I agree, too many times people feel entitled due to their age. You don't owe anyone anything. Congrats on the souvenir and the story you will be able to tell your friends and family.

Any job that serves a societal need is respectable.

In Finland, speeding tickets are income based. Just as an example.

So agree! I love all my stuffies!

Greed and narcissism... it's sad, but it's human nature. The majority of the people out there are fake as heck, and will do things like posting videos of themselves crying on the internet as PR moves, to help promote and enhance their brands, to help them gain those clicks, likes, follows, and subscribes. Even more sad is that there ARE the odd few out there who honestly have no one and no where else to turn to, and are using the internet to reach out. But those odd genuine few are usually buried and overshadowed by all the loud popular influencers out there, with their TikToks and viral videos and their memes.

Harassment is the right word. What happened to Diana and other famous people with the paparazzi actually haunting them, spying and giving no Fu*ks. But here's a thought: Who the hell buys those rag mag's is an accomplice bc if they stop buying that filth then the paparazzi will (nearly) go away or at least be way less.

Speaking as someone who was out on their ass at 18... basic parenting, including food, clothing, and sleeping indoors.... isn't nothing. Not when you consider what it's like to do without any of those.

Why censor the word murder, not like we all can't figure out what it says, strange BP.

I read a quote before, wouldn't it be safer to fire blanks at someone than fire bullets at someone with a bullet proof vest

Also gambling

Agreed. You have to survive before you save the world.

This should be higher. Nobody should feel guilty for choices they're forced to make due to the system being so f****d up.

Related to this: Stop hating on McDonald's, Walmart, etc. At least for being "low-class." (If you want to hate on them for treatment of their workers, hiring illegal aliens, whatever, go ahead.) But you know what? McDonald's provides a lot of workers without a lot of money a filling, pre-made meal for about $2 and change. Is it unhealthy? Fine. You found a restaurant chain, or even just one restaurant, that can feed workers with healthier food for $2. But quit acting like you're better than others for disliking McDonald's "unhealthy" food, and let people who eat it have a little pleasure instead of shitting all over them.

If you have no choice, you shouldn't feel guilty about it, you should feel angry about being forced to support an exploitative company. Part of being a good person, though, is constantly asking yourself if you have the choice or not.

Don't feel guilty about it. This situation is not of your making. You have to do whatever you can to get by. Your societal power is in your vote and protests, if you want to do them.

I wanted to buy jeans that has been upcycled.... and then I saw the price : ~250 €. No. I'll stick with the ones I have until I have to patch it up.

I totally agree on this one! I would love to support all kinds of small local business but it's just not possible. I have one, maybe two that I support and I have to be okay with that. It's all I can do. But yeah, we need to stop making people feel guilty for trying to get by in life. Until this economy is fixed to allow less rich and more people to actually have a living wage it is what it is!

Frankly, it’s too difficult not to feed large corporations.

While I agree I have never been rich enough to buy fancy ethical stuff. It doesn't always cost more though. I have stopped using amazon & shop on the Ebay marketplace which usually works out cheaper. Also fruit & veg shops much cheaper than supermarkets where I live (UK) Also local fruit & veg shops

Agreed. Most people don't have the time, money and energy to analyse what they are buying and then make complicated plans for what to buy and what not to buy... for a vague benefit, at best.

Walmart's where it's at. It's either that or a local farmer's market.

It's not the consumer's job to hold corporations accountable for their unethical business practices, it's the government's job. It is, however, the duty of the voter to do what they can to hold their representatives accountable for allowing companies to get away with this behavior. If you can make such companies hurt more by refusing to give them money, great, but if you can't it's still not your fault.

Amen. My solution has been to buy as much from thrift stores as possible. That way, even if I can't ensure my goods are organic, fair trade and not made in sweat shops, I'm 100% sure I'm not putting new money into that system. (And I'm usually getting good stuff at a price I can actually afford!)

Agreed! "You can't pour into a cup if yours is empty" - usually a saying for emotions but works in this situation.

