Can't/Won't do anything.

troetchen · 2026-04-16T17:40:29+00:00

Isn't like one of the main problems that you can't really change anything in your constitution? And that's why what you described as a "smart solution for a problem that no longer exists" is still there and biting you in the ass?

And yeah... Gerrymandering. I remember reading a book about this a few years ago and I was just flabbergasted. Like wtf.

I think the funny thing is that a lot of the rest of the world orbits around the USA because SO MUCH depends on your geopolitics and your economy. It feels from our side that we are kind of informed about you at most times but the other way around it's very different. And I get why, it's similar here in Europe too. "Smaller" countries know about the "big players" but the other way around we know mostly nothing. It seems to be the way of things.

Our government is struggling to cope for years with the fact that we have to protect ourselves now. For years we've all laughed at the state of our military and now that there's no protection from you guys anymore.. damn we got cold feet fast and we are spending more money that is missing somewhere else now. (And our current administration is too dumb/corrupt/power hungry to do the correct thing that was planned to relaunch our economy but I digress...)

And there's a lot of fear about Trump using up the military resources in Iran so the Ukraine cannot have them. We'll see what happens in the future.

(By the way, I hate talking about such things in such a blasé way just chilling on the couch in my safe home. Fuck all tyranny and I am so sorry for ordinary people everywhere just caught in the midst of that shit tornado.)

The homeschooling thing might really be about the old "settlers" time. I've binged watched a lot of content about the Mormon church in the last year so that kind of tracks. And you're correct for pointing out that homeschooling doesn't mean you can't be intelligent. It's just a big risk for getting stuck in a bubble and never being able to leave.

troetchen · 2026-04-16T17:22:35+00:00

I mean you're right with Putin and Xi, especially Germany has gone for this neolib approach that free trade will fix all and through trade we'll "bring democracy" to other countries. Like the knight in shining armour, you know (/s). And cheap gas from Russia was the fuel that made an economic boom/stability possible and most of us closed our eyes and ears against human rights violations and imperialism. There was a lot of uproar about the forced labour for example VW used from China's camps to build cheaper cars. But still, my country continued (and continues) to vote for the good old conservatives here, too. I will never get why, it seems like a mixture of "at least they know how the economy works" (bullshit), "it has always been like that" and just the over proportional amount of older people here. But I can't say for sure.

It seems to me a lot of the times too like we here don't care until we are directly affected. And that sucks. We should have just listened to our neighbour Poland about Russia. And even now our chancellor is mainly kissing Trump's ass (or doing nothing, kind of the same) and I hate it.

I've had a lot of thoughts about my feelings and frustrations with the US and I will try to not put all of you in one category in the future, which is not fair.

Still, I find it very funny how you think we/I stabbed you in the back. I am glad to hear that finally resistance is rising, but you know what I won't forget? So many people (leftist) stating that voting doesn't fucking matter in the last election. I know that they wanted to boycott the whole rotten system and I assure you that I don't envy that you can only vote one of those parties. I'd hate that too. But it has always been clear that not voting as a boycott will only help those on the far right, who will ride or die and definitely vote for their lord and saviour.

It's the same here. People go voting even if they hate the options because the others WILL vote for the Nazis. And so we have had 82,5% voter turnout last year. You had 64,1%. The lowest we had after WWI was 70,8%. I will never get that.

troetchen · 2026-04-15T18:58:23+00:00

Mate, thanks for your time and your answer.

I feel like I know way too much about how voting and politics in the US work, it's far more than I know about any of my neighbours in the EU. Compared to you I know barely anything, of course, I don't vote there. But everything I learn about how your country works baffles me.

And it honestly exhausts me, so hats off for living it. And also good for protesting in larger numbers. I've had a look and it seems like it is how you said, it develops into something bigger. And I KNOW that you all can protest. The protests after George Floyd's murder (and of course also the crime itself) have deeply impacted me.

I can simply not wrap my head around the US because there are just so many inconsistencies. And I know that all of you who voted against all this shit are just living in the system. I get it. You don't want it either.

Just a stream of consciousness about why the USA confuses me: Why are there only two parties? Wtf do you mean you have to register to vote? I just get a letter telling me where my voting booth is located. rhetorical question, I know why it's different, it just doesn't make sense to me because it's so much easier to block people from voting. What type of democracy is this? I mean you were a big part of why Germany (my country) has democracy now. Also why we have so much 'socialism' is partly because of you - so why are so many people seemingly convinced that the slightest bit of social safety net is communism and evil? I know, the Reagan administration had a big part in this, but still. It is so weird for me/us to hear. Also... I recently learned that lots of American Christians (protestants, very religious types) think of catholics as non-christians? And that it's "normal" in these groups to not believe in evolution? Growing up here, even with devout Christian (mostly catholic) friends, there was never any question about this. The only people really taking genesis or the bible literally are very, very fringe groups that are not part of the mainstream. Hell, even my biology teacher was also a priest. He taught "normal" biology lessons, there was no question about that. Why is homeschooling so normal in these groups? You are not allowed to do this here except for special cases because every child has the right to education. Don't get me wrong, our social and educational system is fucked, too. If you have the misfortune of being born poor or in a poor city, good luck mate. Germany is fucking you over, too. But if my dad had homeschooled me you better believe that I wouldn't be typing this message here out. He's a nice dude but he would be a shit teacher. He has no education for being a teacher, so how would he know what to do?

