“Anyone trying to find out if a saying originated in Africa would be remiss in not at least using Google Translate and googling the result in a few African languages. It’s OBVIOUS.”

I can tell from this stupid stupid comment that you don’t actually speak more than one language.

Probably not. Do a google search for “voluntourism.” You’ll find some good articles on how the practice often actually hurts communities.

I’m not talking about “wanting” a cure, though. I’m talking about sincerely believing one is imminent. It’s not.

This is the part I have trouble with as well. It is virtually impossible to be denied joint custody of your child if you seek it. I think a lot of people don’t realize this. The reason you hear about so many women having sole custody is because so many men just don’t ask for custody. So not having custody of 3/3 your…

That’s the thing. The author is making it sound like that money that was garnished disappeared into the ether. It didn’t. It went to his children.

Perpetual unemployment/underemployment is a complicated phenomenon. Having not been there (yet) I am hesitant to condemn someone who has been there. It looks terrifying to me. That said, I think I would have a lot more sympathy for this guy if it were clear (and maybe this is the case and doesn’t come across in the…

Yeah. Back in my college days a friend and I did support for a family like that. They also believed that therapy would help their daughter (who was a pre-teen and had never spoken or successfully used cards or any kind of sign to communicate anything in her life) to “get better.” I don’t know. We live in a world now…

Wow. Spamming people with the same rant really screams objectivity.

“Drug addiction is not a victimless crime. Maybe you are one”

Think about how much affirmation this guy must have received over the course of his life to feel unwaveringly justified in this. Being him must be the opposite of being a young woman. You can’t feel shame ever. Only pride.

I honestly don’t know why you’re so invested in the idea that drug addiction is necessarily intolerable. I admit, realistically, that society is not going to accommodate drug addiction. It’s not just about “morality.” It’s also about the way society disciplines people to consume/produce, and to use their time, and to…

Because there IS no social tolerance towards addiction and perpetual access isn’t possible?

Wholly shit. This is an incredible and frightening story. I hear you about the xenophobia in the rescue community. I’ve seen this same phenomenon with rescues’ attitudes towards Mexico.

But there’s a very simple reason that they are not going to make a TV show about a behavioral therapist who uses scientifically validated behavioral therapy techniques: It would be a terrible show. It would not be dramatic or entertaining.

But while its true that there is, as you say, more than one way to go about things, that does not mean that there are “extreme cases” where physical punishment is justified. In fact, the “extreme cases” that you’ve mentioned, where the dog is not just obnoxious but actually dangerous, are the cases where you…

Because there is virtually nothing a reality TV or live talk show can do to get itself cancelled. Nancy Grace pushed an innocent woman into suicide and verbally harassed a kidnap/rape victim for not sharing the salacious details of her story. Dance Moms stars child actors who work far more hours than legally allowed…

This is probably at least partially true. Milan, generally, reinforces the intrinsic values of authoritarian people. These are the same people that pore hot sauce into their children’s mouths, that insist that their preschooler is “old enough to know the difference between a lie and the truth” and make their daughters…

That is fucking tragic. I just think of my dog, who almost starved as a stray before being picked up by animal control. When I brought him home from the shelter six months later (at which point he was chubby from his weight gain diet) he still looked like a wild animal every time he ate. He ate with his hackles up and…

The problem with too many dog trainers is that they are very dogmatic. Qualified behaviorists, and good trainers, on the other hand, will recommend very different behavioral therapies for different dogs, including dogs that have the same behavioral problems. Basically anyone who has “a system” is trouble. Yes, there…