Stream of Consciousness
The Quiet Violence of Merit
We like to believe in merit. We say the word as if it were a clean equation: work hard, get results. Study longer, rise higher. Try again, succeed eventually. Merit promises fairness without sentimentality. It offers order. It tells us that outcomes are earned.
By Ajan Lori Abei6 days ago in Humans
Now Hiring...But Not Really? A Closer Look at Today’s Job Market Struggles.
Humans are not perfect. Humans are employers, as well as candidates. We come into the job market imperfect. And we get laid-0ff, or we leave a job/career/business on our own terms, which is a proven risk in today's job market by being imperfect. This article serves as inspiration for surviving a brutal job market for a couple of months, with no solid offer, due to an unexpected layoff at the start of January 2026, despite this being a common phenomenon in tech right now. If you have had a sales background, you would be immune to rejections; however getting rejection email after rejection email when something else in your life is not ideal (from injury recovery to another major personal adversity) is a f*cking difficult pill to swallow. No matter how emotionally strong you are as a person.
By Justine Crowley6 days ago in Humans
Three-stranded braid of failing Cs: Christianity, Capitalism, Consumerism
Scrooge. What a word. Invented by Charles Dickens back in the 1840's as the name for his deplorably wealthy antagonist in the story "A Christmas Carol". Now, in modern English, a Scrooge is a miserly, greedy "person" who deprioritizes actual people in order to better fixate on money.
By Sam Spinelli6 days ago in Humans
The Tomb Called Justice
The courthouse looms at the town’s center like a tomb that refuses to stay closed, a monument of cold marble and older secrets. Its columns do not merely support a roof; they form the ribcage of an idea—that human suffering can be bled out, measured, and bottled in the name of peace. Above the bench, the scales hang like the iron skeleton of a trapped bird, eternally suspended in a room that smells of dust and the metallic tang of old fear.
By Ginny Brown6 days ago in Humans
The Weight of Maybe. Content Warning.
Trigger Warning: Sexual coercion and emotional manipulation Authors Note: This piece explores the confusion, mental conflict, and questioning that can follow experiences of coercive intimacy, a lack of clarity that often lingers long after an experience ends. If you relate to the themes present in this piece, you are not alone.
By Grace Ryder6 days ago in Humans
The System of Subtle Control
What if I told you someone could control your choices without raising their voice or even asking directly. Sounds strange right? Well, it happens constantly. Manipulation tactics are hiding in plain sight. And some are so normalized, most people even defend them while they're being used on them.
By Ajan Lori Abei7 days ago in Humans
