Topics

1

Or Kill Me / Broadcasted

« on: June 17, 2017, 07:48:52 pm »

I am abandoning my sense of cynicism.

Of course, that is wishful thinking. There's no way my brain will ever unknow the things it knows.

I know that those of us that don't drown or fry or get the business end of an oppressive government or a thousand other more detailed and dreadful scenarios will simply suffer from witnessing the fall of humanity.

And that's a real bummer.

Sure, the waters will rise, the earth will shake, and EVERYONE will be extra thirsty. We all know what happens to humans when they get THIRSTY.

But I can no longer maintain my cynicism despite these facts. Why? Because of Star Trek and Cosmos.

That does, at first seem damned silly. Especially when you figure how nobody with any power listened to a damn word Carl Sagan said, not so you'd notice anyway.

But it's not the hope of exploration and peace that frees me from the bounds of equal part fear and resignation, nor is it powerful insights into our own history in this vast universe. It's the fact that these TV shows exist at all.

We, a smattering of stardust in meat-form made TV shows! Not only that, we made TV shows about how badly we want to get back out into space, from whence we came. That is not only TOTALLY FUCKING COOL, but it shows us something essential:

Star dust can make TV shows.

Let me repeat that:
Star dust can make TV shows.

And sure, TV shows, on the cosmic scale aren't that important, that's not the point. If star dust can make TV shows once, they can probably do it again. And again, and again, and again. Why not?

Yes, it's going to be a real shit-show here on this dirt ball. People will suffer...more than they already are, which is kind of incredible in and of itself. We are going to leave this universe shrieking, no doubt about that.

But it's not exactly a universal tragedy, is it? I mean, do you want HUMANS exploring the stars? Jesus, NO!

Not that it's a moral dilemma we will have to face because we're past the point where that was a possibility, and I think we should be grateful for that. We had our chance, we had every natural resource needed to reach our bloody hands past the sky, and we blew it before we realized we blew it.

And that's a sad story and all, but I take extraordinary comfort in knowing some other intelligent life will, or has, not made the same mistakes as we. Maybe they won't even bother with TV, but I kind of doubt it. They will dream hard, just as we have, and they will do a better job. Not on this planet, of course, but somewhere in that epic vastness stories will be told and broadcasted into a future that isn't essentially doomed.

We failed the only litmus test that matters: Can you sustain yourself?

The answer is a resounded, deafening NO.

And that's ok, because there's still time, time enough for love, time enough for being honest with ourselves about who we are and what we want, time enough for us all to savor each moment of our stupid, pointless lives.

Either way, in 1000 years, if humans were to miraculously survive, nobody would remember who YOU are, so what, exactly do you have to lose?

2

Or Kill Me / Sources of Rage: #32,756

« on: February 01, 2017, 05:27:35 pm »

According to some dipshit Atheist Trump voter, Germany has had a serious problem with rape after letting in too many Muslims.

Much like Birth of a Nation and similar lying propaganda pieces, this is an attempt by pathetic white men to defend their violence and hatred by creating a myth of evil to surround Muslims. Clearly this tactic works, to a degree. At the very least it spreads like the clap, like Birth of a Nation did. People all over this country, even good-hearted people who ought to know better buy into the idea that black people are inherently more violent. This has excused white America's treatment of black Americans, it has enabled the redlining and gerrymandering, it has created the industrial prison complex.

It would be easier to swallow if, at ANY POINT IN MOTHERFUCKING TIME, these same exact pigfucking pieces of human garbage would EVER speak out about rape in America. But they don't. They don't bring it up, they are in fact the same pieces of shit that defend rapists and cry out about the evils of SJWs.

There isn't room on this planet for people like this.

I mean, there is, and they would happily clear out some room for themselves by wiping out an entire religion. If they get the chance, they're going to be in for a big surprise because it won't end with Muslims. That train ride never really ends until somebody else puts a stop to it.

I don't know if we, who are not white supremacist pieces of shit, will be able to put a stop to it. I don't think there's anything to depend on in that regard at this point in history.

