The Random thought Thread

[Leo656]

That's what I'll be saying when the f*cking nukes drop. Sooner the better, says I.

F*ck This Planet, F*ck These People. A failed experiment, all of it.

[IndigoErth]

Why I've often thought of religion as just being most people's favorite fandom.

And why it would be hilariously absurd to live life based on literally any other improvable story, and a bit sad all the stuff people put effort into and waste time on in their life if it is in fact all just fiction... Like all the pomp and circumstance in churches on Easter, etc, esp the likes of those grand Catholic ceremonies, and if it isn't real... wow, all that effort for something pretend.

[Leo656]

Switch "fandom" for "cult" and I agree.

Especially the part about "Believing in a blatantly and provably false or harmful idea SO much that you'd be willing to kill people for it." Cult or Religion? Doesn't matter, same thought process at work. Dangerous, dangerous stuff. I don't mean the "belief in a higher power" stuff specifically, I mean all the OTHER insane stuff that fanatics tend to cling to. Stuff like "Having multiple wives is okay" or "God had a plan for your rape baby."

Groupthink of ANY flavor is a disease, it's cancerous and deleterious to a society.

[Vegita-San]

One of my favorite lines in 'Oh God'.

John Denvers character says 'But, I'm not religious!'

too which God replies..

'Neither am I!'

That would be the biggest F U to all those people who devoted their lives to something they didn't even know it existed. And god would be ok with it either way .

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Leo656

That's what I'll be saying when the f*cking nukes drop. Sooner the better, says I.

F*ck This Planet, F*ck These People. A failed experiment, all of it.

Seethe and cope, losah.

[IndigoErth]

Me figuring out that I do in fact have voicemail and how to access it...after 6 months of smart phone ownership. This is how much I care about phone use.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Me figuring out that I do in fact have voicemail and how to access it...after 6 months of smart phone ownership. This is how much I care about phone use.

I rarely check mine. Maybe once every 2 months or longer. If it wasn't urgent enough that you couldn't text it, it can't be that important.

[Leo656]

Things That Can't Be Ignored:

The Exact Same States where people in power want to ban books, take Sex Ed out of schools, outlaw all forms of birth control or contraceptives, and limit peoples' reproductive rights entirely, are the states where rape, incest, pedophilia, and child pregnancy are the most rampant. Texas alone "wins" in a good number of these categories, primarily number of reported rapes. Isn't that neat?

It's almost like these people don't want their kids to know anything about sex because once they find out, Uncle Bad Touch or Father Happy Hands is gonna be in a whole lot of trouble.

They're also the states with the highest number of "Christians" and other "fundamentalist" religious types living there and occupying the highest offices of government. Well, that just makes sense. Collectively, nobody loves state-sanctioned pedophilia and incest more than religious nuts. I mean, they even had the foresight thousands of years ago to write loopholes allowing (or condoning!) it into their little books. The ONE thing that ALL the major religions in the world have in common, is that it's okay to f*ck a little kid as long as you get on your knees and say "I'm sorry" to the Sky Daddy afterwards. The details vary, but Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox Jews... ALL pretty big fans of Incest and Pedophilia, if you actually do the research.

But I mean, it all goes away if you apologize. That's huge.

Call me crazy, I don't think Those States and the people living there should be barking orders or trying to "set an example" for anybody at all. Fix your own f*cking yard, first. Good Luck.

[Andrew NDB]

States that want to ban gay sex and trans books for school kids vs. states that want to ban "To Kill a Mockingbird" and feel strongly that drag queen reading hour is awesome for your third grader... I'm going to throw my vote behind the former. And the good thing about incest people and pedophilia people is that this is easily prosecutable and nobody on either side of the aisle is arguing that. Much. Well, some, but arguments only come from one side. Guess which one?

The non-self righteous Christian sorts are allies, far from enemies. Yeah, getting rid of Roe v Wade is horrible but it was faulty to begin with. But obviously Republicans will pay a price for pursing this, particularly NOW.

Also, I don't mean to lump you in this, but by the same token so many SJWs that will never and never intend to be parents lecture about what's best for the kids have so many passionate thoughts about kids in schools... I kind of gotta say this is one battle you might consider sitting out of.

[Leo656]

So just to be clear: Are you saying you don't think ANY schools, at ANY age level, should address homosexuality in their Sex Ed curriculum at all? Because it sounds like you're saying that but your statement allows some room for error in reading it because of the way it's worded.

Here's my own experience and thoughts on the subject, in the name of full disclosure: Where I grew up, we had "basic" Sex Ed in 6th Grade and "comprehensive" Sex Ed in 9th Grade. I think that's fair enough, as by 6th Grade most kids are well into puberty and need guidance. For example, all of the boys in the class were already masturbating and had access to pornography, but they didn't have any context for anything they were doing or seeing so the timing was pretty much on-point. The girls knew Nothing At All because their parents were too shy to talk to them, outside of some of them were having periods and there was maybe some conversation about That. 6th grade was more clinical, mostly labeling of parts and bare-bones explanation of mechanics. 9th Grade covered "everything", with the exclusion of anything regarding transgender stuff because let's be honest, that wasn't a thing Then.

