[OT] What is WRONG with people?

[R.X.DIEM]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Karma

Why? Just because there are jackasses, that doesn't mean that they outnumber the good guys. SO we should just roll over and let the jackasses have free reign? If we fled everyplace there were jackasses, we'd eventually have no place to go.

We have control of our computers. We upgrade and take control. All of us. But the internet is not yours, ours, mine, his hers, etc. It is the most impersonal form of human interaction there is. In our daily lives, we run over to Wal-mart, go to MacDonalds, we Physically meet , deal and interact with each other. Affecting or infecting all we meet and being so affected by the same. In that, we can immediately see and feel the results of our interactions, and judge our selves accordingly. With the Internet there is very little of that "personal" feel. Sure we make friends, and enjoy the "company" of some, but thats it. We are only affected as far as imaginations let us. I can not hurt, heal, like, or love you in an honest, human way over the internet. If so may people seam to affect you that you feel the need to call people "jackasses" I say to you (respectfully), that truely , only you can anger yourself. It is yours, I myself nor anybody else can give it to you. Please don't frustrate youself if others are doing the same. .. Oh by the way in life there are no "goodguy and badguys" only people at peace or not at peace with themselves.

 

[R.X.DIEM]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Karma

Why? Just because there are jackasses, that doesn't mean that they outnumber the good guys. SO we should just roll over and let the jackasses have free reign? If we fled everyplace there were jackasses, we'd eventually have no place to go.

We have control of our computers. We upgrade and take control. All of us. But the internet is not yours, ours, mine, his hers, etc. It is the most impersonal form of human interaction there is. In our daily lives, we run over to Wal-mart, go to MacDonalds, we Physically meet , deal and interact with each other. Affecting or infecting all we meet and being so affected by the same. In that, we can immediately see and feel the results of our interactions, and judge our selves accordingly. With the Internet there is very little of that "personal" feel. Sure we make friends, and enjoy the "company" of some, but thats it. We are only affected as far as imaginations let us. I can not hurt, heal, like, or love you in an honest, human way over the internet. If so may people seam to affect you that you feel the need to call people "jackasses" I say to you (respectfully), that truely , only you can anger yourself. It is yours, I myself nor anybody else can give it to you. Please don't frustrate youself if others are doing the same. .. Oh by the way in life there are no "goodguy and badguys" only people at peace or not at peace with themselves.

 

[Arkham]

Re: Re: Re: Karma

Then get off the internet

Glad to see you are here, we were just talking
about you.

 

[Wicht]

Sure we make friends, and enjoy the "company" of some, but thats it. We are only affected as far as imaginations let us. I can not hurt, heal, like, or love you in an honest, human way over the internet.

You obviously do not believe in the power of words. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can cut to your very soul. And words in print can be just as effective in the right instance as words that are spoken.

Oh by the way in life there are no "goodguy and badguys" only people at peace or not at peace with themselves.

Really. I will remember this the next time I contemplate someone who has raped and murdered a child. I will tell myself "He's not really bad hes just obviously not at peace with himself."

Balderdash.

 

[R.X.DIEM]

QUOTE]Originally posted by Wicht You obviously do not believe in the power of words. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can cut to your very soul. And words in print can be just as effective in the right instance as words that are spoken. Really. I will remember this the next time I contemplate someone who has raped and murdered a child. I will tell myself "He's not really bad hes just obviously not at peace with himself."Balderdash. [/B][/QUOTE]
Oh please, the only power a word has (spoken or in a forum like this) is what the reciever of such words gives it. Yes words can damage a credit report, put a person in the suspisious eyes of the law, yada yada yada. But person to person, the one who is at peace with themselves will NEVER fear or be hurt by the words of another. As for your other statement. A person at peace (sorry to use this so much) can't harm someone else. In conflict with my own beliefs. I am for the strictest punishment available (or worse) for the people you mentioned. But give them the oppurtunity and intervention early on in their lives. Many of said people would not have comitted such horrorific acts.

 

[R.X.DIEM]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Karma

Or were you saying that I'm a jackass? Maybe so, but I do try to help out people to counterbalance that.

No.I called you nothing. My responce was cut short. I believe I've already expressed myself.

 

[Zaukrie]

Amazing, I was just about to work on my 10th Toastmasters speech, the one where you pull it all together, everything you've learned, but I thought I'd check the boards first.

My topic, Americans are greedy and only care about themselves, and we all need to try to be nicer. (my speech says it nicer than that) The idea, we need to do things, not not do things.

then, i find this thread, and I think cool, this is my topic. thanks for inspiring me to go ahead with my topic. BTW, here is a quote from a speech by Elie Wiesel, at a White House Symposium, speaks on the perils of indifference, Washington, D.C, April 12, 1999.

"So much violence, so much indifference.
What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil.

