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Cake day: July 4th, 2023

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  • Chicagoan here. Chicago does have a problem with violence—but it’s really limited to certain areas. Chicago is a highly segregated city by today’s standards with a long history of neglecting and abusing it’s Black population on the South side of the city. The CPD is famous for corruption and racism, going back decades at least. Like any major city, gang activity is a major problem in the poor areas, and I suspect its in those areas that one can truly be shot “out of the blue.”

    Don’t get me wrong, I love Chicago, and it’s a great city everyone should visit. But like any major city, it’s got its dark sides, and you’re right, we can’t do anything about that until we acknowledge it.





  • Therapist here. I’ve had clients say this “I’m sure you hear this all the time” line to me before. It’s always a little surprising to me, because while, yes, we do hear a lot of the same type of traumatic stories, we’re trained to regard every single patient as unique. And that’s because they are. No one’s story is like any other’s. There may be similar elements, but they’re ultimately all very different due to the details. Just as you regard everyone you know as highly different, we see our patients the same way.

    Don’t ever be afraid that your therapist sees you as “just another X-type person.” And if you get the sense they do, get a different therapist.


  • For those interested in the actual science part of the article:

    Why the fuss over food coloring? Are natural dyes really that much better for our health?

    “They’re better for some people’s health,” says Jamie Alan, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University. “There is a very small percentage of children who are very sensitive to these dyes. And when they eat these dyes, they display behaviors that we sometimes associate with ADHD.”

    Alan stresses that there is no evidence that those kids actually develop ADHD. But research has found that after eating foods containing certain dyes, children, including those diagnosed with ADHD or autism, can show signs of hyperactivity, moodiness and inattentiveness. However many of these foods, particularly candy and soda, also contain sugar, which has also been connected to hyperactive behavior.

    Alan recommends that parents talk to a pediatrician and try an elimination diet to make sure the dye and not another ingredient is to blame. But she largely supports phasing out artificial dyes; most public health advocates think this is a good idea. “In my opinion,” Alan says, “because we’re talking about children and because they are a vulnerable population, I do think this is a great thing to do. But I will recognize that it is not going to impact the vast majority of the population.”

    None of this changes the fact that Robert F. Kennedy is a fucking moron.



  • You seem really set on insisting that there’s a link between intelligence and morality, and at this point I don’t think I have the energy to disabuse you of that notion. Suffice it to say, you’re wrong on both the individual and societal levels. Much of the history of civilization is war, and involved in that comes conquest and reorganization of societal boundaries. Pretty much every society today is the product of a chain of wars. Are you going to say all societies are bad, just because there’s blood in their foundations?

    The world isn’t as black-and-white as you’re painting it. Intelligence isn’t linked to morality and morality itself is more gray than black-and-white. That latter part is something you should definitely have learned in your ethics class.


  • Yes, morals utilize reason and logic, but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily more moral if you’re smarter. At best, it might mean that certain moral perspectives are easier to grasp if you’re smarter, but even if you grasp them that doesn’t mean you hold them.

    “eugenics is unwise”

    Is a statement describing applying reason to derive a moral understanding.

    No. It’s a statement asserting that eugenics has flaws and drawbacks that will ultimately prove detrimental to its own goal. This has nothing to do with the moral argument against it.