Don

I just enjoy drinking with sketchy people.

My teen years were very dark, my mental state got considerably worse after I had begun puberty. I don't want to go into detail.
So the difference between gender and sex can be confusing, I want to validate that it's hard to fully understand, and it doesn't help that a lot of trans people are uncomfortable talking about this individually because we're so on guard from people using some variation we have as ammunition to invalidate us. I'll start off using myself as an example: I expressed very feminine early on in my exploration, which is very common for trans women. I was trying to be recognized as the gender I identified with despite not having as much time to physically transition yet, and people were more likely to recognize what I was going for when I was hyper-feminine. Trans women (or men) can vary in their gender expression just as much as cis people do, and if you take me for example, I still dress casually feminine a lot of the time, but as I've grown more comfortable with my body, I've started to dress a little more "dykey," and I would dress that way more if it didn't lead to me being misgendered sometimes. When I think about my situation, I identify as a woman, and will want to embody that socially and aesthetically to varying degrees (just like cis people do), it feels more comfortable to me than any other alternative, but if you ask me what's more important to me than anything, it's my body. It's my bone structure, my muscles, my shape, my facial/body hair, my voice, my genitals, my size, it's what I see when I look in the mirror and how I sound.
However, not all trans women feel the same way. For some, gender is more important than body stuff (gender being social behavior like makeup, clothes, hairstyle, getting social gender affirmation, speaking in more passive language, and mannerisms.) And, some people have just body dysphoria, and the gender stuff doesn't really matter to them all that much, but they still identify as a woman. Then there's non-binary people, people who don't identify as one of the binary genders. I'm not sure if genderfluid people typically consider themselves non-binary, but they are people who kind of bounce around in their gender expressions based on how they feel. And someone can be physically transitioning and be non-binary, because it seems gender/sex dysphoria have those two main components to it, the gender one and the sex one (I'm using that word to represent bodily sex characteristics.) And the balance of those components vary from individual to individual. The identity stuff is harder to understand, because it's not always so clear where sex identity ends and gender identity begins. Okay, I'm tired of explaining things, that's all you get for now. As far as your niece goes, all you have to do is give her some space to figure it out, it's a process, and not an easy one. It really sucks being evaluated all the time.
Disclaimer: This is my understanding of things, not all trans people agree with what I've said here, some have different views of things.

You must be a real Ahole.
I'm good with that.

Yeah, I'm into women, cis and trans. I don't think it will change. 
I met her after actually. She's absolutely fine with my transition.

What a scary dude. Reminds me of John Bolton or Steve Bannon, psychopaths who are given platforms and influence.
The problem with the police force isn't just individual cops. It's the entire system.

hey @ten ocho recon scout, I hope with all that's going on that you're safe.

not a chance. nobody's listening to him, plus he keeps yelling his usual tripe about fake news and sleepy joe.
i'll agree that he should be talking calmly to the nation about hearing their grievances and trying to fix the problem, but that would require compassion from him, something he doesn't have.

https://www.theonion.com/protestors-criticized-for-looting-businesses-without-fo-1843735351

https://www.theonion.com/protestors-criticized-for-looting-businesses-without-fo-1843735351

How would you feel if your family and community were harassed and harmed and killed and over-policed and over-incarcerated and treated like they were disposable for generations? I certainly would be upset if my family were harmed by rioters (duh), just like I'd be upset if they were harmed by the police. I don't see how your question is relevant. This reaction is a reaction to something very fucking serious that affects black people on a daily basis, it's an existential threat. Is this an ideal solution? Fuck no, but is it understandable and justifiable based on the gravity of things? Yes. I don't put a lot of stock in the "what if my family were harmed" position because it implies that somehow harm coming to me is unacceptable, but the harm coming to black communities is acceptable. People in power need to see that there will be consequences to this injustice. Why are people so much more upset about some property getting stolen and damaged than they are about black people getting treated like second class citizens? Riots are inevitable when you push people this far. 
If you're fundamentally against political violence though, there isn't a whole lot I can say to convince you, which is fine. It wasn't that long ago when I was saying the same thing.

So systemic oppression exists for black people but it has no explanatory power over these statistics? Racism and systemic oppression doesn't lead to poorer socioeconomic circumstances and discriminatory criminal justice practices? And those things don't lead to broken families? Hey, get this, when more police are sent to an area, guess what, they find more crime there. Shocking right? Also, when people are in poor socioeconomic conditions, guess what they don't get, great legal defenses in court, which might lead to higher rates of conviction, no? And people in poorer socioeconomic circumstances just never turn to crime out of desperation from those circumstances, right? It's all a choice, huh? Jfc, do you watch Les Miserables and see Jean Valjean as the bad guy because he stole food? How simple things must be for you. 
As to your point about other non-white groups doing better than black people, it's a complete false equivalence. Even though other non-white groups experience discrimination and oppression in their own right, that doesn't mean it's on the same level as black Americans. The history and systemic treatment is different, older, and more severe.

