...and we still put people like Caligula into positions of power.
We're not going to make it, are we? :(
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Nope, it's nee-chuh. I also mispronounced it for years...
Was all said tongue in cheek. I was taking the piss because they were being hyperbolic. Appreciate you.
Right, so you’ve seen that, have you? Watched some gullible sap throw cans of food at the cat until one sticks? Perhaps if it's a newly adopted pet, then yes, you have to put in some work to find the kind of food that the cat prefers. Research has proven that kittens actually build a preference for the food that their mother ate during gestation and nursing, and it takes deliberate care on the owner's part to move them over to a different kind of food.
I once had a golden retriever inhale half a pound of salami, vomit it across the linoleum ten minutes later, and then like some greasy ouroboros of shame, it ate the same spewed-salami again. Twice. It's like comparing apples and oranges, except I bet my dog would have eaten those, too.
And then there’s the cat, not having any of it. Doesn’t fetch, doesn’t beg, doesn’t need humans' approval; which I bet drives certain people mad that it's primary motivation in life isn't to be their own personal dopamine dispenser.
Sarcasm aside, I do get where you're coming from. Cats and dogs aren't variations of the same theme; dogs are social, cats are solitary. Some people understand that and don't expect their pets to be anything more than what they are. Me? I like both cats and dogs. I don’t expect them to be little humans or to stroke my ego. I’m their caretaker, not their cult leader. If they’re happy, safe, and healthy, that’s the win. Anything beyond that is a bonus.
party hears rumbling from deep beneath the mountainObiwandalf: "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
All-Star is what made me change my mind on Superman. I never really liked him when I was younger, and it was for all the same complaints that people have already listed above. But All-Star was a blast to read, not in spite of it's (at times) cheesiness, but because of it. All-Star Superman is relatable because he embodies the best traits in all of us; he is incredibly intelligent and kind, leveled and patient. Without going into spoilers, I think what I love most about All-Star is that it shows that even the best among us have our weaknesses, and that it's not the huge, planet-level threats that define who are and what we do, but the small, innocuous things that can most affect who we are in the moment.
They’re not shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of us at Costco, or waiting for hours at an overcrowded clinic, or sending their kids to schools packed past capacity. They live in a separate world, where exposure to the mess the rest of us deal with is minimized.
When illness does fall on them, they get top-tier healthcare; faster, smarter, better than anything we’ll ever see. It’s a tiered society, where wealth and influence dictate your caste. They’re not digging graves; they’re building bunkers.
Has anyone seen RFK Jr. and one of Nurgle's Great Unclean Ones in the same room together? I don't think so...
Game theory, pure and simple. At its core, it is nothing more than the mathematical codification of self-interest. Within capitalism, it becomes one of the most powerful tools for justifying and even glorifying selfishness and greed. By reducing human interaction to competitive strategies designed to maximize personal gain, it frames cooperation, empathy, or long-term collective well-being as irrational or inefficient. The result is a system where decisions that harm the many can be rationalized as “optimal” so long as they benefit the few who hold power and wealth.
Most people recognize the absurdity of this: we are essentially allowing the worst actors to dictate outcomes for everyone else. And all of it is wrapped in the veneer of mathematical inevitability, as though greed were a natural law instead of a human choice.
It absolutely is abusive, and I don't the other poster meant to sound like it isn't. That said, it's easy for the abused to waive off their abuse. From my own experience with CPTSD, that kind of thinking doesn’t just appear; it seeps in, sets up shop, and eventually convinces you it’s a “truth.” We learn to justify our abuse with neat little stories: that we deserved it, that we’re broken, that others had it worse and therefore our pain doesn’t count. Therapy helps, but the hardest part is undoing the belief that we are rejects, never meant for real society.
Same here. I was labeled as gifted in first grade, but my home life was filled with neglect and abuse. A couple decades of that, plus being bullied at school, left me with CPTSD that makes trusting anyone nearly impossible. On the surface, I might look like I built a decent career, but the truth is I have spent my adult life wearing masks that barely fit whatever situation I am in.
Inside, I am constantly fighting the urge to just leave everything, convinced I am useless and only pretending to be a real person. Now that I am in the back half of my life, the weight of it has worn me down and each day gets harder. The only justice in the world that which we make, but we cannot trust justice in a world where worthiness is conflated with wealth.
A lot of young people grow up believing there’s glory in war. But anyone who’s been through it sees how pointless it really is. Ruining soldiers, families, civilians, and even the land itself.
