We were taught about it, but most Americans don’t view westward expansion with the same… Reverence? Notoriety?

Like, I remember learning about it across multiple grades, but… Oregon City being the final destination, that’s not something I would probably remember a year or two later, nevermind a decade or more.

Yep, and I have friends who have a lot of their social events and stuff there. I usually politely decline if I’m invited.

I wasn’t fired, but I resigned from a brewery/coffee shop I worked at after only 7 shifts. Context: I’m trans and in the closet still.

Hired as a cook for this brewery, and based on the interview, I’m one of the more “experienced” cooks on the team, and they (owners) were hoping I’d be able to help make the kitchen more professional. It’s a part-time gig, so sure, I’ll do what I can.

Well, the kitchen was too small for the facility. They would have to stop taking orders on busy nights an hour before close because they didn’t have the space to get through the 40+ orders that came in within 5 minutes of each other. Orders from both the bar, the cafe they had, and to go orders.

They’re menu was fine, surprisingly, they didn’t stretch themselves too thin. But the staff were… Rough. The kitchen supervisor couldn’t believe I owned a chef’s coat, nevermind actually showed up to work in one since everyone just wore t-shirts (no aprons, as far as I could find). I told the owners they should have chef coats, it’s a safety thing, etc, idk if that ever happened.

Anyway, the kitchen supe would spend 90% of the shift video chatting with various friends/family/etc during his shift, loudly dropping the n-word every other word while we’re cooking and cleaning and prepping. All on the line, not even in an office or something, in the middle of the kitchen. I’ve had managers who are lazy, that’s fine, but I’ve never had one that unprofessional.

There were like 2-3 shifts though where the bulk of the conversation amongst the kitchen staff were LGBTQ+ focused: I’m not sure I could love my daughter if she was a lesbian, I don’t understand this stuff, it’s a mental illness, trans people, etc. If it had happened once, fine, whatever. But over 2-3 different shifts, and the supervisor is taking part? No, I’m not cool with that.

My last shift, I’m annoyed and pretty over my coworkers based on their views I got to listen to, but trying to just get through it. I’m working the deep fryer, reheating some chicken wings. Pull the basket up and grab the thermometer to temp them when the supervisor calls over, “Oh, no, you don’t need to temp those, they’re already cooked!”

I pulled him aside after and asked him about that, and he goes, “Yeah, we already cooked them to 165°F before we cooled and stored them. You’ve just gotta get em heated up again, you don’t have to temp them.”

I send an almost 2-page long resignation to the owners the next day, explaining that I did not appreciate the conversations taking place in the kitchen and the opinions about people my coworkers had, people who may very well he standing in the room with them.

But I really harped on the fact that the kitchen supervisor, the supervisor, didn’t seem to be familiar with health code policies. Any good that’s already been cooked and then cooled must be brought back to 165°F when being reheated, that’s, like, one of those food safety things every pro cook should know, nevermind a supervisor.

I advised they may want to send their supervisors for food safety retraining before they made a customer sick, and that there were too many issues within the kitchen for me to help them without basically cleaning house and starting over.

No, to the point where I’ve had a few friends and family members offer to buy me decorations (or they’ll text me of ones on sale), and I always turn them down.

Halloween, I’ll put out a pumpkin if I’m feeling frisky, but that’s about it. Christmas, I’ve considered getting a tree, and had a roommate that had a really small plastic one with two ornaments that’d we’d put out.

But they’re too expensive, they’re too much work to put up/take down (especially outside in the snow), they take up too much room both while in use and in storage, my dog would probably fuck with them or be afraid of them (Halloween), they drive electricity use and cost up, they can be stolen, they can increase fire risk, I normally live alone so it’d only be for my dog and I, the list goes on.

I tell friends/family, particularly for Christmas since many of them can’t believe I just don’t do decorations, that I draw a Christmas tree on a piece of paper and tape it to my wall every year. Costs $0.05 in ink, paper, and tape, and 5 minutes to put up and take down. Easily movable, lightweight, efficient.

Lol, sorry buddy, not something I can just… Do. There’s gotta be context/history/etc, lol, they’ve gotta earn it.

I told a cousin once I wasn’t going to be lectured on morality by a woman whose sole contribution to society was how much money she could spend at a liquor store. That whole post I wrote was honestly, according to my brother, some of the best criticism he’s read, quote, “You called her a lush without ever actually using the word, while also going up one side of her and down the other, saying everything the rest of us wanted to.” That cousin, to this day, will not interact with me at family gatherings.

I also once threw shitty advice I was given back into my boss’s face in my resignation text, to the point where he mentioned it felt “personal” when he called me to try to get me to stay. That was the resignation friends/family told me I should be a writer because, “You have a knack for telling people to go fuck themselves in a way where they thank you afterwards.”

My go to, though, when someone insults me is to usually respond, “I’ve been called worse by better.”

Are you saying the driver is wearing the seatbelt, the passenger(s) aren’t?

And how does the death result? Is it because of an accident? Are they messing/moving around in the car? Are they legally allowed to not be wearing a seatbelt in the vehicle?

