Europeans saw us that way. If it ever was a ‘bad’ thing, it was because of their elitism. It was a matter of time the reclaiming of our dignity and our validity. Many Americans (continent) did so during their independence efforts (mostly 18th and 19th century). I found this:

In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e., change in a word’s meaning). Linguistic reclamation can have wider implications in the fields of discourse and has been described in terms of personal or sociopolitical empowerment. (Wikipedia)

Thank you for crossposting this. That’s so nice.

Hi! First time I’ve been tagged, he.

Yes, I was on my phone. I know it’s a bad habit, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I browse/scroll for a while until I get sleepy again. That night it took a while for me to get sleepy again, so I did that.

We all are, yes. Also, accounts fall into the “cherry picking” problem. E.g., I’d had assume my friend’s only interest is Warhammer if I only knew him by his posts.

Because of an old rule (plurals get double letter), I believe the recommended way by the Academy is «E.E. U.U.». Not sure if they’ve said otherwise recently.

It’s also not uncommon to see «E.U.A.», «E.U.» or those same but without the dots.

No confusion with the European Union, though, because that’s «Unión Europa»: «U.E.».

Entire nations: You cannot keep “America” for yourself. There is history, maps, books, the independence of other countries in the region called for the liberation of “America” (e.g. Simón Bolívar “the liberator of America”; “America for the Americans”; Sentimientos de la Nación: “America is free and independent of Spain and all other nations, governments, or monarchies”).

The U.S. of A.: Yeah… No. I’m America now. There’s no other “America” because there’s only North America and South America, 🤷🏼‍♂️ don’t you know? And the land is The Americas because it’s two in one. Duh. Erasure? I call it freedom! 🇺🇸🦅

All languages do this to an extent.

Exactly. In Spanish, we have some ‘curious’ names for Germany and its states and cities. «Alemania» is the name of the country. «Renania-Palatinado» is Rheinland-Pfalz, Bayern got turned into «Baviera». «Colonia» is Köln, «Friburgo de Brisgovia» is Freiburg im Brisgau…

In videogames, the latest I’ve seen is the protagonist of Vampire Therapist (and probably other characters too). Give that game a try, you all.

Many Robin Williams’ characters (e.g., Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, Awakenings…).

It depends on the version, but often, Gomez Addams from The Addams Family.

Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

From Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, Hagrid and Newt Scamander, respectively.

Good-hearted heroes such as Captain America, Colossus, etc. The new Superman, probably. The Doctor from Dr. Who. Big etcetera.

Its successor is the Kobo Clara BW and I’ve heard wonders about it too. I think I might get one.

So… you sound like a nice dude, so just so you know, there are people in the goth subculture that do not appreciate that joke (and its translations). For different reasons, but the majority find it fetishizing and sexist. I opened saying you look like a nice dude because I don’t think that’s your intention, or the intention of most here commenting, but that’s how many goth people feel and… well, in case you really want to meet goth people, that might be actually causing the opposite effect (that is, your shirt driving them off).

The second one is not a big problem. Within the Spanish speaking world, only a couple of accents give ‘universal’ problems, really. Some Chilean variants, some Caribbean variants, some Andalusian accents… Otherwise, it’s fine.

I’ve got virtual friends or acquaintances in different parts of Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, etc. They all conjugate some verbal times ‘weirdly’ or say ‘funny’ things, but yeah, pretty normal communication. I actually adopted some words from their regions.

(No, I still won’t celebrate a fucking day for the Spanish speaking world, friend from Spain that leans a little heavily into Hispanism…).

Are you talking about Arabic? I understand it changes a lot. It must be amazing to speak Arabic. The oceans of culture, of old philosophers, poets, etc.

Sorry, I just saw your reply. I was addressing the thing you said about forums, where people identify frequent posters; their profile picture is big, there is often a signature, a big nickname, etc. I like that we (here on Lemmy and similar sites) do not often read the little nickname above. I’m sure no one or almost no one can say which other comments I have made without going to my profile. There’s nothing behind my words but my words: no reputation, no prejudice from an accounts’ aesthetic, etc. I mean, my grammar betrays me, and someone might remember me from a previous encounter. But yeah, like I said, I’m like a blob for most people, and that’s comfortable.

I was going to end the comment there, but there are so many reasons why I prefer to be a blob, a little text box. First, traumatic experience. Second, when there’s a reputation, it starts to weight on how people receive your messages and I hate that people misconstrue me (and I guess I’m easy to caricaturize). Third, no social drama, no social nothing. Peace… ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵃⁱⁿ ʳᵉᵃˢᵒⁿˢ.

Epstein files. Demolition of a White House’s section.

I like the anonymity, though.

Maybe there was a group therapy and the exercise was writing the monologue they wake up to down…? Then they of course reflected together why those were not useful messages and they learnt better ways to address their worries. (Let me dream).

I’m not a trans person, but maybe my experience will help. I thought for some years, when I was young, of having children because it was what my mother told me that gave happiness and even value to a [cis] woman. She criticized [cis] women who had no [cis] husband, who were lesbian, who were childless, etc. She even pitied them saying things like “poor Whoever, she ended up unmarried” or things like that. It was like living with a typical 19th century woman in a way.

So I internalized things, but then I started hitting adulthood and I started to question them. First the deal with heteronormativity and stuff. But then I questioned the idealization of pregnancy and motherhood. Oh, boy! It’s a deep topic when you dive into it, but some highlights.

First, feminism has a lot of resources about how pregnancy is a very complex and even risky biological process and it is very subjective (and it should be subjective) if it is enjoyable or not; that is, some might enjoy it (and that’s great news), but others might suffer or hate the whole process and that doesn’t make them mean, evil, ungrateful or whatever (it’s super valid not to enjoy it too). That made me think of it in a colder, more medical and more realistic way: it’s a thing bodies can pass, there’s no obligation, there’s no magic, there’s nothing. The aura, the mystification fell. It was a choice. Should I make it still?

Well, that’s my second highlight: the morality of creating life. After some years, I concluded I had no right to impose life unto other. It sounds dramatic, but really, why should I bring another person to this life (especially to these times, but always)? To meet some social standard?, some biological tendencies that I might adopt blindly as rules (no, thanks)?, some narcissistic dream of seeing myself replicated? Philosophical antinatalism reaffirmed my thoughts as I haven’t found convincing any “refutation” of it. And thus another myth fell: that we ought to reproduce. We don’t; it might even be morally problematic or wrong (which is my stance).

And by questioning the aura, the aesthetics and even ethics we impose on pregnancy and motherhood, by making all the issue “naked”, I noticed it was not appealing to me anymore. I’m tolerant as most vegans are tolerant of meat-consumers, like “you do you”, but really it’s kind of horrific to me sometimes as an idea. It feels like a science fiction thing. You can read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in an antinatalist light and that’s the vibe I sometimes get from people who manically (as Viktor) rush to have “babies” for the ideas behind (the baby shower, and the little objects, and the beautiful flowy dresses, and…), only to find out, like Viktor, that creating life should be about the responsibility and the creature and not the ego, the fanciful life, etc.

So I’m childless by choice. No crave from the uterus (lol) nor other misogynistic and outdated descriptions; and no unhappiness. I do have a partner, but I know I could be happy with just friends too. I can gladly say my mom was wrong on these ones. I found being a happy woman is not about fitting into these (honestly closed) boxes.
The end. Sorry for the long comment.

Undressies.

Yes. Yesyesyes. I’m so tired…