War Zone Tourist

[Doktor Howl]

Back on topic, I can't see why anyone would willingly subject themselves to that shit.

I found a partial description, though.

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,22758.0.html

[LMNO]

I dunno why the male pronouns came in there, I think it's because I've been spending a lot of time in communities where the default assumption was "male" and specifying "female" made our work different and I found it got in the way of honest evaluations.

On that tangent, it's been really interesting to see how different my assumptions on gender for posters in this forum are from thr assumptions I make elsewhere on the internets. As in, generally not assuming anything until someone specifies one way or another.

Chicas here are respected or jeered at based on content.  My own observations of PD gender are that it doesn't matter one way or the other.  In fact our ladyfolk tend to be stronger personalities on average. 

That the chicks tend to be hotter here than other places on the internet. 

And with better moustaches.

[Freeky]

I dunno why the male pronouns came in there, I think it's because I've been spending a lot of time in communities where the default assumption was "male" and specifying "female" made our work different and I found it got in the way of honest evaluations.

On that tangent, it's been really interesting to see how different my assumptions on gender for posters in this forum are from thr assumptions I make elsewhere on the internets. As in, generally not assuming anything until someone specifies one way or another.

Chicas here are respected or jeered at based on content.  My own observations of PD gender are that it doesn't matter one way or the other.  In fact our ladyfolk tend to be stronger personalities on average. 

That the chicks tend to be hotter here than other places on the internet. 

And with better moustaches.

Oh shit, I almost forgot about our fantastic 'staches!

Gotta get more 'stache.  Gotta.

[Cain]

This is a terrible idea.  Take it from me, anyone that can avoid a combat zone should avoid a combat zone.

Agreed.  I would say even spending too much time thinking about new and efficient ways to kill people has a generally negative impact on one, mentally, let alone going to a war zone and getting involved, where the mental and physical risks are much higher.

[Doktor Howl]

This is a terrible idea.  Take it from me, anyone that can avoid a combat zone should avoid a combat zone.

Agreed.  I would say even spending too much time thinking about new and efficient ways to kill people has a generally negative impact on one, mentally, let alone going to a war zone and getting involved, where the mental and physical risks are much higher.

If you've got it good, leave it good.  There is nothing good in a war zone.  It's not reality TV, as you well know.  It's the worst thing in the world.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

This is a terrible idea.  Take it from me, anyone that can avoid a combat zone should avoid a combat zone.

Agreed.  I would say even spending too much time thinking about new and efficient ways to kill people has a generally negative impact on one, mentally, let alone going to a war zone and getting involved, where the mental and physical risks are much higher.

If you've got it good, leave it good.  There is nothing good in a war zone.  It's not reality TV, as you well know.  It's the worst thing in the world.

I have trouble buying the notion that people who were involved in writing the BIP don't understand the appeal of the worst thing in the world for inexperienced jailbreakers.

[Doktor Howl]

This is a terrible idea.  Take it from me, anyone that can avoid a combat zone should avoid a combat zone.

Agreed.  I would say even spending too much time thinking about new and efficient ways to kill people has a generally negative impact on one, mentally, let alone going to a war zone and getting involved, where the mental and physical risks are much higher.

If you've got it good, leave it good.  There is nothing good in a war zone.  It's not reality TV, as you well know.  It's the worst thing in the world.

I have trouble buying the notion that people who were involved in writing the BIP don't understand the appeal of the worst thing in the world for inexperienced jailbreakers.

And you can't tell anybody shit.  Not until they have to bludgeon themselves unconscious with pills every night, for the rest of their lives.

When people hear "the worst thing in the world", they think danger & excitement.  What you really get is a horrible banality of evil, bits of stark terror here and there, and lots and lots of dead kids.  Kids, you see, have fine instincts...But lack the experience and the physical strength or just the ability to get the hell out of the way, which is why there's always more dead kids than dead adults.

War isn't waged between armies, it's waged on people by armies.

But as I've always said, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs, and you can't make a Brave New World without breaking some children.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

This is a terrible idea.  Take it from me, anyone that can avoid a combat zone should avoid a combat zone.

Agreed.  I would say even spending too much time thinking about new and efficient ways to kill people has a generally negative impact on one, mentally, let alone going to a war zone and getting involved, where the mental and physical risks are much higher.

If you've got it good, leave it good.  There is nothing good in a war zone.  It's not reality TV, as you well know.  It's the worst thing in the world.

I have trouble buying the notion that people who were involved in writing the BIP don't understand the appeal of the worst thing in the world for inexperienced jailbreakers.

Maybe that's the problem. I've never seen the worst thing in the world, and I never, ever fucking want to, because I've seen other things that were pretty bad. They were nowhere near the worst thing in the world, and they make me so fucking grateful that, knock on wood, I won't have to see the worst thing in the world.

