Stuff you just don't get.

[BigDon]

Are you seriously saying you can't see the racism and homophobia in those statements?

Henrik, when I was moving furniture there were times I had to remind my crew that *every* single one of us got to this exact same spot by very different routes.

Tolerance isn't "tolerating stuff I like", it's giving people the benefit of the doubt that:

They are basically good people even if they say stupid stuff.

Their communication skills might not be on your level.

What they say isn't being spun to high heaven.

You must remember the European terrorist groups of the 70's like the Bader Meinhoff group? Do you know what their main motivation boiled down to in post game analysis? Impressing other terrorist groups.

After the last two elections here and things like "Journ-o-List" becoming public I have absolutely no faith in any media outlet what so ever. They only write articles for each other. A form of "Grand Standing".

And lastly, so what?

I live in San Francisco where a large vocal group live openly. Guess what? A huge percentage of them are horribly misogynistic! (As if that took a lot of thought.) I was in the Stallion once, on business, and one of my younger crewman engaged the general crowd in conversation on topics not to be brought up here and the barman replied:

"I would even own a female dog!"

To which the entire place raised their drinks in salute.

That goes beyond mere misogyny.

So why are you mad again?

[HenrikOlsen]

If those statements didn't affect how other people were able to live their lives I'd be perfectly willing to ignore them.
They do, so I don't.

[Gillianren]

I have a friend or two who have announced proudly that they have friends on both sides of all kinds of different issues, and they're proud of their friends' diversity. But sometimes, the issues they have friends on both sides of actually do have a right and wrong side. Why are you proud when some of your friends are wrong?

[redshifter]

I don't really get where the animosity towards so many kids' show characters and toys comes from, even though I've felt it myself sometimes. What's the origin of this hatred, beyond general annoyance? (In Barney's case I just think his eyes are creepy, and Elmo's voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me, but that's about it. If I have the choice I just don't look at or listen to them.)

Just ask any parent who has had to suffer through countless episodes of Barney, etc.

[HenrikOlsen]

I live in San Francisco where a large vocal group live openly. Guess what? A huge percentage of them are horribly misogynistic! (As if that took a lot of thought.) I was in the Stallion once, on business, and one of my younger crewman engaged the general crowd in conversation on topics not to be brought up here and the barman replied:

"I would even own a female dog!"

To which the entire place raised their drinks in salute.

That goes beyond mere misogyny.

So why are you mad again?

You know, two wrongs don't make a right.
That you have a bar full of gay bigots doesn't make bigotry right, that just makes them wrong.

I'm mad because it's that type of thinking that means my cousin can't marry her girlfriend, and frankly I'm mad because you're a person I respect a lot and you defending those statement diminishes you in my eyes.


As for the context or the quotes, unless there was a "Unreconstructed primitives used to say that:" before them that was cut out, I can't imagine a context where the it wasn't racist and homophobic.

Incidentally, I haven't seen any indication that they're trying to distance themselves from that interpretation, perhaps novaderrik could find a link?

[Torsten]

It helps that it's classical students from the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark.
When it's classical conservatory training vs. bad acoustics, it'll take really horribly bad acoustics to not sound good. Adjusting to the acoustics is part of the training.

A little late now (thought I'd replied several days ago), I just wanted to add that that was one of the most beautiful flash mobs I've heard. Thanks.

[Noclevername]

Incidentally, I haven't seen any indication that they're trying to distance themselves from that interpretation, perhaps novaderrik could find a link?

I'm sorry I mentioned the show in the first place. I'm dropping the subject, it's too divisive and derailing.

[NorthernDevo]

Oh, we are addicted to Minecraft. I even have my own blog for it. I haven't posted in a while, because I have been playing too much. The kids really love it.

Funny you should mention that; I was just thinking about it. I recently deleted my copy - too much time consumed; too addictive...and yet, so boring after a few hours of play. Definitely a limited enjoyment factor after a while - you can only spend so much time on Level 11 trying to find diamonds.

[Barabino]

all those pay-tv programs about marriages... come on, it's just a boring ceremony... just like graduating... or taking the oath if you are in the military...

[Click Ticker]

Facebook.

Seems like one more thing to do to me. I have a hard enough time keeping up my own calendar and keeping up with kids schedules and my schedule to make sure I take the time to impress upon my friends and acquaintences just how busy I am.

I know, I know... "but it's easier to keep friends and family up to date without having to call all of them..."

