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12-21-2012, 03:59 PM | #1 |
To shreds, you say?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet!
Posts: 18,449
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Especially in this weather.
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The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs |
12-21-2012, 10:24 PM | #2 |
erika
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: "the high up north"
Posts: 6,127
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you don't even have to agree with my assessment that it's the nexus of white supremacy, patriarchy, heteronormativity, and the basic belief that straight cis white men deserve to rule the world and always get their way is the root cause of how fucked up America is. I'm 100% certain that Flint, as a right-libertarian (i think that's a broadly fair assessment of your politics, as i understand them, taking into account the fact that I'm a left-libertarian/socialist), thinks that white men (and their systemic exploitation and abuse of everyone else) are the core problem with this country.
That doesn't change the fact that we have a violence problem in this country that kills more people every day than a whole year of soldier deaths in our two wars, in domestic violence situations, in robberies, in murders over sex and drugs and money, in accidental shootings, in escalated fights, in gang warfare in and out of prison. if you don't believe America has a violence problem, you're fucking stupid. a violence problem is inherently cultural in nature because we're talking about our culture, in which it occurs. there is room for a very healthy debate on why we have a violence problem - why our country is death-fetishizing (i bet every one of you can talk about the final minutes of at least one victim of this shooting; i bet almost everyone can name the shooter; i bet almost everyone has had the number of victims drilled into their head... that's death-fetishizing, guys), sensationalist (again...), and destructive (thousands of violent deaths sounds destructive to me) - but to argue that it isn't even a problem is disgusting.
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not really back, you didn't see me, i was never here shhhhhh |
12-21-2012, 11:42 PM | #3 | |
Snowflake
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Dystopia
Posts: 13,136
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Quote:
Please, "god" or whatever, tell me I'm not the only one drawing a larger lesson from this. This isn't a "quick fix" --we can't shuffle a few resources around to make this go away. Our culture is sick, and dying. Our humanity, in a thousand small ways or a handful of big ones--take your pick--is on the ropes. This is it. We've got to decide what's important. Why are we here? What's the meaning of it all? These are no longer questions which it is okay to simply say "we may never know" --we've got to DECIDE that there ARE some meaningful answers. It may not be a big black book, or a kind old white-bearded man in the clouds, but it's got to be SOMETHING. If you don't even know why you're alive, aren't you part of the commoditization of human beings? Do we intrinsically have value, or not? If so, what is it? To have a good credit score? To go to church on Sunday?
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****************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio Last edited by Flint; 12-21-2012 at 11:48 PM. |
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12-22-2012, 12:56 AM | #4 |
I love it when a plan comes together.
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 9,793
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Oh all right. I can tell you that you're not alone and answer a few questions. Your raison d'être is to learn that there is no raison d'être. Life is as life does. While you're alive you make things. After you're gone, I get to keep your stuff. Somehow stuff is always more enjoyable when somebody else makes it. Your intrinsic value really depends on how much I enjoy your stuff and that won't be determined until after you've gone bye-bye; so, don't worry about it. The violence is there both for people who won't be making any good stuff and for people who have already made good stuff so that I can have it sooner. Oh yeah, only support churches that have good stuff. I don't have time for anymore questions as I'm busy evaluating stuff I've already acquired. All earthly opinions about the meaning of life are a red herring. Bonne chance.
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12-22-2012, 07:18 AM | #5 | |
still says videotape
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 26,813
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Quote:
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If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis |
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12-22-2012, 12:37 AM | #6 |
erika
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: "the high up north"
Posts: 6,127
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again: clearly flint and i disagree almost diametrically on what the problems are
because i would absolutely argue that a religious or pseudo-religious-spiritual answer to our worldly issues, a "higher purpose", is absolutely part of the problem, not the solution that "higher answers" is hurtful to the intrinsic worth of human life that "intrinsic" valuations are a problem on a societal scale etc and yet, two people such opposed can agree that the problem is totally that our society IS sick to its core, IS dying, that our humanity IS on the ropes that implies to me that there has to be at least common-enough ground for legislative-cultural activism to have a broad appeal, or at least a compromise legislative-political-cultural path exists. we CAN fix this bipartisanly, or at least through a broad political compromise. or, at least, potentially fix.
