I feel many people are so privileged on both sides of politics that they have nothing better to do than to create their own problems.

Most people believe in God, so you’re arguing most people are being swindled, implying they are not intelligent enough to come to their own conclusions on the existence of a higher power. That is a very pessimistic view of reality I think, especially when people such as Galileo, Darwin, and Newton were very religious themselves.

Yes. Politically militant people are becoming more common. This time last month people seemed to have been much more agreeable even if they didn’t agree with you.

You can’t regulate automation to stop it. You need to learn to adapt just like everyone else who has been automated out of a job.

Where did I say religion works for everyone? I gave it as one example of something that worked for me and clearly works for billions of others.

I’ve had awful experiences with the mental health system, but I think getting triggered by someone saying therapy worked for them makes sense. Sorry to hear you suffered.

Yes. Many religious people including myself feel happy. That’s one method.

Others find a purpose in their life to drive toward or dedicate themselves to. Be it art, friends, family, work, learning etc.

I would suggest looking at what you want from life, and asking yourself what the first step is to achieving that. I find that I’m at my happiest when I’m keeping on track with my goals.

This is the most simple solution and probably a lot safer than the alternatives. Another good option would be to use OpenVPN.

If I didn’t graduate high school I would probably just lie to get my foot in the door.

Thanks. I’ve noticed there’s many LGBT people in general who seem to feel this way, so it’s always nice to hear from others who do too.

I’m sick of how unhinged people get about trans people, especially from those in the left. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my identity invalidated by people simply because I disagree with them on something socially or politically. These people claim to be my allies but the moment I don’t fit their stereotype of a trans person it’s like I’m not even a person to them anymore.

What those kinds of people have done to my brother as well pisses me off to no end. It’s disgusting how a political group claims to be your friend only to try and harm you if you don’t act the way they want you to. That’s what abusers and cultists do.

When the American republic becomes the American Empire and companies become divinely chosen aristocrats. Not an impossible outcome.

Everything you post online is public, even if services claim its private. Just remember that and try to be anonymous so you blend in with the background noise.

Never. They are cheap and work, and nicer underwear isn’t so much nicer that it’s worth the extra money. It’s underwear, it’s not like other people are going to see it.

Many people, including myself personally, have been telling people how much of a liar he is for at least 6 or 7 years at this point. Ever since the “hyperloop” nonsense got big.

Pleasantly surprised with SpaceX and Starlink delivering, but even those are plagued by Musk over promising in what is actually doable.

I work in a warehouse after quitting my logistics job where I was managing a forklift team. If I ever have to work in an office again I’ll just quit and find someplace else to work. I can’t stand middle class people who think they’re better than the working class just because they have a degree. It’s ironic how they kept making the dumbest possible decisions and expected no one with logistical sense to say “that’s not actually feasible”.

You think someone with a college education could understand that if you take 3 boxes in and only send 2 boxes out, you’re eventually going to fill an entire warehouse.

When people get offended on behalf of others, especially when their stupidity harms the people they claim to be offended for.

Case in point, the Hogwarts Legacy situation. It made trans people look unhinged by association, even though the seemingly vast majority of them were cis progressives.

And if I as a trans person mention how I don’t feel represented and don’t appreciate what they are doing? Suddenly I’m a Russian troll or something. So stupid.

Social media. It wasn’t until very recently that people started to realize just how harmful it actually is.

They can’t fry nerves or anything? My Grandmother has spine issues related to an accident and had that done a few times, so perhaps it’s something you could ask for? Sorry to hear you’re going through the pain though, I don’t think most people realize how awful chronic pain is.

That is certainly alcoholism. You don’t sound dumb, you’re smart for being able to recognize it. Many people just ignore it and pretend they aren’t addicted.

For me it was growing up around drug addicts. I wanted to know why so many people in my life liked them so much, so started using drugs around the age of 13.

It started with abusing inhalants, huffing ether spray for small motors, and even huffing gasoline at my worst.

I started associating with troll groups online at the time, and a lot of them were drug users as well. They knew I was a dumb kid and got me to stop huffing and move onto abusing my prescriptions, which included adderall and xanax. I would switch between the two based on what I had on hand. Crushing up the adderall to snort it, taking multiple pills of Xanax trying not to black out.

I did this for a year or two and stopped as I learned about “research chemicals”, which I could legally buy online. I tried all kinds of psychedelic drugs such as 2C-E and nBome. I was lucky I didn’t die, since those drugs were extremely intense on my body. I ended up going to the ER after talking too much nBome, which resulted in my legs turning a completely pale white. They felt cold and numb, which told me it was vein constriction, a known risk of the drug which can easily result in death or limb loss.

I’m about 19 when that happened, and Silk Road was kicking into high gear, so I figured I should just start using that to buy real drugs, which I did. I started buying absurd amounts of weed and acid, spending basically all my money from my first job. I didn’t have to pay bills or rent as I was living with my grandparents. I don’t even remember most of this period of my life, as it was just a constant stream of psychedelics, alcohol, Xanax, and marijuana abuse.

In 2016 the weed and psychedelics weren’t doing it anymore, and for whatever reason my grandpa had managed to collect enough unused Xanax prescriptions that I got my hands on HUNDREDS of pills. I quickly became addicted in the span of about a month, which I knew because I started to wake up feeling stabbing pains, cramps, extreme lethargy, and depression.

The next 6 months were the worst period of my life. I would take xanax multiple times a day just to get through the day. Even with that, I was having awful withdrawals that included dry heaving even though I wanted to throw up, strange memory loss (both short term and long term), intolerance to light and sound (even the wind was enough to make me want to vomit), cramps, stabbing pains, insomnia, and so much more.

Eventually I ended up buying heroin, but luckily my friend at the time put his foot down and threatened to leave me if I didn’t accept his help getting off the drugs. It took about 6 months and lots of checking in, but eventually I tapered myself off the Xanax and got rid of any heroin I had. Unfortunately however the taste of heroin I got was enough for me to start seeking out opiates. Luckily between the high prices and extreme risks that fentanyl was posing at the time, I never got addicted, but even to this day I wish I was able to use more, and often get obsessive thinking about how nice it would feel to use them again.

From that point to now I’ve been able to stick to weed for the most part, but looking back on all the time and money I wasted just makes me sad. I am lucky my experiences were benign compared to what could have happened at least.

To anyone who may be considering using drugs for the first time, just don’t. Yes they feel good, but living life feels better. With drugs the pleasure quickly goes away and you just end up using them to cope. It’s a stupid, worthless cycle that just leaves you feeling empty.

Sorry this comment was so long.