Eh, those things are flexible. If you’re willing to play the game, you can be inside the circle. See: Log Cabin Republicans, Raphael Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, you can be “one of the good ones” as long as you’re willing to toe the line.
It’s not that they are asocial. It’s narcissism, plain and simple.
You can always get credit, the only question is how much will it cost.
If you’re asking why does Best Buy offers credit cards and your dentist doesn’t, it’s because Best Buy might not get your sale. They want you to see the product and buy the product and if you don’t have the money they want you to borrow the money without leaving the store. It’s all about reducing friction between your wallet and their register.
Your dentist doesn’t need to reduce those obstacles to purchasing. You need dental work, and they bill you. If you can’t pay, that’s a you problem.
Conservativism is, and always has been, a misdirect. It isn’t an ideology. It’s something you say so that it sounds like you have principles, but there are no inherently conservative principles.
Check your history books, it’s always been this way.
Conservatives establish their priorities by first drawing a circle on the ground around themselves, and the deciding who is with them inside the circle. Everyone inside the circle is a member of their group, the Self. The Self is good because they are inside the circle, and the circle was drawn to define who is good.
And that’s it. Everything else is a flexible derivation of that decision. Policies that are good for the Self are good because the Self is good. Policies that are bad for the Self are bad. You get the picture. Everything a Conservative does or says is in service of defending and advancing the Self’s interests.
Importantly, anyone outside the circle is the Other. The Other can be bad, or they can be irrelevant. The Other cannot be good, because they aren’t the Self. If the Other tries to oppose the Self, the Other is bad. If the Other does not oppose the Self or even assists the Self, they are irrelevant.
If the Self lies or cheats or murders, then those were necessary acts in service of the Self, and therefore good. If the Other acts heroically or honorably or respectfully, it is irrelevant.
The good news is that you can be inside the circle, as long as you agree to go along with the game. Support everything the Self does, oppose anything the Other does to stop you, and refuse to acknowledge the inherent ridiculousness of your lack of fundamental beliefs.
Unfreeze me for a week each year. I get to spend a day catching up on what’s happened, mourning the dead, and then a few days exploring what’s new, and then a day planning next year’s excursions.
Yes, but inflation will outpace your interest.
That’s the beauty of the algorithm. It’s not just time of day, but what you’re doing and where you are. Look for other common threads, like anytime you’re near a gym, or if you’re browsing an online store. Assume they know literally everything about you in the moment.
Of course, there are other plausible explanations. Maybe you are sometimes connected to wifi with a pihole that blocks the ads? Maybe your cellular connection is spotty and the app is compensating with music already on your device? Maybe there’s a quota that they are supposed to hit, and any blocked ads are queued up for later until you connect again? Like I said, I don’t know what’s causing it.
I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I would say they probably have an algorithm that tells them what time of day people are most likely to buy premium. Like, they want you hooked so they play fewer ads while you’re going to sleep or riding the bus, and you get comfortable with how convenient it all is. But then, you want to play a song for a friend or queue up a playlist for a party, and the AI recognizes that behavior and puts an ad between every song. It’s frustrating and embarrassing and gets you thinking about why don’t you just give them some money already.
I don’t know that they do this. I know that they can do this, and I know that they would do this.
Where would you meet a shy or socially awkward American? Are you exploring the basements of random homes?
I love seeing crossovers. The cool thing about comics is you could have someone show up in another book, and then you’re interested in that character so you go read those books. The movies and shows should be like that, relatively independent but with occasional references and cameos.
Like the way Matt Murdock appeared in She Hulk was enjoyable. As long as you were aware of the Netflix shows, you didn’t need to have watched all the Defenders episodes to understand it. But maybe seeing him in that show made you want to check out the Netflix series.
What I don’t want is like a full introduction every time a special guest character shows up. Like if Hawk Girl makes an appearance in Peacemaker Season 2, we don’t need a “Hi, I’m from the Justice League and I’m an ancient alien wielding Nth Metal, how can I help you?” conversation.