Here's a good example when one person tries to protect the feelings of those who deep down in their hearts would not do the same for us. Three pretty smart guys, whom I all admire for my own reasons try to get to the heart of the matter that does not have a heart...
At least these guys call it for what it is, with no political agenda or proactive goal at hand. Intellects discuss things likes this based on fact, evidence, logic and reason -- the only things we humans possess to do really anything at all. I know there are plenty of very successful, learned, devoted souls out there who also use the tools of fact, evidence, scientific method and such in order to study a myriad of wonderful and horrible things the world is presently beset with.. What boggles my mind, and what will continue to boggle my mind until I die, is that these otherwise brilliant human beings by every possible measure - well, at least some of them - believe in things like resurrection and revelations and gold-plated books that may or may have not been discovered in 'Deliverence'-country of late (see Mormon).
This is such a clearly confounding exception to all things rational and reasonable in our everyday lives, that even those who seek the highest political office tend to advocate for 'Faith..' But faith is a childish notion and everyone knows it. I mean, really, do you think that having faith in your religion might help the millions of starving kids in Africa who die due to malnourishment simply because their mothers don't have access to clean water and food? Does 'Faith' really exist at all? I mean, put in simple terms, 'faith' means the absence of thinking. It is the notion that one should believe in something that one has never seen, heard, touched, felt, smelled or experienced at all.
On a deeper level, we are told to have faith when we are children by the 'grown ups' If something doesn't make sense to a child, the child is told to have faith that it'll work out' or that 'Santa Claus' will leave you a present under the tree.
Now, we're all grown ups, so I'm going to talk to you in grown up terms. The crude reality, is that faith is nothing more than the absence of thinking. It's an exercise in muting the intellect in the hope that something may or may not come about. That's the rather boring value of faith.
Now, I'd like to introduce to you a concept I've long called the American Doctrine of 'Hurt Feelings'."
Yes, I'm serious. The form offered one the ability to report a variety of 'hurt feelings' due to all kinds of incidents, issues or circumstances -- whatever the case may be. Now, obviously this was not an official prison administrative form. It was one of the many devices conjured up within the sordid, jaded, cynical, sadistic community of prison guards to amuse themselves at the expense of the inmates.
I use this example in order to demonstrate a very important fact of life on Planet Earth: feelings get hurt -- it's not against the law to offend or hurt someone's feelings. In any humane, civilized society it just tends to happen. One human being offends the sensibility of another. And this is exactly how it should be -- everywhere -- all the time, specifically in regards to any conceivable notion of a society that embraces such concepts of Free Speech, Separation of Church and State and/or any other fundamental moral tenets or ethical or legal creeds.
Now, unfortunately, hurt feelings can cause people to do really stupid things (see Lorena Bobbit). Whether it be betrayal, jealousy, fear, anxiety, depression, sociopathy, envy, avarice or anger -- any and all of these feelings and numerous others (see chart at right) --are capable of being a culpable contributor to all sorts of outrageous, unacceptable and completely inappropriate human behavior (see Rape, Murder, Assault ).
Some societies have adapted and even evolved. Some have devolved. Others, most notably the United States, for example, seem to take every possible extreme measure, ostensibly in the interest of political correctness, or, put another way -- hmmmm, how should I state this. Oh yes. The United States government has a theme that bubbles up quite often -- or, rather more than a theme -- an unofficial policy perhaps. The idea is that they are afraid of what might happen if a certain group of people might 'feel' offended as a result of something that another human being might have said, uttered, written, painted, built, created -- whatever -- the concept that one or more human beings merely feels insulted as a result of the free expression of another human being. The United States Government currently prioritizes FEELINGS ahead of things like REALITY and PUBLIC SAFETY and SECURITY. And TRUTH.
It's clear from the rhetoric of the large majority of U.S. politicians, that they are more concerned about whether or not a certain group of people 'feel' insulted about something than they are about actual current events going on, all around the world, all the fucking time, repeat. And, NOW, that we live in the connected/digital age of I-can-see-and-hear-everything-going-on-in-the-world-all-the-fucking-time, more and more examples of my premise -- the 'hurt feelings' stuff is rearing its ugly head day after day after day.
In order to lend some clarity to this matter, I'll provide some examples: President Obama declares that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam, regardless of the fact that the first letter ('I') of the acronym he just enunciated stands for the word 'Islamic.' Why does the president say something so asinine. I mean, anyone with a reasonably functional (non-brainwashed) BRAIN and even a half-assed conceptualization of world affairs and current events knows, without mincing words, that ISIS has EVERYTHING to do with Islam. Christ, it's a defining component of, not only the actual name of the group itself, but also an inflammatory tool used to recruit young, uneducated Muslims from the broader Islamic world with the intention of creating the dark and dreaded Caliphate.
Everyone and anyone who has a semblance of a conscience or a concern for humanity knows this. Some, if not most, are afraid to admit it. And I don't blame them. Why? Because if anyone publicly denounces Islam through art, press, other media or any other form of expression known to man -- if someone even does something as seemingly innocuous as draw a cartoon mocking the prophet Mohammed -- then said person is immediately besieged with gruesome death threats from all parts of the Muslim world (read this horrifying story in the 'Daily Beast' about Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose husband was killed for making a film that mocked Islam and who fled to the United States to escape death threats.)
In some countries it is actually against the law to simply speak in a disagreeable way about religion. Why? Because it hurts the feelings of the idiots who run the country. In other words, a bunch of Islamic motherfuckers will try to kill you if you speak ill of Islam, or even if they merely think you believe ill of Islam. And in much of the Islamic world, they have absolutely no problem with this. That's right -- many, many millions of Islamic people all over the world actually believe that this behavior is appropriate. What else do they think is appropriate: Murder for converting to a religion other than Islam; Arranged child marriages; forced, female genital mutilation; 'Honor' killings (don't get me started on this one); And, in general, death to the rest of us.... the 'infidels.'