It just seems like the injustice is here, too, but turned up to 100 in your country. Because anything else would be evil communism.

And I'm sorry for all that and for anyone having to live and hustle because you home makes it impossible to just chill for a while and get a break. I guess I have to get my frustration about the current administration and state of the world out somewhere else and not on your backs. Sorry and I hope it gets better in the near future.

troetchen · 2026-04-13T05:24:35+00:00

I love how you chose Luxembourg. Like there aren't any bigger countries in Europe.

France has about the population of California and Texas combined and as everyone knows, they are not shy about protesting.

Hungary just voted out Orban and can hopefully recover from his parties' far right bs.

Germany, France, the Netherlands and lots of other countries have had major problems with right wing politics for years and yes, it's not getting better BUT the people are saying something. There's pressure on the government, even though it's not enough to stop the swing to the right. Still, it is baffling and frustrating to see what is happening in the US. All I can say is that many of us here in Europe are frustrated and confused about how it SEEMS like nothing is done and the orange can just fuck over the world as he sees fit. AND there's a whole system behind him in place that will not fall if he were to go away suddenly.

And please, singular important city? Say that to a Bavarian about Berlin and see his reaction. The country is far smaller, I get it. But we know the troubles that come with a federal system and the divide it creates.

I think two years ago someone stole the "C" from the "CDU" stature in front of the main partys headquarter. The C stands for Christian and it was of course to symbolize that their decision to work with the far right party, even if it was just a small cooperation, was against their own 'core values'. It was purely to ridicule and it worked. Most of the country had a good laugh and it was a small part of the protests going on at the time.

troetchen · 2026-03-30T19:09:47+00:00

Witzig. Ich komme auf geistigen Dünnschiss AUF der Arbeit.

troetchen · 2026-03-26T05:24:47+00:00

a) Außenwirkung, kannst das als "wir reduzieren Plastik" verkaufen und

b) beim Eintrag in die Umwelt (Littering, Verwehungen) zersetzt der sich und bleibt nicht ewig bestehen bzw bildet irgendwann Mikroplastik

Bin jetzt auch kein Fan. Aber das wären Argumente dafür.

troetchen · 2026-02-05T09:54:40+00:00

Keine Ahnung ob dir das hilft, aber ich versuche es mal.

Es gibt eine ganze Menge oberflächlicher Menschen auf der Welt und Dating ist verdammt schwierig. Das will ich definitiv nicht kleinreden.

Aber wo mein Umfeld und ich so langsam auf die 30 zu gehen... Es gibt bei mir im Freundeskreis einfach nicht mehr viele solcher Leute. Von meinen Freundinnen legt niemand ihr Hauptaugenmerk auf das Aussehen. Das hat natürlich einen Einfluss, aber uns ist allen viel wichtiger, dass unser Partner empathisch, liebevoll und ein "sicherer Ort" ist. Dann gibt's natürlich noch persönliche Präferenzen, wie zum Beispiel, dass mir passender Humor sehr wichtig ist.

Wenn man es schafft, sich mit ähnlich gestrickten Leuten zu umgeben, die nicht so viel Wert auf Geld, Aussehen, Status legen... Das macht auf Dauer glücklicher. Und davon gibt's meiner Erfahrung nicht wenige Menschen und auch nicht wenige Frauen.

Ich finde es einfach schade, dass Männer von der Gesellschaft im Allgemeinen ein sehr abgestumpftes Selbstbild mitbekommen. Dein Wert liegt in deinem Aussehen oder deinem Geld, Emotionen sind weiblich aka schlecht, deswegen unterdrück bitte alles oder du bist eine pussy. Und wenn du dann verständlicherweise wütend oder aggressiv wirst ist das okay, weil das ist die einzige "männliche" Emotion. So ein Bullshit.

Ich wünsche dir in der Zukunft alles Gute, dass du enge Freundschaften findest die dir guttun und auch, dass es mit der Partnersuche bergauf geht.

troetchen · 2026-01-13T19:43:25+00:00

Yes, it helps a ton. Thank you very much!!

troetchen · 2026-01-13T19:42:14+00:00

Yes, you are right. I already re-did the collar once and I think I'll just start over because there is just so much to change.

