podian

All Very true facts. I admit I was and am still taken aback by the measurement and extrapolation of linear distances using… circumference.

Diameter or circumference?

Very cogently written.

Are you from a culture where your quoted parts are highly stigmatized or marginalized (e.g. most parts of the US)? Because I don’t hold any against being in a state of psychosis nor six. I hope you didn’t assume that I did, or that other cultures are the same as yours. Ethnocentrism is a kind of entitlement, I think. 🤷‍♂️

On children, I have difficulty believing that you think a person’s children are “theirs” no matter what. That they have no say in it, even over the course of decades. I dunno that sounds a bit entitled to me. Also reductive but hey who isn’t.

I consider people, all people, as having the potential to be equals and by default as equals. That means meeting them halfway, respecting their ultimate autonomy and decisions for themselves and positions on anything that relates to them. Does this contribute to unbridled hate once in a while? It seems like it. Not sure the alternative is better though. Nobody’s ever really made that argument to me in earnest.

Apparent absolute powerlessness in the face of something like poisoning / brainwashing is one of the most aggravating things I can imagine. Probably an understatement.

It is very possible your child will grow up and be unfathomably remorseful (and possibly angry at his birth mom for the brainwashing and manipulation). There will be no way he can ever, in his own ledger, make up for this cruelty to you.

So treat him as that future person. Treat him with kindness, respectfulness, and quasi-infinite tolerance knowing full well this is just a temporary psychosis, jarring and shitty as it is.

If he doesn’t later question it and regret it, then with all due respect he is not your child as he does not have your actual presence in his life any capacity–not even that of a clinic sperm donor. You’d be making it your problem, forever flailing at windmills.

Stay strong.

Actual tips and ideas/suggestions:
Do stuff with your son that’s really laid back and fun and popular. Doing so shows him that you’re cool and nonchalant and helps him to come away from the hijacked neurons and states of confusion and uncertainty. Be the cool unflappable parent that’s in the know for what’s cool and fun and awesome for kids. If you’re having trouble even getting to that rapport point, idk what to say because it hinges on the specifics of your interactions or him/you of which I’m ignorant.

From Greek chrȳsós

I’m a mostly single father of two kids, boys, 11 and 14. From what I read here, what happened is not your fault, and you are not a bad person by any measure. Nobody is perfect, and in fact there is no one “correct” way to have handled your situation (though there are obviously infinitely many bad ways to have done so, a category which your response does not fall under).

Developmentally, age 4 is borderline for toddler and young child. Some will still be toddlers and others will have entered well into the “pre-developmental phase.” This means there will be a lot of things that they can handle, such as “no” and other boundaries; toddlers begin to test boundaries as early as age 2 (I’m not saying anything your child did was necessarily that, nor am I concerned with whatever your response might be).

As for destroying the house, this is not okay. If any children want to play in water, quite common, they don’t have to do it during every shower or bath day. Buy them a little (big) plastic basin to splash around in, have them go to a pool or water park, get an (economic) water sensory table… There are many options that are available for children to still get to do what they want–play with water–without major risky downsides like destroying your home.

In my opinion, the only potentially really difficult thing here is to talk to their mom. She’s an adult, and she needs to start acting like one instead of just everything “yes” without restrictions or prudence. Children need their parents for guidance and socialization as well as just being “providers.” Adults know better–not always but usually. If your children wanted their diet to consist 100% of candy, I presume both of you wouldn’t just go for it.

If it helps, you can write down and practice what you want to say to your family (so that you can follow the ‘script’ and not get overtaken by rage). You’re evidently eloquent enough to be able to do so. Aside from keeping it short and focused, it can help a lot to start by writing where you’re coming from and how things have felt for you. There’s a good chance they don’t know, and they should–heck, we find out new things about ourselves when we take this time to do so, to consider and refine our understandings of ourself.

Best wishes to you, and I’m very sorry for the extreme pain. That is definitely not something to be ignored or made light of by anyone who cares about you.

Ok, if this is anything more than lip-service appeasement, get him the fuck out. We don’t need the Liberals to be socially conservative patsies.

Acceptable and unproblematic levels of irony such that it’s not really ironic at all without some major oversimplifications and assumptions. Like when workers go on strike, "oh how ironic that they’re working for them in the first place!”

“American Warlord” would be a sick movie title for an expose on these far right thugs.

Any chance that most of our politicians are replaced by magic 8-balls of similar efficacy but 0 cost?

“to ensure that the child and citizen parent have some demonstrated opportunity to develop… a relationship… that consists of the real, everyday ties that provide a connection between child and citizen parent and, in turn, the United States”

Huh… The child in this case became a US permanent resident at the age of 6. Is that not enough for an implied connection with the country? So much yikes with this ruling. Then again what else can be expected in a 5-4 Republican majority splot.

deleted by creator

Ah yes, any friends of her enemy (the Alberta public) is her enemy too.

That’s the best thing about representative and not direct democracy: you can do the right thing, e.g. pass correct legislation or policies even if it’s not popular. Instead they do the opposite. Maybe some day the majority of Canadians will come to grips with how our democracy is mostly just a thinly veiled oligopoly. As a BCer it’s probably further away for us than the other provinces.

There’s only 408 of em? No? These are rookie numbers then.

Some cops don’t seem to have gotten the message yet that the system needs to be blunt and dehumanizing. It’ll gladly cannabalize its own to get that message across.

And also, ACAB.

Any chance that > $12.4B is directly taxed or siphoned from the big grocery chains?

No shade to Eby but it doesn’t take a lawyer to understand that water is wet.

Since he’s a lawyer though, he should know there’s more than enough to convict them of attempted treason, conspiracy, or any other inchoate crime thereof. Unfortunately it looks like neither provincial nor federal prosecutors will go after them for it.