Social Responsibility and the #52 (1313 hits)
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Submitted by Lisa (View user info) at 2007-05-06 06:25:04 EDT
I had an interview on the northwest side of Chicago on Friday. When it was over I got on the #52 Kedzie/California. It was empty when I boarded, but by the time we reached Humboldt Park I was one of two whites in maybe thirty passengers, mostly Hispanic.
I didn't sleep that much last week, so I fell into a daze watching them enter and exit. I thought about how beautiful and strong-looking people with Iberian and indigenous ancestry can often be. But these people were sickly, obese, and sad-looking. Balding women, teenage girls with apple-shaped figures, pockmarked and potbellied men. I thought, why is everyone sick? What in our environment is preventing the genes of these races, selected by Darwinism through generations and generations, to express their full potential?
I thought about the people in my life that are sick, and how I feel strongly that I have the knowledge and power to help. I wished that people would realize how many social problems could be improved by starting with the health of individual people, by working from the inside out. I wanted to make people aware.
Then I thought, what am I doing with myself? How does what I do matter? Am I going to spend my life in front of a computer screen, helping a company make violent games for teenagers who will spend their youths in front of computer screens?
I stand for things. Maybe I realized that only recently; there are ideas that I genuinely, passionately care about, and it matters that I act on them rather than think about them.
I know that I am just another human being, and if I died tomorrow, the world would go on the same as it had before. My life will expire someday and not long after, no one will know I existed in the first place. But if I can do something momentous, something that will affect the way people live today and in the future, the world will have benefited from my existence. Then my life will have meant something. Then I won't just be dust after I die.
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Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-16 17:52:19 EDT (#)
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Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-09 07:09:47 EDT (#)
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Something you are in no position to do if you want to warn people about mercury in vaccines. Nevermind that you are about 8 years late on that, even when it was in vaccines the risk of severe allergic reaction was vastly outweighed by protection they gave.
The more you responded to this post, the more I was convinced that you're a complete numbskull. First of all, you don't need to have an allergy to a poison in order for it to be harmful. IT'S A *POISON*. Secondly, how do you know that the effects of thimerosal "vastly outweighed the protection" of the vaccines? You don't know, because there is no possible scientific way to measure that. It sounds like something you read in an article by vaccine supporters and are now parroting it like a moron who can't think for himself. And thirdly--I'm only going to say this one more time, so please read very carefully--mercury is in vaccines. The FDA itself admits it: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t3 . Even the link you left states that thimerosal is in some vaccines.
By the way, I wrote a whole post on this, but I doubt you were able to get through it because your reading comprehension skills and attention span are clearly sub-par. http://www.ubersite.com/m/98672
Seriously, please don't try to argue with me unless you have an idea of what you're talking about. It hurts my head.
Submitted by chicagogirl (user info) at 2007-05-13 15:19:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
yum, i always order extra gluten.
Submitted by DasHeer (user info) at 2007-05-10 08:50:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yay for fat north america!
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-09 16:47:52 EDT (#)
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Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-09 06:05:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
IT'S ABOUT EDUCATING PEOPLE AND PROTECTING THE PUBLIC FROM A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
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the question is how are you fitted to do that and how will you perform that?
have some humility, like i do
http://www.ubersite.com/m/101440#2405783
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-09 07:09:47 EDT (#)
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Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-09 06:05:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
IT'S ABOUT EDUCATING PEOPLE AND PROTECTING THE PUBLIC FROM A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
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Something you are in no position to do if you want to warn people about mercury in vaccines. Nevermind that you are about 8 years late on that, even when it was in vaccines the risk of severe allergic reaction was vastly outweighed by protection they gave.
Maybe you should be concerned about educating yourself.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-09 06:58:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You'd have to become a lawyer though. You'd have to sift through company food reports and stuff. It'd be really, really boring and looking at all those pieces of paper would ruin your eyesight.
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-09 06:05:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is being interpreted too literally, as usual. Once again, I am not talking about teaching poor Hispanic people to eat better. The bus ride was merely the situation that spawned this train of thought. I'm interested in ultimately getting involved on a more political level in order to prevent things like neurotoxins from knowingly being added to dental materials and vaccines. Yes, mercury is still in vaccines; do your research if you want to argue with me, because I already have. I don't give a fuck who eats what. I do think it's morally wrong for the government to allow poisons to be added to substances that people encounter on a regular basis and lie about it, which is what is happening now.
