Controversial opinions

Inspired by the controversial music opinion topic, this one ought to really push some buttons. Since this is the serious discussion section, lets try to be civil. Opinions can be on anything from politics, philosophy, or dishwashers. Anything is fair game as long as it's going to rustle some jimmies.

The United States needs to really defund the military. It is easily our biggest expense and it doesn't go toward anything useful for the average American citizen.

Republicans and the Tea Party are actively trying to destroy American politics and have absolutely atrocious social views that are aimed at hurting minorities, LBGT people and women.

The Democratic party does not understand how to solve issues or the concept of solidarity. They think that money is the solution toward everything and don't look deeper into what are the real cause of problems.

The death penalty ought to be abolished. It serves no purpose other than fulfilling a selfish notion of vengeance and it isn't really an effective deterrent.

The decriminalization and legalization of all drugs is the only way to end all the violence and suffering cause by the war on drugs both by the illegal drug industry and law enforcement.

Obama is not the antichrist and isn't that bad of a president.

The party-system is destroying the United States. Shit wouldn't be so bad if the government wasn't the biggest money-sink on earth ran by crooks of all kinds. Republicans seem to be too selfish to give a shit about anyone else, and the democrats too stupid to understand that you can't just throw money at problems to fix them. Especially money that doesn't exist.

The majority of people (at least that I've met) are horrible.

People throw around words like "racist," "homophobic" and "sexist" far too liberally. By the standards we hold politicians, celebrities and whatnot to, each and every one of us is a bigot of some sort.

It's almost pointless to involve yourself in politics or the legal system at this point. The country is so far gone that nothing can really be changed. The government is fucked, the people are even more fucked.

The music industry isn't dead, in fact it's got some really exciting things going on. Many artists are being creative which I think has a direct correlation to the amount of money they make. "Indie" and metal artists don't necessarily rely on music for income, so I think they are able to be much more open-ended with their music.

File-sharing has more positive effects on music than negative. Record sales don't account for much when it comes to artists making money, but merch and ticket sales net them a decent amount. File-sharing allows more artists to gain more exposure, which will generate more revenue in ticket and merch sales.

Taxer666 wrote:

The United States needs to really defund the military. It is easily our biggest expense and it doesn't go toward anything useful for the average American citizen.

disagree. ive posted this before, but ...



i agree that our military spending is balls-to-the walls retarded, pisses off other countries and JEAPRODIZES our own, but its not our biggest expense. Social Security is.

Also agree about them drugs.

EDIT: I also agree with everything Axe said except the 2-party system thing. (not that the 2 party systems a good thing) its just that the voters themselves are deaf, drooling old people that dont understand how the world works anymore.

Controversial? I think comedy is my new religeon. And so is everyone else's. To me. Nothing is sacred because everything is a joke.

Homeopathy medicine is 100% placebo. My dad spends all kinds of money on "natural" plant pills to help him sleep at night. Look, if this medicine worked- it would be called medicine. My dad is sleeping better when taking them because I truly believe he thinks it's helping him. He spends $100 just for the visit, and several $100s more on the vitamin pills

Now I have terrible allergies. And medicine doesn't help me unless I want it to put me to sleep. So I tried seeing her. My allergies take over in August. So I went to see her in like January. So I started taking so many godamn pills I couldn't tell you how many : iron, vitamin C, fish oil, etc. in hopes that my immune system would be better for ware.

What do you know August comes around and it does nothing. I went to see her again and she was flipping through pages of text books and doing online searches. She recommended me go out and buy this $40 jar of veggie capsules. I refused. Then my dad bought them for me. Still didn't help.

Manned up and bought hard medicine. Worked immediately besides making me drowsy.

I think the industry is gigantic scam. Along with numerous other things my dad falls for because of his ongoing health concerns. The amount of money he has spent on pills that probably are doing almost nothing for him- is truly scary to even think about

Oh right I forgot that Social Security is our largest expenditure. I really do like the idea, I just think that we're going about it very inefficiently and it's costing us all that extra money.

Axe - It's not so much the party system and more the two party system. It creates a false dichotomy and party allegiance when both parties are in essence identical. The only difference at this point are social views since Republicans spend as much money as Democrats anyway.

byd - Homeopathy is modern day snake oil. At best, it's herbal stuff like willow bark which you can just take aspirin instead at a much cheaper cost. I don't know why you see that stuff in the medical section aside from lobbying.

If you are physically handicapped you have no right to make a non-essential company shovel out endless money so they can install a ramp and/or handicapped washrooms.

Perhaps if you want to eat at a restaurant - go to the ones with these facilities in place. I think it's such a dick move attacking placing you don't even need to be at just because it isn't up to date. The amount of money those businesses would need to invest to help probably 5-10 people at the most in it's lifespan is just baffling.

Of course- by this I mean casual places. Government offices/hospitals/etc obviously need to be suited for everyone.

I disagree with that. The handicapped should be able to access all goods and services that are available to non-handicapped people. They also should make a huge deal about it because it'll create a bad image for the business at hand. Said businesses will then realize that the cost of building handicapped facilities will be less expensive than the backlash it would cause.

Maybe Canadia is different, but in Murrka you have rights. Didn't know you hated handicapped people so much Dave.

You have that opinion until you own a building. Then suddenly someone isn't happy with it and you are forced to spend exorbitant amounts of money to tender to that one person. Not everyone builds there own unit, and when you make a purchase of your life buying a building - a project like this would very much hurt. I'm not saying adding in saftey railings and the such- but those ramps and gigantic changes- I can't say I relate

For example. I know folks that live in a condo, and if someone hurts themselves due to their own negligence, they are able to sue the corporation for millions, and the ones who pay for it are the owners who had nothing to do for it.

What a mighty selfish opinion. The Utilitarian in me says that building the ramp and handicapped modifications only benefit more people than the cost it is to the owners.

As for the second part of your post, shouldn't it be in the best interest of the owners to build safety railings for the condo in order to prevent such an occurrence to happen?

What if the owners aren't rolling in dough? That's the kind of claim that could potentially ruin a business. Now that's selfish

I think you may have misinterpreted a point there. I meant that 100% there should be railings, and the normal safety measures should always be taken. By negligence I didn't mean that some fool fell down and hurt themselves cause their balance was shit. Moreso- that if someone is acting like a jerk- they can hurt several people who are innocent.

Example: I know of a lady who was playing ping pong in high heels in Toronto. Her shoe broke and she banged her head against the wall. She sued for millions. The people that live there are going to be paying for that lawsuit.

I don't benefit from the dismantling of a business, so I don't see how that's selfish. By not having handicapped features, they are effectively refusing service to a group of people. It has the same outcome as refusing service to minorities or women.

That's more of an example of failure of civil law.

That's true. However, if someone in a wheel chair wants to be aggressive they can cost a corporation a lot of money just because they can. I suppose I developed these opinions working as a landlord/property manager. I don't think I'd be able to look at it from a tenant/customers view very well and still work in this position. I think you exaggerate how close-minded this opinion is- sometimes businesses need to run like a business, and need to wait a few years to get their feet wet before they can afford something like that.

Yeah it's unfortunate. Seems like you can sue for anything these days

Affirmative Action is a racist system that we don't really need anymore. I don't feel a company has to prove anything by hiring people to fit some stupid requirement.

I'm divided on Unions. They help workers that need it yet they protect scum, teachers especially

Feminism is a dead relic of the civil rights movement and should be exterminated. In modern times, it breeds superiority, not equality. This volley of extremist thinking lights a wildfire of unwarranted social justice tactics in the guise of "equality," but in reality is either a cash grab or a tax write off in its name.

Western culture doesn't need feminism. India and the Middle East do. Those are real issues. Western culture's adaptation of "oppressing women" is slut shaming, turning a blind eye to a single mother as a prospective relationship, or the assumed workplace oppression. These issues are if not completely brought on by women on an individual basis (don't dress like a whore, don't pop out kids, and know your proficiency), they are exacerbated and completely assumed. Women just want an excuse to eviscerate the ultimate alpha male - the state. Women in the Middle East need feminism to serve as a counterbalance to the distraught patriarchy Islamic countries breed. We do not.

Men are the new women. In Western culture, they are expected to retain traditionalist roles while women ascend to "independence," reaping the reward of the workplace and shirking the work, responsibility and ethic that traditionalist men have bore since long before women played a part.

Women get away with working less and getting paid more via this method. Women are brought up to believe men are replaceable paycheck dispensaries with no thought, emotion or will. Men are the drudges of the species. Yet, men are still expected despite the vie for "equality" to financially - not to mention emotionally - support a woman in the modern interpretation of marriage.

People should be equal, not superior. Destroy feminism. Support the balance.

I agree with Dave on the handicapped thing. Obviously, businesses should be ran by decent people who want to do everything they can for a customer, but finances are a huge issue. Also, it shouldn't be required. What people do is their own business. For example, if a company decided that they didn't want to serve men with long hair I would stop patronizing their business. It is their right, and it is my right to not go there. Fuck that company.

All citizens should serve in some public service.

The average civilian is a selfish bastard.

Agreed with Gwonam on the feminism thing.

Agreed on Affirmative action with Guy.

We need a more balanced political system, but the tea party and republicans are fucking wrong.

People kill people, not guns.

I agree with some things Taxer says, but some I don't.

All citizens should serve their country to some degree. Corporations have no allegiance.

Democrat and Republican are skewed terms that were originally grey area political divergences that have become akin to different countries warring against one another. Both have extremists that refuse to come to terms with reality. One throws money it doesn't have at problems, the other spews malice and regressive politics.

Axe has a winning point of view: if a business wishes to cater to all walks of life, then it will see the benefit in currency. Should they not, people will indeed vote with their wallets.

I don't think there should be Christian/Catholic schools. I was raised Catholic and wasn't able to relate to my own view of life until I was out of high school.

Schools should either: not have any religion classes, or have several all in one course.

so i agree with almost everything thats being said. i'd modify the "most people are selfish" to "all people are selfish". its just human nature, everything anyone does is for ones self. sometimes though, those things can also benefit other people. thats the only distinction.

These should be good ones.

Feminism is a good thing it aims to promote equality among the sexes. The internet, however, has skewed what actual feminism is and instead promotes some trivialized and meaningless form of feminism that I like to refer to as "Tumblr Feminism."

People that are against the current form of Affirmative Action for being "racist" have no clue what Affirmative Action is and how it works. If you're going to be against Affirmative Action, be against it because it doesn't help out the truly disadvantaged--poor inner city youth--as much as it helps the middle-class.

The average citizen isn't selfish, they are self-interested and that I believe is different from selfish.

If guns didn't kill, then they wouldn't be used as weapons. URLs and emoticons don't kill.

The position of teacher ought to be as prestigious and rigorous as any other professional job, such as being a medical doctor or an attorney. Raise the standard of being a teacher and raise the pay, that way we'll actually get the best educators around.

The public education system is completely fucked and needs to be completely overhauled.

Nationalism is a terrible and stupid thing.

Taxer666 wrote:

People that are against the current form of Affirmative Action for being "racist" have no clue what Affirmative Action is and how it works. If you're going to be against Affirmative Action, be against it because it doesn't help out the truly disadvantaged--poor inner city youth--as much as it helps the middle-class.

I completely agree.

I don't mean to hijack the entire thread on a single topic alone, but please, bear with me.

Feminism's aim has been irrevocably changed, may Tumblr misconceptions be damned. While I have no quarrel with the fact that social justice warriors are the blind leading the blind, there are throngs of women subscribing to neo-feminist propaganda that utilizes these bizarre misconceptions. "The Talk" is one blazing example of neo-feminism gone awry. It drives the nail in the coffin of the man's role, in providing for women or ultimately facing the assembly line of progeny that women are indispensable for. After all, they're the one's popping out the kids... while Julie Chen and crew feature a track on their show by Beyonce, informing these selfsame women to "make his check come out his neck." Classy.

Feminism once had a meaning. Now, it has been twisted. Only recently have men started to realize the consequence of being a "househusband," or relinquishing his employ for the state of the modern woman in the workplace. A man without employ in post-traditionalism means nothing without his money or his estate, whereas a woman retains value as an acceptable part of society so long as they are somewhat virtuous - estate, finances and other male debilitating factors aside. Women can make the choice to be housewives and not be judged, whereas "stay at home dads" are considered reprehensible due to their lack of work for currency.

"You're doing a woman's work!" Men and women alike agree: men exist for drudgery. It happens all the time. I'll even work the Affirmative Action thing in here and its application to the modern woman. My ex enjoyed being underemployed (working around 10-15 hours a week) while I took care of business the "man's" way, came home and fulfilled the "woman" roles of making food, cleaning up, et cetera. All those opportunities and strides in social hierarchy? All those laws paved forth for women to enjoy the same standard of living that men do? Nope, fuck it. Let a man do it and when things get hard, let him deal with it. What did she do aside from piss all her time away on World of Warcraft? Spread her legs? Not good enough. Women need to understand that their vagina is not a meal ticket, so stop treating it like one.

