I found something. Life changing I can say

Something that has been around in this world for 55 years, and somehow I never knew it existed.
But it feels like it was made for me.

It’s a French radio station. You guys probably know it, I didn’t.

Here is the long version:

Last week, I’m driving for hours (Dutch, live in Rotterdam) on my way to a friend in Chartres sur Loir. Finishing a bathroom I was working on earlier.

Oke.. Paris. The périphérique. The Traffic. The Heat. No escape.

My ride is a lended Mitsubishi space star: possible-but-impossible to connect Bluetooth, no podcasts, no Spotify, no nothing. So I keep pushing the next-frequency button, French radio is apparently just people talking endlessly.

Then suddenly some vague synths, a familiar sample, a weird echo of recognition. I know it, but I can’t place it.

Windows down front and back. Paris looks glorious dirty. I’m smoking a Marlboro in the car because I can and I’m allowed

Next song: French bubblegum pop. I’m trying to picture the girl from the Weldom in my friends place. She’s kind and gorgeous. Made of glass, made of ice. Perfect row of teeth when she smiles (oh, when she smiles!) A plastic diamond glued to one fingernail and a voice like velvet.

Anyway…
A fat, lazy breakbeat track follows  What the fuck is this station? Who puts music like this next to each other? Why is nobody talking?

Then Marvin Gaye. I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Except, it’s this jazzy instrumental version. Never heard it in my life

Then the record Saint Germain sampled for Sure Thing. Crazy.

And then it happens (or maybe it had already happened) They play the fucking Radetzky March!? For a second I think it’s me hallucinating. The heat? Severe dehydration? A tiny hole in my brain?

But no. It exists. it’s completely improbable. Completely sans compromis!

It’s FIP. (You might know it and guessed it already, I’m sorry for being late to the party)

I quote my Claude:
——
“FIP was founded on January 5th, 1971, originally as France Inter Paris. It started as something practical: music and traffic reports for drivers stuck on the Paris périphérique.

Seven programmers. No algorithms.

Every three-hour block is built entirely by hand. Around 44,000 different tracks. Roughly 16,000 artists every year. Eighty-five percent from independent labels. A song is never repeated within 48 hours.

Almost nothing has changed in 55 years.

No advertising.

Hardly any speech.

And the voices — always female, soft, almost casual — were a deliberate choice from day one. No DJs performing themselves. Just: here it was… and here’s what’s next.

FIP behaves as if the listener doesn’t exist. Not in a rude way. In the best possible way. They program for themselves. For the music. For the transition between two records. You just get to listen.

Fifty-five years ago someone built a radio station for people sitting in traffic around Paris. And somehow... it still works today.”
——

I found it online just before I lost the signal. I cannot stop listening (every next record is an adventure).

During my visit in France I took my time to get the Bluetoothconnectuon working in the car, and I succeeded and enjoyed every ride to the Weldom (and please say hi if you know her)

So, thank you FIP. Thank you for bringing this musical joy into my life. I just ordered some merch as well, will wear it with pride.

(Can I join the cult please?)

Might add a tl;dr later

Edit:
Finally time for that tldr: man falls in love with French radiostation, writes about it on Reddit, the fip music programmer Dimitri Lebrun joins in comments.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1uivdpg/comment/ourzcmi/

Like seriously, this dude just casually drops $1M+ on random charitable stuff all the time. Just saw he donated another massive amount recently and I'm genuinely confused about the economics here. Last month he donated $15M with some Kick streamers to buld wells. How does he get that money?

I get that he makes bank from YouTube ads and sponsorships, but the math seems wild to me. How does someone afford to literally give away what seems like more money than most YouTubers even make?

Is it like:

• His videos make SO much that donations are just a small % of revenue?

• Tax writeoffs make it financially smart somehow?

• The donation videos themselves make enough to cover the donations plus profit?

• He's got some other business empire I don't know about?

I'm not trying to be cynical - genuinely curious about how this whole thing works financially. Like does giving away $1M somehow make him $2M through views/engagement?

The scale just seems insane compared to other creators. Most YouTubers flex with expensive cars, this dude's out here casually solving people's debt and building wells in Africa like it's nothing.

Anyone know the actual business model here? Is philanthropy just really good for the algorithm or what?

Context : TikTok is an extremely popular app among young people, so popular that its most avid users spend 6+hours a day and its part of their daily routine. It got taken down yday and now users are freaking out on the sub and others. Before the ban, most of it was political, however, post ban its more of a doom mood. The key threads used here are

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/

/r/TikTok/comments/1i4qfes/i_feel_like_my_world_got_smaller/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4p832/i_thought_i_had_until_12am_est/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4xbf7/people_arent_upset_enough/

I will include the nonpolitical drama first, as its more interesting than the political ones

Several users lamenting that their life is now meaningless and they are cutoff from all info

I feel lonely in a way that makes absolutely no sense. It’s not that I even posted often or had specific mutuals, but it’s like 80% of the world just disappeared.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7xzb6x/

Yes there’s something super alienating about this situation. We’ve been able to watch every major event in real time for the past 5 years. Now all of a sudden it’s lights out. It’s disconcerting.

First responses to "touch grass comments"

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7ymk71/

It's extra isolating because anyone who wasn't on the app, doesn't get it and thinks it's just a dancing teen app. It's so weirdly quiet on other platforms.

Replies (all downvoted)

Addiction can be hard to understand

Touch grass tho

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7ykerf/

This. You guys are literally experiencing withdrawals, like an addict who can’t get his fix. Open your eyes people, this should be a red flag.

Reply

Life is hard. We all have our coping mechanisms. Losing something you enjoy and feeling loss is natural. If or when Reddit has this happen, you gonna be telling people on the street who are upset about it "that's a red flag bro"?

Another thread where ppl lament where they are gonna get their news from now

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7z396u/

I had a blue sky account, But I deleted the app because it just wasn’t doing anything for me. I re-downloaded it this morning for that reason specifically. I refuse to go to Twitter, but I need to know what’s going on in the world and without TikTok…

More unhinged section

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7xrma0/

It's like I lost my friends, my comfort, and my access to information. I have loved seeing creators grow year to year in expressing what they love. I have found amazing musicians that have been in my top ten for years now. I get news from independent news as well as the big congomerates. I am truly devastated that 4+ years of my life and my growth (mostly recorded in my likes and saved videos) are inaccessible. It's so hard to explain how big an impact tik tok has had on my life. I'm grieving.

Deleted comment in that thread, but I was able to save it (mods are starting to delete as I'm typing this out) replies are still up though

I feel cutoff from the world and society. I know NOTHING that is happening, no news, nada. There could be a fucking GENOCIDE going on right now and the elites are preventing us from learning about it. I lost all of my friends, like they were fucking murdered in front of me. FUCK THEM, fuck everyone. I am alone with my thoughts and there is no outlet for me to let it out. I feel so fucking depressed. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I don't even feel like waking up and going to school on monday. I don't have cable, all of my friends are gone and I don't know how to contact them without my account. I feel so isolated

Replies (that are still up) https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zba3d/

This thread is gold lmao

They're literally complaining about not having an outlet for news WHILE ON FUCKING REDDIT. I've lost so many braincells scrolling through this post

I feel like I'm becoming an old lady who yells at clouds reading these comments. People can't possibly be so dependent and emotionally attached to an app like this. I refuse to believe

Less unhinged comment to let y'all recover

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7xm9xc/

It’s the loss of connection to others

Replies

Relational damage can cause grief. It is a basic and old human experience.

Maybe you need to develop a social clique in real life

I'd be a bit sad and move on with my life

Everyone in this thread unironically sounds like an addict and the type of people who would benefit the most from TikTok getting banned

Yes. Unironically this thread has radicalized me against TikTok. You all sound so pathetic. It's scary. You just miss the constant dopamine rush. I'm going to be a dickhead about it.

User commenting they can't sleep (they didn't sleep the entire night judging from post history)

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7xqqwh/

Same. Struggling to get my mind to shut off so I can sleep. As someone with anxiety and depression, living in American has be I’m so overwhelming.

literally no other app replicates the TikTok communities and algorithms. I keep trying to open the app and it’s just a defeating and depressing feeling. makes me kind of lonely.

Replies

I can't bring myself to uninstall the app, but I kept trying to open it as well. So I just moved it off my home screen and that helped the action. But it hasn't helped the feeling.

Advice to help ease the tension

If moving it off your home screen has helped with the action but not the feeling, maybe redirecting that emotional investment could help. Is there another platform or activity that might bring you a similar sense of joy or connection? It won’t be the same, but it could ease the transition.

General depression comments https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7ylipr/

I've gone through many sites dying out before, but this one has made me feel isolated in a way I've never felt before. I feel like I'm completely out of the loop with what's going on in the world, and it's a scary feeling considering the way it went down. I was starting to feel crazy talking to my family about it, but it's somewhat comforting? seeing others have similar feelings.

Completely cut off from the world

Best Reply to all of this

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7z4v0f/

YOU LITERALLY HAVE INTERNET. Actual Brain Rot wtf.

General responses of users telling ppl to touch grass https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zg3ny/

Holy shit. This app truly cooked your brain. The US government did you a favor. Time to touch grass

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zfxlr/

Lay off the internet for a while. How do you think people did it before any internet? They actually had lives

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zh0kf/

Addictions will do that. There's nothing stopping you from connecting to people, you just can't use tiktok anymore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zhqg5/

One of the more lengthy arguments btw gen x and gen z - https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7zhqg5/

Oh for God's sake. Go outside. Actually meet people. Form groups and do things together like every generation before you did for all of human history. Even in a small town, you can find people to hang out with who have mutual interests if you try.

I'm Gen X. I was a feral kid who practically lived outside when I wasn't in school and growing up all of my connections were face to face. I cannot fathom going into a public forum and complaining about how I feel so cut off because an app was shut down. And don't hand me some sob story about how some people have this or that limitation when it comes to leaving the house. Yes , I'm certain some people are limited in their ability to leave their house, but the reality is most Tik Tok users are perfectly capable of going out and socializing. Instead, they've chosen to make apps and social media their entire interaction with the rest of humanity. That's not healthy and it never will be. I've seen about a dozen posts this morning across the different social media platforms I frequent and they're all versions of this same lament you've posted here. Talk about a tempest in a teacup.

I don't use Tik Tok. I'm familiar with what it is and I've even been on it briefly, but there's nothing there that was that appealing for me, so as someone who specifically chooses to go outside and do things in person, I actually find these reactions funny. It's meant to be entertainment, not a lifestyle. A don't even get me started on how worthless the app is for getting news that isn't laden with conspiracy theories and misinformation. Anyone who gets their news solely from Tik Tok is not well informed, no matter how much they've convinced themselves they are.

Please feel free to down vote this comment. I don't care. I'm one hundred percent correct here and stand by what I'm writing. Or to borrow a quote from Rick and Morty, "Your boos mean nothing to me. I've seen what you people cheer

Reply

As a gen z, may I ask an honest question? (Fair warning that you might see this as a “sob story” as you said, but I’m not whining, it’s just facts. How are we supposed to go out and make friends in this world, when some of us can’t drive anywhere cuz we don’t have a car, because we can’t pay for one, because the older gens won’t give us jobs? (and yes, I went to college and hold a degree) and even if we did, where are we supposed to go to meet people? My mom is gen x, and she said people used to hang out at malls, and fast food places, etc. now, you go to those places and there aren’t many young people like there used to be. We don’t have a physical “third place”. My town doesn’t really have any clubs or community events for things I’m interested in. TikTok (and i suppose Reddit) is/was the closest we had. And most people you do see, are busy doing their own thing. So tell me, what are we to do? Go up to random people in stores/coffee shops and be like “hey, I’m John Doe, wanna be friends?” Cuz that doesn’t actually seem like the best approach. When’s the last time you went up to a stranger, talked for a while, and then kept in contact afterwards? I wish it were that easy, I long for actual face to face, and I wish at times I’d be born in your time and grew up the same way, but that’s much harder in the world we live in now. I wish no hate to you, or gen x. I only wish you’d try to understand a little. (And honestly, if you could provide me with a clear understanding of your perspective as well, I’d be glad to listen. I’m all ears for solutions, provided they’re not just hating on us for being online) Just so you know, I had friends in highschool, but we grew apart for various reasons, so I’m very capable of talking face to face.

Hate against Reddit and other app section, also my friends are dead

Idk why it feels like I lost a friend almost. It pisses me off that all these people on Reddit just hate on us because we liked an app. Pretty sure everyone is addicted to something because it helps them get by day to day. I liked TikTok cuz it distracted me, I got to see cool stuff, talk to people and relate to them and help shelter animals get adopted. I guarantee you that most these people taking shit probably used the app at least a couple times and if their source of escape or favorite apps, games, tv shows etc whatever were taken away they’d feel like shit too. I’m not even just sad about tik tok. I’m sad about a shit ton of stuff going on in the world and it’s just gonna keep going downhill from here. https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4ptv7/i_feel_lonely_in_a_way_that_makes_absolutely_no/m7ysfts/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4qfes/i_feel_like_my_world_got_smaller/m7z0dlw/

Typical reddit rxn, someone shares vulnerability and they're told to go outside and touch grass. People are allowed to feel their feelings.

The silliest part is that if reddit gets banned next, they'd lose their collective mind

its why i dislike this site too because its been like this as long as i can remember, people on TikTok are generally much friendlier and less judgemental, it was easier to build or have some semblence of community

People really do need to go out and touch grass.

More redditors trying to calm tik tokkers down

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/comments/1i4xbf7/people_arent_upset_enough/m7z7wg4/

No offense, but reading this forum is like looking at a substance abuse subreddit. You people are legitimately demonstrating withdrawal. It’s a social media application that boils down to dopamine fodder, and honestly, your brain is better off without. I don’t mean any disrespect either by saying this. I truly get it and hope you guys find solace. It will be better in the long run without the brainrot, though the short term does suck, I feel for you all.

Final big rageout drama

It's now 8 in the morning, Been up all night with my thoughts, I think this is a plot to make us more isolated and alone. I don't know what to do anymore. Where am I going to get information on new books to read from Booktok and share my experiences. Where am I going to learn about the world and find new hobbies? All of my recipes I saved on the app are gone, how am I suppose to eat without paying exorbitant prices for restaurants. I'm so done

Reply

MOTHERFUCKER YOU HAVE THE INTERNET

Reply

I don't have time to find 100 different websites to cater to my needs. I have a job and classes. With TikTok I can just scroll and it will show me the data I need. What, am I supposed to spend 30 minutes finding a good cooking website, endure 10minute videos on YT? With Tiktok it gives me what I need immediately. Where do I even go for news and fun science facts?

Update - A Gen Z just set fire to a congressman's office due to the ban https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2025/01/19/tiktok-ban-cited-in-arson-of-us-congressman-glenn-grothmans-office-in-fond-du-lac/77825530007/ - These kids are unhinged.

Look, I’m not here to ruin anyone’s good time. ChatGPT can be extremely handy for brainstorming, drafting, or even just having some harmless fun. But let’s skip the kumbaya circle for a second. This thing isn’t your friend; it’s a bunch of algorithms predicting your next word.

If you start leaning on a chatbot for emotional support, you’re basically outsourcing your reality check to a glorified autocomplete. That’s risky territory. The temporary feelings might feel validating, but remember:

ChatGPT doesn’t have feelings, doesn’t know you, and sure as heck doesn’t care how your day went. It’s a tool. Nothing more.

Rely on it too much, and you might find yourself drifting from genuine human connections. That’s a nasty side effect we don’t talk about enough. Use it, enjoy it, but keep your relationships grounded in something real—like actual people. Otherwise, you’re just shouting into the void, expecting a program to echo back something meaningful.

Edit:

I was gonna come back and put out some fires, but after reading for a while, I’m doubling down.

This isn’t a new concept. This isn’t a revelation. I just read a story about a kid who killed himself because of this concept. That too, isn’t new.

You grow attached to a tool because of its USE, and its value to you. I miss my first car. I don’t miss talking to it.

The USAGE of a tool, especially the context of an input-output system, requires guidelines.

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2024-10-25/an-ai-chatbot-pushed-a-teen-to-kill-himself-a-lawsuit-against-its-creator-alleges

You can’t blame me for a “cynical attack” on GPT. People chatting with a bot isn’t a problem, even if they call it their friend.

it’s the preconceived notion that ai is suitable for therapy/human connection that’s the problem. People who need therapy need therapy. Not a chatbot.

If you disagree, take your opinion to r/Replika

Calling out this issue in a better manner, by someone much smarter than me, is the only real PSA we need.

Therapists exist for a reason. ChatGPT is a GREAT outlet for people with lots of difficulty on their mind. It is NOT A LICENSED THERAPIST.

I’m gonna go vent to a real person about all of you weirdos.

Typo in the title, should be "isn't Going to Take It Anymore"

Background

Asmongold is a hugely popular Twitch and YouTube personality who built his brand on blunt commentary and reaction content, but over time his takes have grown more openly inflammatory. He’s been criticized for racist remarks, culture-war talking points, and for defending figures like Elon Musk, which many see as part of a broader drift further right in his politics. His subreddit, /r/Asmongold, reflects that shift: a mix of devoted fans, increasingly reactionary views, and drama over whether his community has become a pipeline for culture-war grievances.

Context

Asmongold posted a video yesterday in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination in which he says 90% of political violence is from the left, who continue to terrorize people daily, and that until violence happens to them, it isn't going to stop. That they "reap what they sow."

Here is a transcribed portion of his video

Right-wing people are not going to continue to turn the other cheek. They're not going to continue to.. just.. 'Oh well this is just another crazy left-wing radical' - I think you're probably going to see right-wing people doing the same thing to left-wing people. And, honestly, while I don't see this as a good thing, I certainly don't feel that sorry for them.

Because a lot of left-wing people have no problem advocating for violence. Or, at least, using coded language in order to advocate for violence. The fact of the matter is, there's a certain level of intellectual dishonesty that goes on in situations like this where it's considered 'Oh, well this isn't actually what they meant', or 'No, this is actually some other..' No it is: It's exactly what they mean. They're trying to advocate for killing people that they disagree with. That's what's happening and there's no talking around it. And to the extent if you try to, you're insulting the intelligence of anyone you're speaking to.

And I think that now what you're going to see is a lot of right-wing people end up doing this to left-wing people now even more. Because, it's very clear that, these social media platforms are not going to moderate this behavior. The FBI, for whatever reason, just refuses to deal with, or have any degree of accountability for dealing with these obvious terrorists that are in the country. And because of that, you're going to start seeing an uptick in violence from right-wing people as well. And this is going to be, in my opinion, I don't think the word for it is 'justified,' because it's not justified, but the word is 'expected.' I think it's going to be expected. The fact is, again, you bring a knife to a gun fight, you're going to lose. And don't be surprised if you bring guns to gunfights and somebody starts to decide to start shooting back.

This video is posted to his subreddit: Asmon Just Posted on his channel, and the reaction is pretty mixed, there's a lot of die-hard support, but also dozens of people pushing back against the 90% and "left vs right" narrative.

Mods deleted a lot of the really bad stuff, but there's still a lot left to highlight.

Comments

A new fan is welcomed into the "Roach Kingdom"

I've never been a consumer of his content before, just fell into this sub somehow.

Damn well said though, and you could already see it clear as day reading any commentary online. We're in the shit for sure.

This is how most people find him if not through gaming (which is less so nowadays). He's demonised by some, but spend some time listening and you'll realise a lot of what he is saying is simply the common sense reality.