So, when I see someone who wants to go play tourist-vacation in a war zone, what I think I must be looking at is someone so spoiled, so sheltered, so hopelessly unchallenged in life that they really, authentically have no sense of perspective on "bad".

To someone like that, I would say, instead of going to a war zone, do something infinitely simpler: volunteer. See some real, human hardship up close in a way that will do your community real good, and keep doing it until you have just a touch of the perspective it takes to understand why you want to stay as far away as possible from the worst thing in the world. If that's not enough for you, sell all your worldly possessions and move to Mexico.

That should do it.

[Freeky]

What Nigel said, with emphasis!

[Placid Dingo]

Going through these kinds of what do I do with myself, how can I do some good kind Of decisions now and have been playing with journalism as an option.

This thread is helpful.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

I am with Nigel. Acquaint yourself with local purgatory before flinging yourself into foreign hell.

[hirley0]

Did you know that I am an 18-year-old girl?

No. could i get an interest time anyway? 2:22-2:28 AM psT
:27:47 board?

[Sita]

That's what I like about horror movies. I can get my fill of murder and mayhem perfectly fine watching a screen.
I know for a fact I wouldn't be able to stomach most of that shit if it were happening in front of me.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Did you know that I am an 18-year-old girl?

No. could i get an interest time anyway? 2:22-2:28 AM psT
:27:47 board?

Ooooh little miss LMNO, you have a suitor!

[Triple Zero]

To someone like that, I would say, instead of going to a war zone, do something infinitely simpler: volunteer. See some real, human hardship up close in a way that will do your community real good, and keep doing it until you have just a touch of the perspective it takes to understand why you want to stay as far away as possible from the worst thing in the world. If that's not enough for you, sell all your worldly possessions and move to Mexico.

That should do it.

This. I've been doing quite some volunteer work recently (with the Young Researchers) and, well, there's been no horrors there thankfully, but it's slowly edging my way into parts of society that I'd only "see" on TV in my college years. There's also other bits I get into contact with via welfare.

There's this volunteer organisation called Humanitas that's really doing great things, I got into contact with them when I was looking for volunteer work to do. It's absolutely beautiful the things they do, helping immigrants, addicts, disabled, elderly people and also people who are just lonely for whatever reason (there's a LOT of that btw, sure it's a 1st world problem cause every NL citizen gets state support, but with the Internet and smartphone generation some people just fall through and they don't know how to reconnect). I decided this would be way too much emotional strain for me but as soon as I got the chaos in my life sufficiently sorted out to be right there. Because it's the most beautiful thing.

Anyway, the point is that if you want to find what's "real", what people that don't have it as good, you don't need to look far, they're right there. And really, locally you can do a LOT more good than if you travel to some far away war zone. Well maybe not from a utilitarian ethical viewpoint, but it's easier, so you're more likely to actually do it instead of just think that you should buy that plane ticket. And you'll be the sort of person that really makes society work. It greases it. By pulling up the lowest bars, you're raising the average for everybody. Additionally, you're setting an example. Like even when you're not volunteering when you give up your place to the elderly person in the subway, you show that that is how it works, when you offer your help to the disabled guy in the scooter that is struggling to get their groceries in their bag, you lower the bar for others to help next time because they'll see that's just what you do.

A friend of mine studied medicine, became a doctor and she's helping people in Africa, did a lot of tropics doctor things (also during her studies) and by the end of the year she'll be helping people in the Congo. Which is absolutely awesome.

Still, I once read this piece in the paper, which absolutely touched me. It was about a doctor in some bad neighbourhood of Amsterdam, and how he helped homeless people and other people that had no proper health insurance for some reason. Outside his regular hours. Because he felt he had to. You gotta try real hard to have no healthcare in NL, but being an illegal immigrant does the trick (there's ways, but..), as does being homeless and somehow evading all the other social help available. Problem is, it's all there for the taking but you gotta ask for it and let them and jump through a couple of bureaucratic hoops and if your mind's screwy that can be hard (skipping a lot of nuances here). Some of his patients didn't actually have much of an ailment but just wanted .. some care? You know? Like a listening ear. You don't need to be a doctor for doing that.

See, I might not have a job, be supported by my state for which I am ever so grateful. Every. Single. Day. But in the mean time, there's a stupid shitload of things all over everywhere around me, of people that get such a disproportionate amount of happiness from the simplest help or just taking some lonely village granny out for shopping on a Saturday afternoon, or just even a gesture of help--it's the low-hanging fruits of society that you forgot about maybe. Helping is easy, you just need to find something that feels like it's no effort (though you'll find it is) but is something that is out of reach for others. Everybody has their own hangups, and it's just wonderful to give that thing that for some strange reason does not come easy to others.