First off… I DO LOVE HIM SO MUCH
But my God this guy cannot land the damn plane on a project or task to save his life.
The biggest issue lately is that we moved into a fixer-upper. The house is great, but we’ve lived here 13 years and stuff still is not done. When we first moved in there was a lot of work to be put in and instead of going at a slower pace like I wanted to do and taking our time and choosing quality finishes, etc. he wanted to rush everything just to get it done with the promise of upgrading later. And he always wants to use a friend or acquaintance to do these construction projects. I’m fine with using (licensed) friends but sometimes you need to just call in a crew and have them knock it out instead of your friends taking 25 weekends as a side job.
This led to a lot of issues in the beginning that I’m still dealing with now. We have a big empty converted garage that has everything in place to become a granny flat/IL suite. The bones of this project were done five years ago. We just need to frame out the bathroom and get the plumbing and electrical and do all the finish stuff, same with the kitchenette.
Three years ago I was like hey maybe we should get on this and get it done, because we have a lot of stuff lying around that is a component to that room, like boxed up cabinets, bed frames not put together, bins of kitchen items that can go in cupboards once they are installed. And the room has become the catch-all and looks like crap.
So that time he says sure let me call my plumber friend. Calls plumber friend who says he will come by “in a couple weeks” to check it out. Couple weeks go by, no one shows. I ask him to call plumber again. He does, schedules a day, plumber no shows. I ask him to follow up. He doesn’t want to bug him. Ok fine.
Life happens, we are busy. A year passes.
Ask him to call another person to come take a look. He calls another friend. They say they will come check it out and have some free time to complete it. Great. That guy no shows. Call again, he’s totally going to come today and get a quote. He actually comes, measures, says he can start next week. Great. Next week comes and crickets. I ask him to follow up. He forgets for 3 weeks. Now friend has started a 6 month construction project. Husband wants to wait for this person to do the work. It has now been a year. I still have an empty room. Husband says “well I can call Dave again and see…”
A different friend comes by. Says he can do it in a weekend. Sounds good. It’s been another month. I am done with shenanigans.
I measure, order the shower and hardware, the vanity, toilet and door. I clear out the room. I have a contractor coming today. Husband is upset because “I said I was going to take care of it!!! I’m just waiting on (first plumber who he hasn’t talked to in 2 years).” Also thinks the whole job should be completed in 2 days for $3000 including materials. Anything else is obviously someone ripping him off.
Then our deck has water damage. I called someone out in September before it got any worse. It’s a large deck, a lot of work to fix and re-coat. The quote is $5000. Husband thinks that is too much to rip apart the deck, replace rotten wood, and waterproof. I tell him to find someone then. He says he will. We got record rain this winter. The deck is worse. $5000 guy is now coming back this next week before it infects my whole house. Husband is mad, it costs too much, and he was totally gonna find someone else to do it.
-rips hair out-

Need advice ! Family owned agency decreasing benefits, pay, and over looking seniority.
I 24 have been working for a family owned agency for about 3 years. Started at 17 an hour with a matched 401k. Off weekends as a csr. found interest in getting licensed. The benefits at the time out weighted so I dived in.
We are an independent brokerage working with about 5 standard carriers and access to over 30 non standard carriers. We primarily handle P&C as well as all court ordered bonds. We have some goals I believe around 10k a month in premium. But they rarely do checkins or accountability.
Over time I was I given additional tasks outside of my original duties of answering the phone and servicing clients. Just before passing my insurance exam I was taking care of all of the service work for all of the agents that work in our agency (3) as well as essentially being a personal assistant to our agency principal from scheduling meetings, over seeing his schedule, and even attending networking meetings in his place. as well as handling the surety bonds billing, filing, and notating.
After a year I received a dollar raise to 18. Shortly after I was officially licensed in P&C. I was then beginning to receive lists of quotes from our agency principal and expected to completely quote renewals with explanation on the coverages and why I chose certain endorsements for “ practice and experience” but no compensation for helping. On top of all of the additional day to day work.
Eventually I began building my personal book of business and this was becoming impossible to juggle.
This carried on for months until October of 23 when our principal finally decided to hire in for my position and move me to a full time producer roll. ( there was only me handling all things insurance and bond related for almost 2 years)
Now I am building my book of business while still running quotes for my supervisor with no additional percentage for helping.
They have me networking twice a week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays I spend 3 hours straight driving around and stopping into spaces to get leads. They tried to convince me that it’s better to claim the mileage on my taxes at the end of the year than to receive a stipend for gas. I am not sure what the standard is so I didn’t say anything
This move changed me to a salary and commissioned producer. This is where my issues really begin. I am salary but making less due to the consideration of commission. I was at about 1200 every two weeks and now I am about 800. Which has been tough because my commission isn’t stable. Also After switching and because I am being paid differently I was kicked from the 401k program.
No 401k and no insurance. They have been “ trying” to get things set up but that was back in October. It’s now may and I haven’t accrued any additional retirement.
They are additionally making changes to our vacation and personal time in our handbook. Bringing my vacation time down to only 5 days a year. also removing pay from personal time and only 3 sick days for a whole calendar year!
To top it all off they have hired in two additional part timers that start soon with raises after 6 months, starting at 22 dollars an hour. The one girl monitors the agency principals application work for him and the other part-time marketing cultivation sending out letters and making calls.
I am looking for additional opinions on how I should self advocate regarding my pay, workload , and time off.
I feel that it is long over due but because I struggle with ADHD and I am on the spectrum self advocating can be a huge challenge for me.
Outside of getting a percentage of commission for call ins. There doesn’t a seem to be many benefits staying with the agency.

My wife has treatment resistent depression and severe anxiety and has been recommended ketamine by her psychiatrist and her therapist, as nothing seems to work at all (and arguably makes things worse with some of the side effects)
However, looking into it, it seems like she would have to completely quit her job to even make it remotely feasible? She would have to go 4-6 times a month for 2 hours between 8-5 (the clinic isn’t open any other hours), which she can’t get that time off from work that consistently and that often, she has limited PTO and sick days. On top of that, I would have to take time off to take her to the clinic, as she wouldn’t be able to drive.
Then, as a bonus, insurance wouldn’t cover the treatment so it would get very expensive, very very fast, without insurance it’s ~$500 an infusion is what we were quoted, so $2k-$3k a month. We make decent money, but that alone would stretch us very very thin.
I absolutely hate seeing her like this, and ketamine seems very promising, but it seems like it’s impossible for us to do. I looked into Joyous and it isn’t available in our state. Is there any sort of alternatives? How do you make this work?

