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'How To Talk To Scared, Condescending, Misinformed, Old White Dudes' With Your Host, Hillary Clinton

At the Senate hearings looking into the Benghazi attack, Secretary of State Clinton was given the unique opportunity to be yelled at by some vitriolic old white dudes with a loose grasp on the facts, and a firm goal of making her look bad, regardless of what really happened. They did it in a very special way, a way we like to call "mansplaining." So our friend Zerlina Maxwell, over at Feministing, wrote up a delightful explainer on how to handle mansplainers, reprinted here with her permission.

Ladies and gentlemen, “How to deal with a mansplainer" starring Hillary Clinton.

Step 1: Raise your hands up like, “Whoa, you guys you can’t be serious.”

Step 2: Make sure to emphasize your points by counting with your hands so that simple Tea Party senator mansplainer understands.  Mansplainers like visuals.

Step 3: No, seriously. Fuck this guy.

Step 4: Raise your hands up like, “What’s your point?” and clown the mansplainer for not having an actual relevant point.

Step 5: When Sen. John McCain calls you combative and proceeds to rant endlessly, nod with a sly smile.

Step 6: Take the time McCain spends ranting to reorganize the pages in your binder.

Step 7: Rearrange all of the random crap on your desk.  You can never be too organized when getting grilled by angry white dudes.

Step 8: When the rant continues on and on look at the mansplainer with a *blank stare* and put your hand on your chin like, “Are you still talking?”

Step 9: Go home and do this:


Pop Culture

William Shatner describes the profound grief he felt when he finally went to space for real

The OG Captain Kirk's real-life space experience holds important lessons for us all.

"William Shatner" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

William Shatner's trip to space wasn't what he expected.

Statistically speaking, the number of humans who have traveled into space is insignificant. But the experience of leaving our home planet and venturing into the great beyond is incredibly significant for the individuals who have actually done it.

One of those fortunate humans is actor William Shatner, who spent three years pretending to hurtle through space in his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original "Star Trek" series. As captain of the USS Enterprise, Captain Kirk was dedicated to exploring "strange new worlds," seeking out "new life and new civilizations" and boldly going "where no man has gone before."

Naturally, Shatner has spent a lot of time pondering what it would be like to actually experience leaving Earth, and when he took the opportunity to join Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin trip to space in October 2021 at age 90, he was able to compare how his expectations met up with reality.

Shatner shared an excerpt from his new book with Variety, and it reveals that his initial reaction to being in space was surprisingly dark.

"I love the mystery of the universe," Shatner wrote. "I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses. Stars exploding years ago, their light traveling to us years later; black holes absorbing energy; satellites showing us entire galaxies in areas thought to be devoid of matter entirely… all of that has thrilled me for years…"

However, as he looked out the window of the spacecraft—a real one, not a screen on a film set—and looked in the direction opposite Earth, "there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold," he wrote. "All I saw was death. I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing."

As he turned back toward "the light of home," he saw the opposite. "I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her."

Then he had a stunning revelation: "Everything I had thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong."

Again, this is a man who has spent much of his life thinking about space—not as an astronaut or astronomer or astrophysicist, but as a human being stuck on the Earth's surface, struck with wonder about what's out there. He explained what he had been wrong about:

"I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things—that being up there would be the next beautiful step to understanding the harmony of the universe. In the film 'Contact,' when Jodie Foster’s character goes to space and looks out into the heavens, she lets out an astonished whisper, 'They should’ve sent a poet.' I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound.

"It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral."

Shatner explained how this "sense of the planet’s fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner" for many astronauts when they view Earth from orbit. It's part of the "overview effect"—the profound shift in perspective that comes with seeing our collective home from a distance. With no visible borders between nations or peoples, it becomes clear that our divisions are all manmade, which can change the way we view humanity as a whole.

The experience left Shatner with renewed conviction to focus on what we share in common.

"It reinforced tenfold my own view on the power of our beautiful, mysterious collective human entanglement," he wrote, "and eventually, it returned a feeling of hope to my heart. In this insignificance we share, we have one gift that other species perhaps do not: we are aware—not only of our insignificance, but the grandeur around us that makes us insignificant. That allows us perhaps a chance to rededicate ourselves to our planet, to each other, to life and love all around us. If we seize that chance."

