Ah fuck it, I’ll take one Login with Caution please.

Yeah but you also have to consider the psychological damage.

That’s exactly the reaction they want. That aspect of the scam helps filter out people who might be smart enough to properly retaliate if they were to get scammed out of 20k or whatever.

“in some cases” yeah you’re talking about a tiny percentage here, just the ones at the top. Why? Why do some sports players get paid so much? Why do some movie stars get paid so much? Society places incredibly high value on appearances. You’re free to disagree on a personal level (as do I, the beauty culture is horrendous) but it’s important to realize the reality of how most people think.

As for the devs, people are often broke. Years ago, the reason I first learned about open source was looking for free alternatives to word, when I found libreoffice. I had absolutely no money to spare at the time. These days, I’m in the hole again. But I give when I’m able. I try to give proportionally to my use of whatever it is, that feels fair. I make bug reports with needed relevant info, I’m learning c++ for myself but also to one day make contributions of my own.

Open source being discovered as a no-cost alternative to paid software makes it difficult to fet funding, even though that’s a pillar of what makes it so great. Bit of a paradox.

Yes and no. I like certain stars, not because of how they look though, it’s because of how they act. Mike Adriano, Bryan Gozzling, Alex Adams because of how they handle the girls on camera, various girls because of their enthusiasm or just the way they act. But I don’t limit myself to them, I look for plenty of random shit. I just know if one of my faves are in it, it’s probably going to be a good time.

Flat earth. At the point we’re at now when it comes to personally accessible technology, anyone still believing it is 100% making a choice to do so, because it makes them feel better about things for some reason.

Man that chart has not aged well at all, just in the last few years. Also the artist’s motivations are pretty visible.

Most of these are hyper-exaggerations of what real people believe. Or purposeful misunderstandings of the underlying point. Take ‘Jet fuel can’t melt steel beams’ for example. Used since its inception as a meme to undermine 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Ultimately this is a tactic in itself. My conspiracy theory is that all the antisemetic theories, insane-sounding theories, theories that have no attachment to reality, rothschilds etc, are not perpetuated by ordinary people (though they unwittingly participate). They are perpetuated by the very parties the conspiracies are about. If someone hears that being a 9/11 truther is inextricably linked to antisemitism, and they think of themselves as a good person, they’ll shy away from ever looking into it any further than that; it’s a normal reaction if someonebis already stressed, busy, or otherwise precluded from more critical thought.

Edit: Yes some of these are totally insane, I am just referring to things that have roots firmly in reality.

Thanks for the new rabbit hole! :D

Right, I know this from experience. I was talking about the genes thing which I have been informed is Epigenetics (thanks Crankenstein!)

Ah how I wish to live in Germany. Or anywhere off this continent.

Why? If they’re too stupid to comprehend that very fact, that if there were no customers the business would have no reason to commit scheduling. Critical thinking in the US has intentionally been eroded by the ruling class, from every possible angle.

Sometimes people understand this, and yet they still ask, in the name of ‘making conversation’. I appreciate their motivation but disagree with the approach.

I had no idea it could change over time, that’s really cool. Makes me wonder what other genetic factors can change like that.

So, posting a (gold classic) copypasta and adding an extra sentence makes a “best of lemmy” post, apparently. Cool cool cool. Sure glad I left reddit’s inane bullshit behind.

I’ve been thinking this too for a little while now. It fits too perfectly. Throughout my adolescence, I hated the French. Proudly, openly, I thought it was funny and edgy for some reason, because I’ve always been disgusted by racism and I am a tiny part French. Edgy teenage bullshit. As I aged out of teen years though, there came a point where something caused me to investigate my own bias with honesty. And when I did, I found it to be totally empty and devoid of substance. I had absolutely no real reason to dislike the French, and these days I feel nothing but love for them.

I’m convinced the only reason I ever hated them was because of propaganda. Never had a bad personal experience. And Parisian ‘rudeness’ is revealed to be, in my opinion, simple straightforward bluntness. The propaganda is incredibly effective. Americans would benefit greatly if we could all take just a few notes from them; they have a cultural understanding that the government works for the people, not against. And if it’s not doing it’s job, take whatever action needed to restore balance. Seeing footage of their protests starting a few years back really opened my eyes to what could be done.

Totally depends on the scenario, I use all 3. If we’re talking about music, hobbies, personal interest type stuff, it’s usually C, without the “tell them you already know”. I try to show that I know instead of telling. Like if someone’s telling me about a band I already know about, I’ll let them finish and then say something that requires deep understanding of the source. If the discussion is academic, B, but like in a respectful way? Not ‘cutting off’ the other person, more so ‘jumping in’. And that’s so we can both establish what we both know and move on to the more interesting stuff. A is used for authority figures that I have no respect for. I have nothing to say to marching orders.

I have been a pretty social person in a previous part of my life, getting to know hundreds of people on a relatively deep level, due to the circumstances I was in. Most people do not look at the world like your family does. The majority of men I know do have more outward aggression than I do, but they channel it through healthy outlets (sports and exercise). That being said, I myself also have a hard time feeling safe around men (even though I am one myself), mainly when I don’t know them. This is primarily because of my size (short and not bulky) but also my sense of empathy, which I feel leaves me vulnerable to those lacking it.

I don’t know if you are, but you should be proud of yourself for turning out like you did. The fact that their behavior is so horrific to you shows your moral standard hasn’t been tarnished or corrupted. If anything I would imagine it’s been solidified. Your childhood was absolutely, royally fucked. I’ve heard many stories of childhood abuse; the worst ones, most heartbreaking ones, etc. I would say your experiences are in that same boat. To guesstimate, I think yours is probably in the worst 5% or rarer.

Not to be too bleak but I think staying is just as much of a risk to your safety as leaving. Who knows when one of them might snap and try to kill you? That’s an absolutely hellish environment to try to survive in.

Listen, I don’t know you but I love you. I love you for holding steadfast resolve through pitch-black suffocating darkness. I love you for your light refusing to be snuffed out. The piece of yourself that you’ve displayed here is beautiful and it deserves the best. If there were more people like you around, the world at large would be happier.

I don’t pray but I will be meditating today and sending positive intent your way. If you need someone to talk to, this is me making myself available. I don’t have much going on but too much extra time. Don’t feel obligated to that, or to even reply. I just hope this helps, and that you succeed on your hike out of hell. I have faith in you.