I DO think that if these pigfuckers get their way, they won't have it long. In an almost ideal scenario, a Triumvirate between the US, Russia, and the UK forms. White supremacy attempts to take over the world. Perhaps halfway though war with China, perhaps after, when victory seems a certainty, the carbon load in the sky kills all life on earth.

I am, of course, an optimist.

3

Apple Talk / NAME THAT SPAG

« on: January 24, 2017, 09:55:06 pm »

I am not do sure Shifty will do.

SUGGESTIONS/AND, OR ABSOLUTE DECREES?

Grand Wizard of the Fuckbois is taken, apparently.

My original handle was going to be Poleris, which, I can see now, is a bit silly.

Thundercat Actual
Dr Octaroon
SillyBilly
SnapturtleOfDoom
Pickles
are all fine options.

YUO DECIDE, PD.*















*LIMITED TIME OFFER, EXCLUSIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. SEE YOUR LOCAL SPAG FOR DETAILS.

4

Aneristic Illusions / WHERE'S YOUR GODWIN, NOW?

« on: November 17, 2016, 06:43:01 pm »

That was after you called me a child, silly! Keep UP.

I didn't call you a child; I said that opinions were like children: those who have them are usually the ones least qualified. It's an addage that I've been saying for years. I wasn't making a comment on your particular opinions, but simply responding to the twist on the "opinions are like assholes" saying.

"I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

As for Godwin. This has been bugging me all election.

Godwin's law applies when in the midst of an argument you call your opponent a NAZI or Hitler as a means of defending your point. My point is that the right just elected a president with actual NAZI ideology, as opposed to conservative ideology.

Since Godwin's Law isn't formal, it has been long-since (unspokenly) amended to include people who accuse others of being literal Nazis as a form of hyperbole.

If you honestly, truly believe that someone is an actual Nazi, you've got a pretty big burden of proof resting on your shoulders if you're going to invoke that opinion in an argument. Most of the time, you'll just not be taken seriously and people will assume that you're being hyperbolic and vitriolic.

This is a perfect distillation of the argument I have only been able to touch upon on FB.

I can't find the source, but some years ago I read about Ken Kesey speaking at some rally. I think he was just walking by one and somebody noticed him and asked him to speak. He gets to the podium and says something to effect of: "You know what you people are doing with the marching and the banner waving and chants, it's basically the same method used by the NAZIs to take power". I think he was just talking from an aesthetic perspective, perhaps implying that taking steps to create positive societal change isn't waving banners and chanting. I don't know if he was right or wrong, but I always thought it was funny

That's no doubt a rougher version than what actually happened, but the point is clear, and hilarious. While Trump may or may not hit every check-box for Totally Legit NAZI, the people that voted for him could easily be seen as voting Hitler in. The zealousness. The same exact thing could be said for all the Bernie Bros, not all his supporters, just those who would not listen to reason, those who simply refused to see anything beyond black and white terms. Especially, when it comes to race.

I have meandered a little bit here....
Oh yeah, does Godwin apply when you call a NAZI a NAZI?

5

Apple Talk / HAY ALTY, YOU SHOULD LEAVE ALASKA.

« on: November 09, 2014, 11:29:59 pm »

Even though you can't, you should.

I am going to tell you this over and over and over and over and over.

HELLO, MY NAME IS ALTY AND THE PLACE WHERE I LIVE DEFINES EVER SINGLE HUMAN INTERACTION I EXERIENCE.

PLEASE DO MAKE A DROP IN THE PITY PLATE ON YOUR WAY OUT.



*Posted for future use.

6

Apple Talk / Gaining Faith

« on: June 28, 2014, 02:35:55 am »

As a devout, empassioned Apathetic Agnostic the notion of faith comes hard to me. I feel very strongly about the fact that we just don't know. None of us, none of us knows a damned thing about GAWD. All we have is shadows. And I would gladly tell THAT on the mountain. I would gladly spend the rest of my life preaching the Good Word of Hopeless Loss and Confusion.

But I don't because, well, we don't want agnostism to be confused with anything like evangelcial ANYTHING, atheism perhaps least of all.

Still, there is so much inside me that wants to scream: YOU DON'T KNOW, MOTHERFUCKERS, YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT FUCK.

