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[Mr Space Cat]

Apparently I'm just so depressed or bummed out or whatever that my face is locked in a constant, natural expression of soul-crushing hopeless agony, because I had no less than 3 different random strangers ask me how I'm doing today, if I'm feeling ok, questions like that. These are all just random people I don't know, who would otherwise have just walked right by if I looked normal, who actually took time out of their day to ask me --a random stranger who they don't know-- if I'm doing ok, because apparently I look "upset."

"Oh sure, strangers, I really appreciate your sudden and completely unexpected interest in my well-being. Let me just totally confide in you my deepest stupid emotions." I just shrugged the questions off with excuses and moved on, because actually answering truthfully probably wouldn't do shit for anyone, and I doubt they were really terribly concerned anyway.

so yeah, apparently I look like I'm upset all the time. I'm "that guy" who's a pathetic sad little shit who's weird because he looks like he's sad all the time. That's cool. I'll just go commit seppuku before I dishonor myself further, BRB. Stupid emotions. Ugh.

[Descan]

Just go hum a rock riff, brah~

[RedKing]

Just a point of order regarding Todd Kincannon:

He was the former executive director of the SC Republican Party, which isn't an elected position. Just means he ran the administration of the party machinery. Might have been some kind of internal election to fill that slot, or he might have just been appointed by a search committee. And for what it's worth, even the South Carolina GOP has basically said, "Uh....we don't really know this guy".

Like after the time he wished that an anti-war Iraq War vet had been killed in the war.

A prominent GOP operative in South Carolina who asked not to be identified told The Daily Beast that Kincannon was “generously editing” his résumé to emphasize his time in the state party’s leadership. The operative said Kincannon served as executive director of the organization for just three months before resigning.

What you've got here is a Paul Christoforo: a testosterone-poisoned douchebag who doesn't know when to shut his fucking mouth.

[Helgoland]

I think the flip side that people tend to forget is that this sort of hate-filled vitriol is actually a sign of progress. Nobody tries to hold back progress that doesn't exist- that sort of hatemongering only takes place when it's a reaction to something. If "everyone knew" that transsexuals were Bad, or "everyone knew" they didn't exist, he'd feel no need to make such statements.

To give an idea of that, imagine the general population felt about homosexuality and transexuality as we do right now about zoophilia*. Literally -everybody- except the actual practitioners think it's disgusting and immoral, it is illegal and punishable by jail and fines, and there is no visible minority doing it.

Now imagine he were to say those comments about transexuality in that climate. No one would bat an eye. In fact, they'd be like "Uh... Yeah. No shit. Why did you feel the need to say that?"

The fact that people actually are reporting it as "Holy shit this guy was elected" is great.

*Obviously the fact that animals can't consent and another dude/yourself CAN consent to being courted/changing physical sex, means it's an imperfect analogy. But it was the best I could think of at the time.

For the record: I'm perfectly fine with zoophilia (and also incest and a number of other things most people would find revolting), and we don't require the cow's consent to make a hamburger. Now, on to the issue at hand:
FJ's comment was "If transsexuality was universally regarded as as bad as zoophilia, that guy wouldn't have mentioned it." His point stands: Kilcannon has not mentioned zoophilia (or incest, or coprophilia, or a number of other things that are revolting to a wide majority of people) because there is a consensus about these things. His comment thus is a sign of progress - it's not progess itself, but it indicates that we're moving forward.

FAKEEDIT: Just noticed that Descan was agreeing as well...

[Shakerag]

we don't require the cow's consent to make a hamburger.

"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals."
--Albert Einstein

[ChairmanPoo]

"A witty saying proves nothing"
-- Voltaire

 I don't think he meant it in the way you are implying, given that he wasn't a vegetarian to begin with.
Apparently on his last year of life he did become a vegetarian. Still, the point remains.

[pisskop]

YouTube banned the host of my 9 part documentary.  Was only 4 hours into it. . .

[Helgoland]

we don't require the cow's consent to make a hamburger.

"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals."
--Albert Einstein

I was talking about majority perception - so that quote is kind of irrelevant

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Besides, Einstein claim to fame was as a theoretical physicist. His opinions on the ethics of meat eating are not necessarily better or worse than yours or I's.

[Bauglir]

Did we really develop a meat vs zoophilia tangent in two threads independently?

[RedKing]

Besides, Einstein claim to fame was as a theoretical physicist. His opinions on the ethics of meat eating are not necessarily better or worse than yours or I's.

Vell, zat Einstein vas vun shmart cookie, zo.....


He *was* vocal on diverse fields such as economics (he was a proponent of democratic socialism), religion (he was an agnostic), and politics (he was a secular Jew, a pacifist, a member of the NAACP and a Zionist). A guy like that is more than a single field specialist, he was one of those rarefied humans like Leonardo for whom all knowledge and thought are interconnected.

[Knight of Fools]

That doesn't mean we should prop everything he says up on a pedestal just because he was a smart guy. Even smart guys are wrong sometimes, and ethics are one of those things that varies between even the smartest guys. If you decide to become a vegetarian just because Einstein was and with no reasoning beyond that, that's no different than deciding not to eat eggs just because Einstein didn't like eggs.

[Bauglir]

Einstein didn't like eggs? That fucker! Now we can't even trust relativity.

[Xantalos]

FUCKING EGGS HOW DARE THEY BE DISLIKED BY EINSTEIN
I DECLARE HOLY WAR AGAINST EGGS
ALL OF THEM
SMASH THEM WHERE THEY LIE
/joke

[Frumple]

Einstein didn't like eggs? That fucker! Now we can't even trust relativity.

Trust was unscientific to begin with. Don't trust. Test. And assume your instruments aren't actually accurate and you're just going with your current best guess. Hope strongly nothing explodes because of it. Science in a halfnutshell.