What are its courses and inescapable consequences? Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one s sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals?

Of course, indifference can be tempting--more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person s pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction."

Think about it next time you don't act.

 

[MythandLore]

Most of them stink...
That's why I use the internet, don't smell 'um.
No really, some people smell really bad, have you noticed it?
I'm not taking about sweat ether, some people have a really bad funk, I've dealt with alot of animals, and I can stand skunks better.
I think it has to do with taking a good bath, dead skin can decay on the body, you don't want that, you know what it smells like?
That's right, dead people, very few things smell worse to people then dead people.
The other people with bad smells tend to have an infection of some kind, but that's not nearly as bad a funk.
If you have the funk, and I'm not saying any of you do, make sure you wash everywhere, really good, with a strong smelling soap, and then if it's still there use deodurent on the problem areas, if it's all over your body then use it all over your body.
It's better to be the guy that leaves a trail of old spice smell then funk.
Your not going to get a job with a funk, or at least it wil be alot harder.
That being said...

In one, he just stood flat against a wall for hours.
On the other side of the wall, there was a construction site, and a worker calculated said artist's size and hit with a sledge hammer against the wall, to punch the brick stones into the artists face and break his nose.
He thought it was funny.
I still can't believe somebody would actually do that, and yet on another level, I feel this is true.

I believe it.
I know of far far worse.

either people just don't have any common sense or they don't care... I don't know what the answer.

It's Both, I used to be amazed by it, now it's just depresing.

As for "why?" it's really quite simple:
Too many people today just plain suck at their core. Whether it's poor family values; or being brought up to believe they're special; or not being held accountable for their actions; or belonging to a society of strangers; or failing to mature beyond the 8th grade; or some other horsesh*t reason.

Yep.

Don't forget the COOL factor. This is a media driven farce (as Number47 said), but one people buy into.

Yeah, the media doesn't help any that's for sure.

Just because there are jackasses, that doesn't mean that they outnumber the good guys. SO we should just roll over and let the jackasses have free reign? If we fled everyplace there were jackasses, we'd eventually have no place to go.

True that, the internet is like the wild west, and you can't let the bad guys take it over.

I think some of it may have to do with too many people being brought up to believe that they are a precious, unique flower, that the world revolves around them and everyone and everything else in it is there for their amusement.

I think there is less of this.

Some of it may also have to do with people feeling like they have no power over their own lives (maybe because the reality that they aren't a precious, unique flower has set in?) and want to at least gain the illusion of power - "hey - I can screw up this person's life for a while!

And more of this, but your right it's both.
People belittle or do bad things to other people to try and feel better about themselves.
They think they are better then the person they did stuff too.

Carefully watch television. Everybody on it is smarter than you, thinner than you, funnier than you, better looking than you and has sex all the time. The constant images make many people think that they aren't as good as people on TV. Just remember that those people aren't real.

They sure aren't real, there is an amazing amount of cosmetic surgery being done out there.

Now you can begin to understand why some people are complete asses. Because they've grown up in an atmosphere that makes them feel worthless.

That's very true, there are a lot of very very unhappy people out there.

I ran out with him to find his car a little ways away. A strange man was inside it, in the driver's seat. I questioned the man quickly about the man's actions. The owner said that it didn't appear that the man was armed, but was still persisting in trying to physically take the man's car. I then leaped upon the man from the passenger side of the car, and struggled with him briefly as I locked him in a choke-hold. Soon, I had the man on the ground, subdued. In a few minutes, the police arrived. (Before leaving, I had told my wife to call the police.)
Carry on my friends!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK

That's really great, Shark is a super hero, he's like that guy in 'Unbreakable'.

You obviously do not believe in the power of words. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can cut to your very soul. And words in print can be just as effective in the right instance as words that are spoken.

It's true and words in print can in many ways be much worse.

Really. I will remember this the next time I contemplate someone who has raped and murdered a child. I will tell myself "He's not really bad hes just obviously not at peace with himself."
Balderdash.

True that.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Karma

We have control of our computers. We upgrade and take control. All of us. But the internet is not yours, ours, mine, his hers, etc. It is the most impersonal form of human interaction there is. In our daily lives, we run over to Wal-mart, go to MacDonalds, we Physically meet , deal and interact with each other. Affecting or infecting all we meet and being so affected by the same. In that, we can immediately see and feel the results of our interactions, and judge our selves accordingly. With the Internet there is very little of that "personal" feel. Sure we make friends, and enjoy the "company" of some, but thats it. We are only affected as far as imaginations let us. I can not hurt, heal, like, or love you in an honest, human way over the internet. If so may people seam to affect you that you feel the need to call people "jackasses" I say to you (respectfully), that truely , only you can anger yourself. It is yours, I myself nor anybody else can give it to you. Please don't frustrate youself if others are doing the same. .. Oh by the way in life there are no "goodguy and badguys" only people at peace or not at peace with themselves.

