I think that's a little ableist and a lot reductionist, ignoring the people creating these ideas and institutions and enforcing them (including by historically and still in different forms today actually institutionalising people that speak against them), because they didn't come out of thin air, and the money and power those people have definitely isn't imaginary.

Don't blame people grasping at straws for comfort in this shitty shitty world, blame those manipulating and exploiting them for profit and power.

You should give "Praying for Armageddon" a watch.

The TL;DW is that evangelical Christians are outspoken supporters of war in Israel, because they believe it will bring forth the second coming of Jesus.

Does that mean he wants to ban teaching about men and women?

Wouldn't be surprised if the answer to this is yes.

Not necessarily Starmer (at this point anyway), but the anti-trans lobby, which is well known to be connected to other fascists, who would both absolutely love it if kids were raised even more ignorant than they are today, especially on subjects like biology and sex ed. How else do you expect them to get the next generations to buy in to their bullshit if not by keeping them completely and deliberately un (and mis) educated?

That wouldn't surprise me at all, but the sad reality is he could just as easily be a self promoting power hungry bigoted piece of shit capitalising on (and actively contributing to) the rise of fascism to get ahead all on his own. We really don't need the Kremlin to produce such turds, it's not like Westminster (E: and the establishment as a whole) isn't already full of exactly that type of person...

The most spineless man in politics today, the one and only thing he stands for is getting himself elected, by any means necessary.

She recently publicly called out Starmer, who has otherwise only said and done transphobic things, for doing something completely out of character and calling out one of his own party for saying that only women have a cervix (Saying this isn't always the case, but has also said shit like man=penis woman=vagina, so it's not like he's an ally or anything, just a broken clock).

In return, instead of telling her to fuck off and mind her business, Starmer has gone right in to terf appeasing mode and has assured her that "women's rights" are his "top priority" (A joke in its own right but more importantly not a word about trans rights), and in a "twist" that should come as no surprise to anyone paying any attention, he is now making extra effort sucking up to her and getting her on side (more like confirming he's on hers), making it clear (once again, as if it wasn't already) that he doesn't give a shit about trans people.

He only wants to win, not lead, he doesn't care one iota about anyone but himself. Letting us choose between red bigot and blue bigot is barely even an illusion of choice anymore, and ensures one thing and one thing alone - that rich bigots will continue running the country, no matter who we elect.

Imagine being such a pathetic bottom feeder that your best move is to publicly deepthroat a dictator's boot for attention...

Police aid, abet, and participate in corruption?? Say it ain't so!

/s just in case

A baby can die in utero as a result of neglect and they’d say it was God’s will

and then prosecute the person whose uterus it was for "terminating" the pregnancy (even if we remove the neglect factor, also much of "neglect" is just poverty and lack of community and social support, which they promote under the guise of "nuclear family"), and the doctors involved for delivering the dead foetus, and maybe even give someone a hefty reward for reporting them.

While religion figures will often try their best to extract money, it's still "free to play", and I would say occupies mind rather than body.

I think for-profit healthcare is a better example in this case - literally charging you to keep your body alive (E: though capitalism a whole and its commodification of the things we all need to survive in addition to healthcare like water food and shelter would also qualify).

Bribes aren’t exactly a thing in Switzerland. I’m not saying there isn’t corruption but it’s not common.

Ba ha hahahaha... Thanks, I needed a good laugh...

Having you, a random citizen think there are no bribes and little corruption (I can't even type it without laughing) doesn't mean there aren't any.

Switzerland, the country that claims "neutrality" but acts as the world's best known financial, and physical, haven for not only the "anonymous" filthy rich like this family (who still have more influence on society as a whole than you can imagine), but actual dictators and war criminals, past and present, too IS corruption, in its entire essence. Its economical and political existence relies heavily on some of if not the dirtiest and most ill gotten money on the planet (the least dirty of which comes from wage theft on a global scale). Being discreet and polite about bribes and corruption is why. Maintaining favour with the evil people whose assets they protect will always be prioritised over anything else, including their local population (who are generally happy to look the other way as long as the dirty money keeps them in a relatively high standard of living, which is why they are kept in a relatively high standard of living), never mind the poor and or enslaved people overseas who are the ones actually paying the price.

That said they have to pay nearly a million dollars to the victims.

