Nov 10, 2012
Bandit commented on Approve R-74 Victory Celebration at Cupcake Royale.
Honestly, that is one of the most beautiful photos I've ever seen. Love, love, love!
May 31, 2012
Bandit commented on There Are No War Heroes.
The phrase "just war" has no meaning outside theology. Within a paradigm built on the fictional concepts of sin and virtue or hero and villain, we must try to square the circle of war in all its horror. The entire debate is meaningless. To ask whether war is just is to ask an invalid question. War cannot be controlled. Can the atrocities of the red army on the night it took Berlin be divorced from the struggle to repel the invading German army and the over-throw of the nazies? What are we to make of the decisions not to divert allied resources to bombing the tracks to Auschwitz? The question is not whether a war is just. The question is whether it should be fought despite the inevitable injustice. Like all real life questions, the answer depends on the circumstances.
Feb 28, 2012
Bandit commented on SL Letters of the Day: Feedback, We Get Feedback....
@70, I really don't mind what people believe. Really really. It's their call. Just don't expect me not to laugh at it if I, personally, find it laughable. But I'm not going to oppress anyone. I'm not going to insist that they abandon their beliefs. I'm a staunch defender and advocate of and for religious freedom. If it comes up in conversation, I'm happy to offer calm and rational arguments as to why abandoning those beliefs might be more sensible, but I don't want to seek out those conversations and I'm not about to metaphorically slap upside anyone's head about it.
But where their beliefs incite them to trespass upon the freedoms of others to live their lives openly and honestly pursuing their loves and dreams without suffering the infringements of prejudice, or upon the freedoms of others to mourn their loved ones with respect and dignity, well, I lose my taste for civility.
Is my lack of civility in this context equivalent to their lack of civility? Perhaps. But their lack of civility is not one of their "worst attributes". I reserve that tag for such behaviours as making gay kids feel so loathsome and disgusted about themselves that they commit suicide. Nothing I do or say in my irreverent ridicule of religious dogmatism comes close to that. I'm sorry if you don't like my anger, but this stuff is harmful. As Dan is wont to say, people are dying.
And no, I'm not ascribing those attributes to the poster. The poster seems harmless enough, albeit smugly arrogant with the "idiots" jibe, and my origial comment to the poster was, I thought, quite mild. My criticism of your false equivalence was in the context of a broader discussion of those "worst attributes" you referenced.
But really, I think we're on the same side, so peace and love to you comrade, sincerely.
More...
But where their beliefs incite them to trespass upon the freedoms of others to live their lives openly and honestly pursuing their loves and dreams without suffering the infringements of prejudice, or upon the freedoms of others to mourn their loved ones with respect and dignity, well, I lose my taste for civility.
Is my lack of civility in this context equivalent to their lack of civility? Perhaps. But their lack of civility is not one of their "worst attributes". I reserve that tag for such behaviours as making gay kids feel so loathsome and disgusted about themselves that they commit suicide. Nothing I do or say in my irreverent ridicule of religious dogmatism comes close to that. I'm sorry if you don't like my anger, but this stuff is harmful. As Dan is wont to say, people are dying.
And no, I'm not ascribing those attributes to the poster. The poster seems harmless enough, albeit smugly arrogant with the "idiots" jibe, and my origial comment to the poster was, I thought, quite mild. My criticism of your false equivalence was in the context of a broader discussion of those "worst attributes" you referenced.
But really, I think we're on the same side, so peace and love to you comrade, sincerely.
Feb 28, 2012
Bandit commented on SL Letters of the Day: Feedback, We Get Feedback....
@49. Here we go with that false equivalence again.
These beliefs are so patently ludicrous that they really do deserve ridicule. What attracts the vehemence is the smug arrogance of the religious zealots. Sometimes it really is ok to tell people to fuck off if they're in your face threatening you about what to believe and who to go to bed with, or messing with your family's or community's grief. If you honestly assess that as being demonstrative of the "worst attributes" of religious zealots then you simply do not understand what those on the receiving end of religious bigotry are dealing with. But I suspect you do, if you thought about it carefully, and are simply guilty of lazy rhetorical hyperbole.
These beliefs are so patently ludicrous that they really do deserve ridicule. What attracts the vehemence is the smug arrogance of the religious zealots. Sometimes it really is ok to tell people to fuck off if they're in your face threatening you about what to believe and who to go to bed with, or messing with your family's or community's grief. If you honestly assess that as being demonstrative of the "worst attributes" of religious zealots then you simply do not understand what those on the receiving end of religious bigotry are dealing with. But I suspect you do, if you thought about it carefully, and are simply guilty of lazy rhetorical hyperbole.
Feb 27, 2012
Bandit commented on SL Letters of the Day: Feedback, We Get Feedback....
@20: "..is it that much more fucking stupid to think they wear hats too?"
Yes, actually. Like everything, there are degrees. I am an athiest, but there remain very big gaps in our scientific knowledge about the origins of the universe. Those gaps leave open the possibility for there being some, as yet unidentified, force behind the big bang. I do not think it's completely irrational to postulate the existence of some kind of physical force which has so far not been measured or detected by science.
What is irrational is the specificity of the postulation. Some religions take this to absurd lengths, such as the eternal "soul" postulated by Mormonism, to which they are able to ascribe such detail. That really is "much more fucking stupid" than a vague sense of post-corporeal survival that many who identify as Christians might relate to.
Yes, actually. Like everything, there are degrees. I am an athiest, but there remain very big gaps in our scientific knowledge about the origins of the universe. Those gaps leave open the possibility for there being some, as yet unidentified, force behind the big bang. I do not think it's completely irrational to postulate the existence of some kind of physical force which has so far not been measured or detected by science.
What is irrational is the specificity of the postulation. Some religions take this to absurd lengths, such as the eternal "soul" postulated by Mormonism, to which they are able to ascribe such detail. That really is "much more fucking stupid" than a vague sense of post-corporeal survival that many who identify as Christians might relate to.
Feb 27, 2012
Bandit commented on SL Letters of the Day: Feedback, We Get Feedback....
"Please, do not help idiots spread stereotypes."
This from someone defending posthumous baptism as offering a deceased person (as in, you know, no longer alive) "the option, should they be interested".
Given your credentials, I'd be a little more circumspect about throwing around the "idiot" tag if I was you LDS...
This from someone defending posthumous baptism as offering a deceased person (as in, you know, no longer alive) "the option, should they be interested".
Given your credentials, I'd be a little more circumspect about throwing around the "idiot" tag if I was you LDS...
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