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<h2>“Love Me, Love Me Not”: The Dating App That’s Ending ‘Hey’ Culture Forever </h2>By Candace Goodman | The Good Blog<h3>“She loves me… she loves me not.”</h3>We’ve all whispered those words once—plucking petals in a moment of childhood innocence, asking the universe to give us a sign. Now imagine if that same whimsical ritual could be reimagined in the digital age, powered by artificial intelligence, soul-level algorithms, and a shared hunger for meaningful connection.Enter Love Me, Love Me Not—the newest, boldest, and most emotionally intelligent dating app to bloom from The Goods Virtual World. Forget swiping. Forget the lazy “hey.” Forget ghosting, breadcrumbing, and awkward small talk that goes nowhere. This is not your typical dating app. This is a revolution in romance.<figure id="figure-qibul2i42bmaryn45i"><img id="qibul2i42bmaryn45i" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1307536024/photo/online-dating-using-mobile-devices.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=4CZikfJ_f5v2IpvUrDqDxBKUejujbUw6HTqSyrEYLkk=" alt="online dating using mobile devices" title="online dating using mobile devices" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 40%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="40%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1307536024/photo/online-dating-using-mobile-devices.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=4CZikfJ_f5v2IpvUrDqDxBKUejujbUw6HTqSyrEYLkk=" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 40%;"></figure><h3>🌸 A Flower. Five Petals. One Shot at Real Connection.</h3>Here’s how it works: each user gets five chances to impress someone they’re interested in. Think of it as five virtual flower petals—the digital embodiment of that timeless love game.Each message you send must count. No generic intros, no dead-end banter. This is courtship reborn, with the pressure of performance meets the thrill of potential. Fail to pique the other user’s interest after five attempts, and—like the game—the final petal falls. The app solemnly notifies you: “She loves you not.”Brutal? Maybe. But real? Oh yes.<figure id="figure-2qstjafk6marynt84"><img id="2qstjafk6marynt84" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/5KdIArehtNNfbYdjPhk3yCC3QtAA1NSNz1kRzAn7bKgcVnNiKNQaNL7kM3EgkbjC.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 5%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="5%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/5KdIArehtNNfbYdjPhk3yCC3QtAA1NSNz1kRzAn7bKgcVnNiKNQaNL7kM3EgkbjC.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 5%;"></figure><h3>🌹 But Wait—There’s a Twist.</h3>The other user—the object of your affection—now holds the power to either shut the flower forever... or give you another bloom. They can offer you five new chances—but this time, you’d better bring your A-game. Romantic, clever, thoughtful, witty, vulnerable—whatever it is, it needs to rise above the noise.Because Love Me, Love Me Not isn’t just about dating. It’s about earning attention, not expecting it.<figure id="figure-jclat4rtkkmaryufnv"><img id="jclat4rtkkmaryufnv" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1387323329/photo/woman-holding-smartphone-playing-mobile-game-celebration-success-at-home-excited-african.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=dr3aYHlMGbjlTc12-1B_0HfsBHz-1nlAUYwrd8u9Quk=" alt="Woman holding smartphone playing mobile game celebration success at home. Excited African American hipster using mobile phone shopping online with big sales sitting on sofa" title="Woman holding smartphone playing mobile game celebration success at home. Excited African American hipster using mobile phone shopping online with big sales sitting on sofa" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1387323329/photo/woman-holding-smartphone-playing-mobile-game-celebration-success-at-home-excited-african.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=dr3aYHlMGbjlTc12-1B_0HfsBHz-1nlAUYwrd8u9Quk=" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><h3>🌺 Match Made? The Game Evolves.</h3>If both users match, the dance doesn’t end—it deepens.In the matched phase, both users now receive a shared flower. And if the conversation slips—if one starts getting lazy, uninspired, or disrespectful—the other can pluck a petal in protest. When all petals fall, the match dissolves.This isn't punishment—it's accountability. It's not just about chemistry; it’s about consistency.<figure id="figure-fiqahmqzimaryphp2"><img id="fiqahmqzimaryphp2" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1460446957/photo/online-dating-app-on-smartphone.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=7jgbCazaxWk7MHmqP4cZb-a5IR13v2-iz4OFFgoekmg=" alt="Online dating app on smartphone" title="Online dating app on smartphone" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1460446957/photo/online-dating-app-on-smartphone.