By that logic, it might be safe to say that I’m even worse than you’re describing because I don’t consider myself part of that organization.

But you might have a point that I somewhat understand. I used to volunteer at my friend’s church as often as possible, because I loved what they did for the community, how they supported LGBTQ+ rights, the fact that they also suspected a leader of being creepy around kids and excommunicated/reported him. But then, when the older folks in his congregation successfully switched the church from UMC to GMC, and the younger and more liberal members didn’t revolt, I stopped associating with the church altogether.

I’m starting to kinda get a clearer picture because, I definitely get the “some cops are decent people, but they’re bastards for joining the ranks because ACAB.” But, in the past, I’ve not been able to say “fuck the religious community” because they’ve actively rebelled against pedophilia. But looking at the communities now, suddenly supporting queer-hate and genocide, I see the cracks forming in my rose-colored glasses.

If I understand correctly what you’re saying, “organized religion doesn’t require joining an organization that has a disturbingly lax (at best) approach to dealing with pedophilia. Therefore, even the best members are still members of an organization that’s terrible on a larger scale. Just like how they can choose to join a problematic organization, they can defend their own choices without me carrying their water for them.” Is this more or less correct?

Hmm, I’ve never thought about it that way. I know that when I hear, “all men are pigs,” I think to myself, “yes we are. I’ve had a problematic past that I’m glad I’ve put in the work to recognize and reduce, if not reverse that behavior.”

But when I hear that [paraphrasing] “all people who believe in God (uppercase because we’ve left out religions wet multiple gods) would rather their children get raped than accept that God loves pedophiles,” I feel like I’m hearing a false dichotomy or a loaded question along the lines of “when did you stop beating your wife.”

So, while I don’t practice or believe in any religion, I have a hard time agreeing with the sentiment that all religious people love pedophiles. How does someone like me, who engages with everyone for some dumb reason, compartmentalize or approach a topic like this where I only have experiences of the opposite? I see toxic masculinity, racism, sexism, and religious oppression every single day—but I’ve yet to see (in my personal life) a known or suspected pedophile not getting kicked in the teeth.

I probably sound incredibly walled off and ignorant right now, but that’s exactly the issue. I am obviously ignorant because of the fact that I and my community have always been given a voice.

Thanks for adding the crossview!

That’s a gross overgeneralization. When my synagogue needed a substitute rabbi, they temporarily hired Rabbi Kaye. When we complained that he was creepy and aggressive, our parents said they were uncomfortable with him and had him fired. I don’t think he was even around long enough for anyone to fully realize how problematic he was.

That being said, I’ve met far more problematic religious leaders than well-intentioned folks.

Trying to mine some Ethereum and accidentally ending up with with a shit-ton of hydrogen burning into helium

Y’all seem to have a lot going on across the pond, what with “who’s a terrorist,” or “is this dystopian?”

Have y’all considered electing a terrorist leader so that you instantly know the answers to those questions?

I know this isn’t what your looking for, but I had a friend group in college where half the women and a couple of guys thought that was the hottest thing ever. You never know which of your most hated qualities are someone else’s kink. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Your limbs don’t seem to be broken/swelling”, “You’re not using crutches”, “You’re not on a wheelchair”, and “Fibro my what?”

No one gets to make you prove your pain. Their pain meters only work on themselves pain doesn’t have to manifest visibly. Fuck those doodieheads.

I think they’re talking about how people will often try to “empathize” by comparing your pain to theirs.

Your dad found you a date and is willing to pay for it. Like some sort of reverse-pimp. Pimpzarro.

I say go for it. I’m more of the “I hope they cancel so that I can wallow and spiral alone at home” kind of people, but I loved dating at your age. Primarily because it was an opportunity to possibly gain a friend and you might make someone’s night better by just being yourself.
And if they wholly reject you as a person, you can brush it off as “dates are awkward to begin with, I’m sure I started with a disadvantage.” And then learn from that. If y’all decide to be friends instead, you can ask her what parts of the date she liked and how you could improve your next date.

Everyone’s talking about how the worst she can do is say no. I disagree. The worst she can do is want a second date because then you have to charge up your social battery for that. Sometimes, though, you find someone who’s worth tapping into your social battery, and sometimes, it just comes naturally and you find someone who makes you feel like you can be you.

I miss canoeing… I miss my childhood

Pictured here giving the kitty a hug, the beloved millionaire reluctantly accepted a hug from a bull before taking an extended nap because he was being a Mr. Cranky-pants.

I used to run the tech for a middle school and had to cover/sub for a lot of classes one year, which also was the same year we were getting deployed new equipment. Anytime I subbed in one of the computer labs, this is exactly what I’d do. It felt so deliciously naughty.

Once refused to say hello into the phone a toddler handed to them, refused to talk to the stray cat like it could understand them, farted on the bus and blamed it on an old lady

Oh my me!

This is people getting mad at Furbies again

Edit: either I have a wildly unpopular opinion or my comment was misunderstood. I’m not trying to defend AI’s use in the scenario and, in fact, think that’s a big part of the problem. But it’s also a garbage in/garbage out kinda scenario. If you feed an LLM the right prompts you can almost always get it to say something it shouldn’t, just like those parents or kids who would say shitty things around a Furby and then called their local news station when the Furby repeated what they said.

Honestly, I just started typing and kinda went into autopilot mode. After I hit Post, I read it and was genuinely surprised that it was coherent.

I’m not sure what many of those words are, but I feel like the people you’re talking about are not well-versed, so I’ll give it a shot!

First of all, of course it makes sense dje to peak consumption! Without something to mitigate the rebound from artificial valleys created by such large peaks, we’re left without any sort of buffer or safety net. Imagine a world without dje: we’d just have consumption rampantly peaking all over the place without any stop-gaps??? What’s gonna stop the bleed once we’re hemorrhaging the resources necessary for dje??? Anything other than the status-quo of dje to peak consumption is gonna fall directly on your head and I don’t think you’re prepared to deal with the repercussions.

Why shouldn’t I defend the Department of the Exterior? You people are always so cool with everything the Department of the Interior does, but I feel like I never hear ANYTHING at all about the Department of the Exterior! If it weren’t for all the noise you’re making, I’d almost think that the Department of the Exterior doesn’t even exist. Also, do you have any idea how difficult it is to create long runs of Direct Current??? Of course Direct Current operators deserve preferential loans: those bastards are always quick on the ball with delivering the correct type of power to my outlet whenever I plug in my phone. The way you choose to ignore them seems like you’d like to pretend that Direct Current operators don’t even exist and that your outlets switch from AC to DC by some form of magic!

You people are always harping on civil rights, but it’s like you refuse to acknowledge that Citizens United made corporations people. People without arms… Without legs… Without tummies… These corporations are barely lucky enough to even have a boot for us to lick, but they need something to cover their foot. Because companies are a giant foot with a mouth. And without arms or hands to clean themselves, it’s our duty, as fellow citizens to these corporations, to take care of them and lick their boots clean. Do they step on us sometimes? Sure, but you have to be forgiving of the corporations, which are giant screaming foots with mouths.

(If this needs an “/s” or someone thinks they took away actual knowledge from this, then I give up on society. I’ll just go live under a rock and hope that it collapses on my head.)

Weren’t there a couple of stories in the '70s and '80s about people climbing the corporate ladder by following the advice from a Magic 8 Ball? And look how all that turned out!

That’s good. The world just got a lot less snorty and needs your help.