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not really back, you didn't see me, i was never here shhhhhh |
12-22-2012, 12:43 AM | #7 |
St Petersburg, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,423
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Anyone seen my thousand round self propelled AR-15 magazine lying around?
Da-gum. Lemme know if ya do. Thanks. |
12-22-2012, 07:13 AM | #8 |
To shreds, you say?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet!
Posts: 18,449
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Dude, you left it on the school bus this morning with your bookbag.
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The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs |
12-22-2012, 12:52 AM | #9 |
Doctor Wtf
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Badelaide, Baustralia
Posts: 12,861
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SLANG!!! What you up to lately?
Wow, lots of rare visitors dropping by these days.
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Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl. |
12-22-2012, 06:51 PM | #10 | |
St Petersburg, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,423
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Quote:
I am currently in Florida and will soon be going to SE Asia for another great business adventure which many of the details will be revealed in the next month. Don't forget to leave some ammo and cookies out for Santa!! Guns don't kill people, SANTA does!!
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FTFF |
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12-22-2012, 03:57 AM | #11 |
Doctor Wtf
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Badelaide, Baustralia
Posts: 12,861
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By stuff, include culture. Tolkien made hobbits, and they'll continue in our culture for ages, even though he's long dead.
Culture. Its the stuff you can share and still have. ETA. Well, that and herpes.
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Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl. |
12-23-2012, 06:57 AM | #12 |
Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya?
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 21,206
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Blame the media?
I don't hear claims that coverage of other horrors, such as the jerry sandusky coverage, causes more 'people' to commit such horrors. Just a thought.
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A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby |
12-23-2012, 09:26 AM | #13 |
Person who doesn't update the user title
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods
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The NRA has finally solved the fiscal and unemployment crisis for the US.
By putting a armed guard in every school, that would be about 100,000 new jobs, and since a single guard per school just won't due it could easily up that number to 150,000. But that's not the end of this very imaginative job creation program. Just as we need armed federal marshals on planes, we need a armed "good guy" on every school bus. Now the multiplier would be different for each school, but let's assume 10 buses/school. That is at least 1,000,000 part time jobs... without having to pay medical benefits ! But then, the insane shooters are not only active during weekdays. There are the churches where children gather on weekends. Those 1M part-timers can even have 1 more day's work each week on Sundays, and in some communities even on a few on Saturdays, and for the Baptists, there are the Wednesday night Prayer Meetings. And don't forget all the summer-time church socials, VBS's, summer camps, etc. This means year-round employment, not like the vacations school teacher get. But maybe individual armed guards are not the complete answer, so private companies (the job creators) would be have to be formed. Also, we certainly can not create all these jobs without some sort of official organization and oversight. Relying on local resources would create a hodge-podge of programs, and certainly leave gaps in coverage. The NRA has volunteered it's resources, and Wayne LaPierre sounds as though he would not refuse the job of Under Secretary for Domestic Defense in the Dept of Homeland Security. For such an important division, it would take a least 100,000 new federal and state and city employees. Although that would increase the size of these governments, it is such a brilliant idea and of such importance, and the federal government has "so much money", there could not possibly be an significant political objection. Once this program is fully implemented (next week) we could expect to discover gaps in coverage, such as charter schools, private schools, public and private libraries, etc., and the program can be expanded to a fully, effective force. (by Easter). Unfortunately, such a large force of armed guards would eventually be seen by many as an Obama conspiracy. But don't worry, the NRA can establish and provide a separate and independent, armed and trained force to protect America from an Obama-guard take-over. They even can have a program to train boys and girls for future needs... and call them the "NRA Youth Guards" ETA: I failed to include movie theaters... sorry Colorado, how soon we forget. Last edited by Lamplighter; 12-23-2012 at 09:32 AM. |
12-23-2012, 11:10 AM | #14 |
I love it when a plan comes together.
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 9,793
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12-23-2012, 12:59 PM | #15 |
Person who doesn't update the user title
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Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods
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