It’s incredible to hear them bleating about Israel being wiped off the map while they are doing EXACTLY that to Gaza. I swear… Israel has become the very thing they thought they were created to resist.

This often happens. People do the thing they are afraid will be done to them. They convince themselves that others will do it if they don’t, that it’s just the unfortunate rules of the game. And the next thing you know they have transformed from defender to aggressor. And so it continues.

You disparaged the entire category. Which is a fairly common take. I’m saying that the moment we frame that category as sugar substitutes, in a highly sugar-driven world, the category is bound to compare poorly. It’s more than just subjective, it’s very slanted in one direction - for all of us.

But there are other frames of reference we could consider. Such as a world that isn’t saturated with sugar. Or even a personal diet that removes sugar as the frame of reference. “The examined life” that’s supposedly so worth living consists of trying not to just automatically react to the context we are in, but also consider alternatives, right?

You’re more than entitled to your opinion, and most share it. I’m just pointing out built-in biases that we all have on this question. If it was hard to figure out how my reply followed from your comment, it might be because I was trying to offer it without invalidating your opinion in any way.

I’m saying it’s even more than just subjective from one person to the next. I described how I changed my environment and context and how that had an effect. Your opinion can change.

I think you’re upsetting yourself trying to figure out if I’m agreeing or disagreeing with you but It’s a discussion. People chip in different bits.

And I think we have enough information to say definitively that not everyone experiences every taste exactly the same way.

I think we have to allow that when you’re raised on sugar like we all were, substitutes are never going to live up.

However lots of people throughout history didn’t have refined sugar. The ancient Egyptians for example. What would they have thought of stevia?

I once went on a strict no-carb diet for a few months and a stevia tea at the end of the day was a very enjoyable treat that I looked forward to. Now, having gone back to a normal diet, it doesn’t taste as good.

So I think habituation is a big part of it.

More info here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_refinery

Can you differentiate synthesis and refinement for me?

Even from the point of view of a heartless capitalist, layoffs should be a shame upon the employer.

Layoffs say: “I don’t know how to make money with these people. And I hired them anyway.”

That’s a double shame. First that your business isn’t robust enough to grow even with additional resources. Second, what were you thinking?

I’m interested to know if Hulu is under pressure from content owners here. The way this is worded makes it sound like ads are a negotiated part of some of their content licensing deals that they cannot avoid. I’m just curious if that’s in part because of the content owners. Maybe those owners don’t want to give content for a flat fee and instead want a % cut of the business, or something?

It would help as a mass coordinated action, which I’ve never even seen anyone bother to suggest. Maybe organize a no-tip day, maybe get some servers involved so it can really be about changing things for the better for them.

But I’ve never seen even an inch of that, which leads me to believe that what we have here is a bunch of people who don’t tip in order to save thrmselves a buck which, let’s face it, is the only thing they accomplish. They tell themselves it’s a gesture against an unjust system in order to salve their conscience (another totally selfish act).

It’s one of those things that would help in a mass coordinated action, but accomplishes nothing and does harm as a solitary act. I’ve never seen anyone even suggest a mass coordinated action on this, which leads me to believe that most people who don’t tip out of “protest for the system” are actually primarily motivated by saving themselves a buck, since that is the one thing it accomplishes. See, I have “thought about it,” and I don’t think people who don’t tip truly have.

Especially because a lot of people in this thread seem to protest the tipping system by just not tipping. That only hurts the worker, y’all. It isn’t gonna change the system.

This was at a self-service kiosk, too, right?