Reg the Fronkey Farmer

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  • #52802

    Apparently, the main thrust of questions had to do with whether a semiautomatic assault-style rifle with a bump stock modification qualified as a machine gun under laws written back when machine guns were “tommy guns”.

    Yes, that is what it is mostly about.  SCOTUS will also consider if the AFT have the power to regulate gun accessories, like bump stocks and ghost guns.

    #52773

    OK, it’s on a spectrum from severe to more severe…

    I find that this way of looking at it can miss a crucial point. It is common for the legal system to see it like this and this filters the way society views sexual violence. But this spectrum is not real. It is an arbitrary and subjective way of looking at it that ignores the victims view point.

    I know several women who have been the subject of sexual violence. The girl molested and groped by a drunken creep can have her life impacted as much as a victim of rape can.  Both can end up drained from being hyper-vigilant and have their daily lives impacted by similar levels of trauma.

    The legal system is still primitive in many countries. I know of a case where a man was tried and jailed for rape. Months later he was charged with the same crime against another woman. The judge gave him a concurrent sentence even though he had been much more violent this time. When the second victim, who had waived her anonymity, was asked by a journalist if she thought she had received justice, she replied; My rape was the free one.

    I remember hearing a woman who is a survivor of domestic abuse say that it was not the punch that hurt her. It was living her life not knowing when the next punch would happen that was more agonizing.  Being punched was almost a relief because she knew she would be OK for a few days but then the fear would start to creep into her mind again…….

    So, on the spectrum of severity which is of greater severity…A slap to the face today or no slap to the face today?

    #52767

    Three theories on the Primary results…….

    #52766

    rape culture is a spectrum of behaviour from mild to severe..

    Is some of it sort of OK when compared to the severe cases?

    “He only slapped her once. At least he did not leave her unconscious and with a serious head injury”.

    It would be better if all boys (and girls) were taught that any aggressive violence against another person is wrong, morally and legally. I think that is a better approach and then nobody has to justify or minimize the violent behavior of anyone else.

    #52763

    Reg, I think you inadvertently changed the color of your post’s body text to white

    Thanks Unseen, I was posting a photo of my soul 🙂

    Nah, I don’t have one! I was trying to upload a picture and only getting PHP errors. Something up with WordPress, I guess.

    #52749

    The fact that he, an adult male, even had that idea in his head is disgusting. Saying it out loud in public shows just how fucked religious morality is. I do not take his apology as being sincere. He is a scumbag.

    #52744

    Have a great week!

    A baby was born in February 2020 from an embryo frozen in 1992. Although she looks and talks like a four-year-old girl she is to be recognized as a 32-year-old under the new Alabama embryo state Supreme Court ruling.  She is to move there over this summer in order to be able to purchase and consume alcohol and get a firearm for the glove box in her new car. If the state refuses to allow any of this she will sue on grounds of discrimination as according to them she is officially older than 21.

     

    #52729

    I do not accept “Islamophobia” as a crime or as an offensive position. It is a term used by Muslims and many non-Muslims that I give no credence to. A literal translation is “a fear of Islam”. I do not fear Islam. I view it as an archaic ideology that should, like Christianity, be consigned to history. It is based upon mythology and fabricated tales that are simply not believable except by the gullible and the indoctrinated. I almost feel embarrassed at times by the vulgarity and idiotic nature of these belief systems.

    I am an antitheist. I consider all religions that venture into or remain in the secular sphere to be legitimate targets of my ire and I have no respect for any of them because respect needs to be earned. That is something they simply cannot do. Arguments by apologists that they inspire people to do good works or create ‘spiritually” inspired works of art are irrelevant.

    Now if people call me Islamophobic or take offensive to my stance on their beliefs so be it. I do not care what they think. I consider myself to hold the more mature view for not believing in the existence of any god and the billions of other apes that do, to be simply wrong in their beliefs. But I will defend their right to believe whatever they want to believe as long as I do not have to hear about it or have it impact upon my life.