I do believe in good guys and bad guys - my opinion, for what it's worth, is that moral relativism is simply a way for people to rationalize why they don't have to act, why they think they're powerless, or why they can do crappy things to others. Yes, there are extenuating circumstances in many cases, but who doesn't have extenuating circumstances in their lives? Aren't we all dysfunctional, don't we all come from families we think are screwed up? Aren't there plenty of people who have come from horrible upbringings that have gone on to do great and good things? Aren't there also people from what could be considered idyllic upbringings that commit heinous acts? Some people are good, some are just no damned good. Certainly we should try to help society become better so that people get the best possible chance to have a good life, but that can't happen by sitting around and taking the passive stance. And that also doesn't mean there won't be evil people if humankind ever achieves Utopia.

Throughout the history of mankind, we have seen that the written word has amazing powers - simply dismissing them as meaningless beyond what we invest in them ourselves ignores the fact that many people know how to use the written word to uplift and inspire or downtrod and horrify.

The internet is a wondrous invention, and many truly good people use it. But, with that comes another element, those who would do harm in some way. Being angry and taking a stand against the bad guys is a good thing, no matter where they appear.

 

[Pillars of Hercules]

Preach it Doug!

Doug, you must be meeting the same Austin drivers I encounter. You're 100% right - the attitude that says "anarchy and chaos rock" and "I'll do whatever I feel like 'cause I'm bad" have run amok.

It's a very unpopular opinion to say "I have standards and so should you" or even "I don't run red lights and you shouldn't either," but only some drawing back from the abyss of "rules suck" towards some sort of balance (balance, not fascism, mind you) will allow a return to civility.

Our problem is what I call the a$$hole advantage. If someone blows through a red light five seconds after it turned and I honk at him, I'm the bad guy. I'm an "oppressor" who should just "mellow out." If the original poster gave the "wrong directions" bozos grief he would probably be seen as some sort of cranky "aggressor."

Result - the jerkwads profit from wrongdoing, while the good folks who stop for the lights all feel like morons when they see the jerkwads get away with running them. Until we actually start really enforcing some fair rules (not zero tolerance crap, which is just PC madness rather than old fashioned discipline), we will never eliminate the a$$hole advantage; and until we do, we will see the high percentage of a$$holes that exist today.

The sad thing is, the advantages the a$$holes get are usually transitory and worthless (what did it gain the guys in line to give bad directions to a total stranger), while the consequences eventually catch up (red light runner hits a kid in the crosswalk). Thus, by letting them get away with it, we're even doing a disservice to the a$$holes.

Ok, I guess this is my hot button issue too, Doug!

Sadly, almost everytime I am out in public I ask myself "why"!

I am a very up and, excited about life, kind of guy but I sure don't like a LOT of people.

Here is Austin, I see people on the roads doing terrible things just because they are running late. I always say to myself. "They are going to drive like that until they kill someone, a friend, a stranger, a familiy member, and then they will ask why did that happen to me!" Idiots I say.
People, in America today, are gluttonous, spoiled, selfish, mean, uncaring, and generally self-centered. I am being very general here. There are lots of great people out there but they are not causing trouble (not the noise makers) so you don't see them as much. They don't make the news (often), they are not doing things like mentioned here. They just go about their lives being kind and helpful and get very little for thier efforts.

One of our problems is we have adopted the " I'm OK, your OK style of thinking." What does that mean? It means that most people think if it does not appear to hurt others then it is OK. The thinking also works in reverse, if they do it and it does not appear to effect me then it is OK to. Well, this just sucks. Very few stand up anymore and say, hey, that was not cool. You should not do that.
There is way to much fear of the outcome and the self-centered side kicks in. Those that do stand up usually get dragged through the mud for being too concervative or too opinionated.

Yes, people can go to far in their conviction. These are usually ignorant biggits though,
who have some pent-up anger and not the real people who just want to establish "some" form of moral framework in their lives and pass that to others.

Well, I am ranting because this is a sore spot. I have sometimes said I like animals more than most people, at least they are pure in their motives. I stand by that still.

Unfortunately, if I was the one who overheard what those guys said (see the first post) I am the kind of person to say something as I have little fear of reprissal for some unknown reason. This gets me in trouble from time to time but someone, at some point has to stand up for what is right and wrong and that is clearly wrong. I would have made noise about them getting out of line and finding the guy, since they knew wich wrong way he was going. I am sure in their self-centered approach on life they would have thought that I WAS the ass somehow.

Hey, I get on my soap box from time to time becuase I have hopes of better people in a better world. The best we can do is try to surround ourselves with the best people we can find and try to live by example.

Sorry for ranting but I am right there with you all!