When I moved to the US at 18 I was teased mercilessly about (aboot) my Canadian accent. I worked at losing it in favour of something broadly American but not specific. It was really easy but I think that it was tied to the plasticity the brain has at that age. Now that I am much older and live in the UK I don’t have th…

I live in the UK and those hearings drove me to PAY for 6 weeks of private therapy out of my own pocket. Blergh. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have one of those gutter-snipes represent me.

People do definitely gawk at the royal family. I was in the very large crowd at Windsor for Harry and Meghan’s wedding (with my mom who was visiting from Canada-and my mom has since shown everyone she knows in her town the picture she got of them in the carriage as they drove past). And I’m sure it was a fantastic day…

They would live in absurd luxury if they weren’t royal any longer. Even if the major castles and whatnot were passed over to the State (who would then have to fully take on the expense), they still have lots of private homes/property and lots of private revenue streams (in fact they would probably be wealthier if they…

Frankly right now what worries me more is populism, where some charismatic person who promises everything gets elevated by the mob for non-logical reasons, which can and does happen in otherwise reasonable democracies on paper. I much prefer living in a parliamentary monarchy with a totally neutered royal family that…

They really can’t do much of anything, certainly not publicly. They can’t really have any sway with a foreign head of state (perhaps if they agree about a topic that might make a foreign head bolder about something, but if they disagree then the royals have zero sway to change their mind). Even discussing political…

While I get that removing the royals from their role feels the most logical, one thing they do provide is an outlet for admiration/veneration, and given that they effectively have no power, this is a good thing. It prevents a cult of personality from developing around a PM (it does happen a bit, but it’s not crazy…

I took it more as a cat toying with a mouse before the kill, which lends the character more darkness.

I just do not get this hot take. She was fine? The subplot on the casino planet needed more time in development before being committed to script, but I don’t know where anyone gets to the point of excoriating that someone’s performance “blew chunks”. That’s just rude. This reads exactly the same as the treatment Jake…

Legal immigrant here (to the UK, but also formerly to the US) and you definitely do not speak for me. Calling someone an ‘alien’ or ‘illegal’ IS dehumanising, as it is a classic case of othering. Does your ‘logic’ extend to convicts? Are they ‘illegal’ too? Are people who haven’t broken laws called ‘legals’? When…

That’s hilarious.

Apparently, according to that comparison, you can annul a marriage due to venereal disease but not a CP. That’s...I’m going to go with it being a quirk of history and not something worse.

Ding ding ding! That’s what happened to me. Specifically I was on an H1B and my employer tried to exploit me so I quit, but didn’t have the money to return to Canada, and I had also been in the US for 8 years (the visa is for the job, not the person, which is an intrinsic problem. However a person can only…

Well, let’s say that the proportion of non-voters who would vote against Trump and his ilk is the same as for voters. Then we would need to encourage non-Trump voters to vote, and do nothing with the pro-Trump voters (minimally. Could also discourage them from voting, but that’s not fair play, although fair-play is…

I don’t know what the Venn diagram is here of people (or I guess specifically white people) caring about animal welfare and those caring about human suffering. You’re basically saying that the diagram is two unconnected circles and that’s not knowable on the info here, or from sweeping generalisations.

I live in London and I think the black nose gunk primary comes from the Tube. On days I avoid it, everything is normal. I’m not actually sure where the soot is coming from or if it’s just legacy. The trains have been electric for a long time now, but yeah you can look at the walls of the older stations and it’s just…

Acting is ridiculously hard to make a living at. Probably the same ambition at play that allowed her to climb the pile in that field is what is driving her to climb the political pile too (successful people tend to also assume that their history of success will continue into the future; which may or may not be a good…

I voted for reproductive slavery because at least there is a chance that humanity will survive and overcome it; with Trump, the wtf is just so open-ended that literally anything awful could happen and be permanent.

Flat earthers are my Achilles heel. I can’t find the humour; the total ignorance just chills me to the bone. I can hold my tongue for pretty much anything if there is zero benefit in speaking, but I can’t help lashing out at flat earthers even though I know they will never listen to reason (and to be fair, they are…

Flat earthers are my Achilles heel. I can’t find the humour; the total ignorance just chills me to the bone. I can hold my tongue for pretty much anything if there is zero benefit in speaking, but I can’t help lashing out at flat earthers even though I know they will never listen to reason (and to be fair, they are…