"Ah, dang it, I showed up late and they're out of masks. I guess that means I'll have to use the voice-cancelling ball gag again..."
Yikes! It is frightening how shameless some people are; proud, even.
When I was young, I decided I probably shouldn't have kids. I figured that if my parents (who I loved and respected at the time) couldn't raise me without so much pain and fear, I'd probably do an even worse job.
When I told my abusive mother this as an adult, she told me I did not actually have that thought. How convenient for her.
We no longer speak. 🥲
Thank you. ❤️ Your words bring tears to my eyes, just knowing that I am seen.
Best wishes on turning your world into something better than what was handed to you!
I hope I am clearing that very low bar, lol, but it is difficult. Backwards thinking was violently programmed into me. I have to keep reminding myself that my parents were wrong. I feel like a broken person, but it wasn't my choice.
I try to use the pain as motivation. I know others have it even worse and I want to do whatever I can to help them. I wish I knew how.
I just feel like I'm running behind something, not even sure what exactly, money, stability, proving something to myself, maybe all of it at once.
The rich are tightening the vice. They do not want us to afford to live independently, they want us to be their slaves.
Good luck.
In theory, it makes sense; it's a physical thing we can exchange to represent gratitude.
In practice, it has been completely weaponized against us and I hope we can stop using it.
We live in the information age, we can track needs and contributions in a way that is more difficult to exploit.
My best guess is they thought it would reflect poorly on them as parents, and their image is more important to them than their childrens' happiness. Certainly the case with my parents, at least.
I am here because my parents thought the only ethical way they could have sex was to get married and have children. They had no interest in actually raising those children. I have been suicidal all my life, but at least I am finally far away from them.
I prefer to focus on reality. Abuse has been normalized and things need to change. Others have it worse than I do. There are more victims every day.
I agree with you in spirit, although "dead things can't consent" is insufficient in my opinion. Sex toys can't consent either, but there is nothing morally wrong with using them appropriately.
We evolved a sense of revulsion about corpses to help keep us safe. Christians have a harmful habit of backwards thinking, claiming an invisible wizard created the morals we developed naturally over time. My abusive parents will never face justice because too many people think they're entitled to believe things that are not true.
It is scary how many people genuinely seem to think atheists can't or don't have morals. Imo, it's immoral to lie. If everyone could stop pretending magic is real, if we could hold each other accountable using standards that are grounded in observable reality, we could solve a lot of problems.
My parents had children they couldn't actually afford, so they spent most of their time at work instead of raising us. Somehow, they expect me to be grateful to them for not being there and for bringing me into slave world.
I wish I hadn't been born.
Right, but a celebrity look-alike would be much cheaper than the celebrity, and their faces might be practically indistinguishable.