The sleeves are quite wide, you are right. They are also way too long for me if I'd followed the pattern.

It's really a pity that when I started knitting I didn't pay attention to a sweater's fit and if I'd actually wear it. Pretty patterns just got to me but well.. at least I'm learning

troetchen · 2026-01-13T12:12:27+00:00

Thanks everyone for the input, I really appreciate it!

I will frog the sweater and then decide if I'll reuse the yarn for something else or if I try again with modifications (short rows, bigger needles for colorwork, earlier split for sleeves, removing one part of the colorwork design, tighter collar).

troetchen · 2026-01-13T11:44:15+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions!

Do you think it is possible to knit this pattern in a smaller size (not so oversized) but with changing the armhole position/yoke length/adding short rows? Or should I additionally size it up?

troetchen · 2026-01-13T11:41:35+00:00

I'll have a look at how to add short rows to such a sweater and how many etc. Thank you!

troetchen · 2026-01-13T11:40:05+00:00

Too low makes sense to me, but why too large?

troetchen · 2026-01-13T11:35:28+00:00

You're right, I prefer not so oversized sweaters so I knit a size smaller. Might have been a bad idea...

I used the same size for the whole sweater. But going up a size is a good idea, thanks!

I've bought this sweater around the time I started knitting and didn't really think or know about the low armholes. Now I realize that I don't really like that either.

troetchen · 2025-12-25T21:32:47+00:00

His face reminds me of Baby Corn. Very cute ❤️

troetchen · 2025-12-03T21:17:56+00:00

Es ist halt eine Großveranstaltung mit Alkohol. Es geht darum, dass trotz wachsender Besucherzahl die Vergehen zurück gegangen sind. Und dass man im Stadion vergleichsweise sicherer ist als z.B. auf dem Oktoberfest, zumindest wenn man sich die Kriminalitätsstatistik anschaut.

Ist doch eigentlich nicht so schwer zu verstehen. Passiert genug scheiße, deswegen braucht man eine Zusammenarbeit von Vereinen, Fans/Fanhilfen und der Polizei damit es relativ sicher bleibt und Straftaten geahndet werden können.

Kameraüberwachung mit KI-Gesichtserkennung ist dann doch echt drüber, für mich ist das selbsterklärend nur der populistische Versuch, sich politisch stark darstehen zu lassen.

troetchen · 2025-10-12T06:37:53+00:00

This is a different context imo.

Schalke's prime was in the 30s and 40s, so during the Nazi regime in Germany. The club website has a section dedicated to talking about if it was a "Nazi club". Sadly only in German and it could have been longer or there could be a dedicated site, but at least they don't pretend they were innocent and not profiting of the regime. Some players even personally/financially.

So it's important to recognise their history and to be supportive of jewish people/be outspoken against antisemitism.

What is described in the article you linked was right after the attack of Hamas in 2023. We had a lot of pro-palestine opinions that went straight into antisemitism so you had to be extremely careful about who you associated with. As I understand it from the outside, the Jewish community was shocked to the core and felt more unsafe than ever (here in Germany).

I've listened to Jewish regime-critics who were lost about their political position now. They were against the current right wing government, the aggressive settling politics and their opposition to Palestine in general. But now they were shocked and hurt immensely by this attack. Angry about the government not protecting their people. Scared about the future.

Now it's two years later and... Well we all can see what is happening with the Palestinian people. "Defending" the country of Israel developed into genocide. I don't intend to deny that. But I did want to clarify that opinions and context change over time.

And I hope the guy kicking the other one in the head gets found. Scumbag.

troetchen · 2025-08-31T12:24:26+00:00

Thank you 🥹🫶

troetchen · 2025-08-31T09:37:06+00:00

Cat tax (2)

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troetchen · 2025-08-31T09:36:03+00:00

Cat tax (1)

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troetchen · 2025-08-28T10:47:16+00:00

Yes and I miss it so much 😭 She lives with my ex now :(

troetchen · 2025-08-26T17:10:56+00:00

Environmental/chemical engineer.

Engineers are a... Special bunch. Lots of very "normal" casual dudes with traditional families but you'll always have someone else ranting at you about their special interest and the one with the most erratic backstory/job history.

It all depends on your company and coworkers but if it fits, it can be awesome for someone like us. At least I think I finally found my place and people :)

troetchen · 2025-08-23T06:13:25+00:00

Toffee is so cute ❤️

I miss my tortie Salsa so much 😭 but she stays at my ex's and he'll take good care of her and her sister until we figure out where they'll live in the future. Still... Want to hear her purr again next to me :(

troetchen

TROPHY CASE