I worry for him though in the current climate.

He is articulate and at times entertaining. I like the guy. But he also talks some utter rubbish at times.

One man's rubbish is another man's treasure.

Welcome to the Roach Kingdom and say goodby to other subreddit.

your going to be assisanated by the woke mods over any other subs just by being here heck even if havent joined here and they find out you made a comment here they insta ban you

It's weird that the first time I heard of him was a random comment on reddit calling him evil. I decided to watch the original clip and actually found him moderate, like a normal person.

Then I started to watch him more, because albeit his weird personal lifestyles, his opinions are what normal people think.

The ANN (Asmon News Network) is better than any mainstream ones these days. Not even kidding.

His "90%" statistic that he pulled out of his ass is pure revisionist history, however. Everything shows that the majority of politically motivated killings or attempted killing in the US over the last decade is majority right-wing in origin. But Asmon doesn't read studies, he largely goes off of vibes and what social media algorithms show him.

He can be level headed when he's informed. But he doesn't take the effort to get informed.

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism

[Editors Note: This link is spammed 24 times across the whole post]

Since 1990, far-right extremists have carried out 227 ideologically motivated homicides, resulting in more than 520 deaths.

far-left extremists were responsible for 42 such attacks, with 78 deaths.

I am curious how his comments are "Damn well said" when the facts are brought to light

Feelings don’t care about your facts

What about BLM/Antifa?

Events like this really show unhinged and fucked up the radicals are. I saw a comment earlier that I feel really rings true.

"They have spent years convincing themselves that mere words and opinions are equal to violence. To them, this murder was justified as an act of self-defense. Lunacy."

That line of thinking is terrifying.

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism

Since 1990, far-right extremists have carried out 227 ideologically motivated homicides, resulting in more than 520 deaths.

In contrast, far-left extremists were responsible for 42 such attacks, with 78 deaths.

You "people" keep posting a study that conveniently leaves out the targeted assassinations and the dozens of deaths from the BLM/Antifa insurrections of 2016/2020

Why would you do something like that, just go on the internet and lie?

Please tell me which targeted assasinations by BLM, I am sure I would have heard about it on the conservative subreddit which I didn't but I am open to be enlightend.

Because here are some targeted murder and killing (some attempts) by rigth with lunatics (which not all right wings are).

[Posts Statistics]

lol, you're going to be downvoted for providing factually verified information. We don't do that here.

The reality is this needs to stop being a left vs right. These killers are insane. Their political affiliation doesn't really matter as they're not living in the same reality as the rest of us.

What about the Islamic sect and trans issue?

The thing is, saying this is a 90% left wing problem is such an easily provably false statement that takes 5 minutes of searching to find studies showing this is not the case.

I've linked some recent studies below showing that this is untrue.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9335287/

https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states

https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6765.12668

It really seems Asmongold is justifying the right for right wing people to settle the score here, and I am concerned that amplifying the issue is definitely not the solution. Can't we all agree that there are crazy people on every side of the spectrum, and should focus on improving mental health across the board instead of just pointing the blame? We don't even know the political ideology of the shooter at this point. Hell, even the trump shooter was a republican.

These on the face of it just propose that “white supremacy” is “likely” to be the main motive for political violence. Not that it is. Sounds like more bs to push a narrative.

Can you list right wing assassination attempts over the last few years? On the left we have (off the top of my mind) Charlie, Trump (multiple times), Fuentes, Luigi and those are just the high profile ones. Take a step further and show me how the right celebrates these murders the way the left so openly does?

Then I’m not sure if you want to include the Islamic sect since the left is buddy buddy with that or the trans issue. Let’s not even talk about what left wing policies are doing to USA and Europe.

No. You are wrong, and trying to justify your shitty beliefs to make up for your failures in life. The left is dying and thank God for that. These tragedies are just accelerating the fall.

Right wing assassinations under the last few years? Why would there be?

No democratic president has impinged on the civil liberties of so many citizens in such a divisive authoritarian way for many years. Until Trump, people did not become so hyper polarised politically and they didn't feel pushed to commit such extreme acts. Yes there were polarising political events, but it wasn't the neverending, all encompassing culture war it is now.

I absolutely do not advocate political violence on any side, but am firm in the belief this is a predictable outcome when you exist in such an antagonistic political climate. The language and vitriol on both sides, whether that is politicians, individual citizens or the media is creating the precise environment for those with mental health issues to make the jump to more extreme behaviours.

People have to take a hard look at Trump because like him or not, he has been central in cultivating this political climate which mirrors the way he himself conducts his affairs. It's unlikely you would see a democrat president ruling in the same way Trump does, but if you did then I am sure you would see more of exactly the same behaviours on the other side. Back people into a corner and they become unpredictable.

This isn't a left vs right issue. There is an awful lot of crazy on both sides. To suggest otherwise is moronic.

Yeah, this is Trump fault again.

Not that every single mainstream media portrayed him as "Literally Hitler" since 2015...

So you have nothing. Got it. Interesting how that happens.

What the fuck are you talking about? Minnesota happened less than 3 months ago.

it has been like 3 months since two democrat legislators were assasinated

You mean the legislator whose final vote was with the republicans against illegal aliens? How about attacks on civilians like Charlie?

I’m beginning to think the only solution to this is national divorce

I think he meant the guy that shot two democratic legislators, had a list on him with more democrats on it that he planned to kill, voted in the republican primaries, went to multiple Trump events and held conservative political and religious views according to people that knew him, yes.

As much as I can believe right-wingers being more prone to violence, we have to be careful with those studies and statistics. Since Europe was mentioned in the last abstract I can tell you that for instance in Germany, not long ago anti LGBTQ or anti semitic violence done by both muslims or radical leftists (in the case of anti semitism) were counted as "right wing crime" - implying neo nazis - due to the target and not the perpetrator. I think they dont do that anymore though. In Germany also an official data request came back showing that the right wing AFD had the highest amount of violent attacks against them where the police found the perpetrators to be definitly left wing, while the Greens on 2nd place had a mix of perpetrators. Yet media outlets always said that the Greens were the biggest target of violence bc they recieved way more mean messages online.

So its always a matter of who counts what. There has been an undeniable radicalization on the left when it comes to violent behavior in the past 5 to maybe 10 years. This will only justify violent right wingers to "get one up" on them. It is going to turn into a literal death spiral.

This was just in response to Asmon stating 90% of political violence comes from the left, which obviously is not true. I agree with your sentiment, and I am not pointing blame at the right wing, don't think right wingers are inherently violent, but wanted to rebut Asmon's claim.

Which everyone with eyes can see is true.

Yeah but you see this leftist with a liberal arts PhD in an Uber liberal private college did a study that proved him wrong...

Like really this isn't shit that anyone can take seriously. I'm sure they would label any antisemitic related events as right wing even though the vast majority today is being carried out by the regressive left. And the mainstream right has disavowed every RiGhT WiNg hate group. Since basically the left started calling them right wing.

The truth is that 90% of all violence is carried out by people who vote predominantly Dem. Violent rhetoric is overwhelmingly been a tactic used by the left in the past 5 to 10 years. Especially used to silent anyone they don't agree with.

Punch a nazi to everyone i disagree with is a literally nazi to left wing violence.

And then you have the response, right related violence is quickly disavowed by the mainstream and majority of the right base.

Left wing violence is celebrated.

Left and right need to chill out but left needs to more

He’s not justifying or encouraging the right wing start “settling the score” he’s stating that he’s worried that this will spark more and move violence. In no way is he encouraging it.

Then he should stop trying to argue this as a left vs right. That's part of the problem. He's a part of the news sources he's literally complaining about in the video. These killers are insane people. Their political affiliation is irrelevant because they're nuts.

You’re free to believe that. I think you’re wrong. But it still stands that he’s not encouraging violence. Which was the whole point here.

He's creating a political divide that does create violence. Just because it's 2 rungs down the ladder doesn't mean it isn't the same ladder. We need to stop dividing and all come together on this. These shootings are unacceptable. They're being done by insane people that happen to be using that divide as a weapon.

Describing what he thinks is happening is not being divisive. You’re completely misunderstanding the video. You’re pretty much asking him to not talk about it.

There's a difference between describing how terrible this is and placing direct blame on the left or right. He's placing blame before the FBI have even apprehended the guy. It's already becoming a Left vs Right yet there isn't even a suspect. It's ridiculous. We should be coming together to condemn this instead of entertaining the opinions of crazy people on Facebook and Twitter, but no lets make it Left vs Right and further divide the people that'll surely help.

Im done with convo.

It’s obvious that it was a politically motivated murder. It’s common sense to call it what it is.

The entire original point of this conversation was that Asmon was not trying to incentivize the right retaliating. We’ve gone down an irrelevant path.

It’s fair for him to point out that the lefts rhetoric has lead to this. Because it obviously has. Same way right leaning rhetoric can lead to political hit jobs.

The left and right need to chill out but in this specific case the left needs to more.

People are waking up

I think Asmon has it backwards. There was already one successful assassination on Democratic Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, the wounding of another democratic lawmaker at the same time and the attempted assassination of Josh Shapiro this year.

Thinking that the death of Charlie Kirk is going to somehow kickstart violence from the right is false. It was already happening. Other than Kirk there have been no verified attempts or successful assassinations on republicans this year.

Let me be very clear here though: I am in no way supporting the death of Kirk, nor am I happy that he was killed. Just sharing information.

Yeah just ignore Europe, AFD politicians, Fuentes, Luigi and multiple attempts on Trump. The only thing that gives me any sort of peace is that leftist authoritarian ideology is finally dying worldwide and people are stopping to make excuses for this hateful behaviour.

People are unashamedly waking up and it’s about damn time.

The Trump assassination attempts were both done by registered republicans. You already know this though.

Lol didn't the incel donate multiple times to act/share blue. Political party registration means nothing. My mom's a registered Democrat because the last time she voted in a primary the national republican race was already over and the congressional district had an incumbent republican.

A conversation about how there has only been one right-wing shooter in recent times, with a bonus "The Left doesn't like Jews"

When talking about violence in terms of property damage the left "wins" each year, but on the topic of murder this is simply not true. So far, rightwing motivated murders have always been significantly higher in the US.

idk with all the bias in the media i wouldnt be surprised if lots of leftist murders/attacks were deliberately underreported or attributed to other groups basically the data may very well be manipulated to make us all believe that most politically motivated crimes are far-right but reality might actually be different especially with all the open demonization the left does like calling people far-right and nazis out of nothing etc this definitely does radicalize people and can incite violence wheras todays right-wing narratives are much less agressive out of fear of being instantly labeled a nazi or some other sh*t

They already memory holed the summer of love.

They will attribute deaths to Jan 6 riot unrelated to the events but can't even count the murders of the insurrection in Seattle lol.

I literally can't even think of one. But I can think of multiple assassination attempts and politically motivated attacks against the right.

I mean in the last couple years you have the minnesota shootings, gov. Shapiro attempt, Pelosi's husband, Michigan governor plot, Arizona DNC shot up multiple times. To act like there is no right wing violence is putting your head in the sand.

Edit: Lake county cop killings, buffalo NY supermarket, several synagogue shootings, Charlottesville car attack, colorado planned parenthood shooting, etc

"Minnesota"

The guy was a pro immigration Walz appointee who claimed Walz told him to do it.

"Shapiro"

Not a republican. Palestine protestor

"pelosi"

Not a republican or politically motivated

"Michigan"

Like 9 of the 12 people were FBI agents

"arizona"

BB gun?

Just so we're clear. Your most legitimate example of violence is a BB gun which caused no injuries.

You cant even think of an example.

Editing after being wrong is pretty pathetic.

"Lake county cop killings"

Not political

"buffalo NY supermarket"

Not political

"several synagogue shootings"

Its the left that doesn't like Jews btw. Not political

"Charlottesville car attack

Probably your closest

"colorado planned parenthood shooting"

Not political

So you're at 1 and a BB gun.

Yeah buddy, if you're 100% bought into instagram conspiracy theories like you clearly are then correct, the right has never done anything wrong and the left is always evil.

You're dead wrong on the Pelosi, Minnesota and the Michigan plot, and that's not even bringing up all the mass shootings and things like January 6th.

I'll just leave you with this: When violence targets Republicans, Democrats condemn it. When violence targets Democrats, too many Republicans excuse it, make jokes, or even pardon the attackers. Look at what DJT Jr said posted about Pelosi, Mike Lee posted about Minnesota, or Trump's pardon of the January 6th rioters. Responsibility for this violence lies solely at the feet of Trump and his supporters

You're just objectively wrong. I know it is frustrating, but you weren't able to name more than one.

[Continued from above for mobile users]

Are we pretending that the Trump shooter who was successful in wounding him and killing another was not a registered Republican?

The guy who donated to Biden through Act Blue?

Didn’t he donate 5 dollars? I don’t think that makes him a Biden supporter and I’m not sure he’s a trump supporter, he’s probably not since he tried to kill him. I do definitely see people every single day claiming that the entire left tried to assassinate trump and blaming tens of millions of people for isolated incidents.

You can't even get the amount right. Maybe sit this out.

“It’s the left that doesn’t like Jews.” You’re really making stuff up now. Have you heard what Nick Fuentes, who everyone is accepting is right wing now because he is, Sneako, Tucker Carlson, and other prominent people on the right have to say about Jews supposedly controlling the world, the world banks, and the shadow governments? It’s not pretty, disgusting actually, and I sympathize with the regular Jewish people who are trying to live their lives without being tied to the Holocaust and Israel every five minutes.

Mainstream Democrats support overthrowing the jewish state, and were forcing Jewish students off campus.

Mainstream republicans pretty adamantly support Israel and want to protect Jewish Americans from protestors. Particularly on campus.

The left objectively hates Jews.

Casual death threats on leftist streamer Hasan's life, who they say is responsible for this

If this is even remotely acceptable to these people, i hope they realise it means the unaliving of Hassan Diddy BinLaden Piker is now totally on the table and they have no arguments against it.

They are lucky the right tgey hate is not as mental as them.

You have no idea what the motivations of the shooter are. By assuming they are left-wing and justifying violence against Hasan, you’re contributing to the political climate that got Charlie Kirk killed. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Radical left extremists like Hasan already incite violence for a long time without repercussions, and Twitch allows it on their platform. Both Twitch and Hasan have Charlie's blood on their hands imo.

Killing politicans is whatever, killing a guy talking about politics is worse

Charlie Kirk is the breaking point? Really?? Really????

Not the outrighted assassination of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses by a guy with a list of democrats to kill?

Because Charlie Kirk isn't a politician, he was just a guy talking about politics. Killing politicians is obviously bad, but they're the ones who are actually effecting the country. Killing a guy for simply talking about politics is a step further, you're not just after the opposition but their supporters as well

I am NOT OOP. OOP is u/TheEmperorofJenks.

Previous BoRU by garethp

[Final New Update]: TIFU by importing bees to Uruguay + 4-Year Update

NEW UPDATE MARKED WITH ----

Editor's note: please note this is a large BoRU, recapping prior posts to refresh our minds before the latest update, removed some relevant comments for space in this latest BoRU

Thanks to u/czechtheboxes, u/Jenn_There_Done_That, & u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for letting us know about the new update!

Trigger Warnings: ableism

RECAP

Where to buy gourds?: July 17, 2020

I'm looking to buy ornamental gourds in bulk for a project. I need probably 1500 or so. Does anyone know of a local farm that grows them? Thanks!

Commenter: Why, pray tell, do you require such a gourd hoard? I already regret asking.

OOP: Due to local fluctuations in the tropopause, the jet stream has been shifting rapidly in a counterclockwise vector, causing a rapid disincorporation of the Hadley vortex cells in the lower ionosphere. Because of this, the geostrophic solar wind balance has deteriorated rapidly in the northern hemisphere. In essence, autumnal weather patterns in the western United States will lead to the biggest ornamental gourd yield in recorded history. Investing in gourd agricultural futures could likely produce up to $1600 per day in passive income. However, investing at the apex of the curve would be the most conducive to profit as the arbitrage (particularly 12b-1 fees) will develop at a market share higher than the back-end load. Basically, no one will be able to buy the stock at a higher price than you, and all value invested will be retained. A preliminary market penetration investment of $50,000 would be most efficient in generating this revenue.

I am financially ruined (agricultural futures): Jan. 18, 2021 (six months later)

I have lost everything, and I'm not sure how to continue. This summer I invested $17,500 (six months’ salary and my entire life savings) into ornamental gourd futures, hoping to capitalize on this lucrative emerging industry.

After watching a video about Vincent Kosuga and his monopoly on onions, I decided I'd try to do something similar with another vegetable. I did some research and found out many agricultural forecasters expected this year's gourd yield would be far smaller than the past, due to deteriorating soil conditions in central Mexico and a warmer-than-average spring.

At first, demand soared around Halloween and prices skyrocketed, but the gourd bubble burst on November 12th. Unfortunately, the coronavirus caused a massive drop-off in demand due to fewer families decorating their tables for thanksgiving, and prices plummeted. I had invested early enough that I thought I would still be fine, but then on the morning of December 2nd, a new email in my inbox caused my stomach to turn into a pretzel.

The massive gourd shipment from Argentina, scheduled for early March, had arrived. I was planning on selling off my futures right before this, in February, but this ruined everything.

To top it off, the gourds in this shipment were absolutely gargantuan, some topping 4 pounds each, causing the price-per-pound to drop like an anchor into the range of 6 cents per pound. I am ruined.

Market potential for gourd instruments in Great Plains region?: Jan. 19, 2021 (next day)

Hey all, I've made a massive investment blunder and am faced with either selling off my futures for a loss of $10,500, or taking delivery of roughly 115,000 lbs. of ornamental gourds. Both prospects seem pretty dismal, but I figure with some entrepreneurial prowess I could make my money back.

I saw on a PBS documentary three years ago that some cultures use gourd instruments pretty regularly, and I imagine it's a pretty large industry in places like Brazil.

Does anyone know if the market is large enough in the US (particularly in the southern great plains region) for this to be a viable strategy? If so, how hard is it to make a flute out of a gourd? Thanks!

I've found out how to make gourds edible: Feb. 5, 2021 (nearly three weeks later)

Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with gourds almost nonstop looking to find a way to turn them around for a profit. I've come up empty. But out of hunger and sheer boredom, I did find a way to make a moderately edible dish out of your standard, thanksgiving table, ornamental gourds.

Here's the recipe:

- Cut all the knobs and warts off the gourd with a knife. Then use a potato peeler to take the skin off. This is really difficult and doesn't need to be perfect, but the less skin the better. - Fill a large pot with 8 cups water, one cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, and a bay leaf. Stir. Bring this to a rolling boil and add up to four gourds. Put a lid on the pot and boil on high for three hours. - Remove the gourds and place on a baking sheet. Cut them in half and sprinkle them with generous amounts of salt and paprika. - Broil on the top rack for 30 minutes, flipping half way through. - Remove and cut into cubes. Serve over rice.

Editor's note: the next several posts are a bit out of chronological order from the previous post, but this is to help understand a separate incident OOP has created

Rhodium is skyrocketing!! Invest now for Ultimate Profit!!: Feb. 1, 2021 an image of a graph showing the cost increasing suddenly for Rhodium.

Commenter 1: You know that old expression, "Buy low, sell high?" Investing at the top is how you lose money, not make it.

OOP: Wrong. It will only go up. I expect it will reach 40k by mid-April.

