The whole reason they have to do this is bc there’s enough people in Texas that want it to NOT be a shithole

Those eyebrows… I’d recognize them anywhere

It’s also kind of different (in a legal not moral sense) to have police lie to an individual vs a lawyer lie to a company to steal medical record and violate hippa

Thanks! I’ll check those out!

The main reason I’ve heard for why “person of color” is more acceptable than “colored person” is that the former focuses on their personhood first, the latter focuses on the color of their skin first. It’s somewhat similar to how it’s acceptable to say “the black man in the yellow shirt” to describe someone but not “the black in the yellow shirt.” Without the word “man” you’re reducing him to just the color of his skin

On the one hand, these minor language changes can seem extra and unnecessary, like people are just trying to find ways to say they’re better than you because they’re using the right words, but often it comes from people either studying the historical usage of words in relation to power structures or people speaking about how those words actually affect them when they’re used to describe them. In one of my college classes, the professor gave us an article to read describing why we should use the term “enslaved people” rather than “slaves” and she said she expected us to use the former in our essay. I thought it was kinda silly and unnecessary, but the author of the article explained that “enslaved people” calls attention to the fact that they’ve been forced into this. They weren’t born as slaves, as some creature whose only purpose is to serve and be owned, but as people who were then immediately enslaved. It also calls attention to the fact that other people did this to them. It focuses on the action of the people that participated in enslaving others. Since taking that class, I haven’t switched to only using “enslaved people” vs “slaves” but it made me think a lot about how the language reflects how people viewed slavery at that time, and even how some people view it today

Of course the most important thing at the end of the day is respecting those actually involved. If an old person says “colored” because that’s what they learned was polite then they’re doing their best to be polite. They shouldn’t be burned at the stake for using an older term. However if someone told them “hey I’d prefer you use person of color” to describe me instead and the old person refused because they’ve always said “colored person” then the old person is being a disrespectful asshole

Tl;dr usually these shifts in languages are about changing the focus or perspective of the original term. Some people use old terms bc that’s what they learned is respectful which is fine as long as they don’t use that excuse to disrespect people directly asking them to use other terms

Yeah I’ve been considering switching to Linux but I’m not a tech person. I know enough to play some games and install some Minecraft mods and that’s it. Since I was thinking about getting a new lightweight laptop I was gonna get one with Linux instead of windows to give it a try but every time I found one that said Linux I’d look at the specs and it says the operating system is actually windows. I’d be willing to learn how to get Linux myself but I’m worried about ruining my computer because I don’t understand even half of the technical stuff. If anyone has any up to date very beginner friendly guides, I’d appreciate the recommendation

Yup. Florida police

I get being afraid of going to a protest considering we have police literally saying they’ll just kill people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved with those organizing the protests. See if you can get involved with the organizers of your local protests and ask them what they need for the protests. After all, those signs you see people carrying didn’t make themselves. At the very least you can call your reps and make your voice heard. Even if your reps are dems, make it clear that you want real action, not just talk. You could also talk to the people around you: at work, at the store, family members, etc. Encourage them to call their reps. If your reps aren’t actively making things worse or letting things get worse by doing nothing but fundraise (so most reps) then see if there are efforts to primary any of them and encourage everyone you know to vote in the primaries too

Like I said, I understand being afraid to go to a protest. I am too. But you have to remember that if we don’t stop Trump and a full blown fascist takeover, then things will be much, much worse and much, much harder to change

I think I get it now! Thank you for explaining!

Okay I read the explanation on their faq page but I’m still kinda confused on how this works. Don’t they need like satellites for internet access? What exactly is this in simple terms? Like it seems good, I just want to understand it

There’s a Midwest focused instance and I wouldn’t call that division. They’re not trying to exclude East and west coasters. They don’t hate southerners. It’s just similar people gathering to talk about the things they have in common, which in this instance are midwesterner things. It’s the same for women. It’d be nice to have a place to talk about things that women have in common and experience that men don’t. If it was anything like the 2XChromosomes subreddit then men wouldn’t be banned, and plenty of men comment, it’s just that the topic of conversation focuses on women and women’s experiences. Having a place for people, especially women, to talk about women’s issues and experiences isn’t anymore divisive than having a midwestern instance or a European instance. And it would be a good place for men to look into to learn more about what life is like as a woman. If men feel they don’t have a place to talk about men’s problems, then they should also make an instance specifically for talking about men’s experiences

Newsom’s gravity powers are pulling them in. They can’t help it