My family had a healthy idea of limits, closer to the “free range” philosophy, before such a term was required.

Our neighbors across the street, however, were the prototype for helicopter parents.

While my sibling and I gained confidence and navigational skills by biking around our confusing neighborhood before the days of GPS, the neighbor’s kids weren’t allowed to go down the street unsupervised. My siblings and I stood alone on the corner bus stop, but the neighbor’s mom sat in her car and only released her kids when the bus had arrived.

At the time, my parents made fun of theirs for holding such a tight leash. We also pitied the kids because they panicked about being “lost” when my siblings brought them on a walk around the block.

But now I see kids sitting in cars at bus stops as the norm. And of course, stories like the above article go to show that the helicopter style has won (for the time being.) The people who were raised to fear everything outside their front yard are now parents themselves.

Elon Musk is a once in a generation business leader

That’s not a compliment, that’s a prerequisite to becoming everything Musk currently is. If “a generation” of people had been afforded even one percent of the privilege he’s received, Musk would’ve been outshined by more competent people long ago.

Goddamn, way to make me flashback.

There was a point in my life where I was facing homelessness, was constantly job searching but hearing nothing back, and had to count coins to make sure I could afford to eat each day. Not only that, but the closest family member, who had invited me to stay with them if things went tits up, had just died two days before in a sudden and tragic way.

And my then-bf dragged me to a bar, where he and all his friends told me to “just let it go” and “loosen up” as if the basement rock of my world hadn’t just eroded out from under me. I sure as shit couldn’t afford bar prices, and not a single one of the group offered to get me anything, leaving me stone sober while they all got shitfaced. I ended up crying alone in the bathroom for an hour, and when I came back out, “bf” was getting a fucking lap dance from his friend’s fiancee.

That wasn’t even the worst part of the night. It definitely got darker before the light returned.

I’m okay now, over a decade later, in an infinitely-better place with supportive friends and partners. But man, what a journey.

You will find that if you lead with that, you’ll be perceived as negative. If you lead with all negative and no positives, you’re going scare everyone away. People who are cynical and negative are offputting. Positivity is a choice. Think about the people in your life. Are they positive or the “well ackshually” types? You may see it as a honest, but if you’re not showing your good side too, you are giving a dishonest picture. Give only as much negative as you give positive. Be honest when things come up. Trust is important.

@Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world The first paragraph here is key.

You sound very familiar to me. If my hunch is correct, then most of the above post probably doesn’t speak to you. Avoiding the overwhelming task of driving, being a quiet observer who can write better than they can speak, these aren’t matters of “eco friendliness” or “shyness” - these are aspects of yourself that have always distinguished you. I also share quirks that lead people to misunderstand the roots of my decisions.

Which is why I hope you will take note when I say, that first paragraph is solid advice that should best be heeded.

I have had to learn a lot of social skills the hard way. The amount of times I screwed up, but nobody had the guts to actually explain to me what I was doing wrong, made it so much harder to correct my mistakes. The above poster is providing that rare bit of honest feedback that can keep a person like you or me from having to learn a painful lesson the hard way.

Being positive is easier said than done, but it starts in small ways. For example, consider how conscientious you may be when writing. As long as you’re putting in the effort, it’s worth it to go back and see what can be re-phrased. Sometimes I re-read and edit my own writing over and again trying to get the tone right. (Which is much easier than controlling my tone when speaking.)

Ultimately, if you want things to get better, you’re going to have to put the work into it. I know nobody wants to hear that, but I also know that most attempts to help someone with a defeatist attitude are going to be brushed off. I simply hope that hearing from a like-mind that’s been there can help you see that it doesn’t have to be this way.

While getting started it felt positively gross the amount fo personal questions it was asking. Why is all that necessary?

Hi. Occasional period haver here. With all due respect, it’s possible that since the context is the menstrual cycle, questions that seem irrelevant to you (as a not-period-haver) might actually be important for the typical end user (period-havers.) Things like age, weight, diet, activity level, and more can all play a role in how someone’s period affects them. But I have no plans to download this, or any other tracker app, so I can’t independently determine the extent to which that’s the case.

Could anyone who signed up provide some specific question examples?

(Edit: Replied to the wrong post. Sorry!)

Nah, kids deserve more credit than that. I’m honest with kids (to an age-appropriate level) because it’s vital that they develop critical thinking skills. Considering the world they’re growing up into, they’re going to need all the training they can get to become able to discern fact from fiction.

I give kids legit reasons. I explore their “Why” questions. Then when I don’t know the answer, I’ll be honest but supportive, “I don’t know, but let’s find out.” We have to model what being a rational adult is like, and how we come to logical conclusions. Children aren’t going to learn this stuff from being brushed off or told some silly explanation.

That being said, it’s important to be smart about context. It’s reasonable and responsible to disengage from the conversation if someone demonstrates that they aren’t arguing in good faith, whether they’re an adult or a child. The problem is, a lot of adults jump to whatever explanation makes their own life easier, without any regard to how their response can shape the future adult they’re speaking with. If you’re truly concerned about kids’ futures, you have to acknowledge that there is a lot you know that kids don’t know yet. Offer them the benefit of the doubt and seize these opportunities to teach kids how to think for themselves.

All work no play makes Jack the only coworker not invited when everyone meets up for drinks.

I’m pretty sure this is it. It looks like mods straight-up razed the thread. There are comments remaining, but only after you scroll past the sea of deleted content.

I found one commenter that made a really interesting observation:

I think you and your sister have different definitions of what love means. You think love means you put up with bad behavior from your loved ones and she thinks love means you don’t behave badly towards your loved ones.

I learned this word in a rather unusual way. One day as a bored teenager, I was sitting around thinking of funny sounds that could pass as real words. “Moot” came into my head and, out of curiosity, I decided to look for it in a dictionary.

Needless to say, it became a new favorite. Moot. Moot. All these years, and it still sounds funny to me.

Owl: ‘lo, Sun.

Sun: Hi, Owl!

Owl: Ugh, I forgot how cheery you always are.

Sun: Well, yeah! It’s important to look on the bright side!

Owl: Um. Sure. Anyway, I gotta go get breakfast.

Sun: Oh, have fun!

Owl: Goodnight, Sun.

Sun: … What’s “night”?

For critically-panned movies that are arguably good, I recommend a scroll through this thread: [Meme] Which movie was this for you?

It’s interesting to see what everyone’s opinions are. I’ve already downloaded a few of the suggestions out of curiosity.

Although that may be effective to some, that format is too dry and science-y to tap into the people who need to be reached.

We need the power of a human being’s impassioned words, presented in the context of a natural conversation, converted into a meme-able format. The simplest way would be to copy/paste the original comment and start sharing it on other platforms. If there is a way to make the message more succinct, without losing that crucial human touch that inspires people to relate to the message, that would be ideal.

Dating someone of equal height: you can easily kiss on the lips without anyone awkwardly bending to reach

Dating someone shorter: every hug gets a bonus motor-boating

It has to be kept simple, and packaged like a low-effort meme. Anything too wordy or think-y won’t go viral in the circles that need targeting.

Maybe we need some fake Facebook pages. Start by reposting crap you already know they’ll share. Once the audience is there, start slowly slipping actual facts into things. It’s gotta start slow, though. The “long con.”

Yes, the neglect of our nation’s mental health is screwing every facet of society. The in-fighting that’s exploded since the election results came out is heart-breaking to see. Victims blaming victims, while the rich and the politicians who’ve spent decades using their money and power to actively withhold health care, attack the educational system, and sow this distrust in the first place are, once again, getting away without blame.

Trump’s not going to fix any of that. I’m going to keep bringing the focus to him and his ilk, because as easy as it is to lash out at each other, the blame squarely falls on the powerful people who’ve created this environment.

Indeed, and it’ll get worse. Plenty of women (on popular dating sites, at least) have already been swearing off dating Republicans. Now, with a higher likelihood of a national abortion ban, don’t be surprised if straight women become even choosier. After all, every man we think of sleeping with must now also be viewed as a potential father.

Forget about casual flings or one-night-stands. Why would I risk a lifetime of supporting an entire human being just to have one night of fun?

And that’s only for straight women. Bisexual/pansexual women can choose to straight up stop dating men entirely.

In a lot of ways, lonely young men who voted for Trump just shot themselves in the dick.

Lashing out when hurt is a maladaptive behavior. Giving in to someone who’s lashing out doesn’t solve the underlying issues. Instead, it serves to reinforce the behavior - making it happen more frequently. By contrast, therapy can absolutely help with both the behavior and any illness that’s aggravating it.

Do you honestly think Trump’s regime is going to help such people get the mental healthcare they need? If so, what, specifically, has any of his party said or done that supports that argument?

Tell you what. I just got a couple boxes of canvas. If they do “ban porn,” I’ll dedicate every one of these brand new canvasses to making erotic paintings out of spite.

And I mean, I’m not even a porn consumer. I just fucking hate fascists.

^{… *though I also* happen to enjoy creating suggestive imagery, as well as painting nude figures. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯}

I know tensions are high and we all want to play the blame game, but doing so won’t solve our problems. I’m angry about the same things, but I know that attacking someone who’s ostensibly on our side does nothing but cause further division between us. That’s what the fascists want.

Right now, it’s okay to grieve. We’re all dealing with intense emotions that can overwhelm our better judgement. But OP is right - in order to look forward, we must first look out for each other. The establishment has failed us. We are all we’ve got now.