refugee from lemmy.sdf.org

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Joined 4 months ago
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Cake day: January 9th, 2026

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  • The sexual usage is from gay bdsm subculture in the 70s that the large majority of ppl who are aware of it are only aware because of Pulp Fiction.

    I had heard gimp/gimpy used to mean “limping or is otherwise gait-impaired” often enough that I assumed the Pulp Fiction character was called the Gimp because of his posture and gait. I was completely unaware of any scene/subculture meaning until reading threads like these.

    Full disclosure about my own experience: I am a disabled person who has no strong emotional reaction to the term. I do limp, some days worse than others.







  • I’m not certain this is a “leopards ate my face” scenario, as I doubt many had illusions about their survival rate in the first place. Getting out alive would be a nice outcome if it happens:

    …signing bonuses of up to $50,000 — life-changing money in a country where average monthly wages remain below $1,000. The incentives go beyond cash, with pledges of debt relief and free childcare for soldiers’ families and guaranteed university places for their children. Criminal records, illness and even HIV are no longer automatic disqualifiers. For many men with little to lose, the front has become an employer of last resort. – source

    [emphasis added]

    Personal note: my enlistment bonus + GI bill benefits from the 80s would be ~$88k in 2026 money. I wasn’t as desperate as the Russian recruits are but I was, as noted philosopher K. Rock once remarked, “straight out the trailuh”. We weren’t worried about normal shooting war stuff (we were surrounded by and protected by infantry) although there were other scenarios where we’d stop existing rather suddenly. A common remark in the unit was “It doesn’t matter; we’d be vaporized anyhow”. I mention this to illustrate that people can choose paths that others might think of as leopardy. The difference is the leopard folks had illusions to begin with.