BSR

9 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

that’s not how social media algorithms work.  An algorithm will feed you stories & information that you already agree with, or is predicted you will like, based upon the vast information they already have about all your internet habits.  The use of algorithms is to keep you engaged and online, preferably in an agitated state where you will continue high levels of engagement.

Social media algorithms do not give you contrary information to your beliefs or likes because that would lead to less engagement.  Less engagement means less time online which means less money for social media companies.  
Thus, whatever your beliefs and values, social media is engineered to reinforce those beliefs and feed you more to the point of radicalization.  It’s on both sides - not partisan. 

This is good - you have connected your distaste for H&M to a core belief which is offensive to you.  Most people don’t get that far.  
 
The question I’d ask is, why is this “cult of victimhood” an irritant for you ?  That too may be something that is not really the core issue.  
Usually if things don’t bother me in my day to day living, I shrug it off.  I can’t imagine a scenario in my daily life where the cult of victimhood could be a thing.  I’m more likely to be bothered by my neighbors who can’t park right and makes it more difficult for me in getting in/out of my garage - literally everyday & multiple times a day.  
I try not to devote any time or attention to things that cause negative intense feelings & there is nothing I can do to change it - because that’s a trap and the ultimate self-inflicted mind-fuck. 

Maybe you’re surrounded by victims ?  Or, have family history where victim behavior was common ?  Or, maybe it’s something else entirely ?  But, what it’s not is Harry & Meghan - it’s not like you’re going to run into them at a party and you will be subjected to them.  You’re likely choosing to consume information about them given you have total control over your media sources - the question is why consume that information if it’s so distasteful ?  That’s like drinking something that tastes awful. 

You're getting really tiresome. I started what was going to be a very long discourse to respond to your post until I realized it would be a total waste of time.

Why are you so obsessed with what other people think and talk about?  You can write post after post after post on this obscure, virtually impossible-to-find Internet forum yet still fail to change what even one single member here thinks and says -- forget changing the thinking of society at large.

But hey, if you enjoy wagging your finger at people, dictating how they should think, controlling what they talk about, post away to your heart's content.  Thank God for the "ignore" setting.

1 hour ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

I have a neutral opinion on Harry & Meghan - they don’t rise to any level of importance for me to think about them.   

The only interesting thing about them is the strong dislike (and strong positive attachments) they inspire among some that appear obsessed.  And specifically, the continued attention the obsessed give to H&M while wanting them “gone”.   That’s an odd sort of cultural phenomenon that espouses a basic contradiction which makes no sense and unfortunately, it’s not unique  to Harry & Meghan opinions.
It’s a broader sign of American cultural malaise where people are relatively affluent & bored, looking for things to complain about.  Their basic needs are met, so time can be spent on issues that have no actual importance.  It’s also a sign that some basic critical thinking skills have been abandoned with very little (if any) self-reflection about the source of intense feeling  “triggered” by Harry & Meghan.  It’s not normal to have such intense feelings about something that has zero affect on one’s own life - unless there’s something else going on that is at the root of the feelings. 

The obsession is likely the end result of social media consumption and being fed “news” by algorithms that cause those intense feelings or passively watching television where you’re being told what to think.  That’s how it works.  

You're certainly entitled to your opinion.  I see this phenomenon quite differently, surprise surprise. 

Meghan Markle is a professional victim -- victimhood is literally how she makes her money.  Since I believe the Cult of Victimhood is destroying our society, I cannot remain neutral in my opinion of her.  In Harry, I see the world's most pathetic beta male, a castrated soy boy completely wrapped around his wife's finger.  At a time when we most need men to be stronger, not weaker, Harry parades his weakness as if it were a virtue.  And don't get me started on how these two "climate warriors" travel everywhere via private jet.  Greta Thunberg had her run, but today she's a toxic nobody.  Hopefully the Ginger & the Whinger meet the same fate.

The narrative being shoved down our throat is that victimhood is social currency, masculinity is toxic, and climate change is the greatest crisis of our lifetime.  If I swallowed the algorithms hook, line & sinker, I would be praising and glorifying H&M.  Hardly the case. 

4 hours ago, jessmapex said:

@BSR what websites / app do you use to.hire in Barcelona/ Europe ? The escorts on RM listed there pretty much quote the same rate as here adjusted to Euros. 

Sorry if I gave the impression that I'm an experienced hirer in Spain, def not the case.  But I hear that Telechaperos is the best website in Spain and the guys do charge less than on Rentmen.  The catch is the website and all the ads are in Spanish.  The up side is that it's pretty user-friendly.  Just click on the city you're looking in on the right side of the page, then click "Búsqueda Avanzada" to narrow down stuff like age, active/passive/vers, in/out call plus to find guys who cater to your particular fetish.

