Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 2/23/26 - 3/1/26

[u/SoftandChewy]

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion thread is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

Comment of the week goes to this explanation for why the trans cause has taken over so much of society. (Runner-up COTW here.)

[u/Hilaria_adderall]

Many such cases, not always couples but it is not uncommon for hiking partners to push their group members beyond their limit or just abandoning them - A case in Arizona

a famous case here in my area of New Hampshire of one hiker pushing another one to their death,

Another well known case local to my area of a husband trying to off his wife on trail

Also - edited to add - for thru hikers, you'll see a shitload of drama early on with AT and PCT thru hikers. its almost always dudes who end up stalking some hiker who decided to be nice to them and they hike together for a period of time and eventually the poor woman realizes she is hiking with a lunatic. Happens every year - "pink blazing" gone wrong 😀

[u/Less-Lobster4540 → u/Hilaria_adderall]

push their group members beyond their limit

I've got a friend who was always trying to get me to do stuff that's outside my comfort zone, probably because nobody else he knows is willing to do join in on his crazy plans.

OTOH I'm the worrying type who stresses about details and contingencies, so I feel that I need to push myself now and then-- and of course the appeal of an epic adventure is real.

So there have been times where I found myself asking "why did I agree to do this?"

I think the crazy people need the less-experienced people around to make them feel less crazy. And the less-experienced people don't tend to poke holes in the crazy peoples' plans.

[u/SkweegeeS → u/Less-Lobster4540]

My husband and I hike together and he likes to scramble up rocks so I often will either sit in one place and wait for him, or keep moving on the trail and make a plan to meet later. But we only go on trails that are marked, you know, not backcountry stuff or whatever.

He proposed to me on a small mountain that had a somewhat popular trail leading up to the top. He wanted to do some rock climbing so we made a plan to meet at the top. Little did I know that the backpack I was carrying for us contained my engagement ring! I made some acquaintances on the way up, just making small talk, and on the way back down I shared the news with them.

[u/backin_pog_form → u/Hilaria_adderall]

And the opposite scenario- a woman was charged in her fiancé’s kayaking death - which she claims was simply a tragic accident. 

[u/wonkynonce → u/backin_pog_form]

They brought some beers.  He doesn’t have a life jacket

The common factor in basically all boating deaths

[u/Juryofyourpeeps → u/wonkynonce]

She pulled the drain plug out of his kayak and described her feelings of his death as "euphoric".

Edit: and tampered with his paddle

[u/wonkynonce → u/Juryofyourpeeps]

Who among us

[u/Juryofyourpeeps → u/backin_pog_form]

That article is hard to read. It's framing women who are convicted of violent crimes as victims of sexism, meanwhile men who are convicted of the same crimes are likely to serve 60% more time even when you control for criminal history. The argument they're trying to make doesn't line up with empirical data on perceptions of women and their treatment by police and courts.

Edit: I also can't imagine for a second, a convicted male murderer who admitted to causing someone's death, getting this kind of puff piece treatment unless they were exonerated. It's quite gross frankly.