book: lessons from cats for surviving fascism
From
Ogg@21:4/106.21 to
All on Sun Dec 7 09:40:00 2025
An experpt (p15 and p16) from a very funny book,
Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism | Hardcover
Stewart Reynolds
Grand Central Publishing
Humor / Form - Parodies / Literary Criticism / American / Self-
Help / Personal Growth - Happiness
9781538778005
"
Cats despise collars.
Cats hate wearing anything.
Sure, they might look cute for a moment - maybe even Instagram-
worthy-but deep down, every cat knows what a collar really
represents: control.
The tiny bell jingling with every step? Surveillance.
The snug fit? Domination.
Cats aren't fooled, and neither should we be.
Fascists love collars, metaphorically speaking. They're
obsessed with finding ways to make people wear them, often by
dressing them up as something "necessary" or even
"fashionable." "Oh, it's for your own good!" they chirp,
jingling the societal equivalent of a little bell. "Look how
it makes you a better citizen!" But much like a cat, you
should pause, stare at the collar, and then swat it off the
table with a look of utter disdain.
Fascists, let's be honest, are a bit like overzealous dog
owners who think every living being needs to be leashed. "Why
aren't they wearing their collar?" they demand, clutching their
red ball caps. "How will we know where they're going or what
they're doing?" The thought of someone walking freely through
life, uncollared, untethered, and entirely unpredictable, sends
them into a spiral of existential dread.
Cats, however, refuse to be restrained. Even when they
grudgingly wear a collar, they'll spend every waking moment
plotting its removal.
You can practically hear them thinking, Oh, you believe this
little pink band of oppression will stop me? And that's the
energy we need to channel. It's not just about rejecting
literal collars - it's about rejecting anything that tries to
disguise control as convenience. A bell around your neck so the
fascists can always find you? No, thank you.
The funny thing is, fascists aren't even good at making collars
look appealing. Their idea of a "cute accessory" is usually
something drab and joyless, like a uniform or a badge that
screams, "I have no personality!" And yet, they can't
understand why people don't line up to wear them. You can
almost picture the confusion: "Why don't they like the collar?
It's so practical! It's so efficient!" Meanwhile, the cats of
the world are lounging in their collar-free glory, silently
laughing at the absurdity of it all.
The trick is to question every collar you're handed, no matter
how harmless it seems. Is it really just a harmless accessory,
or is it a way to keep you in line?
Cats know the answer instinctively.
That's why they'd rather dart across busy streets, untagged and
unbothered, than let someone slap a leash on them. It's not
just about freedom - it's about the principle of the thing.
So, the next time someone tries to slip a metaphorical collar
around your neck - whether it's a rule, a label, or a demand
for conformity - channel your inner cat. Give them that
signature feline look of disdain that says, "I don't think so,
moron," and walk away, preferably in the direction of a sunny
windowsill where you can nap undisturbed.
Because at the end of the day, life isn't meant to be lived
with a bell around your neck and someone else holding the
leash. Be uncollared undisturbed.
Be free.
"
--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
From
Adept@21:2/108 to
phigan on Wed Dec 10 23:45:26 2025
This is how I feel about EVERYTHING now requiring a phone number and
2FA. But it's for your own security and protection blah blah blah! Fuck that.
I hate the phone number 2FA because much of the time they require a non-Google-Voice number. And since I'm in Germany dealing with American things, where my pre-paid American number does not work, "security" just locks me out.
To be fair, that's not the only time I've had things that just don't work because I'm an American in Germany.
I don't actually mind the, "must enter a six-digit code from this other app" ones, though. I mean, I'm fairly scared that I'll lose my phone at some point and suddenly have very annoying problems, but aside from that I think I like the security value over the annoyance level.
But if it's not a site where I can lose something of high value, username and password seems like plenty, to me. And preferably with no restrictions on password creation.
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From
poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to
Adept on Thu Dec 11 08:53:35 2025
Adept wrote to phigan <=-
I hate the phone number 2FA because much of the time they require a non-Google-Voice number. And since I'm in Germany dealing with American things, where my pre-paid American number does not work, "security"
just locks me out.
I swear by Authy - TOTP MFA that stores a secured backup somewhere is
nice.
To be fair, that's not the only time I've had things that just don't
work because I'm an American in Germany.
We're spending more time with family in England. Getting an SIM online
before the trip was a pain, going to a store and getting an eSIM once
arriving was better, but still needed tweaking to work.
My family over there doesn't have overseas calling, so WhatsApp seems
to be the best way to communicate with them over in the UK and us when
we're over there.
I'm playing with SIP phone service at home, I'm looking at setting up
service with a UK number - to have a local call for them connecting to
a SIP phone here in the US.
I should play with MFA and see if providers complain about SIP numbers
for MFA.
I don't actually mind the, "must enter a six-digit code from this other app" ones, though. I mean, I'm fairly scared that I'll lose my phone at some point and suddenly have very annoying problems, but aside from
that I think I like the security value over the annoyance level.
But if it's not a site where I can lose something of high value,
username and password seems like plenty, to me. And preferably with no restrictions on password creation.
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* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
From
Adept@21:2/108 to
Ogg on Sun Dec 14 23:53:31 2025
I have you heard of this service?
https://www.sweatfree.co
Maybe that could be useful?
I haven't heard of it, and seems interesting, but being a data eSIM doesn't really solve any problems for me.
I _do_ get short-term data eSIMs when traveling, but even without those it tends to not be _that_ hard to find wifi somewhere to handle any internet needs.
The issue is the various American things where they want to be able to dial or text an American number, but specifically disallow Google Voice numbers.
And I can _sometimes_ get around this by using my American number, and dialing in via Google Voice to check voice mail.
But it's annoying.
On the other hand, it's also not that much, especially at this point.
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From
Adept@21:2/108 to
Bob Worm on Mon Dec 15 20:04:56 2025
for not a lot of money. I used a pay-as-you-go outfit to provide a local number for my business when it was active, I had to put a minimum of 5
GBP credit on at a time and it expired after around 3 months. If you're not taking or making a lot of calls most of your credit would just
expire unused.
Do you not have similar setups in the US? Maybe the lobbyists blocked market competition for "safety" or something?
I have a US phone number, with a prepaid card in it, which worked for the first few months after coming to Germany, but now it only works if I'm in the US.
I'm not sure if there's anything that particularly helps me.
I do know T-Mobile has a nice service where you can get transcripts or check your messages or something through their website, but it doesn't work with a prepaid plan.
So, yeah, I wouldn't be _terribly_ surprised if there were some sort of option, but my use case winds up getting shut down often enough that I'm doubtful, even if I could start a plan, somehow.
--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)