FraidyBear

Take the severance package. If they are offering a severance package then they are already planning a layoff and are just taking volunteers first. Trust me, this is exactly what happened in tech this year. Take the package or face layoffs / gatting managed out.

Imagine a porn site telling you to seek help because you're a filthy pervert. Thats gotta push some to get some help I'd think.

There's not a clear and conscience alternative to "American." If you're trying to differentiate us from other people from the Americas you'd just say US Citizen. And while yes the entirety of this hemisphere is some variation of America be it North, Central, or South the other countries here have distinct names and we really don't.

At the risk of sounding like a typical US asshole, here goes nothing. This is how I've explained it to friends from Europe and it seemed to help.

If Brazil had decided to go by the name "United States of Brazil" we would still call them Brazilians because there is another country with the title "United States" that also exists. Similar to how we call people from the Peoples Republic of China, Chinese. We don't call them "People's Republicans" because that's a title not a unique identifier or name. What if that same country decided to go by the name the Peoples Republic of Asia instead, would we call them Peoples Republicans or would we call them Asians?

The title "United States" is telling you that this area is united together and the borders represent states, not country's. "America" tells you where those united states are, the continent of America. The term "American" is generalized and honestly doesn't accurately represent the vast cultural differences within the United States. The states often have their own rights and laws separate from the US government and also unique cultures. Ideally we would be called by our states name for its citizens like Californian or New Yorker, for example. Similar to how you would refer to people from Europe as European unless you wanted to be specific to Italy, then you'd say Italian. But sometimes you need a general term, hence "American."

All that being said, it is problematic and a massive reminder of this country's bloodthirsty and genocidal colonization of a large part of North America. Looking at the country's past shows that they were very much trying to also get central and south America as part of the United States. What better way to propagandize and make it look like they had every right to the rest of the Americas than to make it appear as though this country or that country already was America and therefore should be part of these United States? But however problematic it is this is the name we have now, for better or worse.

As an addendum of sorts. We Indigenous Americans would often much rather be called by the names of our sovereign Nations yet everyone calls us Native American. Why is that? Food for thought that might help with understanding the problematic struggle we have here. It's not simply us as citizens that perpetuate the issue, it's a global colonization effort whether the others realize they are participating or not. (Spoiler: they realize)

tldr: because colonization + United States is a title not a name

Bullshit

It's illegal almost everywhere in the US to have a "natural" burial. There are laws on containers, treatment, and where the deceased can be buried. Dead bodies, while very biodegradable are also toxic and tend to get dug up and parts drug around by animals, up rooted by trees, or dug up during construction after the property is bought out. I do agree that funeral homes are soulless vultures who fleece people in mourning though, the last "fuck you" from capitalism.

My grandpa passed a year ago now, COPD. Likely honestly a heart attack after all the steroid meds for his lungs created heart problems including a heart aneurysm. When he was diagnosed way back in 2006 they told us he had 5 years if he was lucky, I didn't think he'd see me graduate HS. Well he had a lot more than 5 years in him but after about 2014 it was all shit. He started telling my grandma that he was ready to die, wanted to die, in 2018, he begged for it on hard nights. He tried to kill himself in 2021 and 2022. Both attempts left him strapped to a hospital bed "for his safety" as he struggled to breathe, he hadn't been able to reliably breathe laying on his back for several years by then but they didn't care as long as he lived.

I never felt anything but sympathy for him after those attempts. As someone with chronic lifelong asthma, I know how my end will go. I know what it's like to suffocate and struggle to breathe and in case anyone wonders, it fucking sucks. It's terrifying, it's slow, and you know it's coming. Panic is inevitable. He felt like that for nearly 10 fucking years. He told me once after it had gotten bad that he'd always felt so bad for me as a kid to have asthma but now he finally understood, he said I was so brave to have dealt with it for so long but in that moment I didn't feel brave I felt lucky. When I use my inhaler I can breathe again, for him it just made him struggle less. For a long time I wished he would die, my absolute favorite person on the planet, and I wanted them dead. It destroyed me mentally for years. When he finally did die it was horribly sad and also such a massive relief for everyone to know that at least he wasn't suffering anymore.

