Posts by velvetstag5

Here is your game plan:

Next time you lock eyes, catch her gaze, step in a little closer, and gently

brush against her lip before whispering, "I have this intense craving to hop in the shower

with the four of us in our tiny stall."

Whatever happens, just half-close your eyes, tilt your head slightly, and mumble

...mmmmmmm...mmmm...mmmmmmmm...

This will definitely count as a compliment—it shows you want more quality time—but

there's a high chance she’ll actually want to hang out with you way less, or maybe

not at all.

If you end up missing her, just give her a call and pick up the conversation

right where it left off

before that whole moment happened (just pretend you have total amnesia).

Hitting the trails for a run will probably help too. It gets those

feel-good chemicals flowing through your brain. 🎉

Death is just as natural as living. Everyone’s going to pass away eventually (except maybe me).

Since we already know how this ends, please don't waste your energy dwelling on that

unpleasant reality. Instead, try to focus on some

pleasant truth, if you can manage it. If you can't, then go see a doctor.🐔

So, have we officially decided what counts as being broken before we wrap this up?🕺

analogviper9 said:In my view, you simply cannot fake being a genuinely good person. Once someone gains a bit of real-world experience, their true colors inevitably come out to play.

Regarding society at large, I've noticed a pattern: individuals with weak characters or low self-esteem tend to cling heavily to corrupt people.
It's because they eventually morph into that very same type of person themselves.
Perhaps it's fear—they see that perceived power and think they need to be near it to survive.

Speaking from experience, I truly believe it pays to be a good, moral person—but *only* if you back that goodness up with a backbone! If you are "good" but lack a firm stance, people will simply walk all over you.

Malice always finds its way back to haunt you, and let's face it: those kinds of people rarely enjoy a clear conscience. So, isn't it much better to sleep soundly at night knowing you've surrounded yourself with people who are actually well-meaning?

There is no "pays off" vs "doesn't pay off." It’s either you're one of them or you're one of us, period.
The second you start looking for a payoff, you've already joined their side. We aren't about profit; we're about ideals.

The only debate is whether you're intentionally garbage or if you just stumbled into it by mistake.

Honestly, we're all a little bit garbage sometimes; some people just admit it, while others...

Andrew Doyle said:I have to say, I think your logic is completely flawed. Genetics might provide the foundation, but you cannot ignore the environmental factors required for actual development—whether we're talking about illnesses, behavioral patterns, or anything else.
Take a child who is adopted into a stable, healthy American family. Even if their biological parents were absolute bottom-feeders—we're talking criminals, addicts, or violent deviants—that child can grow up to be a perfectly well-adjusted individual because of the environment they were raised in. They won't inherit those deviant behaviors just by blood.

I’ll try to offer a counterpoint here:

- Look at siblings. Their genetics are similar but definitely not identical, and they usually have roughly the same upbringing. Yet, you'll see one become a police officer while the other ends up in prison, or one lives an honest life while the other follows a completely different path—one is shy, the other is a total extrovert... and there's plenty more to it.

- Genetics is often mysterious and incredibly diverse; it isn't something you can just easily track or predict.

Sometimes, specific traits can "skip" generations, popping up from distant ancestors who had them hidden away within the parents. It can even happen with their grandparents.

Andrew Doyle said:But how else are you supposed to raise them?

I ask because I find myself facing similar parenting dilemmas right now, and frankly, I’m struggling with how to handle them.
How am I supposed to raise a child? Should I teach them to be a hypocrite? To cheat and steal whenever the opportunity arises? To believe that school is irrelevant and that their only real goal should be curating a social circle just to manipulate their way toward success?

Because if I actually raised them that way, what kind of person would I be? I'd be someone who couldn't even look at themselves in the mirror without feeling pure shame.

Sure, my parents grew up in a completely different system—one where there was actual hope for tomorrow, where things felt more stable. Today, that feels like a total utopia, especially after all the massive societal shifts we've seen here in the States over the last few decades.

But can I really raise someone who steps on others or acts purely out of selfishness just because "that's what the world demands"?
Absolutely not.
And I won't. Not because I'm naive, but because I believe that my child and I both contribute our tiny fraction to the state of this world. I refuse to be part of the problem. That is why I will continue to instill moral values in them; I will keep hammering home that education matters and that real results come from hard work and perseverance.

Doing anything else would go against everything I stand for. It wouldn't be me, and it certainly isn't the vision I have for my child's future.

My kid will eventually learn just how cruel this world can be and what kind of cutthroat rules people play by—they're already learning it. But that does not give them a free pass to be a moral wreck just because "society requires it," and I will never, ever condone behavior like that, even if they choose to follow those examples.

Most people's behavior is largely driven by genetics. The small portion influenced by their environment (parents) usually happens subconsciously, mostly through the child just watching how we act. Then you've got the influence of social media, preschool teachers, and all that "you must do this/can't do that" stuff.

Just my two cents.🙄

Richard Wells said:Or maybe it's just emotions? It hits way harder when it's someone we actually care about doing it.

Once you stop loving them, just move on—there are 4 billion other people out there.

It’s not just about how other people act, either. I’ll try to explain my way of looking at it. Sometimes, I’ll see someone do something and feel like it’s absolutely unacceptable, but then a little while later, I’ll see that exact same thing and just laugh it off, thinking, "Wow, look at that..."

Honestly, it all comes down to those chemicals in your brain.

Andrew Doyle said:Oh, give me a break. ☕

So, what you're actually claiming is that she’s still an "unconscious scumbag" because she’s been burned by people exactly like herself? You're basically arguing that because she was on the receiving end of the bad behavior, she somehow gets a pass as a victim while mistakenly thinking things would be easier if she acted just as poorly?

By the way, the original poster isn't even active here; this thread dates all the way back to 2009, so don't sit there expecting some kind of reply confirming whether she "gets it" or not.

Edit: Honestly, that word "scumbag" has been grating on my nerves since the very start. We have a massive vocabulary in English; surely we could have used a term like "unprincipled" or "ruthless" right from the title instead of resorting to that? This whole thread is just a bunch of people tossing around insults like they're nothing, when it’s really not even necessary...

I’m changing the title now, so let’s drop the "scumbag" rhetoric and move on with the discussion properly..

At first, I thought my vision was failing me, but then I realized someone had messed with the intro.
I did use an inappropriate term, but it feels like that nasty little label perfectly captures how disgusting some people's behavior can be.

As for the gossip, I was being a bit playful while trying to shift the focus toward the unnecessary jealousy people feel regarding the "successes" of certain... pieces of trash.

Years ago, I was definitely jealous of people who held me back, tripped me up, rejected me, or mocked my naivety. Today, I honestly feel nothing but pity for every single one of them.

I've come to realize that most people are unscrupulous simply because they are miserable, or because their own lack of ethics and egoism has totally screwed them over.

Get it, Serena Williams?

Anonymous said:Sometimes I can’t help but feel like life would be a lot easier if I were just more ruthless. But honestly? That’s just not who I am, and I don't know how to function in an environment like that. Even when I’m surrounded by people who seem well-meaning on the surface—even though we all know deep down they’re total snakes—I still give them the benefit of the doubt until they eventually stab me in the back. When they do, I just end up feeling disappointed, angry, and heartbroken, wondering how this keeps happening to me. I truly love genuine, good people, but they tend to live in their own little bubbles. Nowadays, if you actually want to build a meaningful life and surround yourself with decent human beings, it feels like you have to fight through a gauntlet of chaos just to establish a sense of security and independence.

I’m curious to hear from you guys: how have you structured your lives to find peace? More importantly, how do you navigate around the materialists, the egoists, and those selfish power-trippers with warped values who seem to hold all the cards?

If you think you'd be better off being a jerk, it means you're already one; you just haven't realized it yet. Get it?