It’s not much different from these:

All are visible indicators of culture and/or status

Platinum

😩

How soon before someone is citing this article as evidence? 😩

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.

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

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.

Are ya winning, son?

Night of the Lepus

Another option:

Tommy

(Yes, this is Ann Margaret in a pool of baked beans, about to get hit with chocolate syrup)

Blunt delivery, but I agree. We’ve been programmed by pop psychology to think our personality traits fit in neat categories, but in reality it’s all grey area

Well yes, it does have to have chirality, I just meant it doesn’t have to contain any specific elements.

I’m definitely no expert, but isn’t the D/L notation used in all of chemistry? Sometimes it’s written Δ/Λ, but that’s the same thing. Doesn’t it just describe a molecule’s geometry in a different way from R/S?

These terms can describe any molecule, btw, doesn’t have to contain carbon

p=0.149 had me lol

I think crack users don’t bother with hallucinogens because they’re looking for high impact dopamine hits, not a lengthy psychedelic experience. I don’t think vice versa is true, people who use psychedelics aren’t necessarily avoiding cocaine, but they’re probably using higher quality cocaine rather than crack

RIP Bill Hicks. They don’t make comedians like him anymore

Crack cocaine has always been a poor man’s drug. It’s highly adulterated and thus much cheaper

But none of us knows anything about the details or merits of that case, so…