03/27/24 - We can control 1.3 billion people with a QR code, and you’re trying to scare me with human trafficking?
A blogger posts long infographs about how much leave people get in Scandinavia. 15 days of annual leave, plus sick days, birthday leave, work leave, etc. No overtime, weekends off, or even 3 day weekends. Don’t have to work extra days to make up for your leave days. Your boss’s KPI is tied with how much leave you have left, so he’ll send out emails begging people to take time off and relax, etc, etc.
Comments say, “Oh right, don’t forget, guys, you gotta work the next Sunday to make up for the upcoming public holiday. Remember to set your alarm!”
“Don’t post things that harm societal harmony T_T”
“They have really low birth rates too, so even if you go reincarnate, you probably won’t be born there.”
In an armed intruder drill, a female teacher get forced back by the guy playing the armed intruder, despite having a mancatcher on him. “Now I understand why they don’t let me participate in the drills. In the face of absolute power, no weapons help.”
Comments say, “She’s giggling the whole time. Of course she has no power. If she was actually throwing herself into this for the sake of protecting the children, it’d be different.”
“First, you use mancatchers on the throat. If you use it anywhere else, the guy can get his hands free, and you’ve just wasted your time. Secondly, mancatchers are used to create range. It doesn’t help you overcome strength differences. Thirdly, if you don’t have any help, you’re better off just hitting him with the stick.”
“This was just a bad drill to begin with. If there’s such a strength difference, then she shouldn’t be trying to fight him on her own. She should be calling for help or switching weapons.”
“This is why we have to ban sex work. When we first built out socialist nation, I remember the People’s Liberation Army took down all the brothels and prostitutes in Beijing, and taught them that what they’re doing is wrong. They need to be honest and just and optimistic and happy and marry a good man. In our new society, everyone has their own land and their own wife, practice monogamy, and support themselves by working. Now that I think back to it, those days were such pure times.”
OP attaches the response to the question, “Why do we put so much effort into banning sex work?”
The answer reads, “A lot of things aren’t as simple as they look. For example, we ban modifying cars not to stop young motorcycle enthusiasts, but to stop people from turning 20 ton trucks into 100 ton mini-trains.
For example, we ban selling rural residential land not to stop retired grandmas and grandpas from making a bit of money, but to stop capitalists who want to own all land, including people’s ancestral graves.
What about banning perversion? We’re not trying to ban prostitutes, we’re trying to ban human trafficking, and murder and organ trade as a result of it. If we opened up the sex work industry, human trafficking is going to go up by 100 times, and the amount of missing people is going to more than double too.”
Comments say, “We can control 1.3 billion people with a QR code [health code during covid times], and you’re trying to scare me with human trafficking? Are you just trying to smear China?”
“What bullshit. We’re in 2024 AD. There’s CCTV cameras all over the place, with all kinds of facial recognition systems, finger print databases, DNA. It’s one thing to traffic someone into the remote mountains. You think you can just hide massive amounts of trafficked women in the middle of commercial areas? Lol, go up by 100 times. [Doge]”
“It’s because you can trade it legally that human trafficking will go down, isn’t it?”
“So American public schools aren’t free at all! It’s all included in their property tax! So you still have to pay to go to public school, I guess?”
Comments say, “Lol, you got tricked by the experts too, right? You gotta give the teachers gifts every holiday and birthday too. They’re not so good at teaching, but boy they’re good at taking bribes.”
“Think about all those people with no kids who are still paying property tax. They’re basically paying for your kid’s tuition. Doesn’t that make you like your neighbours more?”
“To clarify, the teachers won’t ostracise your kid if you don’t give them gifts, because they’re scared of your kid too. Worried they’ll get shot sooner or later.”
A comparison of how people rate men and women’s looks. First is a thread asking, “What does a 7/10 girl look like?”
“5 or 6/10, I’d say. Her nose is pretty flat, and her eyes aren’t pretty enough.
“6/10. There’s a lot of problems with her facial features and proportions.”
“At most 6/10. Her figure, make up, photoshop, and setting is adding a lot to this photo. If you just look at her facial features, she’s only a 5 or 6.”
“No way she’s 7/10. Maybe 6? From some angles, she could be a 6.5.”
“7/10 girls are the sort that stun you with their beauty when you glance at them, where you can’t rip your eyes away. This girl is not quite there yet.”
“5.5/10, kinda pretty, better off than most of her peers, but there’s still an obvious distance from a 7/10 beauty. Most, her eye shape isn’t pretty enough, her jaw line is a big stiff, and her nose turns me off.”
“If this isn’t photoshopped, then she’s close to a 6.”
“Nah, 5.5 or 6/10. A 7/10 is like celebrity-tier.”
“At most 5/10.”
“Maybe 5/10? I don’t think most guys would like her at first glance (just my personal opinion).”
“4.5/10. It’s gonna show a lot more once she starts ageing.”
“5/10. She’s got flaws all over her face. How is she so confident?”
“If this isn’t photoshopped, she’s a 7/10 for sure. If it is photoshopped, she’s at best only a 3/10.”
“Her face might be 6/10, but her figure is only 3/10.”
