confusedpuppy

It's refreshing for me to see simpler, broader terms being used in discussions now about other people. This was something I began practicing for some time now as a response to the overwhelming number of labels that has shown up over time as the internet population increased.

Labels aren't inherently bad or wrong, it's obviously helped people find communities in an increasingly isolating world. It has however, based on my experiences and observations, created another situation where labels carry much more weight than they should in conversations and interactions. It's very easy to box ourselves or other people into a strict definition of those labels. Humans are far too complex for such restrictions based on words.

I also feel that such a strict use of labels has created a war of labels. Instead of addressing differences or issues, it's simpler to throw an accusative label and claim a moral superiority. Not only does this create no room for productive discussions, it also causes strong emotion responses which further breaks down discussions.

I do hope that "weird" carries it's momentum forward beyond the word itself. That it pushes us towards speaking to each other using simpler, broader and descriptive language. It would create a more inclusive environment where people of varying levels on language knowledge are being included in the conversation and are able to participate in those conversations.

I've been enjoying the use or weird lately. I've had some strong personal opinions on language lately. A lot of it comes with a huge increase of new words that sort of seem abstract from it's meaning.

I think with how rapid information can spread to large groups of people, it's just too fast for my mind to keep up. All of a sudden I feel like I'm in a war with words and who knows which landmine of a word will get you in trouble. It causes me even more anxiety when someone comes at you with manipulative intentions in order to control the direction of the discussion.

I think weird works because it's an almost basic word. It's simple and descriptive. It's not a newer, more specific word that requires a deeper understanding of a broader topic. It's understood by more people. People with varying degrees of language knowledge including people whose native language is not English. It's easier for more people to understand.

It's a lot easier to understand someone is weird compared to someone being a fascist.

I don't believe all raccoons live near roads. It is entirely possible for some animals to have minimal or no contact with human infrastructure. The world is a big place even if it feels small at times.

Country raccoons aren't aware of the dangers of motor vehicles. City raccoons would have been taught by their mother how to wait and avoid such obstacles. Foraging for food in bins is also a lot different than hunting for food in a more wild setting. The diets are vastly different with the mother again showing the young how to search and obtain food in their respective environments.

Yes, racoons can teach each other but from my understanding, a lot of that teaching is from mother to child.

I do not expect a city human to be able to head into the wild and survive without a considerable amount of training before heading out. A wild human would have a difficult time adjusting to the city life without starting out with some money.

I still stand by my original statement unless I can be proven otherwise.

I watched a documentary about racoons. It mainly focused on raccoons that live in the city and how they adapted to city life. City raccoons adapted so well that city racoons and country raccoons would not be able to survive in each other's world.

If I recall correctly, cities helped the spread of racoons throughout North America. Any animal that has is able to adapt so easily is far more clever than we give them credit for.

And since they aren't bound by human laws, I fully support them in vandalising and trashing these Cyber Truck monstrosities. I'm eternally jealous that they can look so cute while accidentally rebelling against Musk.

This feels like satire? A site called real men, real style with an article about penises?

I just assume it's code for "sword fighting."

Emotional intelligence has always been a sort of hidden magnet in my life that's pulled me towards people who had the emotional capacity to treat people like people instead of treating people based off any first impressions or preconceived labels.

The people who I remember and hold closest in my memories have been people who understood that I'm my own unique person, with my own experiences that shaped me, with my own way of solving problems, and my own way of learning from those experiences. They were able to assist and guide me in a more human and understandable way. It felt more positive and encouraging. I learned so much more from people with a stronger sense of emotional intelligence in comparison to people who lack emotional intelligence.

Unfortunately, with what I believe to be a global mental health crisis brought on by the arrival of a global pandemic, it's been obvious to me that there has been a critical lack of education in any form of emotional intelligence. Thinking back on my own education, there was more a focus on employable math and science skills, language with a heavy historical perspective, history with a heavily propagandized perspective and obedience within a narrow and confined learning structure. The only class that taught me any sort of life skills was the lowest level math class I had the option to take. The math class only "stupid" kids took.

After the initial uncertainty wore off and reality set in with the global pandemic, those who lacked the emotional intelligence to look within began to lash out at everyone around them. To them, the world turned against them as they were expected to be empathetic towards other people. It's been difficult to process and deal with such a critical lack of emotional intelligence on such a large scale.

Those who are filled with hate for themselves and the world around them have far more energy than those with a better sense of their own emotional intelligence. Those who are filled with hate are burning out everyone else around them.

I think now more than ever, there needs to be more emotional intelligence education for both young and old. It will be very difficult to help ourselves move forward if we aren't being empathic towards each other and the world around us.

I'm aware what I've said isn't very specific to autism but it's a topic that was made much more clearer to me after figuring out I have autism and understanding how it's affected my life.

I was in a situation not long ago on the only discord server I frequent. This angry American guy kept posting women hating content that he thought was hilarious. Called him out on it and he tried to justify that women and men need their own community spaces. On a discord server owned and run by a woman for a video game we all play together.

He tried to go off on unrelated tangents but I stuck to my main point. I made it clear that his type of behaviour is what makes women feel unsafe in many communities and spaces. I also made it clear that his approach to mental health care was deeply flawed and did so by a long string of questions and statements all pointing out his hypocritical actions. I think that worked?

He kept going off on trans people, I asked him why he kept thinking of trans people. He kept saying women and men need their own spaces, I told him that if he is so desperate for men's only spaces, there's gay bars and clubs to go to. He kept bringing up other groups of people he hated in response to mental health questions, I asked him if he cares about his mental health or just looking for someone else to blame for his hate filled behaviour. When he deflected a question about why women feel unsafe in so many spaces, I brought it back around to challenge him to ask women why they feel unsafe and find out himself. The more he talked, the more he cornered himself. His actions never matched his words so I had a year+ catalogue of his hypocrisy to throw back at him.

In the end he agreed to stop posting hate content and then disappeared for a week. He came back briefly to privately talk to the discord server owner, she laid into him with a couple paragraphs regarding his hate towards women. He never responded and has disappeared again. I'm hoping he is reflecting real hard about himself right now, but I'm low on hope.

The biggest issue I have in dealing with hate filled people is that they have what feels like an infinite source of energy and their hate completely burns out all the good people they surround themselves with. Some of us are just exhausted and only want to play games, share stupid memes and post cute pet pictures. Don't bring your hate trash everywhere you go, please. It ain't funny.

I'm so tired.

My future allies for the future water wars kindly disagree :)

I've never understood why people think wasps are so aggressive. At least where I live. They are curious like a bumblebee although slightly more persistent in hanging around.

If I am eating food, I leave a bit for them just within arms reach so they feast on that rather than what I'm eating.

They seem pretty chill if you're willing to share your space and food with them.