Things you're supposed to give a shit about, but you don't.

[BrickTraybake]

You know those little things in life that people like to morally police and make you feel guilty about but you just can't muster up the shit to give?

This is a confession thread. I'll start.

I don't give a shit that you supposedly shouldn't feed bread to ducks. I don't care. Don't eat it then. People have been feeding them bread for decades and now we're supposed to bring them organic bloody walnuts or something? Or some other crap they don't want that doesn't float?
They can have my slightly mouldy bread and be grateful.

Over to you.

There's a sign up next to a local pond saying what the ducks should and shouldn't be fed. Bread is a big no no apparently. But every time we go past it, we notice that the sign gets closer and closer to the ground... My kids and I secretly think the ducks are sabotaging the sign because they really want their bread back. We find this hilarious.

The ducks clearly prefer the bread to the other options. I guess the bread isn't great for the ducks. Both concepts are essentially true and coexist. Meh.

Totally agree! I’ve been to a nail salon once in my entire life out of curiosity and it fucked my natural nails up so never again. They’re clean and filed and that’s all that matters. I also don’t remotely care whether men (or women) find me attractive. I’m happy with how I look and that’s all that matters!

it actually is not only right but to be encouraged.

No.

www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0111/1188874-feeding-ducks-wild-birds-bread-seeds-nuts-fruit-veg/

I don't care about sanctimonious pearl clutching on an anonymous forum.

@Ohgoodlord typos could be another one that I am not bothered about/wouldn't have the energy to correct someone on. Not really worth it.

oh dear, the po faced are out in force tonight @BrickTraybake

I could respond in breathless dismay at you and others on here starving swans to death, but life doesn’t have to be quite this intense all the time.

Nor does it have to include such snide replies either.

There's obviously a balance. But bread, in the quantities often dispensed, is broadly not advisable for ducks.

Nothing breathless. Or intense. Just factual.

SATS
Animal charities when people are starving
Food waste bins
Misgendering
The election

People have been feeding bread to ducks for DECADES. Probably over 100 years or more. I bet Victotians did it. The ducks are fine.

Seriously?

You could apply that argument to many things but it fails because a) knowledge / science evolves b) Microsystems & climates change, necessitating new approaches c) the volume & nature of the bread given out is considerably different.

Typos and bad grammar on social media/MN.

No one is writing an academic essay here, and as long as you have got your point across... then who gives a shit? Not me.

Posters who pull people up on it are just going for the low hanging fruit, and actually have fuck all to add to a discussion.

@RaverQuavers

What are you talking about? 'Toilet warriors'?

You clearly are just trying to cause an argument 🥱

I am a researcher. I started an academic study about this. I had over 150 participants ( 90 female and 60 male). Majority of women thought that nail grooming was an important part of female attractiveness and defined this a regular (once a month or more) nail shaping and polishing. 0 % of men considered this as an important part of grooming. In fact we redesigned the study to see if men noticed this aspect of female grooming at all. We asked 279 men what they identified as attractive in a woman, using photos with manicured/un manicured women. Not one man noticed or cared what women’s nails looked like. None.

Newsflash! Most women don't have their nails done to be more attractive to men.

As you’ve seen, there’s differing views about this even amongst experts so putting one link on here with a decisive ‘No’ doesn’t make it correct.

There are two opposing camps if you like. One is that bread is inherently harmful; the other is that not feeding bread is actually harmful as the ducks and swans starve. Both views are dogmatic (or duckmatic) and as such probably not accurate. As with most things, the actual truth lies somewhere between these opposing stances where it is as simple as just as man cannot live by bread alone neither can ducks. But even in places where ducks are fed extensively by humans that’s unlikely. So in conclusion, bread is fine in moderation.

Nope. Merely saying things I don’t give a shit about.

Like your opinion

I dont give a shit about it

And covid.

Wildlife biologist here.

Bread to ducks and swans is like chocolate to us. Small amount fine, loads not fine. It makes them full so they don't then eat their natural diet if fed in large quantities. Can cause nutritional deficiency and also not good to encourage large flocks of wild birds to come together which facilitates disease spread.

They love it because it is nice and they will eat it over anything else offered if given the option.

So it's OK in small quantities (ideally wholegrain rather than white) but not loads.

Eh, I'd be quite confident that the vast majority of women getting manicures / gel nails are doing so for themselves, as they feel better, perhaps including more attractive.

They aren't bothered by the male gaze or view on nails.

I'm in that category. Having my nails done makes me feel more attractive & good in myself. It's not to impress a man.

Oh FGS, and you haven’t been with your dismayed gasps about the plight of mallards up and down the country 😂

So in conclusion, bread is fine in moderation.

There are some locations where I've seen massive over feeding often by few individuals rather than huge numbers - and the messaging did see that change to bird feed/grain which was probably good but I agree I don't think a few slices of bread in area where lots of ducks and little feeding is a problem.

So much drama on this thread from doom-mongers and 'do-gooders' who just jump on the nearest bandwagon e.g.

@Itsthedress
So you don’t give a shit about potentially killing the ducks at your local pond. Because it’s inconvenient to get them something suitable. But also you want to feed them, so you’d rather make them ill than just not feed them at all?

How is this killing the ducks??! We had ducks in our local park who lived for YEARS on bread that was given by visitors, alongside the food they foraged for themselves. They thrived!
The advice is that TOO MUCH bread MAY be harmful in certain conditions .........

On the other hand, on the question of whether or not we should help preserve pandas ........... @ReggaetonLente thank you - you make perfect sense and I'm in total agreement now that you've opened my eyes to another way of thinking 😂😂

Well yeah, anything that that falls under that umbrella tbh
Unless I am covered in blood, projetile vomiting or unconscious I will be at work, so deal with it!

The nth person doing a charity whatever at work. You're supposed to leap about saying 'yay' and pinging tenners in their direction. No, thanks - not interested in donating to charities other than those I've already chosen privately to support.

I don’t care about women’s sports where the male version is better.

I don’t care about male ballerinas when there are female ballerinas on stage.

YABTotallyU

so putting one link on here with a decisive ‘No’ doesn’t make it correct
Isn't that what you did, from the opposite perspective, with your link? 🤔

So in conclusion, bread is fine in moderation.
The point I made.

However, as it's not possible to control 'moderation', the advice will be to limit feeding bread & encourage a more varied diet with a range of suggested items which are much more nutritionally beneficial.

Someone just ignoring this and saying 'the ducks are fine' is behaving really poorly.

The reasons why it's a bad idea, overall, are clearly set out & evidence-based.