Interesting and timely article given recent events on college campuses.

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
we're all responsible for any discriminatory acts, utterances or thoughts
You forgot to mention "omissions"... That would pretty much wrap up the argument of anyone who considers him/herself a victim... in their logic, it would put you in a corner and leave you no way out of their accusations
 

OBW0549

Joined Mar 2, 2015
3,566
You forgot to mention "omissions"... That would pretty much wrap up the argument of anyone who considers him/herself a victim... in their logic, it would put you in a corner and leave you no way out of their accusations
Ah, yes-- "omissions." As in, "You didn't condemn <insert name here> when he said, '<insert quote of allegedly offensive statement here>', therefore you're a BAD PERSON! You should be fired from your job and barred from ever working again!"

The Left has become quite adept at putting its adversaries in "damned if you do, damned if you don't" positions and convicting people of thoughtcrime for doing absolutely nothing offensive at all...
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
The Left has become quite adept at putting its adversaries in "damned if you do, damned if you don't" positions and convicting people of thoughtcrime for doing absolutely nothing offensive at all...
oooohh, careful again. Now you're getting political, on top of alluding to race correlation with political party association. Tisk tisk, you dirty racist.
 

ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
It's so reassuring to know that number of people killed by terrorists by means other than shootings are so small as to be ignored altogether.
Nope, didn't say that. If you read the posts. The topic was mass shootings. Single shootings by color or race is a different topic, and one that probably can't be discussed here for reasons related to the rest of the thread. I'm going to be PC now. :rolleyes:
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
Discussion is a waist of time unless you agree on definitions and parameters.

All the discussion turn to these and nothing gets resolved.

We don’t have agreed standards anymore.
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
Only after the definitions and data agreed on, can a fair debate begin. Both sides have to use the same ammunition.

If winning is more important the resolving the issue, then ague the definitions or data.

Like we have for the last several decades. We all know where this stuff comes from.
 

Thread Starter

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Nope, didn't say that. If you read the posts. The topic was mass shootings. Single shootings by color or race is a different topic, and one that probably can't be discussed here for reasons related to the rest of the thread. I'm going to be PC now. :rolleyes:
No, you didn't say it and the follow-up was more directed a post a bit earlier in the chain. Establishing the correct context was a bit tricky and I didn't do it well.

But the tone of the thread is drifting into proscribed areas (as I figured it probably would sooner or later) so let's all try to restrain ourselves a bit closer to the original topic (which is not to say that I don't think most of the discussion isn't reasonably well related to the underlying concepts in many ways).
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Ok, back on topic...

"Faith in humanity " - seems like I hear those 3 words a lot these days. "30 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity," "Mass shootings like this shake my faith in humanity," and etc. I don't remember hearing that term before a few years ago, so I checked Google Trends; turns out it's a trend. Started before 2013.


Screenshot_2015-12-03-15-57-54-1.png
Why all this talk about "faith in humanity" lately? I think most times it's used, it's an exaggeration. People are being overly dramatic to make a point. Sometimes when people joke, they reveal their true feelings, even if they aren't conscious of it. I don't think people are "joking" when they throw out this "faith in humanity" hyperbole, but I think the same concept applies.

I think a lot of people have subconsciously lost faith in humanity. I look around and see a host of social epidemics, all spreading at an equally alarming rate; apathy/complacency, entitlement, social detachment, lack of respect, general ignorance (and stupidity), people refusing to discipline their kids, terrorism, aggression toward authority, laziness, provocation, complaining, and the list goes on.


I think most of us are subconsciously aware that we are not fulfilling our destiny as humans. I think this loss of "faith in humanity" is actually a partial awakening to societal cabin fever. I think we are "just existing" without any conflict to conquer and plenty of idle time to invent boogeymen to fill the void. I don't think we humans can exist without something to fight for, or fight over. I think that's human nature. I don't think we are capable of ever being at peace. We humans, are not civilized, and i think that's the explanation for wbahn's observation that civilization is a self defeating concept.

