Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread • Page 52 • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread
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FormCritic
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:27 am

benjoshua wrote:The thing I fear is a Rodney King-type riot following the verdict if Zimmerman is acquitted

The whole media-trial case is just not working out right for the people who want to use it as a platform. Every new piece of information tends to favor the "white hispanic" shooter.

After he has been called a nutcase, a police wannabe, a racist, a serial killer (my personal favorite) and a lot meaner things...slowly the truth is coming into focus.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

Last edited by FormCritic on Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

FormCritic
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:44 am

mbassoc2003 wrote:And gun ownership leads to a safe and respectful society?

It leads to places like Bennington, King's Mountain, Freeman's Farm, Bemis Heights, Vincennes, Cowpens and a very obscure spot called Great Bridge, Virginia.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

clangador
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:15 am

mbassoc2003 wrote:And gun ownership leads to a safe and respectful society?
It seems as though gun ownership results in a lot of dead people.
Still, in most cases it does seem as though those eliminated are at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum, and that can only be a good thing.
Why not set a minimum level of intelligence to gun ownership?
Letting any muppet or monkey access to firearms doesn't seem like a good idea?

And just why do you think Muppets shouldn't own guns? Really, what could go wrong? Don't be silly.

~Clangador
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sauromatian
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:22 am

Badmike wrote:The magical appearance of the designation"white hispanic" makes itself known in this story also, in another shooting across the country . One can only wonder when we will see stories about "brown hispanics", "black hispanics", "yellow hispanics", and the hard to spot "off white brownish-black hispanics". Who will be the first news service to refer to Obama as a "white African American"? The mind boggles.

Not for the first time. Some forms have "latin surname," meaning GZ would be simply white or Other. "Anglo" would seem to fit all races, but has ethnic connotations. Thousands of years in, we still haven't figured out exactly what a Jew is supposed to be. Racial classifications often make no sense.

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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:35 am

clangador wrote:
And just why do you think Muppets shouldn't own guns? Really, what could go wrong? Don't be silly.

However, apparently there seem to be consequences for muppets with unregistered handguns.

Heh I have always loved Bert is Evil, thanks clangador.

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sauromatian
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:07 am

mbassoc2003 wrote:And gun ownership leads to a safe and respectful society?

Maybe, maybe not, but we do know that the UK approach to civil rights leads to this:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57405 ... picks=true

Badmike
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:35 am

FormCritic wrote:
Badmike wrote:The magical appearance of the designation"white hispanic" makes itself known in this story also, in another shooting across the country . One can only wonder when we will see stories about "brown hispanics", "black hispanics", "yellow hispanics", and the hard to spot "off white brownish-black hispanics". Who will be the first news service to refer to Obama as a "white African American"? The mind boggles.

Agreed! I was thinking exactly the same thing, Mike.

The term "white hispanic" is an admission that the perfect racial spin for this story did not pan out when the shooter didn't turn out to be white. I'm sure a lot of people were bitterly disappointed.

I was thinking: white/black? Grey? European African? Any of these variations would piss a lot of people off. Where is the rage at a "white hispanic?"

I don't know of a single hispanic that refers to themselves like that, it's entirely a media invention to desperately try to keep the "white vs black" analogy going to provoke racial tension. But apparently if you have one white parent and one hispanic parent (like Zimmerman) you are now a "white hispanic". Which makes me scratch my head, as Obama had a white mother and black father and I never see him referred to as a "white African American". The funniest was one of my best friends growing up had a Korean mother and a Irish father. His skin tone was so brown he was taken for Mexican on many occasions, which drove him crazy. The media would have had a conniption trying to stereotype his ethnicity. Another one is a good friend who has a Korean mother and an African American father. Her own daughter's father is causcasian. She refuses to fill in ethnicity rankings in surveys because she resents having to choose between the many designations, and she has told her daughter to do the same.

Maybe it's done by skin color? There are a lot of Mexicans/hispanics with lighter skin (my youngest stepdaughter for one). In contrast my oldest stepdaghter is dark brown....they had the exact same mother and father but have completely different skin tones. So is one of them a "white hispanic" and the other a "brown hispanic"? When hispanics inter-marry you can get anything from white, light brown, dark brown, to almost black children...which is why trying to decide to call yourself a "white hispanic", "brown hispanic", "black hispanic", or anything in between is silly. Although now I guess I'll have to sit down with my grandchildren and sort out their skin tones in case someday they are involved in a media spectacle. Thank goodness their last name is a good hispanic name! No "Zimmermans" around here to confuse the issue! :roll:

Mike B.

