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Chat Thread: Bringing Back the $%&*?#@($#*@)#(

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Sorry for your collective losses, fellas. Cancer is the worst. I know very few people who haven't lost a close family member to cancer.
 
Man, my condolences e-bros. All four of my grandparents had cancer, and 3 of them had multiple bouts. Mom and dad have both had a scare recently. If I was granted one wish, it would be to find a cure for cancer.
 
palmab03 said:
I’m flying back home from my dads funeral after a cancer caused in part by smoking, and realizing just how much damage I’ve done to my body from smoking and drinking the past 20 years and it’s freaking me out a bit. Quitting the smoking shouldn’t be that hard as I’ve gone 6 days now and have quit a couple times the past year for over 12 months, but man I sure like my booze. The math on it sure is grim if you’re drinking more days than you aren’t
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Sorry for your loss, palma.
Good luck with quitting smoking. Very good sign that you were able to not smoke in the past 6 days, considering the tough week that must have been.
 
palmab03 said:
I’m flying back home from my dads funeral after a cancer caused in part by smoking, and realizing just how much damage I’ve done to my body from smoking and drinking the past 20 years and it’s freaking me out a bit. Quitting the smoking shouldn’t be that hard as I’ve gone 6 days now and have quit a couple times the past year for over 12 months, but man I sure like my booze. The math on it sure is grim if you’re drinking more days than you aren’t
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Sorry to hear about your dad.

RE: Drinking- it depends on what you call drinking. Having one or two drinks a night, a few times a week shouldn't be much of a factor. If you are binging or having a lot of drinks, it would be different.
 
Really sorry to hear that palma. Take care of yourself man.
 
While we are on the fuck cancer thing, it's pretty much my job. If any of you or your families are dealing with a cancer diagnosis and have questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.
 
Changing the subject a little bit, how would you rate your political activism over the years?

In high school I kinda came into my political consciousness. My parents were both registered Republicans, and it took until about my sophomore year (circa 2003) for me to really form many of my own opinions about things. wakephan09 and I then junior and senior years worked for the county Democratic party but our candidates got completely owned in the 2004 Senate election. I'll admit I kinda checked out of politics for the better part of a decade after that, at least in terms of being involved with candidates. In 2005 I rode my bike across the country raising money for a local W-S AIDS charity. At Wake I was president of Student Global AIDS Campaign. Then I graduated in the recession and kind of checked back into politics again in Hershey, PA. I still did a lot of volunteering, mostly ESL and adult literacy stuff through the local library, but I didn't really have a candidate locally or nationally that had me excited or got me really involved with party politics. It took until the 2016 primary for me to really start thinking again about being an engaged citizen and participating in the political process. My wife worked for the Hillary campaign, and I briefly made calls for Bernie before working downballot in Philadelphia (I did NOT like Hillary but wanted to be involved anyway). The last few years have been the most politically engaged and active I've felt, but have also been a reckoning for me about what engagement means. We're ten months from another national election and I'm really starting to waver on this idea that participation in politics is something I can derive meaning and value from. I think I was happier when my civic participation was closer to volunteering or other kinds of activism. I'm really getting cynical and feeling beat down about the political process and fully recognize the role my own actions and opinions play in that. I know my own politics and opinions have also changed a lot through the years, and I have no idea if access to more and better information makes me more informed or shapes my biases.

Without getting into the specifics about politics and candidates and such, where have you been through the years? Active? Never involved? Give money but sit back?
 
TownieDeac said:
Changing the subject a little bit, how would you rate your political activism over the years?

In high school I kinda came into my political consciousness. My parents were both registered Republicans, and it took until about my sophomore year (circa 2003) for me to really form many of my own opinions about things. wakephan09 and I then junior and senior years worked for the county Democratic party but our candidates got completely owned in the 2004 Senate election. I'll admit I kinda checked out of politics for the better part of a decade after that, at least in terms of being involved with candidates. In 2005 I rode my bike across the country raising money for a local W-S AIDS charity. At Wake I was president of Student Global AIDS Campaign. Then I graduated in the recession and kind of checked back into politics again in Hershey, PA. I still did a lot of volunteering, mostly ESL and adult literacy stuff through the local library, but I didn't really have a candidate locally or nationally that had me excited or got me really involved with party politics. It took until the 2016 primary for me to really start thinking again about being an engaged citizen and participating in the political process. My wife worked for the Hillary campaign, and I briefly made calls for Bernie before working downballot in Philadelphia (I did NOT like Hillary but wanted to be involved anyway). The last few years have been the most politically engaged and active I've felt, but have also been a reckoning for me about what engagement means. We're ten months from another national election and I'm really starting to waver on this idea that participation in politics is something I can derive meaning and value from. I think I was happier when my civic participation was closer to volunteering or other kinds of activism. I'm really getting cynical and feeling beat down about the political process and fully recognize the role my own actions and opinions play in that. I know my own politics and opinions have also changed a lot through the years, and I have no idea if access to more and better information makes me more informed or shapes my biases.

Without getting into the specifics about politics and candidates and such, where have you been through the years? Active? Never involved? Give money but sit back?
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Never really involved. Definitely used to think I was a cool southern conservative bro back in HS/college, but then realized I'm strongly pro-gun reform, pro-gay marriage, etc. Now I just pretty much hate the political system, and definitely don't identify with either party.

This topic might belong on the Tunnels, btw. Could see it taking quite the turn to crazyville, which is not what the CT lounge is all about.
 
mako1331 said:
Sorry for your collective losses, fellas. Cancer is the worst. I know very few people who haven't lost a close family member to cancer.
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Biological mom—died at 33 from brain cancer.

Wife’s mom and paternal grandmother from colon cancer in their 50s.

My father and paternal grandfather both from pancreatic cancer in their 70s.




Sigh.



Fuck cancer indeed.
 
Mostly I’ve just always tried to be an informed and regular voter.


I’ve done a little canvassing for local politicians I know.


Last presidential election is first time I ever supported a candidate financially. Hillary, of course.
 
I'm mainly a rage at the system/capitalism but do nothing of substance other than vote and occasionally throw a few bucks to a candidate (sometimes my preferred candidate, sometimes someone I just feel should stay in there but is struggling) and organization; considering jumping up to propaganda of the deed at this point though, but will probably just get high and do nothing. Except vote. If I win the lottery a lot of it would probably go to the arts/radical leftist/social activist causes, but I'd still be pretty passive about it and spend a lot of time stoned.
 
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I’ve mostly checked out of politics at this point other than reading the news. I have historically been a split ticket voter other than POTUS which I voted R until 2016. In 2016 I voted for Hillary.

I don’t care who the Dem nominee is because I’ll vote for them regardless. I’m embarrassed to have ever been associated with the GOP at this point.
 
it's defs hard not to be cynical or feel helpless

I stay involved in local politics and have helped out on a few municipal campaigns. I've been in Chicago long enough that now I personally know several elected officials and staffers, so it does feel like I can have an impact.

I volunteer a good bit, but I also have a discomfort with a lot of volunteering that seems set up for the volunteer's sake and not the outcome. There's a huge non-profit industry that needs to justify itself, which leads to a lot of bad distribution of time and resources.

But finding and participating in real community is great and a source of hope
 
My political engagement consists of staying informed through the local paper, NPR, CNN and occasionally NBC...and then voting every chance I can get.  I also chip in a few bucks to several organizations (mostly independent journalism).

I enjoy hosting Election Day watch parties, too.  Even though 2016 was a real :eek: :jerkit: I plan on continuing the tradition.
 
I mean, any form of engagement that isn’t posting on the Tunnels is engagement
 
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