I already wear a smart watch and use the vibrate reminders. It’s not particularly effective. After a lifetime in the harsh sun, there ain’t a lot of feeling left. Maybe once out of three times I might notice the vibration if I’m not distracted doing life things.

As a boomer with tinnitus, (I’ve had since maybe 4 years old), and now hearing loss, I can’t hear shit on my cell phone at 50% volume. And I have alarms set to remind me to take certain inhalers at set times during the day, (Thanks Long Covid!). So, yeah, I have the volume up enough to probably piss you off. It pisses me off too-- I hate those things and having to live like this. But it’s not like turning the volume off or down is really an option for me.

But chances are I probably forgot the damn thing at home anyway.

Isn’t that what taxation pretty much does? Takes money and redistributes it?

If you go around being publicly offended for another group because you saw someone wear or eat something YOU think they shouldn’t becuase “That’s not YOUR culture”. Then YOU might be a “White Savior”.

If you can’t unravel the knot of cultural ownership, then does anyone really own it? It would appear to me that “everyone” owns it at that point and can partake in it freely and adapt it to their wants an needs. And no matter the culture, there is always socioeconomic disparities within that group. No matter how small or downtrodden they may appear to you. Someone is always going to be a little bit better off than you and someone else is always going to have a little more power than you.

So is Tostitos racist for not mailing checks to every Mexican person everywhere? Because they sure as hell are making bank selling those chips and Salsa to you. OMG! are YOU part of the problem?

It’s called White Savior Complex.

“Only I, a white person can save you from-- pick a thing. Because I believe you are incapable of fending for yourself, I shall be offended for you!”

It’s called White Savior Complex.

So is every company making and marketing tortilla chips and salsa appropriating culture if they are from New York City? Is every pizzeria that isn’t in Italy profiteering off of Italian culture? Is a French Bistro in Kansas City wrong? Is it wrong to wear a Scottish Kilt made in Viet Nam?

So if I want to open a Pinata factory, I can only sell them to Mexicans? Or can I sell them to anyone, but only to non-Mexicans at a profit? Or must every Pinata be made at home by a loving Mexican Grandmother for her Grandchildren only?

Nah, I’m good. Diamonds don’t look good on me. Emeralds and rubies on the other hand look positively smashing on me…

No, I’ve never been to Barthalona or Barcelona. Nor am I ever going to either. I’m far to poor to travel beyond local necessities. I have no idea why I’m here at this party. Why you are here?

I’m married and New Year’s Eve is our Anniversary. I do not think we have ever gone out to celebrate 3 times over 38 years. Because it ain’t worth it. Better to stay home and enjoy the rib eye steaks or wild game supper that I make for us at home. Add a glass or two of wine, and it’s perfect.

Plus the next morning, I don’t need to remember how I got home-- IF I got home-- or how to use socks and underwear.

Bars might be fun for the young, but only the young.

Solitaire and Mines it is then! Well, maybe a bit of Mahjong too.

Edit: Hey wait a minute! I got FreeDoom too! An eternity of gaming!

She made a great career out of playing “everyone’s mom” .

Yep. Piss jugs are a thing for truckers. Ain’t got time to stop to pee, you guys all expect your ordered shit to be across country in minutes after the order is placed.

Violence is always a valid answer. It’s just not always the best answer. The problem with violence is it’s been proven time and time again to be impossible to control and hold to a limited use since there are no cool heads at that point. Nor do specific targets exist-- just collateral damage.

And no successful revolutionary has ever had a sound plan for after the victory beyond “I want the power now.” And they can either hold the power or not. But the idea of “for the good of the people” gets put to the side pretty quickly.

My money is on fusion before proper socialism.

There is always someone willing to twist the rules and game the system to get more money and power than everyone else. The 1% have always existed and so have the worker class. It will always shake out to that.

So pasteurization does nothing?

I’m not so sure. Children have a lot of desire and drive to monopolize an adult’s attention and resources. This I think gives any one child a leg up on getting the best resources to survive better. And you can see it when you work with a group of children. They will group around you jostling for the best position to be first and get the best from you. They do of course, get better with age and as they learn patience, but there is still a lack of empathy to be found in their base behavior.

After all, if you grew up with siblings, I’m quite sure your parents at some point in your early childhood told you “Be nice to your siblings! You love them!” more than once. Or some variation on that theme. And if you are a parent yourself, you have used that phrase at some point also. Because who has better reason to want to “kill” each other than brothers and sisters? They want to get as much of mommy and daddy as possible. Those resources are scarce and your natural drive is to fight to get them.

And hopefully, as children age they learn to get and show empathy to those around them. Most do, but some never quite manage it.

He didn’t actually kill the intruder so that’s something he can probably look forward to either after joining the military or law enforcement.

But joking aside, children by in large, don’t seem to have much empathy about such things. You can see this in the bullying they do in schools and on the playgrounds. And it doesn’t seem to bother them much.