Wow. My dad's mother is batshit insane almost to this level. I am so glad he decided to live his life completely opposite of her example, or my life would be a lot different right now.

You are right about the racist language to a degree. I'm sure there will be things we say that are accepted now that we will cringe about in the future. I think Lincoln took it farther than a few derogatory phrases though, he supported and gave voice to some pretty damaging ideals, but I will concede that the…

Hmm I think I got lost in the huge volume of comments on this thread, my apologies. Saying Lincoln didn't care about slavery is definitely disingenuous, I don't know what that commenter is referring to, that was my mistake. However, saying the Civil War was fought entirely over Lincoln's hatred for slavery is also…

No one's saying Lincoln didn't give a shit about slavery or that he didn't think it was wrong. He DID say that he would do anything to preserve the Union, and said that if it meant keeping slavery, he would do that. He also said the following:

Thank you, I've been fighting the urge to say this to so many people in this thread, but I'm afraid, as a Southerner, they'd mistake those facts as me somehow apologizing for slavery. I think it just comes down to people desperately wanting to distance themselves away from the most horrible parts of our history, so…

Omg thank you, I thought I was the only one.

Whew, some people are really getting on you about this! Just wanted to say as a competitive swimmer, throwing up at practice happened and was no big deal. Just a little over-exertion to make a split and a lot of hurried eating in between our 2-3 practices a day. I was only in high school/club swimming leagues and it…

Not sure what kind of athletic training you had, but I was a competitive swimmer for years and while throwing up wasn't a daily occurrence, it did happen. Our coaches told us to go throw up and then get back in the water. It really wasn't a big deal (sometimes you push yourself a little too hard to make a split) and…

Yeah, what he did is disgusting, I agree. I also agree that advocating for animals isn't coming from his heart, but regardless it's the least he can do. I actually said somewhere up there that I really doubt that it's possible for a person to fully change/rehab after being capable of harming innocent animals to that…

This is really interesting! In my years training as a swimmer, I always found it somehow easier to get through my various workouts by staying stone-faced and just pushing through. I thought it was just a personal mental trick, it's cool to hear that there's actually science behind it!

I guess we have different definitions of what "getting away with something" means, but I think we agree on everything else haha.

I understand your perspective and I can get to where you are. I wasn't arguing that Vick was punished harshly enough to fit his crime, I was just saying that it's disingenuous to suggest that he got away with what he did. He didn't get away with it for the reasons listed in my first comment. He also didn’t get away…

My eyes are rolling so hard. A degree in Public Policy is often classified as a Liberal Arts degree. I truly hope you're being tongue-in-cheek like another commenter suggested.

How did he get away with it? He lost his job (and even had to pay them back for a large chunk of his signing bonus), went to jail for almost two years and went bankrupt because of it. Now he openly advocates against animal cruelty. There are plenty of instances of NFL players getting away with crimes, but I think Vick…

Because being hot doesn't impede you travelling anywhere. Shouldn't have to explain that but there you go anyway.

Oh my god. I moved from NC to TX to Chicago, and you Chicagoans have the weirdest and most annoying complex about your weather. IT DOES NOT GET AS HOT THERE as it does in the South and you all are convinced it does, I don't know where you all get this idea from. Your vacations don't count haha. You have worse winters,…

I came here to say the same thing! It seems like everyone else in the comments thinks gender-segregated classes are a good idea but this would have made my life hell in school. I don't even have a real extenuating circumstance, I've just always always tended more towards guy friends. If I'd been separated from my…

I get what you're saying and I don't think you're wrong, at least based on what I've seen of the world as well. I've struggled with the way the world perceives me based on the way I look too. The best answer that I've come up with is to focus on being my absolute favorite version of myself because people are going to…

I say this all the time! I don't know why people bother with the cheese-coated travesty that is OG. Italian food is (usually) super cheap and easy to make yourself! I live in Austin so there is no good Italian food to speak of here, but it's fine because I make it better myself anyway. Although, I did have an Italian…

I'm so sorry to hear this :( try your hardest to stay positive, it really does make a difference in situations like this. Enjoy this Christmas, eat good food, laugh a lot and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you...I have faith that you'll be around for many more Christmases to come! I wish I could take some…