Over(head) for (the duration of) dinner (well, part of it anyhow).

“Everyone everywhere should federate.”

“Not like that!”

Flowers. Or a little potted plant. But yeah cut flowers are the traditional gift.

A picture book for her kids, so she can read to them. Or a board game, to play with them.

Someone gave me a usb stick with a few kindle books on it one time, that was nice.

A flowery handkerchief or scarf is always a nice gift for a woman who has everything, I never dislike getting one. I have pretty handkerchiefs in my glasses case to clean them with. Better than scratching them with a tissue, and nice to look at too.

Nah, just reads too much XKCD.

On contemplation of the left side of the couch, I would be entangled in two pissed off cats willing to use their claws on me for the crime of sitting on them.

Everywhere it is a slur for people of mongolian descent.

Exactly.

The one I always tell about is a yank commedian who, on his first tour over here, lost everyone when he asked for his audience to bend over and pat each other on the fanny. In context, the joke would have made sense in America. Here in Oz, it was far more offensive than he thought it was, and the audience got upset with him, and you could see him realising he lost us. A whole lot of explaining needed doing, for both sides. Apparently he honestly thought he was talking about backsides. Poor sod. Thankfully bewildered American being lynched by pissed off audience wasn’t the main event that night…

Odd to think of a land where poof is not a slur. It is a slur here in Australia too.

Yep. When I tried Mastodon, I gave up again super fast, and I think I see why now. Thankyou, very interesting.

Due to a lack of any reliable way of backing that up, I cannot convince anyone else using the opinions of a random on the internet. I was looking for a place I can show them with evidence, so I don’t look like a conspiracy theorist with a pinboard full of string and coloured paper.

More complex than the yanks think it is, however. Use it incorrectly in Australia and you can still get a fist to the face, or just not get invited to the next party and kicked from the group chats. It is a mistake to think that context isn’t relevant for this one.

Here in Australia I am surrounded by people of many different genders, and so far have not caused complaint by using they/them for everyone, regardless of gender, whether cis or trans. Plenty of others do the same, and they tend to be people wearing the rainbow flag, rather than the insensitive.

It is always best to ask and try to remember the pronouns, but often it is not possible at the time, and it is better to err on the side of caution when you don’t know yet what they use. Eg: As a female, I do prefer she/her, but if someone didn’t know that, then I would still prefer they/them to being persistently referred to as he/him. Males likely have a similar dislike of being referred to with the wrong pronouns, but they/them encompasses everyone in common Australian English (eg “whoever left their jumper behind, they need to go pick it up from the office”) so seems the best compromise till a conversation can happen.

The only people I know who say that are in fact Japanese, but I agree it is a racist term.

I thought it was “chewing” too. It’s not a common religion here, and the two words are not homophones with our accent.

And it is locational. Something insensitive in the US might be insensitive here in Oz or over in Europe… Or might not.

That is how idiom works.

Huh. Never heard of that before. But then, am Aussie and don’t know much yank idiom.

They will if I don’t sound paranoid and can give rational answers backed up with real articles that aren’t conspiracy sites. Much of my family are teachers, everyone has at least one university degree, and is capable of rational thought and critical thinking. They just don’t see a reason to switch. I need to put forward a reason that is worth their time.

I have been using Telegram for… A really long time. A decade? Maybe not that long. But yeah, no reason to change from what works for me. You’re right about that.

Signal and Matrix(?) and the others all seem to be a recent development, and although I have downloaded a few, no one else has them or has heard of them, so their directories are empty as I have never found anyone who wants to connect that way. It means I don’t know how to use or teach older people how to use the software. I am trying to find a simple evidence-based way to encourage my family to change their minds, but it appears it will only make me look paranoid, so probably won’t try.

When it was explained to me 25+ years ago how Israel was invented, and so I did further reading. Religious divides are wrong in every way, and they are prevent neighbourly integration, so I decided I disagree with Israel as a concept, just as I disagree with all apartheid systems. This invasion just solidified my opinion.

And bias in the media? The news here in Oz yesterday covered an orphaned four-year-old being returned to her family just because she was American/Israeli. It left out the many other orphaned four-year-olds dead or dying or lying in pain and fear, without medical attention, because of Israels “action”. The ones killed and injured with weapons Israel is lying about using, such as phosphorus. The media are biased as all get out. Poor little kids didn’t have a chance.

Quack.

If other countries had a public holiday on January First, would that mean they celebrate Federation Day? If they had a public holiday later on in January, then are they celebrating my countries Invasion Day?

Yes, it is the same day as one in America. No, that doesn’t mean the Japanese are all celebrating a US thanksgiving.