In my kinder moments I think it is born of being overwhelmed at seeing how much need there is and how little it feels we can do about it... and most of the time I think you’re exactly right.

Thank you. I work in community mental health and every day I feel enraged by what I see—and who I am in the process. Yes, I care enormously about my clients, and yes, I think I’ve done some good, but who the fuck cares if a kid can use mindfulness techniques when he can’t get a job and has a 1/3 chance of ending up in…

I thought it was a tip for excellent service? No?

But she wasn't concerned about the effects on her unborn child, was she? That's not a relevant argument to the OP's story. And.... http://www.slate.com/blogs/expectin…

Noooo, all the Oakland brunch lines are long enough, we don't need people who are confused about biscuits getting into the mix!

Ha, she's doing well and totally able to do her hair now. Hope your mom is good too!

So my mom recently had surgery and was not allowed to take a shower / wash her hair for several days, and she was recovering at my house, and walked out of her room with her hair just crazy, and I said "oh, are you not allowed to comb your hair either?" Did I shade my invalid mother?!? (she looked ashamed but also…

Yep, she sure wanted me to change my opinion of her! It was ultimately harmless but odd. Did make me slow down and remember that people on the internet, even racist, unfunny people, are alive and I should be slightly circumspect about what I say...so I guess one of us learned something.

So something a bit similar (much more mild) happened to me. I read a memoir—a book by someone who used to be commonly seen on a Jezebel feature, though no more—and the book was really bad, and the author came off as racist, narcissistic, and generally unpleasant. I agreed with a well-written review on Amazon, and…

Yep. Also, serious pet peeve time (ha, unintentional pun)—does the letter writer have any clue what the words "negative reinforcement" mean?? I HATE when people use negative/positive reinforcement in these ways. It's literal nonsense. Negative reinforcement would mean trying to increase a behavior by removing an…

So just how cheap IS opium in China?

At 8 months pregnant, I feel like I look pretty much like this, with more hair.

They would never apologize. "The officer mistook the puppy for a real gun and defended himself accordingly."

True... and they interpret hesitation as a sign they've made an excellent point rather than that the other person being like "how do I even respond to that."

Well, to be fair, HE very much cares that he is male.

Who wouldn't with this one?

Why not read a reply? Because I think your question has been answered many times over.

Maybe you think that this is something all people do, but you asked specifically why it's something women do, so it sort of seems like you don't think that. And the fact that you got tens of reasonable responses to your alleged question (I say alleged because I don't think you were asking in good faith) then just…

So is "Enjoy" the new asshole sign-off? I'm seeing it a lot in these exchanges. It reminds me of my much-hated neighbor who always acts smug and condescending when I get pissed that he has, yet again, blocked me into my driveway, and usually says something deeply nonsensical but in this very zen tone that implies that…

I do, and it's my stepmother. She once insisted for 2 days that I had taken a shower that I hadn't taken (I just couldn't deal with her level of delusion at that point so I wouldn't let it go). She eventually allowed that <i>maybe</i> I hadn't taken a shower, but "you DID go in the bathroom!" God help us if she were…