The past two nights I've been stuck around liberals that have stared into the abyss for too long. They claim that scared idiots like conservatives like simple answers. Yet the simple answer they cling to for their election lose is that America is racist and sexist.

Never mind the fact that compared to Biden, Kamala got 6 million less votes. Trump only went up by 3 million votes compared to his last presidential rub. The fact of the matter is no one liked her. She has a history of being unpopular.

They say that Trump is holding onto power so he doesn't go to prison. That makes zero sense because he could give himself a blanket pardon just like Biden gave his family.

I really wish these people weren't in so many of my social circles. I need to find ways to meet more regular people

!coons

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-readies-new-1-bln-arms-sale-israel-wsj-reports-2025-02-03/

700m of bombs and 30m of armored bulldozers made by Caterpillar

!g*mers @kaamrev

Enter Betyes - 104 bets

Enter Betno - 125 bets

Enter Betplease stop posting - 6 bets

I will give a SIX HUNDRED (600) marseydollar bounty to the first person who sends me the inevitable news article.

If nobody has sent me the article within a month, I will spend SEVEN (7) minutes searching for the article on Google news. If I do not find it then, the bet resolves NO.

!remindme 1 month "site:nytimes suicide"

!bets !goomble !goomblers !goombling !project2025

Closed.

I have default to old reddit enabled in https://www.reddit.com/settings/preferences but it still shows new reddit.

This story broke within the last few hours. This appears to be the largest thread so far on Reddit.

Prediction: the story gets largely buried. Search 'title:ncaa' on Reddit over the next 24 hours if you care to I guess.

M27 from the UK and following what is going on in your fricking country.

Rent free

Btw if you're a 27 year old male in this country and STILL haven't chudded out, transition immediately

I hope you Trump voters are happy.

Immigration - He promised to lower immigration. You do realise that the majority of your illegal immigrants come into the US by plane on Visas and over stay their welcome?

Heh I bet nobody at ICE has figured that one out

no wait no you can't take those Dreamers from their homes and fly them back to Colombia nooooo defund ICE

Price of groceries - He promised to lower groceries. Has that happened? Has it frick. Its fricking risen.

How would this cute twink know exactly why does he care so much about american 'groceries' when a loaf of bread here is like 3 hours wages

Elon Musk - He has put the world riches man in charge of a joke of an government agency. I would say he is a much bigger threat than the Chinese are with Tiktok.

>elon mask bad for amerika!! mach wors than china!

DEI - You realise that we fricking need diversity? To bring a varying range of perspectives into areas.

Unless those perspectives happen to come from white men

If all people working in an agency are of one race, gender and economical upbringing, chances are they are going to come to a very similar conclusion on a lot of matters.

So what you're saying is diversity encourages conflict? interesting...

Honestly frick your country. All you are doing is isolating yourself.

Isolating themselves from....? A backwater communist shithole island?

Forgot about fricking Ukraine. What happened to Trump ending the war almost as soon as he stepped foot in the White House? Hasn't fricking materialised has it?

yeah chuds what happened to this thing I just made up in my own head. Bet you feel silly now

Comments

I'm American and I have voted against Trump every chance I got. I don't know what to do. I voted, I tried to instill in everyone around me the danger he poses to our country only to be ignored

Hmm, I condescendingly hectored and lectured everyone about trump and it didn't work... What am I doing wrong?

I called those stupid government official phone lines to express my concerns. I did everything I reasonably could and now I'm stuck here growing more and more terrified every day, and with every new executive order that gets released. I'm trapped in a nightmare and I can't wake up.

When is Trump Derangement Syndrome going on the DSM-5? Like holy shit chuds were never this bad about Biden, were they?

Rebel. We have before

I wonder how our Brave Resistance Leader feels about Jan 6th

Bingo. We may be stuck with them as our government but those poor bastards are stuck with me as a proud dissenter.

I am a proud dissenter I... larp as a witch and cast spells against Immigration Enforcement

Look at my Resistance dawg we ain't ever escaping the Trumpreich

I'm embarrassed and disgusted to be an American.

shouldn't you be anyway?

I'm also from the UK, but older. I don't quite understand what benefit to the US is going to gain from having a President with the mental age of seven

This user spends his entire waking life neurodivergentally typing paragraphs about cats

Hey there. What you have to realize is that in general, MAGAts lack empathy.