Women do not belong in particular workplaces if they do not meet established criteria (frequency of performance, weight limit, mobility, risk of injury, frequent absences, and medical leave spur the modern woman in the work force). Who gets to pick up the slack when this happen? Other women? Maybe the graceful few that understand the peril of working in particular conditions, but most just get a man to do it. For every woman at my job that actually performs during unloads or is a part of the logistics process, there is a handful of men that can meet or excel. There are more women hired than men. This infuriates me.

You wouldn't see a woman trying to get a construction job if she didn't know what she was getting into - why do they get into corporate enterprise when the risks are clearly spelled out and they instead delegate and don't see corrective action? Oh, right - because women are dainty and fragile and that's a nasty man's work. I'm not saying there aren't women who can kick ass in the industry - I'm positive there are as I work with a couple of them, but they're a diamond in the rough. A man would be fired if he didn't meet established criteria. Yesterday, two men, who arguably performed better than some of the women we employ, were fired thanks to their attendance issues. As the corporation (and, by proxy, society) sees it, we're unlimited: for every deadbeat there's many sad bastards more than willing to take his place in the rat race to have some semblance of normalcy among the drudges. The only women that have it worse off are prostitutes, and that's more due to the nature of their employ than the pay.

Men are not equal to women, whom of which enjoy diversity hires thanks to Affirmative Action (where, as Taxer said, its intent is being misdirected completely to the middle class) assisted education and social programs where a man is told to go get a job if he wishes to ascend in any fashion. Neo-feminism has bred a monster of emotional, spiritual and economic decline. The balance tips in favor of the modern woman these days. I fully acknowledge that patriarchy and polygamous behavior permeated the social strata of humanity before recent developments in civilization, yet I cannot help but notice the parallel between women waging a war they've already won and the assumption of ethnic guilt due to a societal blunder that most of us were never around to witness.

I think it's time the Western woman checked her privilege.

self interested vs selfishness= words. but you might be thinking the same way i am so i dont care. i dont think true altruism exists

also this thread is the kind of thread that we lost a few members over haha. HERE WE GO

Fuck Feminism in its privileged, white ass. But im not reading all that shit. Does anyone even know what theyre talking about when they scream about rape culture? I think they want the right to call it rape when they wake up next to a wookie, whereas a man understands thats what drinking is sometimes about.

also, i think Christianity is a gynocentric religion that promotes male disposability.

I don't blame you for not reading it all. I've written dissertations on regressive feminism and the invisibility of the modern man. They're exhausting, angry topics that are seldom agreed with and often seen as oppressive.

No person should be raped ever, but there is no such creature in Western culture. Rape culture does not exist. It is deplorable and no one looks upon the term endearingly unless it is extrapolated between agreeable parties. This said, you cannot discern between rape and a night of hapless irresponsibility ending in intercourse that may not be a part of someone's recollection. Rape, nevertheless, is a tragic state of affairs that is all too common abroad. Western culture doesn't have this problem, so it needs to stop pretending. This isn't to say rape doesn't happen here - it does - but the cases are normally founded in irresponsibility, inebriation or twisting of evidence. Kobe Bryant's case sends a shrieking alarm to any man who ascends in the rat race.

Men get raped all the time in prison. See anyone that gives a damn?

No. Because they're convicts. They did something to get where they are and now they're dealing with the consequences of their decision to be a criminal. Not fair or right? Perhaps - but try enforcing law on the lawless. It doesn't work. Try invoking common sense on neo-feminists for a similar effect.

Christianity was a very patriarchal religion until New Testament, which does indeed draw the rigorous paradigm of dispensing of the common male for what is assumed to be virtue.

Tumblr/popular Feminism is a misinterpretation of Feminism. A look into modern scholastic Feminism reveals that the philosophical movement is more geared toward Egalitarianism more than specifically only the betterment of Western women. The only thing is to respond to these women in the media with actual Feminist theory and philosophy. For example, real Feminism would work to not only better the situation of women, but also men in areas such as child custody, prison rape, and the macho male ideal.

I don't like the nomenclature "rape culture," but from what I understand is that it boils down to how we perceive of rape and rape victims. Victim blaming is a big one and it's completely understandable. Ideas like female-on-male rape not occurring or that a female having sexual relations with a minor is somehow less deplorable than the reverse situation are also a part of rape culture.

It'd be nice if alcohol was sold in gas stations, convenient stores, grocery shops

Taxer666 wrote:

Tumblr/popular Feminism is a misinterpretation of Feminism. A look into modern scholastic Feminism reveals that the philosophical movement is more geared toward Egalitarianism more than specifically only the betterment of Western women. The only thing is to respond to these women in the media with actual Feminist theory and philosophy. For example, real Feminism would work to not only better the situation of women, but also men in areas such as child custody, prison rape, and the macho male ideal.

