2546 pts ยท February 24, 2019
Well, Texas must have sprung some kind of leak because every time I meet some shitty driver with those black & white TX plates they're sporting MAGA gear & 2a bullshit stickers. You can have every single of them back that somehow found their way to Colorado.
This is the world that the religious want. Widespread suffering, no education to contradict them, fear in general running rampant. Why? So they can swoop in and take credit for "charity" - but charity on their terms. They can proselytize off the backs of this suffering. They want a weak government run by religious nationalists that hands them power directly. Conservative = religious = dangerous. They need to be stopped.
Your homies' plans for making sure christian nationalists are in charge of everything are going gangbusters these days. Totally makes sense that you'd think everything is peachy. Can't wait for that Handmaid's Tale future, am I right?!
It can't pass a law like that -yet-
Jeans, obviously.
Ah, yes. Foreign Subcontractors. The eternal torchbearers of just killing & military actions throughout history.
You're confusing fiction and lies. No one is out proselytizing for comic book converts. No one is telling their children that they will burn in hell for not believing in the Punisher. These lies are inherently bad. That isn't up to interpretation and shouldn't be something decent people let slide. People die every day because of religion but there's an unlimited pile of apologists making excuses. Apologists with blood on their hands.
Is any of it true? Not any more true than unicorns and fairy dust. That's the only "objective fact" I'm concerned with. A majority of people are duped by dishonest institutions to the point that it affects their personal relationships and civic life but -I'm- the conspiracy theorist?? Pack that right in your ass. You can't get anything good from passing lies around. Your attempt to sugar coat it doesn't help anyone.
And let me be extra clear - no vague gesturing at "sources of strength" or whatever is ever going to make up for the bald faced lies that religion promotes. The terrible people who make it their profession to regurgitate this junk know it isn't true, so if you heard any of this from a preacher they lied to your face. You, and everyone else, should be seriously offended by how little they think of you and how easy you are to scam. They laugh all the way to the bank - or the ballot box.
There's no possible good side to religion because it's all lies. There's no man in the sky. There's no stupid "prime mover". No one is going to hell (whichever flavor you choose). Wishing for things doesn't make them happen. No supreme being is watching you. But most people walk around with these stupid notions in their head, acting (or at least pretending) like this BS is true. Then fools like you sit around and defend it all day like it has any value beyond a charlatan's fairytale.
Drill that into your brain like 12 Monkeys so the time travel doesn't scramble it out. Easier to remember than lottery numbers.
Then let's get rid of it today. If it can't be held responsible for anything it does, has zero accountability and has no unique effect on anything, then toss it straight into the bin. No one will miss it.
We're not talking about fringe conspiracy believers. We're talking about most of the adults on earth. Churches on every streetcorner, religious junk in school curriculums and in the law. And that's just here in the US. In places where the religious are even more in charge they use religion in its actual form: to put down and control the population. Religion is a cruel cudgel meant to keep believers arguing over imaginary threats when the real threat is the people telling them it is true.
Many but not all of religion's ills are unique to its promotion. Do you believe in vampires or magic spells? Of course not. But religion normalizes belief in prayer, the afterlife, spirits, a creator being and all kinds of things. Speaking the plain truth that none of this is real is treated as blasphemy & punishable by death in some places. Religion receives special cut-outs in the laws around taxes, speech, property ownership and other things. This is certainly unique to religion and is wrong.
Look up the old joke "Kiss Hank's Ass" by James Huber. It's a little silly but it makes something very clear. In the story, Hank's commandments include a mix of common sense and ridiculous statements. All religions do this to gain credibility for the outlandish and untrue parts. It doesn't make the common sense less true, but you don't need Hank to get those things. You do need Hank (actually you need Karl) for anyone to give the ridiculous parts the time of day.
The positive things religion promotes do not require the supernatural to be real to remain true. It was good to treat your neighbor well, not kill people, share, etc long before religion and will remain good after. That's what I mean when I say religion takes credit where none is due. But look at what religion tacks on to those things: false idols, superstition, "belief" over facts, instructions to hate others who are different, etc. This is what needs to go. No magic needed.
There's nothing wrong with being inspired to do good things. But, even given your own example, religion is far from being the only source for that inspiration. The difference is people know Superman isn't real. No one is bombing Gaza because Lex Luthor told them to. No one is praying to a comic book instead of taking their kid to a doctor. The Right can have religion. And end up in the dumpster of history right along with it. Conservative and religious beliefs both hold no worthwhile value.
That's the thing. Religion takes credit for good things that it has nothing to do with. Did something good happen? Then prayers were answered! But did the supernatural intervene to cure an illness or pay a bill or whatever? Nope. Is there divine justice or magic karma or evil eyes? Nope. I'd argue that those people did good things despite, not because of, their religion and that's what makes them stand out. The supernatural isn't real and we must stop walking around all day pretending it is.
