Not everything has an opposite. That is a trap of binary thinking.

Wait are you saying you think Quebec is a country or that you don’t know where Canada is? I guess the username is appropriate either way.

But how do they know which email that might be? Do they even know which of my accounts are for business or personal use? If I send an email from my business email to a bunch of friends and relatives to plan a party, will Google assume those are subscribers and pull my party-planning content from my email and put that info… somewhere… on my business page? I don’t want them reading any of my emails, ever.

The email from Google was laughable in that it contained almost no info on how this process is supposed to work. All it means to me is that I don’t have control over my own content. This should have been opt-in instead of opt-out.

Restaurant work is not typically salaried unless you’re the manager. I’d say that one might be an outlier. This is the first time I’ve heard anyone refer to hourly wages as independent work.

Find a Mormon. They will be ecstatic to do this for free. Of course all the social events will be church related and they will certainly try their best to convert you… But harassing people into participating is what they’re best at.

I just found out you can get into some local museums for free on the first full weekend of the month if you have one of three specific bank cards. I think Thursdays are free for anyone, but that can be hard to arrange if you have a 9-5 job or want to take the kids.

I understand where you’re coming from, completely. It definitely feels like being silenced (again, because let’s face it, this shit is mentally throwing us right back into childhood when our needs and feelings were ignored). I understand that desperate feeling of needing to be heard. But we’re adults now, and the people at work aren’t your parents. There’s nothing obligating them to listen. Even my spouse needs time where I’m not ranting about politics. An hour a day is all he can do right now, and this is someone who cares about how I feel. But this isn’t a rejection of my feelings.

One thing I’ve personally had to realize is that the stuff about politics isn’t actually you. You have to find a way to have a degree of separation between the political and your actual core. I know it looks like they’re the same thing right now. But think about what you really want to accomplish, think about what kind of culture you want to create at work. Do you want everyone to be as upset as you are? Would that make a good working environment? If you want others to be more compassionate, I think coming from a place of compassion yourself might work better. Right now it sounds like you’re treating people in ways you probably wouldn’t want others treating you. You can still be true to yourself, your ideals, and values without being quite so forceful. For some reason beyond my immediate comprehension, demonstrating the intensity of your feelings doesn’t translate into people caring - it’s rather the opposite.

This was a really hard lesson for me and took a few weeks to fully understand and think through. I hope you have someone likeminded in your life you can talk to outside of work. If you don’t, please consider trying to find a new friend. You need someone who already understands, who you don’t need to convince, to blow off steam with. Good luck.

How does that not hurt your wrist??

That’s odd. I read most of The Myth of Normal and did not get anything like what you’re saying from it. In fact, Mate mostly blamed “the system” for keeping people traumatized. I would have stopped reading immediately if he’d said anything like “children are too sensitive.” Are you sure this Barkley isn’t mischaracterizing Mate? Did Mate later change his stance about everything? Based on his book, I can’t imagine why he would ever say the things you describe.

Did you have a fever? Could be a bit of delirium.

If you already have a maxed out sharps drawer, then you probably don’t actually need any of the knives in this drawer. Like how often do you actually use the pizza cutter? I just cut pizza with a chef knife. Or the egg cutter? How often is that used? Sometimes the answer is to go through all your drawers and see what can be tossed to make space for the things you actually do use.

Actually, whether or not you want or need a trust will depend on what state you live in. Some states may try to force probate if you don’t have one, but in other states it isn’t necessary at all. Just to add more confusion!

What exactly do you propose the “normies” do? Is there some non-corporation making road-worthy cars? No? Let me guess, you want a family of 5 to bike 2 hours to the nearest school/park/grocery store in the snow on rural roads with no shoulder just to avoid paying a corporation? Take the nonexistent train?