Ah, yes. But here’s the thing.
If you make a polite and reasonable comment about veganism and it’s met with hostility, you’re more likely to come across as the good guy and those attacking you come across as arseholes. People reading the exchange are more likely to think that the guy defending veganism or animal rights may have a point.
If you come in all guns blazing, and attack people, people are just as likely to think you’re the arsehole.
Oh, of course. But once you accept that all humans are flawed, you’re more likely to empathize with people who make poor choices, relate to them, and become more convincing.
So for example, you don’t call people hypocrites and a murderers, which will inevitably cause them to become defensive and double down. Especially in a conversation where people are already expressing that they dissaprove of animal abuse. Instead you say something like:
“Same here. Animal suffering also makes me sad, and I couldn’t help but think that I was part of that. I slowly transitioned to eating no meat a while back. But I know it’s hard to make changes. If anyone wants tips, just ask. No judgement.”
Or perhaps:
“Yeah. Food’s really becoming expensive. One thing that does help, is that I eat vegetarian curries. They cost less to make and it’s not that hard. I found this cool recipe and use a rice cooker so I can take care of the kids while it cooks.”
I mean, imagine people who own a fairphone and buy only fair trade chocolate, went around calling the rest of us cunts. They might have a point, but it really wouldn’t help them win the argument.
Now read the rest of the paragraph you chose to ignore.
I’m vegan and have been for years.
Your moral pontificating may be good for your own ego, but at the end of the day Burger King’s vegan nuggets have done more to promote veganism, than lectures from the terminally online. Be honest with yourself. You’re not doing it to convert people. You’re doing it to feel good about yourself. Vanity. It’s the Devil’s favourite sin.
You know how I convert people? I make them nice food and give them recipe tips.
Imagine you’re about to eat an ice-cream. You see a kid drowning in a pool. You could save him, but instead you choose to eat your ice cream. You put short term pleasure before saving a child’s life. Evil, right?
Now imagine that you can’t see the kid. You know he’s going to die, but instead of donating a bit of money to a charity, you buy that ice cream, drink that fancy frappucino, buy that t-shirt or overpriced gadget you didn’t actually need to buy. You put a short term endorphin rush above saving a child’s life.
This is you. This is everyone. Humans are all evil to a degree. We are all hypocrites to a degree. We allow that kid to die, those workers to get abused, those animals to suffer. The only excuse we have is that we are animals and that we largely act on instinct, even if we rationalise our choices afterwords, often telling ourselves we’re not bad people.
Once you accept that basic fact, mostly because life experience has forced you to come to terms with your flaws, you hopefully become more humble. You gain character, wisdom, and honesty. And here’s a silver lining: once you realise that you’re also deeply flawed and approach fellow humans with humility, you often end up becoming more convincing.
Of course, the first step is to accept that convincing people to be less evil, is more important than vanity and holding to the idea that you’re somehow better than them.
Here’s Norm McDonald telling a joke about hypocrisy:
“oh, I know that language too!” from someone. And… They don’t.
Prime example: according to numerous surveys more Dutch people speak French well than Belgians.
Belgian is half French speaking, French is taught in Flemish schools from an early age, and many Dutch/Flemish speakers work in predominantly French speaking Brussels, and/or have French speaking friends/relatives.
But it’s understandable: a Dutch person thinks their French is great if they manage to order something in a French restaurant while on holiday and have the waiter understand them. That’s more than enough for their purposes. A Flemish Belgian thinks their French is bad, if they’re unable to write a letter in French which respects rules like those about accord COD/COI (Elle a pris des photos. Les photos qu’elle a prises. Elle est allée prendre des photos. - Hope that’s correct)
That and Dunning Kruger. If you have little competence in foreign languages, you don’t know enough to know that you don’t know enough.
Meh. I think not giving your friend a standing ovation or defending him after he’s been convicted of rape is a good start.
Not suspected:
… a judge in New York, Lewis A Kaplan, said that when Carroll repeated her allegation that Trump raped her, her words were “substantially true”. Kaplan also set out in detail why it may be said that Trump raped Carroll. … “The jury … was instructed that it could find that Mr Trump ‘raped’ Ms Carroll only if it found that he forcibly penetrated Ms Carroll’s vagina with his penis. “It could not find that he ‘raped’ her if it determined that Mr Trump forcibly penetrated Ms Carroll’s private sexual parts with his fingers – which commonly is considered ‘rape’ in other contexts – because the New York penal law definition of rape is limited to penile penetration.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/07/donald-trump-rape-language-e-jean-carroll
Trump denied the allegations, prompting Carroll to sue him for defamation in November 2019 … A verdict in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll … Judge Kaplan clarified that the jury had found that Trump had raped Carroll according to the common definition of the word. … In September 2023, Kaplan issued a partial summary judgment regarding Carroll I, finding Trump liable for defamation via his 2019 statements.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Jean_Carroll_v._Donald_J._Trump
There’s a small part of me that hopes this election will actually be less close than the media are portraying it to be, because they have a motive to keep people watching and less people will watch if they think it isn’t close, and because their coverage suggests it’ll be close this will hopefully ensure high turnout among anti-Trump voters.
Although the polling doesn’t look great. (And I say this as someone who knows about confidence intervals, margins of error, and weighting)
You are quite right to raise this point.
Relevant wikipedia article for those who are unaware:
Public opinion in Britain throughout the 1930s was frightened by the prospect of German terror bombing of British cities, which had started during the First World War. The media emphasised the dangers, and the general consensus was that defence was impossible and, as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin had said in 1932, “The bomber will always get through”. However, the Royal Air Force had two major weapons systems in the works: better interceptors (Hurricanes and Spitfires) and especially radar. They promised to counter the German bombing offensive but were not yet ready and so appeasement was necessary to cause a delay. Specifically, regarding the fighters, the RAF warned the government in October 1938 that the German Luftwaffe bombers would probably get through: “the situation… will be definitely unsatisfactory throughout the next twelve months”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeasement
The whole article is worth a read. TLDR: Chamberlain’s legacy and foreign policy has been (partially) re-evaluated.
Convicted rapists’ friends condemn convicted rapist.
he’s trying to take a small sliver of Ukraine which voted to secede from Ukraine
He just wants access to the port in Sevastopol, he just wants Crimea, he just wants a bit of Eastern Ukraine…
Peace in our time!
Acting like you can’t act is difficult. This is spot on.
AI.
There’s also this side effect of covid called parosmia, where everything tastes/smells rancid:
Honestly, stuff like that is incredibly frustrating. We take eating, drinking, breathing, pissing and shitting for granted. So when when suddenly you can’t, it’s scary.
Similar story. I have this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosinophilic_esophagitis
Wikipedia case mentions the first case being diagnosed in 1978 and it only being recognized as a distinct disease in the 90s, in large part I suspect because many of the symptoms might be from something else or waved away. Also you’re only likely to find out you have something like this, if your symptoms are bad or worsen significantly. Otherwise it’s your normal.
Fascinating how little we know about the human body, tbh.
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