Stupid people of the week

Gen Z woman floored by 35-year-old man’s text after first date

Apparently today’s women aren’t bright enough to understand plain written English.

“Is he a bad texter, or is he over 35?”

Elizabeth Castaldi, a popular US creator, has sparked a viral discussion about the generation gap in texting when it comes to dating.

Castaldi, 27, recently went on a date with a 35-year-old man and she was baffled by the text he sent her the next day.

“Hey, had fun last night. Have a good day,” the man texted.

Then, in true Generation Z fashion, Castaldi took that private message, screenshotted it and posted it online, where it has amassed more than 500,000 views.

She added the caption: “I have to start dating people my own age. But I won’t.”

Castaldi’s confusion at the text message firmly divided the comment section.

Some thought she was being accurate and he was texting like a millennial, while others thought she was being unfair and the text she received wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“I’m confused how is this bad?” one person asked.

Castaldi replied that she didn’t have the “ick” by his formal text message, but his millennial texting style made her unable to tell if he wanted to see her again.

“Let’s be clear, I do not have the ick. I just can’t read him and I really, really want to go on a second date,” she wrote.

Someone else replied and said the problem with the 35-year-old’s text is that it was too sterile.

“It lacks any sense of enthusiasm, urgency, or intimacy. He could have written that to someone at work about a work function,” she explained.

A man replied to that woman’s theory and said her analysis of the message was immature.

“I just think it’s ridiculous that we’re sitting here [criticizing] this simple yet nice text. Would you prefer exclamation points and emojis? Like they’re grown adults,” he argued.

Lots of people were in favor of his formal texting style.

“If he texts like my dad, it is a green flag,” one claimed.

“This is the text you send when you’re not trying to simp too much at first,” another wrote.

“I bet it took him hours to come up with this,” one joked.

Other men were commenting on the video to ask for advice on how to text their dates better.

It had just come to their attention that Gen Z women don’t understand formal written text messages with zero abbreviations.

One wrote: “Can I please get an example to improve this situation? I am guilty of this.”

“Can I ask what it should say, because I definitely say the same thing? I’m 35,” another pleaded.

“For us, 35 plus, can you advise how to [color] it up? Emojis and exclamations?” one asked.

Castaldi responded by saying that emojis and asking for another date were the keys to nailing a post-date text.

Meanwhile, young women also shared that they were in the same boat, dating men in their 30s and being confused by their texts.

“I’m trying to decipher a 37-year-old’s texts right now … so it’s not just me?” one said.

“Had a 35-year-old tell me it was ‘great to connect’ and we should ‘stay in touch’ after a date,” another added.

“Dude its painful! Tragic! Confusing! Lonely at the same time,” another joked.

“Had to check what state you’re in to make sure we’re not talking about the same 35-year- old,” one person wrote.

Source; NY Post

NY governor slammed for saying black children don’t know what computers are

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is facing backlash for saying that black children in the Bronx don’t know the word “computer”.

“Right now, we have young black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is,” she said. “They don’t know these things.”

The Democrat made the comments while speaking to a technology panel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Ms Hochul later said that she misspoke and regrets it.

She was at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday to discuss New York’s artificial intelligence initiative.

During a fireside chat, Ms Hochul spoke of a new AI consortium involving universities and state schools.
She said funds raised by the state would help build a supercomputer that will be accessible to researchers.

The governor then said that black children in the Bronx don’t know what the word “computer” is.

“I want the world to open up to all of them,” she added, “because when you have their diverse voices innovating solutions through technology, then you’re really addressing society’s broader challenges.”

Ms Hochul released a statement to media later on Monday amid criticism of her comments, saying she “misspoke and I regret it”.

“Of course black children in the Bronx know what computers are – the problem is that they too often lack access to the technology needed to get on track to high-paying jobs in emerging industries like AI,” she said.

Bronx elected officials condemned the governor.

