Pineapple hits with a one-two punch. Raphides, sharp microscopic crystals of calcium oxilate, scratch the mouth, causing micro-abrasions, while Bromelain breaks down the proteins of the mucus lining the cheeks and tongue. Together they allow the acid of the pineapple to more effectively attack the mouth, giving that traditional stinging sensation.

Honest question: have you considered getting him desensitized to the sound? It’s totally doable; hunters teach their dogs to not be afraid of the bang from their guns after all.

To paraphrase Mark Stanley, corporations only have three rules: get the money, get the money, and get the money.

Don’t think they do things like supporting Pride because they care; it’s only a sign that they want to appeal to the broadest audience possible. But, in that same vein, when they’re supporting a topic is a good sign of is the majority of society’s feelings on the subject.

Polls can be gerrymandered to hell and back, talking heads on the news can make all kinds of claims. But since corporations chase money above all, they spend a lot of money getting very accurate ideas of what our society likes/dislikes.

Think about it. 50, hell even 30 years ago, no corporation worth their salt would have claimed to be in favor of Pride, because it would have been suicidal for the business. Society’s majority take on LGBTQ+ back then ranged from hate and disgust to ‘eww, fine, but not in public!’

Now, corporations fly the Pride flag all over the place. It definitely shows that society is much more supportive of LGBTQ+ and minorities.

I’ve got a reverse one for you then! I have a friend who’s allergic to a ton of things, and we were eating roasted pineapple at a potluck. She said, ‘I love pineapple even though I’m allergic to it! The burning isn’t too bad.’ And I was all like, ‘it does that to everyone; those are the digestive enzymes in the pineapple.’ She was amazed that she’d found a fruit she wasn’t allergic to lol.

My uncle is a pastor. So when his kid came out as trans, he and his wife did the ‘good moral Christian’ thing and shamed her and harassed her until she committed suicide.

Then deadnamed her at the funeral, and wrote and published a book about how ‘his betrayal’ and ‘his unfortunate death’ were just tests from God to test their faith.

This is not a rare or unique story; many people all over the world have stories like this. Is it any wonder those who pay attention find religion distasteful? It may be a part of humanity, but many unpleasant things are, and there is nothing ‘edgy’ about rejecting them.

Yes, there are ‘good’ churches in my town that feed and clothe the poor; a far cry from my uncle’s church. But they are part of the same religion, and the fact that religion accepts both, morals be damned, means I have no interest in it.

With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion. -Steven Weinberg

There was a book like that, but this illustration is from a calendar James Gurney did.

‘Gigantic welfare system’? What alternate-universe US are you living in? Our welfare system is shit. We don’t even have universal healthcare!

Welfare should be to help support struggling people. Helping those who are struggling improves not only their lives, but all of society as well. This has been proven over and over again—just look at UBI programs. We should be offering more support, not less.

These people pay taxes same as legal Americans, through their employer. They should therefore get access to every American system except voting.

Edit: relevant post lol

Honestly, hard to say. Maybe, maybe not… those guys had a weird disconnect between ‘nice black man I met on the street’ and ‘slaves I own’. But even if he wouldn’t want them, what he said is still true. America should be open to everyone. Pretty much all of us are immigrants here, our families coming in search of a better life. We should be opening our doors to the world, not closing them.

Ever read up on the elections in Germany that led to Hitler’s rise?

The millionaires and billionaires that have paid for all these nominees think Trump will: 1. cut regulations for them, & 2. he’ll be easy to control.

Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

(I admit, there’s also a bit of 3. help get Israel to start WWIII so all them rich white folks can get raptured, which is one of the reasons Biden also is supporting Israel.)

Men who are inferior to their fellow men, are always most anxious to establish their superiority over women. -Mary Wollstonecraft

Many billionaires are not only morons, they’re racist morons. They also love the trappings of fascism—as long as they get to be the ones on top.

Have you seen that article about that one techbro rich boy and how he wants to structure San Francisco? How the techbros would wear grey shirts, and their Republican friends would red shirts, and everyone else would be forced to wear blue shirts, and those with grey and red shirts would get preferential treatment, because they would buy out the cops?

It’s a chilling article; I recommend reading it.

I mean, it’s supposed to be.

Probably still won’t stop future humans from opening the vault, sadly.

We used to have a thriving rail and trolley system in the US; in most major cities especially. The automakers destroyed it. When they were caught, they got a slap-on-the-wrist fine and the nation went with the automaker’s suggestion of building the highway system up.

So yes, there is a fundamental reason we can’t. It’s the auto makers and the politicians they own.

No, its even worse. One side reacted by saying ‘how horrible!’ and offering sympathy and support to the victims, and the other side said ‘it never happened, and all those so-called dead kids were just paid actors!’

How can you unite anyone when a good chunk of them live in an alternate reality?

A lot of misogynists like to throw out how ‘women don’t have to suffer the draft’ (like we’ve even had one of those in forever). So if it’s just for men, probably giving that old tired jaw teeth again?

Ignoring bigots makes them bolder. And throwing a drink does not excuse a punch.

It’s not only about what I have, it’s about what you people don’t have!

Wow. Even Trump thought they went too far. Damn.

And the CEO who brushed that assault off ‘suffered’ a ‘delayed promotion’. Poor thing. For saying that stuff about anyone, let alone a customer, he should have been fired, no golden parachute.

I think the doctor’s patients should have sued the airline too, since no doubt having their doctor pounded to a pulp caused them to miss their appointments.

On a guess? Skin color.