It’s amazing. I recommend sitting outside the central train station in Amsterdam and people watching, as thousands of tourists attempt to bicycle or walk somewhere, and they’re just in everybody’s way. It’s hilarious. If you’re going to cycle (which, yes, you should) stay to the right and signal where you want to go. There are bike lanes there for you to take, don’t just be off in the middle of the street. Also, they want you to pay for an extra ticket to bring your bike on the train with you, I found that this can be ignored if you’re not a jerk about it.

The fuckin moon, and it’s not even close. Get me off this rock

Something along the lines of me no longer being able to afford to live alone while saving money, use of the military against U.S. citizens, or if they try to sell our national parks. Those are a few that would demand real retaliation, not just in the form of protest. Another would be the orange rapist going for a third term.

Right now I’m just comfortable enough, and with hopeful plans for the future, that I wouldn’t want to do anything revolutionary… but if shit starts to turn, I have no qualms with tossing my comfort and future plans aside and going rogue. I’ll live in a ditch and eat out of the trash before I let these fascist thugs steal my country.

The site doesn’t even allow you to “like” posts. “It seemed to us to be a kind of high school popularity contest, a way of creating a dependency on the platform,” said the founder, holding a mug of tea.

On Facebook, Instagram or X, likes are also used to help algorithms identify users. Here, there’s no need: There’s no algorithm. “On Front Porch Forum, content isn’t infinite, so we don’t have to choose what we show,” said Wood-Lewis. Doomscrolling – mindlessly consuming a flood of negative news – is impossible here: Browsing through the posts takes just 10 minutes.

“Sometimes nothing much happens, just like in real life.”

Sounds lovely!

Take a multi-day trip beforehand. You should at least experience an abbreviated version of living together before you actually do.

My parents have conservative talk radio and/or fox news on basically 24/7 in their house and car, so there was really nowhere I could escape their politics. I figured out that all their talk was BS, but could never convince my parents of anything. I could take a quote from their favorite host, and pair it alongside facts stating the opposite was true from an organization that they, themselves, were members of, and they still would dismiss me.

In reality, it’s not the politics that got between us, it’s that they’re shitty people.

My therapist made a really great point when I brought up this exact issue with him. He asked if I value a relationship with my parents, and I said yes. Then he said that the price you have to pay for having a relationship with them, is never discussing politics.

It worked for a year or so, but then they voted for that rapist again, and I’ve since cut them out of my life. I’m not walking around on the eggshells of their bigotry and ignorance just so I can get some semblance of what some may describe as affection. You can only say/do so many shitty terrible things before I’m just done with you completely, and they hit their limit, so it was time to cash out.

Sorry, my advice of ignoring politics only works for a little while.