Another day at work means another day online for hours on end.
I'm blown away by the overall level of intellect and maturity of the majority of this site's members. This is like the nice neighborhood to Myspace's ghetto. There is such a wide variety of people here. I've met quite a few people from around the world - something that, even with millions and millions of members, I couldn't say for Myspace. Everybody here seems very approachable, and there's always a substantial topic up for discussion on the boards. Go to Myspace, and I'm afraid of what you'll find: "hay ne hott gurlz in here". It's so nice to see guys - AND girls - leaving comments that are actually tasteful and full of respect (aside from the random tagger who leaves irrelevant/cruel words as tags on photo sets). On Myspace, a girl showed cleavage and she got comments from all of the uneducated pigs saying things like "hey ma i'll make u scream" or "ooh u shuld sho a lil more" or something equally immature and stupid. It's one thing to appreciate a girl's body; it's another thing to treat her as an object.
Another thing I DON'T miss about Myspace are the fucking idiotic chain messages and bulletins. Myspace is an everyman's site, so inevitably people who otherwise have no interest in the site and little computer experience sign up and thus flood and continue to spread the completely useless messages foretelling what will happen to you if you don't send this message on to 10 or more people.
Forgive me for being so stereotypical, but I find that most of the people who actually believe - yes, believe - in those superstitions are also those who claim to hold a religious status. I say "claim" because a majority of them only label themselves as Christians in hopes that when they die they can say "Look, I called myself a Christian and went to church!" Doesn't mean anything. I gave up on Christianity a long time ago because of all the contradictions and hypocrisy - not to mention the incompatibility between my personal beliefs and what I was being taught to believe. For instance, I support the rights of homosexuals. Our Nation Under Christ, Hallowed Be His Name, does not. We've even gotten so drastic with the issue that we've threatened to amend our Constitution with some bullshit that actually strips civil rights away. We're moving backwards. I know that it won't happen, in all likelihood, but even considering the notion disgusts me.
George W. Bush - I don't like him. I don't take the time to study up on him like amateur political scientists do, so I can't hold my own in a debate about him. I've heard the good and the bad, and while I admit that this administration hasn't been as awful as several others (read: Kim Jong Il), we've done a lot of bad things. America has high standards, and it seems (forgive me if my deeply ingrained American bred ego is showing through) that many parts of the world are trying to live up to America's standards. But then again, maybe not. Maybe that's what our government implies - that we're supposed to be setting an example for democracy, that perhaps other nations will take a look at what we're doing and want a piece of it.
We're not setting a very good example now, in my opinion. I've heard on several occasions (and several occasions too many) that we should just bomb the shit out of Iraq and end it. No, no, no, and no. That is the most ignorant, hateful idea possible. Why would you do that? It makes absolutely no sense.
Whenever I complain about what an embarrassment our defective soldiers are in Iraq (Abu Ghraib, the ongoing rape/murder case), I always get the response that "they behead people". Yes, the militant Iraqis opposing the US forces are barbaric beyond my wildest imagination. That does not in any way give our country the right to strip off what little humanity and dignity it has left and commit warcrimes in return.
I have no idea how I got onto the subject of Iraq, but I have one last thing I want to get off of my mind - should we have gone to war or not? Should we withdraw? The answer is that I honestly don't know. On one hand, we had the murderous dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. I'm not completely sure of the crimes that he committed, but if what I've heard is true, he was definitely a dangerous person. The U.S., knowing of his crimes, was left with the dilemma of declaring war or sitting by as an audience watching the tyrant rule freely.
But that's not why we declared war. Iraq was said to have weapons of mass destruction. As has been well-reported by now, there were none. This is the controversial part. We were attacked by Afghani Islamic militants (according to the government) on 9/11. We invaded Afghanistan because the attacks were reportedly coordinated and commissioned by bin Laden. We still have not found this man. Then came Iraq, and Afghanistan faded into the background. Why? Again, all of these opinions of mine are based on what little knowledge I have. The current state of affairs in America is so confusing with such a tangled plot, we're going to have to hire Tom Clancy to write our history book. Something's going on here, and I have no idea what it is.
I feel like I'm living in a nation as Orwell described it in the book 1984 - in that book, war was continuous and an inevitable part of daily living. Every once in a while, war would end in one country only to begin in another. The government covered it up, erased all records of the previous war, and changed history to line up with every statement they fed the people. The people all believed without questioning.
Questioning might be the only thing we have left.
