Answers

Why Do Chinese Restaurants All Look And Taste The Same?

January 6, 2021

(photo: “Chinese Restaurants, DC” by xtopher1974)

If Chinese Takeouts were a franchise they would be the largest franchise in America. There are more than 40,000 Chinese takeout restaurants, which is almost three times more than McDonalds 15,000. They take little space if needed and are versatile where they fit. They’re perfect for low rent areas. The purpose of them looking cheap and the same is that you know exactly what you’re getting – a greasy meal for under $10. This is critical to their business, because they want you to know that they’ve got fortune cookies, egg rolls, and fried chicken over rice even if none of these are actually Chinese.

Do Police Officers Struggle With Becoming Bitter Toward the Public?

January 4, 2021

do police get bitter towards the public

Yes. This is particularly a problem when the officer is dealing with a group who he perceives is always making work for him.

The city where I worked was a tourist destination with lots of money and liquor in the mix. It drew a disproportionate share of people who are now called “homeless” (we usually referred to them as “vagrants” or “drunks”) who would panhandle, buy, or otherwise acquire alcohol, and get drunk in parks and other public places. They had very low standards of hygiene, occasionally fought (not very effectively) with officers, and committed many petty offenses that took a great deal of time and resources to deal with.

Why Do Teenagers Feel The Need To Act “Cool” Around Their Parents?

December 24, 2020

teenagers acting cool

Sincerity is vulnerable and teens already feel plenty vulnerable.

Also, if you drop the act around your parents, you are acknowledging that it’s an act. Some kids are okay with that because they’re aware of social masking and code switching, consciously or otherwise. Other kids, especially kids who might be struggling socially or are trying to “discover” themselves, would resist the idea that their more popular, more well-liked self is just an “act” and feel pressured to keep it up 24/7, because they assume all the other “cool” kids are naturally like that, too.

How Did This Piece of Art Sell For Over $86 Million Dollars?

December 22, 2020

orange red yellow mark rothko

The thing to remember about contemporary art is that it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Rothko wasn’t just saying “isn’t this pretty?” any more than Hemingway was just writing about an old man and the sea. Contemporary art is in a conversation with every painting that came before it. But since that conversation is long, entirely visual and not well-publicized (articles that mention how much a piece was sold for never talk about why), it can be really difficult to understand what an artist is saying just from looking at it.

What’s It Like To Regret Having Your Child?

December 16, 2020

I regret having my 9 year old with autism and oppositional defiance disorder every single day. She is very verbal and can be as sweet as a peach when she gets her way, but doing the hard work of parenting her correctly has been a nightmare.

She was an unwanted pregnancy when I was a dumb 20 year old. I was in a lot of psych meds before I realized I was pregnant that I think messed her brain up. I had taken plan B perfectly like on the instructions the one time I had unprotected sex, I figured that would have been the end of that worry. I didn’t realize I was pregnant until she was about 10 weeks gestation and immediately stopped taking my meds but alas. By the time I could get the money together for an abortion (the closest planned parenthood was a 7 hour drive so no-go there) the pregnancy was too far along. I wish I would have looked into adoption now.

Why Were So Many Japanese Pilots Willing To Conduct Kamikaze Missions?

December 8, 2020

The Japanese people were very, very patriotic. In addition, they firmly believed that the emperor was god on earth. He was a living god and whatever his decisions, they were from god himself. Between those beliefs and feelings, the opportunity to die for the preservation of the country was not even a question. They all knew that their country was in dire straits with a terrible enemy approaching their shores. As soldiers in the service of their living god, they were much more than willing to sacrifice their lives to save their country.