No, it was MTG

But the artist said he could see a “positive side” to the incident. “It’s like a kind of performance. Ordinary people can do it too, not just artists.”

Just a slight correction in that it doesn’t sound like the City of New Orleans has much to do with this election, as it’s an election for a district the covers three parishes, the whole region. If anything, it seems like there may have been an effort to provide disproportionally more votes to the two more conservative parishes by giving the same total number of “available votes” to each polling station, whereas Orleans Parish could’ve hands-down elected their preferred candidate otherwise.

Short answer, yes, it can be learned and taught, but the person has to be willing to put in even a bare minimum of effort. If your friend isn’t willing to even consider the possibility of trying something new, they are stuck, unless something changes.

They are angry at how their life ended up, but can’t see how or why they got there, as it relates to their own actions. It’s all someone and something else’s fault.

This sounds like a form of blame-shifting, which is a super toxic trait. Here’s a list I found for you in a web search of some of the possible reasons someone does this:

Low Self-Esteem – Those with a fragile self-image may deflect blame to protect their sense of self-worth.
Fear of Failure – Admitting mistakes can feel overwhelming, leading some to shift responsibility elsewhere.
Lack of Accountability – Some individuals were never taught to take responsibility, often due to permissive parenting or a lack of consequences.
Narcissistic Tendencies – Those with narcissistic traits may believe they’re incapable of being at fault.
Learned Behavior – If blame shifting was modeled during childhood, it can become a default coping mechanism.
Avoidance of Shame – For some, experiencing shame feels unbearable, so they will do anything to avoid it.
Control Issues – Blame shifting can be a way to manipulate situations and maintain control.
Cognitive Dissonance – It can be easier to blame others than to confront inconsistencies between one’s actions and self-image.

All this is to say - there is no one-size-fits-all answer here.

One common option others have already recommended is mindfulness meditation. Practicing focusing your attention on something, then when your mind wanders, notice that and bring your attention back to what you were originally focusing on. Keep doing that for 10 minutes per day (ideally) or even once per week for weeks, months, years.

This and other mindfulness exercises can help someone learn to recognize to accept the world around them as it is, view themselves and others with non-judgment, and practice gratitude and forgiveness.

I’d be interested to hear if you offered to do this with your friend whether he’d be willing to try.

Perhaps everybody poops and thus has poop on the brain

Nope, it was def a #2 dream

I’m an elder millennial and talk to friends and family on the phone all the time, as does pretty much everyone I know. I’m definitely not speaking for everyone, but I have no doubt the majority of people our age are fine having a phone conversation and are not represented by this meme

Open and authentic people have no problem making small talk and connecting with others, this has nothing at all to do with pop culture. Dude needs to reacclimate to freedom, a lack of structure, and engaging in relationships in an unfamiliar environment. Talking about fucking tiktok is more likely to make someone seem inauthentic and shallow

How is this not bigger news?

This is the headline on every major news outlet, even Fox News

I mean no offense, but this is terrible advice. The man’s leaving prison after 11 years, learning the latest social media fads is nowhere near the top of the list of important things he’ll need help readjusting to.

You’re welcome to speak for yourself, but you don’t speak for millennials. Most of us don’t mind talking on the phone at all.

I recognize the reality of the world is grey, rather than black or white. Given the awful things both nations have engaged in, when someone launches into a virulent pro-Israel/anti-Iran diatribe, you can bet I have questions about their motivation

I’m curious what drives a person to write this much on this topic on lemmy

Can you give some examples? I think I keep up with world news and am genuinely at a loss for what you’re talking about

Are ya winning, son?

Why did China have tariffs on these nations to begin with?

Speaking as a…USian?..many of us know about these already and are ashamed of them.

Tell us about how it molded your personality

I work in mental health and have found that in general, people hate this concept. People can have difficulty tolerating the idea that they have any control over their internal experience, because the implication is that they are at least partially responsible for their negative thoughts and emotions. A lot of people will cling like crazy to blaming external factors for their condition in order to protect their ego (though not a conscious process).

The reality is the only person who has control over your internal experience is you, and research shows time and again that people’s level of contentment is only partially correlated to factors like income and quality of life, because everyone gets to decide for themselves how to think and feel if they decide to.

Are you following this woman?