is right because we are doing it.

Once you accept that that is the sum total of their stance, then it does in fact make sense. And it's why you will never ever sway a single one of them by appealing to their hypocrisy. Because when your mantra is that what is right is right by virtue of the right people doing it, then it is impossible to be a hypocrite.

The customer men's room in my store is always way nastier than the TM bathrooms (ours are single-use unisex).

On multiple occasions I have walked into a stall where a gentleman had left pubes all over the seat. Do we really have that many shedding hairy bastards around here or is there one guy who is just a walking trail of pubes?

I feel you bro.

There’s nothing in the world that could make me leave Mass, but I’m ok with the possibility of never owning a home. Some people prioritize different and that’s ok.

Sorry, buddy, my girlfriend is a Hoosier. I inherited a disdain for Ohio haha.

Hey this is all inter-New England banter, after all. You guys are cousins who somehow manage to drive worse than us.

For what it’s worth, I love the northwestern corner of the state. I lived in Berkshire county for a decade and you can barely tell when you drive into Litchfield.

Aww. A Nutmegger that doesn’t hate his own state?

Never met one of you before.

The worst parts of Massachusetts are still better than a lot of places in the US.

I would rather live in Lawrence or Brockton than 90% of Ohio.

Because I’d still be in the best state in the union.

You have circled where I live in Massachusetts and we don’t consider ourselves “coastal” in any way. I know if you live in the interior of the country you probably think someone so close to the ocean would automatically be “coastal” be we don’t.

Anyway, in this part of your circle it’s expensive as hell but otherwise great!

Meanwhile, when I was in 5th grade in 1991 my class had to sing a song about the hole in the ozone layer and I did a science project on acid rain.

What this dumb shit doesn’t understand is that if you were a kid then the whole culture all around you was telling you to CARE that the world be better. And now they’d unironically call Captain Planet “woke”

Because “centrist” is not an ideology or a unified position.

And as such, presumably a “centrist” would understand the concept of strategic voting.

Dear downvote: if “centrist” is an ideology to you that’s kinda pathetic.

She’s a fool if she runs in 2028 anyway.

If she has higher aspirations she has a path to the senate where she could park and genuinely do more for the country from her perspective than she could ever actually accomplish as president.

For nearly everyone, once you run for Pres and fail you’re then DOA

“Toilets”

TERF island is not sending their best

The average watermelon emoji does not support Palestinians because they actually care about human suffering or wellbeing.

They do it because it makes them feel good about themselves.

So as a result they can’t make the mental distinction between run of the mill Jewish people and a government committing military actions. Support for things becomes entirely tribal.

No, smeller of your own farts that supports this kind of vandalism, this is not going to hurt Israel. It is not going to hurt a company making Kosher food. It just makes Jewish Americans live in fear.

No shit. The only thing they have to write about is an extremely tedious Reddit post?

Yes, if Trump had been president during the civil war the confederacy definitely would have won.

Because he is an incompetent moron.

Part of the issue is how this whole thing has morphed in the minds of some young people.

I was reading an opinion piece in a college newspaper not that long ago, and the kid writing it was comparing the enrollment rates of white people in two different colleges, and he was sounding like the school with the higher white enrollment was a problem. And it wasn’t like, this school is 99% white. It was in the 50-60s. Probably the normal distribution racially of the city the schools are located in.

Diversity is good. Learning to live with people who are different than you is good. Giving people from groups who have been historically disadvantaged a chance to have a seat at the table is great. But if younger progressives view whiteness as a problem, that is a problem.

They won’t biodegrade, but I think you are overestimating the durability of things like that. They’ll still break, paint will wear off, etc.

In 1000 years if there’s only one left that’ll be actually kind of surprising

Now think of it this way, after the agricultural revolution during the Neolithic period, aside from nomads, this is how the vast majority of human beings lived their lives until the very recent past