An update to the patch plan released just a few days ago is now available!
Lots of great changes already, patch notes are here - for those without access to Steam to read:

Here's our first patch in Early Access!! We're very grateful for all the feedback so far, which inspired this first set of targeted improvements and fixes. Next, we'll be working on a patch with balance changes and additional improvements based on what we've observed. Thank you for playing!
Note: 📢 indicates a change inspired by community feedback! (Almost everything in this case...!)
General Gameplay

• 📢 Your Sprint is innately faster and turning is more responsive; re-scaled abilities that boost this
  
• 📢 You now can Dash out of many attack recovery animations more reliably
  
• 📢 You now can gather from any resource point once you have unlocked the corresponding Gathering Tool; you now can Prioritize any available Tool in the Training Grounds to make its resources appear as often as before, while resources for Tools you do not Prioritize will appear far less often
  

Altar of Ashes

• 📢 The Swift Runner: now also makes your Dash immediate (note the faster speed means you are invulnerable for very slightly less time); re-scaled Sprint speed bonus since Sprint is innately faster now

Level Design & Environments

• 📢 It is easier to Dash across chasms in [spoiler]
  
• 📢 [Spoiler] resources are more common in the [spoiler]
  

Menus & UI

• 📢 Using a Well of Charon displays your current Gold without the need to check your Boon Info
  
• 📢 The Grasp Upgrade Tutorial in the Altar of Ashes will repeat if ignored
  
• 📢 Added Patch Notes option to the Main Menu (where you can read this!)
  

Miscellaneous

• 📢 Early encounters with are less likely to occur; she also drops something of value...
  
• 📢 Related, if this already occurred, look for a one-time bonus in the Crossroads while is present
  
• 📢 Entries in the Book of Shadows are generally easier to reveal
  
• 📢 You can gift without having to wait around as long after conversing
  
• 📢 Adjusted upgrades invalidated by the Gathering Tool changes above
  
• 📢 In the Flashback, a hint will eventually play for players who don't realize they are in control
  
• 📢 Improved mouse selection in various cases
  
• 📢 Improved support for some additional controllers
  
• Abilities that boost Sprint speed display more-accurate numbers (generally lower than before)
  
• Updates and fixes to translations in some languages
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed several issues with Dark Side (Selene)
  
• 📢 Fixed Sun Worshiper (Apollo) sometimes preventing new foes from spawning
  
• 📢 Fixed Fire Extinguisher (Hestia) not dealing damage as expected
  
• 📢 Fixed Sister Blades Omega Attack not hitting reliably from certain angles
  
• 📢 Fixed retaining the ability to block while afflicted with Twilight Curse (Selene)
  
• 📢 Fixed various cases of foes sometimes spawning out of bounds
  
• 📢 Fixed camera zoom-in getting stuck vs. in certain situations
  
• 📢 Fixed cases where you could Dash out of bounds in the Crossroads
  
• 📢 Fixed Fishing Pier events in the Crossroads not passing Whiles like other similar events
  
• 📢 Fixed autolock not clearing as expected while using mouse controls
  
• 📢 Fixed keyboard inputs sometimes getting stuck unexpectedly
  
• 📢 Fixed several input issues switching from gamepad to mouse-and-keyboard controls
  
• 📢 Fixed several issues playing in ultrawide resolutions
  
• 📢 Fixed some visual effects vs. lingering between phases or after the fight
  
• 📢 Fixed a Melinoë voice line repeating unexpectedly around the
  
• 📢 Fixed various rare crashes
  
• 📢 Fixed several text errors
  
• 📢 Other minor fixes
  

Quote of the Patch '...now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness— all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night.' ~The Orphic Hymns, 71: To Melinoë (Anonymous; A. Athanassakis translation)[/]

It's the swaps. It's the leaps. It's has to be an options rug pull. Will UBS implode due to Archegos and Credit Suisse? DFV's tweets mean this. No they mean that. Is the stock price indicating a hedge fund just folded? Will market makers hold the bag when the shorts collapse? Why is volume so high on this day? Why was it so low on that day? The SEC isn't doing anything, or maybe they are? Will the FED will step in when we moon? Citadel must be in trouble, why else would they move to Florida? GameStop is transforming its business but keeping it quiet.
There are endless questions and hypotheses and yet none of us can really say what's happening because this is such a layered mess from bottom to top. I'll be damned if it isn't exciting to be part of something where the future is unclear. It's like riding a roller coaster where you don't know if the track is 100% working around the next corner, yet you are going full speed ahead no matter what.
There's a quote from the movie Fever Pitch which has stuck with me over the years for one reason or another - "I like being part of something that's bigger than me, than I. It's good for your soul to invest in something you can't control."
That's how I feel about this whole thing. This is so much bigger than all of us and yet here we are, neck deep in the craziness wondering what the next day will bring. We continue on through the twisted, broken maze of the stock market all the while holding strong that we will find our way out of the fog and get what we deserve in the end. I've been here for it all since 2021 and I'm staying on this ride for as long as it takes.

For anyone who feels lost trying to apply for accommodations on the MCAT, you are not alone! I will try to keep this short with as much information as possible. Please feel free to DM me with any personal questions!
Accommodation History

• Junior year of HS, my ACT tutors recommended I get a neuropsychological evaluation for support for extra time on the ACT due to clear signs of ADHD and testing struggles.
• Received full 2 day neuropsych eval outlining my ADHD and testing struggles.
• Received time & a half on all standardized tests (SAT, ACT)
• Received time & a half on all college assessments.