I agree thats what feminism is supposed to be, but name an actual example of femminists lifting a finger to help men with: incredibly unfair divorce laws, lifetime allimonies, life-destroying false rape allegations (i know for a fact they're pushing to step past due process and convict people MORE easily), the inherent misandry of western culture or anything else that men face. I submit to you that they just say that in case someone raises the argument that they're for female superiority, whilst practicing none of it.

Taxer666 wrote:

I don't like the nomenclature "rape culture," but from what I understand is that it boils down to how we perceive of rape and rape victims. Victim blaming is a big one and it's completely understandable. Ideas like female-on-male rape not occurring or that a female having sexual relations with a minor is somehow less deplorable than the reverse situation are also a part of rape culture.

I dont think it is completely understandable. When a guy drinks with the intention of losing his inhibitions, he understands and accepts it when he wakes up next to a wookie. A feminist does not and they call it rape because she was intoxicated. Anybody that disagrees is a victim-blamer? Its total horseshit for so many reasons.

Feminists perpetuate the myth that female-on-male rape does not occur. Ive seen modern feminists support teacher jailed for having sex with her students.

Go read scholastic articles rather than facebook posts. You'll find some. Also, there is no inherent misandry of western culture. The male (straight white middle-class christian male) is the ideal in western culture. Has been for decades and centuries if you modify some of those characteristics.

Use your head for a second. You are saying that the intoxicated is responsible. That is exactly what victim blaming is. You are taking away the responsibility of the person who had sex with the drunk person and saying that he or she had it coming. There is a negative connotation to victim blaming and no one wants to be called that, but it's simply what that is going by its definition. Moreover, what are describing is date rape. It occurs on both sides, it's just that men are too scared and ashamed or they believe that accepting their only course of action is to accept the responsibility. They don't come out about it because of social stigma and gender roles.

Like I said, you seem to be getting your ideas of Feminism from the wrong sources.

I have read up on scholastic feminism, but i think you misheard me. I asked you to find me a single example of feminists lifting a finger to actually fight sexism against men. Articles? Thats the best they can do?

And if I havent heard a peep out of these "real" and "good" feminists, then where the hell are they? I think youre talking about a very small, inactive, nonvocal or otherwise dysfunctional portion of the feminist pool.

Yes I stand with my conclusion about "date rape".

Half of the programs in University at least- lead students to useless degrees

I'm pretty sick of Feminism. It had its use during the suffrage movement, and is maybe still relevant in places such as Pakistan. But in North America, it's pretty damn useless. Plus a good number of them are the "Tumblr Feminists". I've known a few from school, where they blabber about the patriarchy and how much they hate men, and then go on to date a guy because he has rich parents and a pool. It seems to me they feel that they don't deserve just equality, but they "deserve" to be pampered and treated like children who get special treatment. And nothing shows how "independent" women are more than getting together and collectively screaming and crying and throwing tantrums about how things aren't fair. One of the responses I hear most is "Well, as long women still get raped, Feminism is needed.". Bullshit. So rape is specifically a women's issue? Men, and boys get raped too. Though I never see them mention that. They seem to not understand the hypocrisy of their own movement, alternating between "You should never hit a woman!" and "Women should be treated like men!". Another thing that pisses me off, There have been occasional charges of some fire departments lowering standards so that they could hire more women. In 2005, Laura Chick (the LA City Controller) stated in a report that Fire Chief Bamattre rolled back physical requirements and ordered that women be passed even if they failed their tests. So, they're hiring people who aren't capable of being firefighters, to be firefighters, because they're women. Because people dying in fires because someone can't carry them out is equality.

Taxer, I agree somewhat with the fact that guns are dangerous. There should be stricter gun laws, but I have to say that the person behind the gun is very much more what makes it dangerous instead. It's a dangerous tool for sure. It needs a public mindset change first really before we can trust anyone with an assault rifle. But I still love my AR-15, and that's partially the brainwashing talking.

i don't have a problem with REAL feminism...other than the fact thats its called feminism.  it doesn't make sense to focus on one gender when the goal is equality.  I feel the name is a big reason the tumblr feminism thing exists, it kind of implies superiority at face value.  people who don't actually understand the movement might take it to extremes

and im pretty neutral about guns cuz i have friends on both sides of the argument.  the laws should be stricter i think though.  as long as you're a sane individual with peaceful intentions.  everyone else should be excluded.  so im pretty pro strict background checks.