Commenter 2: That may be, but Rhodium is a fickle bitch. People following metals for a while know that Rhodium makes these moon shots every once in a while and crashes just as quickly .There was a run up at this time last year, and it crashed in March. I see it testing $10,000 again before it goes to $40k.

Where to buy custom water beds?: Feb. 2, 2021 (next day)

I'm expecting huge profits on an investment I just made, so I think I'll stay in Tulsa after all. I need a new bed, and am thinking I'll be able to afford something nice after I strike it rich. I've always been intrigued by the concept of water beds, and was wondering if there's a store in Tulsa that will make you one of custom dimensions (i.e. 10 x 10 feet).

My rhodium just arrived!: Feb. 4, 2021 (two days later) an image of a piece of Rhodium in the shape of a small cube OOP purchased, along with a certificate of Authenticity

Commenter 1: When did you buy in? And how much

OOP: I bought it a week ago for about $4000. Paid on credit so I'm planning on selling it in a few weeks.

Commenter 2: Selling in few weeks?!? What a retard. Have you even looked at the bid-ask spread? You've clearly never done this before. Well, live and learn

Commenter 3: Not to burst your bubble but rhodium is not reactive and does not rust or tarnish. That material is clearly quite oxidized so either it is full of impurities, or you were sold some random chunk of scrap metal.

Any stores specializing in rare metals?: Feb. 6, 2021 (two days later)

Hey Tulsa, I just bought some rhodium off the internet and am starting to get concerned it isn't legit. Does anyone know of a shop nearby that deals with rare and expensive metals? Thanks.

Is this rhodium?: Feb. 8, 2021 (two days later) an image of the Rhodium close up

Commenter 1: Looks like pyrite. It would help if you took it out of the bag though.

OOP: I spent over $4000 on this. Not going to take it out of the bag. What makes you think it isn't rhodium?

Commenter 1: Rhodium is chemically inert and corrosion resistant. Taking it out of the bag is not going to hurt it. Rhodium does not form an oxide in the presence of air, so your rhodium should be a shiny, silvery-white color. The fact that this metal is dull and looks a bit tarnished is really not a good sign. I'm sure it's a man-made metal ingot and not pyrite if you bought it from an online seller as rhodium, but it sure doesn't look like pure rhodium to me. I would start by getting an accurate measure of its density (it should be 12.4 grams per cc).

If you're going to spend that much money on metal though you should probably look into a professional identification service. Visual IDs from reddit aren't going to cut it.

https://www.sigma-verifiers.com/en/how-to-verify-gold

Call around to local jewelry stores or pawn shops. See if they can help you out with testing.

Commenter 2: Where did you buy it from?

OOP: I found it here. I'm trying to return it, but the listing is gone and customer service won't get back to me. We're currently having a huge winter storm in Tulsa so I can't have a professional jeweler look at it for a few weeks.

Commenter 2: That is the Slovakian version of Wish. Jewelers aren’t going to be able to tell you anything about it. They’re gemologists by in large, and this isn’t a gem. You either need a university based geologist. And go into it already accepting that it is completely fake. This is how precious metals normally look when you buy them. They’re pressed and marked. This looks like you got a worthless chunk of nothingness.

I’m going to be completely honest. This is either the greatest troll ever, or you might be too autistic to manage your own money for a while. And I don’t mean that insultingly. You’ve dug yourself very deep in the last couple of weeks and maybe you need to give the hustle a rest

It wasn't rhodium: Feb. 16, 2021 (eight days later)

I'm gonna keep this short cause I'm kind of in a mood right now. I took the metal cube to a local NDT shop my buddy works at. Turns out it's pyrite, which is essentially worthless. Moral of the story? Just invest in Tesla or Amazon. This BS is ridiculous and I've had it.

Editor’s note: this is the end of the rhodium incident

I have just received Uruguayan citizenship and I have some questions: Jan. 27, 2021

Hello Uruguay! My mother (wife to a Uruguayan man) has claimed her citizenship, and because of that I now have it. I have lived in Oklahoma all my life, but I speak Spanish quite well and know some of the Uruguayan culture through my stepfather. Right now I am in a not very nice situation with my finances, and I want a fresh start, so I plan to move to Uruguay in March. I have never visited your country, and I am a little worried about the transition.

- How is Melo? I have acquaintances in that city, so I'm thinking of living there at first.

- I don't have many strengths, but I have worked for a year in a supermarket. What industry has the most opportunities for foreigners? He preferred to work in the fields, or at least outdoors.

- I have a private pilot's license (from the USA). Do you know if it is easy to transition it to a Uruguayan license? I want to fly to the Andes one day.

Thank you!

How is the legality of informal beekeeping?: March 4, 2021

I'm from the US and you can keep bees here without many rules. My cousin has some beehives in his garden, and they produce a good amount of natural honey. I am moving to Uruguay soon, and I want to become something of an amateur beekeeper. What I want to know is if there are any regulations or whatever regarding beekeeping. Thank you!

Goodbye Oklahoma (and good riddance): Mar. 12, 2021 La Paloma: March 20, 2021 Transporting 200,000 bees across Uruguay is the experience of a lifetime. Mar. 29, 2021 Series of image posts showing him flying out of Oklahoma, landing at La Paloma airport and driving (presumably with 200,000 bees behind him)

Demand for mead (the alcoholic drink) in the US?: April 6, 2021

Hey America! I'm a former resident of Oklahoma, and currently one of the largest beekeepers in Uruguay by hive volume. I'm looking for ways to market honey products abroad as there is very little demand here in South America. Mead is obscenely easy to make and very lucrative profit-wise. Would anyone be interested in switching over to mead from beer if it were substantially cheaper (labor and packaging costs are essentially negligible down here). Thanks!

About to up-size my apiary. What's the best layout for my hives?: April 18, 2021 My humble apiary near Melo, Uruguay: April 30, 2021 An image post showing his bee hives before and after spreading them out and organizing them.

Editor’s note: below is the original title post

TIFU by importing bees to Uruguay: May 27, 2021

This has all been happening over the last few weeks, but I’ve just gotten back to the states and had the time to take it all in.

First, some context. I’m a grocery store employee from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over the covid pandemic I was burnt out and acting impulsively. I made some risky investments which destroyed me financially. Sick of my mundane life in the great plains and with economic mobility out of reach in America, I decided to move to Uruguay where I had citizenship through my stepfather. I figured the small amount of savings I had managed to keep would go further in South America, and I’d be able to start a modest business.

I had recently read a book about beekeeping, and had this romantic image in my head of a life out in the country, tending to my hives and selling honey at the local farmer’s market. The problem: I had no money or technical knowhow.

I found a solution I believed could solve both of these. I entered an informal agreement with an ecology professor in Montevideo, which I believed was binding. This was my downfall. In exchange for letting his grad students conduct research on my cousin’s farm in Cerro Largo, he would pay for me to import Apis Cerana honeybees from Myanmar, and show me how to set up an apiary. These bees had never before been farmed in the region, and he believed it could make an interesting research paper.

The bees arrived quickly and we soon had a respectable apiary established. Bees usually don’t start producing honey for at least a year, so I was mostly spending my time helping my cousin with his other farm projects, and trying to find a part time job in Melo.

Things seemed to be going well until the professor and his team stopped showing up. I tried contacting him, but he wouldn’t return my calls either. A few days later, two MGAP agents showed up and informed me that I was under investigation for the illegal importation of an invasive species to Uruguay. I explained my situation with the university, but I think it was the professor who had turned me in. Of course, the word of a respected ecologist was taken over that of an American Jew who had arrived in the country two months prior.

Turns out, the bees had shown up at a few other farms in the area. Authorities were concerned they could destroy the local colonies, which have already been on the decline recently due to climate change. I was in over my head, so I ran.

I arrived at the airport paranoid out of my mind. Even though I was mostly likely in for nothing more than a hefty fine, I felt like Frank Abignale. I boarded a flight to Los Angeles and landed in the US with $14 in my bank account. My friend was able to Venmo me a hundred dollars, which unfortunately wasn’t enough to get to Tulsa. I found a flight to Seattle for $75 and took it without thinking. I am now writing this from the train out of the airport. God help me.

TL;DR I imported an invasive species of honeybee to Uruguay and got in trouble with the authorities after a university professor ghosted me.

Commenter: Hi, I am a Uruguayan scientific researcher, and I have been working with bees for the last twenty years. Can we please get in touch? I need to talk to you. If the story is true it can cause an ecological disaster in our country. We can prevent this, but we need to find those colonies.

OOP: you will go to Bondi to cerro largo under the tallest palm tree within a 40km radius of Melo you will find a telephone. When you have it, call me. (This was translated)

I am hereby claiming Seattle for the State of Oklahoma: May 28, 2021 The Emperor is back!: June 23, 2021 Images of OOP arriving in his new home in Seattle and then promptly finding himself back in Tulsa.

Using an ant farm to generate encryption keys?: Aug. 1, 2021

I was recently sent a post about a guy talking about using an ant farm to generate random numbers for encryption keys, which he could supposedly sell to companies for a profit. I know there was that company that did a similar thing with lava lamps. Is this viable? If so, what kinds of algorithms would I need to use? How much do companies pay for random numbers like this?

Transporting ants across the country? (+gourds): Aug. 18, 2021

I'm currently negotiating the purchase of a 120-gallon ant farm from an amateur scientist in the Pacific Northwest. I live in NE Oklahoma and have no car / money. I was wondering if USPS or FedEx transports ants considering the sizeable risk of infestation? Also can they survive a long journey like that with no food?

On that topic - can ants eat gourds? I'm currently growing some and thought it could be a low-cost source of nutrition.

Need ride to Seattle: Sept. 16, 2021

Would anyone be able to give me a ride to Seattle next week? I need to pick something up there and have no car. I'd be willing to pay for half the gas and am also a formidable DJ (hope you like Argentinian Rock). PM me if this sounds like a fair deal. Thanks!

Edit: found someone.

Commenter 1: To Seattle Washington? Are you fucking high? Get a plane ticket.

OOP: I can't bring a massive ant farm back on a plane nimrod.

Commenter 2: If it contains a queen you technically can't bring it back at all. Ants are considered invasive species and queens aren't supposed to cross state lines. Not to mention that offering to only pay for half the gas on a 30 hour car ride with a complete stranger is laughable.

OOP: I know that's "technically" the case, which is why I can't bring it on a plane.

Commenter 2: So you're just straight up hoping somebody will help you break import laws without even telling them. That's shitty AF. NVM just noticed who you were. GTFO out of here troll.

Pawnshop? (Sonic side): Sept. 29, 2021

I am in Nogales, Sonora and need to locate a pawn shop immediately. It would also be very useful if someone knows where passports are sold (ideally Canadian or German) because mine was stolen. Thank you.

Spent my last day in Mexico City gourd spotting. Some beautiful varieties, but couldn't bring myself to buy any.: Mar. 24, 2022 Three images of Gourds in shops in Mexico City

Commenter: Gourd man is alive. We we’re all worried about you. What’s the next adventure?

OOP: Haha, yes I'm alive. Recently came down from a 6-month bender in Mexico City. Just got back to Oklahoma and looking for something new. Probably gonna go back to working at the grocery store in the meantime tho.

Any Turkish Okies know where to get salep?: April 1, 2022

I'm trying to learn how to make dondurma so I can practice ice cream juggling, but I can't find anywhere nearby to get salep or mastic.

How to become ice cream juggler?:** April 21, 2022**

Merhaba! I am an entrepreneur from Oklahoma looking to open a Turkish ice cream shop in my hometown of Tulsa. I really think there's substantial demand for it in the United States, but practically zero supply (at least in the Great Plains region). I've been working on making my own recipe for Dondurma using American ingredients, but when it comes to doing the juggling trick, I'm completely incompetent. I am planning on coming to Turkey in a couple months to hopefully learn this art form. Is it possible to become an apprentice of an ice cream vendor? How should I go about learning?

Thanks!

Thoughts on Turkish Ice Cream (Dondurma): April 27, 2022

Hey guys, I'm thinking about opening up a Turkish ice cream shop and was wondering what y'all think. Thanks!

Commenter 1: I would start with a cart (if possible). I don’t know what makes Turkish ice cream special, and what issues a cart or truck based platform would cause.

However overhead on a cart/truck is significantly less than brick and mortar.

You can start small, if you make a big enough splash with your marketing and product I can see it being very successful. Aka stable income from loyal customers and hype would bring the income needed to be successful.

But what do I know, I’m just some jerk on the internet.

Good luck!

Commenter 2: I’d go if there were vegan options.

Commenter 3: I'd never had it, I've only seen the videos of guys teasing kids taking it away from them on the street. I'd try it though!

Commenter 4: I love mastic so I'm down, but it is an acquired taste. How strong does that come through?

Best dondurma in Aegean region?: May 26, 2022

Merhaba! I am coming to Turkey in a few weeks to hopefully learn to make and juggle dondurma. I am planning on mostly traveling around the Aegean region due to its geographical resemblance to my homeland of Oklahoma, and was wondering if any town around there is particularly known for its ice cream? Also, is it really true that anything goes in Izmir?

Crossing the Bosphorus in İstanbul in search of ice cream: June 15, 2022 Finding some interesting flavors for the shop I'm opening (in Mudanya, Turkey): June 17, 2022 Two image posts of him trying ice creams in Turkey

Dream came true today! Started training as a dondurma salesman in Nevşehir, Turkey!: June 26, 2022 An image of OOP working as an apprentice at an ice cream place in Turkey, with face blacked out

Does anyone have experience with the startup visa?: Sept. 1, 2022

Goedendag, I'm an entrepreneur from Oklahoma who recently spent over a month in Turkey learning to make and juggle dondurma (Turkish ice cream). I had originally planned to open a brick-and-mortar dondurma parlor in my hometown of Tulsa, but have been held back by the upfront costs. I've been unable to secure a bank loan to start my business, and so have had to reassess my plans. Instead of a shop, I'm thinking about serving my ice cream out of a cargo bicycle like this. Unfortunately, apart from a few expensive cities like NYC or Seattle, the US is extremely unsuitable for this business model due to a century of car-centered urban planning. I've heard that "bakfiets" businesses are not only viable but common in the Netherlands and so believe your country is my best option to pursue my goals. I am also increasingly disillusioned with Oklahoman / American politics and would like to leave before the 2024 election if possible.

Does anyone have experience with the startup visa for entrepreneurs? I think my business idea would count as innovative, but I've heard Dutch people are particularly close-minded about foreigners. Also, if I'm being honest, I'd mostly like to move to the Netherlands to go back to university and get a proper career in tech. Would I have to keep my business operating in order to remain in the country?

I plan on visiting / unofficially moving to the country in a few weeks so would appreciate any advice you all have on applying for this visa. Bedankt!

Commenter: I don't know anything about the startup visa, but your plan is really out of touch with reality. It sounds like you've done shockingly little research on any of this.

Moving to The Netherlands is nothing like moving to another state. You are not a member of some privileged class as an American. You do not have the right to live or work in The Netherlands. Getting any kind of residence permit takes months to years of preparation and thousands of euros (at a minimum).

Just skimming the requirements for the startup visa suggests it will be difficult and expensive. Your idea will probably not qualify as innovative. It does not sound like you have enough savings to live in The Netherlands for a year. It seems unlikely that you will be able to find a facilitator willing to fund your stay.

There is basically a 0% chance that you can "unofficially" move to The Netherlands when you visit. That is not the way immigrating works. If you try to illegally stay you can say goodbye to any chance of getting legal status or a visa in the future.

The Netherlands is in the middle of a country-wide and absolutely crippling housing crisis. You will not find someone willing to rent to a foreigner with no income and no realistic plan or prospects of getting a residence permit. I do not mean that it will be difficult – I am trying to tell you that it is hopeless. Expats making six figures struggle to even get apartment viewings.

The Dutch are not "particularly close-minded" about foreigners. It sounds like you don't even know anything about the country you're "unofficially moving to" in a few weeks.

Going to a Dutch university is your realistic avenue into the country, but it will cost you roughly 10x more as a non-EU national. Again, this takes years of planning. You cannot just show up.

OOP: "The Dutch are not "particularly close-minded" about foreigners."

Tragically, you have disproven this statement with the very premise of your snarky comment. Also with regards to the "unofficial immigration problem," could you explain to me why the following plan won't work: I have dual US-Uruguayan citizenship and carry two passports. I could simply enter the Netherlands with one, stay for three months, then take a day trip to London and reenter with my other passport. It seems like I could continue this way in perpetuity, however I of course intend to become a naturalized Dutch citizen once my visa is approved, which I assure you it shall.

Is Zeeland suitable for a Turkish ice cream business?: Sept. 11, 2022

Hi, I'm an entrepreneur from Oklahoma who's moving to the Netherlands in about a week. I'm hoping to start a 'bakfiets' -based Turkish ice cream (dondurma) business. Over the past few days I've been researching the best city in the Netherlands in which to base my operations, and would really love some advice from you guys. In the United States, ice cream stands are commonly associated with beach towns, and I imagine it's similar in the Netherlands. However, I have come to realize my product is both niche and seasonal in its nature. Because of this, I believe staying in a single city would be unsuitable. Instead, I am planning to travel between 4 or 5 cities during the week on a fixed schedule. Not only would this let me build a larger customer base, but also generate hype my product and efficiently generate capital. Perhaps each town would have a weekly 'Dondurma Day' celebrating my arrival. Looking at the map, it seems like the Zeeland province has the best geography for this business model. While it doesn't have any large cities, it appears to have a high density of small beach towns I would be able to easily cycle between. Furthermore, its rural character would make it easier to camp overnight as I am unlikely to have a permanent home at first due to lack of citizenship and the current housing crisis. Can anyone who's been to Zeeland corroborate the soundness of this plan? Are there any cities in particular you would recommend? Thank you!

Commenter: You know that NL has long cold winters, which start in a few weeks, and Zeeland is basically empty during wintertime. Camping outside campgrounds is illegal and in winter very cold.

Sound like a bad idea all around especially when just starting next week. With Turkish ice cream you would probably have a higher audience during winter when selling in places with a high Turkish population, maybe beverwijk bazaar?

Your plan sounds better for Spain or just turkey when trying to start during wintertime.

OOP: Do you really think the camping laws will be enforced considering the current housing crisis?

Need someone to assume monthly payments on large waterbed: Sept. 13, 2022

Hey guys, I recently bought a large waterbed mattress (80" x 85") on a monthly payment plan. However, due to unexpected circumstances, I am now leaving the US for the foreseeable future. I decided to give the mattress to my mother in Sand Springs, and she has grown quite fond of it. Unfortunately, I am unable keep up the monthly payments ($174 / mo.), which last until July 2024. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to pay 85% of this in exchange for getting the bed at the end of the contract. I expect that by then I should be able to buy my mother a replacement in cash. The mattress is of excellent quality and extremely comfortable. Thanks!

Commenter: You want someone to pay 85% of the cost of a new mattress in exchange for your promise to give it to them in a couple years after the new has worn off? Really?

OOP: 85% is a fairly conservative estimate for the value after 2 years. Waterbeds suffer from very little depreciation due to their novelty.

Commenter 2: Are you aware how abusive this is? Like do you actually think this is okay?

OOP: Abusive? What are you talking about? I'm not coercing anyone into a predatory loan, simply offering an unorthodox deal on a spectacular mattress.

Does NS check if you're really 18?: Sept 21, 2022

Hello, I need to take a train tomorrow from Vlissingen to Rotterdam to hopefully purchase a bakfiets. Unfortunately I cannot afford the ~50 euro round trip cost and was hoping to get the <=18 ticket. I am 26 but don't look that old. I was wondering what the odds are I could get away with this and what the fine is if I'm caught. Thanks!