Just beautiful. Since most of us will never leave Earth, we can take inspiration from those who have, acknowledge our essential oneness and do everything in our power to protect our beautiful, life-giving home.

Shatner shares more of his reflections on life on this planet and beyond in his most recent book, "Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder."


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Heroes

Woman who gets all her food from supermarket dumpsters only spends $100 a year on groceries

"I've only been sick one time because I ate a bad apple."

via Vanessa Hernandez/Flickr

An abundance of food taken from a dumpster.

In the United States, we have two big problems that should help solve each other, but unfortunately, the problems persist. According to the USDA, it's estimated that between 30 to 40% of the food supply in the U.S. is wasted. So, wholesome food that could help feed families instead winds up in landfills. At the same time, about 18 million households, or 13.5% of the population, are food insecure.

Five years ago, Sofie Juel-Andersen, 30, of Denmark, who was living in Sydney, Australia, was told by her sister that she could save a lot of money and prevent food from being wasted by diving into dumpsters at her local supermarket. Initially, Juel-Andersen was skeptical about her sister’s idea. “My sister sent me a photo of some hidden treasures she’d found dumpster diving. I knew about it, but I’d never seen it as an option to put food on the table,” she told SWNS.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

After Juel-Andersen made a few successful hauls and saw the amount of money she was saving, she was hooked. “What I found was insane. It was filled with food—some of it had expired, but a lot hadn’t,” she said. “It was like a treasure hunt for me. I quickly realized that there was so much good food in the dumpsters I didn’t need to go shopping anymore.”

After moving back to Denmark in 2022, she continued dumpster diving and has been so successful that she hardly ever has to shop at the grocery store. She estimates she only spent $100 in supermarkets in 2024, primarily on toiletries such as toilet paper and toothpaste. This allowed the restaurant manager to have a lot more money for traveling.

Her success as a dumpster diver has made her popular on TikTok, where she can share an important message about food waste.


Why do grocery stores throw out good food?

Why are grocery stores throwing away so much good food? “I believe grocery stores throw out food because of the following reasons; the first is there's a small mark on the product or it's in a bag where one item is rotten,” she told Newsweek. “The second is they have a new shipment of a product, so they throw away the old ones which are closer to their sell-by or best-before dates. Thirdly, grocery stores may get rid of one product in a large container where another has been damaged.”

So how does Juel-Andersen avoid getting sick eating food she finds in dumpsters, a lot of it close to or past its expiration dates? "My main source of food is food from the dumpsters, and I've only been sick one time because I ate a bad apple,” she shared on TikTok. “Which was completely my own fault." She added that she avoids eating food that is "moldy, looks bad, or smells bad. I am very cautious of what I take."

Even though dumpster diving should never be the solution to the problems of food waste and insecurity, Juel-Andersen’s brave and creative approach to the problem has inspired an important discussion about sustainability and resourcefulness. Let’s hope that in the future, we can bridge the gap between surplus and need so no food is wasted, and no one goes hungry.

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Parenting

Retired elementary school teacher shares biggest parenting mistake she saw during long career

Few people understand kids better than elementary school teachers.

Photo by April Walker on Unsplash
Retired elementary school teacher shares biggest parenting mistake she saw during long career

Few people understand kids better than elementary school teachers. Not only do they spend all day with kids, but teachers get to know their students' parents pretty well, too. From parent-teacher conferences to field trips and snack days, it's a collaborative relationship meant to foster their child's development. (And let's be real: what parent hasn't gotten a call from their child's teacher to discuss their *questionable* behavior in the classroom?)

Teachers are full of wisdom about kids, which is why TikToker @elenanico22 interviewed her mom Lisa, a retired elementary school teacher, in an advice video. She asked her mom to share her insights on the question: "What's one thing you saw people messing up with their kids?"

And her response was simple: "They didn't enjoy them." Elena asks her mom to elaborate, and she goes on to share, "Kids are fun. You’ve got to enjoy them. They wanted them to be something that — most of us aren’t exactly what other people want us to be — so enjoy the kid you have."

@elenanico22

Lisa says it like it is #momlife #momsoftiktok #momwisdom #momtok #momhumor #parenting #parentingwisdom

Of course, Lisa fully accepted her own daughter, and turns to Elena in the video and says, "I enjoyed you."

And the comments were flooded with positive replies from parents to her response. "Kids aren’t a chore, they’re a joy. 🥰," one wrote. Another added, "Parents are stressed, and they don’t realize how quickly childhood goes by."

