Private browser mode in many browsers disables plugins by default, and also doesn’t do anything to stop trackers or data collection. All private mode does is keep your activity private from others who also have access to your device (e.g. family members, roommates), by not saving browser history/cookies/etc.

Also, VPN’s can be helpful, but there are ways to “fingerprint” individual users behind VPN’s by how they move their mouse and click speed and what websites they visit etc… I imagine plugins like AdNauseum could help with that. It’s a clever idea, I’ll have to check it out - thanks!

I contend that it’s chaotic good.

I hear what you’re saying, and were it a college or professional team I probably would agree, but for high schoolers that’s harder. At that age, their very identity and self-worth are dependent on peer acceptance. Not to mention any shy kids who might have felt powerless to speak up. We also don’t know that they didn’t try; one or some may have tried and been shut down by peer pressure. My guess is one idiot thought it’d be funny, convinced a few more, and pressured the rest. “It’s just a prank bro” or somesuch.

That the coach didn’t put an immediate stop to it is definitely an issue.

Women and minorities both often aren’t taken seriously by patriarchal medical providers. Fortunately, this is being addressed more and more in their education, but it’ll take time.

In the US, training for nurse practitioners has incorporated bias awareness and patient-centered care concepts for much longer, so you might bear that in mind when seeking care. Also, for women specifically: you can go to a nurse midwife for general women’s health services, not just pregnancy care!

Er, what? Maybe it’s not relevant in every single location, but it’s definitely relevant for most of us right now. House prices in my area have almost doubled in the last 4-5 years, and rents are up similarly. Maybe it shouldn’t have to be relevant, but it definitely currently is. Even when zoning policies change, it can take years to have a meaningful impact on housing availability or prices because it takes time to build units or convert existing buildings.

People kept asking why it was taking so long to bring charges at all - this is why. Yes, the crimes are obvious and some were even committed in public view, but if you’re going after high level government officials - if you’re going after a former president of the United States - you better make sure you have every last detail in order. For crimes of such magnitude, you can’t risk the case getting dismissed or overturned based on a frivolous detail or a minor oversight or a technicality. It has to be iron-clad and air-tight, with every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed.

Trump isn’t some common thief or vandal. He’s not just a crime boss or a corrupt politician. He’s a history-altering, would-be dictator who tried to stage a coup to overthrow our government. There is no room for error.

Eh… I see where you’re coming from, and I’m generally against homeschooling as well. For various reasons, I wish I hadn’t been and wouldn’t do so for my child.

That said, I’m inclined to disagree. It only promotes what the parents put into it - which, yes, often is a lot of religion, but it isn’t intrinsic to the practice. The religious component I suspect is where you get the stunting of open-mindedness and critical thinking ideas, but fwiw I and several of my siblings have since left the faith for atheism, and even those who still participate in religion are mostly rather progressive. I do fully recognize that I and my siblings are probably the exception in this regard, so in those aspects I think your opinion generally represents the actual outcomes of homeschooling as it exists in the US, and probably is not that unpopular outside of homeschooling circles - but I would reiterate that I don’t think it’s intrinsic to homeschooling; rather, I think it’s a result of who in the US tends to choose to homeschool.

As for the idea that it stunts communal empathy, I’m a little bit baffled. I work in a mental hospital, one of my sisters has spent a year volunteering at orphanages in Ghana, one of my cousins (who was also homeschooled) runs a rural mission hospital in Bangladesh, etc… My observation is that most homeschooling families are rather pro-social and fully embrace the concepts of community and communal support of one another (even if they have eaten the socialism-is-bad propaganda; their rationale then is just that charity should come from the community itself rather than being subject to government mandate and bureaucratic inefficiency), so I’m curious what gives you that idea.

As someone who was homeschooled and now holds a master’s degree, I will proudly own the ‘weirdo’ title and make no claims to normalcy. And I suspect most of my 7 siblings would do the same.

But saying we’re all ‘likely removed’ is a bit peculiar to me. Most homeschoolers I’ve met (which I suspect is more than most folks, being from inside the community) come from high-functioning or highly-religious families, with very few notably ‘removed’. How many homeschool kids have you actually known?

Most of the followers can’t see past “we’re going to save America from the evil Democrats”. It’s not as if Fox News or OAN put the fascist behaviors on display. They genuinely believe Trump when he says the Democrats are persecuting him, rather than that the justice system is prosecuting him for crimes - his only “crime” was trying to save America from those evil commie Democrats, after all. They take all the BS at face value because … tribalism and fear or something?

The only people in the Republican party who actually understand what’s happening are the rich and the powerful. Everyone else, the voters especially, are just useful idiots.

Stressed. Recently ended a bad relationship, and she won’t acknowledge or accept that it’s over, and my social anxiety is making it really hard to be blunt with her. Also stressing about finding a job - my credentials are enough in demand that I’m not worried about securing one, but it’ll take time and I’m running out of money with bills coming up. My ex-wife is refusing to do what she agreed to have done 6+ months ago (getting her debts out of my name, one of which she’s refusing to even pay for) and I don’t have the mental wherewithal to deal with lawyers and such right now. I’m also staying with my sister because I can’t afford a place of my own yet, and my anxiety has me fretting like I’m majorly inconveniencing her even though rationally I know it’s no big deal to her and she’s happy to help out… And my best friend is going through a shitty time and wants to talk this afternoon, but I feel like I don’t have much emotional capacity left to offer any moral support. And then there’s my daughter. She’s way more resilient than any middle schooler should have to be, but she’s got pretty significant anxiety too and is frustrated with school because none of it is challenging or engaging to her and none of the schools she’s ever attended will offer more than token efforts to attend to gifted students. When I brought up skipping first or second grade, their reactions were so immediately and resolutely negative that you’d think I had requested they start off the school days by sacrificing goats to Satan.

So, uh, yeah, I guess that’s more than just how my day is going but I feel a little better having written it out. So, thanks for asking.

Most of them are never going to be able to afford a house.