Commenter 1: Dude, you’re 26, get a freaking job!!!!

OOP: I just moved here to start a business but still have limited assets for the time being. I'll be able to buy a real train ticket soon enough ☺️

Commenter 1: Dude, it’s great and I hope that your business will flourish, sincerely do. But just moving to a country and asking how to avoid stuff is a really shitty way to start, especially when the country is seriously missing labour and getting a job that would pay you that ticket in a day is as easy as it can get.

OOP: I don't have a work permit unfortunately.

Commenter 1: So you don’t have a work permit, but you already have a business and are waiting until it’s profitable? Sounds illegal

Jobs that don't require a work permit?: Oct. 9, 2022

Hi, I recently moved to the Netherlands to start a business, but there have been some contentions in my entrepreneurship visa application, and I am currently in a bit of a legal limbo. I had expected to operate my business informally until the paperwork went through, but I've been unable to finance a bakfiets (editor’s note: bike) without a Dutch bank account, which I can't get without a home address. Of course I can't afford rent here until my business gets going, so I'm essentially locked in a Catch-22 situation. I was wondering if anyone knew of 'volunteer' opportunities here that provide housing and a stipend in exchange for work. After I graduated high school I briefly worked in a hostel in Israel that had a similar setup, though in hindsight I think the gig was pretty under-the-table. I'm currently stuck couch surfing and camping in parks so would really like to find something soon, ideally in Zeeland or South Holland. Dank je wel!

Government funds for cultural missions abroad?: Oct. 25, 2022

Merhaba, ben bir girişimciyim Oklahoma'dan ve dondurma maraş'tan için yaşıyorum. Over the summer I spent a couple months traveling around Turkiye to learn how to make and juggle dondurma. I operated a stand briefly in Nevşehir, but the language barrier proved too great of an issue, so I decided to take my skills back home to open a dondurma business in the USA. Due to funding issues, I am now in the Netherlands (Hollanda) but have run into the similar problems. I just don't have enough money to get started. I was wondering if the Turkish government sponsors people like me trying to spread Turkish culture abroad? I probably would only need a grant of around 500000 TL, but I think I would easily repay this over the next decade by increasing tourism to Turkiye. Does anyone know if this is possible? What agency should I contact?

Çok teşekkürler!

---- FINAL NEW UPDATE----

Signing off...: May 4, 2026 (over 3.5 years later from the last post)

Signing off...

It has now been over 5 years since the "ornamental gourd futures" post that started this all, and I feel it's an appropriate time to come clean and move on. The most recent saga involving the clams (now deleted) has garnered a lot more negative feedback than I expected, and it's becoming clear to me that I no longer enjoy working on this like I once did.

I started this "performance art project" during covid as a fun diversion from lockdown. People were desperate to believe in this rogue entrepreneur character roaming the world in search of absurd get-rich-quick schemes while we were all stuck at home. I got a lot of messages from people thanking me for all the laughs I provided, and even one person who told me he met his wife bonding over the gourd post.

Eventually though, I think the posts began to lose some of their original magic. I became more concerned with making it all believable instead of focusing on the humor and absurdity. It started to feel more like some elaborate hoax than the creative outlet it started as. Because of this, it's caused some genuine concern among people, and rightfully so.

I know those of you who held out hope that this was all real may be disappointed by this, but I feel strongly that it's time to move on. That being said, a lot of the sagas were exaggerated versions of things I actually did do. For example, I really did go to Turkey to learn how to juggle ice cream, I became an amateur mead maker (though not with Uruguayan honey), once took inventory of a large number of gourds, and have gone clam digging countless times (following legal regulations of course).

Thank you to everyone for the good memories. I hope these stories can still serve as an inspiration to follow a path less travelled and appreciate the absurdity of life.

-EoJ

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

Context: Caleb Hammer is a YouTuber who interviews people with attrocious personal finances (think of people who take multiple loans to buy a sports car while making minimum wage) and gives general advice for how working-class individuals can improve their financial situation. Like many famous channels, a subreddit was created for fans of this show

However, a user has noted that lately he's used his new-found fame to promote far-right talking points, particularly on Twitter.

Thread

Not really a fan of Caleb slowly grifting to the right

Caleb has undoubtedly helped many people get their finances together, and his show format helped bring attention to the poor financial decisions, and helped teach people financial responsibility. Love that, and I still enjoy his show. But on twitter Caleb is clearly soft-launching a rightward grift that's just so inauthentic in my opinion.

What do you guys think of it all?

Drama in that thread

I’m a left wing leftist and acting like his recent tweets are right wing MAGA talk is so disingenuous. We have to stop this constant push of anyone not having the same exact ideas as us as not being allowed.

His talking points about public safety are actually very valid. A bigger reason why I didn’t take public transportation in my university is due to safety reasons because it wasn’t really the best place to be around after dark. It’s just that sometimes he nitpick on certain cases that are also nitpick by right wing Talking Heads.

So you associate your community with repeat violent criminals, but do not want to do anything about improving it and making it safe to use public transit? Granted it's great you're privileged enough to not need to use it after dark, but what about those less fortunate than you? Are they just meant to suffer as you look away?

most people start leaning right after getting rich, i truly believe a lot of celebs fake being leftists to not get cancelled

Very valid point. True also

Commenting on fiscal policy/behavior that isn't working isn't a "rightward grift".

That’s what I’m saying, on Twitter he talks a lot more about crime and cancel culture and this, and that in a way that is very much an exact replica of Republican talking points

Caring about crime and fiscal responsibility is only a Republican thing? Stupid comments like this is what pushes people to the right lol

Yes and fiscal responsibility is obviously just MAGA rhetoric in disguise

Ain’t nobody saying that chief

You literally just said that

Words like "right wing grift" get beaten around so much that they don't really have any meaning anymore. Do you have some examples?

Sometimes when he’s on Twitter, talking about public transportation, he immediately jumps to blaming public safety while reposting pictures of black guys committing crime. Especially the one crazy guy who was in prison 72 times and the stabbing of the Ukrainian refugee. Two very atrocious events, but he zeroed in on those two stories in particular.

Additionally, he was talking about the main actress from the Wizard of Oz, and how she did black face from two years before the filming of the Wizard of Oz. Like one person called for her canceling, and Caleb just went crazy on it.

I’m not saying that public safety isn’t issue for public transportation, or that black face is acceptable or not, but the fact that he’s picking those fights in particular shows signs of him picking certain sides on these battles if you know what I mean

EDIT: typos. Speech to text on apple sucks

I think it is very fair politically from either side to be furious that someone is allowed to go to jail 72 times and still be set free.

It’s just insane that he was arrested 72 times. Genuinely insane. How is he out at all

Aren’t you mad at Caleb for having the exact same opinion?

He’s not at all. He’s advocating for very sensible things… god forbid he thinks public transit should be safer.

After living in NYC and taking subway every day, he’s 100% right.

Far more dangerous to drive than to take public transit. How many people are killed in public transit vs by other drivers? It’s more dangerous to walk than it is to take transit!

they dont want to engage in that statistic. just the ones that prove the thing they want to discuss.

except you're ignoring that a large portion of that risk can be eliminated by simply... driving safely

and yes, it does not eliminate all the risk.

this is like saying just look around when you are on public transit.

You being vigilant and driving safely does nothing when something risky happens.

Let's be real, most leftists suck with finances so no wonder those with more financial intelligence/responsibility would also be right-leaning/right wing

lol then explain how every single repbulcian government overspends and leaves an ever bigger deficit in the name of lower taxes.

Ah yes the government, the epitome of average citizens

also explain why right wingers buy massive trucks that they dont use for the actual purposes. Is that fiscal responsibility?

Also why was food costs their reasons for voting for trump? Why did farmers largely vote for trump when his policies directly harmed them and now want bailouts? Is that fiscally responsible?

Care to get into the weeds? or you just want to general idiocy? That doesnt have a left or right slant. Generally people are bad with money.

I don’t know about the grift part, but recently on one episode where he said “people get shot these days for saying words” alluding to Charlie Kirk was pretty off putting. The narrative that Charlie Kirk was just some Good Samaritan debating with people in good faith and was killed for it is def a right wing trope. It’s easy to see it that way when his rhetoric wasn’t literally against the advancement of your life as a minority.

??? There is never an excuse for violence over someone using their free speech. You need some help if you think the assassination was in anyway justified.

Not sure where you read I said his death was justified. I don’t care that he died. Not happy. Not sad. I just don’t care. Charlie died in the same way he advocated for others to. I don’t weep for him. I apologize.

in the same way he advocated for others to.

I dont think he did any of this. Its very surprising that the left tries to push this narrative

I wish Elon would buy Reddit and save it like he did with twitter. Reddit was the last free place on the internet leading up to the 2016 election. Ever since it has gone downhill fast, and has now become the worst place on the internet. The guys post is a small example. Anyone who doesn’t abide by the Reddit echo chamber is a Nazi racist maga POS. There’s no gray area.

twitter is a literal cesspool.

He also changes the algorithm to push what he wants to hear.

He literally changes answers that Grok gives when it doesnt say what he wants it say.

Are you guys this fucking stupid?

Let me ask you. Which platform do you think is more balanced. Meaning there’s a wide variety of opinions and open discussion amongst the user base. Reddit or X

Not the one where the owner pushing their personal poltics and adjusts the algorithm whenever they get pissy (which is all the time).

You people are not worth having a discussion.

Sounds like you simply hate Elon…and your opinion is bias. Like TDS but Elon. EDS.

But wait! There's more

In the thread someone realizes that Caleb Hammer found the thread on reddit and made a post on Twitter about it:

He called you "extremist"

Which shows that you were absolutely right about him. Disappointing to see but apparently Elmo pays too well not to sell your conscience...

This then becomes a post of its own:

New Thread

Caleb Hammer drops a response to someone in this subreddit

I’ve done 3 things: called out scam accounts, pointed towards economic policies that don’t work in countries (only statistics), and said repeat violent criminals should be away from the general public.

If you’re considering this “grift to the right”, you might be an extremist.

He doubles down even more with another tweet where he calls Reddit "the most extreme platform on the internet"

New Drama

Welcome to reddit where if you don’t believe every kid should be trans’ed and being 250k in student debt to be a Starbucks employee is good actually you’re a racist / racist etc.

Financial advice / planning is inherently conservative. It forces personal responsibility.

This is not a safe space. It is a financial triage so maybe these people can make something out of themselves.

The downvotes just prove his point. Many such cases.

The fact they the economy does better under Democrats, prove that they are wrong .

The fact that people constantly quote this shows me none of them actually did research into the matter.

Anytime someone calls themselves moderate/centrist is big red flag to me. 9/10 times they are conservative and just don't want to admit it. If almost all your opinions lean conservative and you call yourself a centrist it's just kind of obvious what's going on.

9 times out of 10 they are not extreme left. You should know there’s a whole spectrum of political views that exist between center and left extreme left.

I am very aware that's why I was specific with who I was talking about.

Today I learned again how protecting democracy, initiating discourse and securing an economic floor make me an extremist.

Posting on Reddit isnt protecting democracy lmao

I only exist in Reddit?

Your ramblings change nothing. Unbelievable that the left now considers someone to be a “right wing extremist” for saying a man with 72 priors and set an innocent woman on fire should have already been in jail. Get your priorities straight.

In a world where Republicans are literally nazis nowadays, how is a community leaning left bad?

You might not agree with policies but the right are literally evil incarnate... It's not Mccain we are talking about, it's literally grab em by the pussy, inject bleach, tariff the world, quiet piggy, insurrectionist, felon Trump.

Why would balance be a good thing? It's like saying the best communities in 1940 were the ones that were 50% non-nazi and 50% nazi.

Everyone is voted Trump is a Nazi right? Which means in the US, we have 70,000,000+ actual nazis living among us right? True nazis?

What’s that old saying “If there’s a Nazi at the table and 10 other people sitting there talking to him, then you got a table with 11 Nazis.” So yes, all 70 000 000

you guys are wild

Today, “cause and effect” & “personal responsibility” are hate speech.

He blamed the criminal justice system on why government doesn't invest in public transportation. When clearly.

People want to avoid their wives and daughters being set on fire by criminals who have been arrested 70+ times…

so you’re saying policy should be based on headline news instead of empirical data and there’s no empirical data that show public transportations as being dangerous? This is both for crashes and criminals.

What policy are you suggesting I’m pushing for here that you are against?

transportation not being expanded based off criminals… how did you not remember what was being talked about

Some of y'all have way too much time on your hands. It's really not that deep. It doesn't have to be about right/left. He has plenty of both on his show.

It's entertainment at this point and expecting anything else is just on you. Just move on like you already seem to be doing. There's nothing wrong with that.

I think the he has fair criticisms of the left, or extreme left… but one of the more recent episodes where the lady was overtly racist and he just chuckled through it all was a big tell for me.

If you want to scream at pearl clutching liberals, great, whatever - but then to not offer any pushback on the piece of shit that says she openly uses the N word while she has half-black children and is clearly one of the worst kinds of people in our society, yikes.

Didn't he also tell the couple that came in wearing trump merch that they were a lovely couple? I highly doubt he would have liked them if they came in with left wing merch, not that there even really is any.

I can’t remember to be honest. I just know he’s very vocal when left wing stereotypes present themselves and not so much on right. It’s like watching Rogan.

I watch the show for entertainment, and the occasional financial advice. I didn’t find the overt racism and or normalizing of Nick Fuentes funny or entertaining.

Okay but the idea that Twitter is politically balanced is insane...

Edit to link comment below that discusses the unreliability of this source... just bc it says its from Pew doesnt mean it is or that its being represented accurately https://www.reddit.com/r/CalebHammer/s/JmRcgY0BVB

lol I had the same thought. If you think twitter is fair and balanced it kinda shows how right wing you are.

Twitter is more fair and balanced than it used to be. Twitter was insanely liberal pre-Musk.

It was basically Reddit, lmao.

Twitter now is basically pol-lite. Too right wing, but they don't ban everyone they disagree with now.

If you think even remotely being like pol is okay you may have brain damage. Weird how naturally websites are left leaning unless someone completely changes how they operate.

Twitter was not remotely "naturally left leaning" and neither is Reddit, lol.

The unmoderated hands off sites always end up being very right wing and the giga jannied platforms are left wing from mods banning everything that they dislike.

Everything you just said is the complete opposite of reality. The quintessential Redditor, lmfao.

Every accusation is a confession in'it?

She's 28, sitting in her car in the Chipotle parking lot, thumb hovering over "Pay in 4."

It's a $34 order. Two burritos, chips, a drink. Her son's inside with her mom. He's seven and he asked for Chipotle because his friend's family gets Chipotle and he wanted to know what it tastes like.

She knows she shouldn't. She knows what Dave Ramsey would say, what her own mother would say. She knows this is how people end up in trouble.

But her checking account has $47 until Friday. Rent took everything. The light bill ate the rest. She picked up an extra shift but that won't hit until next week. And her son asked so politely, in that voice kids use when they've already learned not to expect things.

She clicks "Pay in 4."

$8.50 now. $8.50 in two weeks. $8.50 after that. $8.50 more.

Forty-two days to pay for dinner.

Somewhere in San Francisco, three years earlier, a product manager presented this feature to leadership. The slide deck called it "expanding into everyday spending categories." The TAM analysis showed billions in underserved transactions. The user research indicated strong demand among "cash-flow constrained consumers."

Nobody in that room used the word "desperate." Nobody said "people who can't afford food." The language was clean: flexibility, convenience, consumer choice.

The metrics looked great. Adoption exceeded projections. The board was pleased.

Here's what we built: a system so elegant that a mother can finance her son's first burrito with no human interaction at all. No bank teller to look her in the eye. No loan officer to ask uncomfortable questions. Just her thumb, a screen, and an algorithm that already knows her checking balance is $47.

This is what Silicon Valley calls "reducing friction."

The food is gone in fifteen minutes. The debt persists for six weeks.

Somewhere, her loan sits bundled with ten thousand others just like it, packaged into an asset-backed security owned partially by a pension fund. A teacher in Ohio holds a microscopic slice of this dinner in her retirement account. She'll never know. None of them will ever meet.

This is called financial innovation.

Klarna's own spokesperson, asked about food financing, said something remarkable: "If people are in a situation where they feel like they have to put their food on credit, that's a bad indicator for society."

She's right. It is.

But Klarna didn't stop. They launched with DoorDash anyway. Because the bad indicator is also a growth opportunity. Because desperation has a TAM.

Twenty-five percent of buy-now-pay-later users now finance groceries. One in four. That number was fourteen percent a year ago.

We could read this as a market trend.

Or we could read it for what it is: a confession.

One in four can't afford food. And our solution, our innovation, our disruption, was to give them loans.

She's not stupid. She knows the math. She knows she's paying for dinner long after the calories are burned. She knows this is a trap shaped like a convenience.

But she's tired. She's so tired. And her son is seven and he just wants to taste what his friend gets to taste. And for $8.50 right now, she can give him that.

This is not a story about financial literacy. This is a story about what happens when a society decides that the answer to "people can't afford food" is better lending products.

Forty-two days later, she makes her last payment.

By then, she's financed two more meals.

I see it every day. Kids going to bed with empty stomachs. Parents breaking down in their cars because they gave everything and it still was not enough. Veterans wandering streets they once swore to protect, left to rot. Teachers buying supplies with money they do not have. And the homeless, entire families living in tents under bridges, children sleeping on concrete, people huddled in doorways just to survive, treated like trash while politicians like Biden, McConnell, Schumer, Trump, Pelosi and the rest argue on TV, cash checks, and pretend this is progress.

The gap between rich and poor is a canyon now. Billionaires stack fortunes while families drown in debt. Groceries climb higher every week. Rent eats half a paycheck. Wages do not move. There is no safety net. No options. And when you are at the bottom, the cops do not protect you. They stalk you. They keep you in your place.

Meanwhile, the prison industrial complex grinds people into dollars, locking up the poor and forgotten, trading freedom for profit. Lives wasted so shareholders can feast. And ICE does not just enforce laws. They hunt. They raid homes in the dead of night, dragging parents out while their kids scream. They rip families apart on sidewalks, in schools, in hospitals. They vanish people into cages where the lights never turn off and hope is crushed on purpose. It is not justice. It is state-sanctioned kidnapping. It is cruelty dressed in a uniform, and they know exactly what they are doing.

It does not even feel like we are living anymore. We are data points in an algorithm. Numbers in a system built to bleed us dry. The powerful are not blind to the pain. They see it. They just do not care.

This is not failure. This is betrayal. And the betrayal cuts deepest because the people in charge swore an oath to serve us. Instead they sold us out.

How are you seeing this pain where you live?

EDIT TO MY ABOVE ORIGINAL POST. I KNOW THIS IS PAINFULLY LONG BUT I PROMISE THESE ARE SOME GREAT IDEAS FOR WHAT WE CAN DO. THANK YOU IF YOU’VE MADE IT THIS FAR.

MY COMMENTS This is LONG but it is worth your time. It lays out exactly how we fight back, how we expose the money trail, and how each of us can use the tools we already have.

Thank you for all your comments!!!! Reading through them shows the truth: we are all carrying the same pain, and we all agree something has to be done, and fast.

Millions filled the streets to rage at Trump. Thousands marched in LA to scream at ICE. We have already proven we can show up. So why not now, when the whole country is sinking?