But I don't call all of them nor do I worry if they are up to date with the daily goings on in my life.

[Buttercup]

Just ask any parent who has had to suffer through countless episodes of Barney, etc.

You have my sympathies.

In a similar vein, the many companies (national, regional, or even local) who feel they MUST have "a mascot" (cartoon character usually) to promote their product or service. It's so over-done and usually corny.

Either sex sells or cartoons sell? What a situation.

[NEOWatcher]

Either sex sells or cartoons sell? What a situation.

Either?
I doubt they are mutually exclusive.

[Paul Beardsley]

Actually, it's not that sex sells, it's that X sells.

Sex has the letter X in it, so yes, it does indeed sell, but things other than sex sell on account of the X. For instance, if that ridiculous TV series about a pair of FBI agents investigating flying saucers hadn't been called The X-Files, would anyone have watched it? Obviously not. And the "talent" show, The X Factor? Same thing. Why do xylophones outsell ocarinas? I'll let you decide.

[Buttercup]

...my point intended to be the product or service should be able to sell itself.

[R.A.F.]

where was the racism and homophobia?

Wow...just wow...

[KaiYeves]

Facebook.

Seems like one more thing to do to me. I have a hard enough time keeping up my own calendar and keeping up with kids schedules and my schedule to make sure I take the time to impress upon my friends and acquaintences just how busy I am.

I know, I know... "but it's easier to keep friends and family up to date without having to call all of them..."

But I don't call all of them nor do I worry if they are up to date with the daily goings on in my life.

Agreed, that's why I refuse to create an account.

[Extravoice]

Agreed, that's why I refuse to create an account.

Occasionally, I consider getting a Facebook account so I can reconnect with former friends and associates who have drifted away.
But then, I look over my wife's shoulder when she is on Facebook and see the junk that people post.

Photos of their dinner...photos of some random dog or child who the poster doesn't even know...random statements with double ententes...inaccurate warnings regarding some product or another...

Sorry, the signal-to-noise ratio is much too low for my taste.

[pzkpfw]

... In a similar vein, the many companies (national, regional, or even local) who feel they MUST have "a mascot" (cartoon character usually) to promote their product or service. ...

I especially find mascots weird for food products.

When I eat a peanut am I suspposed to imagine I'm eating the children of the Planters Peanuts top-hat guy?

Does Mayor McCheese not care about genocide?

[John Mendenhall]

In other words: Bad writing, bad acting, no plot and horrible directing. Except for Pickers.

Yes, just another average TV show.

[Gillianren]

Occasionally, I consider getting a Facebook account so I can reconnect with former friends and associates who have drifted away.
But then, I look over my wife's shoulder when she is on Facebook and see the junk that people post.

Photos of their dinner...photos of some random dog or child who the poster doesn't even know...random statements with double ententes...inaccurate warnings regarding some product or another...

Sorry, the signal-to-noise ratio is much too low for my taste.

I find it depends a great deal on your friends. MY friends are currently discussing Erwin Rommel, Renaissance dessert recipes, and our own children.

[Barabino]

Agreed, that's why I refuse to create an account.

I visit FB just one time in a month, but appreciate that everybody can find me and contact me if needed,
If somebody (younger than 40) refuses to have FB, I someway don't trust him: I suspect he has a double life and he wants to avoid "we" knowing of his "other" friends... it's a matter of trasparency...

[Tog]

I've got a Facebook account, and a seldom used author page. The vast majority of "friends" on FB are people I've met in real life or were part of the AOL room I used to frequent 20 years ago.

I'm not a fan of the games and I hate the invites to play them, but someone gets money for them, so I can see they have a purpose. What I don't get is "Poking."

For those unfamiliar, this is a function of FB where you click on a person's name and "poke" them. They get a notification that says they've been poked by Tog and an offer to poke back and suggestions of others to poke. There is nothing to be gained (apart from animosity) from poking someone. You don't get game tokens or anything of value, virtual or otherwise, and you can't block pokes without blocking the people doing them.

They serve no purpose and can't be stopped. I don't understand why people do them.

[HenrikOlsen]

Agreed, that's why I refuse to create an account.

It helps a lot to know you can adjust the amount of "news" you get from each friend individually. Too many cat photos or the racist propaganda masquerading as "Help the police find the boys on this picture who..." where the picture is invariably of immigrant kids, or spreading of hoaxes that takes 2 minutes on Snopes to identify and they're off the news feed.

