I love strangers, and I love the Strangers podcast that used to exist. I love, love, love talking with strangers. I think they've always got the juiciest stuff to say. They can add perspectives to your life that you would never have on your own. Only catch is casual conversation has really declined as a whole. I personally think that most people are burnt out. We're moving much faster than we ever would organically. We're worrying about too much bullshit. We interact with such a high rate of individuals just going about our day, even if we never leave the house. It's actually really hard to get others to talk with you, regardless of how friendly and open you are nowadays. I also think that regardless of intention, most people suspect you're "up to something" when you attempt to be social with them because you're being abnormal by being friendly in this day and age. I think it shifts depending on location though, culture, and to be absolutely honest ethnicity. People respond to me differently when I am with my partner (who is as white as a sheet), as compared to when I am alone. That's on both sides of the line, as white people will treat me better and black and brown folks will be more reserved around me. Yet when I am without her, white people think I am stealing and black and brown folks will chat and joke with me more. No lie!
poppichew
To be honest, with the way things are, I am not sure if I will celebrate pride in a public setting ever again. I wish I was joking. When I was younger, it was my favorite thing ever. I mean it was like a big gay paradise, and anything could happen. One of the last ones I went to just had cops shouting in the faces of everyone the entire time the parade passed through. I lived for a while in a place without any sort of pride. I think though, due to Trump being re-elected bigots have been emboldened. They see their prejudices as just and righteous and extremist are pretty unhinged nowadays. I'd absolutely hate if I lost someone I loved, or myself just because I wanted to go celebrate a protes-ival. I suppose that's the whole point of their terrorism, but really I will let others go out and scream from the walls. I think my day in that scene has come and went, and I don't mind because of the current state of things.
Also true story, there's like 10 gay bars (well 10 lesbian bars, idk about gay bars) and two of them are for bipoc, so idk why people have to double down on their hatred. Lastly DC has long since been scrubbed of anyone but the wealthy so I bet you these are some Tate heads or some shit, because idk who else would be in the area and decide to smash up a gay bar.
I saw one other Polygon writer who found interesting indies trying to rally support to stay independent and financially well and I don't think they reached what they wanted. It actually seems really hard to stay financially flushed without selling your soul or having a service that a lot of people truly want to use. It stinks. Of course, this is just my observations, I don't actually know and you can always give your grant-writing skills some practice to get financial support.
I tried to give Until Dawn a go. I love horror movies, but I just don't know. It didn't speak to me. I don't know if there's one video game movie I have ever liked outside of Resident Evil...actually that's a lie. I loved that OG Mario Bros movie that everyone seems to hate. That movie was the shit! Same thing for live action flicks from anime/manga too. Cause I am a crack head for Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish) and no matter how solid they made that movie I just couldn't get behind it.
I have a goofy secret, that I was never girly, girl about a lot of things. But the library I went to always had copies of Betty and Veronica laying around and I sure as hell read them all. I think it's kind of funny you guys keep pulling all this bathing suit stuff up. Cause I think Veronica later wears a string bikini exclusively. But I can't exactly remember, because that was years and years ago. I have always found the evolution of this property (which has lasted so long) has been interesting as societal views have changed. I don't read it anymore, but I do know they added a gay character at one point and I saw some other stuff they changed too.
I am not sure why this exists, or how it's going to be but I am fine with it existing cause...even if I wasn't I can't stop it so...eh! All things aside, I was talking with my gal recently about how I think Mike Judge is really good at making humanistic characters. Even if they're absolutely whacko jacko, I think this might be the most humanistic adult cartoon I can think of to be honest. I was watching Common Side Effect, and his character on there was a guy you loved to hate. Which I didn't really think would come of a corporate schlub. There's also a lot of the heart of Americana in this show. For good or for bad. I don't agree with all the politics, but it does make me laugh. I know a lot of queers who'd never watch this show, because it's very traditionalist and white-centric. I actually really like it though. I'll give this a go when it comes out, but I will say I still don't get WHY it exists.
Can't remember what this is but I do remember that's one of those bug tents that the guy who put it up was the guy who talks condescendingly and does maintenance for them. Not the old guy who offered the free washer to fix their leaning house, but the other guy who I think might have a pencil thin mustache but I might be mixing him up with his minister counterpart.