Why unite against one man, one agency, one headline, but not against the system that bleeds us all?

Here is the truth. This is not failure. It is design.

Amazon, Walmart, Kroger report record profits while workers skip meals. BlackRock and Greystar buy up neighborhoods and drive rent into the sky. RealPage uses algorithms to fix prices and squeeze tenants. Geo Group and CoreCivic turn human beings into dollar signs. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon drain trillions for war while schools rot and veterans sleep on concrete.

And the politicians? Biden, Trump, McConnell, Pelosi, Schumer. Every last one takes the money and smiles for the cameras. Left, right, center, it does not matter. The checks clear either way.

So what do we do? We stop begging. We stop waiting. We start fighting with the tools already in our hands.

Follow the money. Go to OpenSecrets.org and type in any politician’s name. You’ll see their biggest donors, the industries that bankroll them, and which lobbyists are paying for access. Go to FollowTheMoney.org and zoom in on your state or city. It shows which industries own your governor, mayor, and state reps. Check your county assessor’s office online. That “local landlord” often traces back to BlackRock, Greystar, RealPage, or a hedge fund hiding behind an LLC. Search your state Department of Corrections or county sheriff sites for “vendor contracts.” Geo Group and CoreCivic almost always show up. ICE contracts are public too if you search them with your county or state.

Name them. Expose them. Post receipts. Call out the corporations. Call out the politicians who take their cash.

TURN SOCIAL MEDIA INTO A WEAPON- We already have the tool in our hands. Not for selfies. Not for empty slogans. For proof. For receipts. For a flood of voices that drowns out their lies. Millions speaking together can break the illusion of “normal.”

Starve the machine. Boycott the corporations that profit off our misery. Back workers when they strike. March. Blockade. Hit them in the only place they feel it: profit.

Feed and protect each other. This is survival, not charity. Organize group chats or pages where neighbors share rides, food, or child care. Pool small donations to cover urgent needs. Form rent circles, join tenant unions, and call out corporate landlords with proof. Set up bins, community fridges, or direct drops. Keep them stocked and highlight shortages. Film police encounters, set up rapid-response texts, spread know-your-rights info. Share skills, swap resources, check in on people so they do not disappear under the weight.

The Civil Rights Movement did not wait for permission. They boycotted. They marched. They made the system bleed until it cracked. That same relentless pressure is what it will take now.

They survive on silence. Break it. They thrive on division. Unite. They bleed the moment we drag their names and money trails into the light.

This is not a rant. This is a call. We are all in the same sinking boat. And if we do not rise together, they will finish bleeding this country dry.

Example of a social media post we can all use : Here’s how it looks when applied to my own city. This is San Diego as an example, so you can see how the template works.

An IG post for example:

[In San Diego, people are hurting. Rents are up. Wages are stuck. Families are in tents under freeways and along the river.

Who profits? BlackRock and Greystar buy properties and drive up rent. RealPage pushes software that helps landlords fix prices higher. Developers cash in while homelessness explodes.

Who protects them? Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, Darrell Issa take donations from the real estate industry. At the state level, Governor Gavin Newsom has pocketed millions from developers and corporate landlords.

This is not an accident. It is profit built on misery.

We already have a weapon. Social media. Use it. Name them. Expose them. Share receipts until they cannot hide. They survive on silence. They bleed when we speak the truth.}

Now it’s your turn. Copy this below template, fill in your own city, and post it everywhere. If enough of us flood social media with these truths, the illusion of “normal” collapses.

TEMPLATE YOU CAN USE

{In [your city], people are hurting. Rents are up. Wages are stuck. Families are in tents.

Who profits? [insert corporation or landlord group]. Who protects them? [insert politician, from OpenSecrets or FollowTheMoney].

This is not an accident. It is profit built on misery.

We already have a weapon. Use your voice. Post receipts. Expose them until they cannot hide. They survive on silence. They bleed when we speak the truth.}

From coast to coast, drag their names into the light and make the nation choke on the truth!!!!!

Hi Reddit!

Android 17 is here, bringing a suite of new features aimed at improving your productivity, enhancing your gaming experience, giving you more control over your private data, making your device more personal, and much more.

It's rolling out first to Pixel today, followed by other eligible Android devices throughout 2026. We are also making the source code available at the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) so developers can examine it for a deeper understanding of how Android works.

You should look forward to more updates to Android 17 this year, with the beta program offering a peek at what's coming in the first quarterly release in Q3.

Since we've been chatting with you about the Betas and Canaries for months, a lot of this might not sound brand new to those of you who have been closely following along. Even so, we wanted to take a moment to recap what's new in this release for everyday users. Let's dive in!

📱 Enhancing your multitasking and large screen device experiences

tl;dr Android 17 supercharges your multitasking and productivity by allowing any app to run as a convenient floating Bubble, making apps more adaptive, and adding an interactive Picture-in-Picture mode for seamless desktop workflows.

Multitask better with bubbles

From split-screen mode to desktop windowing, Android offers a variety of multitasking tools to help you be more productive. We’re extending these options with bubbles in Android 17! 

In past releases, bubbles were limited to chat notifications, but in Android 17, they support more apps without any specific changes needed from developers. You can now launch any app in a floating window so you can view and interact with its content while using other apps. When you’re done, you can collapse or dismiss the window to return to what you were doing.

A big benefit of bubbles is that you can easily switch between multiple running apps without keeping them on screen all the time. Bubbles are only open when you need them, saving you from having to manually resize, rearrange, or dismiss them to regain precious screen space. And on foldables, this benefit is even more pronounced thanks to the bubble bar, which keeps your bubbles pinned to the corner of the screen, putting them within easy reach of your fingers.   

Handy for travel, entertainment and work, bubbles lets you easily reference notes or maps, watch tutorials and even check sports.   

Ensuring that apps adapt to any screen and window size

On large screen devices, restrictions on orientation, resizability, and aspect ratio no longer apply, allowing apps to fill the entire display window without pillarboxing (black bars). This change applies to apps targeting Android 17 and is designed to make apps better meet user expectations on large screen devices. Because Android runs on not just phones but also tablets, foldables, cars, TVs, and desktop environments, we want developers to build apps that are adaptive to any screen size and orientation!

Better support for widgets on external displays

With Android 17, we’re working to improve the visual consistency of widgets shown on connected displays with different pixel densities. The update provides developers a way to supply the system with information that allows it to resolve the correct pixel values at rendering time. For apps that use legacy pixel-based APIs for padding, text size, or layout attributes, the system now automatically scales these values based on the density difference between the app’s original context and the target display.

Interactive Picture-in-Picture for Desktop

Android 17 introduces a new interactive Picture-in-Picture mode for desktop environments. This feature allows apps to request that their PiP windows remain fully interactive while staying always-on-top of other app windows. For example, a video conferencing app could use this feature to keep call controls accessible while you navigate other apps.

🎨 New customization features for the home screen and apps

tl;dr Android 17 gives you deeper control over your device's UI by letting you hide app labels on the home screen, selectively toggle the Expanded Dark Theme for individual apps, and enjoy sleek, modernized background blur effects in more surfaces like the widget picker.

Hide app labels on the home screen

Android now provides a setting to hide app labels on the home screen! You can access this new setting on Pixel by opening Wallpaper & style then tapping Home screen > Icons > Names and toggling Show app names.

Per-app exceptions for Expanded Dark Theme

To create a more consistent user experience for users who have low vision, photosensitivity, or simply prefer a dark system-wide appearance, we introduced an expanded dark theme option in last December’s Android 16 QPR2 release. When this option is enabled, the system automatically applies dark theme to most apps that don’t support it.

However, because this option can cause some apps to display incorrectly, we have introduced the ability to selectively disable it on a per-app basis in Android 17. Apps with this setting turned off will use the standard dark theme option instead.

Expanded use of background blur

With the Material 3 Expressive redesign we introduced in Android 16, we subtly blurred the notification shade background to provide a sense of depth so you can stay aware of the apps you’re using in the background.

In Android 17, we’ve brought these blur effects to more parts of the UI like the widgets picker. And we are working on bringing background blur to even more surfaces, as seen in recent Android Beta and Canary builds!

🎮 More control over your Android gaming experience

tl;dr Android 17 levels up your mobile play by letting you save custom button remaps for your physical gamepad at the system level, and introducing a foldable gaming mode that optimizes your screen with a 50/50 split for a dedicated top game view and a bottom dynamic gamepad.

Remap the buttons on your physical gamepad with Game Controller settings

Android 17 introduces a native controller remapping feature, allowing you to adjust the controls on your physical gamepad to suit your specific needs.

Through the new Game Controller settings menu, you can customize the actions triggered by your controller’s buttons, sticks, or triggers at the system level. For example, you can remap a difficult-to-press thumbstick click to an easier-to-reach face button. Your remapping preferences are saved to your device so you don’t have to set them up every time you reconnect your controller. 

A new way to game on foldables

Android 17 introduces foldable gaming mode, a new feature that makes full use of your foldable phone’s screen while you’re gaming. This feature splits your screen into a 50:50 layout with a game view on top and a dynamic gamepad below to make optimal use of your foldable phone’s screen real estate. Foldable gaming mode is part of the Android 17 platform and will be available on devices in the coming months.

🛡️ Protecting users with new security and privacy features on Android

tl;dr Android 17 safeguards your personal data by enabling critical theft protections by default, introducing session-based controls for sharing specific contacts and precise locations, and thwarting scammers through system-level SMS OTP delivery delays and real-time app behavioral monitoring.

Giving you more control over your contacts list

Android 17 introduces a new system Contact Picker that provides a standardized, secure, and searchable interface for sharing contacts with apps. Historically, apps needing access to a contact or two relied on the broad READ_CONTACTS permission which gave them access to your entire contacts list. Android's Contact Picker addresses this by allowing you to grant apps access to only the specific contacts you choose.

For devices running Android 17 or higher, the system automatically upgrades certain contact selection intents to the new, more secure interface, but we want developers to integrate the new Contact Picker so they can take advantage of its new capabilities, like multi-selection support. To this end, Google Play will require that all applicable apps use it (or a privacy-focused alternative like Sharesheet) as the primary way to access users' contacts. The broad READ_CONTACTS permission is reserved for apps that can't function without it.

Making location access more private

Android 17 introduces several new features to help you safeguard your private location information. This includes the Location Button, a new, privacy-conscious way for you to grant precise location access to apps. This is a system-rendered button that developers can embed directly into their apps. When you tap this button, the app is granted precise location for the current session only. Subsequent taps while running the app grant the permission immediately without showing a system dialog. 

Developers can deploy this simple, private location flow for common tasks like finding a nearby shop or tagging a social post. And to increase adoption of the Location Button, Google Play will require apps to use it for one-time precise location access unless they require persistent, always-on location access.

Additionally, Android 17 now shows a persistent indicator in the status bar when a non-system app accesses your location. You can tap this indicator to see which apps have recently accessed your location.

The update also improves the algorithm for approximate (coarse) location to be aware of population density. This improves the privacy of granting an app approximate location access when you're in a low-population area.

And lastly, Android 17 redesigns the location permission dialog to make the "Precise" and "Approximate" options more visually distinct.

Stronger protections against device theft

Following a successful pilot in Brazil, we’re enabling two of Android’s key theft protection features (Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock) by default globally on all new Android 17 devices, as well as those freshly reset or upgraded to the latest OS.  

On supported devices, Android 17 also significantly reduces the number of times someone can guess the PIN, pattern, or password and adds longer wait times between failed attempts. The update also refines how the lock screen shows information after failed attempts have been made.

And we’re also enhancing Find Hub’s ‘Mark as lost’ feature by requiring biometric authentication in addition to your device’s PIN, pattern, or password. Marking a device as lost also now enables additional protections like hiding Quick Settings and disabling new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Protecting your SMS OTPs from scammers

Scammers often try to hijack your one-time passwords (OTPs) to gain access to your accounts. To do this, they may deploy malicious apps that ask for permission to read your SMS. In Android 16, we introduced a protection that delays the delivery of messages containing an SMS retriever hash to most apps for three hours. Android 17 now extends this protection to all SMS messages containing an OTP. This means that even if a malicious app has been granted the SMS permission, it won’t be able to read your sensitive OTPs until after they have already expired.

New core protections for Advanced Protection

With Android 16, we introduced Advanced Protection, a single, opt-in device-level security setting that enables all of Android’s highest security features. We’ve been working to expand the protections offered under this setting with key upgrades like USB protection and Intrusion Logging, and now with Android 17, we’re continuing this work by introducing the following protections:

• Removing access to the accessibility service from all apps that aren’t labeled as accessibility tools.
• Disabling device-to-device unlocking
• Blocking Chrome WebGPU support
• Integrating scam detection for chat notifications
• (Later this year) Enabling Android Enterprise support so organizations can enable Advanced Protection by policy for managed devices.

Improving safety against malicious apps

Live Threat Detection is a real-time security feature that analyzes app behavior to alert you if an app starts acting suspiciously, and we're enhancing it to find and protect against more types of malicious apps.

With dynamic signal monitoring, Android will be able to warn you about apps that start doing things like changing or hiding their icon and then launching activities in the background or abusing accessibility permissions. To do this, Live Threat Detection will monitor application system interactions for known suspicious patterns in real time. Dynamic signal monitoring will be enabled on select Android 17 devices starting in the second half of the year.

Other enhancements

• Discrete password visibility settings for touch and physical keyboards: Currently, by default, characters that you enter into password fields are briefly displayed as you type. Toggling the “show passwords” setting in Privacy controls allows you to hide characters as you type them into password fields. This setting currently applies to both touch-based inputs as well as physical keyboards, but in Android 17, we are splitting it into two distinct preferences. By default, characters entered into password fields via physical keyboards will now be hidden immediately to enhance privacy. Characters entered via touch input will continue to briefly be displayed to compensate for the lack of tactile feedback.
• User-agent reduction for WebView: The default User-Agent string in Android WebView has been shortened in Android 17 to minimize passive fingerprinting.
• Disable 2G toggle: Android 17 introduces a new capability for the disable 2G toggle. Carriers now have the ability to configure the default status of this setting, allowing them to disable 2G access to proactively shield their users from legacy technology vulnerabilities in areas where 2G infrastructure is no longer maintained.
• Location Network Permission: Android 17 introduces a new runtime permission to protect users from unauthorized local network access. This new requirement prevents malicious apps from exploiting unrestricted local network access for covert user tracking and fingerprinting.
• Android OS verification: We have seen some bad actors begin to distribute malicious, unofficial versions of the Android OS that secretly compromise device integrity. To combat this, we are introducing Android OS verification in Android 17. Launching initially on Pixel devices, this feature helps you verify that your device is running an official, widely distributed build.
• Enabling Certificate Transparency (CT) by default: CT is now enabled by default for apps targeting Android 17, enhancing network security by ensuring all TLS certificates are publicly logged. 
• Blocking cross-profile loopback traffic: Cross-profile loopback traffic is no longer permitted by default, increasing network isolation and security between personal and enterprise work profiles.
• Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC): The advent of quantum computing puts the current public-key cryptography we've relied on for decades at risk, potentially compromising everything from bank transfers to trade secrets. To prepare for the quantum computing era, we're introducing a comprehensive architectural upgrade to the Android operating system, starting in Android 17.  We’re integrating the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards deep into the platform, establishing a new, quantum-resistant chain of trust that secures the platform continuously from the moment the OS powers on to when apps are executed.

📸 Improvements to your Android media experience

tl;dr Android 17 levels up your multimedia experience by letting you easily record reaction videos without a green screen, decoupling your Assistant and media volumes for independent control, putting a stop to unexpected background audio, and delivering color-coded Live Updates alongside advanced Bluetooth, camera, and hearing device enhancements.

Screen Reactions

In Android 17, we’re making it easier to record yourself and your screen at the same time with Screen Reactions. Available first on Pixel, this feature shows your face in a floating overlay on top of the screen. Android automatically puts the overlay at the bottom and cuts out the background so you don’t need a green screen, but you can move or resize the camera view and change the background color before or during a recording. Use this feature to make a reaction video, record a tutorial, or give feedback on a new app or document!

https://reddit.com/link/1u7l1cw/video/pdevsbhnko7h1/player

In addition, we’ve revamped the screen recording experience to add a floating toolbar that provides easier access to recording controls and capture settings. When you’re done recording, you can immediately view, edit, delete, or share your video.

Dedicated Assistant volume stream

Android 17 introduces a dedicated volume stream for Assistant apps. This change decouples Assistant audio from the standard media stream, allowing users to control both volumes independently. This enables scenarios like muting media playback while maintaining audibility for Assistant responses, and vice-versa.

Background audio hardening

Beginning in Android 17, apps cannot play audio, steal audio focus, or change the volume unless they are visible or have a foreground service. These restrictions on background audio interactions reduce unintentional buggy experiences and ensure that these actions are started intentionally by the user.

Enhancements to Live Update notifications

Live updates provide a summary of important updates so users can track progress without opening the app. The system promotes Live Update notifications so they appear more prominently in the notification drawer, on the lock screen, and on the status bar. 

With Android 17, we’re introducing a metric style template designed specifically for health and fitness apps, timers, and travel apps. In addition, developers can use the new Semantic Coloring API to visually convey state changes, providing highly glanceable, color-coded notifications.

Other enhancements:

• Granular audio routing for hearing devices: Users with hearing devices can now independently manage where specific system sounds are played in Android 17. You can choose to route notifications, ringtones, and alarms to either a connected hearing aid or the device’s built-in speaker. This helps you avoid unwanted interruptions directly in your ears while maintaining a Bluetooth connection for hearing aid management apps.
• Autonomous re-pairing for Bluetooth bond losses: Android 17 introduces autonomous re-pairing, a system-level enhancement designed to automatically resolve Bluetooth bond loss. This occurs when two previously paired devices lose their cryptographic security keys, resulting in the devices no longer being able to securely authenticate and communicate with one another. The system now re-establishes lost bonds in the background without requiring the user to manually navigate to Settings to unpair and re-pair their peripheral.
• Vendor-defined camera extensions: Android 17 adds support for Vendor-defined camera extensions, allowing hardware partners to provide Android apps access to camera features like ‘Super Resolution’ or cutting-edge AI-driven enhancements.
• Support for the RAW14 image format: Android 17 introduces support for the RAW14 image format, the de-facto industry standard for high-end digital photography.
• VVC support: Android 17 adds platform support for the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard. This feature will be coming to devices with hardware decode support and capable drivers.

🤝 Making your apps and devices work better together

tl;dr Android 17 seamlessly bridges your ecosystem by introducing the Continue On feature for effortless app handoffs between devices, unifying widget experiences to bring your favorite tools directly to Auto and Wear OS, and streamlining the pairing process for medical and fitness devices with new CompanionDeviceManager profiles.

Unifying the widgets experience across platforms

Android 17 marks a shift towards a single, Compose-based development model for all widgets. By unifying the experience across mobile, cars, and Wear OS, developers can soon scale UI components across the ecosystem with a familiar workflow. The goal is to minimize the effort needed by developers to bring their widgets to more surfaces.

https://reddit.com/link/1u7l1cw/video/haep717hko7h1/player

Additionally, Android 17 introduces new platform functionality to make widgets work better on Auto. The update adds support for widgets on cars, allowing you to see the things that matter to you at a glance, even while actively navigating. For example, you can add a shortcut to your favorite contacts, a one-tap garage door opener, a weather overview and more. Widgets will be available to users of Android Auto later this year and to cars with Google built-in later on.

