I wonder if Winston Churchill got fat-shamed.

dorky people dancing really badly in absolute earnestness

Skinny shaming is not a comparable issue, at all. Are you just playing devil’s advocate, or do you really want to know the difference between skinny-shaming and fat-shaming? No matter how much a skinny person is shamed, being skinny is still more popular. It’s harder to lose weight than to gain weight. Maybe that’s…

YES. Same sanctimonious behavior as ex-alcoholics.

I have a feeling the point you’re making applies to education generally. All the women I’ve met who attended girls-only schools were more confident and assertive, and less insecure, than girls who went to co-ed schools and became preoccupied with impressing boys. (This was elementary and high school, I didn’t notice…

While I agree with the example you gave regarding “MAGA mother—-rs”, I worry that we’ve reached the point where businesses feel confident turning away customers. Does boycott have no power anymore? Are we so addicted to the unlimited choices and conveniences that unchecked capitalism offers that we can’t live without…

Starred for your anecdote and your avatar.

Exactly. One of the main conveniences of chain restaurants is that patrons know what to expect and what’s expected.

Just dropping in to say Knoxville is an underrated town.

I heard that statistic compares the carbon footprint of the production and consumption of an exactly equal quantity of disposable to reusable bags. So of course the plastic “wins” if no one is actually RE-using the cloth bags. You actually ahve to assume that people are tossing reusable bags after one use --  who…

Environmental concerns aside, I find the re-usable, washable cloth bags to be sturdier, much more practical, and for a queen of laziness like me, way more convenient.  I can put all my groceries into 2 cloth bags instead of 8 flimsy plastic bags that burst open if you load them down with more than 1 canned item.

The “southern rebel” trope is still a thing, and it includes being openly racist in that you-can’t-tell-me-what-to-do kind of way. Obviously people hold racist views everywhere, even in urban areas, but I feel like they are more subtle and coded in case there are POC within earshot. But go to any rural part of the US,…

Red is always the best flavor of anything. Must be the cochineal. Also pink Starburst are the NON-flavor of their entire selection; it’s basically cotton candy aka sugar. At least the yellow is tart, and the orange taste like Bayer children’s aspirin.

I think you’re not giving enough credit to the Root’s respectability if you assume so many people come here to hate-read. I find thoughtfulness and diversity of opinion here. I would never equate it with conspiracy propaganda machines like Breitbart or Infowars.

“deep down, I think Melanie knows what her role is. She willingly surrendered herself to it for what she thinks is gain”

Misogyny? No. I just honestly fail to see what’s “feminist” about marrying into money because you were born good-looking enough to be a trophy wife. That this gets called feminist is extremely distressing. This type of upward mobility has been around since the beginning of civilization, and it’s definitely got nothing…

There were lots of artists and acts that self-identified Goths listened to, which didn’t market themselves to that audience necessarily. This Mortal Coil, the Swans, Cocteau Twins, Chris and Cosey were all standards. I would have mentioned Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black in their list, personally. These days I’m…

My first exposure to Groening was Life In Hell. The alt weekly in my town ran it for decades. It’s a bit more raw and weird and I’m glad he kept making them post-Simpsons.

I mostly agree with your characterization of CK although I didn’t see his content as completely disingenuous. I always read the self-flagellation as him articulating his internal conflicts/contradictions, which I think everyone has. People need to admit these conflicts exist within themselves in order to work through…

The practice of rating looks numerically might be part of the issue. Ask yourself if there might be something very wrong with reducing a potential partner’s appeal to a single standard.