First MCAT Attempt - Normal Timing
I took the MCAT with no accommodations on 6/17/23. I scored below 500 (which was not consistent with my practice exams, but I remember being extremely nervous on test day, really running out of time, and only being able to guess on the math questions because I had no time to attempt them).
Reasons For Not Originally Attempting To Apply For Accommodations:
AAMC requires a neuropsych eval that has not expired within 4 years. My eval had just expired. It is pretty expensive and time consuming to get this done.
Didn't want to spend the time and money on a new neuropsych eval.
AAMC accommodation process seemed tedious and intimidating. I almost felt like I would be using my time better by studying for the MCAT instead of working on the application.
The stigma surrounding ADHD/receiving extra time on tests - I think I wanted to try to "overcome" my disability because of the fear of being judged..Especially when thinking about how doctors don't receive extra time in the real world. However, I can confidently say that there is no reason to feel judged for finding what works best for you as an individual and as a test taker, especially in order to "level the playing field". And we all know the MCAT is not comparable to real life emergency situations.
Important Resources/Documents I Submitted When Applying for Accommodations:

• Received a new neuropsychological evaluation.
  • As I said before, this can be extremely costly. Unfortunately, I do think this is absolutely necessary.
    • AAMC posted this Lower-Cost Evaluation Option for those who cannot afford pricey testing: https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/university-clinics
• Submitted previous neuropsych eval from 2017.
• I attended the same school from Kindergarten - 12th grade. I reached out to them and asked if they kept my report cards and notes from teachers throughout my academic career. I chose quotes from teachers that highlighted my ADHD-like tendencies throughout my time at the school.
• Reached out to the ACT to have them send my approval of taking the ACT with extra time.
• Submitted my ACT score when I tested with normal time & after testing with extra time (to show improvement)
  • a screenshot of your score is fine, just make sure your name is shown somewhere in the screenshot.
• Letters from High School + College explaining proof of receiving accommodations.

What I applied for (Applied on 10/24/23):

• Standard Time & 50% (This means testing over 2 days)
• Stop-The-Clock Breaks
• Extended Section Breaks (Only get one 10 min break per day when testing over 2 days)

First Decision Received by AAMC: (11/28/23)

• Approval for Standard Time + 25% (testing over 2 days)
• Stop-The-Clock breaks (30 min per testing day)
• Extra 5 minutes of break time for a total of 15 minutes, as opposed to 10 mins.

Wrote a Reconsideration Letter on behalf of myself & had my evaluator write a reconsideration letter.
Submitted this reconsideration letter on 12/22/23
Received Final Decision & Approval of What I Initially requested on 01/20/24.
This was a really long post and an extremely long journey. While I am extremely grateful that I have all these resources to share with you, I acknowledge that every situation is different. Please don't give up if you truly feel you deserve certain accommodations. The MCAT does not define you!
Good Luck & feel free to message me with any questions!!

MPlease delete if not allowed here. Just looking for advice I guess.
I’ll try to make this brief and concise. I’m wondering if this is illegal.
I went on maternity leave in October 2023, returning in February 2024.
Last year I had a manager, we’ll call her Manager A, and she thought my work was exemplary and frequently gave me really great feedback. While on leave, Manager A left and Manager B became my manager.
Before my leave, Manager B and I had interacted a few times but she didn’t know much about my quality of work or basically how good I was at my job.
Since returning from leave I’ve dove right in and done honestly a fantastic job and gotten good feedback from people in my office. I was feeling great about my quality of work.
My review was 2 weeks ago and Manager B gave me a middle of the road “meets expectations” rating. I asked for feedback on how to improve and she said, and I quote, “I think it’s just about getting back into the swing of things after your maternity leave.” I was blindsided and accepted it (I know I shouldn’t have) but it’s been eating away at me as it affects my salary increase and bonus - which has not yet been finalized.
I reached out to my old manager and discussed with some execs in my office - all people who see my work every day - who all agreed that I should be receiving the highest rating. They encouraged me to have another discussion with Manager B, and that what she’s doing is illegal.
Basically I’m wondering - is this illegal? Rating me middle of the road solely on the fact that I’m returning from leave.
Any advice you can share? I am located in Seattle, WA if it makes any difference.

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Now this particular situation happened a little over a month ago so idk why I’m still salty! I guess it’s cause I can’t believe how shitty corporate stores have become in the past couple years! So I had got hired at my local Walmart and started at $14 per hr and worked there for about maybe 1 month before they fired me. I showed up on time. Till I got into an accident and totaled my daily driver then had to rely on a ride at which even then I would still show up before the 10 minute lead way they give you for clocking in. I did my job and not only that they assigned me the hardest job in the store everyday! I would come in and they would say we need you to work the freezer! Just note the freezer is between -8 degrees and -30 says it right on the door! They had hired multiple other people to my department and not one had to work the freezer or even swap with me for a day! Whenever they would be told to work it they would complain and bitch saying it’s too cold then they would call me over to replace them and they would just get to go work easier jobs! So I went on and kept doing my job till one day they hired another guy who i was now supposed to teach the job role too/train! I do my job and try to teach him. While asking him some things about the job and he wasn’t paying any attention and he said I quote “sorry man I couldn’t pay attention to what you were saying cause I was looking at that hot chicks ass at the end of the isle” I almost lost it and quit at that point but I didn’t! Later that day I go into the office and report it to the team lead saying I don’t think he would be a good candidate in the most respectful way possible! Next day I come in and I work my shift (7am-4pm) and at 3:30pm my team lead pulls me inside to say I have 5 points and am terminated! My app only showed 1 point and they never brought to my attention any of the other 4 points! Because they were bullshit and made up. Not to be a racist but the team lead and the other team lead as well as all the following employees that were hired after me were black or of Hispanic decent! I did say some choice words towards the team leads as I felt used and slaved so now I’m banned from all Walmarts apparently! Sounds like discrimination to me! Thanks for reading this giant monologue hope it helps you better decide on whether to work for a company like this abomination! Glad I got banned that’s just another customer a crap company loses!

