Once more, we find ourselves on the parapet of change. No more then a few short months, Americans will be voting for the chance to elect either an African American that actually seems to be spouting sound ideas, or yet another white man that see Bush's current approval rating as a good enough excuse to continue the crap. As an American, all I can say is...whatever.
Sure, Barack sounds like he would be a good guy. Hell, he isn't even president and already he's flying around world and making the people overseas go wild with a patriotism that Americans should be feeling without having somebody killing hundreds of us. In Germany, they were waving flags as if they lived here in the States. Why the hell don't we do that?
And it isn't to say McCain isn't that bad of a man, either. He has a lot more sounder polices in mind then Bush does, but he still seems to want to keep the current engine of ignorance going along. Plus, him touring America just makes him look like he's not even concerned with the world stage. It makes me wonder how much of an isolationist he is.
However, even if both are better, I can't help but to see downfalls. If Barack is voted in, I fear it would only be as a novelty president. President only because he's black. And McCain? An only more efficient warmonger. As a Discordian, or maybe just as an asshole, I can't see any true change coming along. Just more fuckups. For me, the end of the American Empire is close. How much longer can we last?
I'm counting the days.
What the fuck kind of metaphor is "parapet of change"?
(http://www.end.com/~jynx/castles/affleck/photo1.jpg)
?
Quote from: K-Scar on July 26, 2008, 03:50:24 AM
Once more, we find ourselves on the parapet of change. No more then a few short months, Americans will be voting for the chance to elect either an African American that actually seems to be spouting sound ideas, or yet another white man that see Bush's current approval rating as a good enough excuse to continue the crap. As an American, all I can say is...whatever.
Um.
What does skin color have to do with it?
Seriously, it's not like the guy has a VAGINA or anything.
Everyone knows that hypocritical fascist Democrats with vaginas are way different from the regular hypocritical fascist Democrats.
Quote from: Nigel on July 26, 2008, 05:42:30 AM
What the fuck kind of metaphor is "parapet of change"?
The same kind as "political steam blowing"?
I AM ON THE TOWER OF DOOKIE. I CAN CHOOSE TO TAKE THAT DOOKIE, OR NOT TO TAKE THAT DOOKIE.
Quote from: Nigel on July 26, 2008, 05:42:30 AM
What the fuck kind of metaphor is "parapet of change"?
With my infinite powers of seeing the best in people, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that K-Scar meant "precipice," not "parapet."
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on July 26, 2008, 06:50:47 AM
Quote from: K-Scar on July 26, 2008, 03:50:24 AM
Once more, we find ourselves on the parapet of change. No more then a few short months, Americans will be voting for the chance to elect either an African American that actually seems to be spouting sound ideas, or yet another white man that see Bush's current approval rating as a good enough excuse to continue the crap. As an American, all I can say is...whatever.
Um.
What does skin color have to do with it?
One of the candidates is black, the other is white. Am I missing something?
Quote from: Cainad on July 26, 2008, 02:25:27 PM
Quote from: Nigel on July 26, 2008, 05:42:30 AM
What the fuck kind of metaphor is "parapet of change"?
With my infinite powers of seeing the best in people, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that K-Scar meant "precipice," not "parapet."
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on July 26, 2008, 06:50:47 AM
Quote from: K-Scar on July 26, 2008, 03:50:24 AM
Once more, we find ourselves on the parapet of change. No more then a few short months, Americans will be voting for the chance to elect either an African American that actually seems to be spouting sound ideas, or yet another white man that see Bush's current approval rating as a good enough excuse to continue the crap. As an American, all I can say is...whatever.
Um.
What does skin color have to do with it?
One of the candidates is black, the other is white. Am I missing something?
Yes, yes, that quite explains the phrase "or yet another white man".
Ah. Well, McCain is, technically, another white man in a long succession of white men to be a candidate for president, but I see what you mean.
No Parapets here
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2705250835_c940b7f5c3.jpg?v=0)
Quote from: Quimby on July 27, 2008, 07:31:08 AM
No Parapets here
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2705250835_c940b7f5c3.jpg?v=0)
:lulz: :lulz: :lulz:
I'm stealing that.