Basically, if you disagree with these people, then they might just want to chop your head off in a public setting with due haste. Yeah, that's right, beheadings, stonings, death, madness, propaganda and lies and darkness and bullshit. And the U.S.A does business with these countries......because of the oil. What a toxic relationship.
Those of you who know me know that I think ALL organized religion is based in bullshit and nonsense, but I think Islam wins the prize for the most archaic, barbaric, punitive, dishonest, ignorant, malintended, evil, fundamentalist, extreme, gross 'religion' of them all. Which is why I will even stoop so low to give it this much attention.
Put simply, in no uncertain terms, it's some evil shit. The writing is on the wall all over the fucking place. If it isn't one "Islamic Extremist Group" murdering and maiming and raping some unfortunate group of innocents, then it's another -- another "Islamic Extremist Group." How many times must we hear the term "Islamic Extremist Group" before the majority of 'civilized' people on our half of the planet pull their heads out of their asses and call it what it is -- call a spade a spade. Admit it. Islam is totally fucked up and that for the greater good of humanity, we must prioritize REALITY, TRUTH, and KNOWLEDGE ahead of hurt feelings on Planet Earth's 'To Do' list.
Now let me be very clear about the fact that this is NOT simply a case of a few 'bad apples' -- it's rather a very entrenched, complicated case of hundreds of millions of human beings who actually believe that their medieval-horror-movie-design-for-living-in-darkness way of existence is God's will. And there is nothing more powerful than God's will for a person who believes that he/she is literally a human manifestation of that very divine will itself.
Okay, enough about Islamic Extremists. I think much of the world is sick and tired of hearing about Islamic fucking extremists. Why does nothing change and why do things continue to devolve into a hell that makes 'Revelations' look like Mr. Roger's neighborhood? Why? Yep, you guessed it -- it's because the rest of the world is made up of those same extremists or those who condone -- through passivity, indifference and silent support --the extremists. Welcome to your nightmare.
Example #2: MAINSTREAM MEDIA.
Talk about the absurdity of network censorship in an age of 24-hour, unfiltered, unvarnished information from new media sources like VICE, Gawker, Tumblr -- whatever floats your boat. The decline of archaic, antiquated, old-fashioned 'network' and so-called 'mainstream media' outlets. The rise of new media like Netflix, VICE, Amazon and other outlets that aren't shackled by childish regulatory matters, censorship and such. These new media companies have BALLS, and they're producing some of the most captivating programming in (non)television. No holds barred. They use words like 'Fuck' and 'Asshole' and 'Shit' and other words that for some reason aren't allowed on 'network' television. In other words, the new media is media for adults who can handle adult language and adult situations. The powers at be in the network/regulatory/ratings/quasi-governmental bullshit nanny media like to treat the viewing public as children, plain and simple. The new media doesn't give a shit about any of that, and they shouldn't have to -- this is called progression...(for example, read this piece on VICE ).
This is the natural result of the past few generations of people in our society who either act like children, never grow up -- or, the by-product of generations of parents who think it's a good idea to hide the truth about the world from our children -- to keep them 'innocent.' These children then grow up to be adults in body, but still childlike in mind. We've consistently and persistently pulled the wool over the eyes of our children and ourselves for so long that we now have a society of babies. And the worst part about it is that the King-biggest-babies of them all tend to go into politics. A society of babies run by toddlers. A gigantic nanny state in which most of the 'nannies' are themselves stunted in the grown up department.
Why, in this day and age, can you not say 'Fuck' on network television? I mean, really, why? Answer: it might hurt somebody's feelings, we must not let the children hear such things, and on and on and on with this broken record already. Now, please allow me to introduce myself....
Example #2: MAINSTREAM MEDIA.
Talk about the absurdity of network censorship in an age of 24-hour, unfiltered, unvarnished information from new media sources like VICE, Gawker, Tumblr -- whatever floats your boat. The decline of archaic, antiquated, old-fashioned 'network' and so-called 'mainstream media' outlets. The rise of new media like Netflix, VICE, Amazon and other outlets that aren't shackled by childish regulatory matters, censorship and such. These new media companies have BALLS, and they're producing some of the most captivating programming in (non)television. No holds barred. They use words like 'Fuck' and 'Asshole' and 'Shit' and other words that for some reason aren't allowed on 'network' television. In other words, the new media is media for adults who can handle adult language and adult situations. The powers at be in the network/regulatory/ratings/quasi-governmental bullshit nanny media like to treat the viewing public as children, plain and simple. The new media doesn't give a shit about any of that, and they shouldn't have to -- this is called progression...(for example, read this piece on VICE ).This is the natural result of the past few generations of people in our society who either act like children, never grow up -- or, the by-product of generations of parents who think it's a good idea to hide the truth about the world from our children -- to keep them 'innocent.' These children then grow up to be adults in body, but still childlike in mind. We've consistently and persistently pulled the wool over the eyes of our children and ourselves for so long that we now have a society of babies. And the worst part about it is that the King-biggest-babies of them all tend to go into politics. A society of babies run by toddlers. A gigantic nanny state in which most of the 'nannies' are themselves stunted in the grown up department.
Why, in this day and age, can you not say 'Fuck' on network television? I mean, really, why? Answer: it might hurt somebody's feelings, we must not let the children hear such things, and on and on and on with this broken record already. Now, please allow me to introduce myself....
