Thanks! It sounds like “liberal” in this thread is what I’ve always called neoliberal, and “leftist” is what’s known as democratic socialism?

Curious comment, so I looked at Wikipedia’s Liberalism in the United States. Still not sure what you’re suggesting.

Could you elaborate?

Your initial reaction was correct; I’m viscerally opposed to using animals for sex.

There is a world of difference between a zoophilist and a zoophile, but i understand how easy it is to confuse the words.

I’m the poster child for The Road Not Taken. It’s been a weird and wild ride.

The same since single-digit age:

• Still strongly align with the Party of the European Left (I’m from USA)
• Still a devout zoophilist
• Still prefer vegan food

Different at 62:

• Less physical strength & flexibility
• Switched from theist to atheist
• Learning to enjoy my irrelevance

ETA: zoophilist

A zoophilist is generally defined as someone who has a deep love or affinity for animals, often expressing a strong emotional connection to them and advocating for their rights, welfare, and protection.

Nothing sexual there, people. I abhor animal abuse, but I’m blown away by how restrained your responses were in an effort to be inclusive. Also, I don’t have a penis.

DM sent

I was a court advocate for victims of domestic violence, volunteering at the same facility that had helped me escape an extreme situation. Having noticed that there was no federal, state, local, or private list of resources for people in crisis, I approached the director to request permission to compile a comprehensive guide and make it publicly available. Although I would’ve done it for free, the director saw the need and suggested this should be a highly-paid position; she announced the job opening to everyone at the next meeting.

A woman I’d never seen before expressed interest at the meeting, so I introduced myself and offered to collaborate to make the publication a success. We were scheduled to make our presentation to the board in a month. I gathered my half of the research and negotiated with businesses to donate materials and operating expenses, so that this program would be self-sustaining. I contacted the other woman every couple days to update her on what I’d accomplished, and to gather her data. She never had anything except excuses, so I gathered her share of the data, too.

On the day of the meeting, I’d done 100% of the work, which I’d happily shared with her, and I had put together the entire presentation. I didn’t mind, because this was a valuable community service. I arrived early for the meeting and sat outside the closed boardroom, waiting for my “partner”, but she never showed up.

At precisely the agreed-upon time for our meeting to start, the boardroom door opened and my partner emerged, grinning as everyone congratulated her. Yeah. I still didn’t get it.

I was ushered in and was asked to make my presentation. I was quickly interrupted because the board wanted to see MY efforts, not the work of the other woman. They accused me of stealing her work and told me to leave.

The other woman received a hefty salary for almost a year, but she never even bothered to use my research and connections to make even one flyer. Eventually she was fired and the failed community service idea became anathema to the facility.

That fucker changed the meeting time, stole my work and all the credit for it, scammed herself into the position, took the salary from the outreach budget, and destroyed the comprehensive resource list that would have helped tens of thousands of people in crisis.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Hobos and tramps,

Crosseyed mosquitoes

And bowlegged ants:

I come before you to stand behind you

To tell you something I know nothing about.

The price is free, so pay at the door.

There are plenty of seats, so sit on the floor.

One bright morning in the middle of the night

Two dead boys got into a fight.

Back to back they faced each other,

Took out their swords and shot one another.

A deaf policeman heard the noise

And came and killed the two dead boys.

If you don’t believe me, ask the blind man;

He saw everything.

Memorized while bored in elementary school

While it’s infuriating to see millions of people denying the existence of climate change, formerly known as global warming, the fact is that we are in the 6th mass extinction, a truth that billions of people from all ideologies are afraid to face.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction

I have total Aphantasia. There’s no internal voice, ever. I’ve never pictured anything in my mind. No taste, touch, or smell can evoke a memory or whatever it is other people have. My husband says he battles negative voices from his past? I live in absolute peace.

What are you on about? No, if you read the article you can see this is about food grown in the UK, meaning the United Kingdom. This has nothing to do with Ukraine.

