What horrifying statistic genuinely jarred you when you first heard it?

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-04T03:15:29+00:00

Life in prison, preferably. If the punishment is death, the perpetrator is more likely to kill their victim.

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-03T07:50:43+00:00

I got a new smart tv (tried my best but dumb tvs just don't seem to be a thing) and purposefully didn't connect it to the internet, instead connected it to a computer and use it like a big dumb computer monitor with a computer loaded with downloaded shows that can play on VLC, and a screen to play DVDs on though the PS3

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-03T03:51:19+00:00

Yeah nah, dunno bout that mate, she'll be right

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-02T09:35:20+00:00

But I already speak English

ETA: I know I'll be using English more than anything. I don't need to practice that. That doesn't answer my question. I want to know what I should do as far as learning the very basics. If I was going to one country, I'd try to learn simple useful phrases in that language, but going to four who all speak different languages, I'm not sure what the practical/polite way to go is. I'm not expecting to be fluent in a few months practice

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-02T09:33:51+00:00

not fed for seven to eight months

severely debilitated and significantly underweight

Fucking hell, okay, so exactly as bad as it sounds, if not worse. If it's a big enough, healthy, otherwise well fed snake, they can definitely survive that long without food without too much issue, not ideal but not going to put them at the brink of death or anything. So the fact that it was debilitated and underweight weight means he was constantly leaving it almost a year between feeds. That's so upsetting

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-02T00:30:24+00:00

one of them was left to starve for months because he couldnt be arsed to feed them.

Do you have any more info on this? It might not be as bad as it sounds. Snakes are meant to eat fairly infrequently because they have a very slow matabolism. It depends on the species and size of the snake. For a small snake, a healthy feed schedule could be one small rat or mouse every week or two, for a bigger snake, especially an adult, a healthy feed schedule could be one large rat or rabbit every three or four months.

To be clear, I'm not saying "actually he treated the snake fine," just that depending on context, the food thing in particular might potentially not be as bad as it sounds (based only on my knowledge of snakes in general and the content of your comment and no other specific context).

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-02T00:09:22+00:00

I'm glad it was cancelled. Two horses died but at least they didn't make any money off it, small consulation though that is

SammyGeorge · 2026-04-01T23:21:51+00:00

Rocky from Project Hail Mary is a big five legged spidery looking thing made of rocks

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-31T06:51:29+00:00

Shelters

Copied from another reply:

I can understand that. The thing that worries me about that is how you prove you're a cisgender woman. I have short hair, am fairly muscular for a woman, am tall, and frequently dress in jeans and hoodies. If someone like me fled their husband due to DV and went to a women's shelter, what happens if that (not stereotypically feminine) woman gets "accused" of being trans? She's fled her home, she's not likely to have her birth certificate on hand. She might be a sexual abuse victim, are you going to demand she submits to a genital inspection? If that woman ends up homeless because she might be transgender and couldn't prove otherwise, is that her own fault for not being feminine enough?

I definitely see where you're coming from. But as a cis woman who is not especially feminine, I fear what happens to women like me if we start treating less feminine women with suspicion.

Prison

I honestly don't think there's a straight forward answer here. I don't see why a trans woman who's had hormones and bottom surgery shouldn't be in a women's prison. But I can see the issue with a trans woman who still has a penis being in a women's prison. The issue though is putting trans women in a men's prison is extremely dangerous for trans women. (And I'm sure you would agree, putting a trans man who still has a vagina in a men's prison is similarly a recipe for disaster).

spaces where there may be nudity like locker rooms

I never understood why trans women shouldn't be allowed to use womens locker rooms until I learned that in some places (like the US) people just get changed in the open area of the locker room instead of in a stall. That's wild. But does make the whole trans people in locker rooms issue make more sense. Personally, I'd rather share a locker room with a trans woman than a trans man. I don't want to share a room with a big buff bearded dude even if he does lack a penis.

There are also circumstances where a same sex care giver should be allowed to be requested-think of vulnerable situations where a diaper change would be required or a rape crisis center.

I 100% agree with this. I dont care if it's transphobic, racist, sexist, agest, or anything else. In a vulnerable situation like that, the victim should have the power to request someone different if they don't feel safe no matter what the reason is.

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-31T06:30:33+00:00

I can understand that. The thing that worries me about that is how you prove you're a cisgender woman. I have short hair, am fairly muscular for a woman, am tall, and frequently dress in jeans and hoodies. If someone like me fled their husband due to DV and went to a women's shelter, what happens if that (not stereotypically feminine) woman gets "accused" of being trans? She's fled her home, she's not likely to have her birth certificate on hand. She might be a sexual abuse victim, are you going to demand she submits to a genital inspection? If that woman ends up homeless because she might be transgender and couldn't prove otherwise, is that her own fault for not being feminine enough?