ParentsKids Love GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy

The post also resonated with other teachers and professionals who work with kids. "This is so true. I work in childcare and lots of parents literally cannot stand their kids. They get so angry when we close. They can’t wait to drop them off and pickup last minute. Breaks my heart," one commented. Another wrote, "Toddler teacher. Same. So heartbreaking. I saw it a lot when I worked with highly educated parents with high incomes." And another teacher chimed in with, "So true. As a elementary teacher sometimes playing Barbie Dreamhouse with my 4 y/o is the last thing I want to do but I always do because I know I'll be wishing for it one day ♥️." And another professional shared, "As a pediatrician, I agree."

The video concluded with another piece of strong advice from Lisa, who also dropped this nugget: "Never send your kid to school with carrots." The reason? She explained a story involving a prominent doctor at her school who was "super strict" with what his kids could and could not eat at school.

Carrotshamster GIFGiphy

"So of course what did the kids want? Everything they couldn't," she said. "You are bound to have kids who are going to have food issues."

And plenty of parents offered their thoughts on this. "Omg I love her! Please post more. As a mom I’m enjoying time with my kids, loving their personalities and so anti food restriction teaching them intuitive eating. Because I wasn’t taught those things," one commented. Another shared, "The food statement is so true. My son shared that a boy from his class (who has food restrictions) steals the other kids snacks at school! 🙈❤️😂"

Joy

Video shows mom describing soccer match in beautiful detail to her blind son

She won FIFA’s Best Fan Award in 2019

Photo credit: FIFA

Silvia Grecco describes and narrates a soccer match to her blind son

Upon first notice, Silvia Grecco was just another mother in the stands watching the Palmeiras Sporting Society (SE Palmeiras) and Corinthians Paulista Sports Club (SC Corinthians P) soccer match with her son in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2019. But then the cameras during the game noticed her talking nonstop and cheering directly in her son’s ear as he was looking forward. That’s when FIFA found out that Silvia’s son was blind and she was narrating the entire match to him. This got immense attention from the media, FIFA, and the internet at large.

Silvia’s son Nikollas was born five months premature, weighing in at only half a kilogram upon birth. This brought several challenges to his life, including his retinas never being fully formed, leaving him blind. At age five, he was diagnosed with mild autism.

Silvia Grecco and her son Nikollas celebrating a soccer goal.Siliva and her son celebrating a goal.Photo credit: FIFA

Silvia has been a fan of soccer, specifically the SE Palmeiras Brazilian football club, since childhood. Naturally, like many parents, her fandom passed on to her son. While Nikollas “really lives in his world” at home according to Silvia, when he goes to the games he’s “infected with joy.” While Nikollas was given a radio and headset to listen to the game while at the stadium, he took it off, wanting to fully experience the live atmosphere. That’s when his mom stepped up to make sure he got the experience he was looking for.

Silvia did more than just provide play-by-play commentary like the radio did. She would cheer for goals, boo bad referee calls, chant with the fans, describe the hairstyles of the players, the colors of their socks, describe the other fans next to Nikollas, describe the mood of the crowd, and more. She made sure what could be seen was described and heard. With that, Nikollas became just as big of a fan as she was.

This caused Silvia to go viral throughout all social media platforms, including Reddit. Commenters sounded off:

“This is absolutely beautiful.”

“It's people like that, that gives me hope.”

“Amazing mom and connection.”

Some commenters also brought up their experiences with blind sports fans and personalities:

“I had an ex whose great aunt was blind from birth, but was a big fan of baseball. So we sometimes took her to some local games and we would commentate to her the game and it was quite fun. One time, we were talking about getting some snacks, and some guys sitting nearby overheard us and said they would cover the commentary for her while we went and got the snacks. Very kind folks, and we made sure to get them some ice cream, too ❤️.”

“The Rays Spanish-language commentator is blind from birth. His wife helps him in the booth. They’re so sweet.”

“I saw a video where the friend of a blind gentleman was sitting behind him at the game and was using his finger on the guy's back to explain where on the pitch the action was. It was super cool.”

Silvia Grecco and her son Nikolass accepting FIFA's Best Fan Award in 2019Silvia Grecco and her Nikolass accepting FIFA's Best Fan Award in 2019Photo credit: FIFA

Silvia’s love for both her son and SC Palmeiras shone through. In 2019, her fandom was recognized as she received the 2019 FIFA Fan Award. Experiencing and loving a sport is human, but being able to share that love fully to invigorate someone else is something truly special.