The catch is that we're all sort of socialized to believe that mockery/bullying is a great way to show you're better than someone else. I don't remember who said it, but a hundred years back I was listening to NPR and a humble academic was trying to express that even when he tried not to he found himself comparing himself to others. Sort of stroking his own ego and realizing that he was proud that he was better than others at a certain thing. He said that he thinks it might be something built into us, and that regardless of whether we want it or not it's something we do. It's actually why I hate stuff like this. People always say it's karma, and it teaches lessons. Most times hate breeds hate. People who get attacked as a response don't tend to learn the right lessons. I am not saying they will have a "come to Jesus" moment where they realize that promoting hate as a whole is pretty rotten. I am saying that I think sitting around and mocking people for their shitty actions is pretty shit in itself. I think it reinforces two things the spin-machine's pull and this ugly part of ourselves that likes to put "people in their place" and bully them in order to get what we want. Which tends to be sitting on top of others. Eh. Idk. Idk if any of this makes sense, I guess I am just saying that in general this stuff sucks. I take a Simpsons approach to it if I can, and "just don't look" but I understand why a lot of people believe it is their civic duty to stop the mouthpieces of oppression. I just don't know if mockery works in this case.
This is a goofabout but I swear a couple things here:
a) When presenting things, you have to be captivating by nature otherwise you will get this response in general.
b) I think we might have too much social stimulation as a whole, even extroverts, and it's made everyone mad.
c) Hugs.
d) *SAD gets easier with more socializing (me thinks).
You freakin' genius! I have been thinking of how to get a door in, cause the place we're at right now is an odd spot and there were about fifty doors in this place at one point and they decided to remove all but the bedroom (which isn't even sized right). Since it's not our place, I told my gal I'm not interested in tossing a sea of cash at it seeing as we'll probably be out the door right after we get everything set-up. I have a couple large boxes and I was thinking of how to integrate them to make a door without making it look like a shanty house or something. I think with those plastic screws I saw on here we could create a faux-door and get it installed in the one area I really would prefer to have one, just for a smidgen of privacy. Thank you!
I like games, and I like playing turn-based games. I have been playing JRPGS for most of my (gaming) life, and I just recently got back into them. I have been playing fan-translations and look up the folks who translate the stories to thank them. I was playing Bahamut Lagoon and looked up the translator and went down this giant rabbit hole seeing as they were both a) trans and b) dead. I found out this whole thing about Kiwi Farms and kill counts and the poor trans creators that all were pushed to the brink by harassment. I went on this huge mental journey trying to understand how broken an individual has to be to see a vulnerable person and think "if we only push them x-amount they'll fall over the edge!" I am not guy, and I have never had testosterone. From gals I have talked to about this they've commented about how it can make you rage, or how it feels like driving the worlds fastest race car but you have no real control of it. I can't understand male rage, but I can understand ostracization. Equally, I can look at a human and know they're dead ass wrong, but also understand that they're more than likely a broken human using whatever tools they've got to navigate their world. (I also know it's not just guys, and that there are gals with hate in their hear too. It's just I really think the gameosphere is predominantly male) I have never once won a damn thing personally by telling someone off. I have won things by being a personable human and finding a middle ground. Putting in the time and creating relations with folks. Shit has changed a lot over the years, and I am not sure if things can really be fixed anymore. But I will say that I think in general we have poor coping skills on the liberal side. I mean conservatives will burn everything to the ground, but that doesn't mean we have to stoop to their level. It's just a stereotype, and general reason why people seem to dislike liberals so much is because I think they think they're "snooty." I am a brown gal as far as folks can see, so I have had my own fair share of eating shit because of people's racists assumptions. Even the most "educated" individuals can be absolutely trash when it comes to being respectful to others if they let their biases take the leads. You kind of have to learn to be tolerant of people's bullshit in general, or it'll eat you whole.