If I were to change anything, I'd move "comprehensive" Sex Ed up to 7th or 8th Grade, because while it was a very well-rounded program it was a bit "too late" at 9th Grade. Aside from the clinical names for some of the sex organs, there was very little anyone in the class didn't already know. Most of the kids were already having sex or at least going down on each other. It's a wonder more of them didn't get pregnant or get any STDs, because they were pretty reckless. So I think teaching kids about stuff AFTER they've already started doing it is kind of silly.

In both grades, homosexuality was discussed but definitely very lightly. Which makes sense at 6th grade, I do think 6th grade should be more "basic biology" than anything. I think by the "comprehensive" level, whether that's 8th or 9th Grade or what have you, the responsibility should be to teach... well, "comprehensively". Which naturally would include discussion of homosexuality because 1. It exists, and 2. As impolite as it may be to say, they do tend to be more promiscuous, statistically, and therefore at a higher risk of catching and spreading diseases, so common sense would assume we ought to be educating them as to how to behave responsibly as much as possible.

So my thinking on the subject is, Obviously a Sex Ed curriculum should include discussion of homosexuality, but that it should be age-appropriate and touched upon more in the second, "comprehensive" level. But also, I don't think ANY Sex Ed program is appropriate for any Grade below 5th. It has always made sense to me that it should be a topic of conversation that aligns with the relevance to the age of the student(s). 5th Grade or 6th Grade, it makes sense, kids are entering puberty. Any younger, no, I don't think it makes sense.

So, that's what *I* think. I'm just curious, based on your wording choice. If I didn't know you at all, I could assume you were against any discussion of homosexuality at all in a school's Sex Ed curriculum. Which... well, I just wanna let you answer before I project or assume any further.
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To your other statement/assumption about incest and rape being "easily prosecutable", you'd be surprised! In many cloistered religious communities, rape and incest are "kept within the family". Many ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, for example, are rampant with incest and pedophilia. Part of this is because they are taught from a young age that their religious doctrine supersedes any "man-made law", and so any crimes that happen within the community - including rape and incest - are NOT "allowed" to be reported to the police. If you do, you are excommunicated from the community and cut off from your family, friends, and everyone you've ever known. But that's AFTER you're told "It was your fault they raped/molested you". Most of the girls it happens to, in fact, don't know a "bad" thing was done to them until AFTER they grow up and move out of the community, because they were told it was "normal".

It happens in other religious communities, too, I just bring up the ultra-Orthodox Jewish ones because it wasn't too long ago I read a whole essay series written by survivors who grew up in that specific community. But it does happen in other highly-sheltered communities, too, of any faith, just to be clear.

Basically, kids who don't know what "rape" and "incest" are, and are never taught that it's wrong, or are told by the trusted adults in their community NOT to tell anyone, ever... they grow up thinking it's "okay", or that it's "their own fault", and they never tell anyone for many years, by which point the statute of limitations is long expired and thus there are no repercussions.

So no, rape and incest are actually NOT at all "easily prosecutable". Not even in general, but it's much more difficult in a highly-religious community, where people close-ranks and victim-blame as a matter of course.

You are aware that among ALL the reported cases of rape in this country, only 6% of "alleged" rapists ever see a single day in jail, correct? And that only 1% are felony convictions? You've looked it up, I imagine?

First of all, don't even get me started on how "rape" can ever be considered "just" a misdemeanor and not a felony, but hey, I don't make the Big Money.

So anyway, 6% general conviction rate, 1% felony conviction rate. That's reported cases, which means ones we actually know about. In places where the rule is "don't ask/don't tell", it drops to even less, because victims won't report. As to why ANY woman doesn't report? See the above 1-6% conviction rate. Why tell if nothing gets done? If you're a woman, do you really want some cop or judge telling you that even if your uncle the alleged rapist - who played football on the same high school team as the judge - did rape you, "You probably had it coming for some reason"? Sh*t, I'd just try and spend the rest of my life getting drunk and forgetting about it, too. Which is what most raped women DO end up doing, anyway, whether they report or not, are believed or not.

At least five women in my own family were raped and at least two were victims of incest. Some reported it, some did not. In NO cases did the guy see a minute of jail time, regardless, because zero arrests were made. That is 0 out of 5 success rate on holding rapists accountable AT ALL, let alone putting them in jail. I'd hate to know the real numbers, globally.

So in what way, exactly, are these crimes "easily prosecutable"? Do you mean In Theory or In Reality? Because those are very different scenarios, the former literally being Wishful Thinking Land. You know I don't even visit there, pal.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Also, I don't mean to lump you in this, but by the same token so many SJWs that will never and never intend to be parents lecture about what's best for the kids have so many passionate thoughts about kids in schools... I kind of gotta say this is one battle you might consider sitting out of.

For the sake of wanting rates of sexually-transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and especially unwanted child pregnancies to go Down, not Up - and knowing for a fact that comprehensive sex education at an age-appropriate level, that being Puberty And Above, DOES make those numbers go down - you don't think ANY adult should have an opinion on this topic?