I say all this, partially to get it off my chest but mostly to say, if we are going to prolong life we need to also give people the option to check out. Life isn't life without quality of health, it's just suffering. Prolonging suffering makes use torturers, it's not a saving grace. If we have the capacity to do this for our pets then people deserve the same mercy.

FFXIV

I don't PVP so I can't speak to that but the lore and PVE is solid. Gameplay is very classic MMO. The releases continue to be ranked and reviewed higher with each one that comes out. Players are strongly encouraged to help new players (sprouts) via the mentoring program. Community has been so good, very helpful, never seen anyone rage or get angry at a new person, or anyone for that matter. Very LGBTQ+ friendly. TONS of fun stuff to do on the side between chapters like glamour or housing for folks that want a chill experience or you can do savage raids or hunts for the more hardcore game play focused players. Me and a friend love to just run around to all the apartments and houses to check out everyone's place from time to time. Some are really amazing. I'll throw mine and my buddy's apartment in that ring we put a lot of work in and did some really cool tricks to make the space feel bigger and more unique. Some people turn their houses into cafes or dance clubs, some require RPing when you visit some don't. They are pretty fun to go to. From time to time they'll have giveaways for gill or items at the parties.

BONUS: It's totally free up to level 70 so you have plenty of time to figure out if the game is for you.

I'm not playing right now, taking a quick break but I'm in the NA server Sargatanas. The name is Obi-Bun Kenobi, I think I have the address to my place in my Adventurer Plate. I leave the apartment unlocked so people can use it for g-posing or just to have a nice place to hang. Come check it out sometime!

Oh look! More proof that most politicians are either psychopaths or idiots being controlled by a rich psychopath. Who the fuck would think a story about killing a nippy puppy would appeal to the common people jfc. I've owned MANY dogs both growing up and as an adult, if you aren't ready to train a dog, especially a smart breed, don't bother getting a dog. Go get a cat or a fish or some shit that can't bite and kill someone.

Yes in the sense that they are housing but it's not affordable housing and I wouldn't call the massive expanse that these apartment complexes take up "high density." One of the complexes next to me has FOUR connected complexes that take up several entire city blocks. The buildings are two stories tall and most of them are one bedroom so these things are concrete hellscapes and they don't hold the same number of people as European style planned cities, not even close. Plus, these aren't apartment buildings in walkable and accessible areas, they are sprawling complexes built smack dab in the middle of the suburbs with NO amenities or public transport within walking distance. They are just tiny shitty fenced in neighborhoods with nothing going for them other than shelter. I'm sure they are much nicer than a lot of places but as someone that's lived in one for 10 years now, they are soul sucking wastes of space. Some of these apartments on the bottom floors could have been corner stores, boutiques, salons, restaurants, or shops. They could have gotten rid of one or two of the parking lots for a park since it's convenient to walk and you don't need a car. Instead we just get packed in here and hope we can keep up with the rent.

Minorities in these places are typically facing poverty levels that most people in the US can't imagine. How are they supposed to move when they can barely afford rent? As for the other women, the white women in these places genuinely don't believe that these laws will affect them. There is this sense that they think that their adjacency to white men will prevent them from being treated the same as others, that somehow it will make them immune. They are getting a massive wakeup call that white men in power only care about other white men. It's a tale as old as time. White women are and have always been our barrer to equality. Once things get bad enough for them they will jump on the side of minorities and equality again. They just don't usually view themselves as one of us, they always think that this time will be different.

City, town, country, doesn't matter because I can't afford it!

