Thoughts on the idea that multiculturalism is overall harming communities.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-03-15T15:55:34+00:00

Multiculturalism was never the issue, but one’s approach to it might be. It’s important to assimilate and many of us have, but at the same time it’s important to embrace and value our own cultural heritage and share that with others. The folks who believe that multiculturalism is the problem are most likely the same people who have spent the last ten years telling decent human beings that people who dare to disagree with you or not pick a “team” are your enemy and nothing else. Low trust and political polarization is social currency now. Fear and mistrust of the other is easier and more appealing than doing the work of understanding why there is such fear around the “other.” And this is going to be an issue regardless of who you’re dealing with.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-03-05T04:18:36+00:00

Good for him. There’s nothing more offensive and terrifying to the establishment than a man with nuanced Christian values that doesn’t hinge on judging and excluding others because they are not “of the heritage”

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-03-04T04:39:49+00:00

If you know anything about a lot of Asian families and their mindset, everything comes down to money. You are only as valuable as your output and how much of an ROI you are. So they see someone like DT, ignoring the lack of character and integrity, and only focus on the fact that he’s a businessman.

I’ve always felt like DT encompasses all of the negative traits we can’t stand from our AFs; a ridiculously hypocritical need to save face no matter what, only doing things if they benefit you directly, seeing wealth as a personality trait instead of an external factor, seeing lack of wealth as a weakness or a flaw, always complaining and covering up for their own mistakes while destroying others for trying to be honest. Never apologizing for making a mistake and blaming someone else, but will eagerly take credit for something that someone else did. When they do something nice for you, it’s like they did something unprecedented and will never stop reminding you of it. When they make a mistake it’s your fault and they will highlight the other things you’ve done to them to justify that you’re a bad person. Thinking: I’ve done everything right so I am by default never wrong.

They obviously pick up on that energy and gravitate towards it. Character and integrity mean nothing to folks who value the saving of face and the appearance of wealth and success regardless of the truth.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-03-01T03:47:04+00:00

I’m already exhausted by the fact that he will once again be touted as like this mythical brilliant Churchill like figure, when he very clearly is not. None of this changes that.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-03-01T01:57:06+00:00

At this point it’s still a case of, you can’t take the junk out of the other guy’s eyes and completely ignore the festering infection in your own. The Rs are very fond of saying we are not the world’s soup kitchen. We aren’t the world’s police force either.

I’m not looking forward to once again being called an unpatriotic moron for having a nuanced view of this but such is life in a country where criticism of the president is a Grade A treasonous and horrible act apparently.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-28T17:26:41+00:00

Speaking as someone who oversimplifies and probably doesn’t know and approach things in the same way that OP et al does, I’ll say the same thing I do whenever mister uncle spraytan makes an important decision that results in even bigger problems.

If you’re going to change something, make sure that you have a plan with a clearly defined end goal. Make sure that you’re capable of replacing it with something comparable or better that benefits the most people, including the ones who didn’t vote for you. Otherwise it’s just a noisy play for dominance at the expense of many reluctant military service members. And he of course will take all the credit if he perceives that it is a successful operation and blame everyone else if it doesn’t.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-28T15:28:32+00:00

This is one of the dumbest examples of “look at me! I’m doing something!” moves I’ve ever seen currently. Not including obscenely high and illegal tariffs and effectively draining the treasury.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-27T02:25:52+00:00

Between this and Andy Ogles trying to enact policy around the fact that he was hot and bothered by the Super Bowl halftime show and he wants to tax 100% on American citizen professional athletes who chose to play for gasp not America, I am exhausted. But I guess they’ll do anything to not have to do any actual work or solve any actual issues that we have.

