Boston public schools human resources

I need some writing help. My kid’s school is going to have a meeting about a “unknown person with possible gun” on campus. I want to help some of the families that I saw that day but don’t know how to get my point across in a a clear way and I’m horrible at public speaking.
Here’s what happened: Recently my kid text me 2:05 during school telling me he loved me. This is not normal he has his phone off during school. He than tells that the school is on lockdown because some kids spotted someone with a gun on campus as they exited the gym. His class was now in lockdown in the gym. A short while later he asks me to pass on a message to a friend’s mother because he doesn’t have a phone. I called the other mother and let her know what was happening. I tried to reassure her that it looks calm the street is not blocked off and I haven’t heard anything disturbing. ( I live really close and can hear the kids playing and bells normally.) I went out to wait with other parents whose kids notified them. 10 minutes before school ended the school released a email to parents and let those outside know that the police have cleared the campus and that the kids will be released at normal time. At the time parent’s coming to pick up kids found out what happened. The look of fear on those mothers faces who came up to me asking what happened and why their kid didn’t notify them. Some tried to call their kid right than only not to go through. I wouldn’t have known about the email if one hadn’t gotten upset and asked what time this started because they just got an email. Normally I get alerts through ClassDojo or texts so I don’t have an alarm for school emails. When the kids came out so many in tears or signs that they had been deeply upset. Some kids stopped and called people to tell them what happened or looked for someone. Mothers hugging daughters asking why they didn’t call only to be told that they won’t allowed to use their phones. I stood to the side near the entrance watching. A girl near us was crying as she waited for someone to come. I tried my best to comfort this girl, my son and his best friend as we waited for their parents. It took my kid best friend’s mother over an hour to get from her job to pick up her son at 3:20. I let her know at 2:15 about the school. The school didn’t allow children to text parents until after school ended at 3. Children at 12, 13, and 14 years walked home after a hour long scare. I want the rules to change that allow children to text an adult if this happens again so that someone can be there for them. Ten minutes before release is not enough time for most to leave work or find someone to get their kid. I had this talk with my kid before text me than put your phone on do not disturb and mute. He will not get trouble with me for breaking this rule and if he does I will fight for him plus award him. His friend that didn’t have a phone begged his friends to lend him a phone but they were afraid to get caught. They didn’t want their phone taken away. This made me so mad. No parent should be afraid about “why didn’t my kid alert me” or “what happened to my kid that they couldn’t text me?” The fear in those mothers faces near me as they look around to check if there was any ambulances. If I hadn’t been able to get there I know that I would have sent someone to meet my kid outside that day. Other parents didn’t have time to arrange this because they didn’t find out to 3:50 if they checked their email. The person on campus wasn’t caught. Now the rule is no hoody up during school hours and backpacks stay in home room. Okay with that. But I want kids to be able to send out messages of love and let their family know without fear that their phones will be taken away during such a event.

Much appreciation to you all and this site!
After Tina Turner's passing, I've been feeling feels on my time in the SGI from 2005 to 2009.
I can't believe that my high school teacher got me and my friend to go to meetings.
That he developed an emotional affair with my underaged friend while his poor Japanese wife was isolated from her family and community to stay in America with him.
This teacher would mock students in front of EVERYONE. He was such an insecure, bizarre manchild. He went on to work at a university that taught religious studies, and became a scholar in Ikedaism. Which is just him rehashing what Ikeda says!!! That's it!! It's completely made up bullshit. His rate my professor has people complaining that he mocks students....what a shit bag.
I struggle with mental illness and trauma, but even I found The Human Revolution and other books pushed on me to be repetitive and bizarre. Chanting felt purposeful and people were very kind in the beginning. But I burned out from chanting. TWO HOURS of chanting per day to heal my eating disorder for a YEAR and it did absolutely nothing.
I'm only thankful that I joined the organization bc one member encouraged me to go to therapy. I once made an erratic phone call to the creepy teacher and he did NOTHING. No compassion, no acknowledgement, no help, no call back, nothing.
Despite being assured when I joined that SGI is not a religion, I felt sooo guilty leaving. Was fearful that bad things would happen. But I just couldn't do it anymore. The chanting, the meetings that just talked in circles and the Ikeda worship became too much. I would notice non SGI people have a sense of freedom and joy that no amount of chanting could give me. I wanted to know what it was like to live life without the constant guilt of chanting producing zero results. I mean I guess I wasn't doing hard drugs, had a purpose, but I still felt chained to chanting. It felt like heavy weights, worrying about if I'll have a quiet place to chant when travelling, if 10 minutes of chanting is enough...
My main life philosophy is to listen to myself and chill the fuck out when I can. Neither are important to the SGI. People were way too cringe and try hard, like chill bro being that hyper isnt going to make you happier. The members that were there a long time had this spacey, glassy look to their faces. Strained smiles. I wanted to avoid that but I needed hope, so I chanted. Creeped out but felt I had no other option.
The real world is so much better than what the SGI teaches. Fuck having sensei be my mentor I need to eat ice cream with my friends.
One of the only pros was the Japanese food tbh. I still crave the doughnuts. I don't really like American food so to go out to nice restaurants and talk about our studies was nice.
All in all I feel burned by the organization, how they straight up lied about Tina Turner's investment in the SGI, how it's just a choreographed shit show. It was a good teacher on how to spot cults in the future, but it was still really hard to deprogram.

I (25M) officially blocked my mother about a month ago after years of minimal contact and I feel sh*t about it constantly.
long story short I have not had a good relationship with my mother since I was in the single digits. she always spoiled me with toys, trips, and every opportunity I wanted, so I’ve always felt guilty about my animosity towards her. I had really bad depressive episodes and social anxiety growing up, which she thought could be ignored until it went away. by middle school learned reality never mattered to her. that I just had to put on a brave face and keep good in the court of public opinion. nothing matters more than how the world perceives me and how I was raised.
when I was 15 my father killed himself and that’s when things really started to fall apart. within a month she was already dating around and gone for weeks at a time. then when she was home I would have to peel her off the couch, get her to bed, and clean the red wine stains out the carpet. I became the parent and the thanks I got for it was a weekend in jail because she didn’t want me smoking weed, that she paid for, in the house. I spent a majority of the next couple years sleeping on friends couches or crashing with the men I was sleeping with.
during college I started seeing a therapist who told me to cut her off. she was emotionally abusive, stealing my scholarship money, and taking out credit cards in my name. I tried but she would call me crying, screaming, and I’d “just give her one more chance”. that cycle continued until graduation. I saved up 10k and was planning to go around the country with boyfriend who just got a job as a travel nurse. she begged me crying not to go, to stay at home with her, and pay off her debts. I gave her $2,000 the night before I was suppose to leave. then when she was asleep I packed my car, drove off into the night, and planned to never see her again.
a little over a year later I came home after a family friend had passed to be there for the funeral. she spent the entire dinner saying how she changed and she’s going to therapy and that she promises that she won’t take advantage of me again. against my better judgment I said I’ll give her one more chance. I soon came to realize things were exactly the same. we had barley spoken in a year and all she wanted to talk about was her new boyfriend and how he spoils her. then on the day I was suppose to leave I find out she didn’t buy my plane ticket like she said she would and instead asked me for money.
another year goes by with minimal contact. then about a week after my birthday she sent me a screenshot about her engagement. she spent half the fb post talking about how hard it has been to be a widow and that infuriated me. she only referrers to herself as window when she wants sympathy, attention, or has something to gain. I wrote her an aggressive message, telling her how I despise her and that she will never see me again, but I decided not to send it. I wrote it down, burned the note in my backyard, and blocked her number.
I still ache when seeing friend’s family holiday photos and cry when they tell me stories about how close they are with their mothers. I never miss my mother, but I long for the idea of what a mother should be and torture myself for not having a relationship with mine. I have nightmares about her that have me waking up screaming. I feel a pit in my stomach every time she is brought up. I want to put her and my guilt out of my life forever but I just don’t know how. anyone have any suggestions?

Chicago, Illinois offers a wealth of mental health and counseling internship, practicum, and clinical supervision placement opportunities for mental health and counseling trainees, interns, practicum students, and clinical supervisees. According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, there are over 1,200 mental health providers in Illinois, with the majority of these providers located in the Chicago area. These providers offer a wide range of mental health and counseling services, including individual, family, and group counseling, as well as clinical supervision for mental health and counseling interns and practicum students. Additionally, there are many hospitals, community mental health centers, and private practices in Chicago, Illinois that offer mental health and counseling internship, practicum, and clinical supervision placement opportunities.\n\nStatistics from the Illinois Department of Human Services show that there are over 700 mental health providers in the Chicago area offering mental health services, including individual, family, and group counseling, as well as clinical supervision. Additionally, there are over 400 community mental health centers in the Chicago area that provide mental health and counseling services, including mental health and counseling internships, practicums, and clinical supervision placements.\n\nThere are many resources in Chicago, Illinois that can help mental health and counseling intern, practicum student, and clinical supervisee candidates search for internships, clinical supervision, and practicum opportunities. Three of these resources include the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association (IMHCA), and Mojozy (www.mojozy.org). The IDHS provides information about mental health providers in the state of Illinois, including those located in Chicago. The IMHCA provides information about mental health and counseling internships, practicums, and clinical supervision placements in Chicago, as well as resources for mental health and counseling professionals. Finally, Mojozy (www.mojozy.org) is a free online resource that helps mental health and counseling interns,--- VISIT WWW.MOJOZY.ORG FOR MORE DETAILS AND INFORMATION

Italics = advisor feedback

1. Congratulations Don Jr., after a contentious primary with Matt Rosendale and Greg Gianforte, you have emerged victorious in the Republican primary. What will be your opening statement as you pivot towards the general Montana senate election with Jon Tester?

• Why screw up this thing. I’ll run a low-risk campaign and cruise to victory. After all, my dad is the Republican nominee for president, so I can certainly ride his coattails to victory “This might work but don’t underestimate Jon Tester, he’s quite popular in Montana”
• I want to nationalize this race as much as possible and attack Jon Tester relentlessly, Tester has voted in lockstep with Biden and Pelosi “This might work, but most Montanans are more focused on state issues rather than national issues”
• I want to appear with my dad, Donald Trump, as much as possible as I campaign “People want to see you differentiate yourself from dad occasionally, and this doesn’t help much”
• I want to denationalize this race as much as possible. I want to take pictures of myself on my Montana ranch and focus on the farmers and workers in this state “nationalizing this race is your best chance, considering that your father is the Republican nominee for president”

​

1. Due to the rural nature of Montana, the average Montanan spends more on gas than almost any other state in the country, and as gas prices continue to rise, what would you do to lower them?

• I would work with Senator John Thune to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline, which will transport gas faster and thus drop the price of gas, unlike Biden and the Democrats who want to shut down the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline “This is good in that it criticizes the Democrats while also offering a different solution.”
• The way you lower gas prices is by getting Biden and the Democrats out of the office and putting in Trump and the Republicans, as gas prices were nowhere near as high as they were when Trump was president “This attack somewhat damaged Biden, but the damage is limited because people want to know what you would do differently from him.”
• One thing we could do to lower gas prices is to switch sides in the Russia-Ukraine war and side with an oil-rich Russia, rather than siding with oil-poor Ukraine, and we could get more oil through deals with Russia “Are you insane?”

​

1. RNG. Your father, who is running for president from within a prison cell, has asked if you could attend one of his rallies that are being held from just outside his prison cell where he will be visible to the large crowd through the window of his prison cell in New York. Would you like to attend this rally outside the prison?

• Yes, I would “Good news, the rally outside of Trump’s prison cell was just the right size, in that it was large enough to fire up Trump’s base in Montana, but not so large that it would grab the attention of the liberal media. Good job”
• Yes, I would. “Bad news, the rally outside of Trump’s prison cell had a lot of both trump supporters and protestors and the two groups quickly turned violent and it drew an enormous amount of media attention and you are getting badly hurt by the controversy.”
• No, I wouldn’t “Good news, the Montana people respected your ability to be removed from national politics of a rally outside of Trump’s prison cell.”
• No, I wouldn't “Bad news, Trump’s base is furious at you for not showing up to your father’s rally from outside of Trump’s prison cell.”

​

1. Inflation continues to ravage the nation. How will you put an end to it?

• We’re gonna stop handing out money and stop all this nonsense spending. “This has fired up your core supporters, but most independents are worried about this kind of messaging.”
• I would like to reduce tariffs and remove regulatory barriers “Trump’s tariffs are popular with the Trump wing of the Republican party, but this answer should win over more libertarian-minded Republicans”

​

1. The destructive conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues to go on. How will you put an end to it if at all?

• I will urge for American neutrality in the Ukraine-Russia war “You’ve pleased your diehard base, but most independents want America to side with Ukraine during this destructive conflict”
• I will keep the current path of issuing sanctions against Russia “This is probably the best answer to please the majority of Montanans.”
• I will urge America to get involved on Ukraine’s side against Russia “This wins over independents at the expense of winning over your base.”
• I will urge the UN to create a demilitarized zone on the Ukraine-Russia border and urge Ukraine and Russia to come to a comprehensive peace treaty “This wins over the neocons in your party at the expense of the Trump wing of your party.”

​

1. China has repeatedly made threats against Taiwan, and there have been fears that China might invade Taiwan. How will you prevent this from happening?

• This is Taiwan’s problem, not ours “This wins over the hardcore isolationists in your party at the expense of mainstream Americans”
• We will issue sanctions against China if they choose to invade Taiwan “This is probably the best answer to please the majority of Montanans”
• I urge America to intervene in this conflict against China “Are you insane, no one wants war with China!”
• I will urge China and Taiwan to create a demilitarized zone between them and a comprehensive peace treaty “This might be a good strategy”

​

1. There continue to be migrants and drugs that are flowing across the southern border. What would you do to stop this from happening?

• We need to strengthen our border security and build a wall “This is a good solution to win over the hard-core Trumpsits in your party”
• Look, this is Montana, we are nowhere near the southern border. Do we need to campaign on this issue? “Fair enough”
• We need a compromise solution of granting the illegals in this country a pathway to citizenship in return for building a stronger immigration enforcement system “This is a good way to win over independent voters”

​
8. Jon Tester, despite being a senator from Montana, one of the most pro-gun states in America, strongly came out in favor of gun control after the Uvalde shooting. What is your opinion on gun control?

• The Democrats are using school shootings as an excuse to take away our 2nd amendment rights “This attack is mildly successful, but the damage is limited because people want to know what you would do differently to stop school shootings”
• We need more armed guards at the front of schools to prevent these shootings, not to take away guns “This is an interesting solution”
• We need to spend more money on mental health clinics to treat these dangerous individuals “This wins over the Trump wing of social conservatives, but many fiscal conservatives are uncomfortable talking about this much government spending”

​

1. Abortion has become an increasingly important issue throughout America, how will you deal with this issue

• I will pass a law that will ban abortion nationwide “This fires up your base at the expense of independents”
• This isn’t our problem. We will let the people of each state decide that for ourselves “This fires up independents at the expense of the base”
• We should pass a law that bans travel from one state to another or traveling from one country to another to receive an abortion “This should meet the fine line of appealing to your base while also winning over independents.”

​

1. Now onto more state-centered issues. The state of Montana has an enormous amount of agriculture, farms, and ranches, and the amount they make has been decreasing. How will you plan to deal with this

• I will fight for Montana exports in trade deals “ an unusual position for a Republican to take, but this could work”
• This isn’t a problem we can solve, this is for the free market “This is a more traditional platform to run on as a Republican, but not a popular one amongst the Montana people.”

​

1. RNG Will you agree to debate Jon Tester?

• Yes I will “You won”
• Yes I will “You and Tester tied”
• Yes I will “You lost”
• No, we have a massive lead “People don’t trust you if you don’t debate, expect this to hurt you badly”

​

1. RNG You are meeting with Libertarian candidate Rick Breckenridge, to see if you can convince him to drop out and endorse you.

• I hope he drops out "Good news. He dropped out."
• I hope he drops out "Bad news. He doesn't drop out."

​

1. There's no way around it. Although you own a ranch in Montana, Montana is not your state of permanent residence and many view you as a carpet bagger. How do you plan to respond?

• I will counter-attack by showing Tester as a DC insider who is out of touch with Montanan values "This doesn't work well, as Tester routinely tours the state"
• I will tout my outsider credentials as an advantage, as I can reform Montana from the outside to Make Montana Great Again “MMGA”

​

1. Which Montana Republican would you like to go on tour with today?

• I would like to go on tour with Montana’s governor, Greg Gianforte “Well this didn’t work out well, as many are still angry about the incident that Greg Gianforte caused in 2017 when he ran for the house and bragged on social media about how he was so far ahead in the polls that he could beat up a reporter and still win, then proceeded to beat up a reporter and still narrowly won. Expect to take a dip in the polls.”
• I would like to go on tour with Montana’s incumbent Republican senator, Steve Daines “This worked out well, as Steve Daines is broadly popular amongst conservatives and independents”
• I would like to go on tour with Matt Rosendale, who ran for the Montana senate seat in 2018 and lost “Campaigning with Matt Rosendale offends no one, but pleases no one either”

​

1. News has broken out about how your girlfriend, Kimberly Gilfoyle, has been fired from Fox News for sexual harassment. How do you want to do damage control?

• As much as I love my girlfriend, I have no control over her behavior and I condemn this incident of behavior completely “This is probably the best you could do given this bad situation”
• Who cares, this is my girlfriend’s sexual harassment case, not mine “Well, you’re the one who’s dating her, so this makes you look bad.”
• I condemn my girlfriend completely for this behavior and I am breaking up with her for it “This is a strong answer which could win over women voters, but this only draws more attention to an incident that already looks incredibly ugly”

​

1. How would you like to attack Jon Tester if at all?

• We need to emphasize that Jon Tester has voted with Joe Biden 91% of the time. Jon Tester pretends to distance himself from Biden, but Tester is just one of Biden’s puppets who happens to be in a Trump +16 state “That’s it, hit Tester where it hurts!”
• We need to emphasize that Jon Tester is out of touch with Montana values lives in Washington DC and constantly votes in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and votes for drag queens and transing the kids “This attack doesn’t win over independents, but it sure does fire up the base”
• We should run compare and contrast ads between Kyrsten Sinema and Jon Tester, showing how Sinema is in a bluish-purple state and constantly stabs Biden in the back while Jon Tester is from a deep red state and constantly votes lock step with Biden “This ad was incredibly effective”
• We should run ads of gas prices soaring under Tester and Biden, while gas prices were falling under Trump Sr. and will continue to fall under Trump Jr. “This ad was mild to moderately effective, but voters want to know what specific policy you will implement to lower gas prices

​

1. One interesting idea that has been proposed by many Democrats is to put abortion clinics on Native American reservations, as their lands aren’t governed by the US. Montana has some of the most native reservations in the country. What are your thoughts on this?

• This is an abhorrent practice that will lead to more children being killed as a loophole around the Dobbs .vs. Jackson's case allowed each state to choose whether or not to allow abortion “This answer fires up the base but hurts you with independents”
• I don’t care either way, this is up for the leaders of the native reservations to decide themselves “This might be the best you can do with a difficult question like this”
• Small government means small government, therefore lands that are not on American soil should be allowed to build abortion clinics to serve the public, as we are the party of small government that favors bodily autonomy “This answer helps with independents and hurts with the base”

​

1. Not to talk too much about abortion, but a new bill has been proposed in the Montana State House that would criminalize pregnant Montanans for traveling out of state or out of the country to receive an abortion elsewhere. What are your thoughts on this bill?

• I think Montana should ban all abortions within its borders, but banning Montana residents from traveling out of state or out of the country to receive an abortion elsewhere is too harsh “No one loves this answer, but no one hates it either”
• Being pro-life means being all the way pro-life, which means that we should criminalize out-of-state and out-of-country travel to receive an abortion elsewhere “Your base eats this up, but this stance makes independents gag”
• As a Republican, I naturally believe in making government as small as possible, meaning that native american reservations should be allowed to have abortion clinics and that people should be allowed to travel out of state and out of the country to receive abortions “Independents are lining up behind you, but your base is threatening to stay home”

​

1. RNG. The Montana state legislature has just passed new laws banning Tribal ID cards and requiring you to present your address to vote, which Native Americans on reservations don’t have as a way to stop Native Americans, who disproportionately vote Democrat, from voting. What are your thoughts on this?

• This should help me win “Good news, Native Americans aren’t getting the new IDs and addresses necessary for voting for Tester, so this will help you.”
• This should help me win “Bad news, Native Americans are now turning out in higher numbers than ever before and are getting the new IDs and licenses necessary to vote. Expect this to hurt you.”

​

1. You have talked about reducing the amount of money that we spend to reduce inflation. Where would you like to make cuts in spending

• I don’t know, everywhere maybe “This is not specific enough, and Jon Tester’s mediscare strategy is working eerily well”
• First, cuts will be made to foreign aid “In general, if you have to cut anything, cut foreign aid first, then again, most Americans are supportive of Ukraine in their war against Russia, so this might also backfire”
• We should cut farming subsidies and allow farmers to properly partake in the free market “Montana is a very agricultural state, so this doesn’t play well”

​

1. Jon Tester has attacked you with an attack ad of you speaking with your father and Rudi Giuliani at the Save America rally on January 6th where you tell the crowd to stand up and fight as they proceed to walk towards the capital and invade it. How will you react

• This was a poor choice of words for me. Although I said the word fight in a physical sense, what I meant to say was fought in a metaphorical stance by protesting the certification of the 2020 election “This might be the best thing you can say to keep your base on your side while not angering independents”
• I played no role in causing the violence that most people did on January 6th as I meant to fight in a metaphorical sense, not in a literal sense. It should be noted that only a small portion of people that attended that rally on January 6th broke into the capital “Most voters believe that you played a role on January 6th, and this answer doesn’t help”
• These people who entered the capital were brain-dead idiots who thought this would be a good idea. Why should I be responsible for their actions “You were the one who encouraged them to do it.”

​

1. Montana has one of the slowest internet speeds in the country due to its rural location. Would you be willing to spend government money to increase the internet speed in Montana?

• I understand the urge to help Montanans with slow internet, but this is a function best served by private companies, not the government “This helps with the base, but hurts with independents”
• We absolutely need to spend government money to help Montanans with slow internet “This helps with independents but hurts the base”

​

1. Do you plan to pass more laws to engage in culture wars and ban drag story hour, and critical race theory

• No, these culture wars about drag story hour just distract from the main issues at hand “Some sense a missed opportunity to win points amongst the base, but others appreciate you for not constantly attacking”
• Yes, we need to protect our children from drag story hour and critical race theory “This will win you points amongst your base but hurt you with independents and libertarian-minded voters.”

​

1. What will be your ending message as this campaign draws to a close?

• Don’t let Jon Tester fool you, he’s no moderate and he votes for Biden 91% of the time. Tester is Biden, and Biden is bad. Tester is Biden’s puppet. Make sure to vote for my dad for president and me for the senate. “This is probably a good strategy considering how Tester votes for Biden 91% of the time, and although Tester is somewhat popular in the state, Biden is not.”
• I want to hold a big rally in a field in Billings with a jumbotron where my dad is presented on the big screen from prison. My dad Trump Sr. will carry Montana by double digits, so all I have to do is ride his coattails to victory “Your dad is popular in Montana, so tying yourself to him as closely as possible might be a good idea.”
• I want to nationalize this race as much as possible. A vote for me is a vote for my dad who is running for president, while a vote for Tester is a vote for Biden “This is a good strategy, as you will need your dad’s momentum to gain victory in this senate race.”

​

1. Where in Montana will you spend your last days campaigning

• I will campaign in the Helena area around Lewis and Clark and Cascade counties. Tester may have won them in 2018, but Trump won them in 2020, so with one last push, we should flip them red
• I will campaign in the rural eastern parts of the state to maximize conservative turnout such as in Custer and Prairie counties
• I will expand my appeal by campaigning in the rural northern parts of the state with Native American reservations such as Glacier County
• I will campaign in the Missoula area, a traditionally liberal area and college town in Missoula County

sorry for the long post. Im just writing this to vent and also because i feel like i have to get it out and need to get my voice heard for some reason?
I don't know where to start but here we go, So my country (Turkey) held elections and the same guys won again an it is very concerning. these guys directly resulted the downfall of our economy and the death of tens of thousands in the recent earthquakes among many other things. they control most media and brainwash elderly and manipulate religion so even after having he blood of their relatives on their hand even the earthquake region mostly voted for them. this is quite saddening already but what ties it to me is the economy part, i cannot enjoy life anymore because everything is very expensive. i know the us and other countries have inflation too but it is very bad over here. a single iphone 14 is more than 4 months worth of the avarage salary (not spending a single cent on anything else) and even bread has multiplied by 10 times in my lifetime. there are a lot of things i want to do and enjoy just like the rest of my friends online but it just keeps getting farther and farther, i wnat to play the new games (zelda totk) too, and i used to be able to just some years back, but it is now the same price how much a new phone used to cost years ago. people will say some cheap games are like just 5 bucks and that will be 3 whole weeks of allowance without spending a single cent for me.
but perhaps a bigger problem is my life. the government is getting less and less secular and as (at least wanting to be) a feminine presenting bisexual man (closeted) i was questioning transitioning but i guess that won't happen anymore. i seriously fear my life would be in danger in a couple years. they already said they wanted to ban pre marriage stuff and cleanse the country from the "evil of the west" being LGBTQ i know some of it is happening in usa as well and im sorry for you too.
overall it just feel like im getting robbed of my life. i will be in university in just over a year and i used to dream about living the university life, studying fine arts because it is my passion, being social and free, having a boyfriend potentially and doing things i wanted to like learn to play the drums. but no, i will not be able to afford a drumset or even afford to eat meat frequently, i will never have enough money for a car or a house and will never be allowed to have a bf. i can't even play videogames because i won't be able to afford neither the thing to play it or the games itself. i will probably never study art because there is genuinely zero money in it in turkey and even engineers or architects have the salary equivalent to what a factory worker gets in germany.
there are tons of other problems and layers to it (such as the fact main opposition leader forced himself to be the candidate even tho no one likes him and that may have costed the entire country to us)
and the worst part of it is my own grandparents and relatives are voting for this sht and i have slowly started to hate them. they have the iq of a single celled organism just like most of the population. i hate myself for hating them but i can't help it. they are the ones who voted for the thousands to die and they are the ones who voted for me to suffer. my own grandparents. just for some religious propaganda.
all of these have just been making me depressed and i don't know what to do anymore. there is kind of nothing to do. no escape. i have so much rage in me that i just broke a glass because i was gripping it too hard. i lost all my motivation in life. knowing that all my future is practically dead just what's the point man. when i close my eyes all i see is that 1$ went from 3₺ to 20₺ in my lifetime.there is nothing i can do about it.
in the last year this combined with school and parent pressure and gold high expectations to all my grades (also the fact i can't study art) caused me to grow quite suicidal but always had hope because i thought we would surely win the elections, after the billion scandals, big issues, fails and mishandling of human life from the government but no, people STILL voted for them.
to add insult to the injury right wingers are going on tweeter and celebrating the results and saying they smashed us. like wth are you happy about we are dying as a country ???
im speechless just wanting to not exist anymore you know. i feel like a 40 year old on the inside. the constant stress from my grades and studies was already too high that i have had health problems because of it. this on top of that is something i can't bear.
there is so much.

