quote:

Originally posted by igottaknow what would have happened to her if she was dating a jewish guy?

She'd get showered in lavish presents without putting out, have do deal with lots of his insecurity issues, and have to convince his mother that she's not just some shiksa. Oh, and probably sit through at least one Barbara Streisand and/or Adam Sandler movie.

___________________

quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

quote:

Originally posted by Sunsnail hmmm

LOL dont start....its weird but u know what im referring to...

___________________
_______________________________

My Soundcloud

quote:

Originally posted by idoru You mean that some of the cultures in the Middle East that oppress women also value personal freedom?

You don't think that these insurgent groups view themselves as fighting for a right of self-determination? Western governments have talked about human freedom, liberty and equality for centuries - that is, freedom, liberty and equality provided you're a citizen of their country, or if you're white and male. If not, then we get to torture you.

quote:

True. That's because each governing country governs in methods geared more towards their own culture rather than methods of cultures on the other side of the world that differ vastly from themselves.

Well, yes, but that's not what I was talking about as much. Obviously a government of one society will be responsive to the demands of its own people. The question is more whether these governments are acting on a political push for a certain ethnicity or if they are governing for what they perceive to be the "culture" of their country. Say, for example, if the culture of "India" is Hindu, what about the millions of Sikhs and Muslims that live there? What does being Indian mean then? Like I said before, cultures aren't insular. Agreeing upon individual rights and agreeing to treat individuals with dignity do not deprive societies of their right to exist and function autonomously.

quote:

I'm kind of split on where I stand on this particular piece. Part of me agrees, but the other part, I dunno. We can't just go over and force our own beliefs on other cultures, that's just not right.

I'm not saying we should force beliefs on anyone, because armed intervention is what causes a lot of these problems and political conflicts to manifest themselves. But it's not like components of a particular culture are moral-neutral if it deprives someone of basic dignity, like slavery whose basis is race or religion. Dismissing it like it's a component of their culture just simply ignores the political dimensions that made violence or degradation tolerable.

___________________
If you choose to pull the trigger - should your drama prove sincere - do it somewhere far away from here.

quote:

Originally posted by DjWhooCares ANY man abusing on a female should be taken down...no matter what the circumstance....

Would it be different if a female abused on a man? Just wondering...

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On There is NO justification for dropping an atomic bomb on a village of civilians. Absolutely none.

+1, and that's what I meant to say in my post. It's quite clear how such ethnocentric bias alters people's perception... yet, that's things work.

___________________
Indiana Clones Upcoming Sets
[ I May Upload Something Someday ]

Extremely busy this evening and don't have much time to post a big thought out response- but do want to clarify a few things.
First and foremost, I didn't post a link to the video, as I am fairly certain I was accused of in an earlier post. I actually highly discouraged the viewing of it. I haven't seen the entire video- only a few seconds of it before I had to turn it off.
Two- I didn't create this topic in order to support my position relating to the current situation in Iraq- but since someone brought it up- I will say that I am in complete support of the current US involvement in Iraq. I think it was completely justified and necessary. And I think pulling all troops out now would be a major crime.

For the individual that said Iraq needed a leader like Hussein- that's just ... completely stupid. Hussein didn't "keep his people in line". He killed and tortured them. And for your argument about just going all out with everything we have to finish the war, despite the innocent people that are killed... I think that's ridiculous. You used the bombing of Japan as an example. This war is unlike any other. When we bombed Japan, Japan surrendered. The same can't be done with the situation in the Middle East. We're not fighting Iraq- we're fighting Muslim extremists and terrorists in hiding who are waiting for the next opportunity to kill innocent people who aren't in complete agreement with their beliefs/way of life.

Back to the point- regardless of culture, incidents like the one involving this 17 year old girl are so fucking taboo the people responsible need to be punished severely. And as far as I'm concerned, everyone that just stood there video taping the whole thing on their cell phone do, too.

Out of time, will post more later

quote:

Originally posted by inconspicuous The sarcasm failed. It was intended to mock the ridiculousness of the statement. Correct--it's not ok. ...bah.

it's not okay according to our social values and principles, im not cool with it butI have to agree in that many cultures have their own way of dealing with issues. Westerners are known for being more tolerant when it comes to sex, marriage, lifestyle, etc, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by idoru I love you, in the most heterosexual way possible.

I take that as the kindest of compliments.

quote:

Originally posted by Perfect_Cheezit There is no culture in the entire planet that doesn't value human life innately and there is no culture that doesn't value personal freedom.

People certainly place different values on individual life -- look at cultures, for instance, where honor killings and human sacrifices are socially acceptable. A lot of it ties to conceptions of what is more representative of the good life: communal good or individual self-interest.

quote:

The problem with human rights is that it is enforced by states, and states will not enforce them. Individuals and communities, not governments, need to be taking stances against shit like this and not writing off the event like it's some inherent characteristic of people living in the Middle East that can never be changed.

I don't know if you know it, but I agree with you a lot more than you might think.

quote:

Originally posted by emc^2 I want to ask you a question. Before the whole tree-hugging, peace loving, "why can't we be friends" emo generation took root - what was the concept of original warfare?

Well, the wars generally had a purpose, other than nuking villages as deterrant.

quote:

Originally posted by emc^2 humans are self-destructive. all our thought process becomes null and void once you enter primitive mindset like some of the people over in Middle East and other places. You can't use western mentality and basic respect for human life with stone-age cavemen.

You're joking, right? The cultural insensitivity on your part is so ironic, seeing as it's exactly what you're criticizing on their part. It's no surprise that there's a war when both sides view their counterparts as stupid, primitive, immoral degenerates. I said I wasn't going to point out hypocrisy before, but well, I've changed my mind.

quote:

Originally posted by Perfect_Cheezit I'm not saying we should force beliefs on anyone, because armed intervention is what causes a lot of these problems and political conflicts to manifest themselves. But it's not like components of a particular culture are moral-neutral if it deprives someone of basic dignity, like slavery whose basis is race or religion. Dismissing it like it's a component of their culture just simply ignores the political dimensions that made violence or degradation tolerable.

Yes, you're absolutely on point here.

quote:

Originally posted by Sukhoi29SU Two- I didn't create this topic in order to support my position relating to the current situation in Iraq- but since someone brought it up- I will say that I am in complete support of the current US involvement in Iraq. I think it was completely justified and necessary. And I think pulling all troops out now would be a major crime.

You're right, you didn't mention it in this thread - I was simply going off some of your posts in PDD.


I think that's enough for now.

___________________