In today's political climate, when there are several groups trying to paint China as completely and uniquely evil in every sense, it is important to note that similar actions have been taken by other nations against them.

Additionally, from the opposite angle, by providing examples of times when other nations did similar horrible things, it shows both that the information is plausible and that China definitely knows what the result of this will be. This arguably makes it even worse, given that they have seen the way that lives can be ruined by addiction and overdose when supplied with these substances.

The poster you replied to said nothing except stating the fact, and too many people don't know their history and are apt to think that situations like this are only a part of modern history. If he brought up an unrelated bad thing someone had done, that would be derailing, but providing this information opens up some real discussion about how this happened and how to deal with it.

No, a bigot who followed Afd, Elon Musk, and other racists and spouted a bunch of Islamophobic BS on Twitter and other social media, according to all reliable reporting.

This puts a lot of blame on trans men while simultaneously perpetuating the erasure we are constantly facing.

I am a trans masc enby, but I have been on full dose testosterone for a decade, have had top surgery and a full hysterectomy. I am still routinely misgendered because T did not lower my voice enough to pass and I do not have enough facial hair, so people assume I am a woman with a hormone difference. This misgendering happens in person and over the phone, and my experience in this is fairly common among trans men.

On top of that, any attempt we make to be more visible is often silenced because we are accused of taking space away from trans women. People will say 'trans people' and then talk about an experience that is pretty exclusive to trans women, and if we point it out, we are told to enjoy our male privilege and shut up. When we tried to put more focus on a trans man in sports who is being ostracized in a similar way (see Mack Briggs, who was forced to compete on the girls teams), then we are told that it "isn't the same" as what trans women face, and that we should be grateful for the fact that his plight isn't getting attention.

We face the exact same kinds of issues that trans women face, but with almost none of the support. We have to fight to even be seen in most trans friendly spaces, which usually end up being more akin to "women and femme" spaces where masculine trans people are told that we aren't welcome because we make people uncomfortable. Then, when we try to make our own spaces, we are accused of excluding trans women and being misogynists.

All that to say: stop blaming trans men for the abuses that cis people perpetuate. We have our own struggles, and while we stand with the rest of the trans community, it is not our job to put ourself in more harm's way to benefit others. We are here, we have always been here, and we would really appreciate people recognizing that it isn't all sunshine and rainbows for us, and that we face just as many issues with a fraction of the support.

Even if that is true, why take out your frustration like this, by raging against those of us who are willing to do all the good we can?

I am not promising that we will be able to fix everything. Heck, I don't even know if we can fully fix anything. But until every last living being is dead, there is something here that deserves every chance we can give or get.

You don't have to participate, but to argue against this kind of work is like denying pain medication to someone who is dying and justifying it by saying 'meds will not save you'. If we can't save the life, we can at least save them from as much suffering as we can manage.

I was in NYC for Pride the other year and got a sample of a cannabis drink made by a new-at-the-time company Cycling Frog. Flavor is good for a seltzer type drink, and the inebriation level is tailored to be about equal to 1-2 alcoholic beverages, which makes it easy to dose. Hubby and I loved it and bought a couple of cans on the spot. They are now available in dispensaries near us, and we still pick up a case every few months.

While this is helpful and informative, I will say I personally get a better view of what is best for protein by looking at grams of protein per 100 g of food. Mostly because it is really hard to eat 100 calories worth of spinach (about 4 cups worth) in one sitting, while eating 100 calories of tofu (1/2 a cup) is very easy.

As a short dude (5' 0"), you give short dudes a bad name.

You assume you know everything about everyone, you treat people like walking stereotypes instead of treating them like actual individuals, and you refuse to even consider that people are avoiding you for your personality instead of your height. All the while, you are blaming women for a problem that, even if it did exist as much as you insist, would largely be perpetuated by the men who run the clubs, not the women who can get in for free and usually just want to be left alone so they can dance with their friends.

Are there a lot of areas where we face actual discrimination because we fall outside standard height considerations? Sure, I can think of several. None of them have to do with whether I get into a club. And you don't make your case by using discriminatory language and being a misogynistic ass.

I can guarantee you that your attitude is hindering your social life far more than your height. There are plenty of women who love short men, but so many of them end up needing to constantly worry about their man's ego that they don't think it is worth it.

