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REVEAL YOURSELVES

Started by Dr. Cow Ass, September 22, 2012, 08:54:45 AM

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Signora Pæsior

Quote from: A Very Hairy Monkey In An Ill-Fitting Tunic on September 22, 2012, 04:34:42 PM
1. I think that there's only one guy here who insists on remaining anonymous because of Teh Big Scary Intardnets. The rest of us mostly have each other's names and addresses, or would share if asked.

2. There's a whole thread somewhere devoted to nothing but pictures of the spags here.

3. Thanks to modern technology, a great many of us have met face-to-face and/or spoken to each other by phone. Or live together. Stuff like that.

4. You'll get more participants if you post a thread asking who HASN'T posted video of themselves. :lol:

PARTY POOPER.  :lulz:
Petrochemical Pheremone Buzzard of the Poisoned Water Hole

Internet Jesus

Quote from: Cain on September 22, 2012, 10:39:30 PM
No, it's because most Discordians are dicks, and people are trained to treat obsfucation as being deep and meaningful.

Well yeah, a question that tends not to lead to edification is the Buddha's nice way of saying "utterly besides the point, you twatwaffle"

That's why the category gets applied to metaphysical questions in Buddhist thought (It's should be noted that I'm going by 20 year old memories of college, so if anyone knows otherwise, please feel free to correct me).  It's a way of refocusing on the question on how one should behave in the here and not, and not focus on considerations that have nothing to do with it.

Quote from: Cain on September 22, 2012, 10:39:30 PM
I would say a good 90% of people here don't believe in a literal Eris.  Some have metaphysical beliefs which would include things like magic, but they are in a significant minority.  Mostly it's a series of metaphors and mindsets with which it is useful to look at the world, but, well, depending on how you're defining it, religion can be seen pretty much as that too.  Except more wrong, because they didn't have Advanced Scientific Knowledge like we do now.

Ok, I can see that.  That makes it all the more understandable.

But - In my experience people don't approach religion itself as a series of metaphors and mindsets (even if that's all it boils down to) but rather as a dogma which is literally true and must be obeyed, but not understood.  Serves me right for knowing so many Evangelicals.
HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS!

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 05:49:52 PM
Quote from: Doktor D. Jennifer Phox on September 22, 2012, 05:32:55 PM
Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 04:45:06 PM
Can someone help a poor n00b out and let me know if this is something I should care about? From what I've read of DCA, I would say no, but honestly I may have missed something.
You are correct, sir. This is not one of the things you should care about.

Oh, ok.  I kind of got the "Self-important asshole is self-important" vibe here but wanted to be clear.

Your assholedar is spot-on and working flawlessly.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: Cain on September 22, 2012, 06:58:08 PM
Quote from: A Very Hairy Monkey In An Ill-Fitting Tunic on September 22, 2012, 04:34:42 PM
1. I think that there's only one guy here who insists on remaining anonymous because of Teh Big Scary Intardnets.

That might be me.  I'm not entirely anonymous, but I like to make it difficult for anyone who isn't a government employee or uber-hacker to figure out who I am.  Especially given the kind of people I tend to piss off on the internet are the kind of people with too much spare time and an inclination to data-mine, copy photos and then post them on sites frequented by football hooligans and other unstable personality types.

It didn't bother me much when I lived in the middle of nowhere, as it'd be more effort than it would be worth to actually even get to me.  But now I'm in the big city, a moron could get his outrage on, find me, smash my face in with a brick and be back home before his beer got to room temperature.  That's the kind of proximity that allows for someone to do something really fucking stupid before any kind of self-control asserts itself.

No, I wasn't thinking about you, because you are only semi-anonymous in the sense that while I might not know who you are, and you haven't posted it publicly, I know you have shared your PI and/or hung out with other spags from here in the past.

You're also Hyper Political Guy so you have a reason to not make your PI readily available.

I'm talking like, almost nobody here is all "NO NONE OF YOU SPAGS CAN KNOW WHO I AM, I DON'T TRUST ANY OF YOU YOU'RE FROM THE INTERNETS!"

Most people, if someone else PMed them and said "Yo dawg, can I get your addy I want to mail you a thing" would say "sure" and not think twice about it.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 08:06:10 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 22, 2012, 08:01:36 PM
It's Buddhism and Wicca and Discordianism and Chaos Magic(k).  Oh, and cafe Druidism.

Ok, and that leads to a semi-serious question I have about this board - do you all seriously believe Discordianism as for real and for true, or is it just a useful mental frame for viewing life?  Not trying to stick my dick in anyone's mashed potatoes here, but I can't quite get a grasp on whether this whole thing is to be taken seriously or if it is to be thought about as a sort of Koan?