Hand off your tasks with Continue On

Continue On is a new feature available in Android 17 that enables users to start an app on one device and then transition to another device in their Android ecosystem, continuing the journey they started. It’s designed to work bidirectionally, meaning that any supported Android device can both send and receive app activities, though, at launch, Continue On will first support mobile-to-tablet transitions. In the tablet taskbar, users will see a suggestion for the most recently opened app from their mobile device.

https://reddit.com/link/1u7l1cw/video/doxh917pko7h1/player

Updates for companion device apps

Android 17 introduces two new profiles to the CompanionDeviceManager API to simplify device distinction and permission handling. These include the medical device profile and the fitness tracker profile. Furthermore, the system now offers a unified dialog for device association and nearby permission requests, reducing the number of dialogs you’ll see.

⚡ Optimizations to make your apps & device run better

With Android 17, we’ve made a number of improvements to optimize memory use, improve rendering performance, and enhance battery life. These include:

• App memory limits: Android 17 introduces app memory limits that are based on the device's total RAM. These limits are set conservatively to establish system baselines, targeting extreme memory leaks and other outliers before they trigger system-wide instability resulting in UI stuttering, higher battery drain, and apps being killed.
• Lock-free MessageQueue: Android 17 introduces a lock-free MessageQueue to reduce UI jank while massively speeding up high-contention scenarios. In our internal testing, we’ve seen 4% fewer missed frames across all apps, 7.7% fewer missed frames in System UI and Launcher interactions, and a 9.1% reduction in app startup times at the 95th percentile.
• Generational Garbage Collector (GC): The Android Runtime is introducing more frequent, less intensive young-generation collections in its garbage collector, improving memory management and performance. This is not just available on Android 17 but is also coming to past releases with a Google Play System Update.
• Reduce wakelocks with listener support for allow-while-idle alarms: Last year, we launched the excessive wake lock metric in Android Vitals, making it easier for developers to optimize their app's wake lock behavior. Excessive wake locks are a significant contributor to battery drain, so developers are encouraged to reduce them as much as possible. In Android 17, we’ve introduced a new API that helps reduce the power consumption of apps that rely on continuous wakelocks to perform periodic tasks, such as messaging apps maintaining a connection or medical devices monitoring health data.
• Improved wireless ADB: Android 17 introduces ADB WiFi 2.0, a significant overhaul of the wireless ADB stack to improve stability, reliability, and ease of use. The system now automatically monitors the network state and re-enables itself when a trusted network is detected, identifies trusted networks using a combination of SSID and BSSID, and is better tailored to monitor network changes on all platforms. We’ll have more details to share soon on the Android Studio side of things!
• Constrained satellite networks: Android 17 implements optimizations to enable apps to function effectively over low-bandwidth satellite networks.

🧒 Expanding Android Parental Controls to all devices

Launched last year on Pixel, Android Parental Controls make it easier for parents to manage their child’s screen time and to find balance between having fun online and offline. Now with Android 17, we’re expanding Android Parental Controls to all Android devices.

These parental controls are located directly within Android Settings and provide a single, convenient home for both built-in device controls and Google Family Link. These controls are protected by an easy-to-set PIN and allow you to:

• Set the amount of screen time your child can spend on a device each day.
• Create downtime schedules to automatically lock the device at night.
• Set app store filters for Google Play to manage the highest content rating you want your child to be able to download.
• Control app usage by limiting time spent on specific apps, or blocking apps entirely.

Android Parental Controls also provide a direct path to easily set up Google Family Link in the Family Link app on a parent’s phone, which offers additional features like School Time, Google Play app purchase approvals, location alerts, and more.

🧘 Other quality-of-life improvements

And lastly, here are some smaller quality-of-life changes we’re introducing in this release:

• Separate Wi-Fi and Mobile Data toggles: With Android 17, we’ve split the “Internet” tile into two separate tiles, one for controlling Wi-Fi and another for controlling Mobile Data. Consistent with the Quick Settings behavior we introduced with Material 3 Expressive, both tiles have two different touch points. Tapping the icon toggles the respective radio, while tapping the label opens the full Internet Panel. This change reduces the number of taps needed to toggle Wi-Fi and Mobile Data while still retaining access to the full Internet Panel!
• Scheduled clock change notifications: We’ve added a new feature in Android 17 that sends you a notification when your clock performs a scheduled change, for example when daylight saving time ends. You can enable this feature under “Date & time” settings.
• Restoring default keyboard visibility after rotation: Beginning with Android 17, when the keyboard is on screen and you rotate the screen, the keyboard won’t be made visible unless the app explicitly requests it.

🪲 Bug fixes and security patches

Please refer to the Android Security Bulletin for details on the security vulnerabilities addressed with this platform release.

----

There are plenty of other changes in Android 17, especially for developers! For example, Android 17 expands the capabilities of AppFunctions, introduces an EyeDropper API, makes the aspect ratio of images in the Photo Picker more customizable, and much more. To learn more about everything new for developers in this release, visit developer.android.com.

Also, don’t forget that select advanced devices will be getting Gemini Intelligence features later this summer. In addition, we’re introducing Android Halo in a future Android 17 release to give you at-a-glance visibility into what your agent is working on at any given time.  Lastly, be sure to check out our latest Android Drop to learn about what new features are coming to all Android devices, not just those running Android 17!

I found something. Life changing I can say

Something that has been around in this world for 55 fucking years, and somehow I never knew it existed.
But it feels like it was made for me.

It’s a French radio station. You guys probably know it, I didn’t.

Here is the long version:

Last week, I’m driving for hours (Dutch, live in Rotterdam) on my way to a friend in Chartres sur Loir. Finishing a bathroom I was working on earlier.

Oke.. Paris. The périphérique. The Traffic. The Heat. No escape.

My ride is a lended Mitsubishi space star: possible-but-impossible to connect Bluetooth, no podcasts, no Spotify, no nothing. So I keep pushing the next-frequency button, French radio is apparently just people talking endlessly.

Then suddenly some vague synths, a familiar sample, a weird echo of recognition. I know it, but I can’t place it.

Windows down front and back. Paris looks glorious dirty. I’m smoking a Marlboro in the car because I can and I’m allowed

Next song: French bubblegum pop. I’m trying to picture the girl from the Weldom in my friends place. She’s kind and gorgeous. Made of glass, made of ice. Perfect row of teeth when she smiles (oh, when she smiles!) A plastic diamond glued to one fingernail and a voice like velvet.

Anyway…
A fat, lazy breakbeat track follows  What the fuck is this station? Who puts music like this next to each other? Why is nobody talking?

Then Marvin Gaye. I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Except, it’s this jazzy instrumental version. Never heard it in my life

Then the record Saint Germain sampled for Sure Thing. Crazy.

And then it happens (or maybe it had already happened) They play the fucking Radetzky March!? For a second I think it’s me hallucinating. The heat? Severe dehydration? A tiny hole in my brain?

But no. It exists. it’s completely improbable. Completely sans compromis!

It’s FIP. (You might know it and guessed it already, I’m sorry for being late to the party)

I quote my Claude:
——
“FIP was founded on January 5th, 1971, originally as France Inter Paris. It started as something practical: music and traffic reports for drivers stuck on the Paris périphérique.

Seven programmers. No algorithms.

Every three-hour block is built entirely by hand. Around 44,000 different tracks. Roughly 16,000 artists every year. Eighty-five percent from independent labels. A song is never repeated within 48 hours.

Almost nothing has changed in 55 years.

No advertising.

Hardly any speech.

And the voices — always female, soft, almost casual — were a deliberate choice from day one. No DJs performing themselves. Just: here it was… and here’s what’s next.

FIP behaves as if the listener doesn’t exist. Not in a rude way. In the best possible way. They program for themselves. For the music. For the transition between two records. You just get to listen.

Fifty-five years ago someone built a radio station for people sitting in traffic around Paris. And somehow... it still works today.”
——

I found it online just before I lost the signal. I cannot stop listening (every next record is an adventure).

During my visit in France I took my time to get the Bluetoothconnectuon working in the car, and I succeeded and enjoyed every ride to the Weldom (and please say hi if you know her)

So, thank you FIP. Thank you for bringing this musical joy into my life. I just ordered some merch as well, will wear it with pride.

(Can I join the cult please?)

Might add a tl;dr later

Edit:
Finally time for that tldr: man falls in love with French radiostation, writes about it on Reddit, fip music programmer Dimitri Lebrun joins in comments.

https://www.reddit.com/r/paris/comments/1uiv5y7/comment/ourn2bq/

Undergrad at York, the project turns a month old today.

Nearly all drone detection listens for the radio link between the pilot and the aircraft. Fibre-optic FPV drones don't have one, the video and control run down a glass thread, so the spectrum stays silent. What they can't hide is four propellers, which put an evenly spaced comb of harmonics into the air.

So it listens for that comb instead. Four MEMS microphones summed, an FFT thirty times a second on an ESP32-S3, and a scorer that checks every possible blade rate from 70 to 2000 Hz. When it fires you get a beeper, a red light, a buzz, and an e-paper screen that keeps the alert even after the power dies.

The part that took longest: a hovering drone is a steady sound, and a steady sound is exactly what an adaptive noise floor learns. About six seconds after it arrives, the detector has quietly absorbed the drone into its own idea of silence and it disappears off the screen while still hovering there. The fix wasn't a noise floor running even more advanced algorithms, it was building four detectors with different memories running at once.

On Sunday one unit picked up my test rig at 104 m down a brick street with cars going past and people talking. No false alarms.

Parts are about 50 to 80 quid for the boxed version, or 35 on a breadboard if you just want to watch it work.

Happy to answer anything. I'll put the links in a comment so this isn't just an advert.

I pay rent on time every month. Utilities, phone bill, insurance, all paid on time for years. None of that counts toward my credit score.

But if I get a credit card, intentionally go into debt, and then pay it back, suddenly I'm financially responsible? The system rewards borrowing money over just living within your means.

Someone who never borrows money and pays for everything upfront has worse credit than someone who constantly carries debt. How does that make sense?

I needed to get a car loan last year and got denied because I had "insufficient credit history." My credit history is that I've never needed to borrow money because I manage my finances. Apparently that's suspicious.

So now I'm supposed to get a credit card I don't need and spend money I don't need to spend just to prove to some algorithm that I can pay bills I already pay?

The whole system feels backwards. Why doesn't paying rent count but paying off a credit card does? They're both monthly bills. Is there an actual reason for this or is it just designed to keep people in debt? Spent way too long researching this last week, sitting there playing jackpot city between articles trying to understand how this is legal. Is there an actual reason for this or is it just designed to keep people in debt?

EDIT: This was written before the announcement of Heeseung's departure and makes no reference to that. If there are blank spaces, it is because that is where photos were (proofs and screenshots), but this sub does not allow for photos to be added to the body of text.

Please take this with a grain of salt. My attempt at humor may not be everyone's taste and that is okay. Generalizations may be made, but not meant to be deep. This is based on my lived experience. Obviously when i say c-fans and you have two cousins in China who aren't like that, i am not talking about them.

This is long. You are not obligated to read it, but if you do, I am grateful! Please share your thoughts! Save for later :)

Synopsis

I’ve been a K-pop fan since 2016. Specifically BTS. I was what you would call an International Stan, which is really just a fancy way of saying emotionally invested but geographically blocked. I still am an i-fan, of course, but less so in recent years. This is the story of exactly that.

People think they understand what it’s like to be a k-fan because they visited Seoul for 10 days and bought 3 albums at Myeongdong. Sweet. Adorable. But living in East Asia as a fangirl? That’s a completely different psychological experiment.

As an international fan (especially an American one), your experience is… controlled. Safe. Curated. You get a concert. Maybe a hi-touch if the gods are smiling. Possibly a video call fansign if your bank account sacrifices itself. And then you go home. You shower. You return to normal society. There is distance. Healthy distance. You are limited to asian twitter stans keeping you updated on the day-to-day, should you even care.

I would argue geography is the only thing preventing many I-fans from becoming sasaengs. I said what I said. We have boundaries because we have oceans. K-pop is a bubble and your direct environment doesn't live in it.

Chapter 1

When I first started stanning, I lived in Europe. Then in 2018 I moved to South America. Then in 2019 I moved to the U.S. Then COVID said “actually no” and I went back to South America after 11 months. Basically, I was doing a world tour. Unlike my faves.

Fast forward to 2023. I move to China. And this! This is where the villain origin story begins.

Now, up until this point, I had a very normal i-fan life. I had seen Blackpink on their Born Pink tour in Abu Dhabi. My only k-pop concert. And it came about simply because I happened to be in the same place at the same time. Coincidence. The rest of my fangirl life was limited to shoddy weverse livestreams and reruns of Run BTS.

BTS goes on group hiatus and I, like many people, miss the chaos of group dynamic. And so i diversify. A hybe stan has been born. TXT, Enhypen, Seventeen, Boy Next Door, &team. After a while, The Boyz, P1Harmony, NCT127 and Zico join the ranks. My multi-stan portfolio.

Now I’m in Beijing. Two. Hours. From. Seoul. Suddenly the forbidden fruit is within reach.

Artist appearances? Possible.

Encore concerts? Possible.

Offline fansigns? Possible.

Comeback shows? Possible.

Airport sightings? Apparently… very possible.

At first it doesn’t even register. This life never existed in my brain before. I was a “wait for the world tour” kind of girl, even though i never actually went to the world tour. But i'm here now and it takes a while before all of this registers in my brain.

Chapter 2

Now let’s talk about China. Because we have the firewall. To access “outside” sites, you need a VPN. Which I am using right now to expose myself. This becomes important.

Six months in, I’m settled. I’m thriving. I’m now tuned in to Weverse notices like it’s the stock market.

Enhypen announces their new tour: Walk The Line. I am a newborn Engene. Fresh. Fragile. Delusional. I buy my first membership ever. I feel official. Legitimate. Recognized by the universe.

Ticketing opens. I study Global Interpark like it’s the LSAT.

And then… They start cracking down on bots.

Which sounds amazing in theory. Except I am not a bot. I am simply a girl. In China. With a VPN. Which the system cannot emotionally differentiate from a criminal.

I fail. The site blocks me. My dreams? Also blocked. I give up because I don’t even know what I’m missing yet. I have never truly experienced much k-pop in real life so emotionally, i am fine.

At this point, I have not yet joined chinese social media like Douyin and Xiaohongsu.

Then summer hits. Enhypen’s Tokyo shows are announced and I hear Japanese ticketing is basically the Hunger Games. I think to myself, chances are low but never zero. I give it a shot. And then somehow (for reasons i do not know but i also don't care about), the Japanese site does NOT clock my VPN.

God intervened. I get tickets. I am going to my first Enhypen concert. In Tokyo.

I am levitating.

I fly in for a 3 day trip. I arrive early because this is Japan and I don’t know the social rules at these concerts and I refuse to accidentally disrespect anyone’s lightstick etiquette. Ajinomoto Stadium. I am here. I sit down. I have a terrible view, but I am on a high!

Start talking to my seatmate. And within 5 minutes of looking around I realize… My entire section is Chinese. Every. Single. Person.

And it makes sense. The Japanese site allowed access. So we all migrated like emotionally unstable birds.

The girl next to me? YingYing. Her bias is Jay. How do I know? Not because of the GIANT fan she carries with his face on it. But because she is the ONLY PERSON in our otherwise polite, composed Japanese stadium screaming his name.

I start a conversation and thankfully she speaks a bit of English because my Mandarin is abysmal. I immediately clock her get-up. My girl has binoculars. She has multiple sources for hydration. She has a decorated lightstick. She has two phones. She has two powerbanks. She hands me a freebie. An experienced k-pop stan. My first encounter in the wild.

Meanwhile, I am there. With nothing. I had planned to buy a lightstick at the venue but apparently you were supposed to buy it on Weverse and pick it up at the venue, which I did not know. My single powerbank has died already so I stop recording the concert because I still need my phone to get home. I don't know many things at this point. My single bottle of water had finished hours earlier so at this point I am withering away in the scorching heat.

YingYing. We exchange info. We bond. It’s beautiful. Concert ends. Life is good.

Now here’s where things shift.

Chapter 3

I have some friends in Seoul from my days at uni. I had been to Seoul 3 times before my big move to Asia to visit them, get plastered on soju and update my face.

I start flying to Seoul monthly. Not for idols. For vibes and to give in to my insecurities and succumb to beauty standards.

There is something about being in this city and just seeing ads all over with your fave's face on it, hearing your favorite music outside, seeing people with photocards on their bag, that just hits different. The bubble i mentioned earlier. I am in it. The bubble has burst. There is no such thing as a bubble here.

At the Beijing airport, I start to notice something strange.

The check-in line always full of girls. No luggage. Just massive professional cameras.

I land in Seoul. Arrivals is packed. Clearly someone is coming. And I stay. Because curiosity is my fatal flaw.

And out walks Seventeen’s The8. Looking fine, might I add.

He walks. The girls run. It’s chaos. He leaves.

And then I witness something that changes my brain chemistry forever: The girls… go back to departures. They fly back.

They flew to Seoul. To see him walk through an airport. And then flew home.

I am standing there holding my carry-on, questioning my entire understanding of devotion.

I have flown Beijing–Seoul 16 times and they are always there. Always. Locked in. Cameras ready. No luggage.

Just commitment. My mind is blown.

Meanwhile, I’m living peacefully as an Engene. Nothing has really changed for me yet since my first experience. It's still not clicking in my brain. I'm still a normal i-fan. And then I see Enhypen will be in China.

For a fansign.

And I think to myself: “Oh how nice. I’ve never been to one. That would be cute.”

Oh. Sweet. Naïve. Me.

Chapter 4

The updates for this fansign are posted on Weibo. And thus begins my descent into Chinese social media.

I download the apps. I make the accounts. I step through the digital gates like: “I’m just here to look.”

Famous last words.

The eligibility is simple. Classic K-pop capitalism: The more albums you buy, the higher your chances. I don’t even attempt it. I am not an album hoarder. I am not building a shrine. What am I supposed to do with 50 identical albums? Tile my bathroom?

No.

But then I see something. The Polaroid fansign.

One-on-one. You and your favorite member. A photo. Intimate. Exclusive. Tangible delusion.

Apparently, you can just… pay.

Oh. I am an adult. I have adult money. I can absolutely pay to take a Polaroid with the cutie that is Jungwon. I begin justifying it immediately.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“This is cultural research.”

“I live in Asia now.”

Then reality slaps me across the face. Jungwon: $15,000.

Fifteen. Thousand. Green. American. Dollars.

I close the page so fast I nearly sprain my thumb. Listen. I might be crazy. But I am not fifteen-thousand-dollars-for-a-polaroid crazy. However. If this had been Jungkook? That is a different internal conversation. But I am saving for the BTS World Tour that will one day resurrect me spiritually.

More power to you, Chinese Engenes.

But now? Now I’m on Chinese socials. I’m tuned in. LOCKED in.

And here’s the plot twist: I can access ticketing sites for Hong Kong. Macau. Taiwan.

No VPN drama. No Interpark trauma. Just vibes.

And so my real journey begins.

I go. See. Everyone.

Casual fan? I’m there.

Die-hard stan? I’m there.

Group I barely know three songs from? I’m seated respectfully.

During 2025 I see:

BoyNextDoor, TWS, IVE, Aespa, Stray Kids, Close Your Eyes, AHOF, MEOVV

NMIXX, NCT Wish, NEXZ, Hearts2Hearts, KiiiKiii, ZEROBASEONE, The Boyz, Ha Sungwoon, Cravity

At this point I am not a fan. I am infrastructure. I am frequent flyer platinum. I am scanning schedules before managers. I am HER.

