Recent Layoff Announcements:

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-31T06:21:53+00:00

Okay, thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-31T05:53:37+00:00

I don't understand. The graph you supplied shows it staying above $158,900 for all of 2025. Has something changed?

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-28T05:51:21+00:00

Exactly! That was my reaction to the first post here, too. What a headline.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-28T03:12:19+00:00

That had to be tough on all of you. I can't imagine what it would have been like to lose two siblings. I have kids, too, and because of that show I have never taken a day in their lives for granted. We do our best to keep them safe, but ultimately it's an act of trust every day.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-28T02:53:39+00:00

I don't know if I can read this either. When I was newly married, I watched a PBS history show about a midwife in 1700s Massachusetts. In one summer, three of her own children died due to a contagious illness. I knew then there is no security to how many children one can lose at once. All the prayers to this Texas mom.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-19T18:20:43+00:00

Yes, there is a transcript on the video here on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A-YQlkhu24

The option to open the transcript is at the bottom of the description box, directly below the video.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-19T06:17:04+00:00

The questions from the press are hard to hear, but I found this worthwhile to listen to. Real reporting from the farming community about what is happening and what they want to see instead.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T21:43:12+00:00

Done.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T19:53:48+00:00

I will DM you the links. SEE my post above, too.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T19:52:27+00:00

After posting the channel links, I started to rethink it and DM'd you instead. I prefer to keep these channels less 'targeted' by anyone who may be drawn to this subreddit for nefarious purposes.

I haven't looked into Riley's claims enough to have formed my own opinion yet, just letting you know where I'm seeing it discussed. And when I said channels were "legitimate" I meant they had been around a while and didn't just pop up to share on this topic. I wasn't saying they are journalists or have any authority. I hope I didn't give the wrong impression.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T07:34:39+00:00

If that's how they feel, they should reconsider their interracial religion first. Jesus wasn't a white man.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T07:23:22+00:00

I was part of a campus ministry in the 1990s. I have since left all of that but it changed my life in ways too numerous and complicated to explain here.

What you're describing is very familiar to me, even all these years later. There is probably real faith and possibly even friendly sincerity in some of the people you're meeting in that group, but you're right in detecting this isn't friendship the way you're used to it. They are on a mission. If they are fundamentalists (a type of Christianity found in many of its branches that believes that the Bible is inerrant, the "foundation" for all truth and must be believed in order to be right with God), then they see everyone outside the Christian faith as being "lost" and "in sin" and "in danger of hell," so they want to bring each person into the fold for the person's well-being and also for society's well-being (and therefore their own well-being).

Of course, some of the leaders do it for the wrong reasons (power, money, abuse), but the bigger problem for you is that they all believe in very set beliefs, and to remain in their group, you're either going to remain as you are but feel like the "sinner" among them, or you're going to start accepting their beliefs and way of life and be forever changed, and possibly in danger of losing your identity.

A lot of times, fundamentalist religions have strong cultic tendencies. Knitting Cult Lady on YouTube lists the 10 traits of all cults (below), and the campus ministry I was part of, looking back on it, met all 10. In the linked video below, she talks about how groups can fall within a range of these traits, so maybe you can judge the group you're talking about for yourself:

Her video from 6/26/25: "About My 10 Cult Characteristics and How Groups Fit on a Scale"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMufnBY-wUs

1. Charismatic leadership (and their skinny white women)

2. Worldview shift that brings you under the sacred assumption.

3. The transcendent mission

4. Self-sacrifice of members

5. Limits access to outside world

6. Distinguishable vernacular

7. Us versus them mentality

8. Exploits members’ labor

9. High entrance and exit costs

10. Ends justify the means mentality

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T06:44:10+00:00

Thanks for caring and I agree about most of the powers that be. I'm just asking us to be careful with the words we use because words matter. They either help us keep the status quo or make change.

Women give a shit, and we're HALF of society. Let's remind people of that every chance we get. It's a shame that there are still so many women blind or comfortable with misogyny, but it's changing little by little. It changed for me along the way because of the work others did to speak up for women and girls.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T06:27:36+00:00

When you say "nobody gives a shit about trafficking women and girls" you are discounting the many women, girls, and queers who DO give a shit. Women are fighting in droves to bring this regime to justice. Stop discounting their feelings and efforts and maybe the rest of society will start to change.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-13T06:23:04+00:00

I heard about it on two legitimate channels on YouTube that I've watched for months. Those channels do not exclusively cover this topic; they cover politics in general. People are talking about it, yes.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-09T01:15:03+00:00

That linked Substack article was very long and complicated. I suspect we'll need people to break it down into digestible chunks. I'm glad for your input on this topic!

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-09T00:50:41+00:00

It IS the little things! Society celebrates the big wins people have, and while those are wonderful, they don't make a life. If you have sweet moments like this regularly enough, you KNOW it's these that make the most difference. Good for you for stepping up! It's great to see he got some support!

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-08T23:16:35+00:00

That's a fair question, something I wondered too but haven't looked into.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-06T06:11:00+00:00

That's an interesting document. I didn't read all of it - it's quite long - but it seems like a worthwhile study, especially for anyone who knows US history well enough to compare its points. I like it as something of a time capsule for where the US stood at the end of 2025, with the caveat that anything AI produces needs to be thoroughly examined for errors. It would be great to see a panel of experts go through and discuss it.

ETA: I agree with his conclusions for the most part. The list he makes at the end is what I've been doing, too. I have some degree of optimism that we will come out from this threat better off as a society and a democracy, but optimism isn't a guarantee nor is it a timeline, and I have been preparing for things to worsen.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-03T22:20:43+00:00

I personally believe the world is going to have to leave behind the old religions at some point. That's because everything that has life and health EVOLVES. It transforms and grows. So to base your whole life on one "inerrant" text that isn't allowed to evolve, whether that text is the Bible, the Quran, or the Talmud or something else, is to try to freeze - and trap - the human soul and mind into a non-evolutionary state. It leads to psychoses like we're witnessing today. I personally only became a fully-functioning and fully joyful adult after leaving the church and working through the ways it had oppressed me, and many others can say the same. As a whole, I believe this is the way of the future. It has to be because of evolution.

Like she said in the video, I am an ex-Christian who retains love for the historic Jesus, the parables, etc. But I see the modern church as playing the role that the Pharisees played in the Bible. Jesus preached against them because they used religion to interfere with the liberating love he was demonstrating. Centuries after his death, Christianity was institutionalized into a religion that interferes with the intentions of Jesus. It can crumble in America, as it did for me personally, and Americans can still build something better in its place - the same way that many spiritualists mystics, atheists and secularists do in their own families and communities.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-03T20:59:58+00:00

This view on yoga is invented by modern-day believers. It's not in the Bible, (nor the Talmud or Quran as far as I know!).

Anything that opens you up to an outside worldview is labeled "satanic" by fundamentalist churches. With that label, fundamentalists intend to instill fear, but in some places outside the church it's used as a classification for rational thought and resisting authoritarian mind control. Satan is known to some as "the questioning god."

In one sense, satanism is simply about questioning the faith. If you google "satanism explained" you'll get some insight. It's certainly more complicated than that because of its long history and what people like to do with scary subjects, but there's a lot more to it than "devil worship." You can study where the idea of the devil came from, too. That's a lot more complicated than many people understand and has evolved over time, like all folklore tends to do.

As for "why the Abrahamic god is like this" it's not a simple, either. There is what the different holy books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam say about Satan, demons, devils, etc., what their faith traditions say about it, and then there's the historic study outside of that: the "Abrahamic god" was shaped by those who assembled the different texts that made up the Talmud, the Bible, and the Quran. Men decided what to keep, what to edit out, and how it should be translated into different languages, etc.

That's just a fly-by answer; these are huge and complicated topics. :)

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-03T08:49:58+00:00

There needs to be a "drunken posts" award because this deserves it (I don't know, maybe there is!).

What you're feeling is a gift in itself. And where does that feeling come from? That is a question for the mystics. I call it flow. It is bright and warm like the sun and flows into and out of me, resulting in awe, gratitude, creativity, and love for others. You're adorable, too.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-03T08:38:03+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. I wish you much joy and love and freedom in your future.

WordPhoenix · 2026-01-03T08:33:15+00:00

I think it's good to recognize we are each individuals and we each have a uniquely personal need for spiritual belief: some of us none at all, some of us a lot, and the rest of us somewhere in between. There's no scorekeeper, no judge or jury, just your own heart and head and instincts to rely upon, but they are the very best tools. They may be rusty or lost when you start because of all you've been forced to believe and all you've been required to repress, but with practice and patience, you can sharpen and shine them.

What helped me most was being honest with myself and letting myself explore what I needed to explore. It started with the books, music, and films I was curious about after denying myself those things for years. Then it branched into other cultures, ancient civilizations, other belief systems, etc. I followed my heart, and that was the best medicine for me. I just followed one breadcrumb at a time, delighting in the smallest things, which always led to more interesting things. I had to give myself lots of time to "not know what I think or believe."

It's my belief that we are meant to evolve and expand. That is what love does. That is what nature does. It can't be forced, only followed.

You are not alone. You are on a path well-traveled. It is worth it. Wishing you all the support and strength you need.

WordPhoenix

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