Lol the left subs on Reddit have tons of people dropping into threads to argue, and it’s - no exaggeration - the worst attempts at liberals and conservatives appearing like they know what they’re talking about I’ve ever seen.

Have you talked with anyone about our positions? I ask because if you were to reduce our position down to one simple aspect of it, it would be “America bad,” with no trace of “Russia good.” Some people actually do try to make fun of us by saying all we care about is “America bad,” and that does, at least, show some indication of having basic familiarity with our takes.

Communists want the war to end and blame NATO for provoking and prolonging it. Naturally, this is not from a place of cheerleading for another oligarchical government, like Russia. There is a lot of background to explain, if you just popped in and are unfamiliar.

Good point. Could be totally wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if OP was unfortunate like me and stumbled upon some threads. The official r/nyc discussion thread on this story was extremely depressing.

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/myocarditis-risk-significantly-higher-after-covid-19-infection-vs-after-a-covid-19-vaccine

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/myocarditis-seven-times-more-likely-covid-19-vaccines/

No

My headcanon is that it’s an Elon Musk fan who thinks the marketplace of ideas is hampered by the lack of slurs, or one of those weird dudes who violently hates a teenage girl for wanting the world not to burn. Actually, the venn diagram between the two is basically a circle anyway.

I disagree with Elon. The expectation is that most of them will find a better job after Twitter implodes

It absolutely doesn’t have to be forever. Don’t forget that you got to where you are for reasons. You make sense, and your choices make sense, even when there were more productive choices you could have made. I can definitely recall (like literally all last year and the year before) a time when I felt unhinged and said some of the most embarrassing and destructive things of my life to people I love. I am now out of that, and I do have regrets, but I know why it happened. I know that I’m not to blame for every factor that led me there.

In terms of that shame, just know that that’s a completely normal response to addiction, and it’s not something you need to feel forever either. Judging others based on who they were while consistently using is deeply unfair. It is nearly impossible to not engage in out-of-character selfishness in some circumstances, and being in a period of drug abuse is one of those. And I’d love it for you if you could ease up on yourself. You’re not the things you’ve said, nor are you what you’ve done in the past. We are all always becoming, not static. You are not what you’ve done, but instead are becoming what you do, and what you are doing now by recognizing all this is very very good. Most people would not be strong enough.

You’ve got this, comrade. We all believe in you.

Edit: Whoever downvoted OP and almost everyone else in here seems to have done so immediately around when a lot of the recent threads seemed to randomly get one downvote per comment. So, almost certainly not directed at you, OP.

Well color me newly educated! Thanks!

That’s incredibly hard to read. Like, for real. I’m so sorry. Have you already asked for a generous discount from your sensei until you get back on your feet? Many teachers don’t want to lose a passionate student over money, and times are hard.

Loving what you’re saying, and it’s so cool to me to have a Shaolin blackbelt in here. Obviously no disagreement here, just wanna bring your attention back to the beginning of your post where you defined karate (I am thinking you meant to say Japanese?) Though I think the original meaning of karate was “the Chinese hand,” or something like that, as much of it was derived from Kung Fu!

And to Muad’Dibber, as thetables said, yeah, tons of styles! I hear really great things about Kyokoshin. Most places have a few shotokon places, and those can range from incredible to McDojo. A karate dojo is definitely worth checking out first, if that interests you. However, it’s worth saying, my bias is toward traditional arts, like karate and Kung Fu, because it’s what I’m into. Many on the internet are leaning toward MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, wrestling, boxing, judo and BJJ, because UFC generally presents those as the most effective. A trip to the main martial arts sub on Reddit will show how popular this opinion is now. I won’t try to sway you either way, except to say, check out what interests you and find out if it’s good. People online can’t know what specific schools actually offer, and they make broad generalizations. Even I did it just above with the Kyokoshin mention.

Edit: See thetablesareorange’s response below. Looks like my first paragraph was off. Leaving it for context.

Another Kung Fu person checking in. Not nearly a black belt, like the other commenter is. Started at the beginning of this year and adore it. I think a community would be great.

It was personally important to me to find a school that pressure tests techniques and spars. I think the number one piece of self defense advice I have is to spar. If your school doesn’t spar, but you love it for your own reasons (no shade; there are many completely legitimate reasons to love a school, style or teacher), just get permission to find some other students or people in the area willing to spar with you. I’m nothing special, and have no cool anecdotes about beating anyone up, but the confidence boost from knowing you can compose yourself and give it back when you have strikes coming at you is invaluable.

And one specific word that only applies for those not practicing and not planning to: if someone attacks you, kicks should not be a go-to. Lifting your leg to fake them out, low kicks to their legs, groin kicks with a clear opening, and kicking them from a felled position on the ground are totally on the table. But unless you’ve trained kicks, and specifically with sparring, going for an actual, above the waste kick, is more likely to get you screwed than to obliterate your opponent in one blow. First try running away (as practitioners should too), then punch them. Bite them. Use any grappling you feel confident in. Just don’t take the kick risk. Kicking is hard. Kicking effectively is way harder. This is one thing about starting out that I think a beginner like myself may remember better than someone who is excellent.

Sorry for the rant! I’m just super into this stuff and loving the thread. Got quite a cool variety of martial artists on this site.

This is just upsetting. It’s as simple as a person not wanting to be hit being hit. That’s an act of violence now committed against the kid and modelled for them as a way to solve problems