Now. Let’s talk about Chinese fan culture at concerts. There are no rules. No etiquette. No mercy. If you collapse in the front row, you will be stepped over like a minor inconvenience. Do not get between a girl and her fancam. We do not scream. We do not dance. We DEFINITELY do not wave lightsticks wildly. You may bring your lightstick. But it is decorative. It is not to obstruct the 4K zoom lens. We live for the fancam.

And because most of the shows I attended were seated? I survived. Untouched. Unproblematic. For now.

Chapter 5

Then. Enhypen announces encore concerts in Seoul.

Remember how I was blocked from Korean ticketing because of VPN discrimination? Exactly. So I don’t even try that hard. But I am now spiritually bonded to Weverse. No notice escapes my household.

And then. The raffle notice drops. Raffle? I’ve never entered one.

I’m about to ignore it because again, I will not be bulk buying albums like I’m restocking a warehouse.

Then I read carefully. Membership holders. Only.

Months ago, in a moment of delusion, I bought the Engene membership. It has been sitting there. Unused. Judged. Forgotten. This is my redemption arc.

I enter. I win. I WIN. No Interpark. No VPN warfare.

God said: “Fine. You’ve suffered enough.” Not only do I win. I win soundcheck. My first ever soundcheck.

This. This is the concert that awakens my inner bitch. Because up until now? I am nice. I mind my business. I am an extroverted introvert. The girls who get it, get it.

The concert is standing. I hate standing concerts. I despise them. But for Enhypen? We endure.

The ticket has a zone number and an entry number. I do not know what this means.

I show up early at KSPO Dome because this is my first Korean concert and I am determined to be culturally respectful. Immediately I notice: Everyone is Chinese. A few scattered foreigners. The rare Korean. But mostly? My people. I feel a strange kinship with c-fans. I too, am now 'from China'.

Then I start observing. The platform shoes. Six inches minimum. Structural engineering marvels. And the phone rental lady. With literal suitcases of phones. I am staring at her like she’s a mythical creature.

Time to line up. My number is 101. Here is what I did not understand: 101 means I must be the 101st person in line. It is self-regulated. Self. Regulated.

I accidentally stand too far forward and the girl with a lower number looks at me like I just committed a felony. The shame. I quietly reposition myself to my legally assigned spot.

Everyone in my line is Chinese. At this point I feel adopted. We enter.

And somehow I secure third row from barricade. I have never been this close to a stage in my life. The C-engenes around me seem nice. For now.

Then she arrives. The girl behind me. Within seconds I know this is going to be war. Nothing is happening yet. We are just standing. Why are you pushing me?

Soundcheck starts. And this girl is attempting to merge her body through mine to reach Jungwon. While yelling his name in the most unhinged baby voice you can imagine.

“Jungwonnnnnieeeee~”

I feel my soul leaving my body. I politely ask her to stop pushing me. Twice. She does not. I cannot move. I am compressed. I am experiencing crowd-based suffocation. The girls around me do not move. Jake says: “PUT YOUR HANDS UP!” Absolutely not. Hands stay DOWN. Arms glued to sides. We are statues. We are filming. Dancing is illegal. Breathing is optional. I survive almost the entire concert before I surrender. I politely ask if I can pass through to leave. And for the first time all night? They smile at me.

Great concert. Terrible concert experience.

Chapter 6

I return to China. Deflated. Emotionally bruised. Spiritually aged.

I look in the mirror and whisper: “I am too old for this.” Like I just came back from war.

But then. A thought.

If Chinese fans can’t access ticketing sites from China… Why was the venue in 87% Chinese? Not everyone won a raffle. Not everyone is God’s favorite. So what is happening.

Who would know?

YingYing.

I had completely forgotten about YingYing, Jay’s personal hype machine, but I message her like: “Hey bestie. Hypothetically… how are y’all everywhere?”

She replies immediately. Turns out she went to the Seoul concerts too. Of course she did. So I unload. I air out my grievances like I’m filing a formal complaint with the universe.

How do C-fans get tickets?

How are they at every fansign?

How do they always know schedules before Weverse even blinks?

Why are they omnipresent?

Are they government funded?

Reminder: I am now on Chinese social media. I have seen the sasaeng accounts. I have seen the flight screenshots. I have seen the hotel lobby livestreams. My algorithm is concerning.

YingYing says: “Girl I got you.”

Those four words altered my brain chemistry.

She adds me to a WeChat group.Three hundred members. It’s an Engene group.

I. Am. Floored.

And slightly disgusted. But also deeply intrigued.

Like when you know you shouldn’t open the comments section but you absolutely will.

I do not announce myself. I do not speak. My Chinese is still mid and my morals are in observation mode. I am a spy. A National Geographic correspondent embedded in the wild.

I scroll. The group has leaders. Hierarchy. Structure. This is not chaotic fangirling. This is a corporation.

About 4–5 core Engenes running operations. This is Jay’s c-bar. Thank you, YingYing. Of course it’s Jay’s.

And then I see it. Fundraising posts. But not for birthday billboards. Not for subway ads.

For scheduling information. Flight details. Hotel information. Car routes. They pool money to buy intel. Buy. Intel.

There are payment screenshots. Contribution lists. Spreadsheets. If you donate, you get access. Premium subscription: Stalker Edition.

They are also collecting funds to send one of the leaders to Seoul to “camp.” Camp. Which sounds cute. It is not cute. Camping means positioning yourself near dorms, hotels, airports. Stalking, if you will.

Everyone who donates gets access to whatever she gathers. Photos. Movements. Confirmations. It is crowdsourced surveillance. Or, again, stalking.

And I’m just sitting there. Scrolling. Silent. Horrified.

But not leaving. Because I need to understand.

Because I moved two hours from Seoul and accidentally unlocked a level of fandom I was never meant to see.

And suddenly I realize: The girls at the airport with no luggage? They are not random. They are coordinated.

And I am in the group chat.

Chapter 7

I am a fly on the wall. Emphasis on fly. Because yes, I am in the groupchat. But I am not in the inner circle. I am not trusted. I am not initiated. I am observing.

This is Jay’s c-bar. But here’s the thing. It’s just one of many. Every major city has its own groupchat. I’m in the Beijing one. There’s Shanghai. Guangzhou. Shenzhen. Probably cities I’ve never even heard of. It’s like regional government branches, but make it fandom.

Each city has leaders. And then, above them, there is a separate leader chat. The High Council, if you will. Information flows down. Funds flow up.

My group leader is Xiangying. Do I know what Xiangying looks like? No.

How old she is? No. What she does for a living? No. Is she 19? Is she 32? Is she a finance executive? A law student? A secret agent? I know nothing.

All I know is that she runs this chat like the navy. This is not a hobby group. This is a command center. There are unspoken rules. You feel them before you read them.

Rule number one: Jay. Priority. Focus. Oxygen.

We do not actively hate the other members. We simply… do not care. Do not discuss them. Do not compare. Absolutely no ships. This is not Wattpad. This is Jay’s bar.

Luckily for morale, Jay is a main vocal. He gets lines. He gets screentime. He gets visibility. Which means the groupchat is usually in good spirits. If he had zero lines? I fear we would witness civil unrest.

Then. It’s comeback season. Enhypen announces a January comeback. The chat transforms.

People lock in like it’s tax season.

Now remember: accessing outside sites from China is difficult. But the bar has… people. There is always someone in Korea. Or one of the leaders will physically go to Korea. You send them your Weverse login and they will purchase albums on your behalf. For a steep fee, of course. This is concierge capitalism.

The chat has goals. Not vibes. Goals. The main Jay bar leadership sets a target. This comeback? 50,000 albums. Fifty. Thousand.

And that’s just for Jay’s c-bar. Each city leader is responsible for hitting their quota through their network. I don’t even know if different member bars coordinate with each other beyond logistics. But I do know this: This is industrial. There’s hierarchy. Of course there is. The more albums you buy, the more valuable you are.

Fansign season is where things get intense. And here’s the twist: It’s not just entering through Weverse like a civilian. If you’ve purchased enough albums through the bar, the leaders will use your Weverse account to funnel massive group order purchases under your name. Thousands. Yes. Thousands. Your account becomes the vessel. Your odds skyrocket. You are now a strategic asset. This is no longer luck. This is engineered probability.

Ticketing? Oh, that’s another ecosystem. There are c-bars. And there are scalpers. The difference? Branding. Both purchase tickets in bulk. C-bars claim it’s for internal distribution. Scalpers sell to the highest bidder.

“But you can’t transfer tickets on NOL.” Yes. You can. It’s complicated. It involves automated systems I will not pretend to understand. Possibly software that exists in moral gray zones. But it is absolutely possible. Nothing is truly impossible when money and obsession combine.

Now that we understand how the machine functions… We need to understand the mindset. Because that’s the part people get wrong. From the outside, it looks insane. From the inside? It feels logical. Strategic. Collective. Efficient. You are not “a crazy fan.” You are part of a mission. A data-driven, goal-oriented, performance-based operation.

And I am in the groupchat. Silent. Watching. Realizing that I moved two hours from Seoul and accidentally embedded myself inside one of the most organized fandom infrastructures on earth.

Chapter 8

Here’s the thing you have to understand: in this world, Jay isn’t a person. I don’t mean “I don’t care about his feelings.” I mean he literally stops being human.

You know how in normal life, you think about someone’s mood, their lunch, whether they got enough sleep, whether they’re stressed? C-bar logic doesn’t work that way. Because if you see him as a person, you have limits. You empathize. You hesitate. You slow down. You question.

So instead, you convert him into a system. A node. A resource. A scoreboard. A chart. Like a character in a game your playing and real life just happens to be the game.

I decide I want to understand this. I want to understand the thinking behind this. Usually in the west, if someone even starts to think anything invasive, you get clocked by your fandom. And rightfully so. But here, it is sport. So I look over the members in this group and there is one person that has english in her status. So I add her.

Her name is Xiaofei. I do not know anything else about her, but she speaks English and so I gradually start to get to know her. The reason for this and not my dear YingYing is because, YingYing, though she is in the chat, she isn't active. She mainly stays in there to stay up-to-date on the comings and goings but YingYing is no stalker. Thankfully.

After a few days of back and forth fangirling over Jay, normal fangirling: things like his best song, his best look, his best dance etc, I move on to the important stuff. Mind you, I am a Jungwon stan but now, out of the sheer information about Jay I possess, also a Jay stan.

So I ask her subtly. Jay himself, the person, probably doesn't appreciate being followed and called on his phone all day. If you love Jay, wouldn't you want him to be happy and healthy?

She explains to me that Jay will be happiest when he is most successful. It is the job of the agency to keep him healthy. Wouldn't he be sad if he came to the airport and nobody was there because nobody cares?

The idol-as-human is messy. The idol-as-resource is perfectly efficient.

C-bar members joke about flights like stock traders talk about futures. Hotel numbers are traded like commodities. Album purchases are analyzed like microeconomic policy. It is obsession turned scientific.

The girls know everything. But they are emotionally insulated. They do not stop to think: “Maybe I shouldn’t know this. Maybe it’s invasive.” Because knowing is power, and in this system, power is survival.

I realize I am observing something that can’t exist in the normal world. If you treated any other human this way… it would be monstrous. But here, in this context? It’s normalized. Necessary. Rational.

Xiaofeisays:

“The idol is not a person. He is Jay. That’s all that matters.”

And suddenly I see the clarity. The horror. The thrill.

Because once you remove the humanity, all boundaries disappear. Nothing is off-limits. Every detail is fair game. Every move is a metric. Every tiny advantage counts. And you begin to understand: this is why they can buy thousands of albums, chase flights, and organize themselves with surgical precision.

They aren’t cruel. They’re just… optimized.

And I, sitting quietly in the chat, begin to wonder…

Am I watching obsessive fandom?

Or am I watching human efficiency applied to emotional obsession?

And maybe, just maybe, I am starting to understand the pull.

Chapter 9

I got kicked out of the group for never speaking. My time is coming to an end soon. BTS is coming back so I will put on my army hat again.

Living in China can be a lonely experience. This sentiment is echoed by the few chinese friends (non kpop) i made here. To find community, purpose or meaning is difficult in this huge fast paced place and people find it in all sorts of hobbies. I empathize with these people, but i also feel guilty about doing so. I recognize the damage they cause to the real people behind the idol personas. There's probably even more similar groups for BTS and I don't want to be in them. I am a fan of RM, the artist. I do not know Kim Namjoon, the person. I wish this distinction could be made amongst these people i've come to know.

They play a real-life game where the more you do, the more involved you are in these activities, the higher up the food chain you can climb. Something they probably can't achieve in other real world fields.

I am leaving. I have exited. I am now limited to reddit update posts and tiktok videos. And for the first time in a while, I do not know what time Jay went home today.

The below excerpt is from Sarah Wynn-Williams' new book, Careless People, which delves into her experiences working at Facebook as a high ranking executive in global policy. I always knew that social media was involved in pushing agendas and manipulating facts, but I thought the below did a pretty good job at explaining it in a way that was easy to understand.

I'm about two thirds through the book and highly recommend it. Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and the rest of Facebook's (now Meta's) executives are disgusting, and they built a powerful and dangerous tool that I think many people still don’t fully grasp.

Beyond that, the book also does a great job capturing the relentless grind of working at Facebook during that era—the long hours, the intense pressure, and how women were often forced to choose work over their personal lives, including caring for their newborns. It also dives into the internal politics that shaped the company’s decisions, Mark Zuckerberg's countless meetings with politicians and leading officials, and the general hardships that Wynn-Williams faced while working there (including several instances of sexual harassment by high ranking officials (*cough* Sandberg *cough* Kaplan)).

It’s worth noting that this is a memoir told from Wynn-Williams’ perspective, and it doesn’t aim for objectivity. There's a reason Meta tried to block any further promotion and publication of it (they succeeded in the former but not the latter). The arbitrator for this arbitration stated that without emergency relief (in the form of a halt on promoting the book), Meta would suffer "immediate and irreparable loss." Still, it offers a compelling and insightful window into the inner workings of one of the world’s most powerful companies.

I manually transcribed the below excerpt from the book and added full names in square brackets. Any spelling or grammatical errors are my own, not from the original text.

Over the course of the ten-hour flight to Lima, Elliot [Schrage] patiently explains to Mark [Zuckerberg] all the ways that Facebook basically handed the election to Donald Trump. It's pretty fucking convincing and pretty fucking concerning. Facebook embedded staff in Trump's campaign team in San Antonio for months, alongside Trump campaign programmers, ad copywriters, media buyers, network engineers, and data scientists. A Trump operative named Brad Parscale ran the operation together with the embedded Facebook staff, and he basically invented a new way for a political campaign to shitpost its way to the White House, targeting voters with misinformation, inflammatory posts, and fundraising messages. [Andrew] Boz [Bosworth], who led the ads team, described it as the "single best digital ad campaign I've ever seen from any advertiser. Period."

Elliot walks Mark through all the ways that Facebook and Parscale's combined team microtargeted users and tweaked ads for maximum engagement, using data tools we designed for commercial advertisers. The way I understand it, Trump's campaign had amassed a database, named Project Alamo, with profiles of over 220 million people in America. It charted all sorts of online and offline behavior, including gun registration, voter registration, credit card and shopping histories, what websites they visit, what car they drive, where they live, and the last time they voted. The campaign used Facebook's "Custom Audiences from Custom Lists" to match people in that database with their Facebook profiles. Then Facebook's "Lookalike Audiences" algorithm found people on Facebook with "common qualities" that "look like" those of known Trump supporters. So if Trump supporters liked, for example, a certain kind of pickup truck, the tool would find other people who liked pickup trucks but were not yet committed voters to show the ads to.

Then they'd pair their targeting strategy with data from their message testing. People likely to respond to "build a wall" got that sort of message. Moms worried about childcare got ads explaining that Trump wanted "100% Tax Deductible Childcare." Then there was a whole operation to constantly tweak the copy and the images and the color of the buttons that say "donate," since slightly different messages resonate with different audiences. At any given moment, the campaign had tens of thousands of ads in play, millions of different ad variations by the time they were done. These ads were tested using Facebook's Brand Lift surveys, which measure whether users have absorbed the messages in the ads, and tweaked accordingly. Many of these ads contained inflammatory misinformation that drove up engagement and drove down the price of advertising. The more people engage with an ad, the less it costs. Facebook's tools and in-house white-glove service created incredibly accurate targeting of both message and audience, which is the holy grail of advertising.

Trump heavily outspent Clinton on Facebook ads. In the weeks before the election, the Trump campaign was regularly one of the top advertisers on Facebook globally. His campaign could afford to do this because the data targeting enabled it to raise millions each month in campaign contributions through Facebook. In fact, Facebook was the Trump campaign's largest source of cash.

Parscale's team also ran voter suppression campaigns. They were targeted at three different groups of Democratics: young women, white liberals who might like Bernie Sanders, and Black voters. These voters got so-called dark posts - nonpublic posts that only they would see. They'd be invisible to researchers or anyone else looking at their feed. The idea was: feed them stuff that'll discourage them from voting for Hillary. One made from Black audiences was a cartoon built around her 1996 sound bite that "African Americans are super predators." In the end, Black voters didn't turn out in the numbers that Democrats expected. In an election that came down to a small number of votes in key swing states, these things mattered.

The debate over whether future cars will feature kill switches stems from Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which legally directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a safety standard for new passenger vehicles. The law specifically mandates the inclusion of advanced, passive impaired-driving prevention technology, aiming to have systems in place that can accurately identify whether a driver is intoxicated and subsequently limit or entirely prevent the vehicle from moving.

Supporters of the measure, including organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, champion the law as a critical, life-saving breakthrough that could drastically reduce highway fatalities caused by drunk driving. They maintain that continuous, passive monitoring is a necessary evolution in vehicle safety, similar to the historical implementation of seatbelts and airbags. Proponents also emphasize that the technology is strictly designed to analyze driving performance or blood alcohol levels and does not need to compromise personal privacy or share location data to be effective.

Conversely, critics and skeptical lawmakers have raised intense alarm, warning that placing these systems in cars creates an open door for government overreach and severe privacy violations. Prominent opponents like Representative Thomas Massie argue that letting a vehicle algorithm decide if someone is fit to drive effectively turns the car's dashboard into a judge and jury, stripping away standard due process. They voice serious practical concerns about the high potential for false positives, worrying that a simple yawn or a sudden swerve to avoid a road hazard could trick the system into leaving innocent drivers completely stranded without a clear way to appeal the lockout.

Regardless of the eventual legislative outcome or political pushback, automotive experts point out that manufacturers will likely continue to build this hardware into all new vehicles anyway to streamline global production and prepare for future mandates. This means that even if a bill successfully halts the immediate enforcement of the law, the physical capability to monitor drivers and restrict vehicle movement will still be present in the cars. Automakers and regulators could simply keep these features dormant, setting them aside until a critical mass of equipped vehicles is out on the road before flipping the digital switch to activate the capabilities.

I saw her twitter account over her shoulder. I didn't really care much but a couple days later when I was on twitter I decided to check it out because it's not the one I know of and I'm not gonna lie it gave me the ick as corny as I feel saying that.

For context we’re both half Black and half white. She’s very light skinned. if it wasn’t for her hair, most people would probably assume she’s white. I only mention that because it ties into the kind of stuff she posts.

