Something I think that is very telling about the modern belief that all relations, even romantic ones, are about power is that the types who believe this almost always get the power differential reversed. That is, assuming it even exists or is real — which it usually is not, or is inconsequential even if one is present.

For instance, a 25-year-old dating someone 40. Assuming the 25-year-old is a woman, she has vastly more choices in the dating market if she is at all attractive. 80% of men of any age and 10% of women would potentially want to be with her. For an average forty year old man? That’s maybe 2% of women and 0.5% of men. Below average? Then it’s basically 0% in both categories. Quite the potential actual real-world power differential there and it’s not really on the side of the older person!

Of course making relationships about power differentials is fucking full-on crazy evil. I can’t think anything outside of war more harmful to human flourishing. But it has become so pervasive it’s hard to get out of that frame of thought. They won, ruining much and gaining little.

Evil, evil.

When women say men need to “hold other men accountable” are they expecting sane ordinary men to throw on the Batsuit and fight crime?

Ha, yes, in many cases. Not realizing that “holding men accountable” in fact means those men you’re supposedly holding accountable just straight up murder you. Most men aren’t comfortable with that risk. Nor should they be.

Four things that I would be totally fine with if they disappeared forever: group chats, smartphones, lip filler and tattoos.

I personally blame Angelina Jolie for popularizing tattoos on women and for lip filler. Angelina’s lips are natural but everyone was attempting to look like her and instead they look like ducks. She was also one of the first well-known women in the modern era to have a lot of tattoos. And she spread that mind virus, damn her.

What double standard in society goes generally unnoticed or without being called out?

Part of the thread is about attractive/pretty privilege and yep, that is a real thing. Found out myself in the last few years. In the before times, prior to me being all buff and considered hot, I’d go to a hotel to check in and would be treated with mild disdain often or just ignored.

Now, if the counter attendant is a woman I’m greeted extremely warmly and often when it comes time to show ID, the reaction is, “ID? Tee-hee! Who needs THAT?” or something similar. It’s disturbing coming from how I know I would’ve been treated 5-6 years ago. It bothers me because until you stray into that land you don’t know just how much better attractive people get treated. And I know how indifferently I would’ve been treated not that long ago.

That reminds me, I was hanging out one time with an extremely conventionally attractive woman friend who’d gotten a traffic ticket of some kind and had to go to court. As we were kicking it, she was checking that the judge was a man and I asked her why. She said, “Because if I dress hot and act stupid in court, I’ll probably get out of this ticket. But not too hot. Not slutty hot but business hot.”

And sure enough, she texted me a couple of days later and said, “Got out of the ticket. Don’t have to pay $250!”

Pretty privilege in action. I don’t blame her for weaponizing it but damn.

What double standard in society goes generally unnoticed or without being called out?

If you’re fit and attractive, it’s assumed you didn’t work for it and were just magically born that way. (Hint: Most people are not.)

However, if you are seen putting any effort at all into working out or improving yourself a lot of people (mostly Ian Welshian liberal types, but not just them) see it as “cheating” for some inexplicable reason.

Makes no motherfucking sense.

We closed the mental institutions and now all those people are on public transportation. Which is why I avoid it.

I don’t need to come up on charges because I accidentally kill some clown who threatened me on a bus.

The first ten on today’s playlist:

Look at that shit y’all. OK it was partly luck. But damn.

Does anyone even play Wordle anymore?

Such a cute country song. Love it.