In other words: men like you, no matter the height, are the reason women choose the bear. Grow up, solve your own insecurities, and stop assuming that you know what is going through people's minds every minute of the day.

Except the major increase in demand isn't coming from vegan diets? It is coming from the popularity of the nuts as a snack in the Asia-Pacific region, with India being the largest consumer nation. These countries have been and are still the largest importers and consumers of the nuts, and their demand has been steadily increasing over the last few years. While some demand comes from alternative milks and cheeses, the overwhelming majority is strictly for traditional foods and snacks.

We can call out human rights abuses without demonizing a group that is more likely to buy from reputable sources that don't participate in human rights violations. I see a lot of people quick to blame vegans for any increase in demand for a plant product, even when it is factually untrue or at best heavily biased.

Sources for my claim, btw:

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-cashew-market

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/processed-cashew-market

It looks like the brand is owned by Moroccanoil Israel Ltd, according to this source: https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.moroccanoil_israel_ltd.e4e53c2d6638312e6f0b70c68a8cf55e.html#:~:text=MOROCCANOIL%20ISRAEL%20LTD%20is%20located,and%20Druggists'%20Sundries%20Merchant%20Wholesalers

The story on the About page of the article lists only one co-founder, Carmen Tal, who lives in Canada and bought the original business to sell their products outside of Israel. She says in several interviews that she found the products while visiting or living in Tel Aviv, examples listed here:

https://www.salonmagazine.ca/business-a-chat-with-moroccanoil-co-founder-carmen-tal/

https://venturesafrica.com/mining-liquid-gold-carmen-tal-ceo-moroccanoil/

So the company is originally Israeli, only sells to certain countries and no countries besides Israel in the Middle East (as listed on their webpage, as Israel is literally the only country they list under the Middle East section), and is still registered as being in Israel as far as I can see. They do seem to have gone to great lengths to try to hide that fact on their About page though, which I find odd.

I got mine after top surgery, but I did not get double incision or nipple grafts. I had a small chest, so I got periaeraolar, so I only have the small scars around the lower areolar edge. The nipple 'stalk' was severed during my surgery, but they were not completely grafted, so my results may be different than the norm.

I actually got mine pierced for medical as well as aesthetic reasons, since my left nipple inverted after I got top surgery and kept getting irritated and inflamed when stuff would get stuck in it. I got them both pierced with no issues, and have gone about two years with relatively few issues.

However, I have been told by some cis friends that not everyone can get their nipples pierced. Some people have thinner skin on their nipples, which can massively increase the chance of migration or tearing. Some people will have their bodies reject the piercing, and previous rejections make this more likely with subsequent piercings. Shape isn't always a factor, but can be in certain circumstances if the skin is very tight or inflexible.

I would recommend asking for a second opinion at a different location and see what they say. If someone else on here has a situation more similar to yours, I would definitely take their advice over mine though.

TL;DR: Top surgery shouldn't prevent you from getting your nipples pierced, but your particular nipples may not be suited for piercing, which can happen.

This right here. People forget that patriarchy doesn't mean that men have no problems, just that social systems favor men.

If people want to watch some very good breakdowns of the current 'masculinity crisis's and the reasons it exists, I would recommend watching Contrapoints, Swolesome, F.D. Signifier, Khadija Mbowe, Foreign Man in a Foreign Land, and anyone that they invite onto their episodes where they discuss men's issues. Even if a particular episode deals specifically with trans men or black men, it is still worth watching, because we all live in the same system, it just affects us differently based on its categories and enforcement of labels.

My husband and I have been watching them for years, and a lot of these videos have helped him immensely, because they allow him to put his frustrations with lack of emotional intimacy and social support into words that make sense and aren't immediately dismissed by therapists or family members, who are often perpetrators of these very biases.

As someone in New York, this is wonderful news!

Also, for anyone looking to get out of a state for their own safety, consider reaching out to a real estate company in the area you are looking to move to. Specifically, find a branch in the general area and call their office. They will usually have an admin or admin assistant you can talk to directly who will be able to help you find local resources, and they may even be able to help with things other than housing.

My husband is such an assistant, and he has already helped a family move here to escape anti-trans laws. There are plenty of us who are willing and able to help in any way we can.