You do what you can. Those who can afford to buy sustainable and eco friendly goods should do so. If you've not got a lot then you buy what you can afford. No shame. We should all do the small things that we can - a billion little things add up to more than 1% huge action. Where I can I buy second hand, but I'm lucky/priviledged to live in an area where these things are possible.

I'd buy local if it wasn't so expensive or if I was loaded. If I can get the same elsewhere for cheaper then why wouldn't I? Then the reply would be some guff about it being on your conscience. Nope, the fact is I don't care.

Had one of those organic vegans verbally attack me at the grocery mart. I looked at her and said sweety, you want to buy and pay for a weeks worth of groceries for a set of triplet boys, knock yourself out. You buying the organic vegan groceries for three boys? Not just a days worth, but a full weeks worth? That shut her up

I completely respect that... Do what you can when you can...

let’s not forget most people who get on their high horse about this are so unabashedly misinformed. they tend to buy just as many “cruel” items as the average person, they just have no idea.

Only we can control our responses. No one can make you feel guilty.

We live in tourist area in Italy , it is becoming too expensive to shop locally and to support local , even off season

Agreed. Anytime there's a dip in the economy I hear on the news "The economy is taking a toll as consumers seem to be spending less at retailers. Covid may be a factor in the spending slump." Like wtf? Who cares if Ikea, Home Depot, all the high end malls are not getting our money. Oh, boo hoo.

I saw it phrased as, "I can't afford to take a principled stance against Wal-Mart."

I'll second that! I'd love to be able to live strickly by my principles but, that sometimes involves higher costs that I just cant afford. I pick my battles where I can.

This is the exact reason everything is so f*****g dystopian. Everyone sees everything through the lens of their own personal convenience. Conflating wants with needs. It's an excuse to not try, to not think about the broader implications of everything because "woe is me" Stop eating fast food Stop driving everywhere Stop buying s**t on amazon because you're too lazy to move your ass to a store. Stop buying things wrapped in plastic Stop buying cheap imported s**t. All of it. It's not saving you money and it's 10 times worse for the environment

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, babyyyyyyyyyyyy

I struggle with that too. There are lots of evil companies out there. I can't boycott all of them. Like I dumped Netflix when they aired that child porn movie and made lame defenses for it. But I still subscribe to Amazon Prime and Apple TV even though they air many things I find morally objectionable. I was talking about this to my (adult) daughter and she said she tries to stay away from the most powerful evil companies, on the reasoning that they do more harm. Interesting thought.

We gotta do what we gotta do. People who engage in that kind of shaming and virtue signaling have issues. It's not even about you or saving the world. Nuts to them. They need to check their privilege and mind their own business.

My mother-in-law asked why we always shopped at the high end stores instead of Walmart when we were one income and struggling. And I said we were boycotting Walmart because of how they treat their employees and how much they rely on their employees being on state assistance for them to make a profit. There was a long pause and she said "When you're richer, then you can be more political. In the meantime, stop living champagne dreams on a beer budget."

Stop stressing because you think you are underpaid....

Boycotts don’t work. Chick fil a still exists even after the gays left it and Target still has its transgender bathroom policy.

I've discovered this trend on the Internet and honestly, I absolutely do not understand it

You ruined it with "sure they're cute" because that's the whole point, they're NOT cute, people have just been trained into thinking they are. People need to realise that inbred dogs with serious health problems are the exact opposite of cute.

100% - the cheater is the one at fault - unless the people they cheated with is also someone who you have a relationship with then it's equal blame as they both owe you loyalty. I've never understood the blame being passed to the person they cheat with, and it's usually women who blame the other woman when their guy cheats - I sure there's a patriarchal link to all that that could be deciphered but seriously, they're just a shitty person if they knew he was involved with someone - if they didn't then they're just as much a victim in it all. This idea that men can't help themselves if offered sex has to stop - you don't accidentally have sex - yeah, you may regret it after but you totally know what you're doing while you're doing it.

The colour-coded baskets is such a clever idea.