My boyfriend and I have been dating and living together for six years! We've been good friends since middle school! (If you're into zodiacs, I'm a march Aries and he's a January Aquarius) I feel like everything was going great until I stopped working to go to cosmetology school. Going into cosmo school I knew this was going to be a slow process to start making my own money so I had a plan on at least working overnights or part-time and then going to school full-time, luckily my boyfriend offered to give me a $500 allowance every two weeks and told me just to focus on school and he'll help me financially.For context we live with my parents and siblings, he really doesn't pay bills here unless my parents asks him to help with electricity but other than that, all he has is his phone bill and car insurance,No chores or anything as well. NGL I have a bad spending habit, l was used to buying everything myself (Hair, nails and makeup I bought that all myself) so $500 went away pretty fast nothing too bad but my account would go in the negatives, maybe like -$10 at the most but I would ask him if he could just send me at least $12 so my account will not be in the negatives(and avoid overdraft fees) , this was turned into a big deal with him. He stop talking to me for about 2 1/2 weeks(this happened about three times.) His way of ignoring me was getting home from work and he would just stay in his car until 1 am(off of work at 10:30pm and was home by 10:45pm) when he would come inside he would sit in the living room in the dark and anytime l'd walk by He would turn his phone off, so I wouldn't see him . I was the one who had to ask him what was wrong and his reason for ignoring me. His reason was because I was stressing him out cause my account went into the negatives, it really pissed me off since we live together at my parents house and just felt childish of him ignoring me.After I had a "talk" with him (really it was just me asking him what's wrong and if he's OK, kind of felt like I was babying him) he got over it the next day, but the third time he ignored me I told Him that "This is very childish of you and why do you not want to talk things out? If you do this one more time l'm done" he hasn't done it since.
Another point is our sex life is gone. Again, I live with my parents and three siblings so it's a little hard to get intimate, especially in a Mexican household, someone is always home, but when we do have alone time he would rather play Fortnite, sleep all day or work on his car. I feel like I'm also to blame since I did let myself go so that could be another reason why we're not intimate. what I also mean by intimate is him not even wanting to hang out with me on his days off. He's heavily into Godzilla, anime,cars and video games, so of course, anytime he wanted to do some thing or go to an event that he's interested in and I'm not, l would still go because I wanted to be with him and have a good time but when it comes to things that I want to do he acts like it's the worst thing ever, also feels forced. So majority of the time l'm going to the movies or going to a restaurant I'm just doing it by myself because he doesn't want to go. I've also been home alone more lately in order for me to save money. I just stopped getting my hair and nails done and I just stopped going out in general. Unfortunately I did pick up a smoking habit Since all I do is watch him play Fortnite or his other interests, I decided I'll at least make it fun and get high while watching. He says that he doesn't mind me smoking, but there are times where he acts like he's better than me because he smoked when he was younger and not now as an adult. He's also been working a lot lately, He works at a warehouse so 10 hour shifts four days straight and he has three days off, but he's been working six days out of the week now and only has Saturdays off, but on his days off, he sleeps all day and then stays up all night playing video games. I try not to get mad at him because I understand he's tired, but if he has plans with his friends he is up early in the morning and is with them all day and I do get a little jealous of it. At this point, I really feel we're both using each other. He gives me an allowance and he lives in a house rent free. I still love him, but I just feel nothing back. He says he still loves me and I quote " well I still give you money and fix your car so that should mean something right?!" I don't need a pity party. I just need other peoples opinions. This is only a very small portion of my relationship that I am posting here, but from what l have written on here (can provide more stories/info if needed) I just need to know your thoughts and what would you do in my situation.

Hello there!
I would need some new insights/opinion about this topic from people who also practice spirituality/meditation and are familiar with this spiritual concept. I'd like to present my own insight first and then gather different opinions, it would personally be very helpful to me.
Things that are up for discussion (and also my own insights after practicing meditation for a long time and learning from different spiritual teachings) - feel free to comment on them:

1. If existence/ego/our bodies is an illusion then why don't we just stop drinking or eating...? It's all an illusion anyway.
2. Since everything is an illusion and nothing is real including psychical existence, then anyone who is a serial killer is not responsible for what they've done or the victims family they ruined with their actions at all.
3. I've read different insights on this same topic from various spiritual masters. While some completely deny our psychical form and teach us to destroy/remove our ego and to forget ourselves as a separate self, others teach that the outer and inner are part of the same whole, and that one is just as real as the other - claiming that that's the true wholeness. And denying one or the other either leads to material or spiritual poverty.
4. Down below I'll copy some quotes from a spiritual master that's speaks about this particular dynamic.
5. My own opinion is that not every teaching made in spirituality in realization will always stay the same or can be applied in current reality/developed society or in the upcoming future. We are made to evolve in psychical and spiritual realm.
6. What is your own interpretation about completely removing your ego or denying it existence? Can we use it as a tool, is it an essential part for everyday living, our ego has its own function in our family, work, and so on.. Is it automatically wrong to have it and should we deny it existence?
7. Do you know any quotes (from any spiritual master) connected to the topic, that do not completely condemn the ego and rather describes it as a useful tool for daily functioning and living in society, while also using it as a part of our individual roles in society?

Here are the quotes from an enlightened master about the outer vs inner:
"I teach you the whole man. The inner is real – as real as the outer. And the outer is as significant as the spiritual. You have to attain to a certain balance, a balance in which both are equally complementary to each other. This has not happened up to now. But unless this happens, there is no possibility for any humanity to exist in the world."
“And a mobility…just as you come out of your home and go back inside the home, your coming out of your being and going into your being should be as simple as that.”
“Whenever you are needed in the market, you should be in the market with your totality. The market cannot destroy your soul. And anybody who has preached to the world to renounce it, was against humanity. Neither does going inward, being in a meditative silence, take away anything from the outside world. You don’t have to condemn it, and you don’t have to declare it illusory. It should have been so simple to see, that I am amazed why thousands of years have passed, and still it is not a recognized fact around the whole world.”
"The outer cannot exist without the inner. Neither can the inner exist without the outer. They are both two sides of the same coin."
“I cannot believe it – if the outside is unreal, whom are you teaching? If the outside world is unreal then what are you renouncing, where are you going? To the Himalayas? The Himalayas are as much outside as M.G. Market!”
"These two thousand years of slavery are not just an accident. The East was prepared for it. It has accepted it – what does it matter, in a dream, whether you are a master or a slave? What does it matter if in dream you are being served with delicious food or you are hungry?"
"Every day you need the outside food and every day you need the outside water, and still the outside is illusory?"
Feel free to share your own insights from your spiritual journey.
Much appreciated!