Empathy mentioned, deploying heatmaps!

https://old.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1ifxghf/multiversus_players_who_bought_100_founders_pack/

https://old.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/1ifajwr/multiversus_players_who_bought_100_founders_pack/

https://old.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1iefpf0/multiversus_season_5_is_its_final_season_ending/

https://old.reddit.com/r/MultiVersusTheGame/comments/1iefjlw/future_of_multiversus/

https://old.reddit.com/r/MultiVersus/comments/1iego4p/im_happy_the_game_is_getting_shutdown/

https://old.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1ieh2wo/multiversus_update_going_offline/

https://old.reddit.com/r/MultiVersusTheGame/comments/1ieg0pp/multiversus_was_a_scam/

https://old.reddit.com/r/MultiVersus/comments/1iefifg/season_5_is_the_final_season_confirmed_by_devs/

https://old.reddit.com/r/MultiVersus/comments/1iegmz7/did_i_just_get_scammed_got_founders_around_when/

https://old.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1iew7s0/the_development_of_multiversus_was_problematic/

https://boards.4chan.org/v/thread/701735342/multiversus-shuts-down-for-good-this-time-may

https://boards.4chan.org/v/thread/701757840/multiversus-final-season

!g*mers !r-slurs @Optimus_Primal

Once you accept the Bible as the final and only authority you're going to end up cargo culting Judaism

/u/sadsardine

!codecels it's 1000 lines of copy/paste slop that would get an intern bullied

This is crazy. 🤪 the creator of Golden Girls is a Jewish Zionist BTW… and Sam Harris’ mom…

pic.twitter.com/clhbDthsq9

— Uncommon Sense (@Uncommonsince76) February 6, 2025

!nooticers

In case you're like me, and had no idea what an "ego death" involves other than a vague awareness of it being some kind of Freudian nonsense:

Oh, he went nuts. Why not just say so?

So Bardfinn was a normal well adjusted functioning adult 20-30 years ago?

Not exactly.

That's right. Our neighbor walked away from the best job he ever had because the boys wanted to go to Hooters.

Now he collects welfare payments and creates AI horrors he can post on BlueSky for 27 likes.

A colleague who watches the /pol/ board on 4Chan advised me that someone posted a faked screenshot to /pol/ that purports to show a mod-distinguished post I made to /r/AgainstHateSubreddits about "curbing the influence of the Alt Right on the 2024 election"

lmfao

AgainstHateSubreddits, for the past 5 years, has been extremely focused solely on Hate Speech On Reddit.

Not elections, not external sites.

We were exceptionally clear to people to Do Not Participate in hate groups.

The post purports to ask people to join an AHS Discord

rotflmao

We don't have a Discord. We never had a Discord.

The post purports to show me asking people to install a browser extension

ROFLCOPTER

Last revised by Bardfinn 4 years ago

It purports to show me asking people to visit 4chan

LMFAOBBQ

And the comments to the post are all dipshits eating it all up like it was ice cream

MY SIDES

AHS has been wall-to-wall automoderator posts and scholarly articles and "hate sub banned" and Reddit Transparency Report analyses for over a year. Directing people to report hate speech and hate groups directly to Reddit.

LSHICUAL

You fucking dipshits. /pol/acks feed you horseshit and you gulp it down and ask for more. It's not too late to abandon a site that's filled with sociopaths trying 24/7 to get you to walk off a cliff.

You are such dipshits

But you can change.

I remember when I first joined it was kind of cheeky and irreverent, and it still seemed plausible that women posted here. But it's become progressively more shallow and heartless. I mean I can't be the only one picking up on this, right? "The worst thing about DOGE is how soy it all is"? We can't just express outrage at immorality anymore, every criticism must be given through the lens of haughty indifference and framed around coolness or lack thereof. I think some people here have genuinely replaced their concept of wrong and right with cringe/not cringe and never stopped to consider how cruel and purposeless it could make them.

every criticism must be given through the lens of haughty indifference and framed around coolness or lack thereof

Quick question did you ever listen to the pod? Like even one clip or so?

People actually listen to Rspod?!