On the real real, I work full time and make more than I ever have in my life. The apartments I live in are falling apart and the owners don't care anymore, it used to be a nice place. My mom's helping me look at new places because she wants me out as much as I do. There isn't anything I can afford. My parents are going to have to help me with rent if I want to get into anything that isn't another shithole. I'm 33, college educated, live in one of the cheapest states in the cheapest city, I work from home, I work for fuckin Apple for christ sake, I've done everything right and yet I still can't afford to live.

The great part about history is sometimes there's no need to find a quote when there's tons of evidence! Here's a few:

France, George Besse killed in 85' due to his "revolutionary" turnaround of a company that included mass layoffs.

United States Labor Wars which spanned a century of bloodshed and violence. The Labor Wars included the Battle of Blair Mountain where the largest private army in US history was formed and approximately one million rounds were fired.

There's a reason your history classes were boring, there's a reason they opt for American propaganda instead of facts, and there is a reason companies are shitting themselves over union talks. Both the best and worst part about being a history buff is knowing the facts they don't want you to hear. Be a History Buff with me Limmings! We never meet up, there are no dues, you have no deadlines or tests, and you get to earn dark secrets you can use to torture your friends and family with. It's great!

I'm sure we could get creative here. Like, you could go with the Friar Tuck look with the top part shaved and that would be fine. I guess it depends on what they consider "geometrical"

Holy shit that's terrible. This isn't a flex it's just to show how awful this is. I got a 26 overall which was fine. I fucking bombed the math portion with an 18 thanks to undiagnosed ADHD and Dyscalculia.

I struggled to get into colleges that could actually help me find a career after school with a 26, in fact I never did make it. I went to a small local school. I'm not a crazy smart person I'd consider myself very average. I paid enough attention in school to not have to crack a book at home, I did my homework in class or study hall, I crashed for the finals, and then I got out of there as soon as possible. I still got 7 points higher without ever cracking an ACT prep book or even studying. How... HOW has it come to this? How is it this fucking low? It's not even enough to get into most colleges is it?

I feel that. Soy milk fucks me up worse than my lactose intolerance ever has.

No problem, I'm always happy when someone is interested in learning more! I'm Muscogee Creek, specifically Thlopthlocco but Creek or Muscogee is preferable and easier for everyone lol. I'd recommend some books. One is not too long and it's the one I would start with, it will help reframe a person's understanding of who indigenous people are which I think is essential. Otherwise all further learning is being done behind a false idea of who Indigenous people are. Something I remember most from this book was along the lines of, "for many people Indians don't exist and if they do exist it's outside of their preconceived notion of who they are so to them they aren't real Indians. They have placed themselves as the experts on what it is to be Indian." The books, All the Real Indians Died Off: And 20 Other Myths about Native Americans by Dina Gilio-Whitaker and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. The second would be, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Id you'd like something quick and dirty online the War of 1812 was also the , the first one. The Northern Creeks, my people, were fighting against being colonized further by the US, we didn't want to be Americans or give away anymore of our country. Jackson, the president on the $20, and his army some still living and used our skin to make leather reigns for their cavalry horses. They then went to a nearby village slaughtered who they could and locked the remaining women, children, and elderly in their homes and burned them alive. He saved one baby, a boy, who he , which is what he wrote in a letter to his wife. He meant to make an example of how we could be "civilized" and was going to send the Creek boy to West Point but the political climate had changed. Americans didn't want to see Indians "civilized" anymore they wanted us gone. He was never going to be able to pass the Indian Removal Act if people saw we were just like them so he sent the Creek boy to be a saddler instead. He died of TB not long after. Then Jackson sent thousands of us, starving and freezing, on a death march across the country to Oklahoma. (I had links in here for you. For the books and the pages about the war but they didn't seem to work. It's an easy wiki dive though.)

Totally more than you asked for but I got on a roll. It's rare someone asks so I try to post as much as I can so people don't have to go far to learn a bit more of the real history of the US. It's important we know so we all can heal and move forward, together.