I'm blown away by the overall level of intellect and maturity of the majority of this site's members. This is like the nice neighborhood to Myspace's ghetto. There is such a wide variety of people here. I've met quite a few people from around the world - something that, even with millions and millions of members, I couldn't say for Myspace. Everybody here seems very approachable, and there's always a substantial topic up for discussion on the boards. Go to Myspace, and I'm afraid of what you'll find: "hay ne hott gurlz in here". It's so nice to see guys - AND girls - leaving comments that are actually tasteful and full of respect (aside from the random tagger who leaves irrelevant/cruel words as tags on photo sets). On Myspace, a girl showed cleavage and she got comments from all of the uneducated pigs saying things like "hey ma i'll make u scream" or "ooh u shuld sho a lil more" or something equally immature and stupid. It's one thing to appreciate a girl's body; it's another thing to treat her as an object.
Another thing I DON'T miss about Myspace are the fucking idiotic chain messages and bulletins. Myspace is an everyman's site, so inevitably people who otherwise have no interest in the site and little computer experience sign up and thus flood and continue to spread the completely useless messages foretelling what will happen to you if you don't send this message on to 10 or more people.
Forgive me for being so stereotypical, but I find that most of the people who actually believe - yes, believe - in those superstitions are also those who claim to hold a religious status. I say "claim" because a majority of them only label themselves as Christians in hopes that when they die they can say "Look, I called myself a Christian and went to church!" Doesn't mean anything. I gave up on Christianity a long time ago because of all the contradictions and hypocrisy - not to mention the incompatibility between my personal beliefs and what I was being taught to believe. For instance, I support the rights of homosexuals. Our Nation Under Christ, Hallowed Be His Name, does not. We've even gotten so drastic with the issue that we've threatened to amend our Constitution with some bullshit that actually strips civil rights away. We're moving backwards. I know that it won't happen, in all likelihood, but even considering the notion disgusts me.
George W. Bush - I don't like him. I don't take the time to study up on him like amateur political scientists do, so I can't hold my own in a debate about him. I've heard the good and the bad, and while I admit that this administration hasn't been as awful as several others (read: Kim Jong Il), we've done a lot of bad things. America has high standards, and it seems (forgive me if my deeply ingrained American bred ego is showing through) that many parts of the world are trying to live up to America's standards. But then again, maybe not. Maybe that's what our government implies - that we're supposed to be setting an example for democracy, that perhaps other nations will take a look at what we're doing and want a piece of it.
We're not setting a very good example now, in my opinion. I've heard on several occasions (and several occasions too many) that we should just bomb the shit out of Iraq and end it. No, no, no, and no. That is the most ignorant, hateful idea possible. Why would you do that? It makes absolutely no sense.
Whenever I complain about what an embarrassment our defective soldiers are in Iraq (Abu Ghraib, the ongoing rape/murder case), I always get the response that "they behead people". Yes, the militant Iraqis opposing the US forces are barbaric beyond my wildest imagination. That does not in any way give our country the right to strip off what little humanity and dignity it has left and commit warcrimes in return.
I have no idea how I got onto the subject of Iraq, but I have one last thing I want to get off of my mind - should we have gone to war or not? Should we withdraw? The answer is that I honestly don't know. On one hand, we had the murderous dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. I'm not completely sure of the crimes that he committed, but if what I've heard is true, he was definitely a dangerous person. The U.S., knowing of his crimes, was left with the dilemma of declaring war or sitting by as an audience watching the tyrant rule freely.
But that's not why we declared war. Iraq was said to have weapons of mass destruction. As has been well-reported by now, there were none. This is the controversial part. We were attacked by Afghani Islamic militants (according to the government) on 9/11. We invaded Afghanistan because the attacks were reportedly coordinated and commissioned by bin Laden. We still have not found this man. Then came Iraq, and Afghanistan faded into the background. Why? Again, all of these opinions of mine are based on what little knowledge I have. The current state of affairs in America is so confusing with such a tangled plot, we're going to have to hire Tom Clancy to write our history book. Something's going on here, and I have no idea what it is.
I feel like I'm living in a nation as Orwell described it in the book 1984 - in that book, war was continuous and an inevitable part of daily living. Every once in a while, war would end in one country only to begin in another. The government covered it up, erased all records of the previous war, and changed history to line up with every statement they fed the people. The people all believed without questioning.
Questioning might be the only thing we have left.
And yeah I still get pervy messages (only 2 so far though) but it's not the end of the world. Bulletins are a pain in the ass though, ESPECIALLY when people post like, 5 a day. YOU HAVE A BLOG, PLEASE USE IT!!! I've only posted 2 bulletins, one about a party I was having (which sounds scketchy, but I said "I'm having a party, if you're in the area let me know if you want to attend") another about a local Myspace event.
However, it should be noted, that "nice neighborhood" though this place may be, you still get assholes, creeps, and weirdos. But that's what the zot is for. ^_^
meh, you must be new.
head on over to the silliness boards for your ever-lessening IQ needs.