Tarantula, because I have arachnophobia - why be anything other than what scares me the most?

Well, you can’t really do that when it’s expressed in written form as long as it’s not part of a grander “manifesto” of sorts. Or better put, as long as it’s not grounded in a context.

This can only be solved by slapping as much nuance as you possibly can on everything you write, make it incontrovertible in its clarity.

But if you’re not in the mood for an adjoining essay whenever you want to post a one-liner (seriously not being snarky about this, I completely understand the feeling of utter tedium when having to explain the same damned thing for the twelfth time), you can always monitor the reaction then provide clarification. Once you’ve done that, you really don’t need to engage any further.

And the most important aspect is to never forget that this is the internet. Some people are in it just to stir up shit, and that’s a game you win by not playing.

Well, you’re off to a good start! Just need “uck” to go with that F and you’re golden!

Joke aside, this may be one of those situations where Corpspeak would just serve to make it worse, either by rendering your message inert, or by generating long-term tension. And, believe me, that tension gets really suffocating really fast.

I think your best bet at this point would be to readjust your view and approach with this coworker. My aunt told me a secret which helped me a lot in theatre, but I’ve learnt it also applies in pretty much every other situation: “if they won’t be your partner on stage, then let them be furniture.”

You have the immense advantage of knowing what to expect from them, which is essentially nothing at this point. I’d say the best response is to offer the exact same in return - if they ever need something from you, dodge, postpone and obfuscate. Fuck’em. Not worth wasting your energy on this situation, it only leads to stomach ulcers.

I wholeheartedly believe nothing is lost yet! We’re still around, we’re still full-on “seditious” (from the perspective of Big Bucks McOildrill), we can do this!

But, yes, we do need an Underground Railroad type network for now…

It’s not young-you’s fault, they had us all hooked on that potential. And it 100% had and still has that potential, it’s just that the wrong people are calling the shots.

Tell you what, I’ll go back with you and we can punch the ones who ruined the internet!

I used to greet clothing store mannequins and thought that people who didn’t were very rude.

Because we forget to buy condoms.

Believe me, I’m keeping an eye on every piece of Leftist media I find, and not just for the purpose of learning. I know Capitalism is very good at repackaging our complaints and critiques and selling them back as dopamine hits, but… there’s not much of a choice otherwise. Even the "underground networks’ " infrastructure* is owned by someone at this point…

The fact that I see and hear my family’s ethos in everything The Right does. That makes me angry beyond comprehension and motivates me to keep going out of sheer spite.

The assholes who raised me didn’t manage to break me, not enough to take me out of the game. The assholes who rule us now have their work cut out for them, because I came out stronger.

I understand where you’re coming from, honestly. But I think this is a sort of trauma response on our end (myself included) at this point. I’m not trying to pin mental illnesses on you, I’m nowhere near a licensed head doctor of any kind, I’m saying that we’ve been kicked and abused so much by the rich, that it’s only natural for those of us who broke free of the brainwashing to be on high alert, at least for a while. The continued unfolding of things surely can’t help this situation, either.

That being said, as long as he acts in good faith and is sincere and logical in his approach, which so far seems to be true, I’d say we should embrace his participation! As I see it, we need all the voices we can get. We’re already arguing semantics amongst ourselves all day long, I think it’d be a shame to let mistrust shatter “our side” without concrete proof of malicious intent.

At the end of the day, the greatest weapon the Right has is the fact that they yell united at everyone else. Let our chorus rival theirs!

The most manipulative thing I’ve ever done is getting small children to eat their food.

For example, when I babysit my niece and she gets bored of her food, I yoink it and make-pretend that I’m stuffing my face with it. She always gets upset and demands her food back within two gulps.