That IS a bribe, they're literally throwing pocket change at the problem to make it go away. Going on their net worth of $70.8b, if they spent a whole million dollars a day, they wouldn't notice it missing for nearly 200 years. And I say again - 4 of those years are categorically not going to be spent in prison, because they are never going to serve their entire sentence (and whatever part they might serve will undoubtedly be in greater comfort than they ever provided to those they enslave, and I deliberately use present tense because this isn't going to stop them), which was already a corrupt and pathetic slap on the wrist to begin with.

This isn't how you stop the filthy rich from enslaving people, this is how you put on a show for the poors to pretend to care while you continue to enable the exploiters and oppressors, because your government and economy depend on it (and because all of those "corruption scores" you see out there are based on perception, not fact).

And you're buying the act.

Never going to happen. I'm just going to leave this here:

Blair right that a woman has a vagina and a man has a penis, Starmer says

Ok, I've had a proper read through now, I'll admit there is a lot to process, but this a lot of sense (and some bits I was already doing without even realising, like trying to get space away from triggers).

I think my situation is tricky because the main person triggering me is my nibling, whose family I live with (I've been here since they were born and I'm often left to care for them during the day. Cuddling and playing and just spending hours on the couch watching cartoons with them used to be my escape, but for the past couple of months external stress has gotten worse, and after they "pushed me" on a really bad day and that brain switch has flipped, every time they want to be around me I feel like they're "pushing me" and fight/flight which is the constant state of my autistic brain anyway, ramps up even more), so I can't get away from them for any decent length of time, and they're just a kid and it's difficult to explain my growing boundaries (every time one gets crossed, by "hostile" or "friendly", rationally I can tell the difference but irrationally they both have the same impact - a stricter boundary can't help but pop up in its place, in self defence) and why I need them to stay away from me (or, if they keep "pushing", why I'm suddenly horrible to them even though they don't deserve it).

I don't want to push them away, I rationally know they mean no harm and just want to give and be given love, but I also just need my boundaries respected.

The one thing I have avoided doing is reminiscing about good times because it makes me too upset that I've gone from that to this and I spiral in to a really dark place, but I do see how it might help, so I'm going to try my best to try it. I think some of the other advice is a little tricky for someone with sensory processing difficulties though).

Anyway, I won't ramble any longer, thank you again, I've not actually talked about this to anyone else, and I feel like this exchange is a good first step to at least try and fix things.

I do wish I could find a descent therapist though... -_-

Wow, I wasn't really expecting a reply, never mind something this through!

It's past 2am here, so my brain can't take it all in right now, so I'll give it a proper read tomorrow when I can better process it and reply accordingly, but I just wanted to say I really appreciate your effort, thank you!

the behavioral pathway will flip and the calming trigger will start causing anxiety instead because that’s when you’re doing it most

You might have no idea, but since you bring it up I might as well ask - any way of reversing this once it's happened? Recently my stress levels have been so heightened that that switch has flipped on some of the things (and people) that gave me most comfort and instead now they just cause me rage, and I'm struggling to find a way back (am autistic too which I understand can make this even harder)..

At this point, no, this is international.

E: ok, so right after posting I realised you said international not intentional, but I'm leaving my original reply as is, for those who might not know:

AlwaysHasBeen.jpg

For example, the board of the review, that didn't include any trans people (because "bias"), did include at least 3 (that we know of) members of SEGM(so called " Society For Evidence-Based Gender Medicine", but really just a transphobic org), as well as being commissioned by an openly transphobic government.

It was always intended to be anti-trans.

Ok, that still doesn't make the situation any less ironic.

While them getting a jail sentence is good, the term is a joke, especially since they're not likely to actually serve it all or even any of it (house arrest, time served, "good behaviour", bribes, they aren't short of ways nor money to get around it), and are probably the most likely to re-offend out of anyone who has ever stepped foot in a jail..

I would be much more excited if they were made to pay their earnings for the duration that they kept slaves, to the people they enslaved (never mind all the other people they have and continue to exploit to get to be the richest people), and were then kept under constant supervision to make sure they don't start doing it again as soon as they possibly can. (I am well aware this will unfortunately never happen)

Nothing, and never let them make you think otherwise.

Sure, and I never said otherwise, but still find it deeply ironic coming from someone writing an article about exactly that (having a modern "blind spot" some are comfortable maintaining).. ¯\(ツ)/¯