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=7jgbCazaxWk7MHmqP4cZb-a5IR13v2-iz4OFFgoekmg=" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><h3>💡 AI That Gets You</h3>Under the hood, Love Me, Love Me Not is powered by the same groundbreaking intelligence fueling the rest of The Goods Virtual World. It studies your tone, your vocabulary, your emotional intelligence—and matches you with users who actually match you. Not just physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Existentially.This is higher-dating consciousness. Think of it as love—with standards.<figure id="figure-72v1mkxn0umaryq2o9"><img id="72v1mkxn0umaryq2o9" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/2191122847/photo/hands-of-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-assistant-holding-heart-icon-on-pink-background.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=eRwCWRUe4J7LgvFc9_ebjbE8XKpLDPz489pcJ_6rEXY=" alt="Hands of Artificial Intelligence chatbot assistant holding Heart icon on pink background." title="Hands of Artificial Intelligence chatbot assistant holding Heart icon on pink background." class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/2191122847/photo/hands-of-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-assistant-holding-heart-icon-on-pink-background.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=eRwCWRUe4J7LgvFc9_ebjbE8XKpLDPz489pcJ_6rEXY=" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><h3>❤️ Not Just a Swipe. A Wake-Up Call.</h3>Love Me, Love Me Not doesn’t want to be your addiction. It wants to be your awakening.We’ve grown numb to the infinite-scroll. We've forgotten what it's like to earn someone’s interest, to listen, to wonder, to really try. This app brings back effort—the kind that leads to something real. It is romance refined by rejection, sculpted by patience, and forged by curiosity.Tinder gave us convenience. Hinge gave us prompts. Bumble gave us rules. Love Me, Love Me Not gives us depth.<figure id="figure-tr1xlcwcmhmaryqx4x"><img id="tr1xlcwcmhmaryqx4x" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/524579109/photo/happy-couple-on-a-date.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=eF1WS0PyGs5Iytn3fF2oPNHQqm0oJmBiyVf4iBKhL4Q=" alt="Happy Couple on a Date" title="Happy Couple on a Date" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 25%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="25%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/524579109/photo/happy-couple-on-a-date.jpg?b=1&amp;s=2048x2048&amp;w=0&amp;k=20&amp;c=eF1WS0PyGs5Iytn3fF2oPNHQqm0oJmBiyVf4iBKhL4Q=" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 25%;"></figure><h3>🧠 From Education to Emotion—No Category Off Limits</h3>The Goods Virtual World is building a new reality—one that doesn’t just prepare us for work or play, but for *life itself.* That includes love. That includes heartbreak. That includes choosing our words carefully because *someone else’s time and attention is sacred.*Dating is not a game—until now, when it finally became one *worth playing.<h3>🔥 Final Thought From Me, Candace:</h3>They told us love in the digital age had to be shallow. They told us romance was dead. They told us conversation was optional.They were wrong.With Love Me, Love Me Not, we’re not just dating. We’re elevating.So go ahead—pluck that first petal. Let the game begin.<figure id="figure-re8pe2nuaomaryjfgs"><img id="re8pe2nuaomaryjfgs" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/33PGpg3cP1K0Agpcp6dq9MXweU2CEYQUSbgWmOzvbBl84o4lp1uvozQNWVw1FmSD.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 35% 45%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionX="35%" data-positionY="45%" data-fullWidth="false"/></figure>

Love Me, Love Me Not

<h2>“The 13th Lie: The Slavery You Were Never Meant to See” </h2>By Candace Goodman | The Good BlogIf you're reading this in a hoodie made in America, if you've eaten fast food recently, if you drove your car today—this story involves you.It involves all of us.Because somewhere in this country, right now, someone is scrubbing blood from a prison kitchen floor for 13 cents an hour. Someone is sewing military uniforms they’ll never be allowed to wear. Someone is harvesting vegetables they’ll never taste. And they are doing it not just behind bars—but behind a wall of silence that the U.S. has built around one unthinkable truth:Slavery in America never ended.It was just repackaged.<figure id="figure-24p29ly99omarwk4xe"><img id="24p29ly99omarwk4xe" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/14ShlQfu3JuSgvt0Cmm8CthwOZvVQ5dBoZe3ndWk7KcgYjEQ8gkZ18xBYwmiMot5.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/14ShlQfu3JuSgvt0Cmm8CthwOZvVQ5dBoZe3ndWk7KcgYjEQ8gkZ18xBYwmiMot5.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><h3>The Clause That Never Died</h3>The 13th Amendment—celebrated as the crown jewel of American freedom—contains a fatal exception:&nbsp;“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, except as a punishment for crime.”That six-word loophole gave birth to a second, quieter system of slavery—this time legal, hidden, and self-perpetuating.What followed wasn't a glitch in the American story. It was the story.