Gooooood, for the 100,000th time - this is a unique sub and one of the only decent culture/current events subs on reddit, the podcast sucks shit so most people here either never listened or stopped listening in 2019 (me). I used to like A&D but in the last five years one became a Fox News dork and the other is hawking a shit coin, they've changed. That being said, what drew me to them and this sub in the first place was their critique/thoughts on the overly woke/grifter left and establishment liberals. What I and many didn't know back in 2018 was A&D are insecure dorks who just adopt whatever ideology they currently find chic/edgy, and as soon as Bernie/progressive politics became boring they moved onto the next thing. But a lot of us here have beliefs based on morality/ethics/what we find to be true, so here we are

Tldr: "I have never and will never engage with the content this sub is about but here's how it should be run."

Anyways I thought this was a fun thread. The commenters even got OP to self delete out of shame.

!redscarepod

What a lovely night, tucked into bed with the boys and mister man

!animalposters !cats

CIRCUMCISION

As you probably know by now, I firmly stand against the circumcision of infants and young boys. I believe that it constitutes genital mutilation and that it is barbaric that this practice continues without strong legal and social consequences. I don't care whether it is your religion or your culture, circumcision is wrong. I don't care what grown adults do with their bodies, although I would also advise them not to get circumcised.

For many of us, it is obvious that circumcision is a bad idea. However, there are several groups that have worked hard to convince the public that circumcising their child is the best choice to make. Don't fall for their tricks! Today, I'd like to discuss the common arguments made for circumcision, and why they are incorrect.

Before we begin, a quick survey. How do you feel about the circumcision of babies and young boys?

Circumcision prevents STIs and STDs

It is commonly said that circumcision is "cleaner". The logic is that the foreskin, with its many folds, traps dirt, leaving you more susceptible to infections and diseases. With the foreskin removed, it is easier to wash the peepee and prevent dirt from accumulating. According to this logic, men with foreskin are more likely to develop smegma and to infect their partners with bacteria and viruses.

More specific medical claims are also made, and it would be useful to outline them all. Firstly, it is said that circumcision reduces the rates of UTIs, or urinary tract infections. This is noteworthy, because while UTIs are normally easily treatable, they can lead to kidney complications in some instances. It is also said that circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV. This has been the motivation to encourage circumcision within African populations where individuals are at high risk of being exposed to the virus. Lastly, there are claims that circumcision reduces the odds of one acquiring penile cancer.

What's the truth?

When it comes to arguments for circumcision, the hygiene line of reasoning is perhaps the easiest to debunk. It is ridiculous how much data there is disproving most of these talking points, yet people act as though research stopped in the 90s. It is sad, and it is an indication that even our medical institutions are not immune to propaganda.

Where do we begin? Let's begin with the general argument that circumcision is cleaner. It is true that the lack of foreskin makes the peepee easier to clean. However, this is simply due to the fact that there is less surface area to clean. This is like saying: "if you cut off your fingers, your hand will be cleaner". Of course it will, there is less hand to get dirty! Besides, if one considers the ease of washing your peepee, it is ridiculous that anyone would think you need to remove skin to keep it clean. It certainly isn't worth mutilating a child over.

Next, let's get into the more specific claims. Firstly, many circumcision advocates argue that circumcision reduces the rates of UTIs. Well, it is true that circumcision reduces your odds of acquiring a UTI. This is what the evidence bears out. However, it is useful to zoom in on the research to get a clearer picture of what's going on. What we find is that the risk of getting a UTI during childhood is a measly 1%! Not worth mutilating a child over. This is pretty much the conclusion of a study published by the National Library of Medicine. They claim that:

Assuming equal utility of benefits and harms, net clinical benefit is likely only in boys at high risk of UTI

As we've discussed, only 1% of boys are at risk of getting a UTI, so the number that is a "high risk" is minuscule. Should these boys get circumcisions? Maybe, but other solutions to UTIs should be considered first. Circumcision is a drastic measure.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15890696/

It is also worth noting that circumcision of infants may be the very thing that causes a UTI! When an infant is circumcised they are left with a wound that can be irritated by faeces and urine in the diaper, leading to infections. In short, just leave the darn foreskin alone.

