• The News Discussion
    Come back back Bonking Bill, all is forgiven!unenlightened

    As long as he doesn't bring HER back with him! :up:
  • Living and Dying
    So, why is it taboo to talk about death?Posty McPostface

    I think it comes down to the fundamental reason that anyone who knows how it truly ends cannot communicate back to us, in a PROVABLE, scientific manner, even though I am fully convinced about spirits who have passed over, still communicating just through different means.

    Posty, I am really glad you are taking this class because I am intrigued as to what they are going to teach and how much they will cover the "after" that happens after we cease living. My Mom working Hospice for 15 yrs gave me a wealth of true, unaltered recounts of how humans really cease living, if there are spirits, what it takes to release them and who is truly in charge of the departing process. So know I look forward to hearing about your class and your professor.
    Having said that: there is a bumper sticker that I read years ago that still seems appropriate:
    "I don't know and neither do you"
  • The Last Word
    My fellow thinkers,
    If you have an extra moment of thought or prayer, if you could help me speak to the Heavens above to call my Dad home~
    randy.jpg
    My heart is breaking as I pray for him to leave.... :broken: :pray:
  • The Cooption of Internet Political Discourse By the Right
    I appreciate the perspective you are expressing in your OP.
  • Drops of Gratitude
    I am grateful for those whom have taken on a hill that I was unable to climb. :heart:
    That and chocolate. :yum:
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    You have to talk with them; not at them. They have already been talked at, it doesn't work, and that is part of why they are upset in the first place.Lif3r

    :clap:
  • Are You Politically Alienated? (Poll)
    For what it is worth... Still alienated here, lotsa feelings and ideas, but still alienated. It’s probably a fool’s game looking for heroes anywhere0 thru 9

    For what it is worth, I agree, we need to stop looking for heroes in everyone else, waiting for them to arrive. We are them and we are here. Yet still I feel deep commonality with you, in feeling alienated with lots of feelings and ideas but no where safe to share them.

    My Grampa would never disclose whom he voted for no matter how hard I would press him when he was alive. But before I could ask him a second time and frankly I was loaded for bear, he said "Even though I might not ever say who I vote for, it is still every citizens duty to vote for someone. And if people choose not to vote then the words they utter in complaint or compliment mean nothing."

    Wisdom imparted. I didn't find it soon enough but I got it now.
  • The Maverick set to duel again
    If you have a chance, watch this video 47.5 minutes in, when Grant Woods speaks of John McCain in his most private moments, it will make you smile, laugh and weep. Every aspect of him and indeed unknown truths about those whom held him captive in Vietnam.
  • Psychology sub-forum?
    Ah....another degree holder from within our ranks appears..... :clap:
    Thank you, I have been waiting for you. :snicker:
    Now....one more that I am aware of that has yet to show.... :smirk:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    Not to barge in, but Tiff doesn't feel insecure, Praxis. She feels hurt that someone she cared about branded her as a racist.frank

    Simply, Thank you. :broken:
  • Wiser Words Have Never Been Spoken
    The best laid plans in war and politics unravel at first contact with the oppositionSir2u
    And then almost everything changes except for the nugget of contention that started the war.
  • The News Discussion
    @unenlightened Thank you for guiding me in the right direction.
    @ssu Thank you for your response. I am grateful for your thoughts on how to understand the subject better.
  • Psychology sub-forum?
    Well, since one of my degrees is in social psychology I suppose I ought to try and mount a defence of it.Pseudonym

    And here is one that I wasn't even aware was within our ranks... :up:
    Pseudonym is not alone in this.... :razz: True story. :100:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    So you actually believe that Trump is good for our country, or democracy in general?praxis

    Praxis, while your inquiry maybe well intended, I feel comfortable in saying that, I am not sure what I feel comfortable in talking about here, when it comes to our President and my beliefs.
    As a result of such discussion, I may have indeed lost a dear friend and forum member, of over a decade, in trying to explain my perspective and explore other's perspectives. That was not the intention of my sharing but I cannot control how others feel about me and for a while I was and am still having a hard time dealing with labels that are being applied to me.