Thus the concept of faith, of acceptance of fact without proof, is detestable to me. It makes my stomach churn.  So, it is with trepidation that I admit I have begun to accept things without facts to back them up.

I have begun BELIEVING in things. This, to my mind, is always a dangerous endeavour. But, I have no choice. Well, I do, but one of those choices is unacceptable. I am left with one way to go, one path to take.

Without proof, without evidence, that beating, pulsing source of information, I must accept that it's not ALL my fault and I am not the monster others would have me be. I refuse to be a construct of other people's tepid, rotted minds.

I like to say, and say more and more often:
Pride comes before the wall, but confidence take you through THE WALL.

But where in the hell does confidence come from?

Mostly from the positive reactions your actions create in others. But that is a poor source for confidence. People are fickle fucks. You can't trust them.

What can you trust?

I don't know, I think that's where the faith part comes in.

You see, I do not attribute much weight to the opinion about my own self to any one person. That seems a dangerous route to go. People, such as they are, can think of me as EVIL or a GOOD MAN or A FAGGY PIECE OF SHIT WHO WHOULD STICK A SHOTGUN IN HIS MOUTH. People have seen me as all these things and more, and less. Who do I trust? The people that make me FEEL better?

Who or what makes their opinions matter more than those who make me feel like shit? Who is RIGHT?

I don't know and I don't care, apathetic agnositc till I die, yo.

All I do know is that a human can't live their life in such a way that does not give glory to the small and insignificant and powerful truth of that life. It is a precious thing, and each unique. This exhilerates and depresses and gratifies me. I can't tell which is stronger. I can say though, with some certainty, that I don't need a reason to believe, anymore than I need to believe.

7

Apple Talk / Art and Bad People

« on: June 15, 2014, 08:35:41 pm »

When do you disregard an artists? Should society as a whole (whatever that means) disregard an artists for any reason? When and how?

There seems to be some relationship between the quality of the work VS the level of horror perpetrated by the person, as perceived by the public.

Micheal Jackson has some sweet pieces of music.
Da Vinci's contributions are obvous.
Woody Allen has his moments.

I was/am listening to Amanda Palmer and despite whatever is going on with her professional and personal life, her music has helped my considerably the way music does sometimes.

In more rational persuits facts are laid down very clearly and the personal acts outside of those persuits don't really have any bearing on those facts. It doesn't matter if Al Gore is an asshole or greedy or whatever as long as the facts he presents about the climate are true. The one doesn''t wash the hand of the other.

Is that true of art? More to the point, does it matter?

Art has an affect on society, our dreams lead us to very real places. Which is not to say that because Micheal Jackson's music creates incidences of sexual abuse. But does it perpetuate the culture which allows for more sexual abuse?

If so, just what does anyone do about that.

Of course, every indidivual person makes up their own mind. I don't listen to MJ's music, even though I really liked it as a kid. Hah.

I'm not sure what I think about all that.

8

Apple Talk / Eris and Lesser Gods

« on: June 03, 2014, 07:11:44 pm »

A lot of religions are simply a series of warnings and promises.

If you avoid this and play nice, you will get X.

People like that because they are dumb and enjoy dreaming. It's better, for them apparently, to live in eternal (or as close as any one of us can manage) rapture, yearning for the day their prayers becomes answered and glory be.

Stupid.

Not because they choose to believe in something, though I have my doubts about the enduring benefits of belief. No, they are stupid because that is a RAW DEAL. Why wait? Why put up with fickle, silent gods?

Discordia offers you More Fun Than You Really Wanted RIGHT NOW! No waiting for the afterlife. No waiting for the return of the eight-horned worm of doom to return from the Jesus Juice Sunshine Factory.

No.

Eris will not let your prayers go unheeded, then she will just not let you go. You may scream and kick and, well, those two things over and over forever, but she will not release the grip up uglieness. There's no excommunication around here and ain't that just awful?

Then again, it's a whole lot better than just getting conned, isn't it? Sure, it's horrible and unpleasant and quite often forces you to turn to some small part of your brain where Her Holy Fallout hasn't yet made it impossible for you to do more than quake with fear. These little places where you can still tell yourself pleasing lies, even if they are grotesque by your own standards; the little places where Tumblr whispers to your heart.