Story Brief: I play a chaotic evil character, rest of the party tries to abandon and murder me on sight, then blames me for being everything wrong with chaotic evil when I defend myself.
Yeah.
This was a very long time ago on a play-by-post site that you've never heard of; I think the site was called mydndgame.com? I checked, but that domain is up for sale as of the time of this writing so if that's what it was it sure didn't last very long. With the story I'm about to relay to you, I can't help but imagine why that might be!
I am uncertain how this party came to be but we were a group of five, all apparently some flavor of autist. The campaign was in the Dalelands of Toril (I think that's right?) and we were all starting at level two. The party composition was a human ranger, a half-orc bard/barbarian (bardbarian!), a dwarf paladin, and my character was a human wilder. For those unfamiliar: wilders are the charisma version of the psion in the same way sorcerers are to wizards, except that wilders are actually really good as you'll learn later.
Our first quest was to clear out a den of orcs who have been doing Generic Evil Bad Guy Things to our starting town. Knowing the reputation that chaotic evil characters tend to have I laid my intentions on the table very early in an attempt to allay concerns. Ashley was chaotic because I want to take the Pyrokineticist prestige class and Evil because she just really likes burning shit. Seeing as I rolled very well on my mental stats (int 16, wis 15, cha 19; the GM was using 2d8+6, IDK why) I felt that Ashley would be very friendly, amicable, and also neurotically aware of her situation. In her own words: "I can burn human villages and be hunted as a villain, or burn orc villages and be paid as a hero. The choice is obvious; we're having barbeque porkchops tonight!" The players acknowledged this and seemed to be mildly enthusiastic.
Thus we get to the actual roleplay.
We keep it simple, start in a tavern and introduce our PCs. The bardbarian and dwarf are having a drunken arm wrestling contest and regaling each other with tales of their machismo ("I once suplexed a polar bear off a cliff!" "Reminds me of that time I gave my coat to an orphan girl and had to walk through a blizzard for eight hours warmed only by the celestial hearth of my god!"). The ranger and I enter town from opposite angles and meet up at the bowyer's shop; he's buying a bow while I am having my crossbow repaired after I got a little overenthusiastic with my last Fire Ray. The ranger is immediately distrustful of my wilder; I don't know why, but "grizzled ranger wilderness man" is such a classic trope I don't think much of it and we end up entering the tavern together.
Shortly after we are all in the same ingame space together, a big ol' royal guardsman or soldier or somesuch enters the tavern and calls for mercenaries. The others answer the call, while my wilder listens from the corner given that she's not best friends with the law. We are told of the orcs and the troubles they are causing on the road, and that parties who like gold and killing orcs ought to prepare to embark with him in the morning. Yeah, I thought; Ashley likes both of those things -- one is a good target for fire, and the other buys resources she can use to make more fire. I feel Ashley is not likely to volunteer without her weapons on her -- she wouldn't be taken seriously! -- so I narrate how I'll wait an hour for repairs to be completed and approach the group then, since we have until morning.
Ashley goes to get her crossbow, returns -- and the party is gone. So much for waiting until the morning.
I make some quick Gather Information checks (I had the intelligence so I sprinkled cross-class ranks into K:nobility and various social skills) to figure out what happened, then set off at a brisk hustle to follow.
Upon catching up with the party, the ranger immediately fires an arrow at my wilder.
Ranger: [to the party] "Heh, can never be too careful." Wilder: [hiding behind a tree] "Whoa mate, check your eyes; I am not an orc!" Ranger: "Just because you're not an orc doesn't mean you're friendly!" Bardbarian: "She could be a highwayman, be careful." Wilder: "We met in town, remember? I was the one who suggested yew for your bow!" Ranger: "If you're friendly, why are you hiding? Show yourself!" Wilder: [Comes out with hands up; pointless gesture since I can kill people with my brain, but they don't know that yet] Dwarf: "I use detect evil." Wilder: [Is evil! And also has her imp patron following her without being aware of it!] Dwarf: "She's evil. Get her and her demon friend!" Wilder: "Wait, why is Char here? According to my backstory he- WHOA!"
Ashley is wearing a chain shirt, has 17 dexterity, and won initiative so she has her buckler out and is using Total Defense so her AC is... high. She danmaku-grazes through two sling bullets, an arrow, and two darts.
Wilder: "Please calm down! I just want to kill orcs with you and get paid!" Dwarf: "We don't work with evil people!"
Another round of Touhou dodging ensues.
GM: "Round three. Ashley's turn." Wilder: "I said CALM THE FUCK DOWN!"
I activate my Wild Surge and expend my psionic focus on my Psionic Shot feat and launch my Fire Ray at the ranger's bow. 5d6+5 damage.
Ranger: "You bitch! I knew you were bad news the moment I met you!"
They keep fighting...
I down them all in a single shot each. Including the level six NPC guardsman who attempted to intervene once it became clear that the party couldn't roll above a fifteen to save their lives. I suggest to the GM that the fire cauterized their wounds so none of them are actually dying, but he's a very RAW person and declines while pointing out that I was throwing entire virtual fistfuls of d6s. The entire party ends up bleeding out because -- surprise -- the chaotic evil character didn't think to put any ranks in Treat Injury. Ashley gave the fallen PCs the most respectful sendoff she knew -- burning their bodies in a massive forest file -- while speculatively wondering how that scene could have proceeded differently and not at all subtly hinting to the GM to rewind so we could take the scene again from the top.
The response to this was to start making the usual noises and ALL-CAPS POSTS about how I'm an edgelord and chaotic evil PCs should never be allowed and I'm terrible and awful for destroying their equipment and getting mad when they attempted to blah blah blah. I don't need to tell you what they said. I was just astonished, refreshing the page throughout the say as they rant and rave, all the while thinking to myself "I have Asperger's syndrome and even I can read the social cues better than these nutters."
They weren't even good roleplayers. I was throwing out paragraphs and they were writing two-liners. The ranger didn't even end his posts with periods. So when I refreshed the page and found I was banned from the game, I couldn't help but sigh in relief. What could I have even said to these people to justify myslef? "It's what my character would have done?" Because it actually wasn't; I was trying my damnedest to hold her back in spite of all possible reason to go full bore on the strangers trying to murder her!
I'd still love to play Ashley again sometime. I think she has a lot of potential as a character to explore what it means to be evil, how ever is often perceived by others, and how even good people can work with evil in pursuit of a greater goal.

I'm making this post because I need some reassurance that I can actually get into a good grad school. I want to do my masters in mathematics, I have my undergrad in mathematics, I have about a 3.7 in major GPA from UMass Amherst, and during my undergrad I took enough graduate classes that I maxxed out the number that would count towards a graduate degree (if I got in I'd already have 12/30 credits)
The downsides are I literally never spoke to any of my professors outside of class ever and I have a total GPA of ~3.2 which ironically was in gen ed classes like botany that I just couldn't bring myself to do. So I see 3 letters of recommendation required and I just can't even think of a single one that would be solid. I had weak grades in real analysis but great grades in algebra and dynamic systems which is more the direction I want to go anyways.
The main barrier is the recommendation letters I think, which if I ask any of my professors they absolutely will not remember me, and if they do they'll remember a depressed looking guy who never talked lolol.
Would asking the CEO of the startup I work at to write a recommendation help? I've worked with a professor in finance on the job, and finance isn't math, would that help?
I don't have any publications besides a signals analysis patent that I have with my dad.