Need advice ! Family owned agency decreasing benefits, pay, and over looking seniority.
I 24 have been working for a family owned agency for about 3 years. Started at 17 an hour with a matched 401k. Off weekends as a csr. found interest in getting licensed. The benefits at the time out weighted so I dived in.
We are an independent brokerage working with about 5 standard carriers and access to over 30 non standard carriers. We primarily handle P&C as well as all court ordered bonds. We have some goals I believe around 10k a month in premium. But they rarely do checkins or accountability.
Over time I was I given additional tasks outside of my original duties of answering the phone and servicing clients. Just before passing my insurance exam I was taking care of all of the service work for all of the agents that work in our agency (3) as well as essentially being a personal assistant to our agency principal from scheduling meetings, over seeing his schedule, and even attending networking meetings in his place. as well as handling the surety bonds billing, filing, and notating.
After a year I received a dollar raise to 18. Shortly after I was officially licensed in P&C. I was then beginning to receive lists of quotes from our agency principal and expected to completely quote renewals with explanation on the coverages and why I chose certain endorsements for “ practice and experience” but no compensation for helping. On top of all of the additional day to day work.
Eventually I began building my personal book of business and this was becoming impossible to juggle.
This carried on for months until October of 23 when our principal finally decided to hire in for my position and move me to a full time producer roll. ( there was only me handling all things insurance and bond related for almost 2 years)
Now I am building my book of business while still running quotes for my supervisor with no additional percentage for helping.
They have me networking twice a week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays I spend 3 hours straight driving around and stopping into spaces to get leads. They tried to convince me that it’s better to claim the mileage on my taxes at the end of the year than to receive a stipend for gas. I am not sure what the standard is so I didn’t say anything
This move changed me to a salary and commissioned producer. This is where my issues really begin. I am salary but making less due to the consideration of commission. I was at about 1200 every two weeks and now I am about 800. Which has been tough because my commission isn’t stable. Also After switching and because I am being paid differently I was kicked from the 401k program.
No 401k and no insurance. They have been “ trying” to get things set up but that was back in October. It’s now may and I haven’t accrued any additional retirement.
They are additionally making changes to our vacation and personal time in our handbook. Bringing my vacation time down to only 5 days a year. also removing pay from personal time and only 3 sick days for a whole calendar year!
To top it all off they have hired in two additional part timers that start soon with raises after 6 months, starting at 22 dollars an hour. The one girl monitors the agency principals application work for him and the other part-time marketing cultivation sending out letters and making calls.
I am looking for additional opinions on how I should self advocate regarding my pay, workload , and time off. I feel that it is long over due but because I struggle with ADHD and I am on the spectrum self advocating can be a huge challenge for me.
Outside of getting a percentage of commission for call ins. There doesn’t a seem to be many benefits staying with the agency.

Need advice ! Family owned agency decreasing benefits, pay, and over looking seniority.
I 24 have been working for a family owned agency for about 3 years. Started at 17 an hour with a matched 401k. Off weekends as a csr. found interest in getting licensed. The benefits at the time out weighted so I dived in.
We are an independent brokerage working with about 5 standard carriers and access to over 30 non standard carriers. We primarily handle P&C as well as all court ordered bonds. We have some goals I believe around 10k a month in premium. But they rarely do checkins or accountability.
Over time I was I given additional tasks outside of my original duties of answering the phone and servicing clients. Just before passing my insurance exam I was taking care of all of the service work for all of the agents that work in our agency (3) as well as essentially being a personal assistant to our agency principal from scheduling meetings, over seeing his schedule, and even attending networking meetings in his place. as well as handling the surety bonds billing, filing, and notating.
After a year I received a dollar raise to 18. Shortly after I was officially licensed in P&C. I was then beginning to receive lists of quotes from our agency principal and expected to completely quote renewals with explanation on the coverages and why I chose certain endorsements for “ practice and experience” but no compensation for helping. On top of all of the additional day to day work.
Eventually I began building my personal book of business and this was becoming impossible to juggle.
This carried on for months until October of 23 when our principal finally decided to hire in for my position and move me to a full time producer roll. ( there was only me handling all things insurance and bond related for almost 2 years)
Now I am building my book of business while still running quotes for my supervisor with no additional percentage for helping.
They have me networking twice a week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays I spend 3 hours straight driving around and stopping into spaces to get leads. They tried to convince me that it’s better to claim the mileage on my taxes at the end of the year than to receive a stipend for gas. I am not sure what the standard is so I didn’t say anything
This move changed me to a salary and commissioned producer. This is where my issues really begin. I am salary but making less due to the consideration of commission. I was at about 1200 every two weeks and now I am about 800. Which has been tough because my commission isn’t stable. Also After switching and because I am being paid differently I was kicked from the 401k program.
No 401k and no insurance. They have been “ trying” to get things set up but that was back in October. It’s now may and I haven’t accrued any additional retirement.
They are additionally making changes to our vacation and personal time in our handbook. Bringing my vacation time down to only 5 days a year. also removing pay from personal time and only 3 sick days for a whole calendar year!
To top it all off they have hired in two additional part timers that start soon with raises after 6 months, starting at 22 dollars an hour. The one girl monitors the agency principals application work for him and the other part-time marketing cultivation sending out letters and making calls.
I am looking for additional opinions on how I should self advocate regarding my pay, workload , and time off.
I feel that it is long over due but because I struggle with ADHD and I am on the spectrum self advocating can be a huge challenge for me.
Outside of getting a percentage of commission for call ins. There doesn’t a seem to be many benefits staying with the agency.

its like 9 am for me rn woke up at 6, got a healhy 4 hours of sleep. anyways i kinda just wanted to talk about something rq about i pretty much have lost most of my friends over the past years since i got out of highschool. they had it coming, snake ass mfs wanted to ditch one of our friends dispute him being there for us through thick and thin. anyways i kinda used to be a incel? i guess i wasnt like a neo nazi or anything i was just a loser playing hoi4 and minecraft all day. in november i got into the gym which is nice, spend less time now at home speaking of which is often. I cant find a job anywere, and im going to have to likely go to work with my dad in the summer which isnt bad just alot of work but also a alot of money. i have dreams, most of which are going into the financial sector, as you can see my grammer and spelling is just really fucking bad, no idea why im 18m btw and it looks like a 9 year old. i saw this quote a few days ago saying "live your life like your father was dead" on real note this hits 2 cords the first one being a kinda love it, and i wouldnt wanna face him after i failed at something he told me not to do. one the 2nd cord being that he one day may die, he drinks like 4 beers a day used to be way more, his brother died at like 60ish? idk that was when i was in 6th grade, on top of that he has told me many times he is going to die. i feel like hes depressed since im not doing well in life. my mom is kinda diffrent, i will always respect her but shes kinda just stupid, and with that cant see that shes wrong. as i have got older i have realized every "bad" thing shes done she was just acting out of anger or just didnt understand. my sisters one doesnt matter, i will never talk to her again, the other is wonderful, good future she helps me out alot with school stuff and i really wish she does well for me and she wishs well for me aswell. shes not around much anymore as shes busy with school i cant blame her shes not my mom anyways. in the way of friends i mostly just chill with my true og ill call t, t was the one i talked about before, i also chill quite alot with one of my cousins. to make it worse canada kinda been in a economic rut since 2020, house prices have skyrocked over the last 10 year in this area from what was 500k for one to 1.4 million over the last 15 years or so. girls are kinda weird to me, i dont really like them per say, i have never had a crush on one in my entire life, from what im guessing some have had a crush on me, im not really unattractive anymore. im built alot better and am fairly tall at like 6'1, i just dont form a crush. i think i might also post this on trueoffmychest

