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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:42 am
by b0unce
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
b0unce wrote:
smutek wrote: Least not the way I see it.
...don't ask a fish about water...
If you weren't such a pinhead, you'd see that a fish could tell you quite a bit more about water than you ever would have realized.
missing_the_point_101

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:50 am
by popslut
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
To frame it in a more complex manner, the definition of any individual identity is malleable. The American identity I define (and definitions are always largely a matter of choice) as being based on adaptability, fairness, a hard work ethic, and courage to welcome diverse ideas and cultures. I engage this definition with full knowledge of the unsavory aspects of American history.
I take your point and I'm sure those qualities are still widely held up and down the country.

But I still find it ironic that you would describe the illegal wiretapping of citizens, the subsequent attempted cover-up and application of presidential pardons as "un-American" when the evidence suggests that this kind of thing is about as "American" as aerosol cheese and drive-thru orthodontists.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:46 am
by xrayfish
smutek wrote:but he's a WWII vet, pushing 70 and isn't going to change.
.
WWII finished 63 years ago. So he would have finished the war when he was 6 or less???

Never mind n-n-n-19

in ww2 the average age was s-s-s-six

:)

*end of nit-picking*

As for 'anti-american', boy they really suckered you all didn't they, I have to agree with popslut on this one.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:54 am
by monkey magic
popslut wrote:
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
To frame it in a more complex manner, the definition of any individual identity is malleable. The American identity I define (and definitions are always largely a matter of choice) as being based on adaptability, fairness, a hard work ethic, and courage to welcome diverse ideas and cultures. I engage this definition with full knowledge of the unsavory aspects of American history.
I take your point and I'm sure those qualities are still widely held up and down the country.

But I still find it ironic that you would describe the illegal wiretapping of citizens, the subsequent attempted cover-up and application of presidential pardons as "un-American" when the evidence suggests that this kind of thing is about as "American" as aerosol cheese and drive-thru orthodontists.
+1 on what he said

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:13 pm
by xrayfish
popslut wrote:

But I still find it ironic that you would describe the illegal wiretapping of citizens, the subsequent attempted cover-up and application of presidential pardons as "un-American" when the evidence suggests that this kind of thing is about as "American" as aerosol cheese and drive-thru orthodontists.
not to mention American 'support' for democracy in other countries (eg Nicaragua, Grenada, Palestine, etc etc etc)

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:41 pm
by smutek
popslut wrote: But I still find it ironic that you would describe the illegal wiretapping of citizens, the subsequent attempted cover-up and application of presidential pardons as "un-American" when the evidence suggests that this kind of thing is about as "American" as aerosol cheese and drive-thru orthodontists.
context

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:05 pm
by chrysalis33rpm
popslut wrote:
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
To frame it in a more complex manner, the definition of any individual identity is malleable. The American identity I define (and definitions are always largely a matter of choice) as being based on adaptability, fairness, a hard work ethic, and courage to welcome diverse ideas and cultures. I engage this definition with full knowledge of the unsavory aspects of American history.
I take your point and I'm sure those qualities are still widely held up and down the country.

But I still find it ironic that you would describe the illegal wiretapping of citizens, the subsequent attempted cover-up and application of presidential pardons as "un-American" when the evidence suggests that this kind of thing is about as "American" as aerosol cheese and drive-thru orthodontists.
Well, sure. Hell, I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I drive through America. But the definition of the American identity is something I have a personal stake in - and I choose it not to be about fast food nation and neocon imperialism. (And I have learned that if I don't define it for myself, somebody else is gonna do it for me!) Minority view, definitely. But a rather feisty, educated, and diverse minority I'd contend.

"I tremble for my nation when I reflect on the fact that God is just."- Thomas Jefferson

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:12 pm
by chrysalis33rpm
b0unce wrote:
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
b0unce wrote: ...don't ask a fish about water...
If you weren't such a pinhead, you'd see that a fish could tell you quite a bit more about water than you ever would have realized.
missing_the_point_101
No, the point is that if you wanna know something about Oz, you might wanna ask a resident of Oz what it's like to live there, who will be able to distinguish subtlties of local culture, language, and landscape which an outsider would walk right by without even noticing. Of course that's not going to give you a complete picture - you should probably do other kinds of research as well. But only a serious blockhead would argue that local people's opinions and ways are unimportant to understanding a place.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:16 pm
by b0unce
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
b0unce wrote:
chrysalis33rpm wrote: If you weren't such a pinhead, you'd see that a fish could tell you quite a bit more about water than you ever would have realized.
missing_the_point_101
No, the point is that if you wanna know something about Oz, you might wanna ask a resident of Oz what it's like to live there, who will be able to distinguish subtlties of local culture, language, and landscape which an outsider would walk right by without even noticing. Of course that's not going to give you a complete picture - you should probably do other kinds of research as well. But only a serious blockhead would argue that local people's opinions and ways are unimportant to understanding a place.
still_missing_the_point_101

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:22 pm
by popslut
smutek wrote:
context
Elaborate?

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:25 pm
by chrysalis33rpm
b0unce wrote:
chrysalis33rpm wrote:
b0unce wrote: missing_the_point_101
No, the point is that if you wanna know something about Oz, you might wanna ask a resident of Oz what it's like to live there, who will be able to distinguish subtlties of local culture, language, and landscape which an outsider would walk right by without even noticing. Of course that's not going to give you a complete picture - you should probably do other kinds of research as well. But only a serious blockhead would argue that local people's opinions and ways are unimportant to understanding a place.
still_missing_the_point_101
that's still all you can come up with?

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:34 pm
by b0unce
ok, chew on this

trying to describe an ideology you are immersed in, like imperialism, is not the same as describing a fucking place or a picture on the wall.


It was merely food for thought, and you made a dog's dinner out of it.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:21 pm
by Tone Deft
b0unce wrote:ok, chew on this

trying to describe an ideology you are immersed in, like imperialism, is not the same as describing a fucking place or a picture on the wall.


It was merely food for thought, and you made a dog's dinner out of it.
the analogies are driving this thread into the ditch.


popslut - your new signature makes you the subject of your old one. it's pretty hard to take you seriously when your agenda is tacked onto the bottom of every post.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:50 pm
by b0unce
popslut is like an idiom/quote abyss .... he's just full of them. I wonder if there's an original thought buried somewhere in that bloated head of his

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:00 am
by smutek
popslut wrote:
smutek wrote:
context
Elaborate?
Oh, I did, on the last page. You might have missed my post though. It's my second post on the last page, 3rd and 4th sentence.

Maybe I'll write more later, I have a bad head cold and can't quite think straight.