Põhjala Ja Manala Lummuses.

Of course we're modern educated people who don't believe in fairies

My first Discworld book was the Wee Free Men. I loved it, and read it over and over again. But since that was the only one my local library had, for the longest time I thought it was a standalone. Imagine my delight when, years later, I discovered the rest of this fantastic series.

However.

You walked on a website that's like 80% USAmericans, based in the US, and are complaining that USAmericans are discussing US norms without caveats.

There's 195 nations the UN recognizes; 205 on the Wiki list; Indigenous "tribes" in the US actually should be considered a nation each, so we're probably more like 300 just from the US; obviously indigenous people in other recognized nations add several hundred...

the ACTUAL percentage of american users on this site isn't even 50%.

these stats are from two different statistic sites. the first one is from 2024, and the second is from 2026.

I've had people say to me "why wouldn't I assume everyone I talk to on tumblr is american? like 90% of tumblr users are" when in reality you're going to be wrong OVER HALF OF THE TIME if you assume someone here is from the USA.

It's a necessary emotion. There are reasons we have it. It makes everything so. much. worse. when you use it wrong.

Shame and guilt are DE-motivators. They are meant to stop behavior, not promote it. You cannot, ever, in any meaningful way, guilt someone into doing good. You can only shame them into not doing bad.

Let's say you're a parent and your kid is having issues.

Swearing in class? Shame could work. You want them to stop it. Keep it in proportion*, and it might help. *(KEEP IT IN PROPORTION!!!)

Not doing their homework? NO! STOP! NO NOT DO THAT! EVER! EVER! EVER! You want them to start to do their homework. Shaming them will have to opposite effect! You have demotivated them! They will double down on NOT doing it. Not because they are being oppositional, but because that's what shame does!

You can't guilt people into building better habits, being more successful, or getting more involved. That requires encouragement. You need to motivate for that stuff!

If you want it in a simple phrase: