Thanks. I messed up and selected HTML format instead of plain text and it lost all my paragraphs. Nice that you broke it down exactly as I originally typed it. Excellent editing I would say. Thanks again.
WOW! I really feel the need to respond to this. Don't get all freaky or anything. I'm sure many people are going to fly off the handle at what this "gentleman" just said; however, I'd like to analyze his point of view a little.
First, I'd like to make note of some important facts from the above:
1...nerdy white kid...
2....all sorts of schools...7 in all...
3. considerable in school violence
What do these facts imply?
1. Implies that this person is someone who is not inclined towards violence and has a personality that is not aggressive (or perhaps passive-aggressive more likely) and is not at the top of the social heap.
2. Poor. Likely working class. Probably not incredibly stable home life/economic situation.
3. Lived in "Inner-City" school populated with more poor, likely working class, with few stable homes/economic situations.
Now, some of you might say: Obviously, this guy is a racist jackass and probably deserves what he got. Also, he might say, "I think all niggers should die for what was done to me".
How did this state of affairs arise? What can be done about it?
Well, I think I can speak a little from experience. I could talk of similiar situations and a similiar background for myself. I recall several times during my younger years when incidents such as those described caused me to have a similiar attitude for a short time. Trust me, it is really, really tough to be magnanimous when you are being victimized or you see others being victimized.
The problem is a general cycle of violence. Human beings are, in general, extremely self-centered, selfish organisms who want as many resources for themselves as possible and will do nearly anything to obtain them. People cooperate with one another and form civilizations because they feel they get a better deal that way than if they simply went around cracking everyone on the head.
Some people, however, do not feel they are getting a better deal. Some of them are right. If they were enslaved, or, if they were beaten and maligned and neglected by their parents (maybe partly because they were slaves and beaten and maligned and neglected by their masters) they will go forth into the world with hatred and attempt to "take" what they can without regard to their fellow man.
Now, unfortunately, those who may or may not have a legitimate beef with with how they've been treated in life may take out their dissatisfaction and aggression on entirely innocent parties. THIS IS 100% WRONG AND CANNOT BE CONDONED!
Society today wants to have it both ways. We want to be absolved of abuses past victims (or more likely ancestors) experienced without doing anything to break the cycle of violence. This will not work.
What can be done about it? I believe it is unacceptable for someone to roll-over and allow themselves to be abused for any reason. It is also unacceptable to go forth and abuse others without reason (in fact, I'd say it is simply unacceptable to abuse period).
So, the simple solution is this. Follow the "Golden Rule" that is enshrined in every major (and minor as far as I know) religion in the world, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (NOTE: It is not, "..as they have done unto you.."). What do I mean by this?
If someone attacks or abuses you, fight back with everything you have. Never, ever permit someone to abuse you. On the other hand, and more importantly, NEVER EVER abuse anyone else. Simple, right?
If only it were so. Again you come back to the whole "Selfish/Self-Centered" thing. I guess that's why society needs religion (NOTE: I am an atheist).
If it were all this simple, things would be really great and I wouldn't have had to see people shoot their spouses on their front lawn when I was 13 years old, and I wouldn't have had to have seen a drunken man throw his baby into the street of traffic because his wife/girlfriend was yelling at him because he "drank" the money they needed to buy baby formula, etc, etc, etc, and the above man wouldn't hate "niggers" (to use his turn of phra
Oh, one other thing as a point of clarification....WOP most certainly IS an acronym. It stands for (W)ITH (O)UT (P)APERS. It was written on Italian immigrants coats with white chalk when the arrived at Ellis Island without proper documentation so that the INS (or whatever they were called back then) staff could easily keep track of them as they moved from one bureaucratic functionary to the next in search of the "Pot 'o Gold at the end of the Rainbow". It is how the term entered the lexicon and became an extremely derogatory and offensive term for an Italian immigrant. Ask someone of Italian decent in the U.S. to have their Grandparents (or maybe Great Grandparents) explain the term to you, how offensive it is, and the history behind it. I chose it just for that reason to demonstrate MY definition of inflammatory.
I'll give you that his choice of phrase was "impolite"; however, I must draw the line at characterizing his phrases as "inflammatory". I think doing so is a gross misuse of the word "inflammatory". The "string of insults" as counter-example are 100% inflammatory. Just trying to clarify how the word "inflammatory" should be used. Just another perspective. YMMV.
Uh...I'm confused. When did phrases like "failed to realize" and "misunderstanding the facts" becom inflamatory? Now, I suppose "Stupid, WOP, Dego, Dipshit, nincompoop, idiot" is not inflammatory then? Let's get some perspective on "inflammatory" OK?
Maybe YOU need it to satisfy a REAL WOMAN, but, I get by just fine without it. Never had a dissatisfied customer.......or at least she couldn't have been dissatisfied after all she screamed and panted appropriately just like the girl in "When Harry Met Sally". So, I'm a real man aren't I????
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks. I messed up and selected HTML format instead of plain text and it lost all my paragraphs. Nice that you broke it down exactly as I originally typed it. Excellent editing I would say. Thanks again.
WOW! I really feel the need to respond to this. Don't get all freaky or anything. I'm sure many people are going to fly off the handle at what this "gentleman" just said; however, I'd like to analyze his point of view a little. First, I'd like to make note of some important facts from the above: 1. ..nerdy white kid...
2. ...all sorts of schools...7 in all...
3. considerable in school violence
What do these facts imply?
1. Implies that this person is someone who is not inclined towards violence and has a personality that is not aggressive (or perhaps passive-aggressive more likely) and is not at the top of the social heap.
2. Poor. Likely working class. Probably not incredibly stable home life/economic situation.
3. Lived in "Inner-City" school populated with more poor, likely working class, with few stable homes/economic situations.
Now, some of you might say: Obviously, this guy is a racist jackass and probably deserves what he got. Also, he might say, "I think all niggers should die for what was done to me".
How did this state of affairs arise? What can be done about it?
Well, I think I can speak a little from experience. I could talk of similiar situations and a similiar background for myself. I recall several times during my younger years when incidents such as those described caused me to have a similiar attitude for a short time. Trust me, it is really, really tough to be magnanimous when you are being victimized or you see others being victimized.
The problem is a general cycle of violence. Human beings are, in general, extremely self-centered, selfish organisms who want as many resources for themselves as possible and will do nearly anything to obtain them. People cooperate with one another and form civilizations because they feel they get a better deal that way than if they simply went around cracking everyone on the head.
Some people, however, do not feel they are getting a better deal. Some of them are right. If they were enslaved, or, if they were beaten and maligned and neglected by their parents (maybe partly because they were slaves and beaten and maligned and neglected by their masters) they will go forth into the world with hatred and attempt to "take" what they can without regard to their fellow man.
Now, unfortunately, those who may or may not have a legitimate beef with with how they've been treated in life may take out their dissatisfaction and aggression on entirely innocent parties. THIS IS 100% WRONG AND CANNOT BE CONDONED!
Society today wants to have it both ways. We want to be absolved of abuses past victims (or more likely ancestors) experienced without doing anything to break the cycle of violence. This will not work.
What can be done about it? I believe it is unacceptable for someone to roll-over and allow themselves to be abused for any reason. It is also unacceptable to go forth and abuse others without reason (in fact, I'd say it is simply unacceptable to abuse period).
So, the simple solution is this. Follow the "Golden Rule" that is enshrined in every major (and minor as far as I know) religion in the world, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (NOTE: It is not, "..as they have done unto you.."). What do I mean by this?
If someone attacks or abuses you, fight back with everything you have. Never, ever permit someone to abuse you. On the other hand, and more importantly, NEVER EVER abuse anyone else. Simple, right?
If only it were so. Again you come back to the whole "Selfish/Self-Centered" thing. I guess that's why society needs religion (NOTE: I am an atheist).
If it were all this simple, things would be really great and I wouldn't have had to see people shoot their spouses on their front lawn when I was 13 years old, and I wouldn't have had to have seen a drunken man throw his baby into the street of traffic because his wife/girlfriend was yelling at him because he "drank" the money they needed to buy baby formula, etc, etc, etc, and the above man wouldn't hate "niggers" (to use his turn of phra
Wow, very interesting. Thanks for the insightful and informative links.
Oh, one other thing as a point of clarification....WOP most certainly IS an acronym. It stands for (W)ITH (O)UT (P)APERS. It was written on Italian immigrants coats with white chalk when the arrived at Ellis Island without proper documentation so that the INS (or whatever they were called back then) staff could easily keep track of them as they moved from one bureaucratic functionary to the next in search of the "Pot 'o Gold at the end of the Rainbow". It is how the term entered the lexicon and became an extremely derogatory and offensive term for an Italian immigrant. Ask someone of Italian decent in the U.S. to have their Grandparents (or maybe Great Grandparents) explain the term to you, how offensive it is, and the history behind it. I chose it just for that reason to demonstrate MY definition of inflammatory.
I'll give you that his choice of phrase was "impolite"; however, I must draw the line at characterizing his phrases as "inflammatory". I think doing so is a gross misuse of the word "inflammatory". The "string of insults" as counter-example are 100% inflammatory. Just trying to clarify how the word "inflammatory" should be used. Just another perspective. YMMV.
Uh...I'm confused. When did phrases like "failed to realize" and "misunderstanding the facts" becom inflamatory? Now, I suppose "Stupid, WOP, Dego, Dipshit, nincompoop, idiot" is not inflammatory then? Let's get some perspective on "inflammatory" OK?
Maybe YOU need it to satisfy a REAL WOMAN, but, I get by just fine without it. Never had a dissatisfied customer.......or at least she couldn't have been dissatisfied after all she screamed and panted appropriately just like the girl in "When Harry Met Sally". So, I'm a real man aren't I????