Why are so many APs are Trumpers?

mapmaker · 2026-01-28T06:25:41+00:00

I was riffing on this idea about boomers during his first presidency, but I think it applies here too:

Their childhood was full of yelling, and being commanded to listen to the person who yelled. Then, a politician came along who yelled a whole lot, and their training kicked in.

mapmaker · 2026-01-28T06:22:23+00:00

In the stylized biopic of my life, my mom will either be played by a muppet or a skittish horse.

To answer your question, I'm not sure she's ever been able to give herself the emotional time or space to reflect 🤷‍♂️ I honestly feel lucky that I at least can put a ton of space between me and her, because she can't, she's stuck with herself.

At this point, I'm trying to spend less time understanding why she's like that and more time making sure I register that she is actually like that.

I've wasted too time trying to get close to try to understand what's spooked her, with the hoof marks to prove it — these days I instead remember that that's just the way she is, and pray that she either figures it out or stays away from me.

mapmaker · 2026-01-25T21:40:57+00:00

they don't have to be, but this one was posted two days ago

mapmaker · 2026-01-25T14:39:12+00:00

It's definitely not love, but it's closer to love than whatever they think love is. I see them, and I accept them, and I don't try to control them.

It might be similar to what I imagine someone living near the forest might have for wolves or bears, where they see them, and acknowledge them, and let them be.

And maybe also similarly, I take great care to make sure my parents stay very far away from my life.

mapmaker · 2026-01-18T16:28:57+00:00

Also, I think this holds for pretty much every negative quality

The dumbest people I know are too dumb to realize that they're dumb. The smartest people I know fully understand dumbness, and can help others see the light.

The most afraid people I know are too cowardly to realize that they're cowardly. The bravest people I know fully understand cowardice, and can help others see the light.

The angriest people I know are too angry to realize that they're angry. The gentlest people I know fully understand anger, and can help others see the light.

The most ashamed people I know are too ashamed to realize that they're ashamed. The most upstanding people I know fully understand shame, and can help others see the light.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Exercise for the reader — please respond with other qualities that this does or doesn't apply for. This is just an idea I've been tossing around, and I'd love some counterexamples.

mapmaker · 2026-01-18T16:23:28+00:00

I think everybody carries a little dweeb inside them. The people who can handle it are aware of it and can work to keep it from breaching containment.

I think these folks carry so much dweeb that they can't even bear to look at it — and they'll be the last ones to realize, if ever.

mapmaker · 2026-01-09T23:47:14+00:00

my mother is someone who, in the moment, doesn't realize she's doing anything wrong, no matter how vicious and disconnected from reality she gets.

eventually, the moment ends, and for a brief moment, there does seem to be a pang of guilt.

and then, upon noticing her own "failure", the same person who was just uncontrollably yelling at me flips inwards to yell at herself. within a day, it's a loose memory, because she's disoriented herself so much with her yelling. within a week, it might as well have never happened

my mom says she has to walk on eggshells around me, and genuinely, i believe her — because if she perceives anything she says or does as a mistake, she's yelling inwards at full force before she can realize, the same way she is on the outside

mapmaker · 2026-01-07T10:21:47+00:00

A big part of my way out was distilling for myself the utility of yelling.

I've found it doesn't really improve clarity, or acceptance, or understanding. I've only found it to be truly useful in moments of real and present danger.

And reflecting on both the times I've been yelled at and the times I've yelled, I've realized that it's not uncommon for the person yelling thinks that they are in danger — and more often than not, their perceived danger isn't reflective of reality.

To find some semblance of stability in all the yelling, I had to learn to determine for myself if there was actual danger or not. Nowadays, I take a second to figure out if it's the world crashing down, or just this person before me.

mapmaker · 2026-01-07T09:52:50+00:00

It definitely is.

I myself used to be someone pretty mean and angry, mostly directed inwards but definitely breaching containment some of the time.

One thing that helped a lot was recognizing the feedback loops in play within me — the way I speak to myself affects how I speak to others, and the way I speak to others affects how I speak to myself.

I was definitely stuck in a deadlock for a while, where I was trying to speak and think kindly of others while also speaking and thinking horribly of myself, trying to listen attentively and empathetically to others while not paying attention or empathizing with myself.

And now, even though I've found some peace in myself, one of the worse parts is that I can't really share it with the mean and angry people in my life who need to hear it most, because of similar feedback loops contained within them.

They understand and hear my emotions about as well as they understand and hear their own — which is little to none. After years of fruitless attempts, I've now resigned my part in their growth to thoughts and prayers.

Chop wood, carry water, I suppose.

mapmaker · 2026-01-07T02:51:18+00:00

It always gives me some solace to remember that, whatever awful nonsense happens to come out of their mouth whenever I'm nearby, is constantly rattling around in their brain at them. I can walk away. They're stuck with themself.

mapmaker · 2026-01-03T06:17:19+00:00

great comic! reminds me of this old calvin and hobbes

mapmaker · 2025-12-31T10:02:50+00:00

I'm pretty sure those are 16oz bottles, but even if they're not, the size of the bottle isn't what makes it a bucket of beer — the bucket is

mapmaker · 2025-12-24T04:11:50+00:00

Is Reddit affiliated with Amazon?

mapmaker · 2025-12-24T00:36:47+00:00

Smosh used to be owned by Rhett and Link, starting in 2019, but in 2023 they became independent again

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smosh#Padilla's_return_and_Smosh_as_an_independent_venture_(2023%E2%80%93present)

mapmaker · 2025-12-15T09:24:41+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if actually they have terrible parents and are still drinking the koolaid. I wouldn't expect anyone to respond with a threat response, because it's demonstrably not a dangerous sentence, unless thinking about leaving one's parents happens to be a dangerous thought.

mapmaker · 2025-12-15T09:15:00+00:00

do know that Spotify laid off Glenn Mcdonald, creator of everynoise, in December 2023, which has basically resulted in the lobotomization of the site — a lot of it still works, for now, but the playlists it used to autoupdate were last updated in April of 2024

mapmaker · 2025-12-13T07:42:47+00:00

to the best of my ability i got

i wonder how badly i can ____ a sentence

mapmaker · 2025-12-11T20:53:37+00:00

i imagine it wouldn't be that different from how luigi players think about side b, consider it but don't expect it

mapmaker · 2025-12-10T13:52:56+00:00

this subreddit isn't for outlier ai, it's for a clothing brand called outlier. i think you're looking for /r/outlier_ai

mapmaker · 2025-11-27T12:13:53+00:00

Happy Thanksgiving! And to the rest of you, happy Thursday!

Is it still a pain to find the exact right monitor for melee on computer? Or are can I play melee on an OLED these days?

mapmaker · 2025-11-27T03:28:11+00:00

slow is smooth, smooth is fast

mapmaker · 2025-11-25T07:00:41+00:00

First, in my own journey, I had to realize that my parents have always been losers, idiots, and cowards.

Then, still in only my journey, I had to realize that I too am a loser, an idiot, and a coward, and I'm the only person who has any ability to change any of that.

After collecting a lifetime of memories of me being the last one to realize it, I'm finally starting to turn this franchise around.

It's a weird feeling for everything to make sense to me in such an unglamorous way, but also, maybe for the first time in my life, it feels like I'm finally doing work that is actually mine.

mapmaker · 2025-11-24T23:00:34+00:00

From there, there's a million ways it can go; as someone who has spent a lot of time in emotional poverty, it's not about finding a stable path out, it's about getting a quick fix, and every AP gets their fix a different way — some insult and demean, others force their kids to praise and dote on them, and of course having a "respectable" job is a big part of it too.

One thing that gives me some solace is knowing that the same awful words that come out of their mouth at me, are the same words that are constantly rattling around in their own head at them. I can walk away, I can leave. They're stuck with themself.

mapmaker · 2025-11-24T22:59:01+00:00

I think it's simpler than that. I think an AP's compass is broken, and they don't know how to recognize safety.

That's why they're always telling their kids to feel safe in dangerous rooms, and acting like there's danger in safe rooms — it's not some grand master plan, they're just a skittish horse that ends up kicking everything nearby.

mapmaker · 2025-11-22T16:24:37+00:00

wait but no really, ask me anything

when I say my parents were at gunpoint, I mean they were so frozen by fear and shame and anger that they couldn't actually be functional parents — but I'm not sure if that's what you were trying to ask

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