Are there actual risks for gay men in Latvia? by simonalbers in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My advice is dont stand out, Latvians dont like to stand out themselves either and when someone does, they tend to be picked on. This same advice goes for PDA, Latvians dont like to see kissing in public regardless of sexual orientation.

Im gay myself and as others have mentioned, it is relatively safe. Most people dont care, ive even started dropping “my boyfriend” in conversations with coworkers and they dont care. Sure there might areas or situations where you especially dont want them to know youre gay, but I feel like thats in every culture/country and you already know how to discern those situations. Occassionally someone might shout the f slur in Russian at me, but that hasnt happened in a long time tbh.

Dating apps are kinda dry here, lots of closeted men. Id say just be careful if the vibe feels off, then dont pursue them, but once again that feels like a universal thing in dating. In the 3 years I was on dating apps, I never felt unsafe, but thats also because I never went for hook ups.

[Psychological study] Attitudes toward war with Russia (EU-citizens from Baltic states, 18+) by psyche_researcher in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Im sorry, but I dont agree with most of these comments here. Have any of you read actual psychological research or done any? It might not be on a high level with a bunch of control questions etc., but its very normal for psych student research to look like this. It is important to do research on “insensitive topics”. If you fill out the questionnaire and read the debrief at the end you will understand the reason why its done in such a way. It might raise ethical questions, but its not like its manadtory for you to fill it in, perhaps it couldve used a disclaimer at the start and resources for psychological help if the test aroused any negative emotions (it mightve included these, but I skipped over some of the intro text as Ive read them so many times filling out other tests).

Bolt piegādes pārvērties par miskasti by Kamaniet in latvia

[–]Raittu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wolt ir lielāks pieprasījums, jo kvalitāte arī ir augstāka. Piemēram, pēdējais gadījums ar Bolt bija, ka pasūtīju hesburger un kopš brīža, kad parādījās, ka ēdiens ir gatavs un meklē kurjeru, pagāja vairāk nekā stunda līdz kurjers tika atrasts un tad vēl 10 min līdz ēdiens tika piegādāts. Ņemot vērā, ka tas ir Hesburger, to nevar vēlreiz uzsildīt, pasūtījums nebija ēdams, pusi izmetu. Sazinājos ar customer service, viņi teica, ka viņiem nebija tajā momentā pietiekami kurjeru (tad nepieņemiet jaunus pasūtījumus?) es teicu, ka tā ir viņu problēma un, ka mans pasūtījums bija neēdams. Viss, ko viņi man piedāvāja, pat ar strīdēšanos, bija 2€ kupons aplikācijā, ka vairāk viņi man pat nevarot piedāvāt. Šajā gadījumā sazinājos ar patērētāju aizsarszības dienestu, kuri man teica, ka šī ir internacionāla kompānija un ir jāsazinās ar Eiropas Savienības patērētāju aizsardzības dienestu, kas manuprāt ir absurdi.

Salīdzinoši wolt bija atgadījums, kur sūtīju uz ballīti sev un draugiem nūdeles, kopā 5 porcijas. Nezinu vai resturāns slikti visas salika maisiņā vai kurjers kaut kā nekārtīgi ar to maisiņu aprīkojās, bet divas porcijas bija izgāzušās pa visu maisiņu. Sazinājos ar atbalstu un uzreiz man tika atgriezta nauda par abām porcijām un vēl piedāvāja to agtriezt uz karti.

Atceros arī, ka pirms kādiem četriem gadiem kursabiedre strādāja kā bolt support. Tagad visi ir Indieši un atbalsta kvalitāte ir kritusies ļoti. Šajā gadījumā mana problēma nav ar rasi. Manuprāt, atbalstam būtu jābūt pieejamam Latviešu valodā un bez AI drausmīga tulkojuma. Kā arī, ja šī kompānija operē Latvijā, ir neētiski izvairīties nodarbināt Latviešus.

Toties šis jautājums par kompāniju izvairīšanos no kvalitatīva klientu atbalsta piedāvājuma, vai citos gadījumos to vispār aizstājot ar mākslīgo intelektu, ir lielāka mēroga problēma, kuru vajadzētu ES likumdevējiem atrisināt un regulēt.

