Hot Button Topics (religion, politics, sports)

Chocofreak13 · March 24, 2013, 12:55:36 AM

agreed. even some treatable illnesses/injuries may result in suicide, due to it being too painful. (i remember an SVU episode where a woman suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns from head to toe. she ended up dying of natural causes, but i image had she not she may have wanted to end her suffering.) that's not to say this outcome is a bad thing.

Simonorged · March 26, 2013, 07:45:32 AM

Figured this would be good for another topichttp://jezebel.com/5991724/will-everyone-please-eat-gluten--please-because-you-are-literally-killing-me-kind-of?tag=food
Will Everyone Please Eat Gluten? Please? Because You Are Literally Killing Me, Kind Of...

Or maybe

I think I know, one is something you chose to do, and the other is something you were raised to do.

Or if you want a heated debate.

Spoiler: Show

Chocofreak13 · March 26, 2013, 10:23:20 AM

what if you choose to cover yourself? the evils of sunlight, after all. >>;

btw, another topic for the queue, since i'm watching a documentary about it: What does everyone think of the Westboro Baptist Church? if you don't know them by name, they're the church that has anti-gay protests at soldier's funerals, calling their deaths "God's Retaliation Against Gays". >>;;;

Simonorged · March 26, 2013, 10:49:28 AM

In the case off religious or cultural practices, If you don't get the choice, it isn't right, but of course there are people who would find wearing those comfortable.

In the case of the WBC, they are not a church, they're a bunch of radical imbeciles. No better then the muslim extremists or the ku klux klan, they are the idiots who speak for the masses.

And to reaffirm some thing I've said before.
Some people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them.

LeaflameSD · March 26, 2013, 10:57:13 AM

I don't understand how the Christian Bible says that God loves everyone no matter what they do or *who they are*, but apparently it's a sin to be gay.

Just... what is up with that? (. )_(.)?

Chocofreak13 · March 26, 2013, 11:04:42 AM

@simon: you mean them? yeah, i'm inclined to agree, but their level of belief is kinda shocking, since it's like trying to push a really heavy box. it's theoretically possible, but the amount of resistance makes it more like pushing a wall. :\

@gluten free: i will eat what i want and gluten-free items are not on that list. mainly because i like coca-cola and pizza from the local pizza place and both of those likely contain gluten.
and people that follow the diet only glaze over the problems of those who actually need it, and that burns my ass. >>;

@clothes: if you want to cover up, cover up.
if you don't want to cover up, don't cover up.
that is all.

@spoilertopic: i'm not sure what to say about that.......i mean, i'd like to punch whoever wrote it. i agree that falsely accusing someone of rape is wrong, but the majority of people who accuse others of rape aren't lying, and if they target the wrong person, it could be because they thought that person did it, or because they're too scared to call out the actual person. :\

Nichi · March 26, 2013, 11:10:49 AM

@Westboro: Urgh, Westboro. They're less a church and more a hate group posing as a church; given how they not only picketed the funerals of soldiers, but also the funeral of Steve Jobs (As amusing as it was that they said his products were evil, yet the message they posted on their Facebook page had a "sent from iPhone" tag on it. Several of us on GameFAQs had a field day making fun of that when somebody posted a news article showing the message), the San Diego Comic Con (Because of people "worshiping the false gods of Batman and Superman"), are anti-every-religion-ever-except-for-theirs, and countless other things I've heard about.

From what I've heard, even the KKK frowns upon Westboro. I'll let that sink in.

@Gluten free: I just thought it was a cheap fad; like the low carb diet several years ago :\

@Clothes: Kari put it best

Bella · March 26, 2013, 11:26:05 AM

Quote from: LeaflameSD on March 26, 2013, 10:57:13 AM
I don't understand how the Christian Bible says that God loves everyone no matter what they do or *who they are*, but apparently it's a sin to be gay.

Just... what is up with that? (. )_(.)?

There's no place in the Bible that states it's a sin to BE gay. But Leviticus pretty clearly states that man x man sex is forbidden (no word on woman x woman sex, however... *eyebrow wiggle*) under punishment of death. HOWEVER - and this is a biggie - Leviticus also lists a whole slew of other acts as forbidden and punishable by death - everything from consuming the fat and blood of animals and eating shellfish to trimming ones facial hair, wearing a mix of fabrics and planting different varieties of seeds in a single field. You can find the whole list here, in fact:

http://leviticusbans.tumblr.com/post/23730370413/76-things-banned-in-leviticus

In short, Christians who suggest that gay people are inherently sinful / immoral aren't even following their own Bible. Christians who claim that gay sex is wrong are a little closer to following the precepts of their holy book - but again, they can only be against man-on-man sex, since there's no mention of lesbianism anywhere in the Bible. And past experience has shown me that most Christians who hate on gays hate on gays of all genders. Oh, and if they want to be anti-gay, they better also be against trimming their beards, selling land, not standing in front of elders and all the other trivial minutiae outlined in Leviticus as being offenses punishable by death - otherwise, they'd just be plain hypocritical.