As previously mentioned, circumcision advocates also claim that circumcision reduces the odds of one contracting HIV. If true, this would be an important discovery, as it could lead to us making headway in the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has gripped the African continent. So, what does the research say? Well, most studies claim that circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV by about 60% for men. This is also the number cited by the World Health Organisation.

https://www.who.int/teams/global-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-programmes/hiv/prevention/voluntary-medical-male-circumcision

According to one study:

Circumcision reduces both the total bacterial load on the peepee and also specifically reduces the relative abundance of these anaerobic genera associated with HIV acquisition. Significant penile microbiome changes are apparent within 6 months of circumcision, and anaerobes continue to decline significantly for at least 2 years post-operatively, mirroring the progressive declines seen in IL-8 levels.

https://aidsrestherapy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12981-017-0167-6

With this evidence at hand, it would seem that we should rush to circumcise all Africans to end the HIV epidemic. Let's get started.

HANG ON!

Before we start snipping off Black foreskins, we need to consider a few things. It is worth noting that there are parties within the medical field who have a vested interest in ensuring circumcision continues. After all, it is a source of income for hospitals, and foreskins are purchased by the cosmetics industry to make skincare products.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-beauty-industry-is-part-of-a-baby-foreskin-flesh-trade-anti-circumcision-activists-warn/

This is horrific, but it is important that you understand this so you can accept that much of the research surrounding circumcision is deeply flawed and skewed to promote the practice. However, there are a few dissenters willing to speak the truth, and through them, we learn about some of the shortcomings of common circumcision research. As we previously discussed, most papers claim that circumcised men enjoy a 60% decreased risk of contracting HIV. This may be a tempting statistic to believe, but you should be cautious. As one paper points out:

the clinical trials were rife with various types of bias, such as attrition bias (the number of participants who dropped out vastly outnumbered those who became infected), duration bias (the trials were not long enough to determine if the positive effect would plateau) and expectation bias. Some of the primary investigators had already called for mass circumcision, Travis writes, so it is no surprise that they got the results they expected to see. This expectation of positive results may also explain why all three trials were terminated early.

The paper also warns that promoting circumcision as a form of protection against HIV is dangerous. It is explained that:

mass circumcision could lead to problems in some settings. It could discourage the use of condoms, for example. Also, circumcised men are "likely to present themselves, especially to poor or illiterate village women, as rendered surgically immune to HIV."

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3255200/

Most importantly, consider this: if you are circumcised, is it wise to have unprotected s*x? No! So the choice is either to wear a condom or cut your peepee and wear a condom anyway. Why cut your peepee?

Lastly, we need to address the claim that circumcision reduces the chances of a man acquiring penile cancer. This is probably the most abhorrent one, as the claim is that circumcision is effective at preventing penile cancer IF it is performed on an infant. The same effect is not noted in adult men who are circumcised. As one metastudy notes:

We identified eight papers which evaluated the association of circumcision with penile cancer, of which seven were case–control studies. There was a strong protective effect of childhood/adolescent circumcision on invasive penile cancer

BUT this paper also discovers the following:

In two studies, the protective effect of childhood/adolescent circumcision on invasive cancer no longer persisted when analyses were restricted to boys with no history of phimosis.

In contrast, there was some evidence that circumcision in adulthood was associated with an increased risk of invasive penile cancer

You should also be aware that penile cancer is exceptionally rare to begin with. In the USA, less than 1% of the male population acquires penile cancer. So ask yourself, is it worth mutilating a baby over? I say protect the foreskin because I'm for skin. Read that again.

When circumcision is mandated by religion and culture

For some, the arguments for circumcision have nothing to do with health or hygiene. Instead, they believe that circumcision should be done for religious or cultural reasons. Let's go through a few common religious and cultural arguments.

As you all know, circumcision is a part of Judaism. Circumcision is part of a ritual known as the Brit Milah. They circumcise infants because they believe they are adhering to a covenant between God and Jewish people. The following verse is often cited:

"This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised." (Genesis 17:10)

Personally, I would not worship any God who wanted me circumcised. That's gross! Anyway, the ceremony involves a "trained" specialist known as a mohel (usually a Rabbi) who is supposed to ensure the procedure is done in a way that adheres to Jewish laws. Sometimes, the mohel will perform what's known as the Metzitzah B'peh, which involves sucking the blood of the infant straight from the peepee after making the incision. After the circumcision is performed, there is a great celebration.

