2025-05-16 12:06:00
i think they're afraid that gay acts will doom their sons and daughters to an eternity in hell.
The fear of sin is serious. I know, I was raised with it. I harmed myself as punishment for masturbating as a teen (I had promised God I would give it up for Lent). I was raised Catholic, but have grown atheist/agnostic.
It didn't work. The fear of sin. It just damaged me.
And of course, those who fear the gay, specifically those who work to take our rights away, to shame us, to keep us in the closet ... don't have the fear-of-god in them with regard to their own heinous acts - the judgement of others, the cruelty, the greed, the selfishness, the anger.
Someone told me once that the "phobia" in "homophobia" means "fear" as if to say maybe there was a better way to classify the hatred they point our way.
But I think it really is fear, and maybe we should treat it as such.
I've heard commentators talk about the downfall of society, the concern about birth rates, the threat of drag queens to children, and the threat of Hell.
They're afraid. Afraid that my choice to kiss a man will corrupt the world, that their children will fall "victim" to the culture and become sinners too, that gays are more likely to assault children than straights.
If you're up for it and you have a hateful uncle or friend, ask them what they're afraid of. "Why does it scare you so much?"
And listen.
I've been lucky, and I don't really have any hate in my life. My family loves and supports me. But I'd like to consider that fear may really be at the heart of it, and approach bigots with compassion.
But also, know when to step the fuck away. We each have different limits, and you don't have to take abuse. But if you're not the target of their abuse, please have the courage to fight for us. The fight is found in connection, in listening, and in long-term growth.
Oh. And the threat to us is real. It is material. Especially for trans people who need medical support for transition.
P.S. I'm using "the gay" as an umbrella term, including thems, gays, lesbians, pans, aces, and all the other funky forms we come in.
P.P.S. Also see Sodom and Gomorrah
2025-05-16 11:48:00
Sodom and Gomorrah is actually about how two angels visited Lot, and the townspeople wanted to rape them, but Lot was like "No, you can't rape my guests, but you CAN rape my two virgin daughters," so the angels said "Lot you are good, God will spare you and your family."
So they leave Sodom, Wife looks back so she's turned to salt (duh). Lot and his daughters go to the mountains, where his daughters get him drunk and rape him so that the family line can continue, since mom is salt now. So it's actually a story about how giving your daughters to be raped by the townspeople is a holy act and lets you be saved. And maybe you should treat guests well? And maybe raping your dad is good too.
Whatever who cares. I'm gay you're gay we're all gay it don't matter have fun use condoms don't rape, consent is sexy
2025-05-15 12:34:00
Sony DR-BT50, a headset from 2007. It was mine, and it was INCREDIBLE, best music I'd ever listened to.
I lost the charger. I've used this headset as ear protection when woodworking for YEARS.
I looked for the charger tonight. In the box I thought it was probably in. But I just never could get myself to go look for it before.
I fricken found it dude. And it still sounds SO GOOD.
18 year old headset.
Umph. So happ.
EDIT: It's very possible I got this headset 10 years ago, give or take, but I think it was manufactured in 2007. Idr.
2025-05-14 04:02:00
I've recently been eating healthier - eating fruits in the evening instead of baked sweets, cooking raw veggies instead of frozen tater tots for dinner, chips and SALSA instead of just chips.
And this presents a new problem - food waste.
I buy stuff hoping to eat it, then I go out for dinner one night, or I'm just not in the mood that day, so some of it spoils and gets thrown out.
Well now I'm trying to address this by just buying less. I'm not good about eating all the hummus I buy. But if I don't have another salty/dippy snack for the evenings, I WILL eat it. I'm out of bananas, so maybe it can be my lunch snack the next couple days.
I have to make more frequent, smaller trips to the store. Makes me really wish I had a neighborhood grocer I could walk to. But oh well, guzzle the gas I will.
(I also have my junk food days and my frozen dinner days, but it used to be constant, and now it's a bit more balanced.)
2025-05-12 11:37:00
SOME people in Rocket League get SO MAD because their teammates are dumb or bad or don't rotate or whatever.
Last game, a teammate says "you're both fucking dumb" and that "I play a 3v1 every game".
Like no, no you don't.
FIRST of all. It's a game. Have fun. If you're this pissed that you have to berate your teammates, then you should take a break, and work on your mental, and come back when you're able to have fun. It is a game and it is for funnnn. It doesn't matter if you lose.
When you lose, you queue up and play another game. When you win, you queue up and play another game. It makes little difference.
They said I had "zero rotation" and that I was "ball chasing" and I said to them "eh, you should practice more or learn how to have fun."