<h3>A System Designed to Re-Enslave</h3>In the years after the Civil War, newly freed Black men were arrested en masse for “crimes” like walking without proof of employment or gathering in groups after dark. States passed Black Codes, legalized racial profiling, and built new jails overnight.Then came the “convict leasing” system, where prisoners—most of them Black—were auctioned to private companies to build railroads, harvest cotton, and dig coal. One in four never made it out alive.By 1880, 90% of Alabama’s entire prison population was Black. By 1908, the death rate of leased convicts in Mississippi was ten times higher than that of enslaved plantation workers before emancipation.This wasn’t justice. It was state-sponsored human trafficking—and it built the modern South.<figure id="figure-03mt1wb76gmarwlw6g"><img id="03mt1wb76gmarwlw6g" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/26s6mn3DXVu432kQL3KWT6II5Z3CSvtVCHzQH7U47sSZRvUHTkGXRumJFRYPyiKJ.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 40%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="40%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/26s6mn3DXVu432kQL3KWT6II5Z3CSvtVCHzQH7U47sSZRvUHTkGXRumJFRYPyiKJ.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 40%;"></figure><h3>A New Name for the Same Machine</h3>In 2024, you won’t find plantation fields filled with chained men.But you will find over 800,000 incarcerated workers, many doing labor for private corporations, state governments, and federal agencies—without any of the protections guaranteed to other workers. No unions. No OSHA. No minimum wage.More than 75% of incarcerated workers say they are forced to work. In at least five states, including T<strong style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal); border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image-source: none;" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal); border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image-source: none;">exas, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississip<span data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal); border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image-source: none;" style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal); border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image-source: none;">pi<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal);" data-mce-style="font-family: inherit; font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal);">, they are paid nothing at all.In California, prisoners who risked their lives to fight wildfires—standing in the same infernos as professionals—were paid $1 per hour. When released, most were barred from becoming firefighters due to their criminal records.That is not rehabilitation. That is economic parasitism.<figure id="figure-026romsbemarwmrmt"><img id="026romsbemarwmrmt" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/13ZkCXM0w6OirVwfY0DeatSltoavQUOAwDtP4pRCXj79iWAOHmdCOcu4xCUXOkvW.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/13ZkCXM0w6OirVwfY0DeatSltoavQUOAwDtP4pRCXj79iWAOHmdCOcu4xCUXOkvW.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><h3>The Corporations That Profit—and Remain Silent</h3>Over 4,100 American corporations&nbsp;have profited from prison labor. You won’t find it on their balance sheets, but it’s there.<ul><li>Starbucks once used subcontractors that employed prisoners to package coffee beans.</li><li>Victoria’s Secret used prison labor to sew its lingerie.</li><li>McDonald’s</li><li>Walmart</li><li>AT&amp;T</li><li>Whole Foods</li><li>Boeing</li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal);" data-mce-style="font-family: inherit; font-size: calc(18px * var(--body-fontSize, 1)); font-style: var(--body-fontStyle, normal);">&nbsp;All have all been linked to prison-made products or services. State DMVs rely on inmates to produce license plates for pennies.In many cases, these companies receive tax breaks for hiring incarcerated individuals—thanks to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. They are rewarded for what human rights organizations have called “legalized slavery.”And the profits flow both ways. The state of Alabama alone collected over $250 million in garnished wages from prison workers between 2000 and 2020. Those workers still couldn’t afford a $4 pack of socks from the commissary.<figure id="figure-or7vxk86zsmarwoggs"><img id="or7vxk86zsmarwoggs" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/24mHVPYBMUsrnnGy5tBzuLsYTQWGTyxAQyFG67AV30Ou85XDgQ9ynA5CPUCv33qt.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 60%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="60%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/24mHVPYBMUsrnnGy5tBzuLsYTQWGTyxAQyFG67AV30Ou85XDgQ9ynA5CPUCv33qt.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 60%;"></figure><h3>Psychological Carnage: A Nation Addicted to Punishment</h3>Psychologist Dr. Craig Haney&nbsp;has spent decades interviewing inmates and studying the effects of prison labor. His conclusion is chilling:&nbsp;“Prison labor, when stripped of choice and fair compensation, ceases to be rehabilitative. It becomes psychological abuse—trauma wrapped in economic justification.”Dr. Joy DeGruy coined the term Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome&nbsp;to describe the inherited trauma passed through generations of African Americans—rooted in centuries of bondage, carried forward through systems like the prison-industrial complex.Today, 1 in 3 Black boys&nbsp;born in the U.S. is expected to go to prison if current trends continue.And 1 in 9 Black children&nbsp;has had a parent incarcerated.We are breeding trauma faster than we are building schools.<h3>The Crack That Fueled the Fire</h3>The explosion of mass incarceration didn’t happen in a vacuum.In 1996, journalist Gary Webb exposed how the CIA allowed cocaine to pour into Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles, funneled by Nicaraguan rebels whom the U.S. supported. Webb’s work showed that the government helped fund a foreign war by letting drugs devastate Black communities—and then criminalized the aftermath.The U.S. government denied the claims. But a 1998 CIA Inspector General report admitted the agency knew its allies were trafficking drugs—and did nothing.Former DEA agent Michael Levine was blunt:&nbsp;“Without the CIA, there would be no crack epidemic.”The timing was perfect—for prison profiteers.The 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act created sentencing laws that punished crack cocaine 100 times more harshly than powdered cocaine. The result? Black men were locked up at rates never seen in American history.And just as prisons overflowed, private prison companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group emerged. Their profits soared. Politicians passed laws guaranteeing 90% occupancy in some states.This was not a coincidence. It was a coordinated economic harvest—with Black bodies as the crop.<figure id="figure-e8s9wj2lznmarwp80e"><img id="e8s9wj2lznmarwp80e" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/17ngy714qTn4RF5jfJtcnAvKNnwCUVGPTsyx6ACPECpKqNW0Za5DjIIVIM3S9khX.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/17ngy714qTn4RF5jfJtcnAvKNnwCUVGPTsyx6ACPECpKqNW0Za5DjIIVIM3S9khX.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure><h3>Stories Behind the Bars</h3>Bobby Rose, formerly incarcerated in New York, worked for eight years in a state-run garment factory making uniforms for corrections officers.He was paid 16 cents an hour.&nbsp;“I was sewing the clothes of the men who controlled me. They wouldn’t give me toothpaste. But they gave me a needle and told me to work faster.”Another man, Clarence Williams, spent 12 years in a Louisiana prison. He was part of a chain gang that cleared brush for the state highway department.&nbsp;“I worked every day for five years. Never got paid once. They said I owed the state money for my own incarceration.”He was released with $12.35 in his pocket.<h3>&nbsp;A Nation of Denial</h3>Every time you hear the phrase “do the crime, do the time,” understand what it obscures.It obscures the fact that more than 60% of U.S. inmates are nonviolent offenders. That many are there because they couldn’t afford bail. That thousands are serving time because of outdated three-strikes laws or mandatory minimums that even their original judges opposed.It obscures the children left behind. The families forced into poverty. The communities destabilized.And it obscures the central truth:We didn’t abolish slavery. We outsourced it—to our own prisons.<h3>There Is No Moral Middle</h3>You cannot look at this system and call it broken. It is not broken. It was built this way.And if we call ourselves a democracy, then we must reconcile the fact that it rests on the unpaid labor of people we have dehumanized.As Senator Jeff Merkley said in 2022:&nbsp;“Slavery is never acceptable. Not in a private business. Not in a state-run prison. Not anywhere.”But it’s still here.In concrete walls and legal clauses. In balance sheets and budget forecasts. In factories, fields, and firelines.It is the longest-running open secret in American history.And now that you know, the only question left is: Will you pretend you don’t?<figure id="figure-4xgxgoc846marwsl8l"><img id="4xgxgoc846marwsl8l" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/33hMqrcelYcu3lhpSnnXnqICtCLoE75BbXlb5BBOH62fiFXeYVJitetrzvFy2jMI.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 50% 15%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionX="50%" data-positionY="15%" data-fullWidth="false"/></figure>

The 13th Lie

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