growsomethinggood () @ growsomethinggood @reddthat.com

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2 yr. ago

Hey OP, can you elaborate on the context for which you are looking to talk about the queer community? I think that matters a bit. There are more formal and more casual descriptions that I do think are important to discuss the differences of use.

For instance, Gender and Sexual Minorities or GSM is probably the most formal you can go with. This might be appropriate for corporate DEI, but you will get absolutely roasted on social media if you refer to gay people that way. (It's very clinical, not really something the community uses, but it's a wide umbrella)

LGBT(QIA+) is a little old school nowadays, a mouthful, and always feels a bit like you're always going to be missing some letters. If a cishet ally used any variety this, I'm not going to be offended and I'd appreciate that they're trying- it's clear that the intention is there and it's better to signal support imperfectly that be silent imo. This one usually comes up most frequently around Pride Month as there's a lot more visibility on our community from those who are not in it.

The queer community is probably your best all-purpose use but may not work 100% in formal situations as "queer" has historically been a pejorative. Boomers tend to look at you funny when you use it, and some younger folks who don't think that slurs can ever be reclaimed can sometimes be put off as well. That said, it's probably what the majority of the community uses as an umbrella term. This is the one I'd use when chatting with friends. "Gay" can also be used as a substitute for "queer" in this context as many folks will also use that as an umbrella term, but this can be confused with discussing just gay men, so you may have to know your audience.

I had a presumed cishet friend in high school who just used "homosexual". I wouldn't recommend. All of the formality of GSM, none of the inclusion.

Other things I would not recommend: alphabet mafia (unless you're on tiktok), anything that is still generally considered a slur (some folks are reclaiming the f-slur, t-slur and d-slur but I would consider that a deeply personal choice of self expression and not something for cishet folks to use at this time, unless personally invited to use to describe only that person), and lastly, using any of these broad identifiers to refer to specific people who have shared their specific label with you (ie don't call someone a queer woman when they have told you they identify as bisexual, or a queer man if they said they are a trans man, etc. Some people do identify as queer though, so if they have said as much you can use that specifically then).

That's a lot of minutia but I think the important thing is, the community generally knows when you are trying your best. Even if you accidentally offend someone, just asking what they would like to be referred to in the future is probably all you need to worry about.

I think there are ways OP can use queer respectfully, and there are ways they may accidentally slip into something that can sound homophobic, so, tread with caution. "The queer community" is fine, that reads to me with the same respect as "queer theory" in an academic setting. "The queers" =homophobic (unless you are part of that community and are being ironic), "are you queer?" =also bad, "my queer colleague" =not good unless that is the specific label they identify with, etc.

Alphabet mafia is best left to the Gen Z kids on TikTok, even as one of them queers myself I'd never use that in a serious setting.

I can also vouch for FreeTaxUSA, I've compared it against a few major tax companies and at least for relatively simple stuff, they were totally identical results, and just as easy to use.

There are a few options for free filing based on income (generally, lower that $79k) here: https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

And if you're in one of 12 lucky states, there's an IRS Direct File trial program:

        Arizona
    California
    Florida
    Massachusetts
    Nevada
    New Hampshire
    New York
    South Dakota
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Washington state
    Wyoming
  

The thing is, Republicans here don't actually want to escalate, or at least the Republican politicians. They want to scream loudly that whatever Biden does is hurting them, their constituents, and the country, whether it's "weak" inaction or authoritarian action. It is an election year after all.

Will the radicalized, bloodthirsty Republican population escalate though? That's maybe more likely. I'd be more concerned for violence as a minority in these states than as the National Guard.

You can do this with certain apps, like Boost!

Y'know, it's funny, the Dursleys are canonically like 25 in this scene at most

I checked and I can get Mango through my local library for free. Definitely worth looking into!

This comments section seems to be suffering from the "I like pancakes" "oh so you hate waffles?" disease. I don't think you need to disclaimer "use painkillers responsibly" OP, it goes without saying.

Coding skills are almost always valuable even if you're not coding directly. Depending on what you're good at/interested in, I'd recommend data analysis (everyone has data! Gotta look at it somehow), database management, engineering roles other than just software engineering, IT, etc. Might not pay exactly as well as a big coding job out the gate, but it'll certainly be interesting if you like coding.

that it has nothing to do with people that think they are something they are not

Thanks for the explicit transphobia, I'm not interested in continuing this conversation either. Trans people are a normal part of life and until you come to terms with that, you should keep their names out of your mouth.

I'm afraid that's a pretty poor argument. It's not inherently more mature to subject yourself things that harm you because there exist things that can harm you out in the world.

Please try listening to trans people about their experiences. Deadnaming isn't just using a old name. For a lot of people, it's kind of like being called the worst nickname your high school bully had for you, except that everyone in your life, your parents, your friends, everyone, has only called you that for years and years. Some people have a better or at least neutral relationship to their deadname, but it's still considered incredibly impolite to reference generally speaking.

In regards to this rule, I don't see a legitimate argument for excluding name changes from marriage and not similarly applying this exception for name changes for trans people (ie associated with a gender marker change, if we want similar criteria to differentiate from other name changes). Both are life events that should be considered normal and regular and not associated with potential fraud. Either this rule applies equally to everyone, or it shouldn't be applied at all (like it hasn't been applied in decades to the extent that it isn't even on the official form).

I was being rhetorical- I know that they aren't applying it to married people. But why? Wouldn't the same reasoning hold, that you could use it to defraud? If not, why wouldn't changing your name to transition not be in the same category of life event as marriage?

"Recent" being within 5 years seems understandable in a general political context, however is a little cruel to trans people who usually don't want their deadnames out in the public. Would this ruling be applied the same way to married people who changed their name?

Not a national park and kind of on the outskirts of your radius, but any thoughts on the Finger Lakes region of NY? Lots of hiking, waterfalls, lakes, etc.

Ithaca

Watkins Glen

SORRY

I like that they went with the simplified "K" shape for Minnesota (the reverse triangle is really clever visually) but I did also like the more colorful version better. Just a little too plain now for me.

I believe judges can issue temporary restraining orders against people not yet convicted of domestic violence, and that's what they mean by "accused", just that it hasn't been proven in court and gotten a guilty verdict.

PBS Space Time

I'd recommend PBS Storied as well! It has a compilation of a few segments like Monsterum (folklore), Otherwords (etymology), Fate and Fabled (mythology), and more

I have a very old Kindle that's still kicking. No reason to replace it if it still works right? I'm concerned that borrowing books from the library uses this delivery system and therefore might not be able to deliver to my Kindle. Ironically, piracy might be the only option to still use my working and not otherwise obsolete device.

Hey this is a pretty common misconception! Project lifespan here is used like a financial term, not an engineering one. It's cost of initial project + maintainance and other costs, compared to energy generation $ minus energy losses over time from equipment degrading. Infrastructure requires maintenance and replacement, and 35 years here is kind of a "best by" guarantee.

Also, 35 years is actually a pretty long time! From now, that's 2058; looking backwards, that's 1988. Take a look at what wind turbine engineering looked like in 1988 and the difference to modern equipment is enormous. 35 years is a full generation of people: someone 18 today will be 53 when this project needs refurbishment.

This is a really exciting project (I think the article quoted some 5% total energy generation for the UK? That is truly insane) and I don't think that excitement should be outweighed by pretty mundane lifespan number! This much clean energy is awesome, will be present for a long long time, and get recycled and rebuilt when it has run its course.