Fuck the CDC and late stage capitalism. One of my best friends is in a wheelchair for the rest of her life because of Long COVID, she can't walk a few feet without being so out of breath she passes out. My mom got Long COVID the first and now the second time she's been infected. She still coughs every time she walked around or does any activities. She has to carry an inhaler now but she doesn't have asthma, just Long COVID. She got COVID only a few weeks ago and it's was most definitely NOT like the flu for her or anyone I've known that's gotten it.

I obviously I can't speak for the OP you are questioning but I'm also on that demi spectrum, if you want my two cents.

It's not that I can't see that someone is attractive, it's just that I don't find them sexually attractive. I'm sure there are a lot of het men that would agree that Timothée Chalamet or Chris Evans are very attractive and handsome men but that doesn't mean that they want to have sex with them. It's not like people go around looking at beautiful art or gorgeous sunsets and think "man, I'd really like to fuck that" lol

I believe they also mentioned that they didn't find them interesting, not that they found them unattractive. I have the same issue. When these apps are set up for looks first no one really bothers to sound overly interesting, they just want to come off as fuckable and not a murder.

The American Genocide

Engineering degrees don't always equal smarts, sometimes it's just hard work and a talent in math. I worked with a guy who was graduating with a degree in structural engineering and the guy legitimately thought that vaccines caused autism and that the moon landing was faked. I asked him to let me know what bridges he would be working on around the city so I could be sure to avoid them, then I had to have a talk with HR about bullying in the work place lol

Speaking as an Indigenous person... 🌍👨‍🚀🔫👨‍🚀

I could go on and on about all of Jackson's atrocities from stealing babies to skinning Native people alive to make bridle reins. But I think it's enough to say that Jackson was Hitlers wet dream. He quoted him often and even ripped off Jackson's speech called the Final Solution to the Indian Problem. Yea, Jackson goes last even over Trump.

I paid $550 in rent for a 550sqft apartment in a nice neighborhood in a midsize southern city just 6 years ago. Heard from a friend that's still there that new signups for the same place cost $1100 now.

Hank Hill lookin mfer

I think this is where discovery comes in but I'm not a lawyer so I'm shaky on the process. My understanding is that the two parties have to give over certain information to each other like who the witnesses are and evidence that will be used in the trial. So even if they did have an NDA there is still the possibility of the prosecutors being able to question them in a trial, if they were handed over during discovery as witnesses. If there's a lawyer or someone more knowledgeable about trial law lurking around that can correct me if I'm wrong please do!

That's so interesting! I didn't know that Brazil was also a "United States."

I wish that there was a name for US Citizens in the same way but with English being such a shit show combination of too many different languages, I don't know if that'll be possible. The only way I see it happening is if the US just "adopts" a word from someone else's culture, that's usually how English gets a new word or term.

Musk, CEO of Tesla and X (formally known as Twitter) causes catastrophic bank run, says "it doesn't matter they can just use X now." Join us at 11 for more.

Sounds like some folks haven't heard the classic highschool burnout phrase, "study high, test high."

ba-dum-tss

Yes and no, it's not a black and white issue. I didn't really want to go all in on the topic because it's Googleable. My grandpa recently passed and it's very expensive, we were looking for alternatives. On a federal level natural burial is allowed. The states take matters into their own hands. Some require burial vaults, some require embalming, some require that natural burials only happen in very specific places, and some require a mix of those things. It's doable but if they can squeeze money out of you through laws or extreme inconvenience, they will. It's not as easy and just picking a spot and burying a loved one, in a lot of cases.

At this point I'll take burned coochie over the typical raw dogging. No one likes being undercooked.