This is what happens when you give religion any respect at all. Religion's sole purpose is to get dummies like Hegseth into positions of power and rule over others with their stupid beliefs. We're dealing with christianity in the US but it's the same in Israel with their religious nutjobs and in Afghanistan and pretty much everywhere. Normal people need to stop respecting religious beliefs and call them out as the lies they are whenever the subject comes up.
There's a youtube video out there somewhere about "unintended consequences of raising taxes" that cries about a 10% increase to the luxury tax for yachts in the 90's. I mentioned in the comments that we shouldn't waste our time making and maintaining stupid stuff for the rich. Kicked the hornets nest there. Bootlickers lined up to White Knight the "free market" like it was going to give them all the affection their fathers never did.
I like how they are guarding the restroom stall.
If the company has $30 to pay you, they are making much, much more from your labor.
Pays well compared to what? To the CEO's pay? To the other crappy companies that are squeezing every dime out of their employees instead of Costco's "just about" every dime? You're worth more. Your coworkers are worth more and you should have more self respect.
Having an ownership stake in the company you work for is a good thing. Unfortunately, unbalanced executive compensation and the massive amount of public stock dilutes your fair share. Your company stock is also unlikely to be voting shares or have any leverage. It's a little closer to a trick designed to pay you less up-front than actually providing real ownership power.
"Investments" are just redistribution of the profit labor generates away from the workers and to non-working debt collectors. You're small potatoes but you're benefiting from a system that is designed to funnel wealth from workers to the rich. Until someone richer than you decides it's time for you to hold the bag and bust. Your "knowledgeable guy" is a parasite who should have a real job producing something of value instead of gaming an already broken system.
The state - government in general - is incapable of making such distinctions. There will always be political motivation to punish an innocent, to boast about how cruel they can be to appeal to bloodthirsty people such as yourself. The best we can do is take the state's power to pick and choose who gets what & require that all people be treated fairly. Government shouldn't be yours - or anyone's - personal revenge machine.
Adjusting individual's priorities will take a lot of work and changing a lot of minds. Education programs with emphasis on "do something" skills over "do nothing" skills will help - and make it clear that this is the intent. Shift government spending from massive military budgets to infrastructure, housing, sustainable farming and environmental improvement. Stop subsiding fossil fuels. There's plenty that can be done today even with capitalism infesting everything.
Well, Texas must have sprung some kind of leak because every time I meet some shitty driver with those black & white TX plates they're sporting MAGA gear & 2a bullshit stickers. You can have every single of them back that somehow found their way to Colorado.
This is the world that the religious want. Widespread suffering, no education to contradict them, fear in general running rampant. Why? So they can swoop in and take credit for "charity" - but charity on their terms. They can proselytize off the backs of this suffering. They want a weak government run by religious nationalists that hands them power directly. Conservative = religious = dangerous. They need to be stopped.
Your homies' plans for making sure christian nationalists are in charge of everything are going gangbusters these days. Totally makes sense that you'd think everything is peachy. Can't wait for that Handmaid's Tale future, am I right?!
It can't pass a law like that -yet-
Jeans, obviously.
Ah, yes. Foreign Subcontractors. The eternal torchbearers of just killing & military actions throughout history.
You're confusing fiction and lies. No one is out proselytizing for comic book converts. No one is telling their children that they will burn in hell for not believing in the Punisher. These lies are inherently bad. That isn't up to interpretation and shouldn't be something decent people let slide. People die every day because of religion but there's an unlimited pile of apologists making excuses. Apologists with blood on their hands.
Is any of it true? Not any more true than unicorns and fairy dust. That's the only "objective fact" I'm concerned with. A majority of people are duped by dishonest institutions to the point that it affects their personal relationships and civic life but -I'm- the conspiracy theorist?? Pack that right in your ass.
You can't get anything good from passing lies around. Your attempt to sugar coat it doesn't help anyone.
And let me be extra clear - no vague gesturing at "sources of strength" or whatever is ever going to make up for the bald faced lies that religion promotes. The terrible people who make it their profession to regurgitate this junk know it isn't true, so if you heard any of this from a preacher they lied to your face. You, and everyone else, should be seriously offended by how little they think of you and how easy you are to scam. They laugh all the way to the bank - or the ballot box.
There's no possible good side to religion because it's all lies. There's no man in the sky. There's no stupid "prime mover". No one is going to hell (whichever flavor you choose). Wishing for things doesn't make them happen. No supreme being is watching you. But most people walk around with these stupid notions in their head, acting (or at least pretending) like this BS is true. Then fools like you sit around and defend it all day like it has any value beyond a charlatan's fairytale.
Drill that into your brain like 12 Monkeys so the time travel doesn't scramble it out. Easier to remember than lottery numbers.