Jews aren't the only ones who practice circumcision. For example, Muslims also believe that cutting the foreskin is the right thing to do. It is not mentioned in the Quran though believers point to the Sunnah and Islamic tradition as justification for the practice. Many Muslim boys are circumcised at birth, though some are circumcised during puberty as a coming of age ritual.

The obligation to get circumcised isn't just a part of religion. Many cultures around the world have adopted circumcision as well. In South Africa, for example, Xhosa boys participate in Ulwaluko. This is a ceremony held in the mountains yearly, and it is part of a coming of age ritual. The entire ritual lasts about a month, and the boys are circumcised without anaesthetic.

What's the truth?

This is nonsense! These are by far the worst arguments for circumcision. In short, I don't CARE what your religion or culture says about circumcision. We know that it is genital mutilation, and therefore we should stop the practice immediately, at least when it comes to babies and young boys.

Furthermore, we must understand that religions and cultures are based on traditions that were forged long ago. As we advance and gain new knowledge, our cultures and religions should adapt to reflect this. You don't have to abandon your religion or culture - I get that it's part of your identity. However, you do have to cut away the harmful aspects if you wish for your religion or culture to flourish.

Sometimes, it is worth noting that an aspect of your culture is just silly. This is especially the case in the USA where the widespread propagation of circumcision is due to propaganda from a cereal manufacturer. Let go of this depravity!

While we're on the topic of culture, we might as well address the cultural belief that "cut" peepeees look better than uncut ones. This is nonsense. Firstly, circumcision leaves the peepee with an ugly scar. Secondly, it's not worth cutting your peepee to please women. Thirdly, and most importantly, it it deeply depraved to claim that you prefer mutilated genitals. Anyone that expresses such a preference should be ashamed of themselves.

Circumcision is harmless!

When all else fails, this is what circumcision advocates lean back on. They essentially claim that the foreskin is useless, and that removing it is an arbitrary act. This is also what many men who have been circumcised believe. I understand why - it's a comforting belief, far more comforting than confronting the truth that your parents mutilated you at birth!!! So keep coping if it keeps you sane. There isn't much to elaborate on here. It's a relatively simple claim.

What's the truth?

Good Golly, it is completely false that circumcision is harmless. In fact, the act is very harmful. It is psychologically harmful, as you are violating a child's bodily autonomy. That is a horrible thing to do, and you shouldn't do it, man!

Here's what you should know - circumcision decreases penile sensitivity. Yes, that means s*x feels less pleasurable when you are circumcised. Nobody has a right to interfere with your s*x life like that, which is why every man should fight to eradicate circumcision. There is plenty of research on this topic. For instance there is one paper that states the following:

For the glans peepee, circumcised men reported decreased sexual pleasure and lower orgasm intensity. They also stated more effort was required to achieve orgasm, and a higher percentage of them experienced unusual sensations (burning, prickling, itching, or tingling and numbness of the glans peepee). For the penile shaft a higher percentage of circumcised men described discomfort and pain, numbness and unusual sensations. In comparison to men circumcised before puberty, men circumcised during adolescence or later indicated less sexual pleasure at the glans peepee, and a higher percentage of them reported discomfort or pain and unusual sensations at the penile shaft.

This study confirms the importance of the foreskin for penile sensitivity, overall sexual satisfaction, and penile functioning. Furthermore, this study shows that a higher percentage of circumcised men experience discomfort or pain and unusual sensations as compared with the uncircumcised population. Before circumcision without medical indication, adult men, and parents considering circumcision of their sons, should be informed of the importance of the foreskin in male sexuality.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23374102/

Contrary to popular belief, the foreskin is NOT useless. It covers the peepee head, ensuring it remains moist and the nerve endings are protected. When the foreskin is removed, the peepee head is exposed, and it begins to callous, leading to a loss of sensitivity. This is why circumcision is mutilation.

It is also worth considering the times that circumcision goes wrong. I have spoken about the case of David Reimer, a boy whose peepee was burned off during a botched circumcision. You will also be aware of the shocking number of deaths that come as a result of circumcision within the Xhosa culture. Furthermore, when Jewish rabbis put their mouths on a child's peepee, they run the risk of spreading herpes to the youngling. All these risks can be avoided by simply saying no to circumcision.

