Recent Comments

1. 3 days ago on Bad Machinery

   It’s the UK. 16 is legal.

2. 9 days ago on Crabgrass

   So are the socks.

3. 16 days ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   Unicorn!

4. 17 days ago on Wallace the Brave

   There’s likely to be a nap… after the “nap preparation”.

5. about 1 month ago on Wallace the Brave

   It does seem more of a Sterling question.

6. about 1 month ago on F Minus

   okay… none of my post actually came through. Nice.

   Look up “bath school disaster”.

   These things aren’t new.Bomb threats used to go mostly unreported, so they are harder to find.

   School shootings etc. are tragic, but kids are a lot more likely to get killed going to and from school that at school. The press make it seem like a kid’s lucky to get through 12 years alive.

7. about 1 month ago on F Minus

   Here’s the famous one from 1927.

   >

8. about 1 month ago on F Minus

   If you mean nationally, of course you had them when you were in school. They just weren’t overwhelmingly exploited for money through sensationalization.

   If you mean at your school, that’s still the case for everyone, statistically.

   I’m more concerned about the way none (few) of the kids learn anything anymore.

9. about 1 month ago on Pearls Before Swine

   … in the sense of being instinctual, yes.

   Nope. If words could cause harm w/o the co-operation of the “victim”, we would use them instead of weapons, to fight wars. They are certainly a lot cheaper. The psychological harm comes as a reaction, from within. A reaction that people can learn to not have.

   … and not “suck it up”, but learn to not let jerks (or merely the poorly socialized) harm you with such low effort. Also, it’s vaguely possible the jokes are funny? Many jokes on poor taste are.. Would you rather be sad, angry and stressed, or laugh? Healing will never happen if you keep tearing the wound open.

   As to your last point – heh, you know that doesn’t work on me, right? A truly incisive and well-reasoned rebuttal, though.

10. about 1 month ago on Pearls Before Swine

    Murder and rape are natural reactions, too.

    Fortunately, Humans can learn to overcome their instincts, and behave in a civilized manner.

    Just because something is instinctual, does not mean that it isn’t also a passive-aggressive strategy for oppression. What you describe in your response is exactly this – you are oppressing people, by making them speak the way you want them to.

    Words cannot harm people. I know it is popular nowadays to pretend that they can, but no matter how often a lie is repeated, nor how loudly, it is still a lie.

    People can choose to harm themselves in response to words. I would suggest that it is wise to severely limit the number of people that one gives this power over themself to. Co-operating with people who wish to harm you by making it easy for them seems like a poor idea.

    You have the ability to use reason, instead of reacting instinctually. I suggest that if someone you don’t like “offends” you, you just ignore them, and let their feeble affront roll off instead of using it as an excuse to try and control their life. If someone you care about “offends” you, forgive them silently and use it as practice. Eventually, nothing will offend you, and all without constantly trying to push other people around, or making interaction with you onto an invisible minefield of arbitrary secret rules.