Once you’re old enough, there’s no difference. My doctor’s admin keeps calling me to schedule a colonoscopy, and we’ve been playing phone tag. That’s the closest I’ve come to foreplay in years.

Religion isn’t a scapegoat, and it has nothing to do with IQ. Very smart people are roped into it, and that’s what I mean by it being a social cancer.

Very smart people are raised with stories that they take as reality – that supplant their ability to judge reality for what it is – and it at best colours how they interpret everything for the rest of their lives, and at worst amplifies and gives focus to mental conditions they already have.

Religion is a warped lens through which people are forced to see reality from such a young age, they are incapable of seeing actual reality, and in some cases it just amplifies the otherwise mild mental illness they’d likely have had already.

Without it, some people would already have been disturbed, but with it those people are given a purpose for their delusions.

Religion is a helluva drug.

Why would they? They know they have the nearly 30% support it takes to overwhelm a society and, crucially, they know roughly 30% are complacent enough to allow their takeover and whatever atrocities they think are required to ‘fix’ society.

Remember that when fascism threatened to overwhelm us in the 1930s, only about 30% of society were onboard with it; 30% were actively against it, and roughly 30% were in denial, didn’t want to talk about it, or were just hoping it would go away somehow if they just ignored it.

He is an actual idiot.

When his name first became popular, I was like others thinking, hey, this guy sounds like a genius, maybe I should pay attention. Then I did pay attention and he ventured into my industry: comp sci and user experience. That’s when I realised he was an utter moron. When you know more about what he’s talking about than he does, it becomes obvious.

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Organised religion is a cancer of the mind.

Those of us who grew up without it literally can’t imagine scenarios like this, though I’ve heard disturbing things from people who seem otherwise sane that make me understand what drives some to do these things. When you’ve internalised fables of good vs evil and that’s how you define reality, it’s a small step to think you have to commit atrocities to save the innocent. You don’t have to have a very divergent mentality to convince yourself of this.

We will all be better off when the vast majority of people give up these fables and begin to live in the real world.

These people think it’s the 1600s. Fucking medievals.

It’s worse than that.

Conservative ideology is based on the fundamental belief that society is a thin veneer over our base instincts towards self-destruction, and the only way to maintain the façade is with a strictly enforced hierarchy in which power is maintained by a ‘deserving’ ruling class. Conservatism was born during the bloody death of feudalism, in which Ye Olde Ruling Class learnt they must repackage their ideals tied in a bow of capitalism if they’d have any hope of maintaining their wealth and control.

It’s no coincidence that many of the same familial names holding power carried forward through that transitional period. It’s also no coincidence that the basis of much of that power is rooted in systems of religion.

The core belief it puts forth is that without a strict hierarchy in which every person knows their place, society will collapse into chaos. That if you’re ‘deserving’, the system will grant you comfort, and if you’re struggling and destitute, that is your lot.

It’s the ‘just world’ hypothesis, and deviating from it isn’t just bad, it can unravel the very foundations of society. It’s why someone like Obama being elected to the highest office was such an affront. It wasn’t just racism (though that was a big part of it), but perceived as a very dangerous subversion of the system.

The people who subscribe to this would disagree, and they can’t consciously articulate any of this. It’s in the subtext of their existence – they absorb it via osmosis, through their religious upbringing in the form of fables, and via cultural maxims surrounding family values and patriotism.

If it were just projection or logical fallacy, it could be reasoned with. But it isn’t and it can’t be.

The Mackinac Bridge is exactly the same. Built in 1957, with one concrete and one metal grate lane in both directions, and in winter, it’s sheer ice. It’s so long over a strait prone to high winds, you can feel the sway. I’ve had panic attacks halfway over it as a passenger – and I’m always a passenger even if I was driving in the lead-up because it scares me so much, I was too terrified my first time driving across it and was shaking so badly, I could barely steer. Maybe I’m a pussy, and they say it’s well-maintained, but I’ve read Michigan DOT’s state-wide bridge health report, and it’s less than exemplary.

Some caravanserai had libraries

I’m feeling a major drive to watch Avatar again.

The fuck? There are conspiracies about this already even though there was a live stream of it? What the fuck is wrong with people?

Most of us don’t want to till fields and milk cows, and we’d rather trade things like iPhones with people who are cool with shovelling cow shit.

I know, that’s surprising. We’ve only been trading like that for a few hundred thousand years. Fucking millennials.

Yes, that’s true, but right wing media is doing it on an exponentially larger scale than others, which is why I called them out.

The definition of ‘woke’ is ‘having social empathy’ so no, he’s entirely incapable of that.

Most crime has declined dramatically since the 90s. And yet right wing media is scaring the shit out of people, saying there are murderers, rapists, and terrorists behind every bush.

The world is actually becoming more empathetic and safer, but some people want us to be scared because fear keeps them in power. Don’t believe them.

“traditional” rule of law

Wherein white men aren’t held to account and you can buy your own justice with enough money.

Wherein women who are victims are told to shut up lest their own reputations are ruined for accusing any white men.

Yeah. That’s what we should strive for. /hard S

Good. Fuck this paedophile fascist and all his fascist buddies.

I wish hell was real so he could rot in it, but I’ll settle for the rest of his life being ruined, his fortunes forfeit, and hopefully some jail time.

I also urge any of the young women he’s abused to come forward. I know that’s very hard, believe me, but this bastard needs to be held to account in every way possible. You will have support.

This wasn’t just drowning, though. This was drowning after likely sustaining significant impact injuries after hitting the water from many dozens of feet in a vehicle that basically belly-flopped, which is the worst way to impact the water. It’s like hitting concrete from that distance. And then panicking because you’re strapped inside your sinking vehicle.

This was anything but the peaceful drowning scenario you’re referencing that some people have.

You’re making your regular commute, a bit annoyed with the sudden traffic backup, and then you’re suddenly falling with no warning, then struggling to not drown in your car.

It’s insane how everything can go from normal to terrifying. I hope those who lived through this have help coping, and am sorry for the victims and their families. It’s so tragic.