In old cars the parking brake cables were open to the elements for much of their length. So there would be places where the cable went back into a housing that were also exposed to the elements. So in 1975 or so she probably had one freeze up because it wasn’t greased regularly, got wet while she was driving and then…

Pretty awesome driving habit, too, if you like getting sideways.

I am surprised that people don’t use the park brake when PARKING a car. It was taught to me in drivers ed. Heck, I’ve religiously used the park brake even before I got a manual transmission car.

People complain about our overly safety-conscious culture, but the truth is, nobody ever practices basic safety in everyday…

I was briefly a driving instructor. One thing I harped on that wasn’t in my training was to use the damned parking brake. Now, I feel really good about having done that.

Y’know, I haven’t noticed that tendency in him but I’m not terribly surprised. The phrase recalls second-wavers, and given that it’s unlikely he’s done his homework up to the present day, using it probably allows him to compartmentalize all his Establishment Enemies (Planned Parenthood) and Low Information Voters…

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Boys have futures; Girls have A Past.

Indeed. Couple that with the fact that women are taught better ways to process negative emotions than men are and you get this toxic epidemic of violence in response to rejection.

One of many things that needs to change for this to stop happening is the way we socialize boys and men to handle their emotions. Not every negative emotion needs to turn into anger, crying is healthy, and sadness, grief and disappointment deserve gentleness not ridicule.

Depressed?? Being depressed after a breakup fucking sucks, but it’s normal. You eat too much ice cream, are maudlin around your friends, maybe have some ill advised hookups or drink too much, listen to sad songs on repeat, and you get. over. it.

I do go to one NA meeting on Friday mornings. I also go to a SMART meeting on Saturdays if I don’t have my daughter. SMART is helping me a lot probably because I feel like there is no barrier between me and the programme. It is based on CBT and the meetings are good support. I guess it is the ‘outside of myself’ thing…

Yes. Where are we all of a sudden? I thought this was Jezebel. ;)

I stopped drinking alcohol 20 years ago. Do I have a problem? I don’t know. Does anyone? Why do we embrace such labels.

Can we start a mocktail drink thread? Because when I was getting sober on the DL, bitters + soda + lime changed my life. Friends never noticed that I wasn’t drinking drinking and bartenders didn’t hate me.

I’d love to hear others’ go-to substitutes...

“One of the reasons I drank was to feel strong and invulnerable, to be kick-ass instead of self-conscious and mercilessly self-critical...”

Thank you so much for this, Sarah.

This may seem like a stupid place to put this but maybe not - please everyone, stop giving alcohol related gifts. In January I had a really scary moment where I decided I needed to stop drinking. My birthday was one month later. I received: a personalized wine glass, a flask, a bottle of champagne, & a coffee tumbler…

So I agree that it’s bullshit to have mugshots shown for some people and not for others. But for rape, I kind of wish all of the photos were of the smiling, yearbook type. There’s this perception that rapists are different - not your neighbor or your boyfriend or your brother. But they are. And the more we see that a…

Just putting it out there...

“I should add, here, that at the time of this incident, this 21-year-old man was driving an SUV given to him by his father. He also had a monthly cash allowance and wasn’t paying for his own tuition.”