Edit: It’s because I chose “Link” as the type of post. If I had chosen “Discussion”, a URL wouldn’t have been required.

I always do this - I ask questions first and click around later. JFC, I don’t know if I’ve got ADHD or just come down with a case of boomeritis.

Thanks for this!

The field was marked required, with a red asterisk. I tried posting without a URL, and it did not accept the webform. Said I needed to fill in the required field.

I took a screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/gbF3jP3

(And if Imgur doesn’t meet Lemmy standards, I’m happy to use a different service.)

it’s impossible to criticize Luigi on this platform without getting heavily downvoted

He sucks. I much prefer Princess Peach and I’ll fight all of you.

It’s a legitimate CONFUSING anti-abuse tactic.

How is a normal person, who’s never used reddit in the past, supposed to even know how to get karma? Or how the lack of karma is impacting their UX?

The only way is to game the system, get into a sub that allows shitposts and exists for the sole reason of boosting karma. Which immediately teaches the new person to game the system. Counter-intuitive and counter-productive.

I think it’s definitely an effective way to keep new users from spamming.

It chases away new users (or, at the very least, keeps them from active participation). Because of this system, a new Reddit user is more likely to be a doom-scroller with zero participation. And that’s what Reddit wants. Reddit doesn’t need another shitposter. Reddit doesn’t lack for quality content, since it aggregates the bulk of its content from other sites via powerusers. So fuck it if new people participate, as long as they see the advertising sponsors, Reddit is happy.

In fairness, that one does get a giggle from me. Every time. Even this one. Especially this one.

Giggity. (Please forgive me.)

Unless they are metahuman - probably, yes.

There are exceptions, like The Punisher, but he’s not really a “super” hero (at least, not in any of the media I’ve consumed, which is admittedly not very much). Heroes like this are great at saving the day, but its just not believable that they can save the world or the galaxy or the universe.

Iron Man without money is some dude in a garage who spends his lifetime building the arc reactor and the Mark I. By the time he’s gathered enough resources to build a Mark II, he’s already 60.

No.

“Throwing money” implies that the solution was indeed 75% useless. It’s why this expression exists.

It’s like asking “When is failure a success?” It’s literally not possible for a failure to be successful, that’s why we call it “failure”.

If they want to dive into the turkey first, they are welcome to it.

The sides are where it’s at anyway.

No. I said that retaining an immigration lawyer AND having the proper paperwork would mitigate the risk of ICE.

And it will. Here’s my analysis of the situation.

tl;dr: ICE is busy with other things, and will be for some time.

ICE pushes (and exceeds) the boundaries of both good taste and the legal framework of the Constitution. But it’s not random. There’s a method to the madness.

Now, check the headlines from the last week.

No, really! Please? Take a moment. Search for ICE in a fresh incognito browser, one that doesn’t track your personal preferences. Grab a newsfeed from Google or DuckDuckGo. Look at stories from the past week. Two weeks. Don’t see much, do ya? No high-profile demonstrations, no murder in the street, there’s even news of a detention center getting cancelled.

ICE is undergoing a shift. It’s intentional. The TSA wasn’t being funded during the shutdown, so ICE is now ‘helping’ out at the airports. They are on their best behavior. Squeaky clean, just trying to keep things running. Yay! It’s not an accident that ICE, of all organizations, was called in to help. (National Guard could offer the same level of expertise, which is absolutely zero.)

Another notable development is that Trump has, several times now, floated the idea of having ICE at the polls, to ensure election integrity. Again and again, Trump babbles about the dangers of mail-in voting and stuffed ballot boxes. And the misinformation parrots are all over that bandwagon, sowing seeds of doubt in the already gullible MAGAts.

So, here’s the play: Keep the world distracted by blowing up the oil supply. Shift ICE to high-visibility roles. Deploy them to the polling booths in the fall. Steal as much of the midterm elections as you can. Get a rubber-stamp majority in the House, Senate and Supreme Court. At that point, you can do whatever you want. Pass an amendment to the Constitution revoking the 22nd amendment? Sure, at the very least.

But whatever the case, ICE’s focus is no longer on terrorizing students in blue cities. They’ll be present and visible now, but they won’t be conducting raids en masse. They will now be low-key policing American citizens while pretending to be helpful, multi-purpose federal agents. Nazis disguised as Boy Scouts.

