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8 hours agoUh, Socialism please.
“Well we’re all out of Socialism. We only had three bits and we didn’t expect such a rush. So whaddaya want?”
What, so my choice is “or US free enterprise”?
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Cake day: July 23rd, 2023
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Reports are down because people have given up on reporting. The FTC doesn’t send you details of if they’re doing anything with your report. Most telemarketing comes from spoofed phone numbers. Reporting the same caller for 2+ YEARS doesn’t stop them from calling. Enforcement actions appear to be exceedingly rare.
If call volume doubles but 2/3 of reporters have given up, the metric goes down. This isn’t a win.
Gay sex tapes would do it. Not that I think there are any, but his base are homophobic enough to turn on him for that. Rape and pedophilia they can understand, accept, and support, but gay sex is where they would draw the line.
Sigh.
0·8 days agoYep, Q is Queer (also sometimes Questioning). It’s kind of a fuzzy category to define from the outside, but covers people who don’t consider themselves to fall within any of the other categories.
Non binary and other gender nonconforming folks will often identify as queer. So may people who challenge cis- or hetero-normativity, monamory, and other social norms around gender and sexuality (look into “Queer Theory”).
Absolutely - it’s a great place to be gay or lesbian, and presumably bi as well. Trans or gender nonconforming is another matter.
Since you say you’re already familiar with the Cass report and issues like multi year wait times for initial appointments for transition care, I’ll jump to other examples.
Media - From the BBC, to the Guardian, to Channel 4, transphobia is given a megaphone.
Rising levels of hate crimes
Guidance to schools includes outing transgender children to their parents
LGB is one thing, Q and T are another. There’s a reason it’s so often referred to as “TERF Island”.
Be the reason why a fascist feels unsafe.
Granted, Biden did almost nothing to slow it down, and kept Israel well supplied with the weapons of genocide. Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Netanyahu waited until the day after the election to announce that Palestinians won’t be allowed to return to northern Gaza though?
Granted, that was almost certainly the plan all along, but now even the fig leaf is gone. Without the need to devote any thought at all to political cover, Israel will stop even pretending to internal investigations of accusations against their own soldiers and redeploy those resources to the battlefield.
The number of Palestinian deaths may not be different, but they’ll die even sooner.
I wouldn’t trust Trump to uphold the U.S.'s traditional military commitments to Taiwan. Living through the Chinese invasion wouldn’t be fun, and afterwards you’re looking at Chinese rather than Taiwanese policies.
To be even more explicit on the last point, that means regularly updating OpenWRT and all your containers, not just the server’s base OS
They
can’twon’t even hold Israel back currently.
Thank you, I thought I missed one! Again, this will also require some form of ID. It also provides greater leg room and comfort than airplane or bus. The seats also recline more than either of the others, which may be helpful given OP’s cognitive issues with sitting up for extended periods.
Caught that within a few seconds of posting, but edits seem to take longer to propagate than the original post
This is a long reply. I’ll do it in spoiler tags for the convenience of people who don’t like that.
It sounds like you already have your answers on what to do, which is the question everybody is trying to answer:
- You believe you are at real risk, so you need to get out.
- You can’t safely access your primary ID documents, so don’t (or if possible before leaving town, go the APS rout suggested by another commenter). Take any secondary ID you have with you and replace primary ID later.
- This is the one you seem least sure about, but you’ve identified your best safe destination, at least to start. Go to your Democratic relatives, and plan next steps from there. I’ll add to this and other “what” questions in a reply
There are two other ways to understand what you’re asking for in this post.
The first is validation to build confidence in your decision.
You have it.
Nobody is in a better position than you are to judge the seriousness of the situation. Trust your gut and get out.
The other way of reading the question is not what to do, but how. Logistics. This is the thing that hasn’t been addressed.
I am disabled. My cognitive ability suffers severely if I sit up or stand up for more than a few minutes. I also have another condition that requires me to avoid bending my neck, so I have to keep it straight.
This suggests you don’t drive, and that long walks or waiting at a bus stop aren’t good options for you. Since you’ve presumably lived with your disability for some time, I’m going to assume you have local transport options sorted out - please reply with more details (level of urban, distance and size of nearest cities if rural, details on who drives you places if applicable, social connections) if if that’s wrong.
You may or may not not have much long distance travel experience. How have you made longer trips in the past, other than your parents driving?
