What's the age difference between the two (boy and girl)?

As far as punishments go, this seems just fine - statutory rape charges are bullshit if they both were willing, but a spanking like that is fair enough, I guess. Walk it off.

At least he CAN walk it off, instead of being stuck as a sex offender for x years.

Same old story: Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl grow old together, girl gets struck by lightning and dies, boy becomes bingo addict.

On the plus side, a Gingrich presidency would send an inspiring message to arrogant and unlikable boys and girls everywhere.

You and I have been inculcated by decades of advertising propaganda. This little girl has been exposed to far less propaganda. She has a much less biased opinion on this matter than we do. Do you think it's possible that a young person like this who hasn't yet been beaten down by the system might have something to teach us?

>>> Adorable she may be, but she has far more to learn than to teach.

I'd like to know why the issue of gender roles is so important to you. Why you are bothered by a little girl questioning your status quo?

>>> I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that I'm "bothered" by this at all. I'm annoyed that Pops has no good answers for her. And the confusion that awaits in government indoc. Maybe Pops doesn't know that there are real biological differences between male and female brains and that even if there were no obvious physical differences between the brains, they are each "pickled" in different biochemical baths in male or female bodies.

I don't get why you dismiss her natural feelings of gender unity in a culture that strongly enforces gender roles, and then claim she will later be indoctrinated by the government to believe "we are all the same", which is what she already believes in the first place - honestly the cognitive dissonance of this comment makes my head hurt a little.

>>> I dislike moral relativism, the sacrificing truth for convenience. There will be days when the indoc center will assure her that "people are all the same" in areas of life where it's simply untrue. There will be other days when she'll be segregated and her differences highlighted, in order to wrongly gain from others (political correctness) or preyed upon by others (political correctness).

Why do you have a strong partisan political opinion on something probably better left to psychology to research and explain?

>>> Why wait? Everything is political. Eveything. You really think the shrinks aren't "influenced" by who is paying for their research grants? Science--honest science--recognizes there are differences between boys and girls, men and women. Gender roles may be part societal, but AFAIC, it's 95% biological.

Yes boys and girls have differences in their brains. But! There is at least as great a difference within a gender as there is between the genders.

-Karl

You and I have been inculcated by decades of advertising propaganda. This little girl has been exposed to far less propaganda. She has a much less biased opinion on this matter than we do. Do you think it's possible that a young person like this who hasn't yet been beaten down by the system might have something to teach us?

I'd like to know why the issue of gender roles is so important to you. Why you are bothered by a little girl questioning your status quo? I don't get why you dismiss her natural feelings of gender unity in a culture that strongly enforces gender roles, and then claim she will later be indoctrinated by the government to believe "we are all the same", which is what she already believes in the first place - honestly the cognitive dissonance of this comment makes my head hurt a little. Why do you have a strong partisan political opinion on something probably better left to psychology to research and explain? I'm fascinated with how the conservative mind works and I feel like the answer to this question could be a key to a deeper understanding. >> ^quantumushroom:

Plump-cheeked urchin, boys' and girls' brains are wired differently. You'll be hearing enough "we all the same" when you're placed in your first government indoctrination center school.

There was an article in the newspapers recently about Hamleys toystore in London (one of the, or the, best toystores in the world IMHO ) succumbing to pressure and removing the pink and blue labelled floors for boys and girls, and instead grouping toys by type:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/18/campaign-against-pink-toys-for-girls?newsfeed=true

Plump-cheeked urchin, boys' and girls' brains are wired differently. You'll be hearing enough "we all the same" when you're placed in your first government indoctrination center school.

Facts undermine our military...too fucking bad. Our Military is made up of big boys and girls who are following orders. Sometimes those orders they follow produce results that are less than ideal or downright fucked up. They know that, they can take it...tell the fucking truth.

hpqp, I think you are judging things based on Switzerland. But since this video mentioned American waistlines, I speak for America... We don't believe obesity is an epidemic (Even though it is over 25%...) Most don't believe children should be taken even when it is clearly abuse... Conservatives wonder why healthcare is so fucked up but those corn-fed boys and girls are part of the problem...

(All the above is not just ignorance, it's disbelief and/or denial.)

Now, I will reiterate, obesity and religious beliefs, despite your single objection, can be paralleled the way I do.

Not believing in something that is apparent and proven is equal to or greater than believing in something that is insanely speculative and based on fantasy.

For example. I don't believe in global warming, STDs or cats... Crazy as believing in god? I think so. But you are free to disagree as you have quite clearly done so.

The reason I thought you considered obese people crazy-ish is that they are posioning themselves. And parents? You say "neglect," but would you feel the same way if parents poisoned their children with mercury instead of simply dangerous overfeeding? I mean, one may be quicker, but that doesn't really make either right (The obesity will probably be around for their entire lives, as studies have shown, and/or the effects of the obesity...)

Lastly, you did it again. You left out the single part of my point that makes it defensible. Obese people can live a life without problem. Nowhere in my post did I say contrary, despite what you noted. "B-It always destroys what (Not "who") it touches in some way or another (Society, self, self esteem, healthcare, etc.)"

In other words, even though it may not destroy a person's life, even though a person can live fine being obese, it does destroy. In America, for example, it's okay to be obese. I mean 1/4 of us our, so why not? Let's just let it spread is now the motto. It is no longer a sickness, it is just a personality trait. And that is a crazy disbelief of something real.

p.s., Sorry this reply took so long.


>> ^hpqp:

@Lawdeedaw
Obesity and religious beliefs can hardly be paralleled the way you do. Obesity is largely caused by a change of diet affected by processed foods (corn syrup anyone?) and an extremely sedentary lifestyle, made worse by the fact that it is often cheaper to buy unhealthy/processed foods. Moreover, it is quite possible that genetics are involved in a person's likelihood of being obese (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Obesity/). Do I think obese people are crazy? No. Like you said, the fat is there, you can feel it, you can taste the 10th liter of coke you're guzzling. I may consider the morbidly obese highly irresponsible, or perhaps mentally ill in cases of obsessive binge-eating, but it is not akin to the superstitious beliefs of religion that one is indoctrinated with as a child. Of course, stuffing one's kid with unhealthy food when an alternative is possible is at best the result of ignorance, at worst irresponsible neglect.
Btw, humans may wired to project agency (thus evolving superstitious beliefs), but religious belief is a matter of indoctrination. Recent studies are showing that young children will not naturally offer supernatural explanations for phenomena (see also this article).
p.s.: one can be overweight and still live a happy and successful life... obesity does not necessarily "always destroy what it touches".

I'm thinking he lip synched that flute music... save your quarter, boys and girls.

Tracklist

Alphabeat - Boyfriend
Alphabeat - Fascination
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
Black Eyed Peas - Gotta Feeling
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time
Capsule - Can I Have A Word
Chromeo - Mamma's Boy
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
Daft Punk - Around The World
Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)
Deadmau5 - Right This Second
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
ELO - Mr. Blue Sky
Girls Aloud - Biology
Gorillaz - Dare
Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
Gwen Stefani - What You Waitin For (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Housse de Racket - Oh Yeah
Justice - DVNO
Justice - Phantom Part II
Katy Perry - One Of The Boys
Ke$ha - Take It Off
Kylie Minogue - Wow
Lady Gaga - Alejandro
Linkin Park - Crawling
Madonna - Hung Up
Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Boys and Girls
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Nero - Me and You
One Republic - All The Right Moves (Danger Remix)
One-T - Magic Key
Ratatat - Shempi
Solange - I Decided (Freemasons Remix)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
The Killers - Losing Touch
The Who - Baba O'Riley (SebastiAn Remix)
Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Madeon Remix)

George Rekers, Anti-Gay Activist, Caught With Male Escort 'Rentboy'

George Alan Rekers, a prominent anti-gay activist who co-founded the conservative Family Research Council, was caught returning from a 10-day trip to Europe with a male escort he found on Rentboy.com, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Rekers, who is also a professor emeritus of neuropsychiatry at the University of South Carolina and a Baptist minister, recently testifed against gay adoption in Florida, where he resides.

More... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/05/george-rekers-anti-gay-ac_n_565142.html

During a presentation on research conducted by George A. Rekers, professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina, the presenters noted that “boys and girls adopted by lesbian and homosexual couples show a greater level of stress than that which is already generated by their status as orphans or children abandoned by their biological parents.” They added that this situation “produces diverse trauma and behavioral disorders that can even lead to suicidal tendencies or attempts.”
The symposium in Mexico took place after lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City approved reforms allowing homosexual adoption. Research included in the study by Professor Rekers was the basis for rulings in the state of Florida prohibiting the adoption of minors by same-sex couples.
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=ab3efae8-b9bf-4269-828b-13604acaa059

Of course I know you're "not all bad." I am surprised that you would feel the need to say that to me -- I know the difference between a troll who deliberately says things to shock and a guy who makes a bewb joke.

You say not to "take it personally." What am I taking personally? Please explain (that is a real question and I am tired of being told it.) If you could see some of the private messages I have received - believe me, some part of this is meant personally.

I have had private exchanges with the trolls about this. In the trolls' defense, despite my every attempt to be clear about what I am doing, they twist my words and sling them back at me, ascribing motivations and intentions and opinions to me that are 100% incorrect. Some of them are taking this VERY personally. But unfortunately, they are mad at me about this things I don't believe.

So why the heck aren't you telling the trolls to not take it personally?

And excuse me, but why aren't you taking that advice yourself? Your first comment is a personal defense -- "we're not all bad." Sounds like you are feeling the need to defend yourself when I have been very clear what has been bothering me and it ain't you.

I am not angry -- it is so hard to write these emails because there is no tone of voice, and a simple strong declarative sentence sounds harsh. These are real questions, not hypotheticals. I'm asking you -- why aren't you telling the trolls to not take it personally? What is it that I am taking personally?

I normally get messages like this privately and I answer privately. Since you have chosen to send it to me publicly, I am responding publicly. I would have preferred that this personal exchange be.... personal. Oh well.

All these (strong declarative) words and I haven't thanked you yet. Yes, they do need to have their "cock slapped down." Thanks for recognizing that. I do wish that you hadn't led with, excuse me for being blunt, a vagina slap down on me.

I hope you realize that this thing is only continuing because the trolls are the ones continuing it. It can end at any time. I have been very very clear. I will respond to every troll on that site. I contacted them privately so that the trolls could silently fade away and no one would even notice. They chose to engage. Their choice. It is always their choice.

So please don't tell me to stop. It is wasted words, honey. I'm the mom here, Jigga. The trolls were told that if they continued to act badly, there would be consequences. I'm just keeping to my word.

I am sitting here typing this, and I see that rottenseed has just posted something on the sift talk. Do you think it possibly can be that he is leaving me a great and supportive message? That he is finally manning up and doing the right thing, or do you think that he is continuing his childish, defiant behavior? Good god, are trolls boring. (If rotten wrote something sweet, I will come back and gladly apologize. What do you think the odds are that I will be back?)

Five years I have listened to trolling, been uncomfortable and said nothing. I know how it works. Don't engage them, they love a reaction. But Jigga, I got pushed over the edge by specific events, not the general atmosphere. As an educator of both boys and girls (are you? or are you in a private school?), I would think that you would be 100% supportive of standing up to the bullies.

Anyway, I am glad that you ended with an atta-girl. I do appreciate it. I am doing the good work here, even if I have to deal with this every day for the rest of my life.

TL DR: If you choose to give me advice to back down on the sift talk debacle, do it privately not publicly. Otherwise, the comment stream will be messed up with my long responses.



In reply to this comment by JiggaJonson:
I was late to the party on the sifttalk post but I thought I'd drop in and say we're not all bad. That kind of aggressive nonsense can usually be overcome with reason and understanding.

My advice? Q-TIP. quit. taking. it. personally. Attack their arguments, and they'll show their weakness.

That being said, you cant save them all. Every now and again you have to cock slap one of em down. :-D orrrr hmmm maybe a tit job would be more appropriate punishment?

Upvote for all those choir boys and girls trying to look street

Good singing though.