27 July 2017

Thoughts on issues attributed to social justice warriors (SJW's)

Cultural appropriation

Culture cannot be copyrighted or be subject to intellectual property rights. I think the offence taken comes from people who lose the meaning behind something, though, which is still vague to me.

For example, an American Indian headdress is a symbol of the greatest respect in a tribe; it is something earned. However, wearing them at festivals and so on, I can see how it can be disrespectful to real American Indians.

I am uncertain on which way really. I can understand the disrespect, but I can see that a physical item of clothing is not necessarily important. However - there are cases where clothing must be adhered to - for example, I can't go around wearing a police uniform, or wearing a crown that looks like the Queen's. So this is quite a complex issue.

Behaviour

Behaviour cannot be copyrighted. Mannerisms, gestures, etc., belong to individuals, not a culture or race. Which is why if I say 'My name is Michael Caine' in the accent, that's an impression of an individual. Things like gestures, mannerisms, and accents, can only be tied to an individual - they are not part of a culture. Yes there are stereotypes, but those are only stereotypes. They do not define a culture.

Labels

Labels are human creations only. They do not define us. They are only to help us categorise, summarise and predict. Trying to label everything is futile.

23 July 2017

Walking Dead - Best Quote from Michonne

Have you ever had to kill people because they had already killed your friends and were coming for you next? 

Have you ever done things that made you feel afraid of yourself afterward?

Have you ever been covered in so much blood that you didn't know if it was yours or walkers' or your friends'? 

Huh? Then you don't know.

From Season 6, Episode 3 "Thank You"

8 July 2017

Reading Council Complaints

A comprehensive but incomplete list of ways that Reading Council annoys me, proving the council is incompetent and wasting taxpayer money.
  • Plants pots added to prime streets (since 2017) which are completely unnecessary
  • Trees and bicycle rings on Blagrave Street (continuously added and removed multiple times in 2010-2011)
  • Jackson's corner traffic lights added and then removed
  • Sending 5 applications to vote by post for the same person, all dated the same
  • Recycling limitations compared to other counties
  • Lack of pay and display at permit zones / slow applications for permits
  • Taxi rank at the horseshoe outside the station moved to Station Hill, but there is a temporary reprieve
  • Extreme levels of homeless people - increased by 700% over last 3 years
However, some good points too:

5 July 2017

Thoughts on intelligent design of life on Earth

How does this explain the billions of other planets that have no life on them? Why go to the trouble of creating an entire infinite universe populated by no life, and then just do it on one planet (and not even that well - the dinosaurs were nearly all killed before, you know).

Life is an accident, humans are imperfect (fish will always have better eyes than we do because of evolution), you should be lucky you are alive at all. We only put meaning to our lives because we are intelligent enough to ask the question.

But we are also stupid because we believe in things without evidence. If we rejected any form of science, we'd be dead, because we never would have invented the first tool (a carved rock) to kill animals better than other species.

If there was a God, why would he give children parasites that burrow into their eyes, or terminal illness, or famine, poverty, rape, malnutrition, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and a polluted earth. I would never sign up to a God that thinks his utter cruelty and infliction of pain is justified. Why punish individuals who know no better?

If God does exist, he is a sadist, not a loving character. I could never live with myself knowing that God continues to be a destructive force to the innocent, when the true criminals are rapists, murderers, theives, etc.