So first and foremost, the whole point of games is to enjoy yourself, to have fun.
And secondly, WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE.
You're a diamond 2, just like me. (BY THE WAY I'M AT MY PEAK RANK!!! I've never been a diamond until recently, and I got Diamond 2 TONIGHT.)
You know, I got to diamond 2 by playing the way I'm playing. And yes, I suck. And yes my angry teammate sucks too. We all make tons of mistakes. Our shots aren't super accurate. We whiff. We pass to the opponent. We have little sense of where are teammates are. We can't flip reset or flick the ball consistently. Watch a Grand Champ play and you'll see that we're all TRASH. But more importantly, we're all roughly the same skill level, but may have different play styles.
But the most important thing is playing to the situation, adapting to your team and the opposing team.
If your teammates ball chase and don't rotate, then play defensively and provide support to them. Learn their tells so you can push when you need to. If they're over-committed, then stall the play so they can get back. I do this. A lot of us do this. It's how we get better and rank up.
It definitely sucks when you have this vision of a beautiful play you're about to do, then your teammate jumps in and takes over the ball. It's a bummer. But then you need to accept it and play to that. You get one touch and get out so your mate can go. You watch your mates and you fake and rotate so they can go.
It's just part of the game.
I used to think I was only playing "against" my opponents, but in a way I'm playing "against" my mates as well. When I think I have the ball, that it's my turn to go because my opponents aren't near ... well are my mates near? Because if my mate beats me to the ball then it wasn't really my turn, and I didn't actually have a good shot.
I don't get pissed at the opponent for beating me to the ball, for being faster than me, or for hogging the ball and failing to rotate and let me play. So i need to give that grace to my teammates too.
First and foremost, I need to do that in order to have fun. And secondly, it gives me a better chance of winning.
Oh also - We lost that game by one point. It was 1-0. It was a close hard-fought game and we sold a goal relatively early. It happens. But this player is a god-send, best player ever, and they're only in Diamond 2 because of dumb fucks like me. Sure.
Anyway, I'm having fun. Also, I kinda like blogging so woohoo I got to do some writing too! :D
Also, I do tilt some times. Some nights I get in, and my teammates are frustrating, and I catch myself being mad and blaming them in my head. And sometimes it is their fault. But even when it's their fault, it's on me to adapt, and on me to have fun. I'm not perfect. And if I were 15 instead of 33 I might say some shit to my teammates too. I'm old so I have a filter, ig.
But back to the original point of the post - don't take shit too seriously. Have fun. Losing might be someone else's fault, but it's up to you to have a good time anyway.
2025-05-11 02:30:00
I sent the following message to Rocket League support asking that the MAGA club tag be banned.
I recently played with a player named Kong with club tag "MAGA", and reported the club name for being inappropriate, and I'm writing to ask that banning the MAGA club tag be seriously considered, based on the following reasoning.
MAGA is a white supremacist fascist movement, and the U.S. Administration's policies and actions since Trump took office have been discriminatory and often violated the law.
Trump signed an Executive Order erasing the existence of trans people and intersex people by incorrectly defining sex-terms. Trump cut funding to USAID that had been approved by congress, then defied a court order to return that funding. Trump deported people to an El Salvadorian slave prison without providing them due process in the states (i.e. he didn't prove that they are supposed to be deported), then he defied a court order that legally required him to halt the operation. He then refused to return someone who was wrongly deported, even after a court order requiring him to do so. He's ended programs that support black people and other people of color. He's fired qualified women and black people and replaced them with incompetent white people. He's using federal power (funding) to dictate what universities are allowed to do, laying a dictatorial hand on what we the people are allowed to learn. MAGA also supports legislation that would create barriers for married women who want to vote, by requiring additional documentation to prove their name change - a discriminatory burden not placed on men. I believe there's quite a lot more; this is just off the top of my head.
I doubt you allow the "NAZI" club tag. So I ask, at what point does MAGA become close enough to "NAZI" that it too is banned? Do people have to be sent to concentration camps? (El Salvador is just that) Do minority groups have to be discriminated against? (He did that) Do American citizens have to be deported? (Done that, and talking about doing it more) What if he started sending queer folks like me to gas chambers? Where is the line? I think it has already been crossed, and we should not wait for gas chambers.
Please talk to your colleagues about this. Please talk to your bosses about this. I know this is a relatively minor action as far as getting in the way of fascism, but we all need to be doing something, and workers should organize to put pressure on their company to stand against fascism.
Thank you for considering,
Reed
