I worked as a maintenance guy around 1986 or '87. Back then you could smoke in the mall and they had ashtrays inset in every trashcan lid. We used to go around with our bare hands and remove the cigarette butts. By today's standards the thought seems insane.
I remember someone shot a bunch of soap into the fountain and it made bubbles ten feet high before someone turned off the pumps.
It's eerie to see it like this and in Stranger Things.
Does anyone remember Plastic.com? I believe it used the Slashdot engine but was more focused on news and interesting internet stuff. I never see it listed when someone waxes nostalgic but I lived on that site until one day it just died.
Somewhere I read the comment, "LinkedIn is like high school but for adults." I see it as a circle jerk of enthusiastic Kool-aid guzzlers mixed with the greatest hits of Hallmark card business wisdom. A place where people excitedly chat about how really REALLY NICE the weather is.
As someone who is unemployed I detest it and the culture it promotes. The switch in my brain that recognizes the job search must be transactional cannot be willfully ignored for some reason. If I met people organically and shared a genuine interest then sure, you can call that "networking" if you like. That's a great path if you have a job and plenty of time to tend to those relationships.
Wading through all the Mr. Meeseeks wannabee LinkedIn influencers certainly does not restore my faith in humanity though. /rant
Mostly it is because of gerrymandered districts. If you come from a safe district you can be as crazy as you want to be and you don't have to compromise.
Gerrymandering is a "both sides" thing for sure but I will in no way excuse the Republican need to systematically dismantle our democracy by undermining institutions and fomenting divisive culture war wedge issues to the point of violence. Democracy works best when everyone is involved so the Rs can choke on a bag of dicks when they start gargling about voter suppression under the guise of "election integrity."