Right now, Illian Omar is leading the fight by holding up funding for DHS. Ilhan Omar said her caucus will ‘oppose all funding’ for immigration enforcement unless militarized policing ends. She understands what’s going on. She’ll lose, probably, just because sometimes politics is heart-breaking like that…

Perhaps you should consider that OP is not yet decided on the U.S.A. He’s doing a comparison of different countries. My replies are designed with him in mind, not you. Which is to say that your contribution to the discussion is certianly appreciated, just not by me. Hugs!

<shrugs>

I’m sorry, but ICE’s activities are the status quo in many countries. This person is looking at countries like Japan and China. How strict do you think immigration enforcement might be in China? Do you figure that Japan tolerates a lot of inconsistency when filling out an immigration visa?

It doesn’t matter how things should be, only that this is how they are. Today. RIght now. Yes, the U.S. has a hard-liner in office. Yes, ICE will discriminate - the color of your skin and your country of origin matter. But that’s not so abnormal on a global scale.

If the relationship is worth salvaging, you can meet her halfway. It will take a LOT of work on your part. A lot of compromise. You’ll probably end up feeling suffocated and you’ll probably lie to her a lot, to make her feel better.

“Mom, I want to do better by you. I want you to be proud of me. I’m not saying I believe everything in the Bible, but I want to ask you some things. About sin and God. I’m not promising to change, but I promise to keep an open mind.”

Something like that. Then, for topic, ask her to describe a situation where she felt sinful, and exactly what she did to avoid it.

Basically, you are putting her in a position to be a mentor but ONLY if she shows vulnerability and shares with you her weaknesses. This changes the dynamic of your relationship, puts you on equal footing. Now she is a sinner too.

Most likely, if she takes the bait, she will tell you about a very small sin. “Oh, I wanted to slap that cashier, but I prayed and God took all the violence away from me.”

Start picking away, theologically speaking. “So…did you actually sin? Is just thinking about something a sin? Is that really the worst thought you’ve ever had? Have you ever actually sinned, like in real life?” Make it seem like you understand nothing about how sin really works. Encourage her to give personal examples.

Of course, the conversation might go a totally different direction. Just take it where it goes. Never escalate, always treat her with respect when talking about religion. At any point, when you’ve hit a brick wall, just stop.

Wait for her to finish talking. Look thoughtful. Meet her eyes. Open your mouth to speak and then close it. Pause again. Then say “I need to think about that. And maybe read…” Walk out of the room. Pop your head back in. Say “Thank you Mom, for taking me seriously.”

It’s worth noting that I moved out of my parents’ house as soon as I graduated high school to get away from bullshit like this. In the long run, I might have been happier to find a compromise and learn to live with my mom’s nut beliefs and self-righteousness. Best of luck!

You can actively work on countering the negative effects, so I’d start with just a list of positives. If all the negatives were gone, which country would you choose?

Let’s suppose it’s the USA. You’re uncomfortable there, because of violence and ICE scares, but everything else is fine. You can look at local crime rates, especially gun violence. Find an area/school where these statistics are near-zero. You can mitigate the ICE risk by retaining an immigration lawyer and making sure that all your paperwork is in order.

Make the same type of list with Japan and China. What would you need to do to mitigate the xenophobia/ethnic differences? (Are you already fluent in both languages?)

You also mention finances, which should probably be near the top of the list. Figure out a realistic cost for your entire time at school, then work with your family to understand what’s doable and what stretches them past the breaking point.

So…is this about how her religious beliefs are affecting HER life?

Or is it more about how her religious beliefs are affecting your relationship with her?

I don’t believe in any of this shit - but your mom does, so that’s how we have to approach the problem. If religion got her to this point, religion can dig her back out of it.

"Mom, I want to talk about God. Like, a serious talk about serious stuff. I’m concerned that you are trying shoulder a HUGE emotional and spiritual burden right now, all by yourself. It’s too big a load. You need to put some of it down.

All this sin around us? All this evil? It’s what God wanted, right? God created all of humanity and, through Satan, put sin in their hearts.

But after thousands of years, God saw that humanity needed a broader message, a message that could be understood by all people of the world, not just the Israelites. So he sent his son with an update. And Jesus tells us to take care of those things within our power and leave the rest to God.

Mom, for your own sake, please think on this. Pray on it. Talk to your friends at church about it. God doesn’t want you taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s too much to bear."