There’s too many undefined variables I think for anyone to give you a solid answer.

America: our mail system is. USPS processes 23.5 million packages per day, and processes and delivers 318 million pieces of mail every day, to every single household in America, 6 days per week (7 days per week for packages).

They will throw mail sacks onto the backs of donkeys and trek them down into the Grand Canyon to deliver to tribes down there. They will deliver by bike, plane, boat, truck, car, etc. Hell, name any other organization where you could hand someone a letter and $0.62 and ask them to take it to Alaska for you, and they’d say no problem.

“Post” roads in the U.S. are named as such because they were roads built specifically for the movement of “post” across the country, and people have even argued that USPS (then the Postal Service) created the layout of the country as we know it.

And despite what many may think or know, USPS is incredibly efficient when it comes to mail and delivery compared to other countries. I remember them telling us during our orientation (I used to be a mail carrier) that back around 2013, representatives from USPS were actually flown to Germany to teach and help them start delivering 6-days per week. USPS taught Germany how to be more efficient at something 😂

Every person is three meals away from being radicalized. Not my quote, not sure who it’s attributed to, but I’ve seen it on the internet over the years.

I agree, shit will really hit the fan when people can’t find food/water anymore, or at least have it not be readily available. Personally, I think it’s coming sooner than people are expecting just because climate change will compound on itself year over year, and we’re doing damn near nothing to mitigate any damage (still pumping ground water up like it’s an instantly renewable resource to water golf courses in the dessert, for example).

But radical people tend to be desperate for change, and most people get desperate when they start to actually get hungry.

Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

Richard Cranium

Edit: someone beat me to it 😆

They wouldn’t have had their lives upended if we weren’t doing everything in our power to prolong the war!

They wouldn’t have had their lives upended if Russia didn’t illegitimately invade their homeland. Twice, in the last decade, I believe. I also don’t know wtf you mean when you say prolong the war, if Ukraine stopped fighting now you don’t think Russia wouldn’t just go at it again?

So you understand making the world a worse place isn’t the gotcha you seem to think it is right?

So you understand that this discussion is about OPC and their view on Ukraine and the Russian invasion? I told you I served to answerbyour initial question as to why I don’t go fight in Ukraine: I’ve already done my time in the service, was the implication you seemed to miss.

Trying another subject change isn’t the gotcha you think it is, kid.

The one who suspended elections after he got elected on a platform of peace and failed to end the civil war?

The one who’s following Ukrainian law and listening to the general vibe of the country and the situation with the war?

Or the Zelensky who is open to the idea of having elections, but does not think it’s a good idea based on both the law and I assume logistical decisions, like having mass groups if people located in small areas for extended periods of time during, say, a war.

Not being literate on the world stage isn’t the gotcha you think it is, bud.

How many Ukrainians living in Ukraine do you know? I’m certain it’s less than the actual Ukrainian right here telling you what the situation is.

None, as does the very obvious Russian bot who’s, like I said before, just propagating the same Russian State Media talking points that you’ve somehow fallen for. Sad, really.

You really don’t give a shit about actual Ukrainians beyond their willingness to bleed for the profits of the military industrial complex.

Mm, no, I do give a shit about a sovereign nation defending themselves from a foreign aggressor, and reclaiming any illegally held territory going back to, idk, 2013-ish. 🤷‍♀️ If it was so important to the military industrial complex, why did the GOP actively fight to stop it? That’s taken money out of the wealthy’s purse, can’t have that.

You also never answered why you’re defending a Russian troll, so let’s try again in a language you may understand:

Почему вы защищаете русского тролля?

Do you think we’d be sending them weapons (and buying up their assets for pennies) if this battle wasn’t yours?

Welcome to the world under capitalism, guess we should just do nothing then, fuck all the actual people that live in Ukraine and have had their lives upended or destroyed because of the war.

Seriously? Fuck off with that bullshit.

They’ve also supported Israel. By that logic, you, personally are assisting them in genocide.

Yep, and I’m fucking pissed about it. This discussion also isn’t about Israel, so don’t change the subject.

I will serve crack before I serve this country. Look at every military action in this country’s history since WWII. In none of them were we the good guys.

Edgy, wow, impressed. Never said we were, just said I’ve served, so don’t put words in my mouth.

Oh fuck off. He knows more about the situation than you do. He is right there experiencing it.

By his own admission, he left Ukraine before the invasion, so no, he isn’t there experiencing it. He’s safely in another country, acting like he understands what’s going on in a country he currently doesn’t live in. And then acts like he speaks on behalf of Ukraine when they democratically elected their leader, continue to fight against their unjustified invaders, despite apparently living in a prison-state worse than Russia.

While also claiming Russia is not actively engaged in the very same activities he is accusing Ukraine of.

So go fuck yourself, I don’t know why you’re defending some Russian troll.

1. It’s not my battle, my country wasn’t invaded. His was, but he had already left, and refuses to go back and help, but defends the people invading his country. That’s pathetic and cowardly, and spoken by someone in a position of privilege from foreign soil (again, he left before the invasion) but claims to speak for his countrymen and women actually living through the atrocities and attacks.