Sure.

But it's THERE, isn't it? This Holy Light doesn't have conditions or demands or requirements, it doesn't ask for tithes or evangelism, it doesn't prohibit you from expressing your inner self or your sexuality, it just gives you more of the same. And it gives it to you with an efficiency that make something super efficient look like something totally lame at efficiency.

You can't buy spiritual gratification like that, and you can't turn it off, and you can't run fast enought.

And thank god for that.

9

Think for Yourself, Schmuck! / Passed the bars.

« on: May 29, 2014, 09:32:18 pm »

One of the easier lies to tell yourself is that you want out of your cell.

These bars are too thick!
These walls are too narrow and unsightly!
I want out!

No. You don't. You never did. In fact, and I know this is going to hard to understand, but you need to know: you already got out. For a while. But it didn't take you long to meander past the smaller walls you put up around the outer edges of your prison. In no time at all you worked your way toward the far end, the swirling and pulsing horizon that reaches all the way up and from side to side.

From far away, sitting in the confines of your safe place it seemed this place was shifting back and forth, shifting things in and out of your line of sight. Some parts were covered completely, others were so twisted and warped that they made little sense, if any.

But right at the foot of it, as far away from your prison as you could possibly be, it's all clear. Every bit of it, there, inescapable. You can see so clearly all the dreams you gave up on, the dreams you couldn't see, the dreams you'll never see. Behind the drab grey covers and deep in the hidden nooks of this horrible and beautiful and distant part of your own self, as you reach through, trying to get as far away from your cell as possible you'll find cold, hard, immovable stones.

You chose to forget all about that though. Better to hope. Better to sit in idleness, cursing the horrible nature of your situation, while, with the same breath, pining for reaching closer to your dreams, to your distant goals, ignoring the menacing fears that mingle with them.

Better to live that way, eh? Your head may be in the sand, but at believe you must pull free, even if you know better.

10

Apple Talk / Alty's Hurtling Through Meat-Space Thread

« on: May 05, 2014, 07:26:16 pm »

A personal shit thread cuz I need one, ATM

This place I am living at now, it's good. There's a little girl my son can play with, it's in a safe neighborhood, and they're letting me stay rent free at the moment. The social aspect has been good for me, pulled me out of the doom spirals.

But it wouldn't be my life if there wasn't some sort of catch. If there wasn't I'd be terrified I was trapped in some Twilight Zone nightmare.

They are a married couple, plus there's a fellow who they've known a long time. He's nice. Quiet type.

The husband of this couple, I have talked about him before. He's the guy who freaked out however many years ago when I made a move on him and then waited however many years to have his wife tell me that he did in fact have feelings for me. He said we should have a few beers sometime, talk. And then he said nothing about anything for a year. Say lavee.

After moving in I thought, well, I thought he would say, you know, something, but he just plays video games all. day. long.

He was in this poly family...thing this last year and he's all heartbroken over this lady who bailed. He keeps comparing what I went through with what he went through. Ah ha, ah ha. Well, at least you still have a devoted, caring, loving wife, dude. Actually, you should wake up thanking whatever allows for such luck for a man who rarely does the dishes or make dinner. Hell, I've been doing more of that since I've been here than he has. Then again, none of my business. They work out their system for domestic shit, fine. I'm just saying he could be a little more grateful for what he has instead of pining after some Dawkins atheist who fucked off six months ago.

I sort of gave up on him talking about that, you know, gay sex thing, and I have this thing about people too afraid of their own self to step up and say something. I don't like banging people who lack courage, and I don't like doing the emotional heavy lifting for people I am involved with. If you start doing that shit in the beginning you end up doing it all the time. Like the dishes.

So, he finally says something. Last night. When he and I are shitfaced.

Am I the only one who really, really, really hates it when people can't open up unless they're soaked in booze?

Ah, yes, the other thing. Last night, I wasn't JUST shitfaced. I was riding high on the Holy Light of Eris.

Do any of you remember...let's see it was Cain, Phox, and Nigel...that guy who commented on my FB post about people reaching a certain age and becoming wise elders, he was being a passive aggressive dick and we descended on him like clouds of doom?

