Messing-cum-Inworth, Essex, England Superthread

[Babydoll]

For one thing, one of many things: Africa isn't a country. There's no "African" language.

 

[pgv]

Yes, the Superthread, not Describe. This has always been the land of informed political discussion.

Has it? I've been in here before and posted a couple of times, but got the feeling it was mostly banter (always a good thing ) - the sort of thing that's great when you know people in the thread, but not when you don't. So I never used to post in here. If I'd have seen more political discussion I would've done
I don't understand what you're getting at when you call this describe? I've never been a describe poster, so I wouldn't know, but isn't the only difference the people as opposed to the conversation?

And I personally don't see anything wrong with being an idealist, I think there is only ever opportunity for social revolution (what we're very in need of here in England at the moment) with he presence of idealist thinkers Without the idealists, you'll always be hitting a brick wall.

 

[Screwtape2]

You shouldn't have to put up with that, Zee.

 

[Babydoll]

I don't but it's pretty sad that in this day and age, there is such ignorance. Blame the...media, for one.

 

[pgv]

I have a story I told a couple friends about - including Wild, Dani.

While at the check out counter at Target the other day, the sales associate asked me if I wanted to apply for a Target card as they always do. I said no. She kept pressing me for one, as is her job. I told her the reason - I'm not a US citizen so I can't have one. (and I really can't). She then proceeds to ask me where I'm from. I reply "Tanzania."

She's like "Huh??? What's that?"



Me: "East Africa."

Her: "Never heard of it..."

Me: "Ok.. "

Her: "Then how come you speak English if you're from, like, Africa??"

Me: ".... I learnt it in school."

Her: "You went to school there??"

Me: "Yes."

Her: "And they taught English??? "

Me: "Uh huh..."

Her: " Wow... don't people in Africa speak African?? That chanting thing..."

Me: *disgusted, leaves*

I'd like to say I'm shocked, but I'm not - because people are actually that ignorant. I won't say I hate that person or whatever because I don't, I COMPLETELY blame their ignorance on the matter. It's unbelievable, just the blatancy of it. I'm sorry you had to deal with that

 

[Lemonchick]

Oh wow Zee, that's just....I don't even know what to say.

I have gotten a lot of "how come you speak English so well?" or (this was actually really funny, I laughed at the person) "do all Colombian people look like you?"....

 

[Axver]

Has it? I've been in here before and posted a couple of times, but got the feeling it was mostly banter (always a good thing ) - the sort of thing that's great when you know people in the thread, but not when you don't. So I never used to post in here. If I'd have seen more political discussion I would've done
I don't understand what you're getting at when you call this describe? I've never been a describe poster, so I wouldn't know, but isn't the only difference the people as opposed to the conversation?

And I personally don't see anything wrong with being an idealist, I think there is only ever opportunity for social revolution (what we're very in need of here in England at the moment) with he presence of idealist thinkers Without the idealists, you'll always be hitting a brick wall.

It has devolved into more mindless banter than in the past - of course, it is a chat thread, but everything in moderation, you know? We claim to have had Interference's only calm, rational abortion debate. Vazza and I are both Political Science majors, she graduated with honours in it earlier this year, and we also used to have a number of FYM regulars post here until they left, so we'd have some very in depth discussions. It isn't - perhaps past tense would be better - unusual for the actual Superthread crowd to have a theoretical political debate in conjunction with, say, a sports discussion or oversharing. What I would say we don't welcome is vapidity or shallowness, regardless of whether the topic is politics or sport or whatever.

While I would say I have my idealist strand on what should be done, it is necessary to be pragmatic about what actually could be done. Hence I tend to get lumped in to things such as International Relations realism (due to my analysis of the system as it stands), despite my quite strong disagreement with realists over what constitutes the best political behaviour for achieving beneficial outcomes. I think the most fundamental point is that realism emphasises competition while I emphasise co-operation.

 

[Irishteen]

Oh wow Zee, that's just....I don't even know what to say.

I have gotten a lot of "how come you speak English so well?" or (this was actually really funny, I laughed at the person) "do all Colombian people look like you?"....

All Colombians do look alike! when I was in your house I couldn't tell if I was talking to you or your brother you're both soooooooooooooooo alike!









Axver what is your view on abortion?

 

[Axver]

I have gotten a lot of "how come you speak English so well?" or (this was actually really funny, I laughed at the person) "do all Colombian people look like you?"....

People in general are just stupid. Even in my whitest of whiteness, I encountered utter fools when I was in the US. Including one who was surprised how well I knew English. My favourite, though, was the chap who tried to tell me that New Zealand is north of Australia. No, I've flown between the two probably about 30 times now. I think I know where my two countries of residence are comparatively located.

 

[Babydoll]

Oh wow Zee, that's just....I don't even know what to say.

I have gotten a lot of "how come you speak English so well?" or (this was actually really funny, I laughed at the person) "do all Colombian people look like you?"....

Oh, wow.

This is sad and hilarious at the same time isn't it?!

 

[Irishteen]

People in general are just stupid. Even in my whitest of whiteness, I encountered utter fools when I was in the US. Including one who was surprised how well I knew English. My favourite, though, was the chap who tried to tell me that New Zealand is north of Australia. No, I've flown between the two probably about 30 times now. I think I know where my two countries of residence are comparatively located.

Why does this remind me of the time in an airport when i kept telling someone I was Irish and he just kept replying with "you're english?". Normally I'm not nationalist at all but grouping Ireland and England together always annoys me; they're two different countries all I want is people to know that...

 

[Axver]

Axver what is your view on abortion?

I'm actually on the fence. I see validity in two mutually exclusive perspectives.

On the one hand, I would tend to see myself as a pacifist, in that I emphasise the right to life of each individual - hence opposition to war, capital punishment, etc. Thus I can certainly see merit in the argument that an individual's life deserves to be protected before they are born. This leads into the "when does life begin?" debate, a debate I am by no means qualified to comment on, except to say that it clearly has begun by the 21st week of pregnancy, as there is at least one recorded case of a child born that early surviving. I would also say it does NOT begin at impregnation, as what exists at that point lacks sentience. Accordingly, I support things such as the morning-after pill.

On the other hand, my support of the rights of an individual also applies to the mother - she has the right to decide what to do with her body and whether or not she wants a foetus growing inside her. Her rights clash with the rights of the foetus and I am not sure how to resolve this clash.

Shame it isn't possible to "abort" a foetus and then put it in an artificial womb so that the mother can have the abortion and the foetus can continue to term and be "born"! That would be the ideal solution, if only science were so advanced.

 

[pgv]

It has devolved into more mindless banter than in the past - of course, it is a chat thread, but everything in moderation, you know? We claim to have had Interference's only calm, rational abortion debate. Vazza and I are both Political Science majors, she graduated with honours in it earlier this year, and we also used to have a number of FYM regulars post here until they left, so we'd have some very in depth discussions. It isn't - perhaps past tense would be better - unusual for the actual Superthread crowd to have a theoretical political debate in conjunction with, say, a sports discussion or oversharing. What I would say we don't welcome is vapidity or shallowness, regardless of whether the topic is politics or sport or whatever.

While I would say I have my idealist strand on what should be done, it is necessary to be pragmatic about what actually could be done. Hence I tend to get lumped in to things such as International Relations realism (due to my analysis of the system as it stands), despite my quite strong disagreement with realists over what constitutes the best political behaviour for achieving beneficial outcomes. I think the most fundamental point is that realism emphasises competition while I emphasise co-operation.

I think there's just been a shift in the groups in here - yes, some people who have drifted may come back now and again, but I'm sorry to say I think the superthread as you know it has changed. Perhaps the best thing you can do is maintain the general debate when you're here, and work with who you've got. Unless you want the thread to die as sad and lonely death like it will if people keep bickering. I like the mix, too, being able to debate on political issues, when it suits, and being able to chat about the most mundane of things, when it suits. And I wouldn't say a conversation, because of its topic, is necessarily a vapid one. But vacuous chat is something I cannot bear, and something I've yet to meet in here yet thank god.

I'd make a reply to your stance, it's just I'm in such agreement with it that there's little left to say. Only that I don't agree that realism always encourages competition. I think there can be equivocally based, yet equally static, realism that is incongruous (in it's aim) with myself and what I hope for. Yet what I believe, and what I think is the best political way forward, will always be inexplicably linked. Because I'm too much of an idealist

 

[WildHoney]

Miss me???

Stupid pc & more stupid hubby

 

[pgv]

*Me and Axver kill the thread with our horrifically long posts*

 

[pgv]

Miss me???

Stupid pc & more stupid hubby

Oh, it seems not everyone's been killed

 

[Axver]

Why does this remind me of the time in an airport when i kept telling someone I was Irish and he just kept replying with "you're english?". Normally I'm not nationalist at all but grouping Ireland and England together always annoys me; they're two different countries all I want is people to know that...

I'm the same way with Australia and New Zealand. I do like both countries, I wouldn't be a citizen of Australia and continue to live in it if I didn't think it's better for me to live here than elsewhere, but I also think very highly of New Zealand, I wouldn't be a historian of it if I didn't feel strongly about it, and I really don't appreciate the two being lumped together.

 

[pgv]

Why does this remind me of the time in an airport when i kept telling someone I was Irish and he just kept replying with "you're english?". Normally I'm not nationalist at all but grouping Ireland and England together always annoys me; they're two different countries all I want is people to know that...

Someone in America asked me if I was irish (because of my accent, which couldn't be any more English if it tried ), when I said 'No, I'm English' they replied - "Oh, well, same thing!"

... not quite.

 

[Irishteen]

I can really see why you're coming from Axver. I mean personally abortion just seems wrong to me; I wouldn't go all the way to say it was murder but I just can't agree with it...but then again it is the woman's choice and I would never support it being illegal...even if I disagree with it completely...if that makes any sense

 

[WildHoney]

*Me and Axver kill the thread with our horrifically long posts*

You posted long posts


Ohhhhhh my poor brain

 

[Babydoll]

My favorite from all the glaringly ignorant and ridiculously stupid comments I've encountered is "If you're from Tanzania why aren't you black?"




I mean.....

 

[WildHoney]

Oh, it seems not everyone's been killed

Not yet anyway

 

[Screwtape2]

Someone in America asked me if I was irish (because of my accent, which couldn't be any more English if it tried ), when I said 'No, I'm English' they replied - "Oh, well, same thing!"

... not quite.

My seventh grade Geography teacher told the class a story about how she was in Scotland and corrected some people there by telling they were actually still part of England. I'm not Scottish but I'd be a bit offended by that.

 

[Irishteen]

I'm the same way with Australia and New Zealand. I do like both countries, I wouldn't be a citizen of Australia and continue to live in it if I didn't think it's better for me to live here than elsewhere, but I also think very highly of New Zealand, I wouldn't be a historian of it if I didn't feel strongly about it, and I really don't appreciate the two being lumped together.

I actually know nothing about New Zealand's history at all...I'm sure it's fairly interesting but I don't think it's available here at all It's funny but History was the subject I done best at in secondary school, I remember I done a report/project on something that was probably the complete opposite of what was expected just so I could do something different...

Someone in America asked me if I was irish (because of my accent, which couldn't be any more English if it tried ), when I said 'No, I'm English' they replied - "Oh, well, same thing!"

... not quite.

I had someone in my class the other day who was Irish who couldn't place my accent!

 

[Irishteen]

My favorite from all the glaringly ignorant and ridiculously stupid comments I've encountered is "If you're from Tanzania why aren't you black?"




