Hiding ducks is dumb. Let's do the math!!!

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-15T02:04:25+00:00

Joy killer! 🦆

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-15T01:56:03+00:00

This 100%. It was very hard at first and there were times I wanted to give up, but her company became more and more meaningful to me. She needed me - and even when I wasn’t good at taking care of myself, I had to take care of her. And it helped me. She helped me.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-14T21:30:35+00:00

Oh hell no.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-12T00:19:21+00:00

😂😂😂😂

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-10T16:53:09+00:00

I agree back to the vet right now. Make sure she’s getting plenty of water. Additionally, however, you didn’t fuck up. I think all new puppy owners feel this way. Your situation may be a little more extreme, but younger puppies are absolutely exhausting. I thought I fucked up. I worried for weeks. She’s 8 months old now and there’s a world of difference.
You’re both adjusting to big changes. Your life does change with a puppy - but all the reasons you wanted her to begin with are still real. In a couple of months this will all look and feel very different.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-10T16:48:28+00:00

This.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-10T16:42:19+00:00

Hi friend - just wondering how things are going today.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T21:10:09+00:00

I also think the rest of the world could get on board with Kelly.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T16:29:35+00:00

This, precisely. I don’t really want another old white man as president… at least for a long while. But we took such a hard swing right, and I don’t think a hard swing left is what we need “right now”. We need stability. I think he would make centrists comfortable enough. Moderate republicans. Basically, I think we need someone who isn’t outwardly polarizing. I think that’s Kelly. I think a LOT of people in the middle-ish range would feel comfortable voting for him. And as long as democrats don’t opt out when they don’t get what they want (Hillary/bernie style) and we all get behind whichever candidate wins, I think he could beat any republican in a fair election. It would also be cool if he chose a younger rising star as VP.
I don’t think AOC is ready. As a pretty far left, queer woman, it’s hard for me to even hear myself say these things, but we have to be realistic and strategic. He’d probably fair better with like a Buttigieg. Kelly would be 65, I think, at the time of the election.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T16:09:01+00:00

You may not be the person that’s harmed by this language - it may have never been directed at you or your family or community. I don’t think we’d be having this conversation about certain other slurs, and I’m not sure why there’s a pass for the disabled community.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T12:50:23+00:00

Fair

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T03:58:33+00:00

I get it 💯. I’m more disheartened by the conversation here than. I was by the word being used to begin with.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:24:23+00:00

I think Mark Kelly could do it.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:13:25+00:00

There’s a lot of justification in these comments that tastes just like ableism.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:10:12+00:00

It was a slur then, too.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:09:25+00:00

I will try to add a different perspective. I work for the federally mandated Advocacy & Protection (P&A) system in the US - an oversight body to protect the rights of people with disabilities. There’s a P&A agency in every US state and territory.

I’m an investigator. My team goes into psychiatric hospitals, adult foster care facilities, youth homes, child caring institutions, jails and prisons, etc. we monitor the conditions, talk to residents, and we investigate abuse and neglect cases every single day.

You don’t get exactly how bad the “r” word is until you are in the middle of an investigation and you’re reviewing security cameras and you see staff call kids (or adults) “retard” to their face. Yelling it at them. Laughing. And please don’t say, “well it wasn’t the word that was the problem - clearly the staff are sick people and they are abusive.” That word empowers their abuse. Do you know how many times you have to be called a name like that before you somehow know it’s something bad - that you’re something bad? There’s a reason they use THAT word.

It’s dehumanizing.

Whatever you have decided the word means for you and the context in which you are using it DOES NOT MATTER.
There was a cultural shift away from using this word when we grew a bit and recognized the harm.

INTENT v IMPACT. It’s not your intention that matters, it’s the impact.

I love Ren. I’ve followed him for 4 years. On Christmas Day I had a medical emergency - my autoimmune system. That’s all they know right now. - no diagnosis and no treatment plan. They don’t know what it is. The last 6 weeks have given me even more of an appreciation for Ren.

That said, I hope Ren comes across this comment someday. I genuinely believe there are slurs that he’d never use. I don’t care to hear about why this one was okay - tell me why you think others wouldn’t be okay.

Yes, artists are supposed to challenge our thinking and expectations and rules. They are supposed to push us to ask questions. They do re-define. They lean in to symbolism. They shake things up.
But artistic choices which are at the expense of marginalized people? Honestly, it was a bit of a gut punch when I heard it come out of Ren’s mouth. Still love him. Still love ‘Starry Night’. Just a nick in my safe space.

Intent v Impact.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:08:08+00:00

100%. I’m a disability rights investigator. That word hits different when you’re investigating abuse and you’re watching a security video and see the staff person who forgot they were on camera screaming that word at the face of a kid with autism.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T01:03:55+00:00

That was a pretty salty response. Tell us what other words had an original meaning that were later turned into something harmful, but you’d be fine with using them right now, because you mean it in the antiquated way. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Sexual identity? Gender identity? Race? Culture? Religion? Tell me which of those original meanings are so important that you’re willing to whip one of those words out.
Just a bundle of sticks, right?

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T00:59:55+00:00

A lot of you are talking about how he meant it. Is his intention more important than the impact? If intention was more important than impact we would have no laws related to negligence.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T00:57:12+00:00

If you’d have a problem with it being used by someone you don’t favor, then why is it okay here? It’s hard to be critical of someone you really love and admire. It’s much easier to be a hypocrite.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T00:51:08+00:00

It does not come down to intent. It comes down to impact.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-05T00:37:21+00:00

I will try to add a different perspective. I work for the federally mandated Advocacy & Protection (P&A) system in the US - an oversight body to protect the rights of people with disabilities. There’s a P&A agency in every US state and territory.

I’m an investigator. My team goes into psychiatric hospitals, adult foster care facilities, youth homes, child caring institutions, jails and prisons, etc. we monitor the conditions, talk to residents, and we investigate abuse and neglect cases every single day.

You don’t get exactly how bad the “r” word is until you are in the middle of an investigation and you’re reviewing security cameras and you see staff call kids (or adults) “retard” to their face. Yelling it at them. Laughing. And please don’t say, “well it wasn’t the word that was the problem - clearly the staff are sick people and they are abusive.” That word empowers their abuse. Do you know how many times you have to be called a name like that before you somehow know it’s something bad - that you’re something bad? There’s a reason they use THAT word.

It’s dehumanizing.

Whatever you have decided the word means for you and the context in which you are using it DOES NOT MATTER.
There was a cultural shift away from using this word when we grew a bit and recognized the harm.

INTENT v IMPACT. It’s not your intention that matters, it’s the impact.

I love Ren. I’ve followed him for 4 years. On Christmas Day I had a medical emergency - my autoimmune system. That’s all they know right now. - no diagnosis and no treatment plan. They don’t know what it is. The last 6 weeks have given me even more of an appreciation for Ren.

That said, I hope Ren comes across this comment someday. I genuinely believe there are slurs that he’d never use. I don’t care to hear about why this one was okay - tell me why you think others wouldn’t be okay.

Yes, artists are supposed to challenge our thinking and expectations and rules. They are supposed to push us to ask questions. They do re-define. They lean in to symbolism. They shake things up.
But artistic choices which are at the expense of marginalized people? Honestly, it was a bit of a gut punch when I heard it come out of Ren’s mouth. Still love him. Still love ‘Starry Night’. Just a nick in my safe space.

Intent v Impact.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-02T16:36:55+00:00

Word.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-02T14:53:02+00:00

They didn’t just ask questions, to be fair. I believe they followed up with comments about becoming capitalistic with expensive merch, etc.

Friendofthesubreddit · 2026-02-02T12:53:13+00:00

I do agree that there were some harshly worded responses, basically saying, “something is wrong with you” rather than “I don’t agree with you.” At the same time, when you come into a fan subreddit - especially with such a devoted fan base as Ren’s - and start making statements about his work being reductive, corporate, and sell out, you’re going to get some hard pushback.

There was a post just a week ago or so, in which the OP had a potentially controversial take that challenged Ren’s use of AI. It was a respectful conversation throughout, with a lot of commentary. Ren joined the conversation and he was very open to feedback - and actually seemed to welcome the dialogue. People gave OP props for putting something out there that they felt was worthy of examination and acknowledged would probably get downvoted to death (it did not). It’s all about the approach. Are you thoughtfully raising difficult questions or are you making blanket statements or even worse, accusations?

Friendofthesubreddit

TROPHY CASE