I have, and I can see what you’re saying. But intelligent people who understand how the bills get paid figure out a balance.

I’m curious why speaking the language is so important as to take these kinds of measures.

So, in order to protect culture you can’t share it? Seems silly.

That’s fair, I agree that the level of service is not always an indication of how the restaurant is run.

I do feel it’s relevant, however, and I should have elaborated. I lived in the area and worked as a bartender at a resort nearby at the time. We always sat at the bar and talked shop with the employees whenever we went out. Not only that, but it’s a tourist area with a very small local, year round population. Everyone knew everyone, and gossip was rampant.

MBC had a good reputation as a workplace with not a lot of turnover. Their employees seemed like they were genuinely having fun, which isn’t common if your work environment sucks in my experience.

It’s generally not profitable for non-monopolies to anger their customers.

Haha, then I highly encourage you to learn more about this company. Kirk has done plenty to alienate a lot of potential customers and his community. I left that area because the racism was batshit insane. If you’re not white, straight, and cis, it’s not a comfortable place to live. I respect him for staying and actively fighting against it.

I’ve actually visited the Minoqua location multiple times. The staff seemed happy, and the food and drinks were great.

Kirk has been very vocally far left in a deeply red area for a long time. He’s also done amazing work in bringing together the downtown small business community. It would surprise me if it turned out he was a slimy shit bag.

Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it really that difficult, especially today with smart phones, to provide basic service at a restaurant? Absolutely not.

I spent my early life in the service industry, and I’ve served people who spoke zero English more times than I can count. Even before translation apps and services were so common, it truly wasn’t difficult enough that I’d feel comfortable as a human denying them service. We all worked together to get through it, and they enjoyed their experience from what I could tell.

I’ve also been on the other end and visited restaurants where our server didn’t speak English. We had a great time every time. It truly isn’t the big deal you’re making it, so it feels like you’re looking for reasons to excuse what we can plainly see is racism.

I’m sorry you’re feeling so lonely. I can certainly understand why this reaction to you leaving can rub salt in that old wound.

You mentioned that you grew a lot during your time in this city. That’s great, and it sets a stronger internal foundation for you on your new adventure! Something that might be important to consider is that can be difficult to form lasting friendships in times of change. In my experience, this is especially true when it comes to internal changes.

I know for me, maintaining friendships that I’ve made during these kinds of times can be really challenging. It means I’m likely more focused on myself (which is perfectly fine and healthy) and not in the most stable place in one way or another where reciprocal relationship building can be prioritized. That doesn’t mean you and your friend group don’t really care about each other, but rather that we can only offer and receive the support we need in the circumstances we’re given.

I truly hope you don’t write these friendships off. It very well could be that your friends wanted to show up for you more, but they didn’t know how without being intrusive feeling like they’re stepping on your toes. Maybe not, but it’s worth keeping that door open in my opinion. Things may look differently when you’re settled and these raw feelings wear off.

Either way, you’re starting an exciting new chapter that’s going to bring a lot of different opportunities. It seems like you have a clear idea of what you want and are currently missing, so you can take that knowledge and be mindful of prioritizing building a new community.

If I’m projecting too much of my own bullshit here I apologize. I wish you all the best in your move!

I can’t tell you how much it means that you took the time to say this. There aren’t a lot of “safe” spaces to discuss these kinds of things in detail outside of private compassion fatigue groups online. Most of them are on Facebook, and since stopping that platform I don’t have many places or people I can vent to without facing backlash from people who haven’t worked in these spaces. You truly lifted my mood. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Many shelters have started working cat programs to place trapped feral cats from communities on farms and other places where they can live comfortably and provide pest control. They often have waived adoption fees, too! Working with one of these programs could be a great option for you to consider.

What they told you about litter boxes is correct for all cats with access to the indoors. Inappropriate urination is one of the main reasons cats are surrendered, and many organizations consider cats with these issues to be unadoptable. This means they’re usually euthanized. Of course animal welfare organizations are going to provide all the education and resources they can to combat this, because it directly supports our mission of keeping cats happy, healthy, and in their homes.

