It's a bummer because reddit used to be really cool. It's like when you discover a cool little cafe or something that you love going to. Eventually more and more people discover it, and it becomes a bit more crowded, but you still go. Then it gets written up in some magazine or something, and the crowd becomes nuclear. It becomes a tourist trap flogging merchandise, and they turn it into a chain, with the food semi-preprepared for mass consumption. The experience sucks and what was a special spot is ruined.
Honestly, reddit drove me away. I got tired of being hounded by engagement bots asking inane questions, and in the wake of reddit going public, the comment police regularly were nitpicking my comments, reading into them intolerance that simply wasn't there. I was just sick of it all. Reddit has a much bigger userbase, but lemmy is more friendly. There are occasions where it would be nice to post something niche and have a robust discussion, which requires a site with more mass appeal, but I'm not interested in all the drawbacks of dealing with reddit.
There is no good answer, and you have to find what is right for you. I've been around too many toxic people for too long, and at this point I feel like I don't owe anyone my time or attention, family or not. Setting solid boundaries has worked wonders for my mental health. While I would love to have a good, healthy relationship with my family, I cannot make that happen by myself. They have to meet me halfway, and when they engage in behaviors that I wouldn't tolerate from anyone else, it reminds me that I shouldn't tolerate it from them either. People get so hung up on "but he's your father" or "it's your family," but the people that say that have no idea what I've been through and no frame of reference. It is absolutely 100% the right thing to minimize or eliminate contact with abusive people, even if they are your family.
I feel for you. My parents also drank the Koolaid, but my mother is dead now, and my father has slipped even further down the rabbit hole. He's also a horrible person in general, and while I used to engage with him if he were behaving himself, I've effectively gone no contact now. I've only spoke with him once in the last few years, and when he launched into a racist anti-immigrant tirade I told him not to be a coward his entire life and hung up on him. It was on my birthday.
"I moved on her like a bitch. I couldn't get there and she was married. Then all-of-a-sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look."
There are lots of places you can go, especially if you are flexible in how you do it. For example, it is fairly easy to get a student visa in most countries, and that will cover you for at least 4 years. Socially liberal countries like Finland, Iceland, and Germany have universities that are free to attend, even for foreigners, and a student visa will typically allow you to work to cover living expenses. Moreover, as the political climate in the U.S. deteriorates, and it is sliding quickly, I expect asylum avenues to open up. If you're already in country as a student and not causing problems, and you're in the first wave seeking asylum, odds are pretty good that you'd be accepted. Yes, there will be language and cultural issues to navigate, but most people in these countries speak english and they're part of the western world, so the cultural gulf will not be that big.
I am about as "normal" as you get. I am a middle-aged white male, and I use a Pixel 6 Pro with Graphene OS installed. I switched to Graphene OS for security in the wake of an ugly divorce involving a campaign of stalking and harassment when I began to suspect my prior phone had been compromised.
Is there anything of value in the camera set-ups to steal and quickly turn into cash? If so, an information campaign to raise awareness of the value amongst crackheads and meth addicts could work wonders.
If they are looking to date younger, I'd say that 25 would probably be the realistic minimum, as that is the age by which the brain is fully developed. If a thirty year old is looking to date older, I don't really see any real limit. Their brain is fully developed, and they've been an adult long enough that they can evaluate the pros and cons of the older person.
Interesting. I live in Southern California, and have been learning Spanish on my own using the comprehensible input method. I have pretty decent comprehension at this point, and could really use some practice speaking. I'll look into this.
I will say that it's styling is unique and distinctive, and looks like it belongs in a videogame, making it a polarizing "love it or hate it" aesthetic. While such a risky choice could potentially succeed, Musk going full MAGA and throwing Nazi salutes really turned a lot of people off of Tesla, and it's distinctive flagship videogame "truck" became the instant icon of douchbaggery. Add in that Musk chronically over promises and under delivers (i.e., he lies about prospective features and benefits of his products), and every single problem with the vehicle is put under the microscope and (rightfully) held up as an example of why the truck is shit. Also note that, on brand for Musk, the relatively low price that it was promised at ($39,999) never materialized, and the actual price for the base vehicle was over $100K. So yeah, overpriced and shit compared to what was promised. The styling might have been able to find a fanbase, but not now, because it flags you as a Nazi supporter.
It's a bummer because reddit used to be really cool. It's like when you discover a cool little cafe or something that you love going to. Eventually more and more people discover it, and it becomes a bit more crowded, but you still go. Then it gets written up in some magazine or something, and the crowd becomes nuclear. It becomes a tourist trap flogging merchandise, and they turn it into a chain, with the food semi-preprepared for mass consumption. The experience sucks and what was a special spot is ruined.