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Badmike
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:42 am

And, in the same hilarious vein:

PC madness: 11 subjects ridiculously banned from school testing in NYC

Birthdays? Dinosaurs? New York City education officials have an arguably overzealous blacklist of subjects that test-writers should avoid
It is apparently quite common for school districts to request that standardized tests not include certain words that students might find offensive. But New York City's list of some 50 banned test topics is twice as long as national sensitivity lists, and stands out as "a bizarre case of political correctness run wild," says Yoav Gonen in the New York Post. NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott disagrees, telling CBS that the city Department of Education is "not an outlier in being politically correct" â€” it's just dealing with a more diverse student body. But most experts â€” not to mention students, educators, and parents â€” seem to be on the PC-run-amok side. Here, a look at 11 of the blacklisted topics, and why they might have been deemed problematic:
1. Birthdays
Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays

2. Dinosaurs
Some students don't believe in evolution

3. Halloween
Suggests paganism

4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays

5. TV, celebrities, and video games
To "avoid giving offense or disadvantage any test takers by privileging prior knowledge" like pop culture

6. Computers in the home
Not all students have computers at home

7. Homes with swimming pools
Words that suggest wealth could make lower-income students jealous

8. Homelessness, poverty, and loss of employment
Words that suggest hardship "could evoke unpleasant emotions in students"

9. Dancing (except ballet, which is alright)

10. Terrorism
Too scary for some students

11. "Creatures from outer space"
Perhaps the school district read about the Washington, D.C., teacher fired this month for a math test featuring, among other stomach-turners, "bloodthirsty aliens" who "sucked the blood of 828 teachers and left them for dead," then "tied up the rest of the teachers and marched them into 3 UFOs."

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
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Kingofpain89
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:14 am

Badmike wrote:4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays.

I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

I'm not a politically correct person, but I think the students, at least in my country, need to concentrate more on learning math and science and how to frickin' read and less time worrying about if its ok for them to discuss their religion or birthday with a classmate. Have your birthday at home with your family and friends. Go to whatever church, synagogue, or stone circle you worship at on your religion's holy days. And believe whatever the hell you want to. School is for learning. Unfortunately it seems that most kids nowadays arent learning one of the most important things that school used to teach us....how to interact on a social level with people and not act like a complete ass. Social media does that now and of course is working wonders. :roll:

You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way. - Homer Simpson

clangador
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:25 am

I am not religious at all, but I have no problems with religious holidays. I don't get people getting offended by thing so easily.

clangador
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:26 am

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Badmike wrote:4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays.

I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

I'm not a politically correct person, but I think the students, at least in my country, need to concentrate more on learning math and science and how to frickin' read and less time worrying about if its ok for them to discuss their religion or birthday with a classmate. Have your birthday at home with your family and friends. Go to whatever church, synagogue, or stone circle you worship at on your religion's holy days. And believe whatever the hell you want to. School is for learning. Unfortunately it seems that most kids nowadays arent learning one of the most important things that school used to teach us....how to interact on a social level with people and not act like a complete ass. Social media does that now and of course is working wonders. :roll:

I agree 100%. :thumleft:

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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:39 am

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Badmike wrote:4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays.

I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

I'm not a politically correct person, but I think the students, at least in my country, need to concentrate more on learning math and science and how to frickin' read and less time worrying about if its ok for them to discuss their religion or birthday with a classmate. Have your birthday at home with your family and friends. Go to whatever church, synagogue, or stone circle you worship at on your religion's holy days. And believe whatever the hell you want to. School is for learning. Unfortunately it seems that most kids nowadays arent learning one of the most important things that school used to teach us....how to interact on a social level with people and not act like a complete ass. Social media does that now and of course is working wonders. :roll:

Completly agree with these points

Games can get you through times of no money but money can not get you through times of no games!!

Badmike
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:57 am

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Badmike wrote:4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays.

I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

I'm not a politically correct person, but I think the students, at least in my country, need to concentrate more on learning math and science and how to frickin' read and less time worrying about if its ok for them to discuss their religion or birthday with a classmate. Have your birthday at home with your family and friends. Go to whatever church, synagogue, or stone circle you worship at on your religion's holy days. And believe whatever the hell you want to. School is for learning. Unfortunately it seems that most kids nowadays arent learning one of the most important things that school used to teach us....how to interact on a social level with people and not act like a complete ass. Social media does that now and of course is working wonders. :roll:

Don't forget spelling. Have you seen the spelling of the average pre teen to teenager? Because they abbreviate everything when they text, they spell like cavemen. Not only that, but my grandson is in 2nd grade and if the paper isn't for an English/reading class they DON'T GRADE ON THE SPELLING! So they only have to spell correctly on their spelling tests and writing; when they are doing history or science, they let them spell like crackheads. So part of my job everyday is to go through his schoolwork, find all the spelling words he didn't spell right the first time, and make him re-write them so he'll learn that he has to spell words correctly in EVERY facet of life! Anyone else have this problem?

This old man rant is brought to you courtesy of "Being born in the Sixties".

Mike B.

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Sea-to-sky-games
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:23 pm

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Badmike wrote:4. Religious holidays and festivals
Could offend students who don't celebrate one or more of the holidays.

I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

I'm not a politically correct person, but I think the students, at least in my country, need to concentrate more on learning math and science and how to frickin' read and less time worrying about if its ok for them to discuss their religion or birthday with a classmate. Have your birthday at home with your family and friends. Go to whatever church, synagogue, or stone circle you worship at on your religion's holy days. And believe whatever the hell you want to. School is for learning. Unfortunately it seems that most kids nowadays arent learning one of the most important things that school used to teach us....how to interact on a social level with people and not act like a complete ass. Social media does that now and of course is working wonders. :roll:

There is only a problem because there are state schools. That means one-size fits all. If the state was not involved in education we wouldn't have this problem. This is why we have battles over textbooks.

It is no surprise that home schooling has sky rocketed in the US. Why send your kids to a school that will undermine the values one is trying to teach your children?

As to your broader point, history is probably the most important subject to be taught in schools. [And of course religion can be a massive part of that]. Regrettably, our society values intelligence, not wisdom. Yet we wonder why our lives are train wrecks and our nation is headed in the wrong direction?

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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:28 pm

sauromatian wrote:
mbassoc2003 wrote:And gun ownership leads to a safe and respectful society?

Maybe, maybe not, but we do know that the UK approach to civil rights leads to this:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57405 ... picks=true

That's very scary.

benjoshua
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:38 pm

Kingofpain89 wrote:I dont think any holiday, religious or otherwise, should be celebrated at schools. What is the point? Most people dont even know the true history behind most holidays anymore. Some people never did to begin with.

Except I am all in favor of celebrating Festivus as it is for the rest of us! Yee ha! :roll:

I say lets make school a place of education instead of a place for parties, parenting, self-esteem building, and holidays. I mean, let's leave something for the parents and community to do! Seriously, I do think public schools have taken on mission creep and try to more than they really should. There are some good add-on programs at schools, but too much extra can push aside the core elements.

Truth is worth finding and life is too short to work for money.

Last edited by benjoshua on Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Pipswich
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:41 pm

Badmike wrote:Regrettably, our society values intelligence, not wisdom. Yet we wonder why our lives are train wrecks and our nation is headed in the wrong direction?

Society values neither intelligence, nor wisdom. Society is filled primarily with people who simply rut and rant with a wish in one hand and their neighbors **** in the other.

We can probably can not change societies trending toward oblivion, but we can define our families place in it as it declines. If you get a chance read... The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind (and for pure entertainment Rich Dad, Poor Dad).

My summary,

Don't get hooked on alcohol or dope.
Find a partner and stick with them.
Don't move around too much.
Don't spend too much.
Know the difference between spending money and buying assets.
Borrow prudently and only to purchase income generating assets.
Focus on investments that minimize work.
Live long... die wealthy.

Oh, and oddly enough, apparently you are more likely to follow the patterns observed by these researchers if you are (in alphabetical order).... of Jewish, Scottish or Russian dissent.

go figure.

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benjoshua
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:48 pm

Pipswich wrote:Society values neither intelligence, nor wisdom. Society is filled primarily with people who simply rut and rant with a wish in one hand and their neighbors **** in the other.

I get the impression that our society primarily values wealth, prestige and power. Interestingly, if you get one, you can much more easily get the other two. There are other values, but these three strike me as being significantly greater than most other values. These also seem to apply to most other cultures/societies as well from what I can tell. I am no expert in this arena.

Truth is worth finding and life is too short to work for money.

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