Terrorist Attack

[BlackShanglan]

I suggest it might be less a problem if politicians and the media were more constructive in discussion of the problems. But blaming each other, professing massive suffering, offering no direction to the path of recovery only creates and exacerbates the hysteria.

Good point. Pretty much everyone feels that there's something to be gained by whipping up hysteria, whether it's votes or money.

Financial hard times do put pressure on people, and the ones feeling the most pressure with the least resources to deal with it get driven very hard. It's ugly. The domestic violence reports soar.

 

[FrenchMustard]

Irans big victiry was over Carter. We haven't recovered from that one yet.

You mean the one that ended with Regan selling them intermediate range missiles? That's at least something that Carter didn't do.

 

[iamincognito45]

Good point. Pretty much everyone feels that there's something to be gained by whipping up hysteria, whether it's votes or money.

Financial hard times do put pressure on people, and the ones feeling the most pressure with the least resources to deal with it get driven very hard. It's ugly. The domestic violence reports soar.

Agreed.

But the political posturing in this country and in the media does not benefit by helping. Too much blaming to be done. With both parties running to their respective extreme positions.

When the oil embargo of the early 70s hit, the country pulled together. We all understood we each needed to make personal sacrifices, but together, with each others help, support and encouragement, we would not only get through the tough times, but we would be better off and stronger as a result. That was easy.

There is no discussion now about how to manage this crisis individually. How we might each sacrifice a little and make new personal choices to minimize our suffering and work to a positive end down the road. There is no immediate, short term political payoff to do so.

Domestic violence is the ugliest and most tragic of all violence.

 

[Edward Teach]

If one genuinely believes half of the county's population to be repulsive monsters capable of launching a terrorist attack on their own countrymen in order to win an election, it's time to move.

Not half the population, Shang, just the group of Cons who have taken over control of the GOP. They've done worse than engineer a small terrorist attack. Besides, where would I move to--they touch everybody on the planet.

 

[shereads]

If one genuinely believes half of the county's population to be repulsive monsters capable of launching a terrorist attack on their own countrymen in order to win an election, it's time to move.

Not half the country. Just a few people in positions of power. And all they really have to do is create a credible threat. During the months leading up to the 04 election, there were Terror Alerts from Homeland Security just about every time GWB began to trail in the polls. And every time there was a Terror Alert, his numbers went back up. Manipulating frightened people is child's play.

 

[epiphany65]

What are all the excited and eager conspiracy theorists going to do when the election turns out to be peaceful and decisive? How boring their lives will be. Perhaps only self-inflicted violence will be sufficient to maintain their worldview.

The thing about conspiracy theorists is that they see conspiracies around every corner and under every rock, so they'll find something else to harp about. Hell, they're still talking about Diebolt voting machines from 8 years ago so if this election goes smoothly they won't be hanging up their tinfoil hats just yet.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Shit!

The Democrats are the party of carnival sideshow freaks. They'll likely terrorize themselves.

 

[rgraham666]

Cloudy? If you thought I was saying violence was endemic to Americans and not to humanity, I'm sorry. I know that.

But I think that conditions are such in the U.S. right now as to raise the probabilities of 'political' violence. Note, I put this in quotes because as Shang pointed out, the people who will do this are motivated less by politics than by mental aberration. Politics, as in the case of The Unabomber, will just be an excuse.

And If I'm wrong and such things don't happen I will be very, very happy.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Let's give CLOUDY a group ass smooch.

 

[BlackShanglan]

There is no discussion now about how to manage this crisis individually. How we might each sacrifice a little and make new personal choices to minimize our suffering and work to a positive end down the road. There is no immediate, short term political payoff to do so.

Domestic violence is the ugliest and most tragic of all violence.

It's nice to meet you. I think we're much alike in our perceptions - which isn't necessarily the same as "right," but at least there's company.

Quick and easy is a cancer if you let it go long enough. It's so much quicker and easier to inflate problems into crises and scream that the opposition has created it / won't save you than to have an actual platform - and I mean that even-handedly on both sides. It's frustrating to me. There's a great deal more scare-mongering and posturing going on than long-term planning, because anything more than a couple of years away doesn't get people re-elected.

When I think what we could have done with what's now nearly a trillion dollars if we'd sat down ten years ago and said, "What could we do with a trillion dollars to create more affordable housing and a more transparent and stable market for investments?" I want to weep.

 

[iamincognito45]

It's nice to meet you. I think we're much alike in our perceptions - which isn't necessarily the same as "right," but at least there's company.

