Air show

For anybody looking for attribution, this comic no longer exists. It was called Pictures for Sad Children, and it’s essentially lost media now after the creator had some issues and took everything (including IA backups) offline.

https://imgur.com/gallery/ihNnt
Ahhh thanks for this!! For years I've specifically tried to find a comic about a cloud... Very simple but really affected me emotionally. Just a drawing of a cloud over and over with captions like "this is a cloud I drew" "I hope you like it" "I hope it makes your day better" or something.
99% sure this is the author. I thought I was going crazy since nothing ever gets deleted from the Internet, so I also appreciate the explanation.
About to dive into the archive someone else posted now to find i that cloud.
What? That was one of my favourites :(

Always a struggle for me. I saw Canada's demo CF-18 at an airshow a few years back and was having simultaneous thoughts of "so this is why we can't afford clean water for our indigenous communities" and "HOLY SHIT IT SOUNDS SO COOL".

Frequently those problems could be solved for the cost of a single aircraft.
You can't afford clean water for indigenous people because they couldn't buy one fewer aircraft.
You needed all 138.
- Can't afford clean water for indigenous people when you want to exterminate indigenous people.
- Frequently those problems could be solved for the cost of a single aircraft.
  idk about this one, idk much about canada, but water infrastructure is more complicated than just "here's some money" and there's also the inevitable governmental over spending problem that seems to encroach everything.
  it's also worth noting that we're comparing two irrelevant things here, it's like me comparing the worlds loudest yell to the sound of an f35 flying at altitude. Yeah they're comparable to each other. In the sense that they both make noise.
I see military spending as a necessary evil, it's like paying your insurance policy against the evils in the world. There will always be someone with a stick willing to beat someone weaker than them. So you could theoretically spend that military money on something "more useful", but if all your friends do that as well, you won't be able to enjoy that nice world for very long.
Also, people usually highly overrate how much a country spends on defense and underrate how much is spent on social security. Where I live, in Belgium, with a similar military budget as Canada (in terms of % of GDP) they did a survey once and asked people to estimate how many euros out of €100 of tax money went to the military and other things. People on average thought it was €6.1 to the military and €17.4 to social security. In reality the proportions are just €1.3 to the military and €37.5 to social security.
So I guess what I'm saying is: it's okay to enjoy the cool noises without guilt. You paid for it, it's necessary, and at least they're providing people with some entertainment now.
- Canadians and Belgians can probably feel okay. As an American I'm disgusted by the waste. But that's kind of our bag and there's a long list of things that we waste money on.
Huh. What a weird coincidence. Out of all the many communities in Canada, it just happens to be the indigenous ones that have to make do without clean water because of military spending. What are the odds?

I live sandwiched between military bases of all branches. I've lived with the sounds of warplanes and target practice most of my entire life.

These bases cut swathes through tribal lands, leaving whole areas uninhabitable due to live ordnance.

I knew some kids from the reservations and I'll never forget how casually they'd say with every blast they're reminded that they're occupied.

I knew some kids from the reservations and I’ll never forget how casually they’d say with every blast they’re reminded that they’re occupied.
wouldnt this technically be more of a form of pseudo occupation, since they also get benefits from being a US citizen, and also protection, from these same planes as well.
- When we do it, it's only a "pseudo-occupation"
  When Nazi Germany occupied France, was it only a "pseudo-occupation" because the Panzers then "protected" the occupied territory from the British? What a ridiculous line of logic.
- It is a negotiated treaty from the 1800s, though it took until the 1970s to get clarity on a big part of their rights. But they're still on reservations and their ancestral lands are partitioned up. They've acquired some of those lands back through various ways: legal battles and just plain buying it back.
  Though mind you I'm relating something I remember as a teenager, from teenagers with politically active parents.
  But more importantly my point was to highlight a lens into a different perspective. They knew they would have been just like the Kurdish villager in the comic had those planes been invented back then. I had never considered that viewpoint at the time.

It's ironic, the pinnacle of human engineering in our war machines. But these technologies wouldn't exist if they weren't created for the war machines in the first place. Sad.

There's definitely an interdependancy there, but don't discount the incredible complexity of some cool civilan tech: James Webb Space Telescope, Mars rovers, ISS, the old Space Shuttle. Even mundane things like ocean-based oil rigs are chock full of amazing engineering.
- GPS is literally from the concept of nuking the USSR. Thank your ass the cold war happened the next time you get lost, it's the only reason you aren't lost now.

i always find these kind of statements and comics weird, because like.

If the plane is your own, this would also signal the sound of protection and defense, which is an objectively good thing, if we're classifying dying due to a plane as a bad thing.

There are two sides to the coin and i guess this is either shitposting memes, or people never think about the fact that like, you can also just have a military.

Most people don't like living near even civilian airports. Active duty flights would've usually happened nearer to the front, and modern flights often happen from aircraft carriers anyway.
Much more common for people to hear are shows of force, like the States do for holidays, airshows, and large sports games.
The comic is making fun of the fact that an airshow idolizes machines of war. Not all airshows focus on military craft, but most of them do, often being held at military airbases.
As cool as they are, it's good to remember that those machines are instruments of death, and often used against people of no immediate threat. Regardless of the necessity, I don't think that's something to cheer for.
- tbf that's mostly because they're really fucking loud, all of the time. Military air fields are probably quieter for longer periods of time lol. Although still rather loud im sure.
  Active duty flights would’ve usually happened nearer to the front, and modern flights often happen from aircraft carriers anyway.
  to be clear, this wouldn't matter, we're talking about airshows, most people living near the front lines are going to be gone anyway. And even if we were to grant this point, it still wouldn't diminish my statement. national pride is a weird thing.
  The comic is making fun of the fact that an airshow idolizes machines of war.
  i mean sure, but im pretty sure humanity has always idolized the military and it's armies, as well as it's ability to project force. It's the stable of basically every great empire. Humanity seems to have an inherent connection with the ability of projecting force. It would be evolutionary advantageous, so that's probably why.
  As cool as they are, it’s good to remember that those machines are instruments of death, and often used against people of no immediate threat. Regardless of the necessity, I don’t think that’s something to cheer for.
  i mean sure, but morbidity is the calling card for a lot of things, the dahmer netflix series for example. Should we be treating that the same? Like to be clear, i don't disagree, but every time you pick up an angle grinder do you really need to think about how many people have been horrifically inujred by it and pray to the grinder gods for you safety? Or should you just be conscious of how you use the tool, and be careful with it.
  and often used against people of no immediate threat.
  also idk about this statement, maybe for the case of like the russian artillery units for example. I doubt that f-16s have been primarily used on like, someones dog. More than people of actual consequence. It's also really vaguely defined, which doesn't help.
I can't remember the exact title, but I think it's by Robert Blake. But the line is something like "a terrorist to me is a freedom fighter to you".
Definitely two sides to most things.
- yeah that's pretty much the case. I guess my main point was that it will probably even out to some degree.

I really like airplanes, especially the historic ones. The speed and sound is amazing. The engineering and skill in building and operating those aircraft is top-tier.

However, the airshows often extoll the fear and damage the aircraft can do to their targets, especially the modern ones. Really not interested in the bodycount or terror these aircraft inspire, but plenty of people enjoy the flex.

I hate modern air shows. It testifies to such a lach of attention to what exists in the world.

They’re having military practice nearby me today and my partner and I were just talking about how we both flinch when we hear military planes (small and fast) fly overhead even though neither of us has lived in a war zone.