Nope. There was no genocide-free option. The Democratic Party failed catastrophically; it’s on them, not those who abstained from voting for garbage vs garbage.
Expecting voters to just pick the lesser of two evils forever is how we allow the rich and those with a big platform to slowly shift both parties’ politics in their favour. Some people see this zero-sum game for what it is and refuse to partake (vote). The only way to fix this at this point is by revolting.
I was living pretty much entirely anger-free until 2 things happened:
I started working at my job, where I was hired for my expertise and yet I am frequently interrupted mid-sentence, disrespected, or told to do things in ways that defy the foundations of my entire discipline (before anyone tells me to quit, I can't, because of immigration-related reasons)
One of my friends has fallen down the alt-right/X/Musk fanboyism pipeline and just about everything he rants is uninformed, reactionary, and rage-inducing. He spends too much of his time being angry about problems that don't exist and spreads that anger everywhere
Saying that, I am autistic and often struggle to distinguish between anger, frustration, feeling hurt, and even sadness. I can isolate depression as a feeling fairly reliably though, because that is more numb and less passionate.
You already know this, but I’ll reiterate it in case it helps you get over whatever guilt you might be feeling about it: you can’t. If you have already offered them a non-judgemental space to vent and have expressed that you’re there for them, then you have already done more than any friend should be expected to.
You say “it doesn’t rest in [your] hands alone”; it doesn’t rest in your hands at all! Your desire to save your friend is very admirable but it also sounds like it could be self-sabotaging to some extent.
“Rehab doesn’t work” is a blanket and not entirely true statement. There are a million different pathways to recovery; not every programme works for every person. Maybe try to explain this to them.
Beyond that, the best thing you can do for them right now is to disengage and remain distant. You don’t deserve to have their pains inflicted on you too.
P.S. I am speaking as a recovering addict. One of the things my recovery has taught me is how much of a burden being an addict is to other people. The thought of a relapse hurting my friends disturbs me. Your friend might resent you for turning them away, but when they do start recovery, they will not only understand why; they’ll appreciate it too.
I think it’s a little more than 5, but yeah, there are only a handful, maybe 10 or so. This is otherwise 100% true.
The moment I or any FTM friend of mine mention top surgery, the discussion immediately changes into which surgeon and why.
And the gossip travels far! I haven’t had surgery yet, but I have my surgeon picked out already, and so many trans guys without any firsthand experience feel the need to tell me that he is an asshole. (I do appreciate the heads up; it’s just that I kind of don’t care bc his results are awesome.)
Eh... I know this is a meme sub, but this undermines any arguments to be made about real problems with healthcare systems by just... not being accurate.
If you need stitches in the UK, that's an A&E (ER for my North American friends) sort of ordeal, and yeah, you won't be seen immediately because the system is badly managed and overwhelmed. You'll have to wait several hours (unless you're bleeding out/at risk of death, in which case you'll be seen quickly), not 43 months ffs.
That said, anything that's non-urgent can take a few months. The only exceptions to this are 1) mental health, where you're looking at several months for the waitlist almost irrespective of severity, and 2) gender-affirming care, where you won't be seen for well in excess of 5 years, which at this rate & in this political climate (TERF island), is likely to outlast the NHS gender clinics themselves. Private is still an option for both of these branches of healthcare, but it's expensive for sure.
Same reason why people from the United Kingdom are called ‘British’, despite Northern Ireland not being in Britain.
There just aren’t better proper adjectives for these 2 countries.
While you can say ‘North American’ to mean anyone from North America and not specifically the US, I’m not sure there’s a fitting word that refers to anyone from North or South America. Although, at that point, the group of people you are talking about is perhaps too broad to be useful in most cases.
I think that sentiments like this are really dependent on the context that the diagnosis is made within. E.g. in countries with free healthcare, gatekeeping on some level is a necessary evil, not just in trans healthcare, but in general, to allocate funding. For example, I can't get braces for free despite my crooked teeth, because they're not fucked up enough to warrant it, so I'd have to pay out of pocket. I don't think it's that crazy that someone's HRT wouldn't be covered by the state if they're likely to want to change to the opposite hormone profile just 3 months later.
Or am I just completely misunderstanding what this meme is talking about? Obviously, in a private healthcare setting, the only requirement is informed consent.
My gf and I are poly. She has a gf. It doesn’t bother me at all. You should talk to your husband; his resentment isn’t necessary. It sounds like everyone (your daughter, her bf, his gf) are all aware of the situation and consenting. What’s the issue?
Nope. There was no genocide-free option. The Democratic Party failed catastrophically; it’s on them, not those who abstained from voting for garbage vs garbage.
Expecting voters to just pick the lesser of two evils forever is how we allow the rich and those with a big platform to slowly shift both parties’ politics in their favour. Some people see this zero-sum game for what it is and refuse to partake (vote). The only way to fix this at this point is by revolting.