Quote from: Chocofreak13 on March 26, 2013, 10:23:20 AM
what if you choose to cover yourself? the evils of sunlight, after all. >>;

Not going to lie, if (what we recognize as) hijabs were irreligious garments, I'd probably wear one from time to time. (As it stands, I'm considering adopting a traditional Russian headscarf to protect my head/neck from the horrors of biting insects / sunlight when I'm outdoors.) >>

But yes, as long as it's a person's personal choice (i.e., not forced on them by other people or by the law), I don't see any harm in wearing hijabs, burquas, traditional Orthodox Jewish or Christian clothing, etc. I mean, yeah, you can argue that it ISN'T their choice because of the social pressure inherent in every religion, but you could play that game for any sort of clothing - I mean, although there's absolutely nothing dirty or shameful about my body, I don't run around topless because of the huge amounts of social pressure I've faced since early childhood to keep my chest / midriff covered. And I likewise realize that certain articles of clothing could cause (less enlightened) people to make - entirely unfair, unfounded and frankly sexist - judgements about my personality, character or intelligence...

TL;DR, nobody should ever be judged for the clothing they choose to wear (or not wear).

Nichi · March 26, 2013, 11:37:20 AM

@Bella: Indeed on that. The point I love to raise on so-called "Christians" citing Leviticus as a reason to not have gay sex \ sex with a woman on her period \ etc. is how those are old testament laws; of which Jesus himself said are not to be acknowledged anymore. I find it so funny how people like my mom's family ignore that crucial bit so they feel more justified in their bigotry.

Also, indeed on clothing. If I want to wear a skirt, than I should be able to freely do so without being judged.

Simonorged · March 26, 2013, 12:32:31 PM

@bella: it still speaks of both sides, and it speaks of it in both the old and new testimate.
The new testimate didn't get rid of what was right and wrong, it just got rid of the severe punishments associated with the actions, and with it the commandment do not judge and to love one another was reaffirmed, . Didn't really change anything otherwise. It abolished some of the rule though, although some of them we would have been better off leaving alone, like do not eat any thing with a split hoof.
No pig, it is the most unhealthy meat to eat.

The bible also says that no one thing bad is any worse or better then the others.

LeaflameSD · March 26, 2013, 12:55:28 PM

I read that in different sources by the way. I wasn't sure which one was right.

And I do think that people *should* be able to wear what they want, and not judged by it, whether they are male or female. We are all unique and jargon.

(Contradicting my earlier statement) Women should also be able to wear whatever they want without being sexually harassed about it.

Spoiler: Show

Simonorged · March 26, 2013, 01:18:07 PM

on your spoiler leaf:

Spoiler: Show

Chocofreak13 · March 26, 2013, 05:00:08 PM

Spoiler: Show

speaking of which, what does everyone think of Birth Control? i was on it at one point, so i can't exactly hate on it lol

(sorry for swapping topics every 3 seconds, but there are just so many good ones today)

LeaflameSD · March 26, 2013, 05:54:57 PM

Didn't we do birth control? (. )_(.)?

tl;dr, if you don't wanna have kids, use birth control!

Or even don't have sex in the first place
If you don't use it, keep the kid. Let it grow up and live a perfect life.

Bella · March 26, 2013, 06:23:04 PM

In regards to equal rights: What Kari said. Women still aren't equal with men yet, no matter which way the media tries to spin things. -__-

Re: BC: Birth control is awesome, suffice to say if it didn't exist I would stay celibate for the rest of my life or only date people who couldn't hypothetically get me knocked up. Though we shouldn't ignore the fact that it needs plenty of improvement. For instance:

-More male birth control options
-More widespread deployment / affordable options (poor people are often the ones who are most burdened by unwanted pregnancies, and having too many children or having children too early in life is a big contributing factor of poverty for women in developing nations)
-Less medical industry bureaucracy (For instance, there's a movement to make the pill available without prescriptions / mandatory pelvic exams, because that stops a lot of women from using it)
-More acceptance of non-pill-based methods of BC (many doctors are unfamiliar with implants, IUD's, and other long-acting / low-failure-rate BC methods, which is a shame because the pill doesn't work well for everybody)
-Acceptance of sterilization as a legitimate method of birth control for younger women. Seriously, doctors, stop assuming that every woman wants to be a mother (even if she doesn't know it yet) and will instantly regret sterilization.

On a personal level, I'm pretty wary of birth control - particularly the hormonal kinds. I think it's great when hormonal BC works for people - I think it's great, period - but I don't want to use it and feel my wishes should be respected by the medical establishment and wider society. The only type of female BC that looks even slightly appealing to me are IUDs, but even those have enormous drawbacks and, honestly, I seriously question whether it would be worth the cost / pain / trouble, especially considering that I probably wouldn't even be getting very much use out of it. >>

Also - again, this is TOTALLY PERSONAL and does not apply to other people - I really dislike the idea of using birth CONTROL. I don't want to control births, goddammit, I want to be physically incapable of pregnancy, for the rest of my life. Can't I just get sterilized and never have to deal with this fuckery again? >sighs<

Quote from: LeaflameSD on March 26, 2013, 05:54:57 PM
tl;dr, if you don't wanna have kids, use birth control! Or even don't have sex in the first place
If you don't use it, keep the kid. Let it grow up and live a perfect life.

Birth control is not foolproof. In fact, here's a chart of the failure rates of each type:
http://www.scarleteen.com/article/reproduction/the_buddy_system_effectiveness_rates_for_backing_up_your_birth_control_with_a_s

Also, when you face the very real risk of having to nourish a damned unwanted human being inside your abdominal cavity for nearly a year, and then push it out of one of the most sensitive areas of your anatomy / have it cut out of you while STILL CONSCIOUS in a fairly high-risk surgery, and then be faced with either a) 18+ years of raising a human being you had no desire to bring into this fucked hellscape of a world OR b) Put it into a cold, uncaring and utterly broken adoption system, then maybe, just maybe I'll take you a little more seriously. (That's a lie - I equally despise antichoice sentiment from women as well as men.)