I’ll try to make this brief and concise.
I went on maternity leave in October 2023, returning in February 2024.
Last year I had a manager, we’ll call her Manager A, and she thought my work was exemplary and frequently gave me really great feedback. While on leave, Manager A left and Manager B became my manager.
Before my leave, Manager B and I had interacted a few times but she didn’t know much about my quality of work or basically how good I was at my job.
Since returning from leave I’ve dove right in and done honestly a fantastic job and gotten good feedback from people in my office. I was feeling great about my quality of work.
My review was 2 weeks ago and Manager B gave me a middle of the road “meets expectations” rating. I asked for feedback on how to improve and she said, and I quote, “I think it’s just about getting back into the swing of things after your maternity leave.” I was blindsided and accepted it (I know I shouldn’t have) but it’s been eating away at me as it affects my salary increase and bonus - which has not yet been finalized.
I reached out to my old manager and discussed with some execs in my office - all people who see my work every day - who all agreed that I should be receiving the highest rating. They encouraged me to have another discussion with Manager B, and that what she’s doing is illegal.
Basically I’m wondering - is this illegal? Rating me middle of the road solely on the fact that I’m returning from leave.
Any advice you can share? I am located in Seattle, WA if it makes any difference.

I’ve had this theory in my mind for a while, and I’d love to expand on it with Scout’s Honor answering my questions. I think I might have an idea as to how the Infected psychology works. Be warned, this is going to be a very long post.
First, I want to look at Ink. He retained almost his entire personality, even after being Infected. I’m going to use him as an example through this entire theory.
We know Burt used the line “The smarter you are in life, the smarter you are in death” and it was brought up again much later on in Season 4, signifying some serious importance. Kelly also once said, referring to Ink: “What happens when they turn you, but you’re already a monster?” I don’t think this was just a throwaway guess. I think this has serious significance to the story and helps build my theory a bit.
Let’s use Datu and his perspective after he was turned. He said he felt like he was “watching his life through the backseat of his mind.” Like he was lacking control. But Ink retained control, and both of them are smart cookies. Why? Or why doesn’t Randy show nearly as much control as Ink, and why did his eyes AND Datu’s go cloudy?
You could say the eyes thing is related to how much control you retain, but with Scout’s Honor and Joe, and also Buffalo Bill, I don’t believe this is the case. Rather, there are THREE components at play that separate Ink / Datu and Randy / Joe and Buffalo Bill.
Using Burt’s first line, we can say intelligence is a factor in how much of yourself you maintain. But intelligence alone isn’t enough, because Randy didn’t have control like Ink did. Another factor is how much of a leader or a “follower” you are (wink wink). I think this plays into the clouding of the eyes. Every Infected we’ve seen without cloudy eyes is some kind of leader, Ink leading mass hordes, “Coal” leading the Scorpions, Buffalo Bill holding alpha status, and Joe leading the… other Scorpions. (I see what you did there, Kc) Now, whether or not the green eyes is a coincidence between all the leaders or green eyes form in Infected leaders, or green eyes has a relation to leadership, I’m not sure, but I do think how much of a leader you are also goes into play as to how much of yourself you retain.
Finally, using Kelly’s quote, how much of a monster you are. This is the third and most important component and it hasn’t been explored much, but I think there is something about how Infected turn that protects them from retaining their future self, should they hate what they’ve become. Basically, if someone who hated Infected turned, they would have the least control, because otherwise they would try and take themselves down. It’s like how humans have self-preservation, Infected also have a more complex self-preservation instinct.
The higher each of these components are, the more of yourself there is after you’re turned. Ink was a rare and lucky combo of all three, and so when he turned, he remained himself. Randy was high in intelligence but wasn’t a monster or a leader, so he had cloudy eyes and only had a small part of himself left inside. Datu was similar because he wasn’t a leader either and his eyes went cloudy, but he had a comparable intelligence. He also mentioned seeing from the backseat of his mind, as in being without control because he wasn’t a monster either.
Joe wasn’t a monster, but he was a leader. He most likely had a good intelligence because he was able to trap the kids in Scout’s Honor and predict their movements (if I listened to that right). So he didn’t retain his personality, because the “monster” part is what an Infected needs to be like themselves. In simplest terms, if you’re an unintelligent monster who follows rather than leads, you most likely won’t retain very much of yourself, but if you’re an intelligent leader who can’t stand hurting others, you would most likely see the same effect. You need all three to be like Ink.
This means Buffalo Bill was probably also a good person before death, as he shows leadership instincts and intelligence, but isn’t coherent like Ink.
Finally, there are two other parts of how the Infected work that are separate but I’d like to still mention them. One is physical characteristics, and the other is your deepest drive. I believe both of these are “amplified” once you turn. For physical characteristics, I think the changes an Infected goes under that makes them tougher, also makes them better in whatever they’re good at (an athletic person would become a runner, which could explain why jumpers were so rare because most people aren’t extremely good at jumping versus running. Also, the Infected are better on ground and chasing and so probably are strengthened in that field more).
The deepest drive thing comes from some of the conclusions made from Scout’s Honor and Descendants, with Fredo and the wedding couple and more. I think that whatever your deepest motivator or drive when you turn becomes your main drive as an Infected. I imagine the more you retain from life and the more control you have, the less of this exists, but it still does exist in everyone depending on how motivated of people they were. Many people who turned probably had no drive (like, living life day to day, with no goal), and that could explain why so many Infected are mindless.
I’d love to hear some thoughts on this and see if anyone agrees or disagrees. There’s a few leaps but I’ve tried to keep it as close to the story as I can.

Hello! I'm looking for some advice/your insight. Here's my dilemma:
Main idea: how to get rid of my many things
Option 1 - I have an estate sale. A local highly rated business owner came over and looked at my items and quoted me to make about 5-7k if I were to have an estate sale. This estate sale that she can run would have to happen next weekend when I'm already scheduled to be in Florida, so it would happen with me not in the area (which makes me nervous). The lady said she will draft a contract which I haven't seen yet. She takes 35% of the total purchases and itemizes the big items I have for sale only. She would hire people to help with the sale, averaging $15 p/h, which we would split the cost for. She can haul anything that doesn't sale for extra $. This would also mean I have to board my dogs or rent an airbnb for the 3 days of the sale (thur-sat) so they are out of the house. The house would sit empty when the sale is not happening.
Option 2 - I sell everything myself for cheap/in bundles on Facebook marketplace. I listed about 5 things so far (small items) and about 50% has sold within a day. I would make far less money this way and would donate more (most likely) but I do have 2.5 weeks to sell things.
Option 3 - I would do my own yard sale or estate sale, but I don't have any help, so I would have to reach out and see if I can pay people to help.
Thoughts y'all? Open to any ideas

