I’ll start, I missed the outdoor cats struggle session so i don’t know what its deal was except a vague idea that outdoor cats were bad, so I’ve let my two cats stay being outdoor cats because I feel bad locking them inside, like I want to give them some experience of freedom to go where they please so they can live more fulfilling lives
Edit: also kruschev is imo a lot better than most hexbear users give him credit for
The best struggle sessions need to not be so important that they might split the site (unless getting rid of the reactionaries is the point), but also not so unimportant that nobody will give a shit.
It also needs to be something that people will have a personal opinion on, so like “Should we have critical support of this small party from 1952 in Liechtenstein” probably won’t bring engagement because nobody knows anything about it.
And finally, it should be something that hasn’t been debated to death already in the mainstream, so that people aren’t already tired of talking about it.
so the outdoor/indoor cat thing was purrfect. outdoor cats do have very real-world consequences on species but aren’t like, a driving cause of ecological destruction unlike capitalists, people have opinions on it because many are cat owners or know cat owners, and it wasn’t something all over the news already.
my only real idea is “Nuclear energy: good or bad?” but that’s been a public debate for decades now
What about wearing shoes indoors? That’s always a good one because people who haven’t done it before don’t know it breaks down heavily based on region and climate and culture, so they yell past each other for a long time.
The only time it’s not stupid to wear shoes indoors is if your floor is already filthy
When you say shoes indoors do you mean like, full sneakers or just slippers? Slippers seem fine (especially no-rise ones) but walking around shoes indoors feels
If you live in like Cali or something where it doesn’t snow or muck up, people just wear their shoes from outside. It’s weird as hell to me, but all they have to do is just vacuum to clean it up (cause yeah people even wear their outdoor shoes on rugs and carpets). I always wonder when exactly a shoes-inside style person chooses to put on their shoes… surely they’re not going to sleep with them on, do they only do it when they’re about to go outside? Is it the sign of a shut-in for them if you don’t have shoes on ever???
Most shoes are not designed well and squeeze your feet inward. The longest point should be at your big toe, but for most shoes it’s in the middle (visual). By taking them off indoors you’re giving your feet some relief.
I would go further and say that shoes designed like that shouldn’t be worn at all. The natural footshape shoe industry is gaining some popularity. Why ruin your feet for fashion? But this comment strays a bit from the original point.
Oh yeah I remember. Vibram 5 fingers were a big thing in a group i used to hang out with until everyone got sick of having blisters between their toes and constant broken toes.
What if someone’s feet are FILTHY? Dirtier than the shoes by far. Covered in mud and grass. Should I take my shoes off then?
You should wash their feet.
Literally me:
That’s why there’s a hose outside.
Is there any case where it’s culturally or religiously important (not just everybody does it, but it actually being a requirement) to keep your shoes on though? The only shoe related cultural and religious rules I know are about taking your shoes off (many Asian cultures and Islam).
I don’t know. I know some SE Asian cultures have taboos about other people seeing the bottoms of your feet, but I’ve never heard of anyone keeping their shoes on to avoid vioplating that taboo.
I remember having that one recently? No shoes inside. If you want to wear something on your feet to keep them warm on floorboards or vinyl or whatever, you can get slippers and change over in the doorway. Nothing worse than tracking literal shit through the house.
I’ve only ever seen people wear shoes indoors in places where winter doesn’t exist.
the legend has emerged from their lair
Nuclear energy is a real point of contention here, but has yet to explode into full struggle session as far as I’ve seen