❝❝Mrs. Bookworm,

Are you trying to make me irritated with you?

You keep going off on these anti-pagan rants. This is what, the ninth or tenth? It's blood libel. You wouldn't stand for it if the targets were Jewish or Christian. I don't see why I should "turn the other cheek" when you target pagans.

Nature worship as such is not the problem. Any more than the KKK (a nominally Christian organization) is. Intolerance is the problem. Demanding that others follow the rules of your faith is the problem. Yes, Nature is red of tooth and claw. So are humans when untempered by civilization. And no, I do not mean civilization is Christianity. I regularly tell people that Christians (and the other two Big Monotheisms) are nicer people when they aren't the only game around. Yes, Christianity says some pretty nice things in that book. But it only plays by it's own rules when there is competition keeping it honest.

The vice or virtue is not in the label. It's in the words and actions of the individual. We're measured in the lives we touch.

You want to go after someone for intolerance, be my guest. You want to go after someone for monoculture and echo chambers, go for it. You want to go after someone for Nature worship, then you'll have to start with me. And I will turn it back on you with a vengeance. Not nicely, like I usually do with these discussions. Because you would do the same if it were your faith that was attacked. And so would everyone else here.❞❞

Tags: Bookworm ∙ anti-pagan ∙ blood libel ∙ Christian ∙ Christians ∙ civilization ∙ vice ∙ virtue ∙ label ∙ monoculture ∙ echo chambers ∙ Nature

❝❝Okay, seriously though, and this relates to one of my long standing criticisms of women's studies (and any number of gender studies, skin color studies, etc.)

If these various fields of study have any worth at all, they have to acknowledge that they are only part of the picture. Limiting your studies to one subgroup is going to limit your understanding. Especially if you dismiss without question other subgroups. It's the difference between rigorous study and fantasyland. It's why the theoretical has to cross over with the practical. It's not enough to say how things should work, you have to examine how things actually work together. You have to look outside your preconceptions and expectations for the things you can't explain. Otherwise you never leave the echo chamber.

Or, women's studies without human studies is sh*t.❞❞

Tags: women's studies ∙ human studies ∙ theoretical ∙ practical ∙ echo chambers

❝❝Trump has many faults, but he is intelligent. At least take the time to do some basic research before throwing out accusations.

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You don't make millions of dollars again and again by being an airhead. Even bending and breaking the law, you have to have something on the ball.

Look, I don't like or trust Trump. I don't want to defend him. But only an idiot assumes that just anyone can function for decades in high finance, television, sports, and all the other things that Trump has done. If he didn't have intelligence, he would have been reduced to poverty decades ago. I keep telling people that to understand Trump, you have to realize his strength is negotiating. Nobody thought North Korea was going to come to the negotiating table, but guess what. Trump agreed on camera to everything the Democrat leadership said about immigration, knowing that when they broke their promise he'd be free to act as he wished. That's exactly what happened.

Blazes, the "most intelligent" Democrat minds picked Trump so Hillary would have an easy win, and we know how that worked out. At a fraction of the cost.

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Look, I am not a Trump supporter. I think there are some terrifying things happening here, but no one is talking about those!

As long as liberals and anti-Trump people can't be bothered to learn what made him successful, they can't oppose him. And yes, Trump is successful. Before he went after the Republican nomination, some of his biggest critics now were tripping over themselves to kiss his ass. So when I read about how Trump is barely literate or how he owes it all to his daddy's money or how he can't negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag, I know that the person writing doesn't know Trump. And I know that they are still trapped in the old mindset of dealing with uppity Republicans. None of that is going to work on Trump. He's been dealing with bad press for decades. He's taken everything that can be thrown at him for the last two years, including television news that runs 90% anti-Trump, and he still does things while hitting around 50% in the polls.

The "Trump is an idiot" meme played out more than a year ago. The longer you use it, the less people are going to listen. The more you try to make this about Trump instead of his policies, the more ineffective you'll be.

I'm telling you this on the remote chance you'll pay attention. I think Trump does need criticism. But all this "Trump is a buffoon" junk just waters down legitimate concerns. The more you do it, the stronger he'll be. There's already a pretty good chance Republicans will gain seats in 2018, and I think Trump will win in 2020. There's a sharp first rate mind there, and he doesn't care about playing the clown if it gets him what he wants. I know this because it's been what he's done for decades.

Which you would know if you bothered to pay attention instead of sticking your head in the echo chamber.❞❞

Tags: Donald Trump ∙ success ∙ criticism ∙ echo chambers

❝❝If you never leave the echo chamber, you never learn to defend your arguments.

It's a big reason why libertarians are better than average at debating on certain subjects. Nobody agrees with us entirely and we get plenty of practice.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: echo chambers ∙ defend ∙ argue ∙ libertarian

❝❝Trigger warnings, safe spaces, echo chambers, all that does is keep people from dealing with the World as it is❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: trigger warnings ∙ safe spaces ∙ echo chambers ∙ World ∙ maxims