Maybe grab a Chrisian bible and show her the following, she’d probably love it if you did a little bible study with her:

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV): “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.

Psalm 55:22 (NIV): “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken”.

Psalm 81:6 (NLT): “I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks”.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV): “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’”.

Isaiah 10:27 (KJV): “…the burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and thy yoke from off thy neck…”.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV): Encourages prayer over worry, promising that God’s peace will guard hearts and minds.

Yes, divorce is often considered a sin. And…?

The great thing about Christianity is that sin is expected, anticipated and in some ways, even celebrated.

The forgiveness of sin is a foundational Christianity principle. IMHO, it’s also why that religions is so popular, especially evangelical Christianity.

Here’s the gist: Humans are evil beings, filled with sin, each and every one of us. You WILL end up sinning and at that point, you can ask forgiveness. If you are sincere, God will forgive you. YAY! The burden of guilt is now lifted and you can go about your day.

This is why Christians can do horrible things and then walk away unphased. They have a get of jail free card. When/if they start to feel guilty about their deeds, they just ask forgiveness.

I’m not being flippant - this process satisfies a deep psychological need that many people seem to have. They want to be a good, empathetic person - but they are greedy and selfish and jealous, just like the rest of us. The Christian religion taps into this common trait and leverages it to the absolute max.

You forgot another variable, an important one.

“You” are not “You”. Most (all?) atoms inside you are different than they once were. You are cycling through them as your body breaks down and repairs itself. Brain, teeth and eyes are about the only stable organs. The rest cycles, even your bones. And, yes, your penis.

The skin cells covering your penis, just like the rest of your body, last about a month. If you masturbate regularly, maybe faster.

So that’s one penis per month worth of skin cells, just floating around your house. And then your friend comes over, asks for a glass of water. A small mote of dust sits in the glass, invisible to the naked eye. You fill it, he drinks it.

Yeah, that’s right. Your buddy just swallowed your cock. I mean, for purposes of this absurd discussion, anyway.

It’s a statement. It needs no response.

1. Maybe.
2. No. Because biology is not a black/white science. There are shades of gray. If you define male as “XY” , then what is a person born “XXY”? What if that person is born with both a penis and vagina?
3. It’s not a logical statement to begin with, it’s a statement of taxonomy, a classification. It’s like saying “How do you argue with someone who thinks red and pink are the same color?” You don’t. They see what they see.
4. “woman” is a gender (a sociological term, not a biological classification).

And, of course, I have MUCH more to say on the subject. But, ya know, gotta start the conversation somewhere…

Good questions, keep 'em coming!

the main value proposition of crypto is permissionless peer-to-peer payments.

I think a lot of people, including myself, expected a more user-friendly experience. And what many of us realized is that a peer-to-peer payment system is a lot of work and risk for the user. Everything looks unpolished and sketchy. You don’t know if you’ve installed the right software. There’s no FDIC insuring the money, and the FBI is going to laugh if you say that you accidentally sent your life savings to the wrong crypto address.

I guess what I’m saying is that I started to realize all the labor involved in secure fiat monetary systems. For me, as someone without a lot of money or any real reason to transfer my money electronically beyond paying bills, the effort just didn’t seem worth it.

So, yeah, that’s the reason I just parked my cash in Coinbase and let it grow. The risk and the hassle of actually utilizing a peer-to-peer system didn’t seem to have much of a reward.

Support groups.

Seeing a therapist is a great idea, but most people can only afford to go a few times a month, if that.

Support groups are cheaper (or free) and they accomplish the same thing, albeit without the focus being solely on yourself.

A small nitpick - always take inflation into account. “$5 million inflation-adjusted for 2025”.

It seems like a small thing, but setting a non-inflation adjusted amount is how good systems are undermined. For example, Medicare/Medicaid.

Medicare had some inflation adjustments built in - but it was for things like premiums and deductibles. In other words, the cost adjustments that fall on the consumer. Every year, the premiums go up, based on inflation.

Meanwhile, doctor reimbursements are NOT inflation adjusted. Thus, Medicare gets more expensive over time but doesn’t deliver the same quality of service (because the doctor reimbursements have less buying power).

Politicians use this trick ALL THE TIME, to gain the support of older voters while fucking younger voters over. They introduce a service that’s fully funded, but designed to enshitify over the coming decades.