And as I have several people I like to keep in touch with, but don't want to give a phone number or email address to, I use it for communicating. Helps not triggering my phone phobia as well.

I visit FB just one time in a month, but appreciate that everybody can find me and contact me if needed,
If somebody (younger than 40) refuses to have FB, I someway don't trust him: I suspect he has a double life and he wants to avoid "we" knowing of his "other" friends... it's a matter of trasparency...

You'd really hate my account then, I'm the only one who can see who my friends are.
It's a matter of discretion.
I don't personally have anything to hide, but my friends would be able to infer fairly private information¹ about each other from combining common friend info, and it's up to them to determine to share that knowledge, not me.

1) The level that includes sexual kinks.

[HenrikOlsen]

They serve no purpose and can't be stopped. I don't understand why people do them.

They're there as a moron identifier.
Someone pokes you, you tell them to stop, they poke you, you unfriend them, you have one moron less in your life.

[SeanF]

They're there as a moron identifier.
Someone pokes you, you tell them to stop, they poke you, you unfriend them, you have one moron less in your life.

Fewer.


**poke**

[HenrikOlsen]

I consider morons in my like to be an uncountable measure.

Did that work as an excuse?

[Paul Beardsley]

Agreed, that's why I refuse to create an account.

"Refuse" seems like a needlessly strong word. Surely you simply choose not to open an account?

Or are people pestering you into opening one?

I hated FaceBook when I first used it nearly 3 years ago, mainly because I didn't know what it was doing without my knowledge, and then the clincher was, an unknown 14 year old girl wanted to be my friend. (Turned out she was a colleague's daughter whom I knew but was using an unfamiliar name.)

Two years later I returned to it and found it was the source of an awful lot of fun. Before FB, I slightly knew the daughter (G) of a close friend (R) - I'd met G 3 or 4 times, looked after her dog once, and listened to R talking about her during our train journeys to and from work, but that was pretty much it. Now, I've really come to like G a lot - we have a very similar sense of humour, despite her being 21 and me being 50 - and R is delighted that I've become so fond of her daughter.

As a teacher of English to overseas adult students, I've kept track of the handful of students whom I really clicked with. (I usually accept friend requests out of courtesy.) In some cases, real friendships have developed. By contrast, if I'd bombarded them with emails, that would have been creepy.

I learnt that Portuguese speakers often write "rsrsrs" or "kkkk" to indicate laughter, whereas Italians write "ahahahah".

Now and then I decide I have no connection with a FB friend. Maybe I messaged them a question some months ago and they didn't answer, or maybe our interests don't overlap any more, or never did. So I unfriend them. It's not malicious and it's not painful.

FaceBook is a tool, and it can be used well or badly. I've benefited from it. Other people have social lives that work better with other means of interaction. It's all cool.

[R.A.F.]

The following involves politics, but I hope it isn't "political".

Occasionally, I consider getting a Facebook account so I can reconnect with former friends and associates who have drifted away.

I did the same a couple of years ago in advance of my high school classes 40th reunion...and BOY was that a bad idea.

Not getting into specifics, I found that old friends were now politically opposite of what they were in HS.

...so I didn't attend the reunion because I knew it would only end badly...



edit...I do follow George Takei on facebook...he posts some really funny stuff.

[Buttercup]

The following involves politics, but I hope it isn't "political".

I did the same a couple of years ago in advance of my high school classes 40th reunion...and BOY was that a bad idea.

Not getting into specifics, I found that old friends were now politically opposite of what they were in HS.

...so I didn't attend the reunion because I knew it would only end badly...

edit...I do follow George Takei on facebook...he posts some really funny stuff.

I can sort of relate on this, as how parenting changes people. Not putting down parents, btw! Not in the least!

We're childless, and mid-decade last, I decided to try and socialize more around the community. Husband's health issues drastically improved, two relatives had moved away; I work in-home too, so wanted to be "a social butterfly."

Wow, did I ever get some sharp lessons as to the VERY different realities of parents vs non-parents.

And I'm also quite open-minded and free-spirited, so was shocked to discover how "set in their ways" others my age have become (most of them). They have kids/teens to answer to; must be role models continually, and consistent. I don't have those obligations. MAJOR difference.

So I'm working harder on becoming an author.

Just differences in life; natural for them, for me.

[swampyankee]

Turning away from Facebook...

I don't get the current adoration of bacon. I most definitely eat meat, and do like pork roasts and pork chops, but I just don't get the love of bacon.