If tomorrow we waved a wand and magically eliminated all racial tensions and all animosity within and outside our borders, I think by this time next year we will have found (made) a new enemy(s). Same cycle, over and over. Humans are flawed, no way around it. Maybe that's part of nature's system of checks and balances, to keep our population under control; we are programmed to thin our own herd through the most brutal means we can imagine.

"Faith in humanity " - what did we as a species ever do to be deserving of anyone placing "faith" in us to begin with?
 

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ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
No, you didn't say it and the follow-up was more directed a post a bit earlier in the chain. Establishing the correct context was a bit tricky and I didn't do it well.

But the tone of the thread is drifting into proscribed areas (as I figured it probably would sooner or later) so let's all try to restrain ourselves a bit closer to the original topic (which is not to say that I don't think most of the discussion isn't reasonably well related to the underlying concepts in many ways).
No problem.
Anyway the numbers are interesting. I see now why they have to be cut off somewhere to define mass shooting otherwise every argument or drug deal gone bad would be counted.
Another little fact did pop up related to wars thinning the population. In the US we have killed more of us than all of our wars combined. Not sure what that means, but it is an interesting number.
 

Thread Starter

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Another little fact did pop up related to wars thinning the population. In the US we have killed more of us than all of our wars combined. Not sure what that means, but it is an interesting number.
I suspect that that is true of most countries. Wars are intense, but concentrated events and even in WWII only directly involved a small fraction of the total population (of course that fraction was higher in many countries and the U.S. has been fortunate that very few of our conflicts have been fought on U.S. soil). The result is that the much lower non-accidental, non-natural death rate (what used to be called "deaths due to mischief") overtakes it pretty easily because it is applied to a much larger group of people over a much larger period of time.
 

Thread Starter

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
You forgot to mention "omissions"... That would pretty much wrap up the argument of anyone who considers him/herself a victim... in their logic, it would put you in a corner and leave you no way out of their accusations
Having worked mostly for small employers, I have fortunately been spared most of this team-building tripe. The few times that I have had to partake I have found the activities somewhat fun (only because the particular activity was somewhat fun) but have never seen anything that indicated that it did anything to improve organization teamwork. In the Air Force these kinds of events were widely listed as "mandatory fun" events. Sometimes whispered under the table and sometimes spoken openly by the person mandating it. I always observed that esprit de corps was generally much higher in the units in which the person mandating it was open about calling it mandatory fun, which says good things about the attitude of the leader more than anything else.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
I always observed that esprit de corps was generally much higher in the units in which the person mandating it was open about calling it mandatory fun, which says good things about the attitude of the leader more than anything else.
Yeah, When a leader calls things by their true names, he inspires trust.
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,237

As I watched the video, much of the scenery seemed to look familiar. Then, I realized, hey, that's the pool at UM, where I spent most of my class time...
 

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
When my dad was in school (he graduated in 1945) if two kids were caught fighting it was broken up and both kids had to report to the football coach after school who gave them boxing gloves and had them duke it out.
That was still an option where I was in high school in the sixties. I think the coach enjoyed it. Fortunately, my dad had taught me to box; unfortunately, the coach didn't enforce the rules.
 

dannyf

Joined Sep 13, 2015
2,197
What's happening on campus reflects a gradual shift in our society: selective hyper-sensitivity.

It typically starts with a vocal group that insists that others be hyper-sensitive to their feeling, while at the same time completely ignore the offensive nature of their insistence.

In this case, it is the students who insist that others not only hear their voices but also agree to their voices. Disagreeing, or even agreeing to disagree, is not an option.
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
Not just white guilt. It's collective white guilt: remember, we're all responsible for any discriminatory acts, utterances or thoughts any white individual commits or has ever committed, going all the way back to the beginning of time.

</sarcasm>
I refuse to buy into that warped way of thinking.

Update: just noticed your </sarcasm> tag; Invalid formatting. Mismatched Modifiers!
 
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