2. My country is supplying military aid to Ukraine via my tax dollars, so while I’m not directly fighting, my country and myself are assisting them in their effort to defend themselves against an unjustified invasion.

3. I am a veteran of my country’s armed services, can you say the same?

4. I also never told him to go fight, but it seems pathetic and cowardly to sit behind a computer screen in another country, claim to speak on behalf of your home nation while propagating Russian-media talking points. So I stand by what I’ve said.

At least I’m not selling out my supposed homeland to their invaders.

Pathetic coward.

If I were in Ukraine, I’d be wishing for opportunity to go to Russia, because it’s one of the few ways to escape it… Thankfully I’ve left before the war started, so I don’t need to.

So again, pathetic and a coward, assuming you’re from Ukraine at all, Comrade. 🙄

Supposedly?? What the hell do you mean by that? https://theconversation.com/why-banning-men-from-leaving-ukraine-violates-their-human-rights-178411

Huh, a country being invaded needs men to fight, who would’ve fucking thought. So what’s your solution? End the war and let Russia have their way? Makes sense, it doesn’t affect you in the slightest as a coward who fled his homeland and now comes online to trash it and defend the invaders.

Pathetic coward.

Well, exactly so that you have a chance to see it, and stop thinking of yourself as a good guy who is helping Ukrainians while in reality you are helping to murder us.

Right, so if the West stopped supplying arms to Ukraine to defend themselves against an unlawful aggressor, Russia will immediately stop the invasion?

Tell me, is that why Ukraine’s military chooses to bomb and seek out strategic resources for their attacks, while Russia bombs apartment buildings and city centers? Yep, must be that pesky western influence that wants to check notes stop the authoritarian creep of Russia as they attempt to reclaim their Soviet satellite states.

You’re right, the West is to blame for Russia invading another country, raping, and slaughtering its people. I’m sure the people being killed and injured in Russia’s bombing attacks really wish the Russians would just take over already and turn them into second-class citizens, at fucking best.

Pathetic coward.

Well, I never claimed that Russia is the good guy here, but they are not doing exactly the same.

No, you are, because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be defending Russia at all in any of this, because they are 100% in the wrong, from start to finish. And yes, they are doing exactly the same thing. Russia has pulled people out of their prisons and sent them to the front lines, so do they not count as people to you, because they’re prisoners?

Russia has also been sending captured Ukrainian troops to the front lines, along with kidnapping their own men off the streets and sending them into battle with few supplies, if any. Like, are you fucking dense, man? Eyes wide shut kind of thing?

Pathetic coward.

Zelensky’s regime decided to turn country into a mass-prison and kidnap people and send them to die. It is not “country choosing to defend itself”.

Zelensky was elected by the Ukrainian people, it’s not a fucking regime. And he went to war with the backing of his people. I’m sorry Ukraine was the first target Russia had in their quest to reclaim the glory that was the Soviet Union 🙄 But they are, and they could have chosen to bend the knee to Russia, or rightfully, defend themselves.

They, the people of Ukraine, chose to defend themselves, so fuck right off with this “Zelensky evil dictator” bullshit. He’s not, he’s just fucking not. If the people of Ukraine didn’t want to defend their homeland, the troops would just surrender instead of fighting back, and they’re fucking not.

So fuck right off, you pathetic coward, and I feel sorry for whatever country your cowardly ass ended up in. Hope they’re never invaded, we’ll all know the first person will be that starts sucking his invaders cocks down to the balls.

Then go to Russia, I’m sure they’d be more than willing to send you to the front to kill your fellow Ukrainian brothers and sisters, and it’ll get you out of the “prison” that is supposedly Ukraine. 🙄

Wtf is the point of your comment chain? I’ve seen and heard no claims that Ukraine is kidnapping people off the street to be sent to the front, outside of Russian owned state media. The same media that hides and covers up the fact that Russia is doing exactly what you’re describing to its own citizens.

Ukraine was invaded, and the country chose to defend itself as opposed to roll over and take Putin’s boot on their throat. The invasion was begun under a completely fabricated claim about historical Russian boundaries. Zelensky and Ukraine have, to me, been nothing but up front about their motives, their rationale, and pride they have for their country.

I’m sure they’d be ashamed to know you think so little of your brother and sister Ukrainians, but then again, it sure sounds like you’d rather have a Russian boot on your neck than a Ukrainian uniform on your shoulders. Cowardly, and pathetic. I wouldn’t spit in your direction, it’d be an insult to the spit.

Growing up, my mom always, always cut my sandwiches in half to make two rectangles. I asked her why at some point, and she said when she was growing up, her mother always cut her sandwiches into triangles, and she hated it. So when she moved out, she basically vowed to only cut sandwiches into rectangles.

I hated the rectangles growing up, and cut all of mine into two triangles now that I’m on my own. 😆 Funny how the world works, hahaha

When I worked for USPS as a carrier, my LLV (the mail truck) was older than I was by a year. I could also put the key in the ignition, start it, and then completely remove the key and the truck would keep running.

That kinda shit cracks me up, hahaha