Hi Everyone! Looking for a sanity check on a project regarding pricing.
I was just working as a freelance shoote editor for a few years, and transitioned into a different full-time job with the intent of working on projects on the side. A friend who is relatively successful in the realm of corporate recruiting has a side business where she teaches job seekers how to find work (she gets like $800 to rewrite resumes JFC) and speaks publicly here and there. In trying to generate more passive income, she wants to create an online course and has hired some writers to work with her on the scripts. She's asked me for a quote to handle the shoot/ editing and told me her budget is about $8k.
The whole thing is projected about 90 minutes in length. Since the project will be mostly narrated video/ slides, she will only appear on camera for about 15-20% of that 90 minutes. if it's 12-18 minutes of finished footage, that sounds like a single day with just me (maybe an assistant?) two cameras, three lights, and an audio kit. Seems relatively straightforward to me.
The edit is the tricky part. Sounds like I'll have about a month to complete a 90-minute project. In a vacuum, that sounds *insane* but the nature of narrated clips of someone on a computer *might* mean the creator is picking the best take, and that removes a lot of work. I might be, at the end of the day, doing some finishing work, and cutting 15-minutes of talking head footage, which sounds pretty easy since it's already scripted.
The course is broken into four modules that are 20-25 minutes in length. I'm thinking it makes sense to treat it like it's 4 edits that are 20 minutes long, and saying it's $1k for each. Does that make sense?
Thanks!

I can feel a long post coming in the air tonight... 🎶
It was a few months ago when my fiance proposed!! We went on a trip, he proposed when we were alone in a beautiful place and I was extremely happy on this day, it was one of the best days of my life. But... the next day was a disaster! I called my cousin, lets call her Gina, and told her that I was getting married, I called because she was one of my best friends and we have been close all my life. Gina lives in a different city from me, but we managed to get together often, she stayed with me for a year after college and generally I thought we had a bf-cousin relationship.
I was always in a better position than her financially but I've always given her everything I could, I'd buy her clothes, I've been paying her drinks and meals whenever we got out and always trying to make her feel welcomed and safe.
l called to tell her the news but I specifically asked her not to tell my parents until I was home from the trip. I wanted to have the pleasure to tell that I am getting married to my parents myself. I am a lonely child and my parents were waiting this moment for a long time since I am kind of "old" in their minds. As you have guessed Gina CALLED my parents before I could return from the trip and tell them...
What a b*tch!!!
We had no idea, we were so happy, when we returned from the trip we first went to my in laws who are really lovely people!! His mother baked and neighbors were coming and my SIL came all wishing us the best and everybody where happy about us.
After that we went to my parents to announce the news and I was very excited.
Their reaction was I quote "ok nice, now please send an email for me (something related to their work)"
I was devastated, I had a panic attack and left crying at that moment. Actually I opened the door and stormed out while my fiance was trying to catch our cat that went running behind me. We saved the cat!!🐈
My parents didn't speak to me for 3 days and they were very mad. Remember, I didn't know that Gina blabbed about me and I thought that they were just indifferent or didn't liked my fiance.
After 3 days my mum called and informed me that Gina told them before I could return from the trip and they were angry because my first thought was to tell my friends that I am going to get married and not to my parents!! Personally idk why they were so shocked, since we aren't so close and I think my best friends ( including Gina) as more of my family (and the cat).
Gina didn't have the right to tell, I texted her but she avoided me and then I was so mad I didn't speak to her for three weeks.
I went to her city to straight things out and when I got there, she hides behind her fiance. He was mad with me for not contacting them for 3 weeks ( i think he just found something to grab on ) and I asked my cousin directly why you spoke to my parents when I told you not to and she didn't speak back to me. Her "lawyer" did the indictment and I said to him to stay out of this and that Gina can speak her mind without his "help and guidance". Finally she started talking and without the presence of our dear "lawyer", she told me that she called to tell my parents out of excitement and among other things she said that her fiance announced that they were getting married to facebook first!! And that was the way her parents found out .....you see where this is going right?? She was frustrated that she didn't have the time to announce this to her parents properly and i don't know why in this f** world but maybe she thought that I had to pass through the same sh*t.
I left silently because really I didn't want to lose a cousin over this, a mess that I didn't initiated.
Now regarding her wedding, Gina is not well financially so she struggles with the wedding costs and also she asked me to be her MoH, really I think it's because she doesn't have other friends, she hangouts only with the friends of her fiance. I accepted of course before all this happened and I planned and saved to give Gina 5.000$ for her wedding. After this story, I only gave her 500$ which she thanked me a week later with just a typical "Thanks".
Everyone is expecting, because i am more financially stable than my cousins ( Gina and her brothers), to support my cousin at her wedding, but I am f** tired. I am tired of giving everything I can, since I was little, so they don't feel less or unequal, I was trying always to be very careful with that balance. All I ever had in mind was their best interest and considered them the brothers and sisters I never had.
I recently gave my cousin ( her brother ) my used car without asking for money and even paid for his insurance and other costs and he didn't even had time for coffee. I asked him 3 times to go for coffee or dinner, that I would pay, just to celebrate his new car and he never came.
When I think of my proposal I get all teary because that day I won a husband but lost a friend and cousin.
I've always dreamed that Gina would have the best wedding but now my heart can't reach the generosity I thought I had, plus when i went to her city she didn't come to greet me.
This is how you slowly become the bad relative, the Scrooge McDuck relative who doesnt ever give to other relatives.
Also my fiance is furious with all of them. And the cat, the cat is mad with all of us.
I dont want to be the MoH but she doesn't have any other friends (and I don't like the groom) If I resing all the other relatives will wonder why I am not her MoH since we had been very close.
Thoughts???
Thank you and sorry for the long post!!!
Ps: I am used to that kind of behavior from my parents so it doesn't matter anymore!!