Well, that was shortly after I had been silently dumped by that dudes GF. They're a poly couple, which is ironic because my FB post was based on Nigel talking about gross "relationship queer" dudes.

Anyway, the fella that lives in this house, the non-married one, is dating THAT lady and she came over last night.

I did laugh and laugh and laugh last night.

So here we all are: Me, Too-Proud-Too-Beg Dude, his wife who is an awesome human being and a very good friend, roommate, and my ex-GF, playing dominoes. I was already applying boilermakers to my soul, so I just kept at it and got Holier Than Hell.

I love socially awkward settings. Ask Nigel. It's good fun. I slip in some slight commentary to my ex-GF, which she picks up on because she's smart as a whip. Everything is actually pretty chill and defused, partially, by the Holy Light.

My ex and the dude go upstairs and bang, loudly but not for long.

And while I am trying to keep the table I'm sitting at from flying away and crashing thought the window, Mr. Wait and Wait unloads on me.

Not in the good way.

The truth is: there is no way on earth I am banging anyone in this household. This is my last stop. If this doesn't work out it's back to the van. The god damned van that, of course, has needed a bunch of repairs and still needs completely new brakes. I can't and won't fuck this shit up with stupid genitals.

Plus, I'm in no place for that kind of thing anyway. I just got my divorce decree this week. I saw my ex-wife just an hour ago, so she could sign an amended tax return. I'm just now pulling myself out of that deep dark depression. As much as I would love to get laid, I don't want to get to know anyone, and my emotional state is stable as long as I don't think about romance.

It's all just so damned SILLY.

Anyway, I needed to unload that. Thanks PD.

11

Apple Talk / Too much of the only thing.

« on: May 05, 2014, 12:50:44 am »

Distractions are all well and good. They are, no but. Thank god for distractions.

That's why we make such an effort to identify with and proliferate stories, because the dreams we share are those that make the burden of the isolated human life tolerable.

The mistake, if it can be called a mistake, happens when we suddenly find ourselves so deeply immersed in our distractions that the petty and stupid needs and desires of real life, such as they are, distract us from those glittery dreams.

How is it that human blood can pump so hot and hard, beating against every capillary, slow-roasting the body over a lifetime, only to peter out into bland inaction? How do people keep a hold of their sanity living like that? Yeah, I am judging.

Now, in a state of stasis, just waiting for another rotation of the earth, waiting for a new season, it makes sense to bide one's time. That's another reason for stories, I think. We humans spend a lot of time waiting, and it can be tiresome.

I want to be very clear here:
I make no judgement against distractions in general. I like 'em, I use 'em. We'd all probably go crazy without them.

But when the moment for action comes, when you've spend too many winters waiting and yearning and pining, and you just FUCKING SIT THERE IN A PILE OF YOUR OWN MENTAL FILTH BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO TAKE A CHANCE...is it my job to lull you out of your stupor? Is it my lot to kick your moldy synapses in the asshole?

I don't think so. Not in this life. Maybe another time when we both come back as dung beetles.

12

Apple Talk / Apology, but

« on: March 13, 2014, 12:00:25 am »

Annnnd he threw my apology back in my face.

Leaving now.  Be back when I get back from the East coast.

Ok, you wanna do this. Fine by me.

You have often said that an apology doesn't count when it's followed by a "but" or "however".

So I don't see why you think that one was supposed to mean anything to me.

Furthermore, you say you are sorry for misinterpreting me. I don't know what exactly makes you think that should magically make it all ok. That is the exact problem.

I am indeed sorry for the things I said in that thread. I got a big dose of stupid in my system that day. I also wasn't sure how I felt about the issue, and as is typical for me, I just blurted it all out without filters or second thought and felt whatever hostility I got, from an intellectual level, was something I could deal with, as I have always done.

What I could not deal with was the worst possible thing being assumed by someone who I respected: That I was making the sort of callous, uneducated judgement I thought I was decrying in the first place about someone's parenting. Something which I know FULL GOD DAMNED WELL isn't any of my business.