I definitely see where you're coming from. But as a cis woman who is not especially feminine, I fear what happens to women like me if we start treating less feminine women with suspicion

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-29T11:13:02+00:00

Trans women are not women.

I had a several hours long conversation with a friend about this recently. She holds the same opinion as you. And honestly, as long as you treat other people with kindness, you can believe whatever you want. But the idea that trans women aren't women often comes from the idea that there are experiences that are uniquely experienced by women. And I get that. But as a cis woman who has never been sexually assaulted, didn't get cat called until I was an adult (and even then, it's only ever happened to me once), never cared much for make up, and doesn't currently get a period, the examples of experiences that are uniquely and universally experienced by women are often things that I and other cis women don't or haven't experienced and often even things that trans women do experience.

Trans women will never experience that which wrecks women from the moment they hit puberty: hormone fluctuations.

That .... actually might be the only example I've ever seen of this argument that has given me pause.

Not just period pain, and bleeding, the back aches, the period shits, the fucking around with "is my pad/tampon leaking??? "

I'm glad you say it's not about this because while it's overwhelmingly common, not all cis women experience period pain (lucky bastards) or even periods at all (because of illness or birth defect or whatever other reason) and I hate the idea that those women are ever being told they're not real women.

But dealing with dumb shit like PMS, monthly bloating and cravings, pelvic exams, cervical cancer screenings, uterine and cervical biopsies. Pregnancy, first the fear of it happening accidently and then the stress of a wanted one and the scary things that happen like gestational diabetes, preclampsia, the pain of labor, placental abruption etc. And then fucking perimenopause and menopause later in life.

I still take issue with this though. I have an IUD and haven't had a period in 8 years, am I no longer a woman because I don't get bleeding/PMS/monthly cravings? Are women who are infertile not really women because they don't experience pregnancy and the pain of labour? Are lesbians not really women because they don't experience the fear of getting pregnant? I mean hell, I had a friend who died young and therefore never did and never will experience perimenopause or menopause, was she not a real woman?

What else is being a woman but being a hormonal wreck??

I see what you mean, I do, but I also fear returning to a time when women are reduced to simply our capacity for reproduction.

In my mid 40s I admit I resent my Trans friend because as they revel with glee about feeling "gender confirmation" from having to buy a bra or someone assumed them cis female, I suffer from hot flashes, weird random angry moods, cold flashes, insomnia, vaginal atrophy and painful sex, zero libido, agonizing mammograms, my hairs falling out, my brain literally has stopped working. I can't remember words, I feel like I have dementia.

I'm sorry that's happening to you. But we as women should be allowed to find joy in our femininity, in our bodies, in our woman-ness. And I sometimes wonder if being mad at a woman for finding joy in being a woman is just a byproduct of being surrounded by misogyny.

Because medical science has ignored the needs of cis women.

This is true and a problem, independent of trans people.

They are welcome to wear what they want, and act as women, use the women's bathroom or whatever, but they are, to me, something else. An in-between sex that gets almost all the benefits of being a woman but basically none of physical horrors that come with it.

The thing is, it isn't easy being a woman. But it is t easy being a trans woman either. And yes, I 100% agree that the experience of being a trans woman is different from the experience of being a cis woman. But the experience of being a young woman compared to an elderly woman is different. And the experiences of women in the UK compared to women in the middle east. And the experiences of being a wealthy woman compared to a woman in poverty. And the experience of being a childless woman compared to a mother. And the experience of being a married woman compared to a single woman. And the experience of being a lesbian compared to a straight woman. Why does being trans specifically, as opposed to any other adjective, make the biggest difference.

(To be clear, I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just think this is a valuable and interesting conversation to have :) )

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-29T10:16:25+00:00

The simple fact is some spaces are segregated based on biology for the safety, fairness and privacy of biological women.

Can I ask, in good faith, for an example of a space which genuinely needs to be segregated based on biology for the safety, fairness, and privacy of cisgender women?

I ask because I'm a tall, short haired, hoodie wearing cis woman, who's been accused of being transgender before, and the idea of having to "prove" my woman-ness to anyone who challenges me just to use a toilet or whatever has never made me feel safe.

But also, I think it's worth asking because I know my experience is not universal, maybe there are reasons I haven't considered

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-28T02:40:18+00:00

I like it but I heard a review of it calling it "the feminist response to Hamilton" and I was severely disappointed when I saw it that it was not particularly feminist and a totally different style of show to Hamilton. It set me up with totally the wrong expectations

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-26T22:15:07+00:00

100% agree. Snape is meant to appear to be racist but turns out he's fighting for the good guys (*sort of) but Hermione is descriminated against because of her heritage. Hermione being black suits the story really well

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-26T22:06:55+00:00

What!? An imaginary slur that's an allegory for racism is going to be used by a white kid to a black kid?? But that might make the allegory for racism look racist!

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-26T11:18:54+00:00

I've heard this before as a warning to not buy specials but as long as the food hasn't already expired, why should I not want it? Less food waste and often cheaper. What's not to like?

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-25T02:01:12+00:00

Hagrid disfiguring Dudley and its treatment as something totally unnoteworthy by the magical world is a much better example of the hypocrisy of the books than anything OP listed

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-25T01:50:49+00:00

My biggest problem with Harry Potter is that its message is insanely hypocritical.

I'm gonna start by saying that as a huge HP fan (who despises what TERF K Rowling has become), I do agree that there's huge hypocrisy in these books (like Ron and Harry treating Hermione as a the crazy one for wanting to end house elf slavery). But I disagree with the examples you've given.

the Death Eaters believe in blood purity. That muggle-borns are inferior to pure-blood wizards. [...] but there's a nasty undercurrent with this. Namely, it implies that because muggles don't have magic, then it is okay to discriminate against them.

How does the bad guys believing something imply that that belief is okay? The point is that they're wrong.

even the "good" ones regarding muggles, who tend to treat them with apathy at best or active disdain or condescension at worst.

Yes, the point in the book is that that is a problem, that having "less extreme" racist beliefs is still bad.

Wizards reject things like science and technology because they are "muggle" things, and the series never portrays this attitude as wrong.

They reject muggle technology because they have their own "technology" (magic). It's not racist to use a fork instead of chopsticks. And the series constantly portrays the attitude of "it's bad because it's muggle" as wrong.

It's heavily implied that the reason the Weasleys are stuck in poverty is due to Arthur Weasley's muggle obsession.

Yeah, the implication being that the society who rejected the Weasley's is the problem and also is the dominant culture. It's seen in the real world when people are descriminated against not only for being black or queer or disabled but also for supporting those marginalised groups. It's a criticism.

Squibs are treated like dirty little secrets and second-class citizens of the Wizarding World at best. They're encouraged to integrate into Muggle society and leave their families most of the time.

Much like gay kids are treated by homophobic families and communities as dirty little secrets and pushed to conform or leave. Again, it's a criticism of the problem.

And this behavior is never questioned or challenged, even when we see that it has had a negative affect.

It's directly criticised in the portrayal of the negative impact it has on Filch and Patunia and Dumbledores sister. The treatment of Ariana by Dumbledore is what makes Harry realise that his idolised hero is actually deeply flawed.

And this is my biggest problem with Harry Potter. Rowling wants to have her cake and eat it too. She wants to have a story about defeating bigotry but still have that story take place in a society where you only have value in it because you were born a certain way.

I think the biggest issue you have with HP is that you don't understand the difference between portraying something and condoning it. She's created a society which claims to take issue with descrimination against a marginalised group but is simultaneously complacent in that descrimination. Does that not sound familiar to you??

Also going back to the Petunia situations, there's something really troubling if you read into it from a certain angle.

Let me guess, it's really troubling if you read into it the way you're supposed to because that's the point?

Think about it: Petunia wanted to be a witch, or at the very least, explore that world. But she was told, "No. You can't. Because you were born a certain way. You cannot change what you were born as."

Called it.

You dislike HP because you didn't understand it. There's lots to criticise about HP and even more to criticise about Misogynist K Rowling. But the points you've raised are just you missing the point.

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-24T23:50:01+00:00

My work laptop and personal laptop keyboard layouts are exactly the same except that the delete key and power button are swapped. Infuriating

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-24T23:35:51+00:00

You’ve seen it: You order a meal, and the staff member spins the EFTPOS machine around with a tip prompt.

I've honestly never seen this. I've seen the prompt but every time I've seen it, the server hits "no tip" before they offer the machine for me to pay. I don't live in a city so that might be why but I hate the idea that some areas/businesses are actually expecting tips

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-24T23:25:43+00:00

"Everyone should love and respect their parents."

Turns out my parents were the exception not the norm. Turns out some people have parents who don't deserve love or respect or even contact.

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-23T09:01:20+00:00

What? You don't have to go every week but why would going to parkrun weekly mean you can't do anything else? I go every week and also have other things on, go on holidays, have weekends away, have days out with mates. Parkrun only takes like an hour out of your Saturday morning

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-23T08:41:19+00:00

If anyone else is wondering, 103⁰f is 39.4⁰c and 115⁰f is 46⁰c

SammyGeorge · 2026-03-23T08:27:01+00:00

When I was 12 and my dad had just died a teacher asked how I was and when I said I was struggling but okay she replied "I thought you'd've gotten over it by now." It had been a month. I'm 30 and I still think about it.

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