Driving
- Convincing a liberal friend to drive you to a red state within a week of the election is a tough ask - even if they are willing and have the time, they may not feel safe doing so. If they do, they’re also more likely to downplay the risk from your brother. Most people who can do this are not working: retired, unemployed, or stay-at-home parents.
Unemployed friend should be your first choice here: probably happy to make the trip if you cover gas and lodging. Stay at home parent is less likely to be able to get away because of the need to handle childcare. Retired people you know are probably also connected to your parents, which make them riskier options.
- There are also websites and apps for pairing strangers with and without cars going in the same direction. Usually the person with the car will want gas money from the one without. This is a riskier option for you. It may also take longer and require you to make temporary arrangements to stay somewhere locally, and even then not work out.
First, don’t use Facebook for this - too easy for it to get back to your family. Use your favorite search engine or app store to find a “road trip carpooling” tool. Probably as manybas possible, if you choose this option.
With your disability, you’re more vulnerable to unsympathetic or even politically hostile drivers. When they ask about your trip, don’t tell them why you left. You’re going to visit family you haven’t seen in a while. Talk about things you’ve done with them in the past, and what you’re looking forward to doing with them now. Don’t mention things that convey their (or your) politics.
If you’re paired with a MAGAt or someone who holds otherwise objectionable views, do not push back. Express indifference, or even agreement if that’s what it takes. You’re vulnerable both because of your disability and because they control your transportation - you don’t want to be stranded at the next rest or gas stop.
Air
You will need state ID, drivers license, or passport for this. You can buy a ticket online through a site like Travelocity, Kayak, or Orbitz. That will usually be cheaper than through the airlines. Print your ticket if you feel safe doing so, otherwise you can get it at check-in at the airport.
Show up over an hour early - preferably two, I don’t know how muvh your disability may slow things down. Check-in is probably at a kiosk. Then ask the first uniformed person you see for mobility assistance. With your standing issues, that will probably mean someone to push you in a wheelchair to TSA. Documentation of your disability may help here, but shouldn’t be necessary.
After TSA, they’ll probably send a golf cart to rake you to the gate. Once boarding is called, disability should make you eligible to board at any time. If you need to lie down to keep enough cognitive ability to recognize the right boarding call, do so, and explain to any official that tells you to sit up (but they probably won’t). Ignore any passengers that say anything about it - you don’t have to answer to them.
When you board, make the flight crew aware of the cognitive issues with sitting. Ask them to tell you specifically at each stop if it’s time for you to exit the plane.
When you arrive, ask for mobility assistance again. There will be a taxi stand at the airport if you need that. You may not want to call ahead to your family even then, so you can make your request in person not to contact your brother and parents.
Bus
Greyhound, or Megabus. You will need state ID, drivers license, or passport for this. It will be physically challenging.
Again, you can buy tickets online. I recommend this, as they sell out. If buying and printing the ticket at home is not safe, you can still plan the trip and then buy at the terminal if there is one - but it limits your starting point options to actual terminals (not all Greyhound stops have them). The ride will be long, cramped, and you will almost certainly have to change buses at some point. Bring something to do that won’t run down your phone battery, like a book or knitting.
There will be less assistance than with flying. Lying down at the station is more common, but if they’re full they’re more likely to make you sit up despite your disability. There will be stops where you can buy food. There won’t be a taxi stand at the other end, but there will almost certainly be a local bus stop.
> I also can't safely lift anything that's heavier than a few pounds, so anything more than that is very risky. I can push and pull fine.
Do you have a rolling small suitcase you frequently use for taking things with you when you go places nearby? If so, pack what you can in that. Ignore things that can be easily replaced (personal care items, fashion clothing, etc) and plan to replace them when you get where you’re going. Thrift stores are your friend. Focus on things of emotional, medical, or financial value. If there’s room left, pack underwear since that can’t be gotten used.
If leaving with anything would be unusual, don’t. Getting you out is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. If you go the APS route for your ID, they can help you retrieve some belongings at the same time. Otherwise, plan to figure it out later.
Both of these are good suggestions, but only after OP gets out.
I would - there’s the risk they don’t take a phone call seriously and let something slip to the parents. Far better to show up on their doorstep to help them understand the gravity of the situation and importance of getting out.
1·21 days agodeleted by creator
That’s an easy one - change it for them!
“Tastes of human sir. Would you like a white wine?”