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When a reporter made fun of Justin Trudeau for taking the bus, he had a great comeback.

Shortly after being sworn in, new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers picked a novel way to travel to their first cabinet meeting.

Photo by Geoff Robins/Getty Images.


All together. On a bus.

Similar to this one. Photo by Eastmain/Wikimedia Commons.

The sight of powerful government officials crammed together in one large vehicle struck Peter Mansbridge of the CBC as funny:

"It still feels like you should be singing, like, some 'We're going to camp' song," Mansbridge said.

To which Trudeau responded:

(To be fair, Trudeau did acknowledge that he and his cabinet probably won't always take the bus — and would occasionally opt for a car service or a limo as their jobs required it.)

Trudeau is right. Lots of people do take the bus to work.

Not a lot of high-profile reporters and politicians, perhaps, but lots of regular people, many who don't have the option to travel by private car.

At the same time, there's a stigma associated with taking the bus. Wealthy riders often frequently avoid buses — both because they tend to live in lower-density areas and because bus travel is so firmly associated with poverty.

When the rich and powerful do take public transit — like when Jake Gyllenhaal or Jay-Z takes the subway — it's often portrayed as a big deal, as if it's somehow generous or "real" of them to travel the way millions of regular commuters do each day.

As a result, cities often don't seem to care all that much about bus lines or their riders.

Cities really should care more about public transit — and invest more in it.

Photo by AEMoreira042281/Wikimedia Commons.

Unlike cars, which can deliver five to seven people to a destination in a single trip (and, real talk, typically carry just one or maybe two during your average rush hour), buses can carry dozens in the amount of road space occupied by just two or three cars. Not only does that help clear up road congestions and lower total emissions, but there are massive economic benefits to providing cheap transportation to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.

According to a 2013 Rutgers University study, increasing the number of available public transit seats by 10% can increase total wages in a city by over $1.5 billion per year (this includes not just buses but subways, light rail, and other methods).

That's why Trudeau's offhand response is actually kinda great.

Photo by Miles, the MBTA Guy/Wikimedia Commons.

No one should be stigmatized for riding the bus — from the prime minister of Canada to a single mom trying to get to her second job. Poor and middle-class people need safe, reliable means of getting to work just like wealthier people, and they shouldn't be shamed for taking one that's cheap, convenient, and environmentally friendly.

Which is why it's so important for cities to keep those wheels going 'round...

And 'round.

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

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Klein Kwagga understood the assignment at his sister's concert.

Some kids are too shy to ever want to get on a stage, some will spend most of a performance staring awkwardly at their shoes, and some kids love the opportunity to show off what they've practiced in front of an audience.

And then there are the kids were simply born for the spotlight. You know them when you see them.

When Dirkco Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen hopped on stage with all of the other brothers and sisters of the dance students at René’s Art of Dance in South Africa, no one expected a viral sensation. According to Capetown Etc, it was the school's year-end concert, and siblings were invited to come up and dance to Bernice West’s Lyfie—a popular song in Afrikaans. And Dirkco, who goes by Klein Kwagga, took the assignment and ran with it.

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It seems that Adele is going viral once again.

Perhaps you’ve seen the image in question previously (it seems to make the rounds every couple of years). But in case you missed it—it’s Adele’s face. Normal, just upside down.

Only it’s not normal. In fact, when you turn Adele’s face right side up, what you notice is that her eyes and mouth were actually right-side up THE ENTIRE TIME, even though the entire head was upside down. So when you turn the head right side up, the eyes and mouth are now UPSIDE-DOWN—and you can’t unsee it. Do you feel like you're Alice in Wonderland yet?

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People share the most practical ways to support new parents

There's a lot of preparation that goes into having a child well before they're even born. First there are the physical changes your body makes to clear up some space for a tiny human roughly the size of a watermelon. Then there's preparing the nursery, buying lots of extremely small clothes, diapers and an expected understanding that while sleep may be your friend, you won't be getting any of it for about a year.

Lots of people give plenty of advice to help you cope in the early days but after the baby arrives, the focus shifts to solely the baby. It's obviously not a deliberate shift. Babies are just more shiny and new that the parents. But not everyone forgets about the parents once baby makes their grand entrance–some go out of their way to make sure the parents feel supported.

Upworthy asked its audience, "what was the best non-baby related gift you received as a new parent," and the answers were a masterclass on how to care for new parents.

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A mom seeks doctor's help for postpartum depression and instead gets a visit from the cops

Too many women lose out on much needed support because of unwarranted stigma.

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Jessica Porten recently visited her doctor four months after giving birth to her daughter, Kira. She wasn't feeling quite like herself.

She had been dealing with overwhelming sadness and fits of anger, which she knew was likely stemming from a case of postpartum depression.

In a Facebook post, Porten recounts the story of that appointment.

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Identity

Formerly enslaved man's response to his 'master' wanting him back is a literary masterpiece

"I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters."

A photo of Jordan Anderson.

In 1825, at the approximate age of 8, Jordan Anderson (sometimes spelled "Jordon") was sold into slavery and would live as a servant of the Anderson family for 39 years. In 1864, the Union Army camped out on the Anderson plantation and he and his wife, Amanda, were liberated. The couple eventually made it safely to Dayton, Ohio, where, in July 1865, Jordan received a letter from his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson. The letter kindly asked Jordan to return to work on the plantation because it had fallen into disarray during the war.

On Aug. 7, 1865, Jordan dictated his response through his new boss, Valentine Winters, and it was published in the Cincinnati Commercial. The letter, entitled "Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master," was not only hilarious, but it showed compassion, defiance, and dignity. That year, the letter would be republished in theNew York Daily Tribune and Lydia Marie Child's "The Freedman's Book."

The letter mentions a "Miss Mary" (Col. Anderson's Wife), "Martha" (Col. Anderson's daughter), Henry (most likely Col. Anderson's son), and George Carter (a local carpenter).

Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

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