I’ve told my kids that I don’t condone intiating violence, but if someone else starts getting physically violent first, feel free to fuck them up (provoking them will still get my kid in trouble, though).

However, if the institution itself fails to protect the kids, and my kid told me they and their friends were doing this on purpose, I’d take the day off for their suspension and take them to the arcade and a movie or something. And then I’d have a very serious talk with their principal.

Oh, yeah, that’s a fair addendum: “unless you live in a state that does not allow the reduced minimum wage for tipped employees.” At that point I would agree that tipping is more or less optional.

I feel like “mental gymnastics” has become grossly overused, and I don’t think it applies, but regardless you are involved in the shitty food joint’s (read: all that have wait staffs that operate on tips) business model, by being their customer. By going to a business that you know pays their wait staff less that minimum wage, you are agreeing to their shitty business model. So then, not paying a tip is essentially taking a discount on your order at your wait staff’s loss. The business owner isn’t hurt by that, they still get the full rate for the food. And as long as SOME customers pay tips, they don’t have to pay any more (hence the taking from other tables comment).

It is a shitty system, but you agree to participate in it if you go to those restaurants. Which, for sit-down restaurants in the US, is most. If you go to one of those restaurants and don’t tip, you aren’t making some protest against tipping culture, and you aren’t hurting the business owner. You are only saying that the wait staff should be paid at $2.13 per hour to serve you.

Lobby against the labor laws that allow less-than-minimum for tipped employees, or don’t go to restaurants that rely on that model. Anything else, you’re just taking a discount from the wait staffs’ paychecks by not tipping.

And I absolutely can not believe that such anti-worker, pro-business owner bullshit is happening here. I cannot stress enough, you not tipping does nothing to the business owner. Billionaires jack up prices, stifle wage increases, and we’re out here complaining about having to tip a person who otherwise would get $2.13 an hour, because somehow that’s legal.

That being said, starting at 30% is ri-goddamn-diculous.

Also, since I didn’t get to your later point, I’m not sure of its relevance to what I was saying. You have no control (and usually no knowledge) of how tips are distributed. So not sure what you are expecting from me here.

Not for each transaction. So not tipping is like reaching over to another table and taking some of their tip for your table. They are still paid less than minimum wage for the service they provided you, but someone else’s tips will still keep them out of minimum wage for the shift.

So yes, at they’re worst they should get at least minimum wage for each shift. But per customer, their rate is below minimum wage without tipping, which is an awful system we need to get rid of.

Yeah, okay, fair ban.

Have you listened to his Mythos Trilogy? It’s a compendium of Greek Mythology. He wrote and narrated it and it is brilliant. I’m on Troy right now (the third book).

Right? What other possible materials could they use? Prior to plastic, we just cupped our hands and had people pour beverages into them, or directly into our mouths.

Plastics have been revolutionary in keeping our hands and faces from getting sticky. I, for one, refuse to go back to the days of sucking off the tap.

Ukraine isn’t fighting “crush Russia” or “consolidate power,” they are fighting to exist as a nation. They are fighting to not be part of Russia, and if you claim Russia doesn’t consolidate wealth into a small few while sacrificing their poor as cannon fodder, you’re unabashedly lying.

Now, do Western nations take advantage of this to severely weaken with no personal loss of life or territory? Absolutely. But just because it benefits the West doesn’t mean it doesn’t also benefit Ukraine.

I was in a group that traveled the country and stayed in school gyms over the summer. I can tell you, the worst school bathroom I had to poop in had a combination of all the worst things:

The toilet paper came out one piece at a time, like a napkin box at a restaurant but facing down. It was also this super thin ply.

The “stalls” were actually just small walls that went up to your shoulder (when sitting) and forward to your knees (when sitting).

They had a mirror running the full wall opposite the “stalls,” so you had nothing to look at but the wall of dudes pooping or furiously pulling individual tissues of tp out.

AT A HIGH SCHOOL. That shit should be considered abuse. I am so sorry for anyone who had to go to that bullshit school.

Where I live it would cost at least twice that. The veggie burgers would be about $12 per pack of two, buns would be around $9 (but only come in a 4 pack) and the Danish would probably be $8 or $9.

Real beef is still way cheaper. A pack of probably 15 patties is around $40.

I live in Alaska. Frozen stuff is a premium. And otherwise prices are all over the place, and supply depends on what came on the barge.

I think the biggest issue is religious people that can only view things through the lense of their own perspective equate any belief system with religion. And since we, as humans, categorize everything, everyone has a “belief system,” even if you believe in absolutely nothing (nihilism).

So “atheism” is considered a religion, believing in the scientific method is a religion, and believing in the inherent and equal rights of people is a religion.