    I keep in touch with some ex-Muslims. Some in Canada or in other countries who I have helped escape from Islamic regimes that were prepared to kill them for not believing in Allah. I have the name of a Muslim ‘Malala Yousafzai’ tattooed on my left arm and another, Raif Badawi tattooed on my right arm. This is to show my support to Muslims that want to escape the “mind forged manacles” of their Islamic faith. I have no phobia about Islam. I see it for what it is because I have seen what it does.

    #52721

    Christianity is no longer as violent as the Religion of Peace often is now but it actively did it’s God work in the past.

    #52719

    Beliefs and doubts are the results of information (stimuli) that the brain processes. Much of this process is done subconsciously and the result – or the emergent sensation of this process – is what we agree or disagree with. But it does not become like a printed book that cannot change. It is regularly receiving new information that we can interrogate and then use to change the confidence level up or down. That is how our beliefs can change over time.

    Most Freethinkers are open to changing their beliefs, based upon a willingness to be open minded to new stimuli. We use reasoning and logic to adapt our confidence level in a belief. Let’s get Bayesian about it!! We will follow the evidence and evolve accordingly. We are happy to debate openly about the information even if the debate compels us to change our own minds.

    But for many their emotions and identities are so wrapped up in their beliefs that they will actively, but subconsciously, cover their eyes and ears when new information is landing. They will not allow it to clear customs, never mind stay in arrivals to meet it.  It’s off to the confirmation bias lounge to down some group think for me!! Yeah, everyone is wearing the same hat in here as we all agree with each other. I know I ain’t woke but I do enjoy this safe space. Red hats good, no hats bad.

     

    #52717

    including when we decide to shrug off those same beliefs.

    Some random thoughts……We should consider our beliefs from a different perspective. They are not our possessions that we can just shrug off or pick up and cherish. Beliefs are a process. Believing in something is an ongoing process and not a finished product. They have an emotional impact on us, especially when they are challenged by people who we suspect of holding different beliefs to us. These beliefs are often at the very foundations of our worldview. In order to challenge anyone else’s beliefs, we must first reach a place of mutual respect. Otherwise, it is tribal and a case of Them vs Us where we can engage in questioning them. People come to belief something and then rationalize that they made a conscious decision to believe it. When we challenge someone’s belief, we should do so in a way that compels them to reconsider it for themselves. It is not a competition. I am just trying to plant a seed of doubt and let them do the work over time. Then the process of their belief is interrupted and it may turn in a different direction. Whichever way it turns, you will have helped them to change their mind even if they rationalize it as their own decision.

    But we do not need to respect the belief itself. You have rights but your beliefs do not (an Atheist Ireland tenet).  I once debated a Muslim apologist on the question “Atheism or Islam”. He is the Muslim version of WL Craig. I gave a short reply at the very start – “Oh that’s an easy one, Atheism, of course”. His reply was to ask me if I had a problem with Muslims as I did not appear to want to have a serious debate with him. I said “When you figure out what is wrong with your proposition, I will be happy to debate anything”. I went on to explain to him that Atheism is not the opposite of Islam and that neither is a choice, but he could not grasp that point. Fortunately, there was someone behind me ready to take over when he mentioned Evolution 😊

    It often seems to me that the made up ‘crime’ of Islamophobia is seen by non-atheists as the fear or hatred of Muslims. Maybe I will launch a campaign of oxymoronophobia.

    #52697

    Alabama’s I.V.F. ruling shows our slide toward Theocracy.

    To those advancing these ideas, the will of God counts more than the will of the American people, even when Americans object or disagree.

     

    #52694

    How can there be a murder charge when there is no body? A frozen embryo is about 120 microns in size. Ten of them in a row would be about a tenth of one millimeter in length.  If there is a power cut during a hurricane (an “Act of God”) and the freezer defrosts, will the management team be arrested for mass murder?

    #52691

    Maybe Putin envied Navalny?

    #52684

    Anytime I see Osteen’s face I have an image of slapping him in the face with a wet fish.  I feel I could only prosper after that.

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 3,748 total)