I don’t know about OP. I went to a public school on the eastern seaboard and we certainly weren’t taught “Spain Spanish.” The pronunciations and pronouns we were taught would’ve been very different if that were the case.

If any specific dialect was taught in those classrooms, it would’ve been because a teacher spoke that dialect natively. All of our teachers were either non-native Spanish speakers, or from somewhere in Central or South America. Maybe OP had teachers from Europe?

If there were regional differences for vocabulary, we were told about them. For example, for the English word “bus,” we were taught that “autobus,” “guagua,” and “camion” all work but in different countries/regions. To be clear, we weren’t expected to remember all the variations, but we were informed that they exist.

Excellent comment and very informative!

Just a quick note on the last sentence: 1 yard = 3 feet, which means a yard is approximately one meter, not 100m.

My condolences

I remember the first time I realized that. It was when watching the Futurama episode, “Insane in the Mainframe.”

Judge Whitey: The charge is bank robbery. Now, my caddie’s chauffeur informs me that a bank is a place where people put money that isn’t properly invested. Therefore, robbing a bank is tantamount to that most heinous of crimes - theft of money.

That’s so interesting! I guess the meme is moot if the question is asked in Hindi, haha.

I get the connection with the Lion King also. Speaking of animation from childhood, I’m now remembering an episode of Rugrats where the phrase “King of the Jungle” became an argument. Except on that show, the argument was over whether the title belonged to Tarzan or to King Kong.

Jungle

1776, “dense growth of trees and other tangled vegetation,” such as that of some regions in India, from Hindi jangal “desert, forest, wasteland, uncultivated ground,” from Sanskrit jangala-s “arid, sparsely grown with trees,” a word of unknown origin.

Source: Etymonline

I can’t tell if you meant to say “uninhibitated” or “uninhabited.” I get the impression you meant the latter, which would be in line with the idea of “desert” or “wasteland.”

Either way, the history of the word jungle reveals that its root might have applied to what we’d call today a savanna, which is where lions live. So, the title “King of the Jungle” could have made sense for lions at some point.

Thankfully, there are some designs that improve on this! Here’s what’s in my kitchen:

The brand is OXO, for anyone curious.

The keyboard I’m currently using has a key in the F-row that’s tied to a lock screen. I accidentally hit it several times a day, and end up having to put in the passcode to unlock the computer every time.

I wish I could disable that stupid key. I’m tempted to pop it right out. But I use a shared computer, so I’m limited in options here.

I can only ever somewhat begin to understand the amount of stress that my “not normal” existence has caused my normie mom.

Yet it must be a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of stress I experienced being raised by someone who cares more about what others think when they look at her kid, than by anything her kid is actually experiencing.

It sounds like this dad is at least trying. If my mom showed even this much ability to listen to my concerns, I’d consider it a win. Instead I just get shut down at Christmas when I respond to, “How are you?” with, “Not sleeping well, not eating well,” and when asked why, respond honestly with, “Concerned about my and my loved ones’ safety under the upcoming authoritarian regime.”

Everyone else at the table: Knows exactly what I’m talking about. Offers understanding and support

Mom, and only Mom: “Hey we shouldn’t talk about politics at a party, it makes people uncomfortable.”

Everyone else at the table: Acquiesces

I mean, we picked the discussion back up as soon as she left to go home, but it’s still disheartening to know that my mom would rather appeal to “not offending” imaginary people who aren’t even at the table, than to listen to the valid concerns that threaten her own child. Even my dad came up to me after this and offered tangible support. It’s just my mom, my “apolitical” mom who truly believes “bOtH siDeS sAmE” and refuses to entertain the slightest political thought - no matter how close to home it hits.

It doesn’t surprise me that fascism is winning, when I consider that there are millions of people across the U.S. who view “politics” through the same lens she does: Can’t rock boat. Must blend in. Silence those that don’t comply, before they can threaten our own safety.

I feel like that’s the real message in this map.

1: Haha, look at funny sex words!

2: Wait, why are all those states…

3: … Ohhh shit.

I’d really love to find a new radio for my car that: 1) can serve as a monitor for my back-up camera, and 2) isn’t a fucking touch screen.

There are models that are one or the other, but I haven’t found anything that’s both. The closest I’ve found is a compromise - a touchscreen that also has a few tactile controls. But I don’t want to have to rely on any touch screen when I’m driving. I simply don’t feel compelled enough to spend $400+ for a frustrating half-measure.

Except when it hallucinates, draws from biased sources, or straight-up responds with false information.

I’d rather look through the available links myself and research the direct source things came from. AI isn’t trained to look specifically for factual information. Unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t trained for that, either. But we can still educate ourselves. Relying on a bot is putting one more space between the information you receive and the source that created it.

I’d rather get my information from as close to the original source as possible. Only then can I determine if the source is even worth trusting in the first place.

Queer woman here. It’s not misogynistic, it’s relatable.

Just last week I snuck a bunch of peanut butter cups into the front pocket of my gf’s bag before she left my place. So I guess my answer would be pellets.

Oh hey, we had someone handing out hand warmers too! She saw me and my girlfriend trading one pair of gloves between us and asked if we wanted a warmer. It was a sweet gesture, the kind of look-out-for-your-neighbor thing we were all there for.

I went to my local capitol protest today and it went peacefully. I was prepared for (and very much expecting) escalation. I wrote the ACLU phone number on my leg, left my phone at my girlfriend’s house, and carried pepper spray in my pocket. My gf and I (and a number of other people) wore medical masks. We also brought clear, full-face shields in our bag too, just in case.

The capitol and the police station were near each other; lots of cops drove by our crowd, but thankfully that’s the only interaction we had with them. But a lot of drivers, bicyclists, and other passers-by made noise in solidarity.

I should also probably note that I live in a blue state. I haven’t heard yet about the experience in red and purple states, but hopefully people will be sharing their stories soon.

One last thing - I’m glad you made the note about phones. Apparently some of the people at the protest reasoned, “I might get arrested, therefore I should bring my phone.” Then they were confused when I used the exact same reason to justify me not bringing my phone. Do people not realize that the police seizes a person’s belongings when they arrest them? Considering the way this administration is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they rewrote the law to allow police to break into phones without a warrant. At the very least, they certainly won’t stop cops who do it unlawfully.

As far as ways to filter for such positions, maybe look for roles that require traveling? At the very least, you’d be in a different location throughout your week.

By this logic, the less predictable your daily life is, the more “alive” you are.

So for a lot of us, to be “alive” is to experience constant anxiety about what’s about to happen.

…

Actually, that tracks.

It’s also worth noting that at the time, Samaritans were seen as an enemy. “To the Jews, a Samaritan was more revolting than a Gentile (pagan); Samaritans were half-breeds who defiled the true religion.”

So when it was written that a good Samaritan was an example of a neighbor, it was more impactful than the phrase implies today. Part of the point was to say that even those perceived as “enemies” are ordinary people that should be treated with the same dignity and care given to one’s own tribe.

The fact that you’re thinking about others’ perspectives at all is a good sign. Sometimes, when I can’t understand the mindset of someone toxic and I get frustrated, I take a step back and consider what would happen if I did start thinking like them. The fact that it’s difficult to imagine goes to show that I’m wired against certain shitty mindsets. It sounds like you are, too.

In trying to understand others, you’re showing more thought and empathy than a lot of people bother to practice. It’s frustrating and can be confusing at times, but you’re not broken for being unable to view things through the eyes of someone that doesn’t care about doing the right thing.

I let my children eat trash out of dumpsters. I determined it was a good idea after personally observing raccoons while on a park trip.