One of the things I bring up when trying to explain white privilege is a stop I had in Oklahoma when I was moving from CA back to the Midwest. I was coming into some small town in OK where the speed limit dropped from 60 to 40 real quick. Dude pulled me over for 44 in a 40. I pull over, kill the engine, and throw on the flashers. He saw the CA plates and the absolutely loaded to the brim car, and he asked me some questions about where I was going. I explained I was moving to Omaha, but was gonna stop in Wichita for a few days to see some friends. Dude says he just wants to run my license for warrants real quick. It was a really cold day and he invited me to sit in his cruiser while he ran my license. Not in the back, but in the front passenger seat. Never even asked me the drugs or weapons question. My license came back clean, he let me off with a warning, and I went on my way. I just don’t think a lot of black people in that situation (loaded up car, out of state plates) would have received the same treatment as I did.

One of the things I bring up when trying to explain white privilege is a stop I had in Oklahoma when I was moving from CA back to the Midwest. I was coming into some small town in OK where the speed limit dropped from 60 to 40 real quick. Dude pulled me over for 44 in a 40. I pull over, kill the engine, and throw on the flashers. He saw the CA plates and the absolutely loaded to the brim car, and he asked me some questions about where I was going. I explained I was moving to Omaha, but was gonna stop in Wichita for a few days to see some friends. Dude says he just wants to run my license for warrants real quick. It was a really cold day and he invited me to sit in his cruiser while he ran my license. Not in the back, but in the front passenger seat. Never even asked me the drugs or weapons question. My license came back clean, he let me off with a warning, and I went on my way. I just don’t think a lot of black people in that situation (loaded up car, out of state plates) would have received the same treatment as I did.

Talk to any black person, and they'll tell you a story or two about being harassed in some way by cops. It's not a made-up narrative. I believe the vast majority of cops are good people, and the vast majority of them aren't overtly racist. But there are certainly unconscious biases that play a role in how certain cops interact with certain people.

Simmons is so good defensively that he’s been our best SS.  

I’ve been listening to the Way Down in the Hole podcast from The Ringer lately. Good episode by episode deep dives into The Wire, which I still contend is the single best show ever made.

And if he had stolen something? Does that deputize two private citizens to chase him down and shoot him? If you see a guy steal a case of beer from 7-11 while you’re in the parking lot is it ok to kill that person?
BTW, I’m referring to the hypothetical “you”. I know your post wasn’t in support of that dude’s murder.
I just hate the constant narrative after these things come out of “well, I heard he wasn’t a good dude, so NBD.” Just freaking imagine how different the story would be if the race roles were reversed. White dude goes jogging in black neighborhood. Decides to look into ongoing construction project (something I’ve done a million freaking times). Local black guys just hanging out nearby decide to get their guns and chase him down to ask a few questions. White dude tries to run away. Local black dudes corner him and get out of the car to “talk” with guns at the ready. Scared white dude tries to defend himself and gets shot in the process and dies. No freaking way the local black dudes involved are sleeping in their own beds that night.

It’s good mainly because it goes episode by episode. That makes it easy to follow. I’ve started re-watching with the podcast. I think the main draw for me is listening to it as a mid-30s white dude listening to similarly aged black people that grew up knowing a lot of people like the characters in the show (not my inference, they talk about real-life similarities all the time). Completely changes my perspective from the early-20s white dude that knew like a handful of black people when I originally watched it.

I’ll take it. Was like 20 at the time. Calling me smart at that age is very generous.

I don't think season 5 is the strongest season of The Wire (but it's still a great season)... it does suffer from some of the same issues that GoT ran into. I'm specifically referring to the lower number of episodes compared to previous seasons.
GoT had a lot more pressure to finish things up, but what has become apparent is that Dan and Dave simply didn't want to do the show anymore and had too much ego to pass it on to other people. The problem was finishing a show off with 6 episodes when they needed at least 3 more seasons that they weren't willing to stick around for. I know Martin wanted 6 more seasons, which is probably why he stopped working on the show.

I’ve been listening to the Way Down in the Hole podcast from The Ringer lately. Good episode by episode deep dives into The Wire, which I still contend is the single best show ever made.

Yes

One of my go to meals is Tilapia and fresh spinach sprinkled with olive oil and Tapatio. Just wrap the whole thing up in foil, throw it in the oven for 12 minutes at 400 and you’re good. 

Now she starts an equine internship. She applied to one here, heard nothing from them for a month, then just as it appeared that she was going somewhere in Georgia, they contacted her and told her that she is in. She begins work June 1, so not a lot of time to rest.
Not only did she finish, she was on the dean's list every semester that she was there, and she was inducted into two veterinary honor societies (that I had to look up). She said that only the top 8-10 students in the class were chosen. The gold cord and tassel that she would have worn for commencement were sent to the house.
 

Congrats to your daughter. Vet school is no joke. Be proud man.