Bob_Church
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gowlerk***It's a strange world. I'm a middle class white guy, retired, who's doing pretty well. I've had some very good jobs and the last one, the 20 years at OU's School of Art was one that made me occasionally think "they pay me to do this?"
But I grew up poor white trash and by partying through high school had doomed myself to that life, no hope, until Affirmative Action gave me the biggest break of my life.
They have another phrase that covers that. White Privledge!
No, in my case I mean actual Affirmative Action. I know about White Privilege and I figure I've gotten my share of it but not this time. Growing up we never had a phone until about 1972. Then it was decided that we needed one for awhile. Now, back then long distance was expensive and we just didn't use it. Period. But one day I saw a big sign on this building with an 800 number claiming that calling that number was absolutely free. It got me interested in the whole "free long distance thing" so when I got home I called it. The really nice lady assured me that yes, she was all the way in Pittsburgh but the call was free. I thanked her but as I was hanging up she said "don't you want to put in an application, as long as you're here anyway?"
I knew this was a serious waste of time, I had no chance of getting a decent job but I gave her my info. A short time later I got a letter asking me to come to the Lafayette hotel for a test. I'd never even been in the Lafayette before, it was way above our status. But there I was, being tested by a black man for a woman's job. There were about two dozen of us but, as the very nice black man assured me, as the only male applying if I passed the test I got the job. And I did and I did.
Working for Bell Telephone was an incredible break. I now had a better job than anyone I even knew, plus I was now the only male operator in Southeast Ohio and second in all of Ohio. The weight of that hadn't occurred to me all that much until one of the janitors was telling me how I'd probably get a write up in the paper.
After two years there the writing was on the wall and I took a job at GTE in Athens.I'd always wanted to live in Athens but more importantly all phone companies were consolidating so within a year the Marietta operators were moved to Columbus but Athens was where GTE was moving everyone to so I got seniority quickly then an outside job.
Then through an almost, but not quite, as odd a set of circumstances I ended up managing OU's Art School's photo labs then computer labs.
It's been a long strange trip, and started off because of Affirmative Action. -
It's a strange world. I'm a middle class white guy, retired, who's doing pretty well. I've had some very good jobs and the last one, the 20 years at OU's School of Art was one that made me occasionally think "they pay me to do this?"
But I grew up poor white trash and by partying through high school had doomed myself to that life, no hope, until Affirmative Action gave me the biggest break of my life. -
Deja Vu all over again. When I started the slider wasn't quite universal yet but it shortly took over since it worked so well. It not only worked well but was easier to use. It was beautiful. And for 40 years or so now it's been doing its job. At least until recently. Some of the equipment seems to have finally evolved past the slider.
What I'm hoping is that Bill Booth or some of the other gear Einsteins are working on a replacement. Not a modified slider but a whole new piece of technology.
And no, I don't have a clue what it would look like or how it would function. But that won't matter. I'll buy one when they release them. -
How long until someone goes to a gay baker or T-Shirt designer and orders one with "God Hates Fags" written on it? -
"Social media are not the cause of shootings, any more than humans are the cause of climate change. I’d say that social media are less causative than humans, but both contribut"
High School kids are committing suicide over what people post about them on Facebook. Is it really that difficult to believe that some decide to take the bullies with them? -
billvonQuoteBut we were discussion school shootings. Is it so unrealistic to think they should at least look at the results of normal high school bullying going 24/7. I'm talking about a kid snapping and taking a gun to school to finish things.
Definitely. Looking at bullying (and social media amplification, and better mental health diagnosis and treatment) are all good things to do.
Still, no matter how much you work to head such behavior off, it can happen. I think everyone would agree that if a kid does snap, it would be best if they can't get their hands on an AR-15.
Do you believe that there is a way to keep kids from being able to get their hands on a firearm they could use to carry out a school shooting? -
wmw999Social media are not the cause of shootings, any more than humans are the cause of climate change. I’d say that social media are less causative than humans, but both contribute.
Causes probably include the desensitization to violence from both games and media (remember hyper-violence in “A Clockwork Orange?”), as well as the ability for someone to “ distinguish” themself via a shooting (are we individuals if we can’t stand out?). Guns are the tool. If they weren’t as easily available, people would either do more lame-o attacks using things like knives, or they’d find some other way to “distinguish” themselves like being football hooligans.
Wendy P.
But we were discussion school shootings. Is it so unrealistic to think they should at least look at the results of normal high school bullying going 24/7. I'm talking about a kid snapping and taking a gun to school to finish things. -
DanGDid social media cause the Columbine shooting?
I don't think so. They were active online but I think that was only the planning stages. -
DanGPretty much everyone agrees that mental health, misuse of social media, the violent nature of entertainment, and a host of other social issues need to be addressed. The bright line between people seems to be that some will absolutely never add gun availability to that list.
In my opinion easy access to guns is one of the social problem that needs to be addressed. It is not the only problem, and I honestly haven't seen anyone suggesting it is.
I think what you are commenting on is that some people see guns as a more significant problem than social media. That doesn't mean they don't think social media is a problem. It just means they think we should focus on guns. Obviously you disagree, but you're mischaracterizing other people's position.
I don't see that, though if you're correct maybe I wouldn't. But statements like "social media does not cause mass shootings" seem pretty unambiguous. -
jclalorYou exit your car, and in plain site toss your keys as far as you can, and then slam down several huge slugs of an adult beverage of your choice. Are you off the hook? How could they prove when you were drunk?
**Im not advocating this, just curious if this defense would fly.**
That got beat to death in a.f.u a few times. It's from an old list of stuff from National Lampoon magazine if I remember right. Or maybe one of their movies.
Assuming you don't get shot I don't think it would let you off the hook but I don't think it ever got a definitive answer.
It's interesting. -
shorehambeachI've just come back from Omaha beach - there was a large gathering of US jeeps/military vehicles / serviceman and woman all there to commemorate the landings.
God Bless America. (and Canada and the rest of our allies too !)
I've heard that it's really beautiful there too. -
By definition, you can't go on a shooting spree if you don't have a gun. Does it cause the desire to shoot people? No. Does it make it possible to shoot people? Of course.
A gun is a tool. It is an inanimate object, it can't go on a shooting spree by itself. For that you need a crazed killer. Conversely, a crazed killer can't go on a shooting spree without a gun. You need both ingredients. "
Something to remember is that if this is true, and I agree that it is, then a gun doesn't care if it's in a school, a Mall, the park or anywhere else. You pull the trigger and the bullets come out the end.
If we want these mass shootings to stop then we have to find out why people are finding themselves in a position where they want to shoot a bunch of people. But to do that we have to take an open and honest look and quit ignoring tons of reports even if it may very well mean accepting limitations on something we want to use in an unlimited way. -
"Social media is not the "reason" for school shootings."
What do you base that statement on? -
How hard is it to go to a dictionary or some online service and look up the difference between allow and cause?
Guns allow someone who has gone over the edge to go on a shooting spree.
This is NOT the same as saying that guns are the cause when someone has gone over the edge.
Didn't we cover this in third grade? -
DanGQuoteAre there people who believe that the availability of guns causes students to go on a shooting spree?
By definition, you can't go on a shooting spree if you don't have a gun. Does it cause the desire to shoot people? No. Does it make it possible to shoot people? Of course.
A gun is a tool. It is an inanimate object, it can't go on a shooting spree by itself. For that you need a crazed killer. Conversely, a crazed killer can't go on a shooting spree without a gun. You need both ingredients.
There have been two posts on here in the last 12 hours referring to guns as the reasons for the shootings. Maybe more but I wouldn't have seen all the posts. That doesn't sound right to me either. So why the emphasis on only looking at the tool but not the reason for using it? It seems to me that we've decided that gun owners should make the sacrifice, but looking any further may mean the rest of us having something limited that we're not willing to cut down on. This is especially problematic since guns aren't going away.
It's like alcoholics saying that the only way to cut down on drunk driving is to eliminate the cars. -
kallend***
QuoteWhen I suggested that social media was the cause of these school shootings I wasn't saying it to muddy the water or any other debate trick. I say it because I believe it and I think anyone who takes an honest look at it will see that it should at least be looked into as a serious possibility.
There's just so many "serious possibilities" as to the causes, though. So far we have heard:
-social media
-abortion
-violent video games
-not enough Jesus
-doors
-pornography
that are all causes of school shootings.
Once "easy availability of guns" makes that list I might take such lists more seriously. Because no matter what 'triggers' someone, without a gun, there's no school shooting.
I see that DeVos has excluded guns from her commission's mandate to investigate school violence.
www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/05/betsy-devos-school-safety-commission-firearms-ar15-sot.cnn
Are there people who believe that the availability of guns causes students to go on a shooting spree? -
SethInMI
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the Allies had not landed in France. The Soviets would have defeated Germany anyway, so I assume that Germany would have been completely under their influence, and probably other countries as well.
Googling that question would I am sure get me 100's of well thought out responses, as I know re-fighting WWII is a popular topic...
I'm not sure I'd assume that. Germany ended up fighting on at least two fronts, that can't be anything near trivial. And The Soviet Union defeated the Germans but there wasn't much left of the country so how much more could they have taken.
And are you just saying D-Day, or for the US to stay out of it all together? There were a lot of protesters in the US that felt that way. -
PhreeZoneWord was that the driver lost his transmission and it only worked in reverse so he wanted to get out of traffic. I know that intersection and ramp very well, that's a typical morning rush hour there, another 100 yards up and he would have needed to park right there in the right lane since the shoulder goes to nothing. I am honestly surprised that ODOT did not have a sheriff there since there is a substation only about a mile away.
The funny thing is how often I want to do the same thing instead of going clear around to the BP station. -
dmcoco84***
Quote***Seven schoolchildren stabbed to death in northern China
The suspect told the authorities he had been bullied when he was a pupil at the school, had hated his classmates and decided to use a dagger to kill people on Friday, the bureau said.
12 more were wounded: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/27/school-children-stabbed-death-china
Update: 9 killed; 19 wounded.
%guncontrol %#
You Dead MuhFucka!!
"Capt. Mathews says when the suspect exited the restaurant, he was confronted by a citizen who took out his own firearm, shooting and killing the suspect." -- http://www.news9.com/story/38274025/2-shot-at-least-1-dead-at-restaurant-on-lake-hefner-in-nw-okc
%guncontrol %#
.
You Dead Too, MuhFucka!!
"Yeah, my son defended himself. It could have been the other way around. It could have been my son, I’m the one I’m picking up and having to bury, but it wasn’t." -- https://www.wcbi.com/teen-allegedly-shoots-uncle-self-defense/
"Is that the first time that he’s done anything like this?" Asks WCBI. - "No, that’s not the first time. I have some videos where he came into my yard with two machetes, threatening my husband, and everything."
%racistguncontrolBS %guncontrol
.
And the uncle's name was Jerry Lee, so The
Killer is dead. -
I was born and grew up in West Virginia and I still spend a lot of time over there. And one thing I know for sure is that West Virginians are not going to be treated well in an internet connected world where people in other states see what you’re doing.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-virginia-dad-accused-of-putting-his-children-in-dryer/ -
When I suggested that social media was the cause of these school shootings I wasn't saying it to muddy the water or any other debate trick. I say it because I believe it and I think anyone who takes an honest look at it will see that it should at least be looked into as a serious possibility. -
airdvrI guess you didn't get the memo. This type of thing is considered sexist here now and isn't tolerated
I was only able to tolerate her for another couple of years.
Edit: guess which one. Hint, yes, that was her normal expression, constantly building anger. -
JamesBondHmm I'm just an AFF student, but I now realise how stupid it was of me to start AFF in winter (down under). The last two days I've made time to continue jumping, the DZ has been closed for student jumps. I'm worried about currency now, I haven't jumped for a week, and the rest of the week looks just as "terrible" as today (I thought today was fine, but of course I'm not gonna jump when they tell me no
)
Hopefully I don't need to repeat AFF1.... I'm still apprehensive about jumping, so there was a little relief, but that soon got quickly replaced by lengthy disappointment!
If it's any consolation the weather gods will mess with you all year round. -
ryoder***
Usually, yes, but one thing that hasn't changed in 40 years is the best way to guarantee rain. Plan on meeting up with old friends that you haven't seen for years for some catching up.
Edit: Now we get to spend the day on the porch telling each other the same stories and jokes that we've told each other hundreds of times before.
We *NEED* altitude.
Don't worry;
Once you all get older, these stories will all be new to you!
We used to talk a lot about moving to Marietta Oh when we retired not any more. I think the main reason Gwyn is avoiding it is because it's in Washington County. Ted used to manage the Washington County Home there and one day after a couple of demos we jumped in. The people who stay there loved it and also enjoyed watching us pack in the hallway.
Gwyn is afraid that if we move to Washington County something will happen and we'll end up in the County Home, then .... every ... single....evening .... as we sit down in the cafeteria for dinner she'll hear me start in with "did I ever tell you folks about the time I skydived into here? No, seriously, I packed my parachute right over there." and so forth and so on.
) 
You pull up to a DUI checkpoint drunk...
in The Bonfire
And they're not easy to win against. They love their pot sniffing dogs here in Athens County and they're never ever wrong. After all, if they find pot after saying the dog alerted it proves it works and if they don't you're so glad to get out of there you just go, quickly and quietly.
In the early 70s they pulled over a local lawyer who also is well known for fighting for defendants charged for pot. The dog alerted (how do you know when a police dog alerts? Well, the deputy tells you it did) but as hard as they tried they didn't even find a seed. So they let him go but McGee didn't let it slide. He wrote up an editorial about it for the Athens Messenger. He won.
Well, no. Next week in the Athens Messenger was an editorial from the Sheriff. He never named McGee and passed the article off as just an interesting tidbit about law enforcement dogs and pot.
According to him some pot smokers are right out of Reefer Madness. They need pot every waking moment and smoke so much that it comes out of their skin and because of that you should keep your daughters far away from them. And in some cases a person is such a mary jane monster that the smell of it coming out of their pores will cause a dog to alert.
So in the Name of God stay away from anyone who may fit this description.