Conclusion

Most of the arguments for circumcision come from 2 sources:

1. Cope

Many men have been circumcised and they cannot accept that they have been mutilated, and that their penile sensitivity has been decreased. Hence they cling onto any argument they can that circumcision is harmless, or that it is actually preferable to being intact.

2. Medical profits

People in the medical field stand to gain a profit from performing circumcisions, so they want the public to believe that circumcising babies is good for them, and that you are a good parent for circumcising your child. They typically ask the mother if she wants to circumcise the child straight after birth. The mother, who may be drugged, and is exhaused from childbirth, is overloaded at that point and she can't always make a clear, educated decision. This is wrong, and people in the medical field need to stop taking advantage of women in this way. Firstly, women know nothing about peepeees, it is not their place to say whether a peepee should be cut or not. Secondly, even if the mother said yes, it is against the hippocratic oath to perform circumcisions because doctors are supposed to "do no harm". Cutting off the foreskin when no medical condition necessitates it is definitely doing harm.

That's it for today. I hope you all learned a lot about circumcision, and are equipped with the knowledge you need to fight against circumcision propaganda. Remember, circumcision bad!

Truly, I say this as a feminist ally.

Just to get it out of the way, he probably was trying to tap that. This was recommended to a lot of people's feed so there are accusations of "not a real lawyer" flying around that I'm not going to bother posting.

OP:

We have a new undergrad intern (a young woman, perhaps 19 years old), and I thought I'd take her to lunch to welcome her and answer questions about the work. Simple, right? Apparently, taking a female intern out to lunch is now a high-risk situation requiring oversight.

When we got back, it was suggested in the future that I invited other attorneys and avoided going to lunch one-on-one with female interns.

Lesson learned, and in hindsight I get where the firm is coming from. I still think it's a bit of an overreaction, though. I've gotten mixed responses when I've told people this. I'm curious what the subreddit thinks

His darning follow up post where he admits to having something in common with her and actually talked to her.

[–]TurnDownTheRadioJerk[S] -47 points 3 days ago

So here's more: I'm a 24 year old first year and the school she's going to is the same school I went to for undergrad, and she even has some of the same professors I had. We got talking and I asked her to lunch. No, I don't assign her work, but we seem to get along. Yes, there are other interns, but I haven't really had to talk to them yet

Responses to the follow up:

That sounds a little better than I initially imagined, given your ages are pretty close and the power dynamics aren't super crazy off (I'm assuming you don't have much influence at your firm). But your follow-up also makes it sound more like you are in fact trying to hit on her (or at least become her friend), and your firm gave you good advice. You shouldn't be doing anything that looks like you might be looking for a romantic relationship with anyone subordinate to you

Yea OP is totally hitting on her he wouldnt have done this for a dude I'm guessing.

That is pure speculation on your part, is really hard to imagine forming connections and mentorship in a professional field without ulterior motives. It seems reasonable to plausible to me I have gone to lunch with both male and female colleagues.

Dude… that's a crush let's be real, and you were testing the waters.

There's nothing mentor-ly about this. You were trying to get to know her in a personal capacity 😭

Why did this get so downkongd?

Because the world of genuine courteous courtship has gone entirely to the wayside and in its stead is this hyper-sensitive environment. All of this whilst people complain that they can't meet others organically anymore.

He's a young man and shes a young woman. If he is courteous and respectful in his proceeding with her and he doesn't have power over her directly or otherwise in the firm, I don't see the issue. Statistically, the workplace used to be a great place to meet your spouse.

Young man and a younger** woman. She's a teenager AND an intern. He is an adult who can drink and her mentor at a law firm trying to isolate her. He can treat all the interns or a few more so they arent alone.

There is nothing improper, legally or ethically, about a 24 year old and a 19 year old dating

Got ourselves a over here.

Other Responses:

More context is needed. Are there more interns than just her? Are you working closely with her? If you were her direct supervisor or somebody formally assigning her work, and she was the only intern, I don't think it would necessarily be weird. If you were some random associate who just showed up and was like, "Yo, wanna grab lunch", and didn't invite any of the male interns in the same room, I could see how that might not have the best appearance

I think he left them out on purpose. He didn't want to look like a creep

Two comments in we have him being called a creep. Doesn't appear to be a lawyer and posts in a really odd mix of subreddits including /r/aupairs.

Barely a crumb of context which might be explanatory in itself.

