madhatter160's recent activity
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Comment on How well do you cook? in ~life.men
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
madhatter160 Link ParentI still think that the majority of the country is a lot more religious and conservative than I am or that I realized. I just don't think social liberal views are widely held. There are a lot of...I still think that the majority of the country is a lot more religious and conservative than I am or that I realized. I just don't think social liberal views are widely held. There are a lot of people who pine for a traditional patriarchy, and are not tolerant of other views. Heck, the posts on social media by people I know in response to the Trump are positively gleeful about the prospect of conservative values being forced on people. I've never felt like I've been in the minority of anything before, it is just a weird feeling.
I think we basically have a split where we have essentially denied the right to innovation and democracy to large swaths of our country, probably due to educational issues with myriad root causes, but those who we do elevate to the so-called "elite" levels (as a group) absolutely still uphold those values that we ascribe to the whole country.
I think you're getting at what I have been thinking about for a long time - wealth inequality. And I'm not just talking about billionaires, though, they certainly don't help. When people talk about Trump being the symptom of a larger problem, I think that wealth inequality is part of the larger problem.
I don't know what to do about it, though. People around here openly mock those who have an education. It's like they are proud to be anti-intellectual. How do you help people who don't want to help themselves? A family member works for a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, and they have seen factories close and people lose their jobs. They truly believe that tariffs, deportation of immigrants (cheap labor), and pulling out of trade deals will bring back manufacturing jobs. There is no way that will work, though. Manufacturing in the US will still be expensive, probably even more so.
What do we do? Try to re-educate? Wealth redistribution via government? Universal basic income? None of those seem like the answer. Compound that will the fact that the other side is actively fighting against all of those ideas and more. I have no idea and it is disparaging.
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
madhatter160 LinkI voted for Harris and am trying to make sense of what happened. Here is what I've taken away, so far: It's the economy, stupid. I do think the Biden administration did a good job with the...I voted for Harris and am trying to make sense of what happened. Here is what I've taken away, so far:
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It's the economy, stupid. I do think the Biden administration did a good job with the economic mess that they inherited. However, the rampant inflation put the Dems in the hole right from the start. When given a choice between abstract ideals like preserving democracy, reproductive freedom, and foreign policy or practical considerations like feeding your family and putting a roof over over your head. The practical wins every single time.
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I am privileged and live in a bubble. While I don't like paying 3x the price for eggs from what I paid 2 years ago, I can absorb it much better than a lot of people. I also work with and have friends who are like-minded and similarly privileged people. This means that I was blind to just how much the economy was a factor. I consider myself a compassionate and empathic person, but my privilege makes it really easy to focus on the high level ideals and not the day-to-day realities. I got so caught up at the high level that I took for granted the struggles of people less fortunate than me.
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The mainstream news outlets are in it for the money. Period. They definitely aren't in it for democracy or to have fair, unbiased opinions. As much as people in my circles like to deride Fox News for being too conservative, news outlets like CNN are just as bad. They both know their audiences. Both sides want your clicks and attention and will emphasize articles and use inflammatory rhetoric to get it. Not realizing this soon enough gave me a badly distorted view of the voting electorate.
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The values of the country at large do not align with mine. The United States is not what I thought it was. It is not a bastion of democracy and justice - it is just a country, filled with people just trying to survive. There are no grand ideals to be found here. I thought we were making social progress, but the population is far more religious and conservative than I realized, and the trend is accelerating. This makes me feel alienated from the larger American society. That feeling of isolation makes me really cynical and hopeless about the future. Eventually, I will need to come to peace with never fitting in. I've always been able to fit in, more or less, so this will be new to me.
These might seem obvious to some, and I'm not sure if this will help anyone. However, writing it down helped to make sense of, what is to me, an extremely short-sighted and selfish outcome.
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I cook well, and I enjoy it. I'm not scared to make "adventurous" recipes or to tweak recipes on the fly.
My parents both cooked a lot, but at different times. When I was younger my mom did most of the cooking because my dad was busy trying to get a business off the ground. Later on, just before I was in high school, my dad finally had enough time to do more cooking. He doesn't do anything part way, so he jumped in with both feet. This is what got cooking on my radar - my family.
I became lazy when I attended university and ate at the cafeteria, restaurants, instant, frozen, etc. It wasn't until I was out on my own that I decided I wanted to cook. The friends I made during this time also liked to cook. So, we would host dinner parties for each other. We made all sorts of crazy dishes, and had a lot of fun doing it. Those are the years when I really came into my own as a cook.
Then, when I started to settle down, I found it to be a good experience to make meals with my partner. Especially on weekend nights, it was nice to make a nice meal together. After kids came along, I didn't cook as much, as I didn't have a lot of time, but I still managed to make a few meals a week. It became easier as the kids got older and they were more independent.
Now as a single dad, I cook a lot for my kids. Just last night I made some honey garlic chicken with rice that they liked. I like showing them that men can cook, and they like trying new things (trust me, it took a long time to get them to that point). We have a rating system, so they can give me feedback on what they liked and what they didn't. It has become a fun activity, and I think it helps to encourage them to try new things because I don't penalize them if they don't like it.
Cooking is a great hobby. It is (usually) cheaper than other alternatives, it is (usually) healthier, and it is a constructive way to spend quality time with someone (partner, kids, friends, etc.). There are a near endless number of recipes to try, so there is always something new to do. You can go deep down a rabbit hole about all manner of cooking topics. Even "simple" foods, like burgers, have a ton of variation and debate on what people like. Although, don't get too hung up on what is the "best" way to make something. Just do what you like.
Currently, I am exploring my culinary roots and am making a lot of German dishes. After a trip to Germany, I picked up a couple German cookbooks and treated myself to some fancy equipment. I've made sauerbraten, sauerkraut, spaetzle, potato salad, rinderrouladin, rotkohl, pichelsteiner, schweinepfeffer, and potato dumplings so far. I haven't quite gotten the dumplings down yet, but I am getting close. It has been a lot of fun to try new techniques and new tastes.