Thank you for saying this. Working in animal welfare is incredibly difficult. I’ve been on both the rescue side and the municipal shelter side, and each has its different struggles. Seeing people who haven’t been active in this fight make blanket statements and judgements about these organizations can get pretty demoralizing.

As frustrating as they can be for adopters, rules and policies surrounding animal adoptions are there for a reason. While we have to find a balance, at the end of the day, the needs of the animals in our care take precedence over the convenience of potential adopters. I’ve been screamed at for having to get landlord permission before adopting out pets, for requiring all other pets in the home to be up to date on core vaccinations, and even for refusing to let a family meet a dog who was terrified of children (to the point that a bite was very possible) because they had a toddler and a baby. I’ve been threatened with violence over the years on multiple occasions, have had things thrown at me, and been harassed online just for being a public point of contact for the organization.

This isn’t even touching on the emotional toll day to day operations can take. It’s hard to go directly from saying goodbye to a beloved resident slated to be euthanized to being positive and cheerful during adoption counseling. Or turning away a pet you know you can help due to lack of space. Or going into a home where the owner had been lying dead on the floor for weeks to hopefully find his traumatized cats alive to trap them and bring them into care. Or going in to hording or fighting situations and extracting animals that look like they’ve been in a concentration camp. The list is, unfortunately, neverending.

I’m sorry for this getting so long. I guess I needed to vent. It’s a really scary time in the animal welfare world right now, I’m starting to feel helpless. The needs are just so great.

I’m sorry you’ve had this experience. Bringing home a new family member should be exciting and fun.

It’s hard to answer your question without knowing your location. Even so, different rescues often have different policies, so they’ll vary even in the same area.

Not excusing the staff’s pushiness here, but it’s not uncommon to see rescues only adopting out kittens in multiples. Unlike puppies, having multiple kittens tends to reduce behavior issues and adoption returns. It’s generally better for kittens to have a playmate of a similar age or activity level in regards to their development and temperament. Of course every cat and kitten is an individual, and this isn’t a hard rule.

That doesn’t explain why they’re pushing kittens on you when you’ve expressed interest in adults. Sadly, adoptions are down across the US for both dogs and cats. It’s also the thick of kitten season, so this time of year we see more kitten euthanasias than in the winter. It could be desperation and compassion fatigue on the part of the staff.

I wish you the best of luck in finding a wonderful new cat!

Same! Especially forearms and chest… Yum!

If my guy prefers to keep things short for personal preference reasons of course I’d never ask him to grow it longer for me. I think it’s important for guys that don’t want to shave to know that there are lots of us out there that find body hair super sexy!

I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. Simply not eating isn’t a healthy way to lose weight. Just eating a smaller quantity of food that already isn’t nutritionally dense in the first place can also lead to a variety of issues and deficiencies.

The weight gain associated with eating cheap, hyper processed foods is only the most visible consequence. Most obese people actually suffer from malnutrition. Eating isn’t as simple as calories in and out, so simply advising people to eat less is not only ignorant, but it can also be dangerous. Not to mention you sound like you’re not being very empathetic to the person you decided to argue with.

Whattabout is an interesting take on this.

I come from a dairy farming family. We currently still have four small operations. While I would agree that beef cattle are ideal for steaks and other luxury cuts, most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between dairy versus beef breeds in your average ground beef or sausage preparation.

We eat most of the cattle from our farms ourselves, so I have had plenty of experience consuming dairy cattle meat. The flavor of the beef from our cows is better than what I can typically find at my local grocery store, because our animals hang out in the pasture all day eating grass. The muscular structure is far smaller and there’s less marbling, but the beefy flavor itself is great.

What’s wrong with dairy cow meat?

It sure would be cool if Ron Johnson would go grab a drink with Lady G and Mitchy boy. I truly hate that man.

And thank you for sharing. I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you, yes! I’m currently subscribed. I comment sometimes, but in general I’m more of a vote-and-lurk person on Lemmy.

I have some cool things I could contribute, though. It’s been a minute since I checked out image hosting. It’s what’s holding me back from making original posts. Do you have any recommendations? I appreciate it!

It looks delicious, but your plate is an excellent showcase. It’s beautiful!