You can probably consider me self educated, especially when it comes to history and culture. My public education occured in a state that is consistently ranked 49 or 50 and is far right. We were not even taught about evolution but given a statement that there is controversy between Evolution and Creationism, this was state policy in a publicly funded school. Prayers were common and led by authority. I was raised by Christian Fundamentalists and didn’t logic my way out of it until my 30s.

Anyhow, to make my way out of it I cultivated a finely honed bullshit detector. I think I’m lucky enough to be naturally skeptical and self trained in critical thinking. I learned to trust the scientific process.

I can sniff out far right bullshit from a mile away. I’m seeing a fair amount of far left bullshit on Lemmy that I don’t have a lot of experience with. The far Right doesn’t have monopoly on fanaticism. That’s why I’m asking about this. The whole Zion thing sets off my radar and I’m not all convinced it’s a false positive given the response in this thread.

I tend to trust my gut on this sort of thing. However, I am actually able to change my mind given clear information that doesn’t trip my detector.

I’m leaning towards the Zion thing being an indicator of tankie thought/Left fanaticism or a phrase that is common outside the states. The fact that it was used historically heavily by the Nazis and, I think, by the Stalinist communists is a large negative factor for me. I also think it may have been picked up by non-fanatics and not necessarily be a firm indicator.

I don’t really have a problem with the term. Its frequent usage here is unusual to me. It feels like it’s some sort of ‘tell.’ You hear someone talking about illegal aliens in the US and you know you’re probably dealing with a magat. If they call them undocumented workers, you’re most likely dealing with a leftist of some stripe.

I very well could have a propagandized view of the Zion terms. However, it’s also not something I ever run into in real life.

What country are you from and how would you describe yourself politically?

I’m somewhat familiar with the ADL and their bullshit. Not so much with AIPAC.

Okay, weird. As I said in another comment, I’m middle aged and from the deep South. I have never heard the term used conversationally. I’m not highly formally educated, high school with some college.

This is a great example of what I’m talking about.

What age range are you? What would describe your political alignment as? (For myself, I’m Left, other countries would probably call me a centrist, and the Republicans would call me a radical leftist.) What region are you from?

Are you from the US?

Glad I’m not the only one. I’m getting down voted to hell here, not that it matters, but I don’t think I’m getting good answers.

The Lemmy hive mind is strong.

I guess it’s either tankie or non-US. I’m leaning towards tankie due to the down votes.

And Zionism frequently appears in your news sources?

I’m middle aged, only recently left the deep south, and have never heard it used in conversation. Only occasionally saw it used on Reddit and before that, Slashdot. Seeing it a lot more on Lemmy.

My prior experience with the term was religious or white supremacist. I can probably count on one hand the Jews I have met and known they were Jewish. Tiny minority where I’m from. Antisemitism did become quite common as Qanon accelerated in 2020 and people that had no experience with Jewish people were suddenly spouting blood libel and such.

Is it more common outside the US, do you think?

I know what it means, but thanks for googling that for me… I guess. It’s the usage I find odd.

You can make a forge shell from the bottom third of a steel bucket or a galvanized feed trough. (Zinc vapor can kill so stay upwind on the first firing.) Line the forge with a mixture of fire clay and vermiculate. There are lots of recipes for forge and foundry lining. Don’t use a brake drum, too much thermal mass in the cast iron.

Actual coal is nice but I’ve used the hardwood lump charcoal a lot because it’s easy to get, it’s what was used before coal was common.

My bellows is a squirrel cage blower from a microwave. Light switch and plug wired in. PVC elbow and pipe to a piece of exhaust pipe that slides into the forge. Piece of bean can and close hanger wire to control airflow like the flap in a carburator inside the PVC.

Basically made it out of junk 20 years ago, works fine for my needs. Lot of fun and comes in handy.

Make some knives. I forget the codes, but some spikes are made of a medium carbon steel and will harden a little on a quench. I quenched in salted ice water with no temper to get them as hard as the medium steel was capable.

Hit me up if you want pics or advice.

You can do it! We saved for years and spent as little as we could. It’s hard, but not impossible.

Excellent post.

I would add:

Make a plan to run if you have to. Cash reserve, good backpack, identification and other paperwork, a couple of changes of clothes.

Make a plan to move. Save as much money as you can and set a date. We began planning our move in 2020 and our deadline was last summer.

We successfully completed our move to a better state and are much happier. Like a weight has been lifted off us. It was difficult but very much wotth it.