LOOK OUT IS YOUR NICEST FELLOW 1R0NH1DE!

White 1r0n A.K.A 1R0NH1DE
Nicknames: h1dey, 1r0nh1de, 1r0n, h1de, white 1r0n
Age: 18
Affiliation: Scientist, member of the thunderstriders
Hobbies: hang out with Friends, listening to 80's music, jazz, rock, making suits
Backstory: 1r0nh1de was a huge fan of transformers, including the thunderstriders he doesnt have any Friends in the school but he does have one friend named Joe, he always play with his mom but his dad get busy by paying taxes, after his father left to the military War. 1r0nh1de hear the words of "the point of life, You just Gonna keep going, if You live happily, comes much greater good" while he grew up he went going on a vacation to join the thunderstriders
Personality: he is a soft one actually, he is very Kind to his Friends and his newphew and niece pip and memory, he could be soft and arrogant but he gets stubborn by fighting dangerous threats for fight. And wants to protect pip and memory from danger, he always get misunderstood and misrepresent to all things but he can still hold his own to pay attention, After he loses his father in the military War, he gets Motivated to become much more serious. And believe his worth of life by hearing the words of his father "the point of life You just Gonna keep going cause if You live happily, comes much greater good"
Weapons:
Beam katana- his beam katana can absorb and copy special attacks, he can shoot a projectile such as the beam slash. He can also blind some foes too
Darksider: a scythe weapon that can generate lightning, can scan to people's address and Is also a gunscythe too, able to grow his size and a sword in the top of his scythe, including pressing a button to Summon ants, these ants won't kill his Friends, just threats. the ants can explodes Through peopl's body but they can survive by regenaration themselves, they can duplicate themselves, manipulate light to turn invincible
White 1r0n: this suit was created by himself to stop mortar and his army, he can fire up with his grappling hook shooters to swing around to buildings, shoot nets, electric tazers Even a smoke gas
Abilities:
Curse energy: Cursed energy is born from negative emotions such as grief and anger. These negative feelings are common in human society so almost everyone possesses cursed energy. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person the ability to see curses, which is very rare among the human race.
Divergent Fist: lands a punch on a target, his cursed energy flows and makes a stronger second impact. Divergent Fist was often used initially,
Black flash: A technique that creates spatial distortion when a user connects with an impact of cursed energy within 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit. The phenomenon causes cursed power to flash black, creating a more potent attack to the power of 2.5 of a normal hit. Currently, he is capable of using Black Flash four times in a row and has performed it a total of nine times.
Feats: he can survive from the the universe, the sun, the mountain, the moon, being throw out by few reverse
Kicks the building which it collapses by being thrown by doomsday
Survive from the nuke explosion and he reveals his Scarlet 1r0n suit can survive a Big bang
Survive from his house being explodes by mortar
Defeats mortar, cosmic Ghost rider, dark 1r0nh1de, knight king.
Strenght: universal+ level (he can scale to mortar who can create the chrono blade, able to destroy the fabric of the universe)
Speed: unknown
Durability: universal+ level

I’m a 24 F moving to Seattle for graduate school at UW and am trying to figure out where the best place to live is. I’ve never been to Seattle so I’m not sure what to look for.
Im moving with someone else and we have a budget of 2-2.4k/month. We want somewhere safe and with public transportation that can get us to campus. How should we be looking for places? (I’ve been looking on Zillow mostly)
I also haven’t seen anything about reserving places for future move in dates so I’m a bit nervous about not being able to find a place. Any advice?

Human Dave: "Captain, it's going to rain soon, so can we see if these guys are willing to hurry up with the unloading of their cargo?"
Alien Captain: "Human Dave, there is not a cloud in the sky. And, besides, it is their cargo, and if they wish to take such a sedate pace with unloading, I cannot do very much about it."
HD: "Captain, the ship can't fly through a storm. I should know; I'm the one that has to fix the old girl when she breaks down."
AC: "Human Dave, did you just refer to my ship as 'the old girl'?"
HD: "Yes, Captain."
AC: "Human Dave, my ship already has a designation."
HD: "Captain. Naming a ship 'Ship' is no better than not naming it at all."
AC: "It is a perfectly adequate designation."
HD: "Captain, no offence, but you Cradelians really need to learn to give names that are more imaginative."
AC: "It is a holdover from our previous world state, Human Dave. With little resources, we did not have the need to think of fanciful designations for ourselves or the things we built."
HD: "Still, can we try to hurry them up? We'll be stuck here until the storm stops, and that'll make us late for the Stalqa shipment. And you full well know that Mill'tk'ana never forgave us for beating him in that eating competition. Even if he did have more heads than any of the other competitors."
AC: "Once again, Human Dave, there is not a single cloud in the sky. How can you even know that it will storm anytime soon?"
HD: "I can smell the moisture in the air, Captain. And I can feel the static on my skin. There's a storm coming, and it'll be a bad one."
AC: "Come now, Human Dave. How bad could it be?"
...
HD: "..."
AC: "..."
HD: "... didn't I tell you?"
AC: "..."
HD: "I told you it would be bad, Captain."
AC: "Yes! You told me, Human Dave. And I am well aware that I did not listen!"
Thunder booms out as a deluge of rain floods the landscape.
The cargo bay doors of the shipyard are firmly shut to keep out the large amounts of water that threaten to flood the interior of the building.
HD: "Just wanted you to know that I did warn you, Captain."
AC: "... smugness is unbecoming of you, Human Dave."
The other people in the shipyard have sequestered themselves within their own ships, or behind bulkhead doors, as the group of Aflarrians all meander around Human Dave and Captain.
HD: "At least we had the good sense to warn everyone else that we had Aflarrians on board. They've all been cooped up on the ship for far too long."
AC: "I agree."
Minnie lifts her head, and starts waddling towards a set of stairs, nimbly hopping up them towards the access door that leads to the roof of the building.
HD: "Minnie? What's wrong, girl?"
Minnie responds with a squeaky trill, and scratches at the door with her claws.
HD: "You want to go outside?"
Minnie makes a happy squeak.
HD: "Uhh... okay, but it's raining outside. You'll get all wet."
Minnie responds by making more trilling sounds.
HD: "Okay, fine. But, just know that if you end up sneezing because you caught a cold, it will be entirely your fault."
Human Dave climbs up the stairs, with five Aflarrians following him.
Human Dave opens the door to the roof, and all six Aflarrians race outside.
Captain follows Human Dave up the stairs, and is met by a most baffling sight.
Human Dave and Captain watch as the Aflarrians start playing in the water that has pooled on the roof; chasing each other, rolling around in the water, and swiping a paw into the pooled water to splash one another.
HD: "..."
AC: "..."
HD: "...I didn't even know they liked playing in the water so much. They hate it when I'm bathing them."
AC: "I have seen you bathing them, Human Dave, and even I am baffled by the sight before me."
HD: "Maybe it's the temperature of the water? It's not too warm, but it's not cold either."
AC: "The temperature of the water is close enough to the temperature that you bathe them in. Perhaps it is the amount?"
HD: "Well, that seems a fair assumption, Captain. Can't really make it rain inside the ship, since we have limited amounts of it stored on the ship. I'll see about finding some planets or something that have frequent rainstorms, and see if any are on our flight plans. It'll be good to have them stretch their legs every so often."
AC: "I concor, Human Dave."
The cameras pointed to the roof show the scenes to all the shipyard staff, who watch with morbid fascination from behind the bulkhead doors.
Shipyard Head: "... that Cradelian Captain must truly be brave to allow himself to be so close to those apex predators."
Shipyard Crew 1: "That human appears to be of a similar disposition. I do not understand how they can be so close to those predators, and not fear for their lives."
They shipyard staff watch as Human Dave runs out into the rain, starts splashing the Aflarrians with water, and begins to run laughing as they begin to chase after him.
SH: "Is that human insane? He will be killed!"
The shipyard staff watch as Max catches up to Human Dave's and latches onto his ankle, which gives the rest of them the opportunity to climb onto Human Dave's body, and bring him to the ground.
Human Dave hits the ground, grabs one that climbed onto his head, and begins to stroke its belly, which causes it to squirm in delight, and climb down from Human Dave.
Another clambers onto his head, and is given the same treatment as the first.
Once they have all received their share of scritches, they lay down in the rain, squirming happily as the rain falls down on their bodies.
Human Dave lays with them, not minding that he is getting drenched as well.
AC: "Human Dave, are you alright?"
HD: "Fine, Captain. Come out here; the water's great!"
AC: "I believe that I will let you and the Aflarrians enjoy yourselves while I try to convince the shipyard staff to finish unloading their cargo. Since you all are up here, maybe they will be more inclined to hurry through their work."
HD: "I'll give you a heads up when the Aflarrians have finished with their fun."
AC: "That would be most appreciated, Human Dave."

Hi Everyone,
I am a Gamer that loves to tinker with Spreadsheets and Game information. This game of Harvest Moon Animal Parade has gotten me back into streaming but also trying to optimize my own notes from the past.
As of Today I gotten my Harvest Moon Animal Parade Resource to a more public friendly Spreadsheet. I still have one more update to it that I want to do but for now it is usable for the purpose it had for me. Please Copy The Sheet and Edit for your Own Gameplay.
This Spreadsheet has the following Sheets (on the bottom or top depending on what device your using):
- Animal Parade Gift List (that I thought were the easiest gifts). Check off the 3 Hearts and 10 Heart Checkpoints to see how many characters you can Max Friendship.
- Mine Refine (Probability Chances of Return for items in for Ores and Gems Plus a Minimum for what you need to refine for all tool upgrades) . Enter in the Yellow and get results in the Blue
- Shipping Total Tool (Organized by Type of Method.) Plug in your total in the Shipping Bin in the Yellow Cells and it should show total on the very right.
- Food Replenish Version 2 (This is the one I want to update with ingredients and checklist) Shows you currently what I think is easiest after a year gameplay and you can filter the Easy % and Percent of Health to see how much or how easy recovery is. If you think you wanna sell items, filter Easy % and Sell Price if you want to know what you can make for $. Your Health is on the Right of the Sheet. Just Change the Powerberry Number
- Farm Resources 100%? (this is kind of just 3 Shop List and Requirements). This Sheet has Carpenter Building Upgrades, Town Hall Land Purchases and Sonia's Tailoring Stock (I got to update this Clothes section with festival and event items as well.)
- Boiled Egg Formula and Egg Salad Formula ar your Min Max Formulas. Boiled Egg Formula is using Eggs you buy from Horn Ranch and making 1 Boiled Egg yourself for a 20g Profit. Egg Salad you need a Coop Level 2 with Mayo Maker and you buy 2 Eggs, Turn 1 to Mayo and the other to Boiled Egg and you use them in a chopping block to make egg salad that sells for 317 Profit.
- Checklist for 100% is just a checklist for the main story and side quest cutscenes
​
And that is about it. Please use with caution for like I said, I will update it again later on for two sections. Otherwise Please let me know if you like this, have input on what you think would help for this sheet and if this helps you with your own knowledge of the game.

We always hear about fixing the educational system all the time since 2011 and yet we see nothing . I know that there is lobbying effort from the private sector and foreign pressure to make the educational system collapse . But what about the rest of the people who can't afford private education?Shouldn't the people have a lobby of their own so that they can push towards a reform ? Shouldn't the younger generations have a better education?Even tho these efforts are going to be blocked by the beurocratic administration and suppressed by the authoritarian deans, it's still worth the try.
Privatisation is what fucked up things even more. Because of the way we "privatise", we just transfer ownership of operations initially owned by the government to someone within that institution already. This happened with the transportation of phosphate ore.
Some people really have an incentive to badly manage public institutions because either they or someone payrolling them is going to first in line when the company gets sold and since they're from the inside, they'll know exactly how much to pay and when the auction will take place.
This convoluted way is what's wrecking ths state's balance further. This also goes against the rules of a free market.
And yeah back to higher education, you can see how the "ordre des ingénieurs Marocains" turns a blind eye to private engineering schools because they're probably making bank from all that expensive wallpaper they're selling. The order of Doctors or the order of Lawyers would probably lose its shit and defend the profession anytime it's threatened, even tho now there are some private medicine schools.

Hi I'm in medical school and due to a strike made by students of my college we are having a pathology exam in virtual platforms. This week we had an important exam for this assignment, which consisted in a clinical case of a patient with dermatomyositis, I solved it and had a good grade. Hours later a partner showed me screenshots where she Ctrl C + Ctrl V'ed the case in ChatGPT and asked him the aetiology, physiopathology and progress of the disease and the answers he gave were better than ours. Basically I want to take advantage of the strike and the virtual mode to cheat, inspired by the idea of my partner. The problem is that the next exam is not text-based like Chat GPT, we have to identify the organ and pathologic adaptations that it is suffering by watching it in a microscopy slide. Any recommendations for an AI that could, like google image search but in a decent way, identify structures in a slide like this?, maybe what I'm looking for is too advanced, idk, that's why I'm looking help here

I'm thinking about getting a Master degree, and Baruch still seems like a fine option.
I'm too broke for out-of-state tuition.
My gpa is probably too low for Stern and Columbia (3.4 est.). I'm still going to apply for it anyways.
I realize these private schools are more expensive than some public schools even with out-of-state tuition, but considering the cost of relocating and the headaches with it, I would rather stay in the city.
I just finished my junior year(Zicklin, Finance Major, Economic Minor), and haven't take GRE yet, will prep it during the summer.
For anyone who is in Baruch for grad, how is the program, and when did you guys start your application process.
Thanks for any advice in advance

WOMAN: Professor Chomsky, one issue where I’ve noticed that activists get kind of a good press in the United States—and it seems out of synch with what we usually see—is coverage of people protesting South African apartheid [official system of racial segregation and white supremacy, the legal basis for which was largely repealed in 1990-91]. I’m wondering if you have any ideas why coverage of that might be a bit more positive.
I think you’re right: anti-apartheid movements in the United States do get a pretty good press—so when some mayor or something demonstrates against South Africa, there’s usually kind of a favorable report on it. And I think the main reason is that Western corporations themselves are basically anti-apartheid by this point, so that’s going to tend to be reflected in the media coverage. See, South Africa has been going through an internal economic transformation, from a society based on extractive industry to one based on industrial production—and that transformation has changed the nature of international interests in South Africa. As long as South Africa was primarily a society whose wealth was based on extracting diamonds, gold, uranium and so on, what you needed were large numbers of slaves, basically—people who would go down into the mines and work for a couple years, then die and be replaced by others. So you needed an illiterate, subdued population of workers, with families getting just enough income to produce more slaves, but not much more than that—then either you sent them down into the mines, or you turned them into mercenaries in the army and so on to help control the others. That was traditional South Africa. But as South Africa changes to an industrial society, those needs also are beginning to change: now you don’t need slaves primarily, what you need is a docile, partially educated workforce.
Something similar happened in the United States during our industrial revolution, actually. Mass public education first was introduced in the United States in the nineteenth century as a way of training the largely rural workforce here for industry—in fact, the general population in the United States largely was opposed to public education, because it meant taking kids off the farms where they belonged and where they worked with their families, and forcing them into this setting in which they were basically being trained to become industrial workers.51 That was part of the whole transformation of American society in the nineteenth century, and that transformation now is taking place for the black population in South Africa—which means for about 85 percent of the people there. So the white South African elites, and international investors generally, now need a workforce that is trained for industry, not just slaves for the mines. And that means they need people who can follow instructions, and read diagrams, and be managers and foremen, things like that—so slavery just is not the right system for the country anymore, they need to move towards something more like what we have in the United States. And it’s pretty much for that reason that the West has become anti-apartheid, and that the media will therefore tend to give anti-apartheid movements a decent press.
I mean, usually political demonstrations get very negative reporting in the United States, no matter what they’re for, because they show people they can do things, that they don’t just have to be passive and isolated—and you’re not supposed to have that lesson, you’re supposed to think that you’re powerless and can’t do anything. So any kind of public protest typically won’t be covered here, except maybe locally, and usually it will get very negative reporting; when it’s protest against the policies of a favored U.S. ally, it always will. But in the case of South Africa, the reporting is quite supportive: so if people go into corporate shareholder meetings or something and make a fuss about disinvestment [withdrawing investments from South Africa to pressure its government], generally they’ll get a favorable press these days.
Of course, it’s not that what they’re doing is wrong—what they’re doing is right. But they should understand that the reason they’re getting a reasonably favorable press right now is that, by this point, business regards them as its troops—corporate executives don’t really want apartheid in South Africa anymore. It’s like the reason that business was willing to support the Civil Rights Movement in the United States: American business had no use for Southern apartheid, in fact it was bad for business.
See, capitalism is not fundamentally racist—it can exploit racism for its purposes, but racism isn’t built into it. Capitalism basically wants people to be interchangeable cogs, and differences among them, such as on the basis of race, usually are not functional. I mean, they may be functional for a period, like if you want a super-exploited workforce or something, but those situations are kind of anomalous. Over the long term, you can expect capitalism to be anti-racist—just because it’s anti-human. And race is in fact a human characteristic—there’s no reason why it should be a negative characteristic, but it is a human characteristic. So therefore identifications based on race interfere with the basic ideal that people should be available just as consumers and producers, interchangeable cogs who will purchase all of the junk that’s produced—that’s their ultimate function, and any other properties they might have are kind of irrelevant, and usually a nuisance.
So in this respect, I think you can expect that anti-apartheid moves will be reasonably well supported by the mainstream institutions in the United States. And over the long term, I suspect that apartheid in South Africa will break down—just for functional reasons. Of course, it’s going to be really rough, because white privilege in South Africa is extreme, and the situation of blacks is grotesque. But over time, I assume that the apartheid system will erode—and I think we should press very hard to make that happen: like, one doesn’t turn against the Civil Rights Movement because you realize that business interests are in favor of it. That’s kind of not the point.

My husband has been pushing a move to the eastern suburbs of Sydney for over a year now however as we have school aged children I refused to commit until they were accepted into a school I was happy with. They have both been offered a place at one of Sydney’s elite top schools and school fees will be costing us upwards of 60K a year. Now yes we can afford this without it impacting our lifestyle however I’m starting to have doubts if it’s worth it. I went to an expensive private school and ended up getting married and haven’t worked in 10 years.. was the cost worth it for my parents? Probably not.. My husband on the other hand went to a public school in western Sydney and ended up owning multiples companies making over six figures a year. Would you invest in one of the elite private schools? Or is that money better spent elsewhere? Investing it for them for their future?

When entering high school, the protagonist Sakai Momone applies to the art course by mistake. She has to study overtime to keep up. There she meets new friends and learns to appreciate art.4-koma of the year 2017 (new publications): http://4oty.net/2017/awardTsugi ni kuru manga 2018 (nomination): http://tsugimanga.jp/nominate/2018/comics/ ... Read Doushite Watashi ga Bijutsuka ni!? - Chapter 21 - MangaPuma. Read more at https://mangapuma.com/doushite-watashi-ga-bijutsuka-ni/chapter-21

So, a bit of pretext: I have a gym related friend group of like 12 people whom I like a lot. But, recently, they’ve steadily been grating at my nerves(some of them). I’m the biggest driver who picks them all up and drives them back home, be it gym related or going to parties, school, etc. I like doing it but their attitude can get obnoxious.
Some examples:
Some friends have started to take me for their uber or something. An off handed joke about me being their uber was funny and all but once, at a party, one friend I’d drive home said „We’re going now“. And I was annoyed because I was connecting with my crush so I shook his hand and told him „Have fun coming back, I’m finishing our round“ (playing some game) and he wordlessly left me alone for a bit.
I was out with friends and it was getting rather late and I wanted to leave. Another friend also left and he’d take the bus. It would have added 30 minutes to my drive to get him home and I didn’t want to drive that in the night when his bus would soon come. We agreed on it mutually but some other friend publicly called me out and „shamed“ me for not driving him. I exploded internally because I did so much for them and what I get is being publicly called out.
I often pick up some friends in the morning when going to school. And one of them never failed to not be on time and always had some damn excuse for everything. He apologized all right but if nothing changes then I sure get pissed after the 3rd apology
Lastly, recently I drove 2 friends to the gym with me. And out of the blue one is telling me that he is having a family barbecue and I’m supposed to drive him back in time. No heads up, nothing. Just the command. He then suggested I split my workout into 2 which also annoyed me because gas isn’t free and he’s suggesting I drive back tomorrow just because he failed to tell me something do crucial?
Please remember that I never screamed at them and tried to be calm with them. So, am I the asshole?