Actually, I haven't a damned clue what all of this means either. A friend of mine wrote it and asked me to post it up for him, 'cause he figured I was some politically minded guy. That and I owed him a favor. I am going to suppose it was just him ranting, though. That's why I put it here.
Quote from: K-Scar on July 28, 2008, 04:13:09 AM
Actually, I haven't a damned clue what all of this means either. A friend of mine wrote it and asked me to post it up for him, 'cause he figured I was some political guy. That and I owed him a favor. I going to suppose it was just him ranting, though. That's why I put it here.
In today's lesson, we learn not to post other peoples' drivel under our own monikers...
Yeah, though I must admit, it's pretty damn funny. I just showed him the link and he's pissed. "They don't understand!" he says. No shit.
Quote from: K-Scar on July 28, 2008, 04:23:54 AM
Yeah, though I must admit, it's pretty damn funny. I just showed him the link and he's pissed. "They don't understand!" he says. No shit.
Tell him we are on the edge of the parapet of understanding.
TGRR,
Has no problem jamming another metaphor into the hopper.
I don't buy K-Scars story.
I demand a better class of flak avoidance.
Tell him to sign up and explain himself.
Also, if your meaning is not clear, then I'm afraid to say it is the failing of the writer, in almost every situation.
Every stupid unfunny thing I've ever posted. It was someone elses. I posted it for them as a favour, just thought y'all should know.
It's not Thursday again yet, though ?
No.
It's now "It's Moday"
it sure as fuck is monday.
surely it's "itsEmoday..."
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on July 26, 2008, 02:07:28 PM
I AM ON THE TOWER OF DOOKIE. I CAN CHOOSE TO TAKE THAT DOOKIE, OR NOT TO TAKE THAT DOOKIE.
TAKE THAT DOOKIE.
Quote from: K-Scar on July 28, 2008, 04:23:54 AM
Yeah, though I must admit, it's pretty damn funny. I just showed him the link and he's pissed. "They don't understand!" he says. No shit.
It's not our fault his communication skills are... differently abled.
Quote from: Dr. Payne on July 28, 2008, 11:05:21 AM
I don't buy K-Scars story.
I demand a better class of flak avoidance.
Then it's a damn good thing I wasn't selling it.
Quote from: Cain on July 28, 2008, 11:23:15 AM
Tell him to sign up and explain himself.
Also, if your meaning is not clear, then I'm afraid to say it is the failing of the writer, in almost every situation.
I did. But he's one of those types that thinks everything he does is a work of art and won't bother with people that "offend" him. So, I decided to ask him what he meant. Paraphrasing: "It is about how nobody will vote
right! If your smartass internet fucker friends can't get it, then my point's been proven."
Deep man, eh?
Quote from: Dr. Payne on July 28, 2008, 11:46:55 AM
Every stupid unfunny thing I've ever posted. It was someone elses. I posted it for them as a favour, just thought y'all should know.
Ah, hey, man. That one hurts. If there's anything I learned on these boards, it's "Man up." I've posted some dumb shit, but I don't think I could
that bad.
Edit: Well, alright, I could suck that bad, but I do learn from the bashings.
this is nonsense.
barack obama will change something: he will be the final blow to all hope for a better future. because, when even the "OUTSIDER" (Black Outsider, no less) ends up disappointing you, then you will finally accept the fact that the political system is what it is, and you cannot change it.
Quote from: vexati0n on July 31, 2008, 06:26:26 PM
this is nonsense.
barack obama will change something: he will be the final blow to all hope for a better future. because, when even the "OUTSIDER" (Black Outsider, no less) ends up disappointing you, then you will finally accept the fact that the political system is what it is, and you cannot change it.
That's an excellent observation, vex!
Quote from: Ratatosk on July 31, 2008, 06:36:30 PM
Quote from: vexati0n on July 31, 2008, 06:26:26 PM
this is nonsense.
barack obama will change something: he will be the final blow to all hope for a better future. because, when even the "OUTSIDER" (Black Outsider, no less) ends up disappointing you, then you will finally accept the fact that the political system is what it is, and you cannot change it.