This is exactly what happened to my dad during the .com crash. He worked for Enron, worked in server maintenance. Waited around as everyone got laid off because they said they would keep him, he was the best but not the most senior. Push came to shove and with only 4 people left in the department the higher-ups had to cut one more or take less money. They decided to cut my dad. By then the industry in that city was packed with Enron refugees so my dad had nowhere to go. We lost everything. Seriously y'all, cut your losses it's not worth it. Just find somewhere else that's more stable.

The Blob and Idle Hands come to mind right away

My mom. Grew up in a small town of about 25,000 and my mom was the front office manager for the local orthodontist. Orthodontist was great and even folks from "the big city" went to her. My whole life was going out with my mom and running into people who wanted to talk

Don't forget that under supported poverty stricken children often grow up to become under supported poverty stricken veterans and the enlistment rate has never been lower (unless something big has changed). Now who wants to go die for some freedom halfway across the globe!? AMERICA FUCK YEA!

You could always spice it up and see what you get.

I use VPNs and ad blockers where I can / when they work. I also have an extension that makes my Internet traffic useless by sending random data. When I need to go to the official YouTube app and get ads I get a smorgasbord. Right now they seem to think I'm either a recently divorced middle aged man with ED who just discovered they are actually a balding gay man or a teenaged girl with period problems and a desperate need for a social media following. Neither of these even come close but it's always entertaining to see what I get.

It's quieter which I love and hate. I don't feel addicted to engaging here which is awesome for my mental health but it can also make it difficult to find instances. I'm still struggling there.

However, when I do comment I find the people to be much more open to discussion. There are actual engaging conversations to be had which has been a great change. It feels less like shouting into the vast nothingness of the internet here, more intimate like a club of people with similar interests. I don't feel scared I'm going to get dogged on, flammed, harassed, othered, or ostracized. There have been times I've shared my Native background when it was important to the convo and everyone's be so fucking cool just treating me like a human being or listening to what I have to contribute from my perspective. Doing that on Reddit was a mixed bag where I would have to worry about the possibility of a sleu of people PMing me or replying with just awful hateful small pp energy racist shit.

Honestly, the bar was in the deepest pits of hell so if Lemmy couldn't shuffle over it I would have lost all hope for humanity lol

Same here. I rarely contribute but have felt more inclined to do so here because when I do I usually get a response from someone that's actually wanting to contribute to the conversation. Everyone has been super respectful even with controversial topics. On most other platforms I would be lucky for anyone to even read my comment let alone take the time to reply or engage by voting. For us old ass millennials it feels like the old days of the internet back when everyone had a blog or a Tumblr for people to follow, ya know back before Tumblr became whatever the hell it is now lol.

"That's not right."

Yea Jackson was a real piece of work. And yes you are also correct that he was a massive inspiration for Hitler, most Americans don't know that. Hitler would quote portions of Jackson's speech to Congress about the Indian Removal Act during his own speech about the Jewish people. In fact, Hitler didn't actually come up with very much on his own in terms of the annihilation of the Jewish people and conquer of Europe. In Jackson's speech to Congress he called it the "the final solution to the Indian problem" which should sound quite familiar to those who know WWII history. Everything from ghettos, work camps, mass extermination, medical experiments, stolen children, sterilization, and death marches were straight out of Jackson's playbook.

In one of Hitlers speeches he says that he wanted to "make Germany greater than even the great American empire which had succeeded in creating a perfect society for God's chosen race, chaining any of the savage native inhabitants still alive in camps to work and starve." He would also go on to say, "the East will be our Redmen and the Volga our grand Mississippi." When Nazi Germany did finally invade Poland the German newspapers quoted their head general (iirc), "Go East young men, go East!" His plan wasn't just war, it was settler colonialism à la USA style and all of his top generals were aware.

If anyone is ever in any doubt about how horrifying the conquest of hundreds of Indigenous Nations really was just remember this. As absolutely and indescribably evil as Hitler was, he wasn't completely successful, Jackson and the United States were. (In regard to the conquest of a continent. Genocide is genocide, there's no competition for the greatest evil this world has to offer.)