    My fellow forum members that I have grown to know, many I genuinely love and respect as friends since 2007, are going to be members long after this executive term of our democracy has been written.
    For me? One friend, is one too many in this life and as I have said before, "let us not destroy in leaving what have we built together in coming" and that applies to myself as well.
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    If a members prefer to engage in a finger pointing blame and shame manipulation by guilt campaign designed to edit everyone else to our taste, ok, go for it. That's a fool's errand imho, but there's no law against it.Jake

    Jake, it is a pleasure to meet you and I do appreciate and agree with your thoughtful response. My only pushback to you is that I don't believe for a minute that your inner "sage" would fall based on another persons opinion.
  • Psychology sub-forum?
    I believe everyone except Hanover has had at least some formal schooling.Baden

    :rofl:
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    It's not so much labels are the problem, but labels used deliberately and unfairly as a rhetorical strategy, which we can all be guilty of sometimes. And even then the best way to react is simply to push back.Baden

    Absolutely. We, myself included, are all guilty of it at times but it seems to me that it is becoming more of the norm. Maybe I am wrong, I might be.

    For example, Harry Hindu has every right to label the mod team Nazis if he wants (here in feedback anyway). It's up to us then to argue back if we want. It wouldn't be sensible for either of us to take any of that personally, and I wouldn't even bother calling it "abusive" as that in itself could be deemed just another label. Come to think of it, aren't we in danger of labelling the labelers, "labelers"!Baden

    A known danger, yes.
    One that should be expected to avoid on a Philosophy forum?
    I think so.
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    Maybe I should be able to handle it better as well. I think that both can be true, for sure. Thank you for your comment.All sight

    You are most welcome and I myself am working on finding ways to handle it better and still remain the soft loving person that I am.
    Throughout my life people have told me that I am too nice for people to take me seriously.
    My response? Never mistake my courtesy as weakness, nor my silence as a sign of compliance.
    Hang in there, you are paying your dues but your doing well.
  • Psychology sub-forum?
    My proposal is simply to invite more trained professionals to frequent the forum when issues pertaining to psychology arise. Or to put it more bluntly, we need more psych majors on the moderation team in my opinion.Posty McPostface

    There are a couple of Psyche majors here that I am aware of... :clap:
    The question is: will they come forward?
    And as always: if nominated will they run and if elected will they serve?
    Some maybe for a second time on a moderator team....
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    I don't wish to control my emotions, I wish to control the world. Accept the things I cannot change, but change the things I can. Just changing how I feel towards them is easy though, it's called delusion and addiction.All sight

    The only thing in this world YOU have control over is YOU. Period. Full stop.
    They are YOUR emotions to control.
    YOU are not entitled to your wish of controlling the world.
    YOU are entitled to accept the things you cannot change and the power to change the things you can AND the WISDOM to know the difference. Which is what Philosophy is in search of: wisdom.

    Delusion and addiction are far more complex and this thread is complicated enough that if you wish to start a thread on delusion or addiction, you might be able to explore them more thoroughly on their own.
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    I realize I am a bit late to the party but I will toss in my two cents and be on my way:

    I never said that I was particularly kind and loving, wouldn't require confession and redemption if I were. Just that they are really important things to strive for. Not only for personal well being, but because they work better to operate on within human relationships at every level.All sight

    @All sight

    Take a deep breath...exhale...and another deep breath...exhale.....lather, rinse and repeat as necessary. :flower:

    It's not a poor me act, it's trying to understand where all of these baseless accusations are coming from. I don't think that replying to you further is worth while. I'm not actually worried that I'm going to be interpreted in such lights in general. As this rarely happens, as a matter of fact.All sight

    I personally have been dealing with some of the same labels that are being applied to you and I am still trying to cope with it. I say this because you are new to The Philosophy Forum and might be under a different idea of "courtesy" as I was. I am not sure where it derailed, for labeling hasn't always been so prevalent, in fact I was under the impression that "labels" were something to avoid. So, I am trying in my own contributions, to lead by example in what I wish to see the level of courtesy restored to.