Quick and easy is a cancer if you let it go long enough. It's so much quicker and easier to inflate problems into crises and scream that the opposition has created it / won't save you than to have an actual platform - and I mean that even-handedly on both sides. It's frustrating to me. There's a great deal more scare-mongering and posturing going on than long-term planning, because anything more than a couple of years away doesn't get people re-elected.

When I think what we could have done with what's now nearly a trillion dollars if we'd sat down ten years ago and said, "What could we do with a trillion dollars to create more affordable housing and a more transparent and stable market for investments?" I want to weep.

True that.

We rarely if ever hear supporters of Obama say something like "I generally support Obama but I really like McCain's ideas in blah blah blah. Or a McCain supporter say, I really like McCain, but I prefer Obama's solution to yada yada yada.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Politicians have no incentives to create wealth; there are only incentives to confiscate wealth and re-distribute it. Pols learned long ago that the average person is gonna find a way to eat, and its a lot less work to be patient and snatch the bread from their mouths.

 

[Liar]

Politicians have no incentives to create wealth; there are only incentives to confiscate wealth and re-distribute it. Pols learned long ago that the average person is gonna find a way to eat, and its a lot less work to be patient and snatch the bread from their mouths.

You're missing one part of the equation. The more wealth there is, the more wealth there is to confiscate. You can't grab monies that doesn't exist. That's what the banks have been doing lately. Did them lotsa good.

 

[john-the-author]

Our invasion of Iraq was Bin Laden's primary goal. He played Bush-Cheney like a violin. Used the US military to do what Iran could never have accomplished on its own - and fulfilling Bin Laden's wildest rantings about a threat to Islam from the United States.

A thinking president would have figured that out before it was too late.

More like a cheap ukulele, but yup, he sure did. It was obvious that our invasion was a huge PR victory, as well as a preposterously expensive tar baby, and Bush just walked into it with his slack-jawed yokel look.

Say, does anyone have any idea out there what our victory conditions are for Iraq? I mean, even a hint? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[SeaCat]

So what kind of terrorist attack are we talking about?

Economic? A bombing? A shooting? Bio or Gas?

Cat

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LIAR

I didnt miss anything.

Sooner or later the middle class will get hungry enough to create more wealth. I mean, who else will do it? Not the fat-cats or cuddle-bunnies or pols.

 

[Liar]

So what kind of terrorist attack are we talking about?

Economic? A bombing? A shooting? Bio or Gas?

Cat

A propaganda attack. Dangerous stuff.

 

[Stella_Omega]

The thing about conspiracy theorists is that they see conspiracies around every corner and under every rock, so they'll find something else to harp about. Hell, they're still talking about Diebolt voting machines from 8 years ago so if this election goes smoothly they won't be hanging up their tinfoil hats just yet.

the events of the past eight years have been the sorts of things that tends to keep memories of possible voting fraud fresh in the mind. It might not be logical-- but it's understandable...

 

[BlackShanglan]

the events of the past eight years have been the sorts of things that tends to keep memories of possible voting fraud fresh in the mind. It might not be logical-- but it's understandable...

Yes, I agree. I thought that the decision to oppose recounts 'way back in 2000 was a bad choice for many reasons, and that's one of them. Even if you have won honestly, you create the belief that you haven't.

With that said, Colly made some great points in favor of speed and simplicity in results and not entangling every election in the courts.

 

[DesertPirate]

A propaganda attack. Dangerous stuff.

*Snerk*

 

[iamincognito45]

Yes, I agree. I thought that the decision to oppose recounts 'way back in 2000 was a bad choice for many reasons, and that's one of them. Even if you have won honestly, you create the belief that you haven't.

Agreed. Even if it is not bad, it looks bad. Perception is important.

With that said, Colly made some great points in favor of speed and simplicity in results and not entangling every election in the courts.

This actually speaks to another more endemic problem within our society right now. That being that we do not have to accept the outcome if it is contrary to what we want or think we deserve. The concept that redress is available for any and all perceived slights and injustices in the world. Especially the personal wrongs.

Yes, elections are a very visible part of this problem. The bigger the election, the bigger the outcry when the losing side (whichever side loses) doesn't get its way. Same thing with cheerleader tryouts, football, beauty contests, grades, college acceptance, the lead in the school play, (see below) etc, etc. If you don't get what you think you are entitled to, cry foul. Complain loudly. Threaten and sue if necessary. The point being, you don't ever have to accept losing. To quote Galaxy Quest - Never Give Up! Never Surrender!



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364265,00.html

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Japanese School Caves to 'Monster' Parents, Gives All Kids Lead in School Play


The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White.

For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents."


