It sounds like you dodged a serious bullet there. I don’t know many people who started their marriages with huge debt who are out of debt or living happily at this point. Most of them are divorced. The smart ones kept enough paperwork to prove their spouses came into the marriage with debt, so they should not be held jointly responsible for it.

You are correct.

I wonder how normal, healthy men can “take back” the concept of masculinity and get young people to ignore the toxic teachings coming out of the “manosphere.” I think that Louis Theroux tried with his documentary, but I’m not sure it reached a wide enough audience.

This is pretty close to my experience, including the counting.

I was surprised to learn that not everyone counts things like stairs automatically.

Not nearly as bad as the lady who briefly worked in my office. She had a ton of Harley-Davidson accessories. Literally the first thing she told us was that she and her husband love the brand and riding motorcycles. I asked how many Harleys they had. The answer? Zero, but they hoped to buy one someday.

They made “hoping to own something” their whole personality.

14-year-old me would also be very disappointed that I’m no longer religious. She would be afraid for me because I have gay and trans friends.

Poor little Nicki. She was brainwashed and didn’t know better. Fortunately, she got better after her first semester at university.