“-0.5 for makeup, -1 for photoshop, -0.5 for obvious plastic surgery, -0.5 for no boobs. We all know what her actual score is, right?”
“You’ve got a good figure and you know how to take photos, so congratulations there. You’re definitely 6/10 (definitely a pretty girl). But at most, I can only give you 6.3. There are a lot of flaws in your face. For example, your mouth is a little too wide, and your lips are too thick. Your facial features don’t stand out enough, and the bottom of your nose is to wide too. You’re still pretty far off from a 7/10 beauty.”
Then, in the next thread, “What does a 6/10 man look like?”
“Why is the comment section so hostile here? Do you even know what 6/10 means? If 10/10 is full marks, then 6 points is 60%. That’s just the passing line.
Think about the grades of your peers are school. There might not be a lot of people getting full marks, but tons of people hover around the passing mark.
6/10 is just how most people look. Not too ugly, not good looking either.”
“Honestly, I think a lot of guys in this comment section is really handsome. I can’t believe they only get 6/10 or less. I guess beauty really is a matter of taste.”
“There’s a lot of men here who are at least 7 or 8/10. You’re kinda giving normal people like me even more anxious.”
Comments say, “What does it take to make these people insecure? Could they share some of their confidence with me? T_T”
“Girls are rated out of 10. Guys are rated out of 100.”
“Those guys rated themselves, didn’t they?”
A woman posts a tiktok video complaining about how she bought train tickets, and got assigned to a cabin with three men, with her as the lone woman. She suggests putting in a system that divides passengers by gender.
Comments say, “As a man, I want this system too, so every cabin can be one man and three women instead.”
“If you don’t like it, you can get off the train.”
“As a man, this is a pretty reasonable suggestion. It wouldn’t be hard to put in a system where we don’t put passengers of different genders in the same cabin. It avoids a lot of awkwardness and hassle too.”
“The most successful kid in my whole extended family is sucking his parents dry.
I’ve got a relative who’s had good grades since childhood. He was always the kid everyone’s parents compared them to. From primary school to middle school to high school to getting into a 985 University. When he graduated, her parents put on a 30-table banquet to thank his teachers. His dad got on stage to praise him. All us other kids sat around the dinner table, getting glared at by our parents.
Soon enough, he graduated university too, and he’s decided to get a postgrad degree. He didn’t get into the major he wanted the first year, so he waited another year and retook the exam. Still didn’t get what he wanted. So he decide to wait another year. He said he can’t study efficiently at home, so he wants to return to school. But he won’t get access to the dorms anymore, so he’s gonna have to rent a place nearby. He doesn’t want roommates, because they’ll distract him from studying, so his parents are paying five-figures in rent every year for him.
After trying for 2 years, he finally got into the Master’s Degree program he wanted in his third exam. He says he’s an academic, and he wants to get a doctorate too. After a whole bunch of studying, he was well into his 30s by the time he graduated. Right before he got his doctorate, he threw another tantrum. He wanted to stay and teach at his school, but his parents weren’t capable of supporting him. They’re just normal farmers, getting their food out of the land, with some small business on the side, supporting him all the way through his doctorate degree.
I remember really clearly that his mom used to cry in front of my mom about how she can’t give her son the help he needs because she’s useless. And my mom was like, “What more can you do for him? You already put every cent you have into him.”
He found a job, at some kind of research lab. I asked him why he didn’t go into a private company, and he said that even though private companies pay more money, it’s also more stressful, and he just wants stability.
The very first year he graduated, he demanded his parents buy him a house and a car. He wanted something over 1 million RMB, and he wanted it fully paid off. He had enough sanity remaining to understand that his parents couldn’t afford anything in the city, so he chose something in the suburbs. At the time, I even tried persuading him, “A single bed in the city is better than a mansion in the suburbs”, because his kid is gonna need to go to school in the future. But I guess he figured he can afford a second house once he works for a few years.
So his parents once again had to sell everything they owned. Their village was getting eminent domain’d, and they signed the papers with no hesitation at all. They didn’t want a replacement house, they just wanted money. All our relatives told them they should keep a house of their own, for when they get old, but they know their son needs money for his house and car.
They bought everything for him, and he started dating, got married, and had a baby all within a couple of years. And now childcare is a problem too, and his parents once again show up to help. They left their home in the 60s to go out of state to take care of their grandchild. They can’t speak the local language, can’t get used to the local food, it was total chaos.
One day, they came back home again. His dad had had a stroke. Half his face is paralysed. His mom can’t take care of him out there, so they had to return to their hometown, and rent a tiny unit in the new buildings erected in their village. Sigh.
When I went over to their house for Chinese New Year this year, I saw the dad laying on the bed, the mom working around the house, and I had to ask myself, “Just what is a successful child?”
Not really taking advantage of your parents: an extra mouth to feed at home.
Actually taking advantage of your parents: go to the big city to work by yourself, drain your family dry to buy a small unit and used car in the big city.”
Comments say, “Anyone promoting not supporting your kids through their postgrad degree is just plain evil. It requires two or three generations working together to go from the countryside to the city. You can’t get anything for free. Making up this kind of bullshit is just teaching people to never plan for the future and mindlessly follow trends.”
