I don't know if you know about the residential infill project, but a vast amount of zoning in Portland has now been opened up for multi-unit development (including my block). The bubble grew in large part because a lot of people moved to Portland in the last 15 years. As far as me "taking advantage" of a system, I'm not a house-flipper or a real estate speculator. I think it's fair to work and save for 25 years and buy a house without being accused of being a greedy exploitative capitalist. It's also fair to want to live in peace without constant screaming outside your window.
>> you don’t have to invade country to instigate a war.
This is like saying Chris Rock instigated getting hit. To say that the US instigated it is ludicrous. By that logic, Saddam Hussein instigated the Iraq war, didn't he? Did America also instigate Russia's invasion of Georgia, or the flattening of Grozny? Did we make Putin drop chemical weapons in Syria? I get irritated when people somehow find a way to blame America for everything as if we're the only country capable of doing something egregious, and nothing bad would ever happen in the world if America didn't exist. Speaking of small-a anarchy, that is the natural state of affairs - and there are always people who want to terrorize or enslave others. If it wasn't America starting wars, it would be someone else; and in this case, it was someone else, so not recognizing that casts doubt on the seriousness of any more nuanced argument you might make about what Putin feels drove him to attack and bomb civilians in Ukraine. In this case I think it's pure victim-blaming to say Ukraine deserved it, or America instigated it. It's tantamount to saying that Russia is fighting a just war, which is insane considering you think war is unjust.
I don't know if you know about the residential infill project, but a vast amount of zoning in Portland has now been opened up for multi-unit development (including my block). The bubble grew in large part because a lot of people moved to Portland in the last 15 years. As far as me "taking advantage" of a system, I'm not a house-flipper or a real estate speculator. I think it's fair to work and save for 25 years and buy a house without being accused of being a greedy exploitative capitalist. It's also fair to want to live in peace without constant screaming outside your window.
>> you don’t have to invade country to instigate a war.
This is like saying Chris Rock instigated getting hit. To say that the US instigated it is ludicrous. By that logic, Saddam Hussein instigated the Iraq war, didn't he? Did America also instigate Russia's invasion of Georgia, or the flattening of Grozny? Did we make Putin drop chemical weapons in Syria? I get irritated when people somehow find a way to blame America for everything as if we're the only country capable of doing something egregious, and nothing bad would ever happen in the world if America didn't exist. Speaking of small-a anarchy, that is the natural state of affairs - and there are always people who want to terrorize or enslave others. If it wasn't America starting wars, it would be someone else; and in this case, it was someone else, so not recognizing that casts doubt on the seriousness of any more nuanced argument you might make about what Putin feels drove him to attack and bomb civilians in Ukraine. In this case I think it's pure victim-blaming to say Ukraine deserved it, or America instigated it. It's tantamount to saying that Russia is fighting a just war, which is insane considering you think war is unjust.