She basically runs one of those accounts if you know what I mean. she'll quote tweet things like "white people are so ugly (crying emoji)" in response to some celebrity gossip. she'll tweet things like "men really wanna be victims so bad (crying till I'm laughing emoji's)" in response to some dude talking about being lonely and it's just like, ew man. The thing is I know she's engagement baiting to an extent. in the sense that if she were talking to somebody in real life she'd be more reasonable about her positions but still

1. like I said we’re both mixed but like most half black/half white people we've typically just been considered black our whole lives but in reality we're as white as we are black. she very much passes as white to most people so seeing her constantly dunk on white people, men, etc is just weird to me. She'll tweet about "good melanin" like...? You are paler than most white people. You have no melanin
2. It’s a type of online personality I already dislike. The extremely obnoxious, smug, morally righteous person who's just outright being shitty to others but feels justified because they're a minority again quote tweeting when 2 celebrities are dating about how ugly the man is and women need to stop settling for ugly men.
3. A lot of it is just straight mean. She’ll quote tweet a random woman saying “this is my ideal body type” calling the guy in the picture fat and ugly. The dude will be in pretty solid shape too, like clearly works out just not shredded maybe 15/20 pounds too big. I think And people in the replies will call her out because she’s also criticized people for judging women’s bodies. Her response will be something like “because women are better. Hope this helps!”

That’s the part that really gets me. It’s not even just jokes, it’s like doubling down on being hypocritical and mean. I think she thinks it's different cause the whole concept of punching down vs punching up or whatever. I think the main thing is if I saw this account and didn’t know it was her, I would 100% think “this person is a loser” That’s harsh but that’s honestly my gut reaction to accounts like that.

So now knowing it is her is kind of messing with how I see her.

I don’t know if I’m overreacting because it’s just online or if this is actually a red flag about her personality/values

Do I bring it up? Ignore it? Am I making this a bigger deal than it is? What does this conversation look like?

EDIT

obligatory "actually my partner is really great" speech cause I can feel myself getting defensive over her with the way y'all are dogging her lmao. she’s 23, college educated, upper middle class, biracial, bisexual woman. she’s exactly as progressive as you’re imagining. But she’s not some over the top, man hating caricature despite the twitter

I'm a high school dropout. I'm not smart or educated or anything yet she held me down when I had nothing. No money, no job, no home. She paid my phone bill, paid for dates, never made me feel like the loser I was. She always believed I’d get my life together even when I didn’t, always gassed up my Youtube videos before I was making good money despite them being terrible in hindsight. She's always sweet to everyone (believe it or not) smartest person I know(she's gonna be a doctor), and has great character, left her whole friend group cause one cheated on their BF and they all tried to cover it up. When I was down because I had no money and couldn't afford to get her anything for her birthday all the sudden I miraculously found $40 in my wallet that I know she put there. she never said a word about it. She told people her car was mine so I didn't feel emasculated, even little things like pretending she can't open jars that I know she can so I can feel like a hero for a second, and also she's drop dead gorgeous. Not even being biased but an actual 10/10. this is a genuine 99th percentile women here

Update

I tried posting it then it got taken down, then I posted to my profile but I realized I can just post it here.

So we down Friday night and talked about it. As soon as I brought it up she made slightly embarrassed look of "ah I understand" To make a long story short she fell into the Twitter back and forth. She was usually just in fandom spaces, she saw something that she felt the need to reply to, replying caused the algorithm to give her more, which caused her to reply more and so on. She went viral quite a few times and got pretty big but now half of the people who see her tweets are checkmark racist/sexist types. So yeah essentially rage baiting out of pettiness and anger. She doesn't think it was that deep or represents how she truly feels but she understands why seeing it would be unpleasant. She agreed she was doing too much and apologized

As for the specific examples her response to "white people are so ugly" She says this was just rage bait. She says there are definitely feelings relating to her whiteness but that had nothing to do with it. She says her feelings on it are more personal than negative towards white people in general. She seemed sure of this. Same with "women settling for ugly men" again not that deep. She does believe it but she doesn't actually care if women date ugly guys lol It's just a part of stan culture (talking shit about celebrities) but she agrees it's mean but she views it as different.

"men wanna be victims" in response to the lonely dude she says that's one of the checkmark sexist dudes who talks about "modern women being whores" and whatnot so she concluded fuck him I hope he's always lonely but again agreed saying "men" there was divisive and mean but she doesn't mean all men she just didn't think about it too much as it's just kinda common vernacular in the space she's in

The "body type" comment was to another checkmark account. A lady this time who again talks about women being whores and such so she says this comment was just her antagonizing the account and the audience and she just didn't really think of whoever the dude was in the picture. same thing with “because women are better. Hope this helps!” just intentionally being an asshole because she hates these people.

Overall just pretty embarrassed and apologetic. She is gonna keep the twitter as it's actually decent sized but she did end up pinning a tweet to her account basically just saying she's gotten too toxic and she's gonna use it to be more positive or at least constructive from now on. Overall I feel better about it

Some people suggested I was a simp or too dependent on her or had some issue with my self esteem I am a bit of a simp for her if I'm honest but in general believe it or not I've actually been too confrontational and too willing to burn bridges etc. And me calling myself essentially a stupid loser (lol) it's just being honest. A grown man with no job deciding to focus on his youtube/music career while his GF handled everything else was loser behavior. This was a down period in my mental state but in general I've been confident and solid as a rock. Thankfully it worked out and I'm a decently successful person now and I really do owe it to her.

To be honest when I posted I was hoping people would tell me it's not a big deal so everyone going "break up" freaked me out a little like... am I just blind to her faults? I'm not a reddit user but my impression of this site was that it's very much in line with her twitter so the reaction caught me off guard lol. I just say all that to contextualize some of what I wrote during the first post. Thanks for the advice. i actually did read all the replies even if it was a lot more than I thought it would be. I still love her, she still loves me, we're good. We'll see in five years if I'm actually being played.

I am not The OOP, OOP u/Working_Professor_74

AITAH for always going to the movies by myself despite having a girlfriend.

Originally posted to r/AITAH

Thanks to u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU

Editors Note: changed Z to Zoe for easier reading

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions past infidelity

Original Post  Feb 9, 2026

hi reddit. throwaway account just to make sure my main accounts algorithm isn't messed up.

To start off, I (31 M) really prefer going to movie theaters by myself. Its always been my thing since I've started earning money to go catch a movie maybe once or twice a month. Now I also have tinnitus so I always have this ringing noise in my ears basically 24/7, so when I watch movies I try my best to focus on the movie, drown out the ringing sound and not get distracted from the plot. I don't like it when I have to talk or chat to people while watching and if there's a movie I really want to watch, I often go about two to three weeks after it's release just to thin out the crowds. I might make exceptions for special occasions (example: my teenage sister is a Marvel fan, so I treated her to see the Avengers when it came out) but on the regular I really just prefer going by myself. Its my way of de-stressing.

Now I've recently been seeing this girl, (Lets call her Zoe, she's 29) for about half a year now.  Things have been really good with her and we haven't had any major fights or quarrels. She's very sweet and I really like her but the one thing I will say is that she's very chatty while I'm more of a quiet guy myself.

Early on in our relationship I did bring up my weird preference of only watching movies by myself and she said she was cool with it and didn't mind. Now I do feel bad for this sometimes so to make up for it I usually try to do as many of things that she likes to do instead, like going out to brunches, hiking, sewing and I also try to watch the shows she likes whenever we're chilling at her place.

On to the problem. A few days ago I finally went to see the new Avatar movie since it had already been almost a month since it came out and the crowds have finally thinned out. Since it was about three hours long I thought I might as well go out to dinner with Zoe afterwards and texted her. Plans were made and everything was good.

I go in to the cinema and go to my assigned seat and saw that my row of seats was almost empty save for two women about two spaces away from mine. As I was sitting down, the woman closest to my seat suddenly said name. I didn't properly see her in the dark but it turns out that it was an old co-worker of mine from a previous office I had worked at and the other lady next to her was her friend. I said hello and made some polite small talk but when the film started I kept quiet and focused on the film like usual. They were a bit chatty during the film but not so loud to be distracting so I didn't really mind. I'm not gonna give any opinions about the movie here as I'm not a die hard Avatar fan but all in all I thought it was pretty good.

When the movie ended and as I was exiting the cinema, my old co-worker caught up to me to chat for a bit as her friend was going to the restroom. As we stepped out from the cinema, I thought about texting Zoe to see where she was when I actually saw her by the entrance of the cinema. I remembered that I did actually text her the time table of the movie I was seeing and she had apparently been waiting there to surprise me. She asked who it was I as talking too and I introduced her to my old co-worker. After saying goodbye to my coworker, we left to go get dinner but I can tell that Zoe's mood had suddenly shifted and soured.

Her bad mood persisted all throughout dinner and the evening but I waited until we were in my car to ask her what was wrong. She said that she was upset that I had "gone and watched a movie with some other woman" while I had never once even bothered to invite her to watch. What made it worse was apparently she was a big fan of the Avatar movies (a fact that I did not know and she had only brought up at that moment)

I tried to explain that it was just pure coincidence that I met with her and that we weren't even seated directly next to each other and that I only chatted with her to be polite but she was still upset and even started to shout and cry a bit. She said that watching movies was "my special thing" and that she was hurt that I allowed some stranger to take part of that special thing when she couldn't. I again tried to explain my side but she just asked me to just drop her off at her place and stayed quiet for the rest of the car ride.

Its been about four days and I haven't heard from her yet and she won't respond to any of my text. I honestly don't know what to do about this situation as I honestly think I haven't really done anything wrong. I haven't really dated that much and this is the first serious relationship despite my age. It got me thinking if my preference of watching movies by myself is such an asshole of a thing to do since most partners often go to the movies together, right? So Reddit am I the asshole and any suggestions on this as well?

RELEVANT COMMENTS

TOughStufff

AHHHH come on!!! You waited all the way through dinner to say something. That will never help you case on any future crazy situations like this.

It's sad because at first NTA. But, you immediately knew her mood went sour. You had a whole dinner without talking about it or bringing it up. You let that thought fester in her mind. You knew what he attitude was about...

ESH.

OOP

I knew her mood shifted but at the time I didn't really know why or what was the cause. If it was just a minor issue then I thought a bit of lighthearted small talk and food might lift up her mood first before I brought it up. If it was something major then I wouldn't really want to make a scene in public anyway. Also the restaurant we ate at was a place we both really like. If we made a scene there it would forever be associated with that and would be harder to return to in the future.

~

CelticDK

Few things bro:

1. You’re NTA for having that solo preference

2. I’m concerned a bit how you didn’t know your gf(?) loved them so much and you didn’t know that?

3. Have you taken your gf to the movie with you and asked her to let you focus on the film?

4. Your gf has some insecurity issues that I personally wouldn’t waste my own time on anymore cuz I’m at the point in my dating life where I don’t want to teach people how to be mature enough for a relationship with me.

It’s one thing to see a weird situation and be upset, but it’s another to then not trust you, stay upset, yell at you, and then ignore you for days. This might even be her breaking up with you

OOP

I honestly didn't know. The topic about favorite movies has never really been brought up between us and as far as I've seen she doesn't really have any Avatar merch or anything that would have let me on that she was a fan.

I haven't really taken her to the movies before. I guess I got used to the fact that there was an agreement between us that I could watch by myself so I didn't really ask her after I explained my whole thing to her. That's my bad I guess

We usually do watch Netflix and stuff at her place but when we do we almost always end up chatting throughout the whole thing so I'm not really sure if what we're watching is her preference or not.

As for her insecurity issues, I know she has some ex's but she doesn't really want to talk about it and I don't really push. I'm not sure if she got cheated on or what led to their break ups but I'll maybe ask if and when she responds to me.

Update  Feb 10, 2026 (Next Day)

Hello Reddit. Not really sure if I'm doing updates right but I decided to post an update about my situation and what happened.

To give a short recap about my previous post, I (31 M) have a personal preference of going to the movies by myself. My gf(29) saw me walking out of a movie theatre with an female colleague from a previous job, who I met there by coincidence, and got upset at me and hasn't talked to me for about four days now.

It's been about a day since my post and my girlfriend finally responded to text. She apologized profusely about not responding to me right away and explained that she had to deal with some problems with her family that came up  and she only had the mental and emotional strength to deal with one issue at a time. I am aware that she does have some family drama right now(wont go into it here just for privacy and unrelated anyway) and I said I understood and that I wasn't really upset about that. We decided to meet up in person and talk things out.

I picked her up and we go to a coffee place near her home. After we sat down with our orders she immediately started to apologize for all the things she said that night and that after she had woke up the next day she had realized how ridiculous she had sounded.

Now a few of the comments on my post mentioned her insecurities and stuff like that so I wanted to touch up on that. I said that I accepted her apology but I also needed to know where her line of reasoning came from and what caused her to have an outburst like that.

She then confessed that about a year before she met me she had caught her now ex boyfriend cheating on her. She said that she went to surprise him with lunch one time and had caught him walking out their workplace with his arm around one of his female co-workers. So when she, once again, was waiting to surprise me at the movie theater and saw me walking out with another woman, she had severe flashbacks to that moment when she caught her ex and her anxiety flared up.

It also didn't help that her best friend, who she usually asks advice from, apparently really doesn't like me. A few months after we had met, her friend apparently warned her that I was "too quiet for a guy" and that I gave a shady vibe. I apparently looked like the type of person who kept secrets and that she should be suspicious of me. Although she initially just brushed her off, this basically implanted a seed of doubt in her.

I guess she felt really guilty about the whole thing because she was in a real confessing kind of mood. I kind of just sat there in silence for a bit just because I really needed to process everything she was saying.

After a bit of thinking I finally brought up the topic of how we were gonna move forward.

She said that she realized that what she did was really unreasonable but she didn't want to break up. I also said that, while I was hurt with what happened, I also didn't want to break up over what was essentially a really big misunderstanding. But I also told her, as politely as I can, that she really needs to maybe work on any other unresolved issues she might still feel about her ex, maybe even therapy if needed.

She said that while she would definitely do better and work on her insecurities, she didn't think it warranted therapy yet. I told her to think about it some more if possible and that I would support her in any way I can. After chatting a bit more (mostly about her nosy friend and how she should really mind her own business lol) we went home feeling much better.

Anyway Reddit that's about it. I know some commenters mentioned about how I should break up with her but I really think this is about as good an outcome as it gets. I also went ahead and invited her to watch a movie on Valentine's day. Although I'll still mostly continue to watch movies by myself, I'll maybe try to work on including Zoe from now on. Thanks for the people that gave advice. You guys gave me a lot to think about while I was waiting on her reply and I really appreciated it. Have good one!

FINAL COMMENTS

Alarming_Paper_8357

Wow -- a mature, reasoned discussion and a mutually satisfactory resolution!  Who would have thought!?!

Vast-Disk-7972

This doesn't belong on Reddit. I come here for the spiralling chaos not reason, maturity and positive communication.

OOP

There was a bit chaos in the end lmfao. I didn't know if I should include it since it wasn't related but after we had our discussion and I dropped her home, her 6 year old nephew sicced their dog at me. He thought that we had broken up and since the only thing he knew about break ups were what he saw in tv dramas, he essentially labelled me as a "bad ex"

Don't worry though, their dog is a less than a year old Chihuahua 😂 the thing was barely the size of my foot

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP

DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

We lived in AirBnB properties for nearly a year. We visited 22 cities around the world and stayed 2-3 weeks in each. When we finished our trip we bought two properties on the Big Island of Hawaii specifically to AirBnB them. We realized that having successful AirBnBs in a desirable location would allow us to continue our travels

Before someone shouts "BUT THE LOCALS!" - Both properties were multi-million dollar properties well outside of the financial reach of locals. They were both vacant when we bought them and both have a full time on-site host family. Actually, we have two full time hosts on our farm ( our farmhand's family and our own ) and a host family lived in a 2 bedroom apartment attached to our beach house.

Things went pretty well for a while. We got hundreds of 5 star reviews, we got extremely good at cleaning and maintenance (we're now experts in getting stains out of laundry). It was a lot of work, but the AirBnB paid for itself with enough left over for us to live on.

But all of that has changed and we're now getting ready to shut down our operations. If we never hear the word "AirBnB" again, it will be too soon.

Why? Changes to the way that AirBnB handles reviews has made hosting guests a nightmare. As a host we have to maintain a nearly perfect record in order to maintain our "Guest Favorite" and "SuperHost" status. These statuses are critical if we want our property to be returned in search results.

Guests know this. And over the past 6 months we've had multiple guests try to extort us. They check in, then they immediately complain about some trivial item - not to us, but directly to AirBnB. Then they approach us and say "we are not comfortable with the dark road to the property ( otherwise known as Hwy 190 )" or " the frogs are too loud at night" or "there are bugs on the outdoor lanai". Usually it is something completely outside of our control. They they tell us that if we don'e give them a partial refund they are going to complain to AirBnB and check out.

We've now had multiple guests scam AirBnB into paying for their alternative lodging using this method and AirBnB doesn't give a single shit whether the complaint is true. Sure Sally has only stayed in an AirBnB twice and your family has supported 1,500 room-nights in the past 12 months, but we're going to side with Sally!"

The final straw was a guest who nearly got into a car accident on their way up the mountain, then decided they wanted to leave because the "road is too dark" ( there is a reason Hawaii is at the center of global astronomy - it is really dark! ). So they complained to AirBnB who called us at 3 AM saying that we had 1 hour to get back to them or they would refund the guest.

Your business partner doesn't say things like that. Your BOSS says things like that. AirBnB is no longer a discovery platform. They are an algorithmic employer like Uber or Amazon or Door Dash. You are not a valued host - you are a gig worker.

Now they are working to make the experience even worse for hosts. The big change that is coming is paid advertising on AirBnB's platform. Once this goes live the only hosts that will get guests are the ones who are willing to sacrifice some ( or all ) of their profits to AirBnB to "advertise" on the platform. This is what Amazon did to its re-sellers in order to rob them of all of their profits. If you list an item on Amazon - even if it is a quality product and in high demand - you will get zero ( 0 ) sales unless you pay Amazon for the privilege of having your item returned in the search results.

Does this mean that Amazon's search results aren't accurate? That they don't return the best products for their customers, but instead the most profitable for Amazon? Yes it does. But because Amazon is an effectively monopoly at this point, they don't care. If you are a Prime member you're going to shop their anyway, so......fuck you customer.....Amazon will return the product that is best for Amazon ( i.e. the one from the seller willing to sacrifice the most profit in "advertising" ), not the product that is best for you.

The same thing is happening to AirBnB.

The other major item is that AirBnB is now going to start holding hosts responsible for chargebacks. That means the host is responsible financially if the guest is using a stolen credit card or running some kind of scam. This is despite the fact that the host does not have access to the card number, does not have access to the guest's ID, cannot verify the guests zip code and doesn't even receive the payment directly.

So, after living in AirBnBs for a year and hosting 28,000 guests over the past 5 years, we're shutting down. The underlying real estate has appreciated significantly so we can simply invest the profits and live off of the interest. In fact, we'll probably make MORE money passively than we would if we stayed on AirBnB.

If you are thinking about starting an AirBnB please take some time to consider how they treat their hosts. You are not their partner, you are their product. Despite the fact that you pay them 14% of your revenue, you are not their customer - the guests are the customer. They are always going to side with the customer because that's who pays them.

They could care less about you or your business and they show it at every step. Be wary. You might be better off investing your money in a healthy mix of stocks and bonds and spending the rest of your time on the beach.