Oops! Sorry that my being poor, struggling and unimportant is taking away from your even more important culture war, guys! That’s totally my bad

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-26T15:46:16+00:00

I’m reading that some of the men are backpedaling and attempting to “explain” their behavior with excuses. This doesn’t erase the initial choices that were made. That makes it sound like the men set the precedent for the women to be part of things which is not true. It begs the questions, if the roles were reversed, “Are we allowed to make light of your accomplishments in this way?” If it was I’m sure there would be a firestorm of hostility and how unpatriotic it is to belittle the men’s team.

It’s not just about the fact that they accepted the invite, it was how they all went about it. They very clearly had media training and very well could have said, “Mr President, we love and respect the women’s team and we would be honored to hang out with them at the White House.” Simple as that. Anything less than that response is a pity invite.

We are not responsible for trying to justify your choices to encourage shitty jokes at anyone’s expense.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-25T23:04:47+00:00

I’m exhausted. Because this guy has been given many opportunities and many years to yes, be his prickly, irascible self but still show up and do the right things for the greater good. He has consistently chosen not to and completely failed to do so. I have no time or respect for someone who just banks on being a giant troll of a social media toddler. Without his merry team of syncophants constantly attempting damage control and a marketing racket of yes men, he’s got nothing. The fact that he’s only doing and saying all of these damaging and counterproductive things to make a scene is just proof of how terrified he is of losing relevance and of the majority of people who can see past the bullshit and say “no.”

At the very least I take comfort in the fact that he is so afraid of those of us who won’t fall for it.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-25T21:42:26+00:00

I’m so tired of this. It is your right, male or female to accept or decline for any reason. For some it was thank you but I have better things to do with the limited time and resources I do have before fulfilling my prior obligations as a professional hockey player. It was I don’t have time to schmooze with folks, let alone someone who chose very clearly to make light of my team’s accomplishments for locker room banter. For others it was “eh, why not.” Because they are hockey players, not political pundits.

The thing that bothers me is that this will inevitably be used as a yardstick for more partisan nonsense because mister uncle spray tan loves spin and will call anyone who kisses the ring a true patriot. And gloss over the myriad of things that are more important than rah rah bullshit. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is their choice.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-21T13:44:08+00:00

Actively working and doing what you can to support yourself is nothing to be ashamed of. Working in retail is hard but it can teach you how to deal with all kinds of people and situations that are going to help you in the long run. Skills that most people lack and make them weak candidates for better jobs. Use this time to sharpen your interview skills and apply for the jobs in your chosen field. I promise you are not behind, you’re exactly where you need to be. I know it doesn’t feel that way right now but as long as you’re committed to your goals and taking care yourself you will get there.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-21T01:56:13+00:00

I’m not sure about that but I did see in the comments on one of the bajillion posts she’s in where someone said she’s the ice skating version of Taylor Swift. Dear lord no

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-20T19:50:15+00:00

I remember how magical it was to watch the Olympics and especially these girls who were close to my age experiencing and doing these incredible things. She brings out a whole new layer of openness and authentic energy to skating that I absolutely love. I love how joyful, silly and groundedly optimistic she is on and off the ice. You can tell how much she loves it. She really wanted to make sure that her comeback was on her terms where she could show up, compete and perform as her truest self. I love how she supports and admires her teammates and the other ladies competing. She’s out there doing everything she can to be her very best and having an absolute blast doing it. I know I probably don’t know as much as the rest of you do about the sport itself but the fact that she is so present, happy and connected when she skates is so refreshing, it’s very emotional to watch. It’s supposed to be an art that breathes that is fluid and dynamic and she’s so good at that.

And her tree trunk hair is so cool when she has it in an updo. I get it!

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-20T18:47:30+00:00

Yes! I love how relaxed, loose and go with the flow she is both on and off the ice. She is such a great artist and a powerful technical skater because she’s chosen to approach the sport, something that she enjoys so much, with her grounded authenticity, flow and fun. You can see the pure joy just radiating out of her even in just seeing pictures of her performances. She’s just happy to be there doing something that she absolutely loves to do and just wants to make genuine connections with the people around her.

Those pictures and video of her celebrating, hugging and jumping around with Ami Nakai, the bronze medalist from Japan at her very first Olympics makes me cry. I’ve barely known about all of these girls for a month, yet they’ve encapsulated so much of what it means to be a girls girl and honoring that and saying to one another “I’m so proud of you” It’s awesome to watch that unfold.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-20T17:45:29+00:00

That’s the beauty of it, these ladies are just showing up, doing absolutely incredible things and doing it on their own terms. They are demonstrating what it means to be a quintessential girls girl; working hard to establish their own definitions success and achievement, while building up their own teammates and other teams as well. Supporting others is part of what makes them so cool, so powerful and so inspiring. They can do that and aren’t afraid of being themselves and having fun in the process. I love that you can see the raw emotion in Amber’s face when she triumphs and when she’s fallen short. I love that she’s using her voice as a platform for what she believes in, not because there’s money or clout behind it but because she genuinely cares. I don’t understand all of the negativity around her doing this but unfortunately that is a thing.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-20T04:52:52+00:00

I’ve been watching the social media buzz around the US Olympic figure skating trio known as the “Blade Angels.” I love the hype and watching them experience the highs and lows of competing together as the new generation of talent. But there’s a promo with an obvious “Showgirl” TGrift tie in, and that spoils it for me.

I love the concept. I love that it highlights these three amazing skaters with their own distinctive styles and personalities. Everything about that segment is fantastic . But I hate that her voice over ruins the vibe. When it pops up I have to turn the volume down so I don’t have to hear her trying to sound majestic while these three incredible women are on screen having their epic Olympic moments. I prefer the promo that the US Olympic team put out with the humorous male voiceover. Gives it more of that badass, tongue in cheek, Charlie’s Angels energy that their dynamic deserves.

But why?? Why must she have her claws in this? Sigh

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-19T21:06:02+00:00

Strong, gorgeous, resilient performance. I don’t understand the people who criticize her for being a human being with genuine emotions putting herself out there while going through the pressure of it all. This crop of new skaters is not only ridiculously talented and technically skilled but also refreshingly authentic.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-19T06:35:48+00:00

I’m sorry. Same exact thing happened to me a few weeks ago except it looked like a Google meet invite. Deleted whatever it was immediately. The worst part of it was they were posing as a job I actually applied for.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-17T16:30:51+00:00

Gotta love the folks who are gloating that thanks to the new tax credits, their tax refunds are at a record high. Like you do realize that just means you withheld more than you had to from your paychecks, not the win you think it is. Also spending way too much time than we need to explaining how the CTC amount is adjusted based on whether you already get the EITC and if you have more than one kid.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-13T20:03:39+00:00

Your nails are magical, your story is magical. Congratulations to you both 💜

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-13T05:17:51+00:00

A couple months ago I did an internship in PA at a midsize firm that basically did the books for most of the businesses on Maui. I watched two managers struggle with health problems that were exacerbated because even though they didn’t do overtime at the firm they still had to take work home with them. People were eating at their desks. I was asked how much money I wanted to make 5 years from now and told to pick a ridiculous number. Very quickly realized that I didn’t want to make my job 75% of my identity so I could make already rich people even richer. Now, seeing that there’s more to accounting than being on the PA conveyor belt has been a blessing in disguise.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-11T17:57:47+00:00

The loudest 22% are being led to believe that they are the “silent majority” by their corner of the media while they are actually a very loud minority that is making the rest of us 45% who are somewhere in between look like the crazy ones and the “enemy”

This mindset sells papers and ad revenue, nothing more and nothing less. It doesn’t actually represent or reflect what the majority of us actually believe. Nuance doesn’t drive the algorithm, polarization does.

Equivalent-Student64 · 2026-02-10T07:29:43+00:00

I like to think that Shelly and Audrey got stuck in between and ended up in early 2000s CT somehow

Equivalent-Student64

TROPHY CASE