I think of it as a sort of philosophical worldview.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Cain

Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 11:09:06 PM
But - In my experience people don't approach religion itself as a series of metaphors and mindsets (even if that's all it boils down to) but rather as a dogma which is literally true and must be obeyed, but not understood.  Serves me right for knowing so many Evangelicals.

Yeah, well, kinda.  Certainly it is in the modern world.

Historically though, things were a bit more flexible.  While denying the existence of God would get you branded crazy and perhaps burnt alive, so would taking every single sentence in your holy book of choice literally, like the Fundies do nowadays.  Hence all the Talmudic scholars and Catholic philosophers and things.  There was wiggle room for some creative intepretation, and looking at things less than entirely on a surface level.

Also, because the dominant religion(s) itself was less challenged in historical times (all challengers having being burnt alive), things like homosexuality, for example, were in some parts of the world treated as an amusing quirk more than as a heinous crime against God.  The religious institutions were more secure, so proscribed behaviour was, paradoxically, more acceptable to said institutions. 

But as religion gets challenged, especially in the modern world with its multiple choices and inconvenient facts and science and stuff, fundamentalism becomes a way of simplifying everything down.  And that includes scripture.  By allowing any sort of interpretation, you come back round to the current state of affairs, with liberal and scientists and theologians and liberal scientists and theologian liberal scientists ruining everything.  It sets very clear boundaries of who is a Winner in God's Great Game and who is a Sinning Sodomite Loser Going to Hell, which facts and progress tend to make blurry.

The irony that fundamentalism actually undermines the traditional understanding of religion is amusing, but best not to point out to said fundamentalists.  Not face to face, anyway.

Cain

I've been reading a book on fundamentalism lately, and it shows.

Also, several beers.  I shall return to this thread when there is a sun in the sky.

Anna Mae Bollocks

Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 05:49:52 PM
Quote from: Doktor D. Jennifer Phox on September 22, 2012, 05:32:55 PM
Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 04:45:06 PM
Can someone help a poor n00b out and let me know if this is something I should care about? From what I've read of DCA, I would say no, but honestly I may have missed something.
You are correct, sir. This is not one of the things you should care about.

Oh, ok.  I kind of got the "Self-important asshole is self-important" vibe here but wanted to be clear.

This guy GETS IT.
Scantily-Clad Inspector of Gigantic and Unnecessary Cashews, Texas Division

Anna Mae Bollocks

Quote from: Cain on September 22, 2012, 07:34:15 PM
Dickgirls.

A former admin of ours, Hugh, apparently ended up getting married to one, unaware of her past life (until a kind forum member sent him pictures of her working in her former career).  This led to a mental breakdown and a short stay in a mental facility.

:eek:


:eek:


:eek:


:lulz:

Yeah. If that had to happen to somebody, it IS kind of awesome that it was Hugh.

Not that I'd wish it on anybody, y'understand. [/obligatory]

But...  :lulz: :lulz: :lulz:
Scantily-Clad Inspector of Gigantic and Unnecessary Cashews, Texas Division

Internet Jesus

Quote from: Cain on September 23, 2012, 03:48:19 AM

But as religion gets challenged, especially in the modern world with its multiple choices and inconvenient facts and science and stuff, fundamentalism becomes a way of simplifying everything down.  And that includes scripture.  By allowing any sort of interpretation, you come back round to the current state of affairs, with liberal and scientists and theologians and liberal scientists and theologian liberal scientists ruining everything.  It sets very clear boundaries of who is a Winner in God's Great Game and who is a Sinning Sodomite Loser Going to Hell, which facts and progress tend to make blurry.

The irony that fundamentalism actually undermines the traditional understanding of religion is amusing, but best not to point out to said fundamentalists.  Not face to face, anyway.

What does it say about us as a species that fundamentalism is such a successful option, then? That when confronted with complexity, far too many of us are willing to resign our ability to think and give it over to others?
HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS!

Internet Jesus

Quote from: TEXAS FAIRIES FOR ALL YOU SPAGS on September 23, 2012, 04:34:10 PM
Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 05:49:52 PM
Quote from: Doktor D. Jennifer Phox on September 22, 2012, 05:32:55 PM
Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 04:45:06 PM
Can someone help a poor n00b out and let me know if this is something I should care about? From what I've read of DCA, I would say no, but honestly I may have missed something.
You are correct, sir. This is not one of the things you should care about.

