Zierro

What does that matter if all teachings are inherently equal? Then why are you? Of course it's our place to judge, we're society, it's what we do. If parents wanted to teach their children discipline by burning them with a cigar every time they got a bad grade in school, wouldn't it be neglect on society's part to not get involved? We need some sort of guideline or else crazy people get to do whatever the hell they want, and the best we got so far is our collective judgment, which yes, happens to be flawed.

Just because there are flaws in our public history records, that doesn't place every form of indoctrination onto the same level of validity. Might as well be saying there's nothing wrong with brainwashing so long as it's done in someone's "best interest". But then, this thread alone is evidence that we're all going to be indoctrinating our kids our own way anyways, no matter what we want to say here.

If it's not helping you achieve a balanced life, then you're doing it wrong. :wink:

I just go by the "I wouldn't want it to happen to me" rule.

Interesting comparison, but I would argue that there's nothing wrong with a celebration of freedom on its own. Martin Luther King Day, or perhaps the anniversary of the day black people got their liberties, are in much better taste than a Black History Month. There's no "Be proud of who you are (a black person)" stigma. As far as celebrating the USA in contrast to every other country, I do find flamboyant patriotism to be just as annoying and ostracizing. I don't see how so many people can get pride from things that have nothing to do with what they've done. Celebrate all you want, but what is the pat on the back for?

I don't think anyone's arguing that we should all pretend we're colorblind. His point, and mine, was that skin color really isn't that important of a feature. Now you can interpret that in any shape or form you want, but attacking his point without even allowing him the chance to clarify isn't something I'd like to call a healthy debate. Martin Luther King fought for equal opportunity for all races. Maybe it was more special for the blacks because it impacted their lives directly, but to say it's irrelevant to anyone but black people is untrue. It definitely had an impact on me, and I bet you "let freedom ring" was pretty relevant on some women's minds during that period. He was a philanthropist - not some sort of Black Pride leader. I don't understand this part at all. Are you saying that the grandchildren of racists are in some sort of debt? Should we have a holiday for every time one large group of people wronged another large group of people? That sounds like one ugly calendar. - - - - - Is making people feel like they are owed something really making social relations any better? When religions, races, and nations keep score amongst each other like some sort of "objective, omniscient system" that is ironically comprised of a bunch of spiteful children who hide behind business suits and public opinion, who is really winning? We can't afford to isolate each other because of history when we share the same exact challenging future ahead of us all. We, as human beings, already have enough to worry about. *applauds and flowers*

See? Look what Black History Month did to our beautiful community. :cry:

God, drinking Fosters is like pouring wet cement into your stomach. :-X Natty ice is the only cheap beer I can tolerate anymore.

I'm 21 and still never tackled the art of whistling. That's alright though - I would be way too OP.

A practicalist? :mrgreen: They're all silly words when you try to apply them to real people's lives.

Very well, I just don't see how believing racial tension is a big problem in mankind makes someone narcissistic. :unsure: I mean, shit, I live in Florida and there were damn race wars at my school. If I saw broadcasting race as a more unifying act than an alienating subject, my opinion would be much more different... I don't know what vanity has to do with that.

Praising specific cultures and traits while you leave out others is the definition of discrimination. We all discriminate on a daily basis, some much more severe than others. But my point is that talking about our differences for the sake of talking about our differences does generally tend to lead to a lot of unnecessary conflict; after all, you are drawing an ostracizing line and contrasting people based on only one of the most shallow features that a human being has to offer. I'm not claiming this will never change, but I am curious to know how it could.

College Literature.

What is pride without discrimination?

Being graded on my notes. My notes are unorganized, sloppy, and essentially useless to a second party, but they help me ace my tests and I can form webs of ideas with only two or three key words. "Correct note-taking" just isn't for me. I feel like I'm being put through a meat-grinder, like learning cursive again.

I agree to a point (those who wish to destroy the very foundation of society do not deserve the aid of the very thing they tried destroying - it's a kick in the face to the victims, and rather encouraging to twisted minds). However, we all know how muddled things like this can get. Maybe we don't know if he was guilty or not. Maybe there was more to the story. Maybe personal biases and emotions are becoming too involved. There's not enough time to cover all the legality and/or morality issues when literally every second counts. I really do think "act now, ask later" is the best system to go by.

I agree. The whole point behind Black History Month is entirely counter-intuitive. We don't need an obligation to celebrate true freedom and equality. It just gets in the way.

Here's an interview of Maynard expressing a lot of his views on "the spotlight". The ending is hilarious. 8-) http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/2002/tool_int.asp

How did you get that from my sentence? :lol: What I mean is that sometimes when artists or companies go sue-happy towards their customers, they can actually lose more profit, or whatever else they were after, because they generate too much negative publicity (which is just about everything when it comes to marketing). Metallica lost plenty of fans by suing Napster. Whether those fans are right or wrong, it doesn't change the fact that it's still a bad move from even a business perspective. I was saving my opinion on art for when things get more controversial.

They would rather you give nothing than give pennies. Might as well give them the finger too if you're going to do that. That was the point. We asked for a corner seat since it was pretty crowded and loud and she said (in a very snobbish tone) that it was for the manager's storage and no one could sit there. Then five minutes later an old lady came in, she seated her there, and then on top of it she had to give us a devious look.

Never used the site, but from what I've gathered in this thread: Businessmen are being babies. People are being people. Seriously, piracy, to an extent, is that little loophole in the system where society as a whole benefits. A lot of bands and movies wouldn't have the socialization they have now if it wasn't for streaming on the internet. If you looked up from your legal documents every now and then and saw the real world, you would see that this actually causes more money to be spent on their media in the long run. Not to mention, being a sellout isn't a very attractive feature to your customers.

Got Windwaker and Ocarina of Time back from my girlfriend. Time to do the 3-Heart-Challenge. :P

I always tip. Even if it's a [bleep]y waitress who expects you to think it's a privilege to take a seat in their restaurant, I make sure to scrape up a few pennies.

People should be free to express why they hate something just as much as people should be free to express why that hatred is stupid. The only problem is when people use this freedom of expression to manipulate groups into going on crusades of violence, like the case with Hitler and religious cults. But the government is just a group of people too and letting them hold the power of what we can and cannot say is another nightmare. We're always wrong when it comes to politics.