Sep 2nd bits & bobs

[Guest KoR Fungus]

<<<Y'know, there's stupidity, and then there's...

 

I mean Jesus fucking CHRIST.

 

What the high holy hell is wrong with you? Even Congressmen aren't this clueless. Did your mom snort Thalidomide compulsively because she'd made a bet with her friends concerning who could give birth to the most staggeringly godforsaken example of crass irredeemable STUPIDITY in the history of the world?>>>

 

While Eric's posts are sometimes a little too wishy-washy for my tastes, that was definitely uncalled for. It would have been easy enough for you to rip his post to shreds without writing an entire essay about he's the stupidest person in the history of the world. What could that possibly add to any discussion? Flames are fun to read and all, but this board is much more interesting when it's just people discussing issues rationally.

[Guest danielisthor]

Marney - if you ever decide to run for any office, i will gladly move to that district and vote for you.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

that was definitely uncalled for

Cry me a river. I was sort of semi-paralysed by shocked astonishment and I said what I thought.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Marney - if you ever decide to run for any office, i will gladly move to that district and vote for you.

The campaign picks up steam. You wanna intern for me, baby?

 

[Guest KoR Fungus]

Shrug, I can just see Eric's side of it. It's easy for me to see how he'd be upset getting flamed so hard for such a nothing post. It looks to me like he just got the tenses all messed up, so it looked like present tense when it was supposed to be past tense. I don't think he ever meant to say that he wants Bush to support the Kyoto treaty now.

 

But whatever. Carry on, it's entertaining. Just don't take each other seriously.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Fair enough. And just for the record, I've never taken Eric seriously.

[Guest KoR Fungus]

Back on topic, reading through the posts and seeing all the African leaders bitching about everything, I have to wonder, why does anyone care what Africa thinks? What have they ever done for anyone? It seems like African countries just fight and slaughter each other and then call for outside help to save them from themselves. They get into trouble with disease and starvation (both due in a large part to their ignorance and inflexibility), and then come begging Europe or the US to help them. So why do they think that they should have any voice whatsoever in world affairs? I don't want to sound like an isolationist or a racist or anything, but if they don't contribute anything, they shouldn't get a voice. Europe contributes to the world economy and many European counties have been our allies for decades, so we should value their opinion, but Africa hasn't done anything for anyone ever, so why do we give a damn what any of their leaders think?

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Because they like to imagine that only white people practiced slavery, and they prey like jackals on our overactive consciences in order to extort aid. Once upon a time, that sort of thing was called "charity," and no one had a right to demand it.

[Guest KoR Fungus]

Heh if they're so dissatisfied with our aid, I think they'd probably be better off without it.

 

I'd be much more interested in giving aid to African countries if it looked like anything ever came of it. Where is the progress that is supposed to be coming with all this aid? It feels like we're just burning money, since nothing ever changes and they always seem to need more aid. How pointless.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Yeah, I know. They misuse it or they never use it at all, and it just goes into the bank account of the current "President." If we're going to do anything for them at all (and I don't know that we should) we should offer services in kind only. No money. Not one cent. They aren't grown up enough to do anything worthwhile with it.

[Guest EricMM]

Sigh. Someone else calling me a "troll." Y'know, that's when all rational discussion ceases. Could you at least try to be original?

Be they Terrorists, trolls, or crybabies, if the shoe fits, then it's not really unoriginal.

 

QUOTE  

1) America is no "better" than most of the countries in the world.

Yes, actually, she is. See previous posts for examples of pure and effective altruism.

See I think here we're kind of saying two different things. I do agree that America is the greatest state. That's true. I don't agree that Americans are better people than the people of the rest of the world, to such an extent that we can go to war with them if they disagree with us. The world is filled with wonderful people, even outside the US, and so I don't think we can just say "damn the lot of them" on every issue, and then carpet bomb dissenters.

 

QUOTE  

2) Bush is no more or less deserving of your respect than I am.

This is just funny. Of course he is, you pathetic pimple-faced little geek. He's the President of the United States and he's several times your age. He's done more with his life than you ever will.

Besides, I don't answer to you, and I do answer to the President. He gets more respect on that score alone.

My (clear) complexion (sp?) has no bearing on this conversation at all . I guess I meant to say that Bush is not a better person than me. I think good people deserve all the respect in the world, not powerful people. I think Bush became president because of his lineage. He was picked by the GOP to be president, so they made him president. In that respect, I think that if you get the GOP on your side, it's not that hard to be president or governer. Politics is all money in the end. So his presidency doesn't mean that much to me especially since I didn't want him in office.

 

QUOTE  

3) The Muslim world is not made of terrorists.

Not entirely, no, because no group numbering over 1 billion could possibly be so homogenous. But certain kinds of terrorism are exclusive to Moslems, and a large portion of the "Ummah" funds or otherwise supports the more active extremists.

What I meant to address is your persisting theory that muslims are bad people. I disagree that it's Islam, I maintain that it's the situations people are in that create terrorists. An impoverished people will (wrongly) blame a rich people. The Oppressed will target the oppressors, and if people feel sympathetic to the oppressed, they'll say so even if the oppressed are damn terrorists. I know that terrorism in all forms is completely condemnable, and I condemn the people who condone it, but I don't believe that 50% or more of the muslim world likes terrorism.

 

QUOTE  

4) Just because someone thinks any of these things doesn't mean they're stupid, unrealistic, or deserving of scorn.

People who cling to comforting falsehoods even when they're confronted with the harsh truth are indeed deserving of scorn. Not all such people are stupid, no, but you most certainly are.

Optimists are what keep the world from being a depressed swamp. If everyone was so down on the human race, we would have died long ago. Just because I believe the world is nicer than yours I deserve scorn? I could say the same about you and your depressing view.

 

QUOTE  

5) You act like the biggest idiot in the Current Events folder.

Nah, I think you have me beat there.

No way lady, I'm not an idiot at all. What I really mean though is that you need to drink some milk or something because your temper is too damn short. I don't mean you're an idiot, I mean that you probably (I didn't count) drop the most insults here. That's bad.

[Guest EricMM]

Of course Africa is a totally messed up place. We either need to cut of the money or ... Nah, I think we need to cut off the money period. Providing food is one thing. We should also be teaching them how to farm properly. The more soil they destroy through improper farming methods, the worse their situation is.

 

They also need to get some real fucking leaders. Any elected president is better than one who came to power through force, and will be ousted the same way in a month. They just take the World Bank's money, and run, leaving the state with the bill.

 

I don't think any of us know how to fix the problems there. I think they need to find their own way, and I don't think they are. I also think that we could save our money and invest it in ecology or something...

[Guest Cancer Marney]

I'd respond, but I'm really, really smashed right now. I'll try again in the morning.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

if the shoe fits

Now that's unoriginal. I'm kind of disappointed that you couldn't come up with anything better. "If the shoe fits?" Chrissakes, I'm worth more than a goddamn cliche. Why don't you use that brain you keep saying you have?

Jesus wept. "If the shoe fits?!"

 

See I think here we're kind of saying two different things.  I do agree that America is the greatest state.  That's true.  I don't agree that Americans are better people than the people of the rest of the world

The country IS the people. We aren't ruled by a government. We MAKE government. That is the difference between the United States and the rest of the world. That is what the rest of the world consistently fails to understand.

 

I guess I meant to say that Bush is not a better person than me.

Yes he is. He's done more for more people. End of story.

 

I disagree that it's Islam, I maintain that it's the situations people are in that create terrorists.  An impoverished people will (wrongly) blame a rich people.

Wrong. Dead wrong. Explain why we never saw any black slaves bombing white hospitals from 1776 to 1863. Or during the time the Civil Rights movement was getting rid of segregation. Explain the surprising lack of American Indian terrorists - surely they have the motivation and the resources. And they're right fucking here! No visas to deal with. No immigration checks. No airport security to fluster them with the STAGGERINGLY BRILLIANT, tested and proven terrorist-foiling question, "Did you pack your bags yourself?" (I'm still amazed that the 9/11 hijackers managed to evade this cunning trap, one of the most glorious achievements of law enforcement research in our nation's history. The guys who checked them in must've forgotten to ask. There's no other explanation.) No metal detectors. NOTHING. Just a quick drive upstate, and BOOM! Why don't they do that? What's the difference? Could it be that they're just not as goddamn evil?

Some actions are wrong no matter what motivates them, Eric. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the instant you kill innocent men, women, and children, the instant you try to use a fucking ambulance as a car bomb, or attack a medical centre, or leave secondary explosives on a suicide bomber explicitly in order to kill aid and rescue workers, I stop caring about your cause. I stop caring if you're oppressed. I stop caring about what made you what you are.

What you are is evil, and you don't talk to evil, you destroy it.

 

Optimists are what keep the world from being a depressed swamp.

No, optimists are the ones who fuck the world up by expecting more from human nature than human nature can give. Idealists with clear eyes and a thorough understanding of the facts on the ground are the ones who effectively try to make the world worth living in. They, along with the cynics, the pessimists, and the realists keep morons like you from blowing us all to hell.

 

No way lady, I'm not an idiot at all.

That is debatable, but this really isn't the place for it, and I have a hangover so I really don't care. Let's just say you're naive and simplistic and leave it at that.

 

you probably... drop the most insults here. That's bad.

Says the guy defending "troll" as mere truth-telling. Such unintentional irony.

 

Feh.