this is a dashed seven thread. we don’t take kindly to straight-topped threes. double-bubble eights are also not “one of us”, nor are angle-ticked ones (if you’re gonna tick a one you better give that tick a curve). slashed and dotted zeroes are ok, but naked zeroes are heresy. overly-hooked 6s and 9s make us feel uncomfortable. triangled fours are the worst, though.
For some reason, cishet american men on dating apps love to put a picture of themselves holding up a fish they caught while fishing as one of their dating profile pics.
Nobody really knows why that’s supposed to attract a potential dating partner, but it’s really common.
So here’s the thing. The whole west coast of NA, including california, oregon, washington, and BC are considered to be super liberal areas. This is true by a majority of the population, but all of these regions are still filled with people who are as conservative as any other rural area in the US. It’s just that in those regions, more people populate the large cities than the rural areas.
Really, conservatism reigns in poorer, less educated, and more isolated regions with low population and without diversity, where tribalism can run rampant; it’s easy to be a racist shitbag if you barely meet anyone with a different skin color than you. Liberalism thrives in regions with diverse populations where in order to live we have to cooperate with others.
I live in Portland, Oregon. People tend to think oregon is a blue state wonderland (except during covid and the floyd protests. then apparently the whole city was on fire and in a state of complete anarchy; spoiler— it totally wasn’t). That’s not the case. We just have enough people in large cities to outnumber the racist cuntballoons in the rural areas. And that’s what the whole west coast is like (and basically every “blue state” in the US)
Western Canada is a lot like western USA. Filled with shart-gargling racists/homophobes/transphobes, but outnumbered by people who aren’t pieces of shit.
west coast (and especially PNW) culture is just “we kinda outnumber them slightly”, but the overall issue comes down to: in rural/conservative areas, it’s easy to be racist/homophobic/transphobic/other-religions-phobic, because you never have to consider anyone’s feelings that hurt your worldview because you don’t know them personally and do not consider them to be human on the same level as you.
oh go fuck yourself. i make decent money normally, but i’ve also been in the position where im scraping by, and right now im much closer to the latter category, having been recently laid off.
I tip well when I can afford it, but if i can’t afford to do so, i don’t fucking go out. I’m not going to fuck over someone who makes a few bucks an hour before tip so that i can eat cheap food someone else made, im cooking from home now that im unemployed, and even once i have a job again it will be a while before i can indulge in that.
a lot of people seem to be missing my point in this thread, which is that you have a few choices here:
tip well, to support employees, because US tax laws allow you to pay someone a fraction of minimum wage if you can say they’re a tip-based worker, and even if you can’t just put up a tip jar and pay minimum wage
don’t go to places which rely on underpaying workers to give you cheap prices, because the cruelty is what makes it cheap
you live in an area where tipping is weird because everyone is paid well
don’t tip, because you can’t afford to
don’t tip, pay 100% of the employer’s asking price, and go brag on the internet about how you don’t tip and you’re sticking it to capitalism, while the only person you’re hurting is the employee.
Most of the above are fine. The second from last, if you have empathy for others, you’ll probably at least realize who you’re hurting, even if you can’t help it.
That last one though just makes you a certifiable piece of shit. You’re not cool for fucking over the little guy and calling it sticking it to the man.
Or just don’t pretend you’re sticking it to capitalism by helping them stiff their workers. You’re directly supporting the practice. You’re no fucking hero for not tipping, and the only people you’re sticking it to are the underpaid employees.
Trust me, as a vegan, i know how hard it is to research everything you consume or buy or purchase. You give up convenience to support a cause you care about or believe in, because those conveniences are exactly what feeds the problem. And trying to find stuff that isn’t contributing to the problem is way more expensive, because cruelty to animals or cruelty to your human minimum wage workers are exactly what makes your food so quick and easy and cheap.
As a general rule, i’d guess that if you don’t want to tip, but don’t want to support companies that don’t pay their wages well: give up cheap fast food. give up most large national or international chains. you’re probably looking at a lot more cooking for yourself from home, probably buying your food at a local small co-op. It’s not going to be easy.
That or tip well because the person taking your order is the person you’re fucking over by not tipping, not the people profiting.
Either way don’t pretend you’re doing anything other than supporting the problem.