Dunno if Google Translate will work for Telechaperos, but even if it does, you're hard-pressed to find chaperos on the site who speak English.  Maybe the Rentmen guys charge more because, with ads in English, they're hoping to attract more foreign clients.

On 5/24/2023 at 4:58 AM, menaughty said:

In my humble opinion $400 is too much. Heck even $300 is too much tbh. $250 should be the cap. I haven't hired in the US for almost 2 years now. I take trips to Barcelona or Brazil  etc. (I understand that the cost is more in total) but I get more bang for my buck.

As much as I think that complaining about higher rates is pointless, I understand that many clients simply don't have the budget for $400 guys.  So they gotta get creative.

Yes, your total cost is higher abroad, but you're also killing 2 birds with 1 stone: vacation to a great place and plenty of chapero ("escort" in Spain, don't know the word in Brazil) good times.

As @tassojunior points out, rates are much lower in Europe.  Find a cheap flight, cheap eats, opt for non-posh hotel, and hire to your heart's content.  To think, in a great city like Barcelona, you can hire 6 chaperos at Thermas and buy tickets for Parque Guell+Sagrada Familia for the cost of 1 escort stateside!

14 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

there is zero logic in a thread by those wishing for Harry & Meghan to “just go away” - and then devoting so much additional time & effort to analyze their latest adventure ad nauseum , thus ensuring the continued relevance of the couple you want to see no more ?   Makes no sense & ass backwards.  

I doubt Harry & Meghan's continued relevance is ensured by discussion on an obscure, virtually impossible-to-find Internet forum.

1 minute ago, purplekow said:

Woke is meant to be demeaning and your disdain in this post alone makes my point. Thanks, though I am usually disappointed by most things you post, you manage here to disappoint and not disappoint at the same time.  

You're making this personal.  Glad to see I've hit a nerve.

PS:  Why don't you set me to "ignore"?  You'll have fewer meltdowns that way.

3 minutes ago, purplekow said:

It seems to me you would qualify as woke then, because I have never seen you agree with anyone or consider anything other than you own agenda.  Just an observation, feel free to disagree and further the evidence for the validity.  

How often have I called people who disagree with me "racist"?  Never, or almost never (been a member here a long time, not gonna dig up 20 years of posts).

But wokety-wokes screech "racist" every 3.5 seconds, to the point that "racist" has lost any and all meaning.  Then again, wokety-wokes, as much as they ostentatiously pretend to care about racism, deep down don't give a sh*t because all they care about is themselves and their own selfish benefit, because wokety-wokes and professional victims are the most grotesquely selfish beings in the history of the human race.

22 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

All right. I'm sure everyone following this string is dying to know what my exotic stud's ethnicity is. I had an extended conversation with him (including my showing him an old photo of my biological father). He's a tenured professor of business administration, and was wearing shorts and a tank-top this evening. I wanted to lick every inch of his body so badly (though he's married and his hubby was in the same room). I finally got to ask him, and he said his Dad was Spanish-Mexican and his Mom Scottish. He said that wherever he goes, people often assume he's of their ethnicity (Arabia, Italy, etc.). I suspect he's aware that his looks are exotic (and hot). Some flirty conversation between him, my beau, and myself. I'd be so happy just to have a little taste--a little lick on his deltoid.... 😜

First, the swarthy stud sounds hotter than Hades.  Also, nice to hear how he responded to your inquiry.  A professional victim would have had a screeching meltdown.  But a normal, well-adjusted adult simply answers the question.

43 minutes ago, José Soplanucas said:

The racists jumped to defend themselves without being called. I love it!

They always show too much voluntarily. 

Beyond disingenuous, you're being flat-out dishonest.  It was quite obvious who you were referring to in this thread.

By the way, have you been able to come up with a definition of "supremacist"?  You called me that a few posts back yet still haven't said what it is.

29 minutes ago, José Soplanucas said:

I am glad the local racists are having their party. So the people who did not get to know them in the P forum now they do. 

@pubic_assistance, because José Soplanucas couldn't come up with an argument, he stooped to name-calling.  First "supremacist" (which he cannot define), now "racists."

In Victimhood (the language of the wokety-wokes), "racist" means "anyone who disagrees with me."

2 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Harry and Meghan? Your compass to look for victims is pointed in the right direction (for a blind Supremacist).

Sorry, I don't speak Victimhood.  What's a "Supremacist"?  I'm guessing it means "anyone who disagrees with me."

16 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Often, the critics of "victimhood" are blind to recognizing when victims exist. 

Of course it exists, some awful people will always be amongst us, but on a systemic level?  I'd point to other factors *coughsinglemotherhoodcough* but don't want to get too political.