“I just saw the determination of a PhD doctor who fought his way from the bottom of a rural village to a research lab in the big city. This sort of levelling up is absolutely going to destroy a generation or two of people. But do you think that research PhDs just get paid in money? Useful people can make money anywhere.”
“You look down on him for taking advantage of his parents, but you’re still saving up money for your kids to buy a school district house. You’re just jealous of what he has, and resentful of what you lack. If you could take advantage of your parents, you’d do it much harder than he did.”
“Travelling to Wuhan on the train. There was a brat in the seat behind me, who started fussing the second he got on the train, talking about how he wanted to goto Disney again. He wanted to go one more time than his sister. The brat’s sister looked to be about 10 years old. She just kind of coldly watched him throw a tantrum. And just as the kiddo’s parents finally got close to calming him down, she suddenly went, “Mom and dad took me to Disney twice before you were born.”
The kid starts bursting into tears again, and the sister turns around to keep enjoying the view.
Finally, the brat starts calming down a little, and the mom was like, “I’ll cook you a feast! We won’t give any to daddy or your sister! I’ll make something they’ve never had!” And the little kid finally calms down a bit.
And just when I thought I was going to have peace, the sister went, “The best food I’ve ever had was the restaurant mom and dad took me to the day before you were born. Pity it’s closed down now.”
Look, I’m annoyed by this brat’s crying and screaming too, but at this moment, hot damn, is it cathartic! This is so much more cathartic than just stopping his crying!”
Comments say, “Tell the brother maybe he went fewer times, but he had a lot of fun, that he has more fun when he gets to play with his sister, or something. Why would you offer to cook him something and not let the sister eat? If you educate your kids this way, no wonder they’d get so competitive with each other.”
“I don’t see how these parents are playing favourites at all. If a kid is throwing a tantrum on the train, it’s normal to comfort him as parents, right? Why would people assume that they’re not gonna give their house to the sister?”
“On the surface of it, it might look like the brother started this, but it’s also possible he’s been screwed over a lot of times subtly by the sister, and he has a lot of pent up resentment. Why do I say this? Because I’m this kind of sister.”
“People are such weird creatures. They want to do whatever the government don’t want them to do, and the more the government promotes something, the more people don’t want to do it.
Like buying houses. A couple of years ago, there were all kinds of restrictions to prevent people from buying too many houses, and people would commit fraud to buy them anyways. They’d fake marriages, or fake divorces, or even having son-in-laws marry their own MILs just to get houses under their name. And now, the government wants people to buy houses, and no one’s willing to do it anymore.
Same with kids. In some areas, the government tore people’s houses down to try to prevent them from having kids, and that still didn’t stop people’s enthusiasm for pursuing children. And now, they’re begging on their knees for people to have more kids.
Do we just like fucking with the government or something?”
Comments say, “You’ve got it backwards. It’s the government who likes fucking with the people.”
“The incentives of rulers are inherently opposed to the incentives of peasants anyways. There is no win-win. You have to sacrifice somebody, and rulers aren’t going to sacrifice themselves, right?”
“It means that none of our policies are created to address actual problems, nor are they capable of addressing actual problems. Just like with having kids. Back in the day, there was a severe labour shortage in both cities and rural villages, and you can make money so long as you can work. And yet, they banned everyone from having kids. Now, it’s near impossible just to keep yourself alive, and having a kid only makes the problem worse. And now they’re going, “Have more kids! Have them quicker!””
A continuation of the compilation of what happens if you order from the same takeout place for too long:
“I had a favourite restaurant in Shenyang back when I was in high school. The owner’s daughter got into University of Sichuan, so the whole family moved to Chengdu. I got so mad that I managed to get admitted to University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, just so I could follow him to Chengdu and keep eating his food. It’s still the same familiar taste—in fact, it’s even better now that it’s spicier. And I became friends with the daughter too <3”
“I order at a handmade burger place and leave a 5-star review every time. That restaurant got taken off of my takeout app three times, and I tracked them down three times. I won’t let them close their doors.”
“Every restaurant I fall in love with shuts down soon after. Am I the only one? Three of my favourite restaurants died in my time in uni.”
“Every morning, after I’m done working out, I go to the dim sum place beneath my gym to eat lunch at table no. 21. I rested for three days during my period, and the owner came out from the kitchen to greet me after I came back to ask if I’ve been sick.”
“I don’t doubt any of these stories because I ordered sliced potatoes from a place 500 times in three years, and before the owner shut down his restaurant, he specifically called me to warn me about it.”
“Same with my spicy hotpot. I ate there like 50 times in 3 months. And the owner specifically called me to tell me that he’s going back to his hometown during the holidays, and asked me to make do with other restaurants in the meantime.”
“I’ve got a customer who’s ordered from my place 123 times. Every time his order comes in, I get super excited and run back into the kitchen to make sure it’s perfect. With extra meat.”
threat -> thread
parents’ dry -> parents dry
compared them too -> compared them to
What does that "tricked by the experts" thing mean?