Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 221
MeFi post:
John McCain, Prisoner of War
While I support Obama, I have to give McCain some credit in pushing against the currents of his party to an extent, even if only in tone. I'm genuinely surprised he got as far as he did, given that Huckabee and Romney looked and sounded like platonic ideals of half their party apiece.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2008
MeFi post:
Cluck. Cluck. (Thwack)
I agree with Herzog, for real. When I see a chicken, even one in a factory farm, my instinctive reaction isn't "aww, it doesn't deserve to die". It's more along the lines of "IT'S MOVING! KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!" (I was never really a "bird person".)
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 4:36 PM on June 10, 2008
MeFi post:
End Nigh?
Wouldn't this trend make anarchists and libertarians happy? Forcing people to stay local, look to private solutions for basic needs, break the back of the state, and all?
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 10:42 AM on May 22, 2008
MeFi post:
Feminism, Whiteness, and the Prison System
The part that I don't understand is the apparent presumption that women of color would be better off without these toughened laws: I find nasreddin's earlier comment seems to trivialize the experience of women for whom the need for security is very real. (If you're afraid of feeling violated, you're just buying into paranoia, and the best thing you can do is ignore it for the sake of marginalized people in the prison system?)
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 5:45 PM on April 6, 2008
I don't want to make this into another anarchism debate
Oh. I actually thought that was why you posted this. I actually thought that was why she wrote this, too. To try to rhetorically redirect the focus of feminism towards a general conception of "social change" involving the breakdown of prisons and borders, without using the "A-word".
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 6:16 PM on April 6, 2008
I think that's partially because the author is arguing for a kind of "transformative" feminism: instead of fighting for women's equality (within a state framework) it's about transcending the patriarchy that is The State. (Because since The State is run by men, it's white feminists responsibility to move beyond "their own issues", and get to the important thing, which is dismantling it.)
At least, that's what it looks like.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 7:05 PM on April 6, 2008
The author's tack reminds me of a gay sociology professor I had, who spent the semester talking about how the understanding of gender needed to change in America, all the while cloaking his ultimate thesis: gay activists should stop fighting for gay marriage, and instead campaign for normalization of polyamorous open relationships for everybody. You can make the argument, but it doesn't always follow.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 9:15 PM on April 6, 2008
MeFi post:
The end of childhood
The end of childhood
Not sure it ever existed for a few...this logically follows from things like JonBenet Ramsey style beauty pageants...what concerns me more is that mindset seems to be expanding outward.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 9:19 AM on April 4, 2008
MeFi post:
Facial Expression Simulator Lets You Play with Emotions
There seems to be a strong correlation between length of phrase, formality, and perceived respect.
As a physically disabled person, I can chime in here somewhat...it's really a bouillabaisse of age, political orientation, personal reference, and many other things, the language issue...I've seen it can vary substantially from one disability to another. I'm used to "putting the condition first": disabled person, autistic person...all my... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 8:13 PM on April 1, 2008
"Differently abled" on the other hand, sounds like a slur to me, and I tell any particularly overcorrecting folks to use different words in my presence.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 8:18 PM on April 1, 2008
MeFi post:
Turning writing into a conversation
DH2. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. DH3. There are many arguments that don't fall neatly into one category, that DH2 he'd understand if he was less of a programmer and more of a logician.
Most intellectual dishonesty is unintentional. Someone arguing against the tone of something he disagrees with may believe he's really saying something. Zooming out and seeing his current position on the disagreement hierarchy may inspire him to try... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 9:54 AM on March 30, 2008
MeFi post:
History, writ Gangsta
(As for FDR, is it possible to be a badass in a wheelchair?)
Fella walked arm in arm down the street hoisting his body weight. Gave three hour speeches in sweltering heat with 10 pounds of steel leg braces. Orchestrated massive shifts in government that meant life or death to millions and made it look easy. Don't fuck with FDR, man.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 5:56 PM on February 15, 2008
MeFi post:
The world is going to hell in a hand basket, I feel fine.
To contribute to the discussion with a slightly more level head (putting aside the thought that I may unwittingly have caused more harm than good) I think that there are at least two posts to be made here, and that stbalbach rather unfortunately conflated the two, in the same way that I might, say, make a post about conservation and the Unabomber, Resource depletion is a serious concern, and it's quite possible to lose sight of that by putting it in an apocalyptic context. Peak Oil isn't just... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2008
MeFi post:
Retrospectacle on the Plague
I think Shelley's been involved in a storm of controversy, and I thought either someone at MeFi or someone who posts here and posted elsewhere had some personal contact with her, perhaps worked with the same people, and said unpleasant things, related somehow to a contest of some sort. Does anybody remember something like this?
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 4:05 PM on January 18, 2008
Oh, that's it...I had misremembered it as a bit more "cut off my hand" than it was.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 4:41 PM on January 18, 2008
I guess it doesn't count as a double, then...the first link to her blog was interesting too.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 4:44 PM on January 18, 2008
MeFi post:
Elephant Man
I dare not look, lest I puke my dinner, (I have a severe phobia of viewing such things) but I'd like to note that The Elephant Man most likely did not have neurofibromatosis, but rather Proteus Syndrome, an even rarer condition. It's easy to connect this to societal attitudes about beauty, but certain conditions entail much more than mere subjective ugliness. I'm very glad he's getting help.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 7:18 PM on January 8, 2008
MeFi post:
Corporations don't pay taxes. People do.
From Wikipedia linked above:
If the government requires employers to provide employees with health care, the burden of this will fall almost entirely on the employee because the employer will pass on the burden in the form of lower wages.
Thanks for helping me find another argument for universal single-payer healthcare, Tex!
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 5:56 PM on January 7, 2008
MeFi post:
Human History in 60 Seconds
Check the second link and scroll through it. As for Pinker I'm unconvinced, although one has little to do with the other. Cool post.
posted to MetaFilter by StrikeTheViol
at 10:59 PM on December 25, 2007
