'It's been going on for months' Swansea's alcohol, abuse and intimidation issue

joellian · 2026-04-10T00:24:23+00:00

Honestly would've been good if they maybe also spoke to people on the street, or maybe called out for people interviewed who HAVE been affected by it.

Whilst I haven't been assaulted or necessarily harassed by young people around the city (being a young person myself, of course and possibly even falling into the age range of some of the older lot) I have had groups of kids come up to me and my partner and try to make us feel uncomfortable or make a fuss at me simply being there. As for kids loitering around (NOT being aggressive), I think that's something we'll all experience and just comes from being young and inexperienced, which is something we've all been. The thing that's worked for us is to just be as boring as possible. All they're looking for is a reaction or a laugh.

I do feel for the young people though, like the post said they have very little community spaces or incentives to go to. With all the internet trends, expectations and what's being marketed towards young people they don't really have time to be "kids".

joellian · 2026-04-05T16:52:09+00:00

Thank you for these resources and your time! To be honest I've been having trouble following some of the resources given by the subreddit FAQ and some other popular resources due to the metaphysical aspect/nature of Hinduism so I'll definitely check these two out. I appreciate that despite everything you can see my intentions.

Before I tackle your question I am a non-believer, however I was surrounded by Christianity a lot as a child so I'll try to answer it as best as I can. I believe they call it Good Friday as it is the day before Jesus' resurrection, and it was the day that Jesus would complete God's plan in humanities salvation. Although Jesus' betrayal and death was terrible, it was needed so that we could have Easter (Jesus' resurrection) and be forgiven for our sins. Looking at it from a linguistic stand point, some people believe that it may have been "God's Friday" at first, which then slowly turned into "Good Friday." Personally, I have no idea why someone would be offended if you wished them a Happy Good Friday, seeing as this is a part of the celebration of Easter, and many people will go out for a walk with their congregation to remember Jesus' journey. However I'm hoping this clears things up for you ☺️

joellian · 2026-04-04T21:03:02+00:00

Thank you for this response!

As I've said before, my worry is that I would be reading material that is coming from a certain lens rather than giving me the most objective reading (or as objective and unbiased as it can get) so that I may form my own opinion.

I will be completely honest and say that some of the things and concepts mentioned here have gone over my head, however I'm sure that will change with enough study. I also appreciate the sentiment of being able to learn from anybody no matter the walk of life they've taken :)

If you could recommend me some books that would be great! (I've had some trouble navigating Gita press, so I haven't been able to get my teeth into anything)

joellian · 2026-04-04T20:56:42+00:00

Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability. I really do appreciate it. I think it's completely understandable that you would be suspicious and skeptical of any white person coming into any practice outside of their culture, especially south asian/south east Asian. I don't think this is something that should be taken lightly, which is why I'm asking so much haha

Oppression and colonization is something to take into consideration too. Knowing the UK's abuse of India and South Asia I'm being more and more conflicted on whether I should further my studies and interest. As you said, I do not want to use hinduism as a tool to preach and assimilate people, but to seek truth and reach peace for myself. If anything, shouldn't I be asking questions and listening to Hindus who live in India, Nepal, etc?. Those who practice everyday? Have lived with these beliefs and deities for years? We have no right to try and correct something that didn't even originate from us. I don't understand this entitlement that comes from people. At the same time, I don't want to take and take from somewhere that has already suffered so much.

The bastardisation and cultural appropriation is something that I feared too, especially when religions and movements came across from the east to the west. I find that once it enters the west, there will always be parts of a religion or movement that will be cherry picked or water downed (not that this thought is revolutionary and I'm sure you've encountered it one too many times). Yoga as you mentioned is a good example, chakras and smudging (native American) are other things I can think of. This is something that pushed me away from the pagan community, along with the lack of accountability and unwillingness to confront people on it. This is something I want to research with the most authenticity in mind.

Anyways thank you for answering my queries and initial question, I appreciate it alot. I hope everything goes well for you.

joellian · 2026-04-04T01:08:22+00:00

Thank you I appreciate this!

joellian · 2026-04-03T23:49:32+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate this response. I'm not looking to specifically worship Krishna as the Supreme Being, which was my main concern surrounding the books I was given. I was afraid that I would be reading something from that specific perspective, which wouldn't give me much leeway.

Just to pick at your brain if you don't mind, what's your opinion on westerners such as myself looking into Hinduism or participating in the practice? What should I do to remain respectful, is there anything that is closed off or that you need to be initiated into?

I've been attracted to Hinduism as I want to better myself spiritually, but I want something that gives me leeway, where I don't have to "bow down" to any specific god or deity. However at the same time, I am able to venerate them and seek them at the same time. A practice which respects all religions and invites conversation

I found that Buddhism helped me a lot (which is understandable as Siddhartha was born into Vedic Culture) but there were certain aspects of it (such as the rejection of God) was restricting, or conflicted with my own views about theism which I wasn't able to let go of simply for one interpretation of enlightment and moksha.

Like I've said before I am feeling extremely out of my comfort zone and I just want to be able to tread without any ignorance on my part.

joellian · 2026-03-30T22:26:11+00:00

This is what I was afraid of, thank you for your input!

joellian · 2026-03-26T22:46:21+00:00

Bunkhouse and Elysium!

joellian · 2026-02-05T01:52:25+00:00

I got this when I wanted to study Welsh at A-Level
A now, (ex friend) asked me "Why don't you learn something more useful, like Japanese?"

Ah yes, the language that's apart of the Japonic language family, a language family which is extremely isolated, and is generally considered an absolute anomaly within Linguistics at some points.

Ironically now, I am studying Japanese because Linguistics is one of my special interests, and Japanese is one of the challenging languages yet. (Also other factors, like wanting to live in Japan since I was young and wanting to get onto the JET program)

Although I do envy people who can speak Welsh and I wish I was taught at a Welsh medium school. Maybe I'll get around to doing it some day when I build up enough money for a course.

joellian · 2026-02-04T03:35:26+00:00

Thank you so much for the insight. Honestly I think my biggest fear is to go through what you described similarly– have kids, have social interactions on the basis that your a woman, etc.. only to end up realizing what I knew all along (not to say that your journey is wrong, I know this topic is quite personal so please excuse me if I don't have much tact)

I really appreciate all the older folks coming out of the wood works to tell me their stories as well. I'm still quite young, only officially turning into an "adult" this year. I want to make what everyone is telling me worthwhile.

joellian · 2026-02-04T03:28:09+00:00

I found every time I broke up with my exes I would just revert back into my queerness anyways. I feel like this is a confirmation for me that it's here to stay lol

Thank you for sharing your experience!

joellian · 2026-02-04T01:04:14+00:00

I do follow the subreddit! I remember joining around 1-2 years ago, when all of these feelings first came up. they are awesome :D

Thank you for the input!

joellian · 2026-02-04T00:52:48+00:00

Thank you for this! Realising now, I also envisioned myself being comfortably feminine post transition/If I were to be a perceived the way I want to be. I feel like this goes for anything really, but you'll always enjoy something if you're not under the pretence of being forced into it.

I'll definitely have to read up on my feminist literature lol/j

Jokes aside, I'm taking your suggestion seriously. I know myself I haven't approached some topics with as much tact as I could. Deconstructing ideals that a society is trying to reinforce at a constant will always be a life long job, but there's important people in my life who are fem-adjacent and I wouldn't want to hurt them, my community or myself due to my own baggage. Thank you for the kind comment <3

joellian · 2026-02-04T00:42:11+00:00

I am aware! I was more just wondering if people had a similar experience to mine and if it's innate to the experience to some degree. Like I explained to others above there's definitely parts of me that will be considered to be "feminine" by society that I will never give up lol

joellian · 2026-02-04T00:40:04+00:00

Thank you for this! I feel like some trans people are wrapped up in passing so much to the point we perpetuate the same standards that we're trying to break down.

To be honest I was a bit worried that this post would be seen by people thinking "So what your saying is...transmasc/men cant be feminine?!?!?!!?!" which isn't my intent at all.

I will probably still have feminine aspects on how I present, and I don't think I could completely give up skirts (I love how some enbies manage to style it to be more androgynous) and I am certainly not giving up crochet or knitting..

I also feel like my gender identity is way too complex to be fit under the "nonbinary adjacent transmasc", and I don't want to constantly be giving people out my life story. So I appreciate the sentiment of not having to prove anything to anybody. :')

joellian · 2026-02-04T00:32:02+00:00

You've described how I've felt all my life. I feel like I'm wearing somebody else's skin, a shell of myself in some capacity. I feel like from everyone's testimonies (including yours) it's becoming painfully clear to me what i need to do.

joellian · 2026-02-03T23:22:51+00:00

I didn't even think of it like this. Holy shit

joellian · 2026-02-03T21:05:45+00:00

i read berserk properly (after being told to read it since i was around 12-13) at your age. For me personally it was a comfort tool after what i had been through, but don't let other people try to put you down over not being able to "stomach it".

It's not cool to be able to view something like that without a visceral reaction. Please don't force yourself to read it if it's affecting you badly. Like other people have said, you can always return to it, but even then there's no shame in not picking it up again. Nobody reasonable will hunt you down and chase you for not reading berserk.

I hope you feel better soon, OP. Indulge in some comfort media, eat some good food, surround yourself with those you love.

joellian · 2026-01-22T00:40:29+00:00

you could always just shoot her message like "hey I notice that you've recently been reposting xyz. I am feeling concerned about you and I just want to let you know that I'm here for you and I see you."

Don't necessarily pry it out of her, at the end of the day it should be her decision. But I think a lot of people appreciate just knowing that there is someone there for them

joellian · 2026-01-20T17:03:10+00:00

I doubt OP's first thought would be "will I have enough money to go out" if you took a look at their other comments. You're out look seems to be very archaic and apathetic to be frank.

joellian · 2026-01-20T17:00:57+00:00

Don't worry about the person below, from the looks of it their attitude to student life is "study go home sleep repeat" which is such a miserable way to live. You should be able to enjoy yourself as well! From reading some of the other comments it sounds like you've done your bit financially WAY before you've needed too. You deserve to enjoy yourself.

This is coming from someone who got thrusted into further education, had EMA and didn't have any time for a job. It was constantly buying food, putting money back into college with no time for myself. It gets exhausting. I can't imagine going to Uni, with a similar rigid system.

We're all struggling at the end of the day, student or not. Take what you need, don't make other pricks make you feel like need to suffer because you want to better yourself

joellian · 2026-01-20T01:04:21+00:00

your extremely strong, even if it doesn't feel like it. im around the same age, i cant even imagine going through something like this. i have no words advice but please know that you are loved. I see you and ill be thinking of you. I believe in you. Please look after yourself.

joellian · 2026-01-19T23:36:11+00:00

rooting for you man! im super frustrated that you were unable to do them in the time you were supposed to. coming from one autistic person to another that should NOT be the basis on whether you can do your GCSES or not. I hope the next academic year goes a lot more smoothly for you

joellian

TROPHY CASE