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Joy

Man gets stranger's baby to sleep on him during a flight in beautiful moment caught on video

People traveling with babies may not realize how much older parents actually want to help.

@allieseabock/Instagram

A kind stranger can make all the difference, especially when traveling with little ones.

Few things are more stressful for a parent of young children and babies than traveling on a plane with them, especially if you're alone. Keeping toddlers busy and happy for hours while stuck in an airplane seat is no easy task, nor is keeping a baby quiet and content when their ears are feeling the cabin pressure changes and they're out of their normal routine.

Throw in being pregnant on top of traveling with a baby and toddler alone and you have mom Allie Seabock's recent challenge. However, thanks to the kindness of strangers, what could have been a nightmare flight turned into a perfect example of good people being everywhere.

In a video captioned, "travel alone with kids and you will find who the truly amazing people are," Seabock showed her baby face down on a man's chest in a seat across the aisle. As he gently pats the baby's back, the wee one starts to close its eyes, drifting off into peaceful sleep.

"When you're a pregnant, tired mom traveling alone with a baby and toddler and a kind couple offers to take your fussy baby for the rest of the flight and manage to get him to sleep," the video reads.

There's so much to love about this video.

First of all, the couple noticed the mom having some struggles and offered to help. Many strangers might think about offering in a situation like this but don't because they worry about appearing creepy or overstepping bounds. But it never hurts to simply offer a helping hand. Even if someone doesn't accept, they will probably appreciate the thoughtfulness.

Secondly, Seabock did take them up on their offer. Some parents might feel hesitant in this situation, either concerned about safety or about being a burden. Everyone is strapped into seats on an airplane and the couple is in plain sight, so the safety concern is pretty low. It's not like someone can run off with the child at 30,000 feet. And as for being a burden, a lot of young parents might not realize this, but many older parents—perhaps most—eagerly want to hold babies. They're not just being polite; you're actually doing them a kindness in letting them take the baby for a bit so they can reminisce about holding their own children who are too grown to cradle anymore. It's truly a win-win, so if you feel like safety is taken care of and someone offers to hold your baby, take them up on the offer.

Third, what a great example to all of the people who witnessed this exchange, both on that flight and now on the internet. We all need reminders that humans can be kind and helpful, and simple interactions like this make a big difference in how we view the world. So often we see viral videos of bad behavior on airplanes, but in reality there are wonderful acts of kindness and compassion happening every day that we don't get to see.

People in the comments shared their own experiences with strangers holding babies and the relief it offers:

"I once held a stranger’s fussy toddler the entire train ride to Paris from London. It takes a village. ❤️"

"Love this video. People are amazing. When I moved overseas with a 3.5 months old who had colics and we were traveling for 24 hours (and before I get a mean comment, military orders, they would not let us stay in between flights in a hotel) I had the sweetest flight attendant help me when I was stressed out. Will never forget her encouraging words and her just sitting with me talking to me and holding my baby when I was very overwhelmed and tired."

"I was travelling cross country by plane with my 2 year old on a red eye flight. A young woman from India was sitting next to us. She offered to let my son put his feet in her lap so he could stretch out. Heaven sent."

"I was traveling alone with my baby once and the passenger next to me was so so sweet and made my baby laugh and be happy and I’ll never forget the kindness and relief it gave me. ❤️"

"We have a corporate plane for our work (not a private jet but like a 50 seater plane for business travel) and one coworker just had triplets! The whole plane was fighting over who got to help with baby duty. 😂"

And many people reiterated the fact that people really do want to help. Like please, by all means, let us hold your baby for you.

"My babies aren’t babies anymore. I’ll play airplane auntie to your baby any time! I miss baby snuggles."

"Oh I would cherish holding a baby - my girls are 11 and 7!"

"Y'know, just ONCE I wish that parents on the plane would hand over their babies to me. I have credentials and I'm a grandma-in-training!"

"This absolutely warms my heart❤️… it would be me offering too. Love babies and giving parents a needed break."

It can be hard to put your trust in a stranger, but there are few places safer to do that than on an airplane and few places where the need is greater. And if more of us offered and accepted such help, flights with babies might just be more pleasant and peaceful for all of us.

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