You saw the truth and came back better for it, and that’s worth more than any so-called victory. In the end, all people are equal; born, live, and then gone; war doesn’t change that. The best we can do is share what we’ve learned, so those who come after us don’t fall for the same lies. The rich sending the poor to die for their personal gain only shows how empty and corrupt they are.
I hope you've found your peace, P00ptart, and I hope your story helps sway people away from fighting wars.
I mean, it is technically more accurate, but holy moly it feels so much worse.
I think this as well, though I have no formal training in psychology. My perspective comes from a lifelong interest in learning across fields and from having several family members who struggled with mental health, often dismissed as hysterical, crazy, over-emotional, or immature. Decades later, many of them received diagnoses of comorbid autism and CPTSD. I believe that within the next 5–10 years, assuming the DSM can be inured against political editorialization, autism diagnoses will be further refined and the spectrum will become more granular and specific.
You are making a mistake that many sincere believers have made throughout history. You assume your faith is the singular, correct one, and that outsiders only need to open their hearts to see the “one true path.” What often goes unnoticed is that there has never been one true religion. You believe yours is correct because that is what faith requires. But history shows us that as soon as a faith gathers enough followers, disagreements arise. Some argue that leaders have misinterpreted the sacred texts, or that local customs conflict with established rituals. Whatever the reason, division follows. A religion grows, it fractures, sects emerge, and each insists it is the sole guardian of truth. Repeat this pattern over generations, and what began as unity splinters into dozens of sects, often hostile to one another.
Religion does what many of its adherents claim it does not: it changes. It bends, adapts, and evolves in response to pressure and environment. It speciates.
So let me ask you, as one who seeks to understand: if I were to study your holy book and choose Islam, which path should I walk? Should I follow Sunni, risking alienating Shia? If I found myself drawn to the Wahhabi or the Druze? Would these choices lead to peace and enlightenment or would they create yet another division? And if I sought to share my newfound belief with those raised differently, would they welcome my unity, or view me as another intruder cloaking sameness as love and peace?
This is why I, and many others, argue for pluralism. There can never be a single “true way,” for as long as people are individuals, there will always be differences in interpretation, values, and belief. History shows that tribalism, insularity, and suspicion of the unfamiliar are constants of human nature. The only way forward is not to cling to unity under nation or creed, but to accept each other as we are. Only by setting aside the conceit of a universal faith can we begin to overcome the divisions that have defined us.
I relate to this. I didn’t have many people I could rely on growing up, though I didn’t recognize it at the time. It left me with a lot of doubt about myself and about others. I often wonder who I might’ve been if genuine human connection had come more naturally, if I hadn’t learned to see myself in such a harsh light.
Right? I saw the meme, chuckled because I relate, but then I saw those bricks. Immediately looked up local gardening and hardware supply store to see if they have them in stock. This is EXACTLY what I need for my gardens.
Is there an updated version of Poe's law where instead of being unable to distinguish conservative posters from trolls, it's being unable to distinguish between AI bots and uninformed-yet-strongly opinionated trolls? I honestly can't tell if you are specifically intending to be obtuse and ignorant, or if you really aren't aware of the multitudes of recent church scandals. If it's the latter, then I'd love to know which rock you're living under and if there's enough room for me, because it must be much nicer under there than it is out here.
You're on the internet, the entirety of human knowledge is at your fingertips. This specific info is just a search and a few moments of light reading away, but just in case you're actually a real person and are asking out of sincere curiosity, here's a few links for you to check out: https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/judge-blocks-washington-state-law-requiring-catholic-priests-to-report-abuse-even-if-disclosed-in-confession/
Meanwhile, France and other EU nations are done with allowing the church to assist with covering up and hiding crimes under the guise of clergy-penitent privs. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/12/catholic-priests-france-report-abuse-allegations-confession
...and if you're curious about why most of the world wants clergy to be made mandatory reporters, here's a short list of modern sex abuse scandals involving clergy; though this is far from exhaustive and only focuses on the Catholic church. There are a lot more cases out there from all religions and denominations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_cases_by_country
This is a great article that breaks down land use.
https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture
44% of habitable land is used for human agriculture. Most of that is used for livestock. One thousand years ago, only 4% of habitable land was used for human agriculture. Humans are the leading cause of habitat loss, which has lead to the fastest decline in biodiversity and ecological stability in history. Modern agriculture is one of the largest contributors to our climate and chemical problems, too.
Licking restaurant ashtrays is just what we kids did back then. We didn't know any better!