That's an excellent observation, vex!
It is a great observation, the problem is, once Obama is elected, the final blow given, where does that leave us? In perpetual disappointment?
No hope for the future?
That fucking sucks!!!!!!
Just sayin....
Quote from: Evil Bitch For Hire on July 31, 2008, 07:01:59 PM
Quote from: Ratatosk on July 31, 2008, 06:36:30 PM
Quote from: vexati0n on July 31, 2008, 06:26:26 PM
this is nonsense.
barack obama will change something: he will be the final blow to all hope for a better future. because, when even the "OUTSIDER" (Black Outsider, no less) ends up disappointing you, then you will finally accept the fact that the political system is what it is, and you cannot change it.
That's an excellent observation, vex!
It is a great observation, the problem is, once Obama is elected, the final blow given, where does that leave us? In perpetual disappointment?
No hope for the future?
That fucking sucks!!!!!!
Just sayin....
Well, as long as there is Hope, then there's a reason not to blow it all away and start from scratch. If hope is entirely destroyed, perhaps people will decide that its time to actually do something... or they'll sink into apathy and this experiment of government will fade into history.
Some americans are notoriously touchy about race while seeming to believe that they are the model of an integrated society, but maybe they'll vote for Obama cos he's not 100% black. A completely black person wouldn't have a chance.
I don't think race actually affects his chances. Yes there are a lot of racist fucks out there (and the racists are of every color), but the white racist fucks will vote against him cause he's black, and the black/hispanic racist fucks will vote for him cause he's not 100% white. The data from the primaries supports this too, Where Obama would get something along the lines of a 50% of the white vote, 60% of the black, or 40% of the white vote, and 70% of the black.
Quote from: (Shush!) on August 02, 2008, 10:43:52 PM
Some americans are notoriously touchy about race while seeming to believe that they are the model of an integrated society, but maybe they'll vote for Obama cos he's not 100% black. A completely black person wouldn't have a chance.
Define "completely black", please. And then tell me how many "completely black" people are born in America every year.
I take your point Sir, the word 'completely' was badly chosen. Still, I'm sure you are bright enough to get my drift. So, shall we say for the sake of this clarification,
'Completely black' = 'Looks as dark as a particularly dark Nigerian native - you know, the one who all his friends say - wow, you're very dark'.
As opposed to = 'Looks lighter skinned than some of my (completely!) white friends in the summer'.
e.g. If he Looked as dark as a particularly dark Nigerian native - you know, the one who all Nigerian his friends say - wow, you're very dark, he wouldn't stand a chance.
(It is possible that my point of view is incorrect - it has happened before when I've stated things that I have no business forming an opinion of due to a startling lack of even rudimentary knowledge and a shamefully narrow world view.)
I suspect it honestly doesn't matter.
As Mangrove pointed out a long time ago, its not like the racist rednecks are not going to go "hey, this fella is half-white, lets treat him with respect now". In fact, they've been trying to use his whiteness as a reason as to why blacks should not vote for him, while at the same time putting out propaganda that he is a black supremacist.
Plus among similar parts of the population, mixed-race kids are just "as bad" as blacks. Its the old purity deal - "white is teh bestest so even a drop of black blood dilutes teh superior Aryan/Anglo-Saxon race".
tl;dr, people who base their vote on identity politics are stupid.
You are probably right about it not mattering. I do think the rednecks will be less scared than if he was of totally black ancestry. But as you say, they won't vote for him either way. I suspect that opinion polls will be skewed toward Obama, giving him an inflated illusion of his popularity as a proportion of the guilty white folk would like to think they don't care about race but when the time comes to actually cast their vote, the animal instinct to choose your own group will kick in and they'll pick the Really White Man. [I am almost certainly wrong]
I don't really think it matters who wins as far as the politics go. But I enjoy racists (amongst others) being uncomfortable
- So VOTE FOR OBAMA 2008!