Because you know what I think might have prevented my niece from getting raped as a teenager? If even ONE person got up in front of her classroom and said, "It's NEVER okay for someone to touch your privates unless you say it's okay, and definitely don't have sex with them if you don't want to or are afraid." But they couldn't be bothered to even do THAT.

So yeah, f*ck off, I damn well have an opinion on this kinda sh*t. Because I'm a human being with a soul and a conscience and not a f*cking jackal.

To be clear, you also sound like you're assuming I'm siding with the idiots who want to teach this stuff (and everything else) in Kindergarten. I'm not. I'm saying we need comprehensive Sex Ed that doesn't shy away from actual facts, but I'm also saying we need it at an age of relevance. I would think by now that would be perfectly clear. The only thing I think kids that young should be taught is what I put in quotes above. "Don't let anyone touch your privates if you don't want them to." But by 11 and above you can't lie to or hide things they're already "learning" about in the streets and on the internet, that's just dumb. And harmful.

[1987]

Has anyone else noticed it seems that abortionists are no longer using the “my body, my choice” slogan, I’m guessing cause it conflicts with mandatory vaccinations since most abortionists support force-vaxxing.

The new slogan is “bans off our bodies”

[IndigoErth]

Not really, no, since more than one slogan can in fact exist at a time.

[1987]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Not really, no, since more than one slogan can in fact exist at a time.

True, but it seems “bans off our bodies” is the more popular slogan now for abortionists after the RvW reversal, since “my body my choice” doesn’t address the abortion ban, and would be hypocritical since forcevaxxing is literally a forced medical procedure vs elective abortions.

[The Deadman]

WHy is the rum always gone...

[IndigoErth]

How does a person fail to notice that they're driving with the parking break on? Even if they're deaf or hard of hearing and can't hear the loud squealing, surely they might feel the resistance?

Back right wheel wasn't even turning at all, the poor car was just dragging it along, saw it start smoking. Some guy who was headed into the store I'd come out of tried to run after it to alert the driver, but they hit the highway before he could catch up.

Was hearing a similar weird noise a while before when I was in the store...so I guess they drove it there like that as well. That poor car, forced to belong to an idiot. Wonder if caught fire...

[Papenbrook]

I miss the Choco Taco.

I had never even tried one.

[Papenbrook]

Modern pop culture is so ... boring.

I don't know why, though. I just find myself ... disengaged from it.

[Leo656]

So here's something funny/stupid.

Read an article about how sleepovers are a more controversial and also declining part of kids' lives nowadays. Most parents just don't feel right about it anymore, what with all the news stories and such. Kinda get it, a little.

But so in the comments, a ton of people are like, "It's the best part of growing up! If you wouldn't let your kid have or go to a sleepover you're a terrible parent raising a Bubble Wrap Baby!" And like, okay, yes, there is such a thing as being too overprotective, sure.

But my point is, that I often keep track of peoples' names, if they're someone who comments often. And ALL of the "Just let your kid go to a sleepover, who cares? It's all just fun, they'll be fine!" commenters are the same exact people who are outspokenly convinced that every teacher and Democrat voter is a Secret Pedo.

Literally the SAME exact individuals who go on a rant about how "Everyone NEEDS to just homeschool their kids; can't send 'em to school with all the pedo groomers out there these days, no way!" will then turn around and in the same breath be like, "What kind of idiot asks to meet the parents or check the house out before sending their kid to their house to spend the night? Let your kids be kids, they'll be fine!"

Like, even when other commenters were like, "My daughter got raped at a sleepover by her friend's Dad who we knew for years," or, "My 5 year old son went to a sleepover and his friend's older brother was showing off his guns and letting him hold them" and sh*t like that, these people were adamant that there was NO cause for concern and these people were too fussy. "One in a million, hardly ever happens!"

Like, maybe. But I'd bet that stuff happens more than the other stuff those same exact people DO worry about a ton, like "I'm gonna send my kid to school and then reading a book is gonna turn him gay outta nowhere." I know for a FACT that One Thing happens WAY more than The Other Thing.

I'm tempted to think that these people either lack self-awareness, don't actually care about the things they claim to care about, or some combination thereof. You can't in one breath scream about protecting kids from "pedos and groomers" and THEN say you truly can't see why anyone would be nervous about letting their kids stay overnight at the house of someone you the parent don't even know well. They're completely irreconcilable positions.

[IndigoErth]

That's bizarre. If I was a parent I wouldn't ban it, but I'd certainly have to know or at least meet the other family. Even if the adults are perfectly fine, for all they know their older kid could go and molest the guest child. And not necessarily even with predatory intentions but still harmful; too much crap online these days to get some young people curious enough to go getting themselves into trouble. Not like it only became a thing because of the internet, but too many young people easily exposed to worse and far sooner than kids used to be. Then you have the unmarried/divorced people with a live-in partner they don't know is a predator of kids or is in denial that anything is going on. Hell no. Gotta know who you're sending the kid off with.