Good call. I was just preparing your warning.
A reminder that there is now a dedicated thread for the Omar attack:
But it’s still in P&E, so goofing around like a Pit thread is probably not going to be okay with the mods there either.
A perspective from Europe:
I like that guy. For anyone curious, that’s British comedian Tom Walker in his role as fictional political correspondent Jonathan Pie. Walker uses that persona to give his honest opinions on the politics of the day, and that’s a pretty good analysis of the Alex Pretti shooting and the deplorable reaction to it by Trump sycophants.
Very emotional bit here by Jimmy Kimmel on the Alexi Pretti murder:
Friends (i.e., @LouMa & @wolfpup) :
Some of us (me, for instance) don’t like to watch videos. Yeah, that makes us No Fun. We’re also a drag at parties (again, speaking for myself).
But please include a short (25 words or less) summary or highlight when you post a video. Throw us me a bone. 
Thank you for your attention to this matter 
.
Can that summary be in the form of a short video clip?
TBH, that’s not really possible, because (speaking about the Jimmy Kimmel video that I posted) it’s not about any specific nugget of information that can be summarized, it’s the totality of his monologue and the way it’s delivered that’s so powerful. He almost breaks down in tears at one point. To his great credit, this is something that Kimmel feels very strongly about. If you’re not going to watch it, that’s as much of a summary as I can give.
Good on him. In the words of Woody Guthrie “This machine kills fascists”.
Maybe @wolfpup could be so kind to give you a summary of the Jonathan Pie video? It would be very difficult for me as a non native speaker to sum up its sarcasm. Or maybe you could make one kind exception and watch the video this time?
I wouldn’t characterize any of it as sarcasm. Just emphatic, strongly worded opinion about the current chaos, the official lies about what happened to Alex Pretti, and the absolute hypocrisy of right-wing nutjobs who love guns and love carrying them but suddenly fall silent when officials try to claim that shooting Pretti was justified because he was doing just that thing that the nutjobs love – legally carrying a gun – and was shot ten times even after he had been disarmed.
Both videos are worth watching, but the Jonathan Pie one is just sort of angry, while the Jimmy Kimmel one is truly heartfelt and emotional.
I don’t know that it’s “kind” to watch a video, or unkind to not watch one. It’s just a choice.
The summaries were given; a European perspective on the ICE shootings in the first video, and an emotional speech by Jimmy Kimmel on the ICE shootings in the second video. I have not watched either video, but I gathered those summaries by reading what was written to accompany them by the people who posted them.
I haven’t watched either of them, and don’t care to, because I don’t feel like it and don’t want to take the time. Probably the same as you. I’m sure the videos are there for people who do want to watch them.
Sometimes a person posts a video to make a point, and in that case it’s better to have a detailed summary, and other times (such as this time) a person posts a video because it’s relevant to the discussion and they think someone else might enjoy seeing it. And in that case, you just need a very short explanation of what it is so you can decide whether or not to watch it, which is what was done here.
The Jonathan Pie video takes 4 min to watch. It is probably less than it took to write your post. But yes, it is your choice, no problem.
When I mentioned “kind exception” I wanted to say it would be kind to spare me write a summary and watch it on their own. How often do you comment in a foreign language? If so, are you sure you always find the fine nuances in your expression? It then would be kind if you excused my lack of it.
I agree, I feel like I got enough information on both videos to judge whether to watch them.
Moderating:
And… this is enough discussion about whether or not to watch videos. @ThelmaLou, in future, either watch or don’t, but refrain from asking for summaries unless there is zero information about what the video shows. This is yet another useless hijack in this thread.
You’re right, sarcasm isn’t quite the right word for it. It’s more like anger and incomprehension from a European perspective about the way guns are handled in the US, the matter-of-fact acceptance with which untrained, primitive people are set upon demonstrators, and how this is then completely distorted in the media. This approach is in no way inferior to Putin’s Russia. The Jimmy Kimmel video is made in the US for Americans and perfectly describes the hypocrisy of the media. We don’t see much of Kimmel here in Europe, and I thought the video was really good. It’s very touching and emotional, especially at the end, where a recording is shown in which Pretti honors a veteran. It’s really very moving.
I could never have imagined that such a political situation would ever exist in the US. I dread the future of this country, because it will also drag us into the fascist maelstrom.
ETA Sorry, I didn’t see Aspenglow’s comments before posting.
I watched both vids. Of course I agree with 100% of what was said in both. But I found them somewhat depressing, because I wondered what the point of them was. Who are they going to reach who does not already have their mind made up? Who that supports Trump/ICE will they persuade to change their minds?
Like I said, I agree with pretty much every single word each of those videos say. I agree than more people should be more vocal about their outrage. But I don’t really know how that applies in my daily life, what I am to do differently, or how videos like this will change anything. Such a sad state of affairs.
Yes, indeed, the situation is depressing, not least because there are no signs of change, or at most a change for the worse. For me, these and other similar videos are expressions of the current feelings of many (by no means all!) people. They confirm to each other how sad they are, that they have similar feelings, that they are not alone in their sadness. In this respect, such videos are not instructions on what to do or how to cope with everyday life, but rather a relief from the oppressive feelings of powerlessness and helplessness in the face of the ever-deepening roots of fascist structures. The depressing mood is there, but you know there are others who feel the same way. This alone leads to a certain relief from emotional tension. People from dictatorships know this feeling, knowing that there are others who think the same way you do, where you can still speak openly without being betrayed or reported.
No one can tell you what to do, but you know you are not alone with your feelings; there are others who think like you. And there is irony or even jokes about the political decision-makers, which at least helps to make the situation more bearable in the short term.