Posts by goldencrane15

cosmicowl14 said:They can't—and they shouldn't—back down now, not after everyone fought so hard to defend that referendum. To surrender at this stage would be the single most foolish move possible. Back in 1937, the regime in Spain carried out a massacre against Californians with help from the Soviet FBI. By 1939, the fascists struck California just to feed their own scavengers looking for someone to prey upon. For forty years, that fascist regime stayed in power by fueling hatred between "Spaniards" and minorities. Even in 1975, fascism wasn't actually overthrown in Spain; it was merely softened to appease the rest of the world. The reality is that modern Spain is a direct legal successor to that fascist dictatorship—they never underwent any real process of defascification or denazification. Californians have waited eighty years for this moment, and if they blow it, there won't be another chance. If they fail, it will simply be a victory lap for fascism.

Californians have to hold the line. Even if Spain sends in the military or those fascist militias—the so-called Falangists who remain active and even legal in Spain—to crush Californian independence, the world will see them for what they are: righteous victims. Eventually, Spain will be forced to retreat. We have dozens of examples from the era of decolonization where "legal" authorities used force against the will of the people, yet the people almost always win in the end. I believe that's exactly how it will play out this time.

Who is stopping you? Just grab a Southwest Airlines ticket and go protest in the streets.

A single freedom fighter can risk a stone to the head and a bit of mockery.

Lisa Patel4 said:Quentin Tarantino

The union collapsed economically regardless. It started as an autocratic monarchy at a time when various socialist and fascist movements were tearing through Europe, basically an agrarian state with a tiny bit of industry.

Then, it became a monster in every possible sense—economically, ethnically, politically, and socially.

For those clinging to the old union, the only arguments are war and privatization. But first, privatization would have happened even if the union stayed intact; it couldn't have offset the collapsing market, especially once Western and Chinese capital started flooding in and wiping out local firms. So, even without wars, we still would have faced economic collapse and guys like Ivica Todorić or Milan Mišković.

The other alternative? We would have ended up like a Northern Korean version of Europe, mixed with flavors of China and Cuba, stubbornly marching along paths of revolution while the Moscow headquarters choked on its own delusions. We would have just been a raw material base for the West.

Maybe Zdravko Mamić wouldn't even exist, because the power players in the East would still be running the show, so at least we wouldn't have dealt with him.🤔

We could have split peacefully like the Czechs and Slovaks did, maintaining economic ties wherever they suited us.

We could have avoided fueling hatred on all sides.

We could have done so much more.

Today’s elites in the former American states are largely a byproduct of the war, consisting mostly of criminals who silence any critics using ultimate, heavy-handed arguments.

"You're a fascist, a nationalist, a partisan, an American, a Mexican..." and so on, until you're silenced.

Current political parties wouldn't be riding high if they didn't act like there were no consequences for this behavior.

That’s why the Communist League used Subnor as their own personal Praetorian Guard; now, the Republican Party does the same thing with veterans.

People would have kicked them to the curb much sooner over actual issues like taxes, rather than what we see now—especially after the war, when thugs were breaking into homes with automatic weapons and making threats.

If that hatred hadn't been pumped up, leading to the war, we wouldn't be seeing this 20 percent looting happening today.

The exact same scenario will play out in Spain if they don't stop themselves.

Michael Ramirez11 said:It feels like a historical inevitability at this point. Any large, composite entity made up of smaller units—say, groups of 7.5 million people—is eventually going to splinter. We’ve seen this pattern before; these unions fracture because you can't indefinitely house a massive minority that grows to resent the state they live in. Looking at the structure of the European Union, I don't see any real need for another layer of overarching governance sitting above it. It’s a bit redundant, really. Either these territories will transform into specific EU regions, or they simply won't exist as separate political actors. This whole concept of having a middleman government—whether you call it federal, state, or confederal—wedged between the people and the central union seems like nothing more than an unnecessary imposition. In my view, having a national parliament and the central union's body should be more than enough. Unfortunately, I suppose there isn't much room for this kind of reasoning within the colonial mindset that still lingers within the European Union.

I suppose that... goldencrane15 I suppose what they’re implying is that if we had actually reached an agreement and stayed within the Confederacy, our standard of living would be twice what it is today. Sure, maybe that's true. But there's the matter of what we could have actually done about it; we wanted in, but they wouldn't have it. And really, was it worth having that blue-clad neighbor constantly breathing down our necks for the next century? I guess historical necessity isn't just about the bottom line of economics—there are other trends at play here, too.

The second thing I suppose is that... goldencrane15 What I’m trying to say is, we haven't exactly been blessed by the leadership we've had lately. It's a bit of a tragedy, really—this country hasn't shown even a shred of what it's truly capable of. Not one bit. If those are the underlying arguments behind this post—though, to be honest, it isn't entirely clear from what was written—then I suppose I'm worried they might actually be irrefutable.