For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the monster parents had cowed the teachers into submission, forcing the school to admit to the injustice of selecting just one girl to play the title role.

Across Japan teachers are reporting an astonishing change in the character of parents, who, after decades of respectful silence, have become a super-aggressive army of complainers. The problem is that nobody can decide whether this is a good thing or not. Japan's mass media has opted to demonize them: a lavish television drama starting next month will present the monster parents as a vile symptom of a society that has lost all respect for its traditions and decorum.

The parents believe that they are champions of basic consumer rights, rights that Japanese society has supposedly long trampled over in the name of conformity and order. Either way, few deny that mothers and fathers have shifted from being staunch supporters of Japan's rigid education system to its most ardent assailants. Previously, when a child was in trouble the parents apologized profusely to the teacher; nowadays, they try to have the teacher sacked.

Where previously schools were trusted and respected, they are now the targets of concerted activism. Dozens of educators have been forced to resign in the face of the blazing fury of parents who no longer tolerate anything that appears to disadvantage their offspring.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Good points, Incognito. Your first makes me smile. As an enthusiast of the 1800's, I know the phrase like a Bible passage: "It is not enough to avoid vice. One must also avoid the appearance of vice." Perhaps not in all things, but in some things those Victorians have a point.

(I often find myself quoting it to young friends I meet in online games, to explain why they will never know my name or location, and I never want to know theirs.)

I saw that bizarre news story too, and I wish it was the only one. A year or two ago there was a young lady who sued her school district because, while she was valedictorian, she did not want two other students to be permitted to be co-valedictorians with her, despite the fact that it would have been impossible for them to match her credits because she home-schooled due to a medical issue and therefore able to skip the low-weighted gym courses other students were required to take. Quite a lot of school districts have already moved to not having valedictorians or student speakers at graduation because they don't want to be hauled into court over it.

There is no freedom without responsibility, eh? And yet quite a lot of people seem to want to be free from responsibility itself, and from simple bad luck, unhappy results, or slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. As you said, there's a sense of infinite right of redress. It's not that I don't want life to be fair and kind to people, but we've got to keep some sort of perspective and save our righteous indignation for the occasions that really merit it.

I love Galaxy Quest. My favorite line - Rickman's, spoken as if it's being torn physically from him with the agonies of hell: "By Grapthar's hammer. What a savings."

 

[iamincognito45]

Snip

There is no freedom without responsibility, eh? And yet quite a lot of people seem to want to be free from responsibility itself, and from simple bad luck, unhappy results, or slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. As you said, there's a sense of infinite right of redress. It's not that I don't want life to be fair and kind to people, but we've got to keep some sort of perspective and save our righteous indignation for the occasions that really merit it.

I love Galaxy Quest. My favorite line - Rickman's, spoken as if it's being torn physically from him with the agonies of hell: "By Grapthar's hammer. What a savings."

As we agree, perception is important. And as you suggest, if we cry foul at every little unsatisfactory outcome, how will we ever gain credibility and have others rally to our defense when we are truly, seriously wronged and justified in seeking redress???

Was a GREAT movie!

 

[BlackShanglan]

As we agree, perception is important. And as you suggest, if we cry foul at every little unsatisfactory outcome, how will we ever gain credibility and have others rally to our defense when we are truly, seriously wronged and justified in seeking redress???

Was a GREAT movie!

*laugh* This reminds me of one of the (fortunately long-past) perennial threads about the voting system on Literotica, and how and whether to make it more fair. Most of us just hit the foxholes each time this starts up, sometimes shaking with the traumatic flashbacks, but there's always some bright bonce for whom it's the first time.

I recall pointing out that life, on the whole, isn't always fair, and that this really wasn't that big of a deal. I was met with an angry diatribe about people who are callous to the terrible evils of the world and are content to sit smugly at home while rank injustice runs rife through society.

Well, who can blame them? They're all tuckered out from blowing their energy arguing about story scores on a free porn board ...

 

[iamincognito45]

*laugh* This reminds me of one of the (fortunately long-past) perennial threads about the voting system on Literotica, and how and whether to make it more fair. Most of us just hit the foxholes each time this starts up, sometimes shaking with the traumatic flashbacks, but there's always some bright bonce for whom it's the first time.

I recall pointing out that life, on the whole, isn't always fair, and that this really wasn't that big of a deal. I was met with an angry diatribe about people who are callous to the terrible evils of the world and are content to sit smugly at home while rank injustice runs rife through society.

Well, who can blame them? They're all tuckered out from blowing their energy arguing about story scores on a free porn board ...

One must be careful where one shoots one's load...