OTOH, if this is in the US, we are almost entirely at-will when it comes to employment; we can be terminated at any time, for something as petty as the boss not liking our socks, no heads-up required.
Here the two weeks notice is considered a courtesy, and sadly fewer and fewer businesses are proving worthy of that courtesy. It seems from the post title that this company did not deserve much respect at all.
Well, there’s a hot take if I ever saw one. A strawman, a bot accusation, some fascinatingly false takes, and a little oh-poor-me as the cherry on top.
How about an alternate theory: people are just tired of being told by people like you to ‘just be nice’ to the person who keeps punching them in the face?
Have you seen Kristi Noem? She’s more plastic and Botox than person at this point.
I agree. I think that’s why I like Kate Griffin’s Matthew Swift series (and the other novels she sets in the same ‘verse). The general rules of the magic system are explained, but the magic still feels wild and mysterious and… well, magical.
If we’re talking ‘young adult’ (which I think is a silly book classification group), the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede always gets my top pick—shorter, sassy, fun, with well-written female protagonists. (All her books are pretty good, really.)
Another of my top choices in the Fantasy YA category are the Tiffany Aching books by Sir Terry Pratchett. Great fun and Sir Terry’s wonderful brand of biting wisdom.
If you like the ‘kids go to boarding school, have magical adventures, save the world’ formula, Mercedes Lackey did a pretty good series called the Shadow Grail. Although the kids are older (and more sensible) than the Harry Potter protagonists.
The Castle Books by John DeChancie are another fun romp of a series. Younger me loved the idea of a castle filled with 144,000 portals to adventure. Although the technology in it is a bit dated—at this point in time, rather humorously so.
Gail Carriger’s book series are all a good read; my favorite she’s done so far is the Finishing Series. Not as much magic as other books on this list, but still a well-thought-out system. Her books are really more steampunk-fantasy with a sprinkling of magic on top.
China Mievelle doesn’t really write series, per se, but all his books are fun and well-written, with interesting twists and ideas. I’d say they are the very definition of whimsical.
If your requirements are ‘good books by authors as awful as JK Rowling’, well, that’s tougher, but fortunately David and Leigh Eddings decided to throw their hats in the ring! Horrible child abusers, but their writings are genuinely good, way better than what Rowling writes.
Either! Both would be better than throwing up from the pain, passing out, and then being sneered at for both.
FR though the one in the upper right corner is a real thing. When I inherited my grandfather’s truck I swear suddenly everyone in the family needed something moved. I get asked at least once a month to help move something or lend it out lol.
Speaking as a woman, who works in a dock industrial district, while I could take the bus to work, I often work the late shift, and I really don’t want to be waiting at a bus stop at night in that area.
There’s the added fun that the bus stops running close to my work after a certain hour, so to catch the late bus I’d have to walk almost the full length of the industrial area. Alone.
So I’m going to share something agent_nycto said once, because it works very well on people like this:
I don’t think you should be quiet, it makes them feel like everyone is agreeing with them and makes everyone miserable. Time to introduce you to my favorite game to play with conservatives, Politics Judo!
So you hear them rant about a thing. Some dumbass talking point. Let’s use gun control. It’s pretty easy to know in advance what the talking points are since they never shut up and parrot the same problem and solution over and over. “Shouldn’t take guns, it’s a mental problem not a gun problem”.
Things are basically boiled down to a problem and a solution. A lot of people try to convince people that the problem isn’t what people think it is, and that’s hard to do. Even if they are just misinformed, it feels like trying to dismiss their fears.
So what you do is you agree with the problem, then use lefty talking points as the solution.
“Oh yeah, gun violence is pretty bad! And I love the Constitution, we shouldn’t mess with that!” (Use small words and also throw in some patriotism, makes them feel like you’re on their side. You want to sound like a right wing media con artist) “so instead of taking guns away, we should instead start having more, free, mental health care in this country. Since it’s a mental health problem and these people are crazy, that is the solution that makes the most sense!” (Don’t try to get them to agree to your solution, just state it as the obvious one)
It becomes weaponized cognitive dissonance. Their brains fry because you said the things you should to agree with them, flagged yourself as an ally, but then said the thing they were told is the bad and shouldn’t want.
If they try to argue with your solution, rinse and repeat to a different talking point. “Oh yeah it might cost more, and we shouldn’t have to pay more for it, so we should get the rich people who are screwing average hard working Americans over by not paying taxes to do that. We should shut down tax loopholes and increase funding to the IRS so they can go after them instead of the little guy”
Always sound like you’re agreeing with them, but giving solutions that they disagree with that seem to be off topic but are related.
Either they will get flustered and stop, or they will slip up and say something racist or sexist or something, and then you can have HR bust them. Document it and also see if you’re in a single party consent state.
There are those who scoff at the school boy, calling him frivolous and shallow. Yet it was the school boy who said, ‘Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.’
-Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson
Keep in mind too that they’re not always accurate. I know of one in my city that regularly takes photos of people going through on the green because it’s a bit of a wonky intersection. And that means a person gets to spend their day in court instead of at work fighting a ticket they did not deserve.
Actually they are remarkably consistent in their principles. It’s just that they know their principles are disgusting, so they claim other principles as a cover.
It’s really quite simple:
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
Their goals are twofold: to make this a reality, and make sure they are in the first group.
Mel Brooks once pointed out that dictators hate to be laughed at. And he would know, given he fought the Nazis in WWII.
So laugh. Mock them. Humiliate them. Their overinflated egos can’t handle even the slightest scratch, so short of shooting them this is going to be the best way to hurt them.
It’s funny to me because when an incel bothers me I sure would like to sic a shark on them.
Age matters too. Older eggs are easier to peel.
So Octarine, basically.
Which just means they want the tariffs to happen. Perhaps a billionaire promised to buy him New Orleans or something?
Hey, I never said it was a good design lol
It used to be that ‘uneducated’ and ‘dumb’ were different things, but boy howdy are the Republicans trying to make them the same picture.