The idea that only secretly queer people are homophobic is in itself homophobic and I’d like to see it stop being perpetuated in queer communities. Heterosexual people are responsible for heteronormativity, and therefore the vast majority of homophobia.

Are there some closeted, self-hating gays out there? Yes.

Does that mean every homophobe is a closeted, self-hating gay? No.

Emoticons ≠ emojis.

I’ve dealt with this particular bot problem as a mod. Noticing the pattern early on was easy because they always had posts on TEMU subreddits. Now that those subs are banned, it’s harder.

1. Comment length. Their comments are always less than two lines long.

2. Tone. They always contain at least one exclamation point, and tend to have a tone that I’d say is “cheery to the point it’s offputting.”

3. Context. Reading them, a lot of the time you’ll ask “did they even read what they’re replying to?” The comment seems related, but directly misses the main point.

4. History. Look at the rest of their comments. If more than one ends in two emojis, they’re definitely part of this particular bot network.

Thank you for making this post. The number of times I’ve seen the term used here lately has been bothering me.

Agreed, and it’s a problem we need to nip in the bud before it becomes entrenched.

I’ll start!

I really like The Enchiridion by Epictetus, which is a very short introduction to Stoic philosophy. Stoic philosophy ties in closely to simple living for me because it allow me to focus on the things that I can control and that matter to me, letting go of those things that I cannot control. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is another Stoic text, longer than the Enchiridion, that gives insight into the life of someone living their Stoic values. It’s a series of journal entries with much insight into daily challenges, and I have taken away a lot from it. Here’s one of my favourite quotes:

If you seek tranquility, do less. Or, more accurately, do what’s essential – what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better. Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, “is this necessary?”

I’m so glad you like it! I had written it to post on Reddit, but kind of ran out of steam with how the site had been making me feel lately. I was so happy to finally have a place to share it!

Which is so frustrating, given that according to Project Drawdown it’s one of the top 2 things that an individual can change to impact their footprint, depending on how optimistic of a projection you take from their table.

Ever since I became aware of the impact of animal products on the land, air, and water back in ~2013, I’ve made it my goal to spread that knowledge to other environmentalists. I felt so betrayed by mainstream narratives, which talked endlessly about low-flow showerheads when that water use is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the water needed to produce beef or cheese. It’s frustrating that a full ten years later, this is still a problem.

Also, good to see you here on Lemmy @usernamesAreTricky!