my interpretation, at least:

the trap is the government (the US’ in this example, perhaps) promising freedom of speech/unlawful search and seizure; but then terrorizing and inflicting violence upon those whose opinions they disagree with, but much more regularly and openly.

Those trapped think they are protected from such retaliation because they have ignored/permitted/trivialized the systemic violence against marginalized groups that has been prevalent for centuries. They ignore the signs of their country’s propensity for fascism, and its intentional increase of brazenly hateful rhetoric and policies.

But they are by no means exempt, and many won’t realize that until it’s too late.

apparently there’s some law in the UK that mandates it now 🙄

when I was in high school, I found a puppy (not totally sure, but I’m guessing a pit bull/lab mix) on the porch of my parent’s place a few days before Christmas. Best guess is someone dumped her off at the property, since it’s a farm in a relatively remote area.

Anyway, I convinced my parents to let us keep her. Charlie was an extremely beautiful and sweet dog. But eventually I left for college and moved away.

During the last few years of her life/she would act erratically around me when I’d visit. One second she’d be happy to see me, and the next she growled and snapped at me, and did this to others, too. I ended up having to avoid her entirely. Devastating, to say the least.

We never found out why, despite visits to the vet. Dementia, perhaps.

Have you had anyone take a look at your resume? When was the last time you reviewed it? Is it at least somewhat visually appealing? How long is it?

Unfortunately, it may be a good idea to “customize” each submission by incorporating keywords from the actual listing into your resume.

I’m not the one to give advice on this, really, but I’ve heard of people having a lot of success with networking and reaching out directly to recruiters/managers/ect.

that really sucks. :( it might be worthwhile to talk to a doctor about this then, if you haven’t already. Maybe you would benefit from a sleep study.

idk… the fact that you were triggered enough by their post to add this comment certainly says a lot about how “soft” you are. :) the most sensitive people I’ve ever met have been boomers, personally.

when did OP mention their age, by the way?

if not trauma, perhaps shame? subconscious or otherwise. I mean, “torment” is a pretty extreme way to describe it.

it sounds like your discomfort might be beyond the kind of discomfort one gets by simply being under the influence of a substance (though tbh, I can’t really relate lol).

unless it’s really affecting your life, I wouldn’t overthink it too much. Plenty of people have recurring unpleasant dreams/nightmares.

I wish. lol. no, I just became an adult.

I also feel particularly passionate about this, as felt totally dismissed by nearly every adult in my life as a kid. That shit feels so defeating and isolating. it can seriously fuck you up.

I do this too. Though instead of a hard-boiled egg, I like to fry one so the yolk is still a little runny, and put it on top.

Recently, I’ve been making a vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt/pepper, honey, and Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp. It’s pretty damn good.

Trying to mentally/emotionally distance myself from my “customer service” job. Like, pretending I’m not a CSR, but that I’m playing the role of a CSR in a show, or something. After over 10 years working jobs like this, and for multiple reasons, the stress and asshole customers have been making me even even more miserable than necessary lately.

At the very least, this is helping me stay cool-headed and friendly enough to piss off angriest/most condescending callers, which can be pretty cathartic sometimes. It’s not so effective when it’s overwhelmingly busy, though.

Also, calling my lawyer, which was extremely stressful to me for literally no logical reason. Actually, I had a reason to look forward to it.

Technically, they just taste like pork, so you might be ok?

It’s really frustrating how little value so many adults assign to the thoughts and feelings of kids. I felt the effects of that a lot while growing up.

Idk. If it were up to me, I think I’d make the voting age maybe 14 or 15. It’s not that an 8-year-old’s feelings don’t matter (to me, at least), but you need to allow them enough time and brain development to be able to start to learn about and understand these kinds of things.

There should also be accompanying education surrounding different political ideologies, history, policies, propaganda tactics, ect., but I’m sure that’d be very unpopular with a lot of parents.

I’m horribly afraid of heights and can’t even stomach a normal wall climb (like with a harness and everything) without quivering like a leaf.

Also most BIG bugs, especially if they have a lot of legs… though I think I’d probably be fine with a tarantula, for some reason. No idea why. The small ones are usually fine, minus wasps and hornets.

I’m kind of afraid of the dark too, but it’s also not really about the darkness itself. I’ll find myself vividly envisioning things like a snarling wolf suddenly lunging from the darkness to tear my throat out, or a large, unhinged man sneaking up behind me, or some shit like that. It usually only happens outdoors in rural areas where nights are much darker, which allows my imagination to run more wildly than usual. Thankfully, I live in a city now.

Yeah. I mean, I genuinely do enjoy hanging out with the right kinds people. Occasionally. And for relatively short periods of time. I just have so little social energy and a lot of social anxiety. I find myself frustratingly uninterested in (and/or overwhelmed with) the idea of socializing, not even via text, and I pretty much rely on my SO for making/hanging with friends. So, not great.

I’ve always thought I could get a lot out of meditation, but I’m so bad at sticking to literally anything. Maybe it’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I’ve tried so many things in an attempt to increase socialization or even generally just improving my own life.

I don’t really want to be this antisocial, but making and keeping close friendships seems so daunting and exhausting to me.

I’d argue that it’s dumb as fuck either way.

Unlimited carrying capacity

at this point it’s part of the tapestry of my childhood.

Mine too. I haven’t read them in a long time because of obvious reasons, but a part of me still wants to. I was truly obsessed with them for several years as a kid.

yinz

Unfortunately, yes. My relationship with food in particular has always been kind of messy since I was a kid, especially when I’m going through an especially difficult time mental health-wise. But I try to be mindful of that, and eat healthily for the most part.

If I feel like I’ve overeaten that day/the past few days, I can definitely feel pretty guilty. But IMO, most things are fine in moderation. Food is a crucial and wonderful part of life, and I’m uninterested in completely cutting out something I genuinely enjoy.