Is this the only intern you've ever taken out? If so, why this sudden exception?

Is she the only intern? If not, why exactly did you choose her and her alone?

Do you work more closely with her than anyone else? Most attorneys work more closely with paralegals, so why her and not them?

[–]PoundTown68 -35 points 3 days ago

That's a lot of useless questions. In a sane world, two consenting adults can go to lunch without concern. Two consenting adults should be able to do whatever they want together if we're being honest. This is exactly why feminists should be ignored. We've allowed them to create a culture of fear, where everyone is tiptoes around unnecessary regulation that benefit nobody….except for 40 year old feminists, jealous that they're no longer sexually attractive, who want to force everyone else to be unhappy with them. Misery loves company.

Darn, found the incel

$100 this guy sexually harasses people on the daily

Yeah, I mean, look alive brother. Avoiding the appearance of a questionable situation is very easy if you have situational awareness.

Was it actually questionable? That's not the right question and doesn't matter (unless it got weird). Protect yourself and the firm. Heck, the vast majority of lunches I went to as an intern or otherwise young firm employee were with multiple people, now that I think about it.

This is crazy. Taking someone out to a business lunch in a public place is not out of bounds or even close.

Why was this intern chosen for a solo business lunch with an older male attorney? I'm not saying OP had any untoward intentions, but let's not pretend the optics don't raise valid concerns.

Also, though, based on the follow up, op definitely does have untoward intentions

The optics of it are not great. Put yourself in the shoes of a supervising partner. Perhaps his 28 years old associate has no bad intention when he asks the 19 year old intern to lunch. Perhaps the 28 year old intern has romantic intentions. Partner has no idea. Does the 19 year old intern know your intentions. Did you take any male interns to lunch. If there is no romantic intention perhaps bring along another associate (perhaps female) and more than one intern or staffer.

Yeah he has to think what the firm partners would think if this 30 year old associate took the 19 year old to lunch. It's a bad look when a 34 year old associate is doing that with an 18 year old intern. The 17 year old intern doesn't know she can decline the lunch invite from the 38 year old.

When I was a 19 year old college student, I invited a visiting professor to lunch to discuss their career. I thought thats what we were supposed to do "networking" and all, build a rapport. The lunch was 100% professional the entire time. No drinking. I paid for myself. All day time hours in public. Afterwards i was invited into the deans office and told that my behavior was inappropriate and unprofessional and that I needed to learn my place and not be so forward. When I was ultimately asked to leave the school (we aren't expelling you, we want to encourage you to go to a place better fitted for you) they cited my inappropriate relationships with visiting professors as one of the reasons.

It was humiliating.

15 years later that school got sued into the ground for 30 decades of sexual abuse against minors.

(am woman)

Talk about getting absolutely on.

I think they are trying to help you out.

I went to not-lunch with a support staff ... we were both new to the org, and she accused me of being a predator. And then coworkers hacked my email and spread it around the community. It was too late by the time we established that she was lying, for my email inbox was everywhere and the firm decided I had to leave before I could figure it out.

You need to be extraordinarily careful.

I found one of the few dissenting voices that wasn't downkongd into oblivion.

I strongly disagree with this take. Be professional about it. Make sure it's a public place, but refusing to take women to lunch in a professional environment is Mike Pence culture crap that prevents women from having the same opportunities as men.

IMO, a work culture that discourages men from meeting 1 on 1 with women is a massive red flag and usually the #1 sign that the employer has fostered an anti-woman environment.

There is a difference between "men and women can't have lunch together" and "attorney shouldn't take young intern of the opposite s*x to lunch alone". The power imbalance inherent in the latter certainly has a higher chance of producing a bad situation, from either direction (attorney actually taking advantage, or intern falsely claiming they did).

Keeping that sort of thing as a small group activity avoids all the possible issues.

Muh power imbalance.

You're a lawyer and don't understand professional conduct or ethics?

OP about to be disbarred.

Why is no one talking about the 19 year old intern's perspective. That's what matters here. And that's what the others at the firm are focused on, not the intentions of the OP.

Possibly the most incorrect response in the whole thread.

Please thank @Kongvann for this or else

Also there's a new furry award in the shop, as you can see here on this post not limited to just the house! Now everyone can dabble in yiffing OwO

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