I mean.....

Nice to know that multiculturalism doesn't exist isn't it?

They should come to Ireland and when they get off the plane I could fool them into thinking they've landed in China because idiots annoy me

 

[Axver]

I think there's just been a shift in the groups in here - yes, some people who have drifted may come back now and again, but I'm sorry to say I think the superthread as you know it has changed. Perhaps the best thing you can do is maintain the general debate when you're here, and work with who you've got. Unless you want the thread to die as sad and lonely death like it will if people keep bickering. I like the mix, too, being able to debate on political issues, when it suits, and being able to chat about the most mundane of things, when it suits. And I wouldn't say a conversation, because of its topic, is necessarily a vapid one. But vacuous chat is something I cannot bear, and something I've yet to meet in here yet thank god.

I'd make a reply to your stance, it's just I'm in such agreement with it that there's little left to say. Only that I don't agree that realism always encourages competition. I think there can be equivocally based, yet equally static, realism that is incongruous (in it's aim) with myself and what I hope for. Yet what I believe, and what I think is the best political way forward, will always be inexplicably linked. Because I'm too much of an idealist

It's always been changing, even in its earliest days - that's the nature of community. Going from the roving postwhorehouse that undertook the Kunstmuseum prank to being settled in OOC was a shock to the system. But there's a difference between communal evolution and things happening that are bad for the community's long term viability.

I would say IR realism is inherently competitive, since it puts forth a zero sum game. As it emphasises territoriality and sovereignty within an anarchic international order, one country's gain is by default another country's loss. Now, while I accept the nature of the anarchic international order as given, I do not accept that realism puts forth the best way to deal with it, especially in a globalised and interdependent world where territoriality and sovereignty are becoming increasingly challenged. Norman Angell's The Great Illusion (aka Europe's Optical Illusion) is a tremendously influential book on my political thought.

 

[Axver]

I can really see why you're coming from Axver. I mean personally abortion just seems wrong to me; I wouldn't go all the way to say it was murder but I just can't agree with it...but then again it is the woman's choice and I would never support it being illegal...even if I disagree with it completely...if that makes any sense

Yeah. I find it a very difficult debate, especially due to all the emotions and personal investment at play. Making it illegal tends to be counter-productive, sending mothers into back alleys to undergo unsanitary and dangerous procedures. At least legalising it allows the state to control the safety of the procedure.

Fundamentally, I think the problem needs to be addressed at its cause: stop people having unsafe sex and unwanted pregnancies. (That obviously does not solve problems of rape, but it would still go a long way.)

 

[Irishteen]

"Is it true that a womans under arm hair can grow down to her hips if she never shaves it?"

Yahoo Answers No IQ Required...

 

[WildHoney]

Why does this remind me of the time in an airport when i kept telling someone I was Irish and he just kept replying with "you're english?". Normally I'm not nationalist at all but grouping Ireland and England together always annoys me; they're two different countries all I want is people to know that...

Someone in America asked me if I was irish (because of my accent, which couldn't be any more English if it tried ), when I said 'No, I'm English' they replied - "Oh, well, same thing!"

... not quite.

NI hates it when he's asked if he's English he his passport at them . He may have lived in England more than half he's life but he considers himself Irish to the core and he's accent is so obviously Irish

One woman in America ( sorry not picking on you really ) asked NI if he'd met his Queen?

He said Ireland doesn't have royality

Her " Sure it does.Queen Lizzie"

I had to drag him away, before he blew with that Irish temper of his



Ireland does not have a Queen..... yet

 

[Lemonchick]

I can really see why you're coming from Axver. I mean personally abortion just seems wrong to me; I wouldn't go all the way to say it was murder but I just can't agree with it...but then again it is the woman's choice and I would never support it being illegal...even if I disagree with it completely...if that makes any sense

Same here actually, I'm not about to go tell someone what to do...I just know that personally, I would not be able to do that.