    Time will tell you if it is a hill you are willing to climb and all I can tell you is that the pursuit of wisdom is worth the hike.
    Just be sure to put on your combat boots because if you wear moccasins, you are going to feel every pebble you step on.

    @Jake offers a good deal of advice in that it is only we that can interpret what another person has said and while that is true, it does not excuse an argumentative approach that is abusive.

    One thought before I go:
    As Aristotle has taught us "It is a mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain the ideas of others, without taking them as our own."

    I don't know if "abusive argumentation" is the mark of being able to entertain the ideas of others or if it is a display of the exact opposite.

    If I could get my change, I'll be on my way.
    Tiff :flower:
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    Since it's legal where I reside, I might as well ask, how are laws coming along for legalization in AZ?Posty McPostface

    Posty, we are a few years away to full legalization if we are to do it at a state level, unless the Federal law changes. The proposal to "legalize like wine" failed but it looks like the Governor of the Cannabis industry is going to be held by the ATF once it goes legal on the Federal level. Here in AZ, we are dealing with a politician who is questioning what exactly we the voters meant, when we voted for the Medical Cannabis program, in that they are questioning whether extracts and concentrates were what we had in mind. Well, my dear politicians, RSO and CBD oil is a life saver and was one of the reasons we enacted the law. Yazy Rad, a young girl with debilitating seizures and CBD oil changed her life and we didn't want to continue for families, to have to make the choice to have safe access to the necessary medicine or move out of state.
    It's a hill but one worth climbing.
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    Several people have said the answer is obvious. But at the same time, the responses vary widely. Does that mean it is obvious to some and not to others?Sam Sam

    That is the beauty of Philosophy and the bane of it's existence all rolled into one. You might get 'thinkers' to all agree that there is a cup on the table but ask them if it is a red cup and good golly, you would think we were trying to define the meaning of life.
  • The News Discussion
    Please be kind to an honest inquiry:
    I am not really understanding the 'sides' of this upheaval.

    Germany reels as far-right 'mobs' go on a rampage

    "Of course history is not repeating itself, but that a far-right mob is on a rampage in the middle of Germany and the authorities are overwhelmed, is reminiscent of the situation during the Weimar Republic," noted Spiegel Online.

    The Weimar years were marked by the formation of paramilitary groups, such as the Sturmabteilung or SA, which eventually helped the Nazis to power.

    Josef Schuster, who chairs the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also voiced his alarm, saying it is "now the responsibility of citizens to counter the far-right mob".

    "It must never be accepted in Germany again for people to be attacked because of their appearances or their backgrounds."

    Anetta Kahane of the anti-racism Amadeu Antonio Foundation told rolling news channel NTV that people have the right to demonstrate.

    But he added: "What happened in Chemnitz went beyond that -- it was incitement to hatred and the propagation of pogrom sentiment."

    Noting that chatter among far-right sympathisers online is "extremely brutal, as calls are made blatantly for murder and killings", Kahane said authorities need to crack down.


    What is meant saying it is "now the responsibility of citizens to counter the far-right mob"?
    Is that a call to the streets or to the voting booths?

    All Germans are not Jews and even though they have a torrid past, it appears that they have formed a new alliance? I mean I know there was a time when the Jews were less than welcome in Germany but they seemed to get over it, come together, live side by side. Is any of what I am saying a layman's interpretation as to how it is as it stands today?

    Is that what is happening when they say: "Misgivings run deep in the state against the arrival since 2015 of more than a million asylum seekers, many from war-torn Syria and Iraq.

    Railing against the newcomers, the far-right AfD party has made significant gains in the state and is poised to become the second biggest party in Saxony's regional elections next year."

    Have the Germans and the 'German Jews' (a German Jew is a person that is a citizen of Germany and is Jewish) become one group, standing in opposition of the criminal actions of foreigners?

    "The state can never allow our streets to be overrun by far-right mobs," said Bild daily, adding that at the same time, Berlin needs to promptly deport criminal foreigners.

