As much as I’d like to see this BS punished, I can sympathize with workers who return to their job. I’m sure a lot of the folks affected would like to respond meaningfully to their unlawful termination but in real life the bills need to be paid.
Just posted in another thread about 800k people losing 2 billion because they bought Trump’s meme coin. Turns out there’s a whole lot of “find out” happening now.
I never thought you were being inflammatory or attacking me, but thank you for an apology/clarification even if it wasn’t necessary. I thought your response provided valuable perspective, and reminded us all that people are a diverse group that defies blanket categorization. I asked for your feedback because I legitimately didn’t know how to fold that into my post, which as I said was the truth of what I experienced. I also wanted to help divorce criticism of people like Elon Musk from “accusations” of mental disability, which I don’t feel should be an accusation or “gotcha”.
After over 25 years of work of varying intensity with psychiatrists, I’m legally permanently disabled because of mental illness and I have lived on permanent disability for several years. I’m lucky in that I’m physically and mentally capable, so most people won’t even know until they are close enough to me to start learning about my lifestyle and day-to-day experience. Even so I’ve experienced a fair bit of both well-meaning and malicious misunderstanding. Those misunderstandings are of course worse and more consistent for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and I don’t want to be part of that. That’s why I’m taking our conversation seriously.
I’m not going to delete my post because I stand beside what I said, but I did include the following edit: “Edit: Following discussion below, I think it would be right and humanizing to add a reminder to myself and others. Although my time with that particular group was positive, the mentally disabled are people like any of us and each will be different in terms of friendliness, happiness, and social capability.”
I don’t think that short addition will interrupt the flow or message of my post, and will address some of the context you’ve provided.
That’s an interesting addition and I have no reason to doubt you. It’s quite possible the people I saw regularly were there exactly because they were inclined to be friendly and happy. It probably also helps that they were closely accompanied by professionals. I can only comment on my experience with them, and what I wrote was accurate to that. I mean, one guy who was more physically able would do curls with me and call me Superman and I called him Batman. The reason I started talking to them is one really thin girl stopped while doing laps in a group and told me she loved me. I still smile thinking about those moments.
I honestly don’t know if I agree that it’s harmful to relay my couple of years interacting with the intellectually disabled as I did. It’s definitely the truth of my experience. At the same time I can completely believe it’s not the whole truth, and varies by individual. After all, I would only spend 10-30 minutes working out while they were nearby before I moved on. I’d definitely continue to insist that even the nasty folks aren’t doing anywhere near as much damage to global society as Elon Musk though.
Do you think I should change my post? And if so - how, given what I’ve written in this reply? Edit: after thinking about it, perhaps your followup will be enough to provide context?
This is an insult to people that would have been given that label in those days. Those folks are some of the happiest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. Until a couple years ago I used to work out a gym and interact with a group of the intellectually disabled who would come in for exercise. They told me they loved me, worked out with me, laughed with me and they were one of the best parts of gym time.
Musk runs propaganda platforms, fights unions, visits Epstein islands, buys elections, and is THE example of the oligarchy that is in a very real way ruining the world and destroying hope. He has no right to be given a label that would historically would place him in the same category as the people I knew for years.
Trudeau wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t going to win again. I only voted Liberal once (otherwise NDP who are center-left to left). I did so because Trudeau promised to get rid of first-past-the-post elections, and when that didn’t happen they lost me. My take on his time as leader is that he was decent during hard times. Not great, not terrible - life got harder as Canadians but we fared better than a lot of countries.
I’d much rather have him than the MAGA-lite conservative government which I fear my nation is headed for. My right-wing family members seem to share very similar faults to MAGA. I really don’t want Americans to get fucked by Trump and his reality-show appointees, but it looks like that’s what the US is headed for regardless of my wishes. I can only hope that our undecideds look at the mess the US Republicans are already and move away from voting in that mindset here.
BTW, Trump responding by continuing to call Canada as the 51st state and referring to our office of Prime Minister as the “governor of Canada” is shit behaviour and likely to burn through some goodwill. I know the folks reading this have no control over that clown, but I’m not looking forward to getting that attitude from the bloc of voters that parrot his verbal diarrhea.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. “If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” Fuck right off you spray-painted felon sex offender.
Rare W for separation of church and state in Republican territory. I hope it lasts.
I too am a connoisseur of urinary tract infections. /s
The USA elected the wrong Ol’ Dirty Bastard so you best protect ya neck.
Anyone who opposed him, and especially those who have/had a lawsuit against him, are now in the crosshairs.
As a foreigner looking in, I’m worried about how things like widespread protest suppression and union-busting will affect the called-for attempts at change. Some of that stuff was bipartisan, and it’s unlikely to get better now that the far right has control of the Presidency, Senate, SCOTUS, and perhaps the House.
That’s such a Philly headline - DA set to go full Broad Street Bullies. Philly is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest hockey brawls ever this year.
We are sorry to hear you are disappointed with the Canadian gender identity. Please hold if you wish to express your concerns to one of our agents. Alternatively, courses on the challenges and advantages of being Canadian and what it means to be hockeysexual are available in English and French. Completion of the course grants access to free-but-slow healthcare and a $25 Tim Hortons gift card.
"It’s easy for her to talk, sitting far from where the death scenes take place, but put a gun in her hand, and let her go fight, and she’ll say, ‘No thanks!’” This from a guy who discusses deploying troops in America against Americans, yet dodged the Vietnam draft with fake medical issues.
If Christian parents were really concerned about their child’s safety they’d let them go to library book readings and keep them away from church groups and camps.
Occupational safety may be punk rock, but breaking forklifting rules is early-2010’s dubstep.
Looking at that 2nd point: it’s so odd that Trump’s Republicans include hardcore Netanyahu-style Zionists AND unrepentant antisemites. It’s like they want to cover all possible approaches to the wrong side of history.
As to the meat of the story, Legal Eagle made a video about the legality of the Musk lottery. It seems pretty clearly forbidden, but we’ve been down this road with rich Conservatives many times before…
“What do you do?”
“I’m a nunya.”
“Do you mean a nun?”
“No, I mean nunya goddamn business.”
Good. In the USA, slavery isn’t ok for private citizens. Only prisons are allowed to engage in blatant actual slavery.