I made some mistakes in that thread, generally, though I haven't read any words in it passed: fuck you fuck you fuck and you fucking asshole. I could sense I was letting my stupid hang out.

Now. Every time my wife has done her thing during my shitty marriage she used anything she could in my mood or manner to make me feel like I was somehow shitting on her, was trying to make her feel bad, didn't care about her, or in some way was acting like an asshole.  It was at the center of the hostility I got from her, which eventually turned into the real shitty stuff. Every damned time.

Of course, combined with the shitty reputation I have in this town, my track record with exes, and my near total lack of friendship, it's hard for me to ascertain whether I am just an impossible asshole or just have a shitty way of expressing myself.

I would have thought, after the years I have spent here, I would be given some benefit of the doubt as to whether or not I am saying things that only a fucking asshole would say and truly mean. Guess not. Guess I haven't earned that. Well, you know, this place is one of the only meters I have to measure myself. I have few peers. I thought my mind was laid fairly wide open. And yet, no. No I don't get that. I obviously, deep down, in my heart of hearts hold TERRIBLE JUDGEMENT against Nigel's parenting. Couldn't be that I stuck my foot in my own asshole. Nope. Not one ounce of leeway given by someone I felt actual, real-live friendship with.

Fine. FINE. You know, I can handle it. If that's what she think about me, let her.

That word, it's sort of a trigger for me.

When I was 11 years old my grandmother came up to me, turned off the TV and said, "I'm going to say this in english because I want to make sure you understand me. You are a little asshole and no one is ever going to like you because of it."

I told this to my stepfather who had words with her.

After that she came to me again wearing a handful of her rings. She asked me if I had told my stepfather what she told me. I said yes and she backhanded me to the ground and walked away without a word.

Now, I am not saying this to excuse my behavior or my stupid or my poor communication.

I am just saying it illustrate that it's a particular trigger when used a certain way. We all have them.

So, I took a break for four fucking days. I came here and apologized because I felt it was due, and then went to FB and told people their I was going to be away. I have felt very depressed. I had some drunken ex fling over here Saturday night who got abusive with me. I didn't want to unload on you or anyone else the self pity and loathing I was feeling. I was trying to not be all emo, I was trying to get my shit together.

AND YOU DECIDE THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO SHIT ALL OVER ME.

FOR SOMETHING I DIDN' FUCKING DO.

FOR REASONS YOU DIDN'T MAKE CLEAR UNTIL YOUR "APOLOGY".

It was not a good one Roger. And it is the fact that you did exactly what has pissed me off and brought me low, the thing that people I have known my entire life have done to me, because I am obviously intending the worst and mean the worst and am the worst, that makes your apology a poor one.

Saying: I am sorry, but I am dealing with this particular issue right now, doesn't cut it, man.

Saying: I am sorry for doing the thing that has made you feel deeply depressed, would have been a lot fucking better.

Saying: Hey it looks like you are really fucking upset, I didn't mean that, I am sorry, would have worked.

Hell: I am going to leave you alone for right now, would have motherfucking worked. But you didn't say any of that.

I am sort of surprised I have to explain this to you.

I am constantly misinterpreted. Every fucking day, people don't get me. I kind of count on you to be there in that way where so many others are not. I guess I depend on PD that way, but I'd be lying if I said it means as much as when you do it.

But you don't want to deal with that. An "I'm sorry but" and it's supposed to be all better.

Listen, you didn't make a small error here. You chose a bad time to do something I have been struggling with for some time now. And you did right as I was leaving the horrible tension and aching gut behind.

Right as I am feeling like I can do this, I can survive up here, HOMELESSS for all intents and purposes, right after I get a client's husband's phone call from one of VERY FEW regulars saying she got into a car accident and is in the hospital, and will be, right there and then I get:

I won't fucking be here when you get fucking back.

You set me off, and if you can't deal with the fall out from that, if you want to end our friendship because I wouldn't accept an "I'm sorry but" right when I am seeing nothing but red, then go ahead. I won't stop you. But don't you dare come here and tell these people that I threw your apology back in your face, because that's not what fucking happened.

13

Apple Talk / Apology

« on: March 12, 2014, 06:53:21 pm »

I want to apologize for the stupid shit I said in that thread.