    "For too long, nothing has been done. That's why confidence in the state is buckling. That's why racists like in Chemnitz think they can do what they want. Nothing can be more dangerous for our country."
  • Wiser Words Have Never Been Spoken
    I remember in the old PF how quick and effective the administrators were to spot the occasional crank or the person who would start to make ad hominem attacks and be too abusive. Poof! And they were gone instantly. The NKVD worked so well. That instilled a little bit of fear into us and kept the discussion rather polite. Yet when the old forum crashed the first time, the first thing on my mind was had I written something bad and gotten evicted for some reason.ssu

    God I remember that feeling....and I think we were in good company that had felt that way. It was a fear that one day, you would no longer have a space at the table of "thinkers" that was set. As @Hanover used to say: when someone gets banned it kind makes you wonder if you could be next and maybe had to up your game. :eyes:
  • Wiser Words Have Never Been Spoken
    Sometimes when people get under our skin it is a reflection of our own insecurities.Lif3r

    @Lif3r How true what you said can be~
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    I don't know, but I think of it as a healthy habbit (cancer prevention).Posty McPostface

    Very leading edge studies prove your assertion to be true. Nicely stated. :up:

    Don't smoke it for that goal though. Wish it was as popular as beer or alcohol, many lives would be saved if it we're a substitute good in that regards.Posty McPostface

    Soon to be on your Liquor store shelves....okay soon is relative but it is already a product that is in a aluminum beer shaped bottle with not a lick of Hops in it but a bit of Hemp instead.
  • Wiser Words Have Never Been Spoken
    The point where I'm quoting Jesus is the point where I know I have reached the edge of reason, and it's time to be quiet.unenlightened
    :lol:
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    They might love me, they might hate me, and whatever the case, that is their situation to deal with.Jake

    Jake, I am cut from the same cloth in the sense that as long as I like who I am and I am acting honestly with myself then if I have a problem with someone else, that is MY problem not theirs. Conversely, if someone has a problem with me, that is THEIR problem, not mine.
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    OK, some rhetorics 101 here.Ying

    There is an actual University Course offered Rhetoric 101 but alas not at my son's campus. I was really intrigued to hear what the outline and substance was to this class. It fell under "Humanities" as the courses satisfaction.
  • Abusive "argumentation"
    would say that once a disagreement reaches that level of emotion, each side is no longer absorbing information to analyze, and is instead defending their identity.Lif3r

    This to me feels a lot like what happens.
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    thanks - I really appreciate that. I miss him so much, but I am starting to get to the point where I can enjoy the good memories.Sam Sam

    You are a strong person and somehow, I think your brother is watching over you and helping guide you.
    He may have even guided you here to The Philosophy Forum!

    Welcome Sam Sam~ We are happy to have you with us~
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    You'd have been better off never to have come across that cursed ring. My guess is that you didn't lose the ring but Satan reclaimed it and passed it on to someone more evil than you.Hanover

    If you knew what I was pawning it for, you would be convinced that it was a piece of Satan and if that is the case? I am damn happy that I am rid of it. :halo:
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    great story! I'm glad it worked out.Sam Sam

    Me too!

    My view on karma changed when my brother died of cancer last year - made it much harder for me to believe in karma.Sam Sam

    I am so sorry to learn of your loss. Loss of a Grandparent is expected overtime, as our parents will one day pass as well but a sibling? Huggsss to you Sam Sam~ That is an unfathomable loss for me. I am not sure what to say, other than I don't know how you have made it this far but whatever has gotten you to today is working so keep on, keeping on. :hearts:

    I did send the seller a message through facebook this morning. If he does not reply in 7 days, is that equivalent to posting a sign?Sam Sam

    Absolutely. :up:
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    I recently bought a box of model railroad stuff at a yard sale, and when I got home, I found a diamond ring in there. What are your thoughts on the ethics of me keeping or returning the ring?Sam Sam

    I truly thought this was a hypothetical question, where in which I was playing the part of the woman who did lose her ring and was coming forward searching for it. I don't know what the legal obligation is to posting a Found flyer or in a local newspaper, like you do have to do if you find a dog, for the first 7 days before you can claim it legally yours.