HP lured me away from Apple about 15 years ago, with promises of better pay and benefits. I made the mistake of believing their lies, and proceeded to work in one of the most hostile environments I’d ever encountered. Aside from the open and constant sexual harassment, I was horrified to see customer service maliciously transfer callers to dead extensions or to the branch in the Philippines, then laugh about it. “Tech support” was for selling more products, not for resolving issues. Management was a shitshow of nepotism, falling-over-drunkenness, corruption, office affairs, and massive cover-ups.

I lasted 8 months, then I fled back to Apple, but I’ll never forget how HP blatantly loathed the customers.

What a fascinating read! Thank you for sharing this article.

And this species is just the latest to feel the impact of climate change. A report last year published by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature found that out of nearly 32,000 animal populations worldwide, there was an average decline of 69% since 1970. That sharp decline, the report warned, is a “code red for the planet (and humanity).”

“The message is clear and the lights are flashing red,” WWF International’s director general Marco Lambertini says in the report. “Our most comprehensive report ever on the state of global vertebrate wildlife populations presents terrifying figures: a shocking two-thirds decline in the global Living Planet Index less than 50 years.”

I stopped using deodorant when I moved from the Gulf Coast to the PNW mountains near BC. I just don’t sweat much in drier climates, but I do bathe or shower every day and I shave my armpits plus I use a deodorant soap. I think if I stopped shaving or didn’t shower every day, I’d probably still need deodorant?

Thank you for your clarity. I don’t know how common it is for people to directly question existence, social contracts, our roles and purposes, but I imagine your thoughts resonate with many of us; the experiences and perceptions you shared are deeply familiar to me.

Since your story helped me understand where you’re at, I will reciprocate with a story for you.

I never quite succeeded at living a life that resulted in genuine acceptance from relatives, religious circles, authority figures , or peers. I tried to fit in for awhile, and to even please others a few times, but it isn’t who I am and it shows. This disconnect allowed me to metaphorically wander into the wilds.

For over 30 years, I explored almost all big religions and some philosophies, and by the time I was in my late 40’s I finally embraced my atheism with a growing sense of liberation, although I don’t mention it around theists. I think it scares them, and who am I to yank away anyone’s security blanket?

I’ve lived a long and unconventional life with my own credo. Sometimes this meant fine tuning who is in my life, and who is excluded, which can be controversial - but for me it’s been a relief. Also, controversy is just one spice in a feast.

I agree with you that institutions or culture leaders or mythological deities can’t dictate what is good. My direction has always come from within because that’s the loudest voice*, and when I need to be reminded of what that means, I focus on the REAL life around me.

I don’t look for a purpose or a life well-lived because humans are no different than fish or rabbits or deer … except for how we lost our way. Seriously, look at the animals; this is what I mean by REAL life. They don’t waste their energy striving for someone else’s declared ideal. They don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow. They don’t get wound up in possible outcomes or fake rewards. They just … are.

As you stated, we are briefly here on an insignificant rock spinning around in a tiny solar system of a regular galaxy, in one universe among countless universes, and we weren’t deliberately placed here to hoard crap, exert “dominion”, destroy everything, or delude ourselves that we should be famous or rich or impactful. (Okay, I took your thought and ran a bit with it.)

My life is filled with the things I need to do for survival, with interludes of connection that bring me joy. I try to not think too much about the survival part because for humans it’s so contrived, and it blocks natural feelings. My biggest struggle is keeping that shit where it doesn’t ruin the things that matter.

And what matters is YOUR call. Time with the people you love or being immersed in music or reading or looking at stars or laughing at how your dog zooms or touching trees or breathing or … whatever you want. As long as you can be in the moment with your true self, you aren’t wasting this magical blink of life.

*I don’t have an actual voice within, because I have total Aphantasia.

There are some philosophical undertones here, and I’m wondering what you really want to ask. Could you elaborate?