New York assembly member Karines Reyes, who is Afro-Latina, said she was “deeply disturbed” by Ms Hochul’s remarks.

South Bronx assembly member Amanda Septimo, who is black, called the comments “harmful, deeply misinformed and genuinely appalling”.

Source; BBC

Zoogoers outraged to discover ‘panda’ exhibit was actually dogs dyed black and white

Not even the Middle Kingdom’s mascot is safe from Chinese counterfeit rings.

A zoo in China sparked all out panda-monium after they dressed dogs as pandas because they didn’t have the genuine artifact, as seen in viral photos.

The fake pandas, unveiled May 1 at the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province, were actually Chow Chow dogs — a big-haired breed from Northern China, Jam Press reported.

Zoo officials reportedly trimmed their mane and dyed their faces black to look like China’s iconic bamboo-eating bear.

They then put the so-called “panda dogs” on display in an enclosure every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., attracting throngs of people despite the obvious bamboo-zlement, per the sanctuary’s staffers.

When asked why they had the canines engage in panda cosplay, a rep explained, “There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result.”

Many visitors accused the sanctuary of animal cruelty; however, zoo officials insist that the dogfishing scheme isn’t harmful to the animals.

“People also dye their hair,” rationalized the spokesperson. “Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur.”

Many social media users were on board with these canines in panda’s clothing with one fan writing, “They are very small to run that fast! I think they’re lovely.”

“I think they’re cute,” said another.

A third quipped, “Well that’s an extreme way to get your dogs cared for while you’re at work lol.” [sic]

Giving dogs panda makeovers is nothing new.

A decade ago, pups dressed as the bamboo-eating bears became such a haute item that pet stores couldn’t meet the demand.

“Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog,” Hsin Ch’en, a pet shop owner in Chengdu, Sichuan, told London’s Metro newspaper. “Now we are like Westerners and want one as a companion. The cute breeds like French bulldogs and labradors were the favorites, but now it is the panda dog.”

Source; NY Post

Transgender teen tries to cut off breast in self-mastectomy – Wellington doctors

A New Zealand high schooler attempted to cut off his own breast in an “act of desperation” after years on a stretched public health system wait list for gender-affirming surgery, according to a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal today.

The 18-year-old female-to-male transgender man went to hospital several hours into the self-attempted mastectomy after he became concerned about damaging a nerve.

Photos showed a deep cut around his entire left breast, which was later surgically removed along with the teen’s untouched right breast, the report’s authors wrote.

Surgery went well and the teen was discharged a day later, with his scars well healed and his self-esteem and confidence up at a post-operation appointment a month later, Wellington Regional Hospital doctors Mairarangi Haimona, Sue Hui Ong and Scott Diamond wrote.

“He reported improvement in self-esteem and self-confidence and his ability to complete school work, and was looking forward to enrolling at university.”

Assessment by the acute mental health team after the teen’s emergency department admission found he didn’t have a psychiatric disorder and wasn’t suicidal, they wrote.

“[He] had been considering gender-affirming surgery for years. A lack of access to gender-affirming surgery led to this act of desperation.”

The teenager, who had a background of gender dysphoria, was on testosterone treatment and was awaiting gender-affirmation surgery, had watched a “how to” video on YouTube, prepared appropriate equipment, marked the incision and considered pain relief and bleeding, Haimona, Ong and Diamond wrote.

“Due to the long wait times of referral in the public healthcare system, an inability to afford a private consultation and the significant psychological stress of having breasts at an upcoming pool party he planned to complete a bilateral (double) self-mastectomy at home.”

Gender dysphoria is significant distress when gender identity differs from sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics.

Not all transgender people wanted gender-affirmation surgery, but those who did should be able to get it, and limited access to the surgery in New Zealand was an increasing issue, the doctors wrote.

Only one surgeon did gender-affirmation genital operations in New Zealand, and there were barriers to accessing publicly funded surgery.