Oh, ok.  I kind of got the "Self-important asshole is self-important" vibe here but wanted to be clear.

This guy GETS IT.

I get a lot of things.  Sometimes I actually get what I need.
HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS!

Internet Jesus

Quote from: A Very Hairy Monkey In An Ill-Fitting Tunic on September 23, 2012, 12:39:10 AM
I think of it as a sort of philosophical worldview.

A heavily de-mythologized religion it is, then.

Or at least for you, I read somewhere around here that if I ask the same question to nine of you I'd get ten answers.
HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS!

Anna Mae Bollocks

Quote from: Cain on September 23, 2012, 03:48:19 AM
Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 22, 2012, 11:09:06 PM
But - In my experience people don't approach religion itself as a series of metaphors and mindsets (even if that's all it boils down to) but rather as a dogma which is literally true and must be obeyed, but not understood.  Serves me right for knowing so many Evangelicals.

Yeah, well, kinda.  Certainly it is in the modern world.

Historically though, things were a bit more flexible.  While denying the existence of God would get you branded crazy and perhaps burnt alive, so would taking every single sentence in your holy book of choice literally, like the Fundies do nowadays.  Hence all the Talmudic scholars and Catholic philosophers and things.  There was wiggle room for some creative intepretation, and looking at things less than entirely on a surface level.

Also, because the dominant religion(s) itself was less challenged in historical times (all challengers having being burnt alive), things like homosexuality, for example, were in some parts of the world treated as an amusing quirk more than as a heinous crime against God.  The religious institutions were more secure, so proscribed behaviour was, paradoxically, more acceptable to said institutions. 

But as religion gets challenged, especially in the modern world with its multiple choices and inconvenient facts and science and stuff, fundamentalism becomes a way of simplifying everything down.  And that includes scripture.  By allowing any sort of interpretation, you come back round to the current state of affairs, with liberal and scientists and theologians and liberal scientists and theologian liberal scientists ruining everything.  It sets very clear boundaries of who is a Winner in God's Great Game and who is a Sinning Sodomite Loser Going to Hell, which facts and progress tend to make blurry.

The irony that fundamentalism actually undermines the traditional understanding of religion is amusing, but best not to point out to said fundamentalists.  Not face to face, anyway.

Yeah, I was going to say how a lot of Jewish scholars are kind of agnostic, can laugh at things like the story in Exodus about God showing his ass to Moses, and don't take any of it literally, but you said it better.
Scantily-Clad Inspector of Gigantic and Unnecessary Cashews, Texas Division

Anna Mae Bollocks

Quote from: Internet Jesus on September 23, 2012, 04:47:13 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 23, 2012, 03:48:19 AM

But as religion gets challenged, especially in the modern world with its multiple choices and inconvenient facts and science and stuff, fundamentalism becomes a way of simplifying everything down.  And that includes scripture.  By allowing any sort of interpretation, you come back round to the current state of affairs, with liberal and scientists and theologians and liberal scientists and theologian liberal scientists ruining everything.  It sets very clear boundaries of who is a Winner in God's Great Game and who is a Sinning Sodomite Loser Going to Hell, which facts and progress tend to make blurry.

The irony that fundamentalism actually undermines the traditional understanding of religion is amusing, but best not to point out to said fundamentalists.  Not face to face, anyway.

What does it say about us as a species that fundamentalism is such a successful option, then? That when confronted with complexity, far too many of us are willing to resign our ability to think and give it over to others?

I saw a doc once (I know, I know... :lol: ) about those kids who shot themselves and blamed it on Judas Priest. The parents were yahoo shit, one boy's dad was bragging about how he stomped the kids ass for smoking weed. There was a scene where one of the moms was in her fundie church wondering if there was anything she could have done different, and the pastor was reassuring her that she did everything right, it was all the result of that satanic devil music.

Fundamentalism = a license to be retarded, treat people like crap, and FEEL GREAT ABOUT IT!
Scantily-Clad Inspector of Gigantic and Unnecessary Cashews, Texas Division

Internet Jesus

Quote from: TEXAS FAIRIES FOR ALL YOU SPAGS on September 23, 2012, 04:57:47 PM

Fundamentalism = a license to be retarded, treat people like crap, and FEEL GREAT ABOUT IT!

And never once take ownership of the consequences of your decisions.

Which, if I dig enough, I suppose I can find a silver lining in.  Most good and upstanding AMERICANS have absolutely no problem not taking ownership.  Fundamentalists at least have the rudimentary need for a sky daddy (or suitable earthly representative) to absolve them of the need to take ownership of the consequences.
HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS!