• m_fOPMA
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      17 hours ago

      Took me a while too

      Explanation for anyone wondering

      Eugene “broke the ice” by asking a question, which is wordplay on breaking the ice below them to let the orca through

      • otacon239@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Oh. I interpreted that it was the classic case of infighting delaying the actual solution enough that the issue finally came to meet them. If they hadn’t been pedantic towards the leader, he could have warned them of the threat and potentially avoided it.

        • cabbage@piefed.social
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          17 hours ago

          This is how I read it too. Like, thank you very much Eugene, but you’re wasting our time and not really being very helpful while we kinda have real problems to deal with here.

          Basically a harsh criticism of deliberative democracy.

          • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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            6 hours ago

            Or

            Nothing they did would matter because the orca could kill them on their turf anytime it wanted and they had nothing capable of hurting it, so ultimately you’re just telling people to shut up and do what they’re told without even getting anything out of it

        • m_fOPMA
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          17 hours ago

          Nice, that’s a good interpretation too 👍

      • burgersc12@mander.xyz
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        15 hours ago

        Breaking the ice is cutting through the awkwardness of getting to know a new person, but that doesn’t seem to be the situation here…

        • m_fOPMA
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          11 hours ago

          It definitely has that specific meaning, but can be more general (at least IMO, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if someone used this sense with me):

          To do something as a means of reducing or eliminating shyness, awkward tension, or unfamiliarity.

          Everyone was deathly silent after John went ballistic and left the meeting. I tried breaking the ice with a joke, but it didn’t help.