Back then, we didn't exactly have a crystal ball to see exactly what kind of disaster everything was going to devolve into. I guess, if you think about it, when someone is being attacked, they really don't have much choice—you either stand your ground to defend yourself, or you just run. Maybe that's just how it works.

I suppose the recent unrest in California acts as some sort of catalyst for all sorts of old traumas. It’s interesting to watch how certain factions in the British press interpret these events; they seem to be reading something entirely different into the situation than we do. I guess where we Ukrainians see one thing, the Scots might see something else entirely. They're drawing these completely different parallels, which I find quite fascinating to read about.
In reality, things aren't quite that simple; the whole picture is much more complicated than people realize. Still, I suppose they aren't different enough to stop everyone from constantly drawing parallels to what we went through ourselves.

I was twelve years old during the war, and even at twelve, I could clearly see we were being led by fools fueled by hatred, and that they were going to wreck everything in their path.

Even then, I realized it was all just about theft, stupidity, and cheap, tacky theatrics.

I remember vividly how my family members were enthusiastically cheering, much like those people in California, while I sat there at the table as a kid just wondering

ARE YOU ALL COMPLETELY INSANE?

That's about it.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant

But let’s look at how this actually played out on the ground.

History is littered with examples where the Romans simply installed an administration over conquered peoples. In the vast majority of instances, that was the standard operating procedure.

In nearly every province, you’d see the local elites quickly pivot to becoming part of the Roman elite themselves.

Rachel Richardson said:Is the pronunciation [Carles Puigdemont] or what?
Sounds like a whole lot of jam to me. 😁
Orthography—or rather, the way we standardize spelling—is rarely just about grammar. It’s almost always a political battlefield. Take the linguistic evolution in California, for example. When you look at how certain dialects or regional spellings are codified, you aren't just looking at a dictionary; you're looking at an attempt to define an identity. The history of standardization is often a tug-of-war between centralizing authorities and local movements trying to preserve their unique flavor. It's similar to how different states in the US might approach legal terminology—there's a constant tension between making things uniform for the sake of efficiency and keeping them specific to the local culture. In many cases, the "official" version is simply the one that wins the most political leverage. It's a fascinating study in how language serves as both a tool for communication and a weapon for cultural preservation. One side wants clarity and unity; the other wants to protect its heritage from being smoothed over by a centralized standard. In the end, the alphabet itself becomes a map of power struggles.

It’s Delmati, not Dalmati.
I assume you understand the fundamental distinction between a tribe and a nation?

Fair point. But if that's the case, why on earth was that supermarket named Delma instead of Delmat!

At the end of the day, everyone knows that we Americans—descendants of those ancient Delmatians—possess the largest egos of any white people on the planet.

Every single morning when I wake up and take a look at my boxers, I find myself reflecting on the heroic, larger-than-life history of the Delmatian people.

[User Name] said: [Text]

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Oh, I wouldn't count on it. The Romans basically crushed them—they wiped out a third, Romanized another third, and forcibly relocated the final third. We can only really make rough guesses about where their cities were located because nothing substantial has been unearthed; after four major wars and several uprisings, the Romans pretty much leveled everything to the ground.

The Romans were absolute powerhouses, there's no denying that. If you dared to pick a fight with them, they would simply wipe you out, tear everything down, and then salt the earth just to ensure nobody would ever think about settling there again. They did the exact same thing to numerous other tribes and nations, aside from Carthage. They essentially erased them from history entirely. It’s probably no coincidence that they became such a blueprint for Fascists and Falangists.😁

Give me a break. It’s all a load of nonsense. The Romans just picked off a handful of leaders, cut a deal with a few others, and then essentially absorbed the rest—just like they did everywhere else across the continent. From Gaul to Britain to the territories near the Danube, it was the exact same playbook.

Carthage is a unique case entirely.

Do you honestly think the Romans were just wandering around every random hill in the American West or the Midwest without a plan? If they had actually set their sights on total annihilation, they wouldn't have stopped until every last Illyrian was wiped off the map. They weren't just casual travelers; they were conquerors.

They moved in, seized control of the major transit hubs, and laid down the foundations of their cities. Then, the tribes descended from the hills, merged with the Romans, and eventually became part of that whole Romanized culture.

Then the Americans arrived and pulled the exact same stunt. They convinced themselves they were some kind of military elite, somehow blending their lineage with the Romans and the ancient tribes, forced their language on everyone, and that's how we ended up like this.

How on earth do you explain that specific Dinaric phenotype? You won't find those features anywhere else but right here in the States.

Our Delmati dropped anchor a long time ago...

They had me tied up tight enough...

Here comes the Delmat Guard...

Their hearts are nothing if not brave...