I have seen (and at one point read) about this paradox of tolerance. I understand the issue. I personally think the reason why we have fascists in the Whitehouse for a reason. It's because it's really hard to survive in a healthy way for most Americans. Equally, because Trump is a corporate candidate. So basically on both sides he is appealing because he says "I will bring labor back to America" while actually being a easy palm to grease for whatever wealthy individuals need. Likewise, a lot of people in middle America and below believe a) nothing good will ever happen for/to them and that the government doesn't really do anything for them so why should they care? b) that they can't afford groceries, so why should they care if some "faggots" get their feelings hurt and c) that you can work yourself to death, put in overtime hours, and all that happens is your taxes go up and you see only a sliver of the work you put in. I have lived in several depressed economies, I have also lived by this point in several wealthy ones. It seems to the wealthy, the wealth never ends regardless of spending or habits. To the poor, the wealth never comes and it breeds a lot of emptiness and anger. They don't really think about one another, because the poor don't really know how well off a lot of the wealthy have it and the wealthy keep themselves healthy by not thinking about erroneous shit.
I am liberal, and I wanted more than life for Kamala to win. I can understand though, how she did not. It's because I think many people live within the sphere of their hopes, instead of the ugly truths. My biggest complaint about liberal governments as a whole are that they are a) too permissive of bad actors and b) they don't ever seem to make moves and when they do it's always too much money on stupid shit. I don't think my complaints are that far off of conservative views of the party, and I am in the party. Biggest difference here is I am not making the laws. Yes, in theory I influence the laws through voting. But I am not making them. So many people hate Americans right now. They don't understand how they voted for Trump. I did not. I didn't vote for him, but people cannot stop generalizing as if all Americans went to bat and did so. To be perfectly honest, old boy more than likely cheated to get himself in the seat he's in. But I still do think he got a lot of votes regardless. And to be honest, I in a way was terrified (as I was living in a red area at the time) as to what thing would look like otherwise.
I am one person though. I am not going to list all my intersectionalities, but I will say I have gotten sick off of all this chatter that comes out of both sides. I think there was intent there obviously, but even if we scaled back all the bots and agents of terror you'd still see people smacking one another with sticks. That's not civilized, and I don't think it's a healthy way to solve problems. I come from a people who have been pretty much eradicated from this planet. I have faced a lot of anger in my life, as it's my first reaction. To say "fuck that shit" and get pissy and want to stand up for everything that's wrong in this world. But as I age, I find that it's not really helping me as a whole and that I'd much rather just be as healthy as I plausibly can be. Likewise, I hate bullying, I always have. I don't think it's healthy and I think it's trashy as a whole. It's like picking a scab or something, it's just a bad habit to form. So I have decided, as I come from a people of love - and that the people I have always admired have been those that have found the strength in kindness that I will follow suit. I don't need to push my ideas on others, although I am free to express them (especially on the internet). I just think in general that we can support the bettering of this planet/community/people/party/etc - by being optimistic realists. Not in a toxic way, just understanding that life itself is rough. Humans are messy. That even your worst enemy generally isn't a puppy kicker but just a person who is probably broken in their own way and will more than likely not get healthy support they need to overcome their pain. Equally that there's a ton of people who are being fought for but still don't get the support they need to overcome their pain. That we're in this huge terrifying space of uncertainty even without assholes tearing apart protective legislation. I just think we need to cultivate more kindness in these times because just about the only thing that ever makes me feel better is such and I have seen it build bridges all through out my life.
It's really to each their own, and everyone gets a seat at the table as long as they're not touching kids, killing folks or animals as far as I am concerned. The world needs fighters like you. The world needs lovers like me. The world needs a little bit of everything (I mean, I personally could do without the above crap), I just wish that most people got that. I will say even in tolerance, I saw someone who got thumbed for being a pedophile leave one environment and surround themselves with the elderly. So like, even in that case I think there's a place for everyone. I just think you know, people have to want to do maybe not so much the "right" thing but just want to grow as a person. Cause from that space you can uplift yourself, as well as others.
Idk this was a huge rant, I hope you get me. I get you. I too don't know what the solution is. I just wish mockery wasn't such a huge part of how people "flip the script."
p.s. - Idk about other governments, but the American government as far as I am concerned is almost exclusively a government for the corporations, by the upper class. So I think there's a large disconnect between the rhetoric and the actuality.