“Many patients who meet the eligibility criteria are declined due to the lack of resource and financial capacity, or are waitlisted on a decade-long wait list.”

Insurance companies also excluded the surgery from their policies, Haimona, Ong and Diamond wrote.

Other gender-affirming surgery, which as well as breast or chest surgery can include facial feminisation or masculinisation and voice surgery, was performed by a variety of specialists, including general gynaecologists, urologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons or general breast surgeons.

There had been previous cases of self-amputation of breast tissue but those patients had demonstrated an active psychiatric disorder and acute triggers – unlike this teen, they wrote.

“Transgender people often need to self-advocate for care in the public health system, but with increasing demand and associated psychological and possible physical harm it’s crucial for public services to be more accessible to an under-served population.”

Home surgeries, as Gender Minorities Aotearoa executive director Te Ahi Wi-Hongi described them, are done “absolutely out of desperation”.

Wi-Hongi spoke to someone yesterday considering cutting their testicles off.

“Nobody wants to do [self-surgery], and people know they’re probably not going to have good outcomes, but it’s an absolute absence of options for most. In almost every part of New Zealand trans men can’t get a mastectomy … even if they get accepted on the [waiting] list, then they get moved off.”

These actions, which also affected people waiting for gender-affirming genital surgery, made the service look like it was “working and meeting [waiting list] targets”.

“Obviously nobody says to a patient, ‘sorry, there isn’t enough money to do your surgery’ … they get told there’s a limited number of surgeries and you don’t need it as much as others … we think everybody should be able to get the health care they need.”

People weren’t being removed from gender-affirming surgery wait lists to meet targets, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s Duncan Bliss said.

Some historical patients had been removed from the genital surgery waitlist as they didn’t meet the clinical criteria for consideration for surgery, said the director of the programmes delivery unit for hospital and specialist services.

“Some elective services employ a physical wellbeing criteria for access, which generally includes body mass index, smoking cessation, and psychological preparedness. These considerations and assessments are consistent with the current pathways of accessing Gags [gender affirming (genital) surgery] and plastic and reconstructive services.”

Once on the wait list, preparation time for surgery could be lengthy as patients may require weight loss, co-morbidities to be addressed, readiness assessment and/or hair removal before surgery, Bliss said.

“All patients are considered and assessed on an individual basis. If a person doesn’t meet the required criteria, they’ll not be able to progress to surgery.”

Each regional area had its own pathways for gender-affirming surgeries, and people should contact their GP to discuss options.

Gender-affirming surgery was complex, so it was important patients were fully prepared “so the best outcome can be reached”, Bliss said.

“We do recognise wait times for gender-affirming care are lengthy and we’re committed to addressing this.”

Health NZ gave him the same assurance, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey said.

It wasn’t appropriate to comment on individual cases, but he acknowledged waiting for surgery could be difficult for patients and their wh?nau.

“I’d urge anyone who is waiting for surgery, and is concerned about their wellbeing, to reach out to their trusted healthcare provider.”

Wi-Hongi said it cost more than $15,000 to have a double mastectomy done privately, although prices varied by surgeon and theatre fees were up since Covid-19.

Genital reconstruction surgery costs varied, but could be done in Thailand for $30,000.

Wi-Hongi’s advice to anyone considering “home surgery” was “hang in there”.

“It might seem right now it’s completely hopeless, but we went from a 40-year waiting list for genital reconstruction surgery to 10 years or less when in 2019 the Government made changes [announcing $3 million funding for genital gender-affirming surgery].”

Home surgeries could also be deadly, or not work because – in the case of genital self-surgery – people were taken to hospital and patched up.

Some had managed to save for the surgery or be gifted it by family. Others had turned to sex work to raise the money, Wi-Hongi said.

“There are lots of options that people shouldn’t have to take. But that’s what happens when the health system doesn’t work.”

Source; NZ Herald

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals