Unpopular opinions you hold

[DanaC]

Well that sounds exactly like a form of Afirmative Action to me

It's a rather twisted version of it. Whether or not someone's parent has a degree is no indicator of socio-economic status (the thing they are supposedly trying to balance out). We have a generation of working class graduates who were able to get a degree because of grants, aid and encouragement.....many of them have not then gone on to join the economic middle class. We still have a problem in the UK with children from low socio economic backgrounds having low expectations and not taking advantage of educational opportunities. The answer to that is to make it more accessible. Instead we have removed many of the forms of assistance that were in place, replaced them with loans and freed the universities up to charge pretty much what they like; consequently, right now a new student can expect to take on approximately £7000 per year in debt. Over the next couple of years that is likely to rise to about £14000 per year. That is likely to put a lot of workingclass kids off attending university and will also put a lot of mature students off as well.

Having made university gradually more difficult to access financially over the last fifteen years, the government's bright idea is to encourage universities not to take as many kids whose parents have a degree and to take on more first generation graduates.....in which case, what the fuck was the point of helping, encouraging and assisting a generation of working class teenagers to attend university twenty years ago....? Many of them were first generation graduates.

Exactly.

Jinx, a lot of people has issues with dependent origination and accountability... we live in a society of "it's not really my fault" and it is a sickness we need to get rid of ASAP because it will be the root of our downfall. It is killing our education system and that will rot our whole nation(s).
We must always own our actions and decisions. Sure, some things are harder for some than others... that has NOTHING to do with accountability, how hard something is means squat.

[Bullitt]

That the relationship is over and married by 24, 5 kids by 30 is not a good idea.
(unpopular with my now ex girlfriend)

[cowhead]

hell yeah rkzenrage, hit that on the head. sometimes it's really really unpleasant... but one must own up to ones actions.

[DanaC]

When you are driving carefully down a road and a drunk driver crashes into your car. Yes you chose to drive....no you didn't have control over the `crash.

When your baby is born severely disabled and requiring a lifetime of medical attention and assistance.

When you suffer from an inherited condition which has an affect on how you can live your life.

If you get attacked by some random individual on the tube.

How you react to and your attitude toward those instances are far more powerful and lasting in your life than the actual occurrences themselves.

[DanaC]

I think there's some truth to that.

[Phil]

the working classes' role is to support and uphold the wealthy.

[Pie]

You are responsible for your actions, not their outcomes.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Pie

You are responsible for your actions, not their outcomes.

And that, my friends, is what is wrong with America today.

[DanaC]

Don't see why. Clearly you have absolute responsibility and control over your actions: unless you have a crystal ball you are unlikely to be able to predict all the myriad outcomes from every single action. The Sliding Doors moments, so to speak.

[Pie]

Originally Posted by Pie

You are responsible for your actions, not their outcomes.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

And that, my friends, is what is wrong with America today.

Take it another way -- you are only responsible for doing your absolute best in all circumstances. What happens as a result of that is not yours, either for blame or praise. You own your actions and nothing else.

How is this a problem for America?

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by Pie

Take it another way -- you are only responsible for doing your absolute best in all circumstances. What happens as a result of that is not yours, either for blame or praise. You own your actions and nothing else.

How is this a problem for America?

This implies that one cannot possibly predict or anticipate the consequences of their actions.

For example, cane toads were imported into Australia "from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia's northern sugar cane plantations. The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia's delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them." http://www.livescience.com/animalwor...iant_toad.html

Were the importers of the toads not responsible for the negative results of introducing a foreign species? (Same with the rabbits.)

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Pie

Take it another way -- you are only responsible for doing your absolute best in all circumstances. What happens as a result of that is not yours, either for blame or praise. You own your actions and nothing else.

How is this a problem for America?

So you get in a car and drive drunk. You are responsible for that action. An hour later as you drive you kill a mother of three and her children in a head on collision. You say you are not responsible. How?

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

So you get in a car and drive drunk. You are responsible for that action. An hour later as you drive you kill a mother of three and her children in a head on collision. You say you are not responsible. How?

Action - driving while drunk
Result - Head on collision and death of innocent people
Conclusion - The driver is fully responsible because he made a decision that was illegal and immoral knowing that his ability was impaired

Action - Driving your kids to the swimming pool
Result - Hit by a drunk driver and killed along with your children
Conclusion - the mother took an action she believed was healthy and responsible. Her children would be alive if she hadn't signed them up for swimming lessons but she is not responsible for their deaths, despite the fact that her action led to it.