My grandma was hospitalized a week ago due to getting a UTI. She is now in rehab. At this moment I would say she is at the moderate trending toward severe level of dementia. Right before we called 911 to get to the hospital she stopped feeding herself and was acting lucid.
The DR at the hospital said that a UTI would do that. Now that she is in rehab and she is being taken care of 24/7. Before that I was checking in on her daily as her only relative that cares.
It's clear to me that she shouldn't live alone any more. She is now forgetting to change her depends and feed herself. I have been visiting her at the rehab facility and she keeps begging me to take her home. I'm her ONLY help. I have a full-time job and I'm 33 and want to start a family soon. I feel selfish saying this but I would have to put all my future plans aside to be her full-time care taker and I'm not sure that is something I want to do.
As much as I feel guilty about it, I can't give her the 24/7 care I feel she needs now. I'm her POA and in charge of everything so I can make any decisions without a fight from any estranged family members who may try and take advantage.
I'm waiting to talk with the social worker at the rehab but I have this gut feeling that being home with an aide all day isn't going to be enough. I just feel awful saying to her that she can't go home. She thinks she is fine. She doesn't even remember how she ended up in the hospital. She said I quote " I can lay around this like at home I don't need the hospital".
This is awful. This disease is a monster. My grandma who used to drive from NY to PA all by herself can't even remember that she ate dinner an hour ago. I try to remain positive that I have had her in my life for 33 years and I have the honor of helping her like she helped me throughout my life, but she doesn't deserve this and I feel bad not doing more...but I just can't. I lost my mom to suicide (my grandma's daughter) about 9 years ago and I suffer from ptsd and anxiety. I'm trying my best to be strong for my grandma but I need help. I can't do it all alone. Knowing that she is slowly dying on the inside is triggering past trauma of losing my mom. I lost my mom suddenly...now I'm losing my grandma slowly. Idk what's worse.
Sorry this turned into a rant and sorry for any spelling/grammar errors. Typing this on my lunch break.
Edits: grammar

Lots and lots of guys DM me about jobs overseas. It is really a struggle to sort out the scams from the legit offers, but after doing some research I decided to pass this one along.
DataAnnotation.tech is an AI company, but unlike many of these operators its reviews are really solid. It gets rave reviews in a general article on this type of work in Time Magazine. It is a quote from - yes - Reddit, but Time would not have included it if they had really negative reports too:
“I have been working at [DataAnnotation.Tech] for almost 2 years,” one user writes. “You make money by the task or by the hour, depending on the project. They pay via PayPal. I have only worked very part-time in the past couple of years and am nearing the $3k mark. In all honesty, I quit for quite a while during my full-time job, but am back at it. I am currently working on two projects, one for $20 per hour and one for $25 per hour. I am making about $400-$500 a week. This is not permanent, as tasks come and go, but it is a great side income to work on if you needed extra work from a laptop or computer.”
Here is the article: Side Hustle or Scam? What to Know About Data Annotation Work
Here is a Buzzfeed that is very positive.
I have never heard of this site, but the review is very positive and seems legit.
Finally, here is themost negative review. It is from a Reddit post and down in the comment a lot of people get a little work and it soon dries up.
Conclusion: For some people this is apparently a good option from what I have been able to find. But I am certain they are grading employees for accuracy and speed, so try to do a great job if you get an offer.
Best wishes!
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Warning: this is a very petty post, revolving but not fixated on the release of Ubisoft's new Assassin's Creed game. If you have a life, stop reading.
Ubisoft, a western video game studio, has launched its advertising campaign for its new game set in Japan. If you are familiar with the Assassin's Creed series, you are aware that Ubisoft shits one of these out every three to four years, much to their awaiting fans glee.
Controversy however has been stirred up over not only the usual and predictable matter (the liberal fetishization of a character's skin colour) but by inevitably the same group of people who take this news about as well as Praljak took his cyanide.
This post is not about the rift betwen these two sides, which are if anything two halves to the same mass-produced industrial sized circle, but the lack of an inbetween in the leftist commentary. More specifically, how people who see themselves as socialists will deliberately bat down the most orthodox of Marxist critiques because they see in this movement, to portray fictional characters with different racial stereotypes, as a value of the progressive nature of capitalism.
To anybody who has any knowledge, even second hand, of the various critiques that are made, the argument is simple: Yes, Capitalism produces an impetus for the revolution of its industrial base and subsequently, in the process, liquidates the existent order (all that is solid melts into air), but the reality is that this progress is about as socially revolutionary as genocide.
(The Indian continent was swept under the boot of the British colonial system, ending if not totally then the domination of the feudal structrue that had prevailed there).
If you want a contemporary comparison, it is about as socially progressive as the Israelis bulldozing hospitals within which they've mass-executed Palestinians to build allotments.
But over the course of arguing, this comparison is not so neat. 'Socialists' will even forgo recognising that the very system which produces this gabrage, these endless stream of commodities, is one which shackles the globe to wage slavery.
They will posit, even in spite of this, in spite of the fact that they know full well what they are essentially doing is eating shit, that these trends, over the change of the mere content of these commodities, are a good thing. They are fastened, even in their resistance, to the system. The overlap then becomes clear, what these individuals essentialy stand in support for is nothing akin to the demands that the socialists were making a hundred years ago.
They would have it that the clock simply be turned back to the model of the socially democratic welfarist state which prevailed 60 or 70 years ago, whilst retaining what is about is revolutionary as a brand change in the commercial logic of production.
Argue with them, and you will eventually draw the point out: either they have understood the Marxist critique, or they have not. This adoption of socialist principles by these individuals online has become one in which an individual chooses the brand of their identity. The system of Marxist thought has been burried to history, and what stands atop it is something akin to Disneyland.
As a final note, I ended up two days ago arguing with someone, a 'socialist', who began to defend the pride movement on the basis that it was, again, socially progressive.
Them: "But Castro himself endorsed the pride movement in Nicaraguan media!"
Me: "Ah yes, Castro, notoriously the enemy of the CIA, who have come out even more triumphantly to endorse the pride movement"
Them: "You just wish to post pictures of Raytheon pride floats to engage in homophobia!"
Me: "Perhaps there is nothing inherently progresive about being a sexual minority. It is about inherently revolutionary as being Jewish"
Them: "No, there is nothing inherently revolutionary about being Jewish, but granting the rights to be Jewish is progresive!"
Ignoring the fact that, 50 posts before, I had summarised a critique of this position (the pride movement simply stands for the legal ascension of rights under the bourgeois state and not for the material liberation) I had to quite litearlly quote to them On The Jewish Question (1843) to make known not only the origin of this argument but the fact that it had essentially taken place 200 years before!
On the Jewish Question is such a key text to Marxist literature because it is the beginning of which Marx outlines his formal critique of the Hegelian Philosophy Of Right.
I feel like I'm going mad. You're claiming to be a socialist and yet you're expounding the most pro-capitalist sentiment possible.
But sit back and watch, as so-called socialists run to the defence of their bourgeois masters anytime a commodity with pretty pink colours emerges.