I am sorry.

14

Apple Talk / Fat, fat, fat

« on: March 09, 2014, 10:20:35 pm »

Where do these assumptions about fat content in the body come from?

Where do the assumptions about how well any one person can lose weight and keep it off through known, effective diet methods come from?

How many people who choose to diet to do by what some may see as the correct way VS harmful ways that most often result in not only regaining of the weight, but even more weight then they had before?

By what standard is an amount of fat, visibly noticeable, considered healthy or unhealthy?

When you say "health" just what exactly do you mean? Can you offer a concise, broadly applicable definition of health? Generally? In this specific context?

We can safely say that BMI is a very, very poor indicator of what amounts to "healthy" weight.

Do you know for certain, by looking at someone, that their fat is causing them health problems? Can you count their cholesterol levels by seeing how far their belly hangs over their belt?

What do you suppose is a more serious problem:

Accepting fat people's bodies for what they are at that precise moment as it is the only body they have at that same moment, and allowing them to believe that they will not be judged harshly for it, thus, supposedly, leading them to get fatter and fatter.

OR

The already existing massive amounts of pressure our society imposes on people, most especially women, to possess a specific body type, that MOST DEFINITELY leads to eating disorders, depression, suicidal thoughts, and an altogether vicious cycle that makes people feel the kind of shame that keeps them away from exercise because they barely want to be seen out of the house, let alone in the gym.

Faust, I am sort of surprised to see you compare the proliferation of gun use leading to more deaths by gun, to obesity.

What medical knowledge do you possess that allows you to make an informed comparison between the two? Not to mention the callousness toward people who really, really already have enough to deal without being made to feel they should DIE because of their bodies.

I ask again:

How do you know, from looking at someone and their body, that they are unhealthy? How do you know their arteries are caked on the inside out with muck that will eventually clog their hearts? Based on what data do you make these broad assumptions?

Yeah, exercise is good for you. Yeah, eating certain foods over others is good for you.

No, none of you here are qualified in any way to make judgements on people about their state of health based off external observations. No one is. Blood work, that's what tells you about what's ticking in the human body. When you can afford it. Not big bellies, not saddle-bags, not love-handles.

Nor are any of you qualified to determine whether someone is able to exercise at all. Not everyone can.

It is often said that there are only few instances when someone can associate their weight with glandular problems or the like. When is it okay apply this acceptance? When they tell you about their thyroid disorder? Just what business is it of anyone's?

Here's the deal:

YOU can deal with YOUR weight, and your own shame, however the hell you want.

You can can avoid dating people who don't fit a body type you are attracted to.

And hell, you can even make broad, sweeping generalizations about a large group of human beings whose physiology you can only make assumptions about. I am definitely not going to try to stop you.

I just have to wonder: why? Why do you even care?

Furthermore, what makes you care more about the dangerous obesity epidemic than the shame that such people must endure?

I don't have much of any kind of medical training. But I do deal with the human body, and I will say this with some great deal of certainty:

Your mind spends a great deal of time in your body, if only in a secondary manner. And when you want to permanently undo something in the body the VERY WORST thing you can do is try to force it.

When you force the body to do something it reacts in a protective and defensive manner.

When you allow the body to be as it is, without trying to change it, without telling it that it is BEING WRONG, it feels safe and secure enough to change.

I think people are like that to.

I think if there is any one thing that causes people to fluctuate wildly in their weight is the pressure they feel. Fat people are told every single day that they aren't worth love, or kindness, or even life itself, because of they way their body is shaped at that exact moment.

They are told this by their family, by every single media outlet, by their doctors.

I may be repeating myself at this point, but I am wholly convinced that the pressure and shame people experiences is way, way, way more harmful than the food you THINK they are eating or the lifestyle you THINK they are maintaining.

15

Apple Talk / Official Favorite Tumblr Thread

« on: March 04, 2014, 12:49:36 am »

Some of mine:

engineeringhistory
theexercist
thisisthinprivilege
fastfoodforthemutants
weirdvintage
badsonicfanart
cashcats
honestslogans
hotel-job
willitbeard