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Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 6, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Why has there been a coordinated push over the last few years to get people to stop using fireworks because it’s supposedly bad for veterans and dogs? I smell a psy-op.

futility of enforcement

I actually think enforcement for this is incredibly easy.

I live in downtown Toronto, I have a dog. My neighborhood is overrun with dogs as it's all mid/late 20s yuppies in condos that are too small for kids.

There was a park that became an unofficial dog off-leash park while the nearby dog park was renovated for a year. Once the dog park opened people didn't stop going to the "unofficial" one. Eventually, by-law officers started doing occasional driveby's, and would attempt to ticket people. I have no idea if they actually ticketed anyone, but it had a profound chilling effect on people using that park as an offleash area.

And they half-assed it! Just hire more by-law officers and have them circulate. The evidence is clear, people do NOT respond to the severity of punishment, anyone breaking rules breaks them without worrying about the consequences as they think they wont get caught. What changes behavior is the assessed risk % of getting caught. So increase enforcement in a visible way, and watch people adapt.

The problem is, that requires taking action and doing things, and western governments at all levels are profoundly allergic to doing things.

This is a side note, but I actually had an incredibly sad related moment last winter. My girlfriend, dog, and I were walking through a park that has a skating rink. The Zamboni had created a snow mountain beside it. I have incredibly fond memories of playing on these as a kid. It was surrounded by other optimal parent age young adults like us, all letting their dogs play on the snow mountain. There were no children in sight anywhere in the park (it was morning, to be fair). Our dog had a great time running around it, but holy fuck was it sad seeing such a visual representation of the collapse in our societies fertility.

condos that are too small for kids.

? Kids don't take up very much space. Certainly less than normally sized dogs(not counting the small ratlike creatures which seem inexplicably popular these days).

While you can technically fit a kid anywhere, I'm not with you on the overall point.

My dogs footprint in my apartment is his bed, and his food/water bowl. Also a small box on a shelf with brush/harness/nail clippers/whatever

A kid is a crib, diapers, clothes, toys, a stroller, and I'm sure a ton of other gear I haven't considered. They need a whole room too eventually (or immediately? Idk what the meta on co sleeping is these days).

Also not to get into the whole child rearing in modernity thing again, but I'm just observing that dogs outnumber children in my neighborhood at least 5:1, and I live across the street from a playground so it might be even worse.