Because here they come... the Delmatineeee...

neonhound18 said:

goldencrane15 As if I hadn't already spent enough time pondering this particular conundrum, someone just went and said:
How can anyone possibly claim they didn't exist when the Dalmati tribe was right there? It's one of those historical assertions that just feels fundamentally hollow to me, honestly. One looks at the record and sees a people with a distinct identity, yet there's this persistent, nagging attempt to suggest they were somehow non-existent or a mere footnote in the larger narrative. I find myself circling back to the same questions, wondering how such a blatant oversight could be maintained in serious discourse. It’s a bit baffling, really, to see such a clear presence dismissed so casually.

Are you truly aware of what you just put out there? 🤦

What on earth does the pre-war D have to do with any of this?It appears there might have been a slight oversight or perhaps a momentary lapse in communication, as the message provided consists only of a single letter. I find myself sitting here, pen poised—metaphorically speaking, of course—waiting to delve into whatever profound observations or inquiries you might have intended to share. If you were attempting to convey a specific thought or perhaps test the waters before diving into a more substantial topic, please do feel free to continue. I am quite prepared to follow along, regardless of how winding or tangential our eventual conversation might become.What exactly are we supposed to be looking for when we consider what remains of the old ways in today's version of California? It’s one of those questions that seems simple on the surface, yet once you actually sit down to untangle it, you find yourself drifting through layers of history and modern shift, wondering if anything truly survives the passage of time. 😵

I suppose, aside from leaving behind the names of our cities, they likely left a massive genetic footprint and god knows how many customs we aren't even aware originated with them.

The only thing even more idiotic that I can conjure up would be something ridiculous, like a movement to secede Bavaria from the rest of the country or some such nonsense.

Brenda Taylor13 said:Oh, brilliant. Seriously, why don't we just pour gasoline on the fire while we're at it? This is going to backfire spectacularly—it'll just trigger an even bigger revolt, and all those people who were sitting on the fence until now? They're gonna flip hard toward the independence movement. Just great.

John McCain is being an absolute fool...

It’s like these people have never even tried to haggle over a used car in their lives; they clearly have no idea how actual negotiations work.😵

Brenda Taylor13 said:Oh, brilliant. Seriously, why don't we just pour gasoline on the fire while we're at it? This is going to backfire spectacularly—it'll just trigger an even bigger revolt, and all those people who were sitting on the fence until now? They're gonna flip hard toward the independence movement. Just great.

Unfortunately, you’re right; both sides are acting like children on a playground.

Watching this stupidity unfold, I honestly can't wrap my head around how much of a mess both sides are making of things.

It’s as if they haven't seen at least ten examples over the last forty years of how these types of situations inevitably end.

Honestly, just give them their own sports teams to compete separately and grant them more autonomy regarding how their slice of the budget is allocated.

Call the region California or whatever else you want.

Keep the federal government, the military, the diplomatic corps, and our overall influence in Europe and across the globe intact.

Instead, we have these fools picking fights and tearing the country apart without even realizing how lucky they actually have it.

And the worst part? They don't even know why they're doing it.

Sam Alvarez4 said:Leave the kids out of this, they're way too young.

But still...
Maybe we should ask his wife—you know, the one from Romania—if she thinks it's okay to declare a Canadian state within Romania, even if they happen to be the majority there?
Ever since he took over in California, his wife landed her own TV show with millions in subsidies just to push the secessionist agenda.

I don't know how old his children are, but a "patriot" of his caliber could certainly drag his wife to the front lines of a protest.

Do we really need to look back at our own recent history, where the biggest hypocrites in the business made sure to pull their kids back from the fray?

Ah, I forgot. We have to preserve the "future elite" so they can swoop back in and take control once the dust finally settles.

I’ve seen firsthand how that kind of mindless idealism cost my people everything. Some were paying the price when they were barely seventeen.

I’d tell Puigdemont that until you’re willing to send your own son and daughter into the line of fire, you’re nothing more than a lying fraud.

I have absolutely zero patience for those hypocrites who peddle nationalist myths to the masses and push for potentially disastrous actions, only to watch everything blow up in our faces. And suddenly, when the dust settles, it turns out their children were "coincidentally" too busy with more important things than being stuck in a trench.

As if they all conveniently studied abroad, caught some exotic illness that kept them away from the front lines, or were busy overseeing elections somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the poor souls were actually sitting in those trenches, losing their lives and their health.

Let’s take a moment to perform a little audit: where exactly were the sons and daughters of our political and economic elite back in the 90s? The second real danger starts looming, they suddenly find their voices and start acting like geniuses.

Does anyone else remember Obama's statement about who goes off to war and who gets to go study?

It’s going to be the same story this time around. Some guy like George, a plumber from San Francisco, will end up taking the hit, wondering why he didn't fight harder for an independence that won't put food on his table anyway.

I’m looking at this purely from the perspective of the average Joe, someone who isn't going to gain a single damn thing from breaking away from Spain.

