It was definitely considered piracy by the public at the time. Everyone I knew called it a “legal grey area”, but as far as I know it was legally permissable.

The media companies tried their hardest to make it sound like you were destroying the entire industry and you’d go to jail for life as soon as they caught you.

What makes me mad is the boomers I watched copy rentals and NFL games are the same ones telling me I’m stealing by using an ad blocker.

trans people are after their children to convert them

I think this is a very big part of it. When I was a teenager and our state legalized gay marriage my dad said it was great. He was all for their freedom to do as they pleased behind closed doors. But as soon as he thought I, his son, might be gay he was terrified. Suddenly he would change the channel if an effeminate man walked on. He’d leave Maxim magazines everywhere. He’d mock anybody “acting” gay.

Fearing for your children is incredibly powerful. Best case my dad was scared I would be bullied. More likely I think he was scared people would see him differently and he might be mocked. It’s such an easy lever for politicians to pull when trying to manipulate their voters.

I don’t know why you’re catching so much flak. Parking lots are not safe places for kids, and you can’t leave them alone in the car for long either. I’ve never had an issue returning a cart, but that’s because I’ve never shopped at a place where the return corrals are that sparse. If it’s over a minute’s walk to return a cart then that’s a failure of the parking lot architects, not you. You’re doing what you can, which is good enough.

I don’t understand, haven’t these robots existed for almost 20 years? We’ve got a half dozen of these where I work moving pallets of stuff around the warehouse.