See, this is why I love being here — random, delightful stuff like this makes me feel more connected to strangers who I will never meet, which genuinely helps to fuel my overall sense of purpose in fighting for a better world (and in many cases, in just fighting to continue existing throughout grimness). Thanks for the recommendation

Another person who comes to mind in this vein is the wonderful person who posts lots of cool owl content on the superbowl community (their username starts with anon, I think. Someone who knows how to tag users on Lemmy, feel free to tag them if you know who I mean)

I think that your point has gotten a bit lost in the analogy for me. Like if we’re saying that the Democrats are like chemotherapy — unpleasant but necessary — in your view, what does this mean for the potential split caused by Mamdani winning the nomination and many establishment Dems seeming to have a problem with this? You seem frustrated at some of the comments in this thread, but it’s not clear to me what your issue is in particular, or what you think is the best course of action with respect to the upcoming mayoral election.

For what it’s worth, I like your analogy, and how you frame it; I think that with some refinement or clarification, it could be an effective way to deliver your point

Gay darkroom vibes

Edit: deleted because I replied to the wrong person

Whilst I understand the sentiment, I gotta respect someone who is unashamedly embracing their id and chasing that dopamine rush

A friend of mine had a similar problem when he, a Brit, was studying in the States. He was in the smoking area of a gay bar, when he asked a friend “shall I chuck this cigarette in the bin, or what?” (I.e. “are you going to come over here to take a drag of this cigarette before it’s over, or should I throw it away?”). Unfortunately, a common British slang word for cigarette is also a slur for gay people (it is a slur in the UK too, but the cigarette slang word is common enough that if someone hears the F word, they are far less likely to assume it’s in a slur context)

On the bright side, apparently my friend hooked up with the guy who punched him, after my friend admonished him for being so rude as to punch a person in a country without free healthcare. Apparently Southern English accent gets you far in the States

Mischief Night

Edit: it’s called that because it’s when the local ne’er-do-wells do mischief

2nd Edit: I should clarify that where I come from, Mischief Night also occurs on the 4th November, so we get to double dip, so to speak

Based take

I’ve heard some people describe pansexuality as being attraction without regard to gender. This makes intuitive sense to me, speaking as a bisexual whose attraction to different genders feels different qualitatively

True answer: It’s which flag you like better

My bi ass feels called out by this, so I’m going to say that makes you based

What if they do actually see you as a Nazi though? Because I would wager that whoever wrote that message was expecting that the message would be read by a Zionist.

Don’t get me wrong, I get what you’re saying about not taking a sentiment personally if you know that you’re not the intended audience. For example, I have many trans friends, who sometimes make jokes where cis people are part of the punchline. Although I’m cis, I don’t take it personally because I know that being witness to the joke at all means that I am not the kind of person who is being joked about — indeed, it makes me feel privileged to be trusted enough to be within the “safe” bubble for my trans friends.

However, in this case, if I think about how I would feel if I were an anti-zionist Jew who received this meal, I’d feel pretty shitty because it would remind me of how gross it feels that Israel equating Judaism and the Israeli state makes Jewish people everywhere less safe; a fucked up side effects of Israel’s atrocities is that even loudly anti-zionist Jewish people are at risk of increased antisemitism (genuine antisemitism, not just attacking the state of Israel and/or Zionist stances). It would feel shitty because no matter how loudly you scream “they do not speak for us” (an act that will get you condemned as being anti-Semitic, even if you’re Jewish), Israel is not facing the kind of opposition that’s necessary.

Part of how we resist Israel is by not letting them define themselves as synonymous with Judaism. I respect the intention of the person who wrote the message on the meal, but I believe the act itself to be misguided due to ultimately reinforcing Israel’s preferred world view. It’s important to remember that genuine antisemitism (i.e. stuff aimed at Jewish people rather than at Israel) is useful to Israel, because it helps them to manufacture consent for the ongoing genocide, and generally fuels the Zionist project

One of Israel’s goals is to equate Judaism with the state of Israel. Whilst I respect the intention of whoever wrote that note, they also are unwittingly playing into Israel’s agenda.

There are many anti-zionist Jews, many of whom are some of the loudest voices pushing back against Israel. Let’s be mindful of who our enemy actually is, because it is not the Jewish people

I want to read a story about the two little old ladies being very gay

Edit: I don’t just mean any story about gay old ladies, but specifically the extremely homoerotic tension between the crime solving old lady and the crime committing old lady

Gosh, that’s so misguided and tragic. The North American continent has so many beautiful landscapes and cool wildlife that doesn’t exist in most of Europe — and this was even more the case back in 1871. It obviously makes sense that they thought this way, given that the USA is borne of a colonial mindset, but damn, it’s sad that this made them so ignorant to what is cool and unique about their home

I might try that. I’ve not heard about sugar waxing before

I would press the button because I’d be super curious at how strong the shock would be. My guess would be that it would be quite a mild shock, because it wouldn’t have gotten past the ethics committee if it was going to cause harm to the average person. That curiosity would lead me to press it at least once.

But also a big aspect that I feel they’re not considering in their conclusion is that agency plays a huge role. When I was a kid, my brother was curious about what it was like to use my uncle’s diabetes blood glucose monitor, and my uncle offered him the chance to try it.

After my brother and my mom tried it, they asked if I wanted to try and I was not keen, because I don’t like needles. My brother then tried to force me to have my finger pricked, and I became increasingly upset at the coercion (and the threat of physical force). My mom thought that my reaction was disproportionate, and asked why I was making such a big fuss when it barely hurt at all. Being forced to do something is so much worse than having the freedom to choose to do it to yourself.

It’s like forcing a cat into a box. If you just leave the box out, there’s a decent likelihood the cat will sit in the box of its own accord. If you try to force the cat into the box, then you will likely not escape unscathed. Choice matters.

I’m in this image, and whether I like it is irrelevant because I have fully committed to the bit.

The ladder that starts at Chipotle is not one that leads to work in the field you studied for. College graduates who are struggling to find jobs would relish the opportunity to work up the ladder in their field, but there are insufficient entry level jobs.

I think this is part of why transphobia against trans women is so much more loud and prominent than transphobia against trans men: to a misogynistic, it’s incomprehensible that someone would choose to sacrifice their male privilege and “downgrade” to live as a woman. It’s pretty sad that they think that way, because the cost of their own male privilege is a rigid adherence to hegemonic masculinity that’ll eat away at your soul, even if you’re a cis man.

That reminds me of a friend who was a PhD level physicist who said “well, men have started to explain my own research to me, so I think that means I’m passing?”