Sad to say, for far too many Americans victimhood is social currency.  Forget fancy degrees, income, net worth, or even cock size, the ultimate in prestige and social status is victimhood.  That's why Harry & Meghan scream "racism!" every 3.5 seconds.  There is no chic like victim chic.

1 hour ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

when a white personal asks those questions to a person-of-color in a society/culture/country that is predominantly white, then it’s a clear signal that the person is “other” or doesn’t belong to the dominant group.  that’s what makes it offensive. 

This sums up the Cult of Victimhood:  the knack for taking any possible situation and figuring out how to make yourself a victim.

On 1/31/2023 at 2:21 PM, musclestuduws said:

Sorry but I find laughable that your main source on this issue is a Wikipedia entry and that you would question me based on that. Smart and genuinely  concerned  people would instead admit their ignorance and ask questions to find out more rather than attacking someone “ad hominem.” Anyway, I guess that’s your modus operandi on this website from what I’ve seen elsewhere. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, as Alexander Pope said. My sources are not anecdotal, I happen to be friends with scholars at top Brazilian universities who publish academic articles, books, and well-researched reports on these issues. I also know gay activists who have been fighting against discrimination in Brazil for decades. Several gay political leaders and activists were killed during the Bolsonaro administration without any serious investigation from the authorities. Many more killings of trans people have gone unreported on the media. Here is just a sample of the many articles on the subject available online. In  English. I have several academic articles on file myself. There are tons more if one does a little research, which you could have done yourself.  Of course, a lot more sources and reports are in Portuguese. But just the sample included here paints a pretty devastating  picture. Anyway I’ve spent too much time already on this so it’s up to you now to be willing to be enlightened by the research. For instance, a damning report from the University of Alabama Institute for Human Rights shows that even the passing of legislation that expanded right for LGBTQ+ people, had not actual effects on their lives or even less in restraining the violence and rising number of hate crimes. It is a gross mistake to equate the passing of legislation with the reality of people on the streets. 

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/brazil-continues-be-country-largest-number-trans-people-killed

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-lgbt-murders-trfn/reported-murders-suicides-of-trans-people-soar-in-brazil-idUSKBN25Z31O

https://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=765ed1d7-c620-48a8-ab60-2e04e16a3971

https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/12/i-became-scared-was-their-goal/efforts-ban-gender-and-sexuality-education-brazil

https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/02/18/brazil-trans-murders-jair-bolsonaro-175-people-murdered-2020-antra/

https://theconversation.com/amp/how-lgbtq-people-are-resisting-bolsonaros-brazil-through-art-115072

https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2022/09/30/lgbtq-rights-in-brazil/

Gay activists and gender studies professors drive an agenda in the US, and obviously the same is true in Brazil.  Their very livelihoods, their means of paying their mortgages and feeding their families, depend on pushing a specific narrative.

Fair-minded people see this narrative with some skepticism.  But members of the choir embrace this narrative as gospel.

30 minutes ago, dbar123 said:

Maybe I’m missing something, but if someone wants to take your picture…so what? Not sure why this is such a big deal for these spoiled royals.  They make the problem worse by turning these things into such a manufactured crisis.

Yeah, I don't get it either.  If you're with your mistress or drug dealer, OK, but other than that, no big whoop.

That's just it, the "manufactured crisis" is exactly what Whinge & Ginge want.  If their precious celebrity ever fades, lucrative offers will dry up.  Without $multimillion Netflix and book deals, they might have to suffer unspeakable hardship, like flying commercial instead of private (eek!).

4 hours ago, robberbaron4u said:

Has anyone given any thought that the "chase" was a "orchestrated" event, a "pity ploy" staged by two people who felt that they had been denied their share of the limelight in past weeks? The whole scenario just seems to "pat" to be creditable as a spontaneous event.

The Whinger & the Ginger's sole source of income is their celebrity.  Yes, Harry did inherit a good amount from his mother, but money goes awfully quick when living the glamorous life.  So what choice do they have but to tirelessly prime the pump?

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I guess that the other reason for the death penalty is to encourage defendants to avoid contesting the charges in exchange for accepting a plea of life without parole instead of the death penalty. Though, if it were me, I'd rather get the death penalty than go to state prison for life without the possibility of parole. 

So would I.  The HBO drama Oz made prison sound hella fun:  tons of smokin' hot guys, great sex nonstop, maybe meet the love of your life.  Pretty sure the reality of prison is quite different.  Get it over with.

But interestingly enough, whenever presented a choice between death or life without parole, almost all convicts choose the latter.  Given how relatively few convicts are actually executed (22 in 2019, 17 in 2020, 11 in 2021, 18 in 2022), I'm guessing the same thing, that the death penalty is more an ace up law enforcement's sleeve than anything else.