Then let's get rid of it today. If it can't be held responsible for anything it does, has zero accountability and has no unique effect on anything, then toss it straight into the bin. No one will miss it.
We're not talking about fringe conspiracy believers. We're talking about most of the adults on earth. Churches on every streetcorner, religious junk in school curriculums and in the law. And that's just here in the US. In places where the religious are even more in charge they use religion in its actual form: to put down and control the population. Religion is a cruel cudgel meant to keep believers arguing over imaginary threats when the real threat is the people telling them it is true.
Many but not all of religion's ills are unique to its promotion. Do you believe in vampires or magic spells? Of course not. But religion normalizes belief in prayer, the afterlife, spirits, a creator being and all kinds of things. Speaking the plain truth that none of this is real is treated as blasphemy & punishable by death in some places. Religion receives special cut-outs in the laws around taxes, speech, property ownership and other things. This is certainly unique to religion and is wrong.
Look up the old joke "Kiss Hank's Ass" by James Huber. It's a little silly but it makes something very clear. In the story, Hank's commandments include a mix of common sense and ridiculous statements. All religions do this to gain credibility for the outlandish and untrue parts. It doesn't make the common sense less true, but you don't need Hank to get those things. You do need Hank (actually you need Karl) for anyone to give the ridiculous parts the time of day.
The positive things religion promotes do not require the supernatural to be real to remain true. It was good to treat your neighbor well, not kill people, share, etc long before religion and will remain good after. That's what I mean when I say religion takes credit where none is due. But look at what religion tacks on to those things: false idols, superstition, "belief" over facts, instructions to hate others who are different, etc. This is what needs to go. No magic needed.
There's nothing wrong with being inspired to do good things. But, even given your own example, religion is far from being the only source for that inspiration. The difference is people know Superman isn't real. No one is bombing Gaza because Lex Luthor told them to. No one is praying to a comic book instead of taking their kid to a doctor. The Right can have religion. And end up in the dumpster of history right along with it. Conservative and religious beliefs both hold no worthwhile value.
That's the thing. Religion takes credit for good things that it has nothing to do with. Did something good happen? Then prayers were answered! But did the supernatural intervene to cure an illness or pay a bill or whatever? Nope. Is there divine justice or magic karma or evil eyes? Nope. I'd argue that those people did good things despite, not because of, their religion and that's what makes them stand out. The supernatural isn't real and we must stop walking around all day pretending it is.
This is what happens when you give religion any respect at all. Religion's sole purpose is to get dummies like Hegseth into positions of power and rule over others with their stupid beliefs. We're dealing with christianity in the US but it's the same in Israel with their religious nutjobs and in Afghanistan and pretty much everywhere. Normal people need to stop respecting religious beliefs and call them out as the lies they are whenever the subject comes up.
There's a youtube video out there somewhere about "unintended consequences of raising taxes" that cries about a 10% increase to the luxury tax for yachts in the 90's. I mentioned in the comments that we shouldn't waste our time making and maintaining stupid stuff for the rich. Kicked the hornets nest there. Bootlickers lined up to White Knight the "free market" like it was going to give them all the affection their fathers never did.
I like how they are guarding the restroom stall.
If the company has $30 to pay you, they are making much, much more from your labor.
Pays well compared to what? To the CEO's pay? To the other crappy companies that are squeezing every dime out of their employees instead of Costco's "just about" every dime? You're worth more. Your coworkers are worth more and you should have more self respect.
Having an ownership stake in the company you work for is a good thing. Unfortunately, unbalanced executive compensation and the massive amount of public stock dilutes your fair share. Your company stock is also unlikely to be voting shares or have any leverage. It's a little closer to a trick designed to pay you less up-front than actually providing real ownership power.
"Investments" are just redistribution of the profit labor generates away from the workers and to non-working debt collectors. You're small potatoes but you're benefiting from a system that is designed to funnel wealth from workers to the rich. Until someone richer than you decides it's time for you to hold the bag and bust.
Your "knowledgeable guy" is a parasite who should have a real job producing something of value instead of gaming an already broken system.
The state - government in general - is incapable of making such distinctions. There will always be political motivation to punish an innocent, to boast about how cruel they can be to appeal to bloodthirsty people such as yourself. The best we can do is take the state's power to pick and choose who gets what & require that all people be treated fairly. Government shouldn't be yours - or anyone's - personal revenge machine.
Adjusting individual's priorities will take a lot of work and changing a lot of minds. Education programs with emphasis on "do something" skills over "do nothing" skills will help - and make it clear that this is the intent. Shift government spending from massive military budgets to infrastructure, housing, sustainable farming and environmental improvement. Stop subsiding fossil fuels. There's plenty that can be done today even with capitalism infesting everything.