I live in Minnesota and these signs show up in the drive thru of our local BK every summer and disappear every winter. I don’t think it’s any kind of special promotion, probably just an additional revenue stream.

The fountain machines typically have a bunch of ice in the hopper already, I’m guessing any bagged ice they sell is probably pretty high margin and not frequent enough to interfere with the primary business.

That’s because the term “middle class” without context doesn’t mean much.

My wife and I life in the Twin Cities metro in Minnesota and we meet the definition of middle class for this part of the country which ranges for our state from ~$55k to ~$150k if going based on income.

We have almost no retirement savings but we have tens of thousands in the bank, we have a mortgaged home, two cars 6 years or newer with one completely paid off, in the last 3 years we’ve had to replace our AC, furnace, water heater, water softener, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher and garage door. We have also chosen to replace our kitchen counter, front door and front walk/patio as well as add a fence and dog door. All of this we paid for up front in cash.

We carry no debt outside of my student loans which I pay on every month as well as one car loan and our mortgage. We both go to the dentist and get all needed medical care.

Caveats to this are we don’t have kids and I can’t imagine how difficult it would be if we did. We also live pretty simple lives. We’ve always lived in a fashion so that we could afford our basic expenses on one income because my wife and I both lived very poor, check-to-check lives when we were younger.

I don’t think middle class truly exists anymore. You either can afford to live now or you can’t, it’s just by how much and where.

I truly hope you’re wrong and am optimistic about what I’m seeing but I think we’re still at a tipping point. The next few months will truly be critical for the country.

We’re in for a rough ride no matter what.

On this I think we agree 100%. I don’t expect this to ever be the America it was before ain’t my lifetime, maybe ever.

And oh yeah, I totally have so much power as an individual to drive the piss ass politics in a country of 330 million.

Maybe your knowledge of Nazi Germany is lacking, because not everyone was a fascist there either

Would you say you’re taking issue with someone making a broad, generalized statement about a group of people based on one commonality?

I haven’t defended them. I disagreed with OPs broad generalization and offered an explanation and an example as to why. You may not like or understand why, but there is a distinct difference between defending a person or people who knowingly and willfully violate someones rights under the US Constitution and the law and recognizing that a person is not inherently bad simply because they have a job at an organization.

Let me be absolutely clear: calling me a Nazi is not only wildly inaccurate, it is deeply offensive and unacceptable. That term carries the weight of real historical atrocities — genocide, totalitarianism, and hatred — and to throw it around so carelessly shows a staggering lack of respect for history and the people who suffered under that regime.

Disagreement or difference of opinion is not justification for slander. If you have a criticism, make it with integrity and truth — not with baseless, inflammatory accusations. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t win arguments; it poisons them. So unless you have something factual and meaningful to say, I suggest you stop cheapening serious words and start behaving like an adult.

Buddy, I don’t know how much clearer they need to be before you understand that they WILL start coming after American Citizens

this shit WILL get violent before we’re through

I’ve seen a lot of this type of rhetoric lately. It might be true but it seems a lot like wish fulfillment to me. I’m not convinced of the doomsday path that you seem to be and I truly hope it doesn’t;t devolve into violence because that will be a losing proposition for all. I’m optimistic that there’s a path forward without violence but I actually think the hardest part is yet to come. It’s going to be the long term reform once the immediate rot is removed.

A fascist is an advocate or follower of the political philosophy or system of fascism.

A janitor is a person whose job is to clean and maintain a building or property.

A janitor can be a fascist but they can also just be a janitor.

If you want to claim that any level of culpability makes a person a fascist then I’d say if you’re American and of voting age you’re a fascist because you have culpability in what’s happening right now. If you’re a user of any American corporate product where that corporation contributed to the current administration then you’re a fascist because you have culpability.

I’m aware I used the term. It was just an additional thought I had that kind evolved and dovetailed in throughout the number of responses I got that occurred while I was replying to you.

I do hear myself and I’m not engaging with them currently. I’m engaging with people on Lemmy at the moment.

The truth is you don’t know what would happen if they came after me, neither do I. I suspect I’m very unlikely to be a target but I think there’s a pretty good chance I’d maybe end up in a position where I’d have to decide whether to intervene on someone else’s behalf, if this continues long enough.

Don’t tell me to feel as sorry for Tesla owners

Who told you to feel sorry for them?

someone’s Tesla resale value or those who work for ICE in any capacity.

Who told you to worry about someone’s Tesla resale value or to worry about people who work for ICE?

My whole, and only, comment was that I disagree with the broad general statement that any person employed by ICE is a bad person. I don’t think it’s that simple and convenient.

I’m not a huge fan of how much use Nazi is getting lately either. I was implied as being a Nazi in another comment by a user and that is extremely offensive. Nazis called Jews vermin among other names, 47 uses terms like gang member, illegal, and rapist to talk about immigrants. These terms are just ways to buffer and dehumanize the subject you’re talking about.

It’s interesting you used this and everybody jumps to Nazis since The Office references the Bund.

I’d think comparing ICE to the Bund or the OD would be more apt since those were at least American arms of the Nazi organization. Plus there’s the roundabout connection between what’s happening now and McCarthyism through what happened with the Bund and the Special Committee on Un-American Activities.

I don’t disagree with anything you wrote until your edit.

I find your edit offensive and I am reporting your comment as I don’t really appreciate the implication that I am a Nazi or would give a zieg heil salute.

I won’t be dragged into a straw man argument by someone trying to get me to justify Nazis. I also won’t be baited with a false equivalence question like what is the difference between Nazis and ICE. That’s why I gave the definition answers.

I guess I don’t have the purity of all the other Lemmings here to be such an absolutist.

Nazi noun Na·​zi ˈnät-sē ˈnat- 1 : a member of a German fascist party controlling Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler

ICE abbreviation noun: ICE; singular proper noun: ICE 1. (in the US) Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

You’re making a lot of assumptions. I’ve thought about what I would do if I got a visit from ICE. I actually pulled my gun out of the safe and cleaned and oiled it just to make sure it was in good working order. I think if they came to my house I would refuse to let them in and if they tried to force entry I’d use any force necessary to defend myself. That said, if there was a list of citizens to be rounded up I suspect I’d be pretty far down on it.

I don’t think things are normal in the United States however I don’t believe logic, reason, and rule of law no longer apply. Courts are still in session where I live, cases are still being tried, police are still on the streets and enforcing the laws.

My example that you incorrectly called a “straw man” was to demonstrate that making such a broad statement catches people tangentially related who might be stuck by circumstance. I realize a fictitious example isn’t the best but hoped it might help illustrate the point. If it’s easier to consider what’s happening with Tesla and Tesla vehicle owners that’s kind of a parallel. There are people who have had a Tesla vehicle long before the current craziness with Musk that may now find themselves caught in the middle simply because some years ago they bought a car that is now being associated with Nazis.

I never said it did. Lemmy is (or was) supposed to be a place for civil discussion. It’s not really about right or wrong, especially on topics like this because so much of it is opinion based. That’s why I stated my disagreement with the broad statement that was made and elucidated about why.

I don’t know that there’s an argument to be made either way which one is “right”. I however reserve my anger for those that have earned it. As far as I can tell we are all largely on the same side of the core issue, I have no desire to lash out and target my anger at you or the OP. If I could have some time with members of this administration it would be a different situation.

Apply the So What principle: So what if I, as a private citizen, make a judgement about people who work for a government office? What’s the practical impact for this oh-so-unfairly-maligned hypothetical person you constructed? Nothing.

It’s a hypothetical so I’m not sure how you’d measure it but you’re certainly creating a division and fostering an us/them mentality. What purpose does it serve to make a broad statement that’s backed only by emotion and supposition that anybody associated with ICE is a bad person? Other than to make you feel better and more righteous?

Now, what’s the practical impact when a government agency denies due process to people when it unlawfully detains them? Oh, yeah, that does seem like a real and substantive impact, doesn’t it?

It sure does! And we should all of us be against a government that does that. I think I could get on board with a statement like “Any person that knowingly and willingly helps the US government deprive any person of their rights in violation the US Constitution or the law is a bad person”.

No, I didn’t call them ignorant, I said they’re responding to anger and ignorance with anger and ignorance. So are you.

Look at your replies. They’re combative and angry. I disagreed with OPs sweeping generalization and offered a different perspective. I offered examples to explain that perspective. You might not like how I view things but rather than reply with civility you lash out with anger.

I’m angry too but I learned a long time ago that acting in anger is rarely a good idea. Now I take a more even and measured approach and I prefer to view things from a more individualistic level.

Ok. I prefer to approach a situation with reason and logic. It seems like you’d rather respond to anger and ignorance with anger and ignorance of your own. I hope that works out the way you expect.

If you currently work for ICE and you haven’t quit, you’ve demonstrated you’re okay with going along with illegal and immoral actions. That makes you a bad person.

Single mother, works in a minor administrative clerical capacity for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, has two school age children and without this job she’s on the street and can’t take care of these kids. She desperately needs this job but is really upset about the news lately, contacting her representatives, protesting when she can and stands ready to offer shelter in her home to anyone in need of a safe space. Yet in this hypothetical, under your rules, not only do you claim that this person has demonstrated they’re okay with going along with illegal and immoral actions but that they’re also a bad person. No allowance for circumstance or the fact that this is an unprecedented situation.

Due process is required for legal judgements, not moral ones, FYI.

I am aware. I used the example to draw a parallel. I would have thought engaging in the same behavior that your upset about might make you stop and think; guess not.

Hi there Mr. Straw Man! 👋