Allow me to share what happened to someone I know (no, not "a friend," literally just someone I know).  "John" and "Sam" meet and fall madly in love, or at least John does.  In his mid-30s, John thinks he has finally found true love.  Of course John introduced Sam to his 2 best friends, his adopted family since he wasn't that close to his biological family. 

After a few times out to dinner & drinks, John's 2 friends tried to warn him that something was off, that Sam's body language just didn't feel right.  John just shrugged it off as Sam being less demonstrative or less comfortable with PDA.  After all, he and Sam had mind-blowing sex every night, which was far more important to him than some vague intuition.  Then when Sam asked John to lend him $20,000 (to start a business or some such), the 2 friends rang all the alarm bells, but too late.  The last 6 months with Sam had been the happiest of John's life.

As soon as the check cleared, so did Sam (oh, shock!).  John got a "Dear John" letter from Australia, where Sam had gone to join his true love.  Sam was terribly sorry (uh huh), but don't worry, he promised to pay John back every penny of the $20K (more uh huh).

@Statham, I realize some elements of this story differ (significantly) from your current situation, but I notice that most of the advice given is all about just the 2 of you and how you should deal with things.  Why not get a 2nd (3rd, 4th) opinion?  Trusted friends or family members will get a far more objective read on this guy.  Maybe they'll get to know him and think he's awesome and you're hella lucky.  Or maybe not.

The Cruise Critic message board has meet-up threads for almost every cruise.  While the threads are not LGBT-specific, you can always post saying you're looking to meet other LGBTs on the sailing.  Here is the meet-up thread for Wonder of the Seas July 16-23, 2023:

Oops, forgot, you have to create an account on Cruise Critic to be able to access the thread.

On 4/29/2023 at 5:02 AM, pubic_assistance said:

And it's mostly about money. No civil authority wants to committ the money to caring for these people who have little ability to care for themselves.

Does it cost that much more to keep a person in a mental health facility vs. prison?

9 minutes ago, Peter Eater said:

🤣🤣🤣 Yeah, two-and-a-half years ago, guy with platform had power and influence. Now, with the platform gone, he’ll be as powerful as the dumb two-minute video you posted. You got as much influence posting here. 🤣🤣🤣

That "dumb two-minute video" is now up to 78.1 million views.

Again, no point in pissing back & forth.  Let's revisit Tucker Carlson's situation in 2 years when we'll have some cold hard numbers to look at.  We can also look at the election results on November 6, 2024 to see if MAGA is "toast."

Note who we're not talking about:  the subject of this thread Don Nadie, er, Lemon.

4 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Better depends on your perspective, in addition to whether you're discussing a visit or living there. I would rather live in the SF area, but not in SF proper. I don't think I could stand for Boston winters for too long. As for visiting, if you're interested in US history, Boston, but for scenic beauty SF. 

One of the best moments I had in Boston was seeing the Old North Church for the first time, when it hit me that Paul Revere was a real-life person, not just some story I heard in grade school.  I was surprised by how short the steeple was and doubted that you could actually see a couple of lamps all the way over in Charlestown until I noticed that it is indeed quite a bit taller than all the surrounding structures.  The pews are tiny -- were people that much smaller in the 1700s?  Anyway, even though I can't really say I'm a history buff, I really enjoyed all the history to be discovered and enjoyed in Boston.

10 minutes ago, José Soplanucas said:

I think you are exaggerating his influence slightly, but I agree with your assessment of his potential. I think too many friends are celebrating too soon. This guy is an amoral and dangerous monster. 

We know that Trump, whether or not he is convicted and/or elected, has just a few more years left. But this guy...

Protect us, God I Do Not Believe In.

Let's revisit this thread in 2 years and compare predictions to hard numbers.

Note that Don Lemon is such a zero that in a thread about his termination, all we can talk about is Tucker Carlson.

1 hour ago, Peter Eater said:

Nope. Tucker wields no power & influence. The Fox Propaganda platform does. Tucker is the new Bill O’Reilly. A cipher.

Bill O'Reilly was never a force in American politics, never led a political movement.  O'Reilly, a self-described  traditionalist independent (whatever that is), had no following of fellow traditionalist independents, because no such movement exists in this country.

"Tucker wields no power or influence "??  He single-handedly got Donald Trump to do a 180 on his Covid policy by browbeating the president at a party.  Without even speaking to Trump in person, Carlson succeeded in jettisoning shadow president Jared Kushner from the Trump White House.  Wow, I wish I were so "powerless."

Love it or hate it, America First nationalist populism, a.k.a. MAGA, is a force in American politics, and Tucker Carlson is its spiritual leader.  Just as Rush Limbaugh thrived 100% independently from Fox News and any other establishment media, Tucker will (eventually) build his own platform.  Because you dislike Tucker, you're wishcasting his future irrelevance.  But the 76 million (and counting!) views Carlson got on his last tweet indicate that he's just getting started.