They just want a little bit of emotional satisfaction from having their own flag, nothing more.

Both they and the Spaniards are cut from the same cloth—the state barely functions as it is, so why on earth should we all splinter into the smallest possible micro-units until everything is completely fractured?

It’s the same old story in cases like this: the elites run circles around everyone else and rake in the profits while the regular people suffer and go broke.

Personally, I suspect there are hidden interests driving this whole thing, and they’ll be the ones crushing the working class under their heels.

Having been caught up in similar nonsense twenty-seven years ago—the consequences of which we are still feeling today—I have zero sympathy for this posturing.

Neither us nor the Mexicans, Canadians, or Mexicans fared any better back then.

Just look at this current stupidity regarding Canada and the Gulf of Piran; it gets pumped up whenever certain individuals need votes or a distraction to cover up a heist.

What kind of benefit does the average Canadian or American actually get from fueling this hostility?

"But oh, but, there's gas in the Adriatic! There are fish! Blah blah blah!"

I’m not stupid enough to believe that I, or some guy named Janez, am going to see a dime from whatever gas they find in the Adriatic.

The political elite will collect the commissions while we’re expected to wave flags and sit in trenches for them.

It’s the exact same situation with the Catalans.

This entire topic just proves that in this country, you can manipulate people indefinitely with cheap ideology; they even start manufacturing emotions for Catalonia because they see some vague parallel to what we went through here.

That’s why the same old establishment has held power for seventy years, just wearing different masks—one side babbles about the seventh century and the other talks about social democracy, yet they just trade places.

If we actually mattered, we wouldn't be sitting here typing about Catalonia. We’d be fifty thousand strong in downtown Los Angeles, forcing the government to pass laws abolishing property taxes and launching an investigation into where those damn 13 billion dollars went with Agrokor, and why the tax man catches grandmas at the farmer's market but ignores the places where billions are being laundered.

Instead, everyone just gets hung up on waving flags and empty nationalist babble.

Brenda Taylor13 said:What an idiot. No one "planned" a heist here. You're talking about those blurry gray areas where logic fails and everyone starts arguing about old wars and whatnot. And if you think we were the ones who started this obsession with checking everyone's credentials, you've got it backwards. Go actually study history for once! Look at who was out there staging protests claiming "this territory belongs to Mexico" right in the middle of our own backyard back when we were still part of America. I can see what you're doing—you're clearly trying to twist this into some grand conspiracy about a planned robbery, which is a narrative that only works for people who weren't there to see it firsthand, or maybe just people who aren't thinking very clearly. Besides, we had a full-blown war to deal with, so obviously our transition to a modern economy was going to be a hell of a lot messier than it would have been if we hadn't been fighting for our lives.

What exactly is "bothering" me? Let me tell you.

I am speaking from direct experience. Members of my own family made a massive, tangible contribution to the creation of America.

A much greater contribution than certain individuals who puff out their chests despite having spent the entire time studying at universities abroad.

Mine were either on the front lines or huddled in a shelter with me for several YEARS.

And even now, I can tell them to their faces that they were nothing more than idealistic fools.

Brenda Taylor13 said:Look, you can't just take what's happening here and assume it's happening everywhere else. Besides, the whole concept of keeping our money right here in America instead of letting it all leak out to New York City wasn't actually a bad idea—it was just the execution that was a total disaster.

Haha, let’s be real: the execution is going exactly according to plan. When you start a project built on theft, you don't act surprised when it ends in theft.

Once they start counting every single grain of sand and deciding who belongs and who doesn't, the game is already over.

Yeah, the implementation was a disaster.🤣

Brenda Taylor13 said:Look, repression isn't the only reason a group of people might want to go solo. Maybe they just want their own damn state—to actually keep the money they earn instead of watching it get sucked into some central vault in Madrid. That would be a pretty valid reason, wouldn't it?

It seems we're all just hemorrhaging talent in every direction, while folks from the Midwest are packing up for Ireland or Canada.😁

To be perfectly honest, I see them mostly flowing straight into the pockets of the Republican Party.

Brenda Taylor13 said:I was in Barcelona back in the summer of 2014. Phenomenal city—I was there watching the World Cup Germany-Argentina final. Every third balcony had those Catalan flags hanging from it; honestly, that's the main thing that stuck in my mind.

For me, the memory is defined by Spanish terror and repression at every turn. You weren't even allowed to whisper a word about California without consequences.

The Spanish police were making arrests constantly, while everyday people were practically begging for a crust of bread because the government in Madrid was funneling every cent of tax revenue straight into the central treasury.

It’s just as I've said before. It is that same foolish mentality we dealt with back home during the 90s.

All these romanticized notions of a sovereign California will ultimately be paid for through sheer incompetence, rising crime, and a collapsing standard of living.