That is the biggest comfort I have from being non-religious. Shit shit happens happens, happens happens shit shit shit.

It’s a very appealing religion for privileged white converts who want to believe they’re thiiiis close to the endgame just by virtue of being born with the kind of money and leisure time it takes to chillax at a twee little LA knockoff temple.

As a goal for HOW to live your life, it has some good points, as most religions do.

I believe it was Stephen King after Newtown who observed that (paraphrased, I can’t bear to scroll past Alex Jones inspired google hits to find an exact quote) “now begins the slow, luxuriant lapping up of the victims’ tears by the media.”

It’s also really super mega common for victims to convince themselves that they askef for it, as a way to reclaim a sense of agency and power from a shit situation.

Serial predators are really good at sniffing out targets they can get away with abusing. The ones who haven’t developed that skill are already in jail.

I’m too depressed to articulate the obvious counterpoint but I’ll give you the dots to connect: Republicans, POC, the death penalty. Picking off one at a time can be devastating when you really commit.

Remember at the outset of Gulf War II: Kleptrocratic Boogaloo when they were buying French wine for the express purpose of pouring it down the gutter? Lotta vineyards went broke from— oh uh, wait...

1985 and I’m barely aware that it WAS a movie. But my mid-late 90s were most people’s 70s so idk. Not relevant enough to have come up since at least 98.

You are a good person and if that’s not valued by the dating culture around you, it’s not your fault and not a reason to change. I know this isn’t news, but sometimes it helps to hear it from a third party.

Fair. In general I prefer the Bachman books which don’t suffer from the JK Rowling effect of being too goddamn famous for an editor.

I’m an old millennial who’s right there with you. Grew up overseas with my dad’s CD collection. I am going to out-ugly the ugliest crier on earth when Ian Anderson bites it, I tell you. I don’t have my dad anymore and it hurts all over again watching his favorite musicians fall like dominoes.

Pourin’ one out for Lucky. May his and Brittany Murphy’s pee-pee money never run dry.

Yep, women are only allowed to do the sex if it serves male needs.

I’d be totally on board with you if not for his recent smarmy statement about how he finds it “interesting” that the child gang-bang is “controversial” but the child murders are not.

You’re saying children can consent to a gang bang?

Yes to all this. I play a lot of video games and recently, male reviewers kept praising a walking simulator (no pejorative intended, that’s factually what this was) developed by a man where the leading woman was raped like seven times in a row.

I was actually impressed when I read Gerald’s Game, because it felt so much more nuanced and sensitive than the usual treatment. I genuinely have difficulty believing it came from the same author who thinks “child gangbang saves the day” is a good way to defeat primordial fear.

It did not, and if you’re paying attention, you will note that I nowhere suggested hat it did.

Is it, though? Deliberately choosing a mode of dress that prevents others from identifying you is pretty much the definition of antisocial.