(I'm gonna shut up now cos I'm boring myself)
Quote from: (Shush!) on August 03, 2008, 11:54:52 AM
e.g. If he Looked as dark as a particularly dark Nigerian native - you know, the one who all Nigerian his friends say - wow, you're very dark, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Um, yeah. Your evidence supporting this little factoid?
having a last name like "Obama," which sounds distinctly African, pretty much evens out any deficiency of melanin in his skin for people who might tend to see it that way. Throw in a middle name like Hussein, and your argument should be altogether moot. Being that it's America, the modern-day home of two-faced hypocritical altruism, his chances are low enough anyway without even getting into how Black he is.
But if Obama gets elected this year, I may have to reconsider my current opinion of how thoroughly misguided the American public is on the issue of race.
I wouldn't.
As some people are wont to point out, certain people will feel that electing Obama will be doing "their thing" to help fight racism, which is complete and utter rubbish. Or they'll point to Obama as an example of how there is no longer any institutional or systemic racism within American society any more. In short, he may make the problem worse by allowing people to deny there is racism going on, by pointing to a single individual who managed to avoid or overcome the problems many others still face.
Using an individual event to apply to the whole is falling into the inductive logic fallacy. While no doubt Obama as President would probably take a keen interest in problems of racism and discrimination, thats a policy issue unrelated to his skin colour.
if he took too active a stance against racism, he could easily painted as a crusader against white people, too.
i don't think electing obama would immediately remove racism as a factor in american society, but it could point to the fact that race is no longer the ultimate issue for many people -- that there are people who, while maintaining racist views, are able to see that the issue of race is of a lower priority than other societal problems like the economy, the war, etc.
but my assumption for now is still that there are some lines Americans won't cross under any circumstances, race being one of them.
True, all good and valid points. Its certainly less of an issue, and I would say doing things like ending the war and getting the Repubs out, full stop, are more important than worrying about those things at the moment. I'm just thinking hypothetically, to the future, and basing it on my knowledge of the innate smarminess and complete lack of original thought that the commentariat have.
It occurs to me that whatever Obama's race is, his background isolated him from the problems most black people face, he spent much of his childhood out of the country, avoiding the crap schools some poorer areas in the US have, and since his black parent was an immigrant, instead of a decendant of some poor smuck who died in a coton field, he dodged the cycle of poverty that legacy racism (basically, even if a black man/woman somehow goes their whole life without ever being discriminated against, they have a shit starting position because their parents, neighborhoods, schools, etc, all most definately used to be be discriminated against in the past) causes for most of the black population.
TGRR, I apologise. It seems you have an issue with my opinion, i can only prostrate myself at your feet and beg for mercy. Maybe your 1 of the touchy americans i mentioned or maybe its something else, i don't know where you live. I have no proof for any of my opinions, the things i can prove are what i like to call facts. I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH YOU - WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND.
Quote from: (Shush!) on August 04, 2008, 08:44:47 PM
TGRR, I apologise. It seems you have an issue with my opinion, i can only prostrate myself at your feet and beg for mercy. Maybe your 1 of the touchy americans i mentioned or maybe its something else, i don't know where you live. I have no proof for any of my opinions, the things i can prove are what i like to call facts. I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH YOU - WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND.
Compared with the other 500 people I've seen try to tell Roger off, this rates about a 1.5 out of 10.
Quote from: (Shush!) on August 04, 2008, 08:44:47 PM
TGRR, I apologise. It seems you have an issue with my opinion, i can only prostrate myself at your feet and beg for mercy. Maybe your 1 of the touchy americans i mentioned or maybe its something else, i don't know where you live. I have no proof for any of my opinions, the things i can prove are what i like to call facts. I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH YOU - WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND.
Whatever, alt. :|
TGRR,
Has seen it all before.
Quote from: vexati0n on August 04, 2008, 11:36:24 PM
Quote from: (Shush!) on August 04, 2008, 08:44:47 PM
TGRR, I apologise. It seems you have an issue with my opinion, i can only prostrate myself at your feet and beg for mercy. Maybe your 1 of the touchy americans i mentioned or maybe its something else, i don't know where you live. I have no proof for any of my opinions, the things i can prove are what i like to call facts. I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH YOU - WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND.
Compared with the other 500 people I've seen try to tell Roger off, this rates about a 1.5 out of 10.
It's like they don't even
TRY, anymore. :sad: