Thanks jmo. I am without doubt an old fuddy duddy in many regards. I was indoctrinated with many of the attitudes of 1950's, patriarchal, priveliged racist society. That's no excuse, just a rather sad truth. I did for example vote yes to support changes to marriage laws in my country recently and I am genuinely happy that the yes vote got resounding support. I am optimistic when I observe young people today working to change the world into a better place, but I also get upset when I see entrenched pockets of "social recidivism"..... I do think DO should confront these blighters who make unnaceptable comments. There is, imho, a nobility to her righteous anger. But therein is an example of how out of touch I can be.. Using the term nobility.. a class construct ?
The best thing for me to do, is to apologise unreservedly to Demon Overlord, which I do, without hesitation.

Ya know what they say KB:
https://i.imgur.com/seiZobv.png

Takes one to know one

Maybe the FBI were on to something when they thought there were professional Russian trolls on this forum. Is Kansas for real?

I am in shock and awe at MajorMitchell's post above. I genuinely feel sorry for many of you. I will pray for you all tonight even DO.

You're in shock and awe that MM voted to legalize gay marriage?

Yeah that post was pretty unpleasant to read.

Um, that's not what I said Bo.

My wife. Works 60+ hours a week. Tries to keep the family in good standing with food and clothing etc. Teaches two classes a week in Aikido as she is working toward a black belt that she began more than 24 years ago. Constantly having to multi-task helping our children with problems from education to bad dreams. She's as awesome as they come and I only hope that I support as much as she does the rest of the family.

My dumbest mistake was to suggest that my advice applied only to DO. It should apply to all users of the forum regardless of sex....crude obscenities used as verbal, personal assaults in forum posts do not bring any of us any credit.

My wife, who always asks why or how, to any assertion of reality nudged me toward a more skeptical approach to life. That was and has been a great thing.

DO, I haven't participated here, but I too do righteous anger and am kind of finished with playing nice. I suspect MM has precisely the same advice for me


To which I'd have about the same response.


That and direct him to read "letter from a Binmingham Jail" especially the part about white moderates.

ND: Then could you clarify your remarks? What about MM's post did you find shocking?

Yeah I think despite the fact that there are a lot of people on this forum more vocally aggressive than I am, that MM decided to target me to tell me I need to be more "elegant" was extremely problematic

^this

Ogion, tell us about how righteous your anger is and how morale you are another time.
Who's a female that inspires you?

Apparently DO

Women who inspire me:

My best friend Rachel, every single day. She is a dedicated social worker, working hard to help families and vulnerable adults. She's a wonderful mother to two great, clever, well-rounded children. She's a great singer and is fun to be around. Most of all, to me, she is my beautiful, loving, caring best friend in the world, and I love her very much.

Professor Sue Arrowsmith, my law professor at university and one of the most articulately intelligent people I've had the privilege to learn from.

Also Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks, Justine Frischmann, Celia Sanchez, and Nadezhda Krupskaya.

A lot of female philosophers are pretty incredible, with my favorite being Hannah Arendt.

If you don't know who Hannah Arendt is, she was a german philosopher/writer that wrote a lot about the roots of totalitarianism. She came up with a social construct that split society into 3 parts: Labor, work, and social.
Labor- where you work for your basic needs (Food, shelter...)
Work- Where you work with other people for the purposes of your nation
Social- where your voice is heard and you engage in the politics of your country.

She said that totalitarianism arose when the social realm is taken away, or weakened, and I've used this concept in so, so many arguments where I had to argue both sides.

Here's some quotes if you don't like her yet
"Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core."

"Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.

"Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible.

"The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil"

"There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous."

To be honest, this thread looked a bit trollish, which is why I didn't jump in. I'm a big fan of Sylvia Earle and Jane Lubchenko. Maryan Mirzakhani also looms large. Elizabeth Warren inspires too for her tenacity and blend of deep intelligence and steadfastness. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Ursula K. LeGuin who is still my guide on my writing.

Hannah Arendt. Good call. Definitely.

I am seeing one of my role models as I type this! Chief Justice McLachlan is speaking at my university atm (1st female CJ of Canada SC)

As far as contemporary politicians are concerned, I disagree with Kamala Harris on a great many subjects but have a lot of respect for her principled commitment against seeking the death penalty in cases she prosecutes. I have no issue with the death penalty myself and disagree with her principle, but I respect her stout commitment to that principle.

I admired Ien Dales, a socially responsible and active mayor and cabinet minister, with a great focus on personal and professional integrity. She understood that public office is about serving, not about personal gain or glory. Everyone who is cynical about politicians and paints them all with the same brush, should look at what she said and did.

Katherine the Great, Golda Meir, Katty Perry.

Ogion, I expect swinish behaviour from swinish individuals, but not from you. I expect you to use your anger in a disciplined way, not an undisciplined way. I am at times in situations where I have to deal with the ill mannered, foul mouthed & uncouth and it is essential that I remain civil, if forceful in my use of language in those situations.
@ Jamiet99uk, I "saw" Stevie Nicks recently at a large outdoor concert, she was on stage for about two and a half hours. I didn't "see" the concert in the normal way that a patron would. I was backstage and much prefer to be behind the PA than in front of it.

Did no one really get that wpfieps's comment was an obvious joke? Jesus I need a damn drink.

No, everyone got it. It was just clearly sexist.

Also, unfortunately I didn't have an inspirational female for most of my life but I did look up to my female cousin when I was very young. She looked out for me and talked to me until our respective parents grew apart.

I didn't see it that way. The thing about jokes is that they're not serious so therefore they should not be taken as the actual opinion of the person telling it.