    There is some Karma/energy that is passed through what some call "blood money" which is money obtained at the expense of another. I was working at an Irish Bar when I found a Horseshoe shaped man's ring with 8 diamonds in it on the floor. I talked to the bartender because we were a local watering hole and with as many regulars as we had, chances are if we put a sign up on the bar that we found this ring and ask for a description that would surely find it's owner. A week later no one claimed it and they gave it to me. Woo Hoo! I stopped at the jeweler on the way home and played with setting the 8 diamonds in a lady's setting. Designed, submitted for the changes, opened up my first line of credit for all of $150 to pay for the new setting. WOW! This doing the right thing was really coming true as I was approved!

    I wore that ring, pawned it for cash I needed, $40 and within 60 days I had it back on my hand. I must have pawned that ring at least 5 times and got it back 6 times. Money got easier and I no longer needed to pawn it but loved the ring dearly. It was within 2 years that the ring went missing from my life. I looked everywhere for it as it was a one of a kind but it never turned up.

    Do you suppose that the original Horseshoe ring I found already had 'pawn' like energies in it? Was it only to be mine for a while? Did the person who found my ring look for me or just pocket it like some have suggested? Or, as I have my gut suspicion, is it sitting in some Pawn shop's safe waiting to be picked up by it's current possessor? I doubt I will ever know.

    :clap: From where I am sitting I think the choice you are making is a fair and well reasoned out. :up:

    Ps. About how to upload an image? @Baden can direct you in that, I still use an outside source of https://postimages.org and it works for me.
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    I am not sure if I should take your post seriously. Anyway, it was in small box inside another small box, so it did not fall off a finger.Sam Sam

    I do wish you to consider my post seriously but only if you wish for this is a hypothetical and I was just wanting to add another layer that is a possibility and was curious how you would handle it if you had the ring still or if you had sold it.

    Asking for a picture would settle it right quick.
    As I stated, I am not sure how my ring wound up in a box, contained within a box of railroad parts but I can tell you that I am quite sure my ring fell off my finger while digging through a box of railroad parts earlier.
    Could you please post a picture of the ring you have in your possession?
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    I have never forgotten the occasion when, just prior to my first year of university, I dropped a wad of money bills from my pants pocket. Desperately, I went to the store's lost and found desk an hour later and found, to my sober and grateful relief, that a well-intentioned person demonstrated concretely what Good Will really means.gloaming

    gloaming, your experience helps me to restore my faith in humanity. I sometimes wonder if all the good I try to give the world is ever received the way it was intended. I don't usually stick around to see the outcome of my random acts of kindness or those moral/ethical dilemmas that aren't really a challenge for me, I just do what I would want someone to do for me, if the tables will were turned and have to believe that will be enough.
  • What are you listening to right now?
    Atlantic City - The Boss Atlantic City

    Well now everything dies, baby that's a fact,
    But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
    Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
    And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
  • Diamond Ring from Yard Sale
    Sam, that is my ring. I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I was looking at railroad parts for my son, it's his hobby. I know it is my ring because I left the house after putting it on, went to the sale and returned home. I am not sure how my ring got into a box because it actually fell off my finger as I have recently lost weight and it is so loose I was afraid it might fall off and it did. I am enclosing a picture of my ring, that I believe is now in your possession and I would really like to arrange picking it up at your earliest convenience. The ring is an heirloom of my Great Grandmother's, it was her wedding ring and it was passed down to me.

    I contacted my home owners insurance company because I have a rider on my policy and they will reimburse me up to $5k for the loss but I have to file a claim and they are asking if I have retraced my steps in trying to find it. The reimbursement from my insurance company would cover the replacement of the actual stone and setting but nothing will replace the years of my Great Grandmother wearing it in a successful marriage of 50 years to my Gramps.

    Please compare this photo with the ring you have in your possession just to confirm my recollection:
    ring.jpg

    Wishing for a quick return of a beloved piece of jewelry

ArguingWAristotleTiff

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