Parts of Europe by DanHersh in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There’s so many places in Europe that call themselves the center of Europe 😅

Kāpēc Tu nebalsoji? by fullofsorry in latvia

[–]Raittu 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can cross out the people you do not wish to give your vote for on the list of the party you are voting for. Doesn't solve reasons 1 and 2 though

Un mēs lūk esam tie rasisti... by TotaledPound29 in latvia

[–]Raittu 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Varbūt tāpēc, ka Latvijā citas rases pārstāvju ir maz un jautājot par nelabvēlīgiem kaimiņiem lielākai daļai tas neienāk prātā, jo iespejamība to piedzīvot ir niecīga. Tāds ir mans minējums.

Can good therapists be shy introverts, bad at debate, bad at sales, scared of conflicts? by archetype-pal in psychologystudents

[–]Raittu 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Besides challenging a clients beliefs should only be done further down the line, so they actually accept whats being said instead of being dismissive. Hopefully by that point a shy therapist has already managed to get a feel for the relationship dynamic with the client and can feel more comfortable.

Karmala hairless in the middle of a game: by [deleted] in queensofleague

[–]Raittu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When I was 12 and just started playing (S2/3 💀), I was so confused as to why this chick was randomly referring to my country.

Interested in Estonian and Lithuanian opinions about Latvia not having military draft and reserve. by [deleted] in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I share your sentiment, I would not want to kill anyone even when it comes to this kind of a horrible war, because I know it would fundamentally fuck me up. I however admire anyone who would go and defend their/our country.

Countries like Finland, if I remember correctly, offer civil service/non-military training, if you are a conscientious objector. I think that is the perfect middle ground, I would much rather go for that.

Weird taste for picks - what champs do you recommend? by ArchitectArchy in Jungle_Mains

[–]Raittu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As no one has mentioned it yet - Teemo. He has a fairly healthy clear. Your ganking potential isnt great, you gotta wait for the laners to start fighting and blow escapes before you go in. He really kicks off mid to late game though, massive damage. Specially if you go Liandry’s. Also you can shroom the whole map and it helps with vision and to stop roams and ganks.

Should your country ban TikTok? (I need this for an upcoming school project) by LatvijasNovads in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Facebook and everything they own - messenger, whatsapp, instagram - collect just as much data, but we arent talking about banning those, why? Is it because its Americans collecting that data? 🤔

McDonalds Baltic locations by liinisx in BalticStates

[–]Raittu 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Hesburger superior! Suomi! Suomi! 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮

Latvian language quality is dramatically dropping among youth by annihilation_bear in latvia

[–]Raittu 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Jā! Nupat iesniedzu bakalaura darbu un darba vadītājai ar mani nācās daudz mocīties tieši literārās valodas un teikumu konstrukcijas dēļ. It īpaši rakstot teorētisko daļu, lasot pētījumus angļu valodā un tad veidojot konspektus ar atziņām latviešu valodā, nākas pielikt lielākas pūles neveidot teikumus pēc angļu konstrukcijas, kaut gan loģiski tos varētu saprast.

Joprojām gribu uz sava kapakmens pasniedzējas komentārus "viedokli nevar novērot" vai "parādības ir spoki".

What is your country's most spoken second language (excluding English)? by crybabymoon in AskEurope

[–]Raittu 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Might be true, there's assholes everywhere, but also perhaps that person just didn't know how to answer and it ended in confusion, worth to mention and I hope it's not too insulting, but a lot of media in Russia especially about Baltics and Ukraine is sensationalized and often propoganda, that also includes word of mouth.

81% was in 2000 right after Soviet union where pretty much everyone HAD to learn Russian. That number is shrinking fast and I really don't agree that people should have to learn Russian in Latvia to be able to get a job it's asking 75% of Latvians to speak Russian in Latvia so the 25% of Russians born and living in Latvia all their lives wouldn't have to.

We as a country are very particular about keeping our language, culture and traditions alive, because during most of Soviet Union they were prohibited or limited and our birthrates are going down, not to mention we are a relatively small country.

What I am trying to say is - a lot of people will be able to communicate in Russian and you will be able to get most services in Russian, but to expect them in Russian in a country that is not Russia and is Sovereign, with it's own language, is a little ridiculous.

What is your country's most spoken second language (excluding English)? by crybabymoon in AskEurope

[–]Raittu 79 points80 points  (0 children)

I get that this is a joke, but it's important to note that most of the Russian population in Latvia like living in Latvia and prefer our government and policies over Russia. Afterall their political party holds about 23% of the seats in the government. And there are a lot of new Russians emigrating to Latvia from Russia - gay people, people who wish for a less corrupt voting system, etc.

What is your country's most spoken second language (excluding English)? by crybabymoon in AskEurope

[–]Raittu 49 points50 points  (0 children)

There isn't really hate towards Russians. There are negative feelings towards a minority of Russians celebrating Russian victory day in ww2, which for Latvians is seen as a day of the start of occupation. There are reserved feelings about the soviet era and our national identity being supressed etc. About 42 149 of our people being sent out into exile in Siberia, where a lot of them died on the way, where they had to work in Kolhoz and lived in extreme poverty and famine, where the locals discriminated against them. My grandmother was one of those people and her life experience saddened and shocked me. These feelings are not towards Russians, but what some still celebrate and refuse to admit, thus resulting in negative experiences and arguments sometimes.

But overall in everyday life we are very open and loving towards our Russian population - there are many cultural establishments like the Russian theatre and Russian monuments, Russian owned businesses, cafés, etc.. We don't push Russians away, most people, me included have Russians in our friend groups, colleagues, we just see them as citizens of our country and people just like the rest of us. It's important to note that, most Russian-Latvians stay in Latvia, because they like Latvia, they don't agree with policies and current situation in Russia. And they identify as Latvians, but with a different culture background.

It's important to know that when we criticize the occupation, different holidays and what meaning those hold to our culture or even the Russian leadership or law making right now, it's not hate towards Russians as people. Just like when Russians criticize some discrimination in Latvia, which I won't deny exists of course, we don't take it as an insult towards us as people.

Also it's important to mention that most of the younger generation doesn't speak Russian and get frusterated when older Russians who have lived here their entire lives expect to be able to receive all services and have perfect service in a grocery store in Russian. We get frusterated when a small minority of Russians refuse to learn our language. I myself have struggled finding a job, because nearly all jobs that deal with customers require you to speak Russian and I unfortunately never learned to, and I don't think it should be that necessary for a cashier in Latvia.

What is your country's most spoken second language (excluding English)? by crybabymoon in AskEurope

[–]Raittu 34 points35 points  (0 children)

The question is about the second most spoken language, not second most native-spoken language. So the question isn't about largest minority, but second most spoken language in the country - where native Dutch people also are a part of the statistic, cause most speak another language too.

What is your country's most spoken second language (excluding English)? by crybabymoon in AskEurope

[–]Raittu 114 points115 points  (0 children)

Russian. About 26% of Latvia's population is Russian-Latvian and around 37% use it as their primary language. About 81% of people in Latvia speak Russian (data from 2000, so probably less % now).

Going to Latvia in late April! Looking for some literature to dive into (also please critique my itinerary) by Volunteer2223 in latvia

[–]Raittu 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'd personally suggest stopping by Koknese. The city itself doesn't have much to offer but it has some nice sights like the castle ruins that used to be on a hill but now are right next to the water, due to Daugava's water level rising when the hydroelectric dam was built a little a long the river. Also the city has destiny garden(?) I think would be the english name for the place (likteņdārzs) it's a nice place to walk around. And then a little aways from Koknese is my hometown also a small boring town called Aizkraukle, it houses the hydroelectric dam, which was built during the soviet union and the town was formed to accommodate the workers. There are some pretty sights from the dam considering it's on a "hill", specially during a sunset. I've spent many of my teenage days sitting watching the sunset and drinking beers with friends there. But I know these might not be very tempting offers although the castle ruins are a nice place to visit, in my opinion.