Comprende? It's not just about the people on bus #52. This is a story, which means you have to read between the lines once in a while to understand the thought process of the narrator rather than take everything at face value.
Just in case we're still unclear, I'll reiterate my point:
IT'S NOT ABOUT HISPANIC PEOPLE
IT'S NOT ABOUT POOR PEOPLE
IT'S NOT ABOUT GLUTEN
IT'S ABOUT EDUCATING PEOPLE AND PROTECTING THE PUBLIC FROM A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
Have a great morning!
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-09 05:23:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well... There are always options. The body beautiful culture is part of trying to encourage people to take a bit more care of themselves and I must say that whilst the grubby underclass 'ladies' I see on the way into work still look like filthy slappers, that at least they're now motivated by shame to make an effort.
Other than that, what can you do? We're a free people. If certain people don't want to look after themselves, who are we to argue? Or is that just a cop out?
No, I don't think so. You can inform everyone of the risks but you can't tell people how to live. Well, I guess it's possible to geneticaly engineer food to be healthier, cheaper, more abundant and to counteract our decadent lifestyle but a bunch of people might get alzheimers or something.
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-09 04:48:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Only on Ubersite could wanting to help people generate so much resistance.
"I'm going to bake brownies for everyone on Ubersite!"
"STFU you stupid lying cunt!"
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-08 19:04:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
:-O Très harsh!
did you leave ur gloves at home?
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i guess i just felt like being mean. i got into it with my boss and i was looking for someone to say something mean to after i had already said a bunch of mean shit to my boss. i was on the warpath. plus she was trying to act like i mas making a point that had nothing to do with the post, which it did.
and lets not forget on her last post she mentioned buying a convertible PT Cruiser. that alone makes me want to vomit on her face.
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 17:19:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No need to be so mean.
Happy happy everyone!
Submitted by laika (user info) at 2007-05-08 14:08:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I wouldnt worry so much about doing something momentous as just doing something at all.
Whether we make the world better or not, we are all going to disappear into nothingness.
Do it because it helps out people now.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 12:49:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-08 11:37:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
take you for example. let's face it- you're never going to fuck a model (while i on the other hand have). you're disgusting. you're not rich either, correct? anyone that's willing to fuck you is also going to be a disgusting mongrel. how much do you want to bet the resulting child that pops out of you is NOT going to be a successful millionaire and supermodel when they grow up?
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:-O Très harsh!
did you leave ur gloves at home?
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 11:39:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
that was a reply to indo
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 11:39:03 EDT (#)
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lol, there is so much bullshit in healthcare, it's about time someone regulates it.
most of these people (naturopath, massotherapists, chiiropracticians...) are well-meaning but they often cross their field of competence instead of having the humility of saying "i do not now" because they don't want to lose credibility. it's not a very smart gamble. especially if that person is your client, you can get sued big time.
and fuck glutten, i keep telling my girlfriend to buy it cuz i think the bread as the same texture as terra cotta. not breaking my teeth on my toast and chewing for half an hour would save me a lot of mood swings.
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-08 11:37:46 EDT (#)
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Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:28:06 EDT (#)
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People from Spain or Portugal are just as reppelant as people on the #52 bus. It's nothing to be concerned about, perfectly natural.
If you don't believe me then just look at those communities in the Amazon jungle that have only the most limited contact with the civilised world. They're really rather minging in spite of being lean and strong.
In fact when you look at most people in the world, irrespective of levels of poverty or race or where they live or whatever, they're physically repulsive for the most part. The interesting thing is that as the better looking people in a society start hooking up with other good looking people, all the good looking people start to congregate in the same areas. Also, because good looking people are looked up to in society, they tend to be wealthy areas.
So, basically, when you catch the #52 bus you will see all the mingers that live in their filthy hovels as they have for generations. It's perfectly normal and not evidence of some kind of terrible cataclysm.
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that's my point exactly. Berty just took the time to type it out, which i didn't have time to do when i replied last.
you ever notice how there's a lot more good looking rich people than poor people? you ever notice how ugly most people are when you go to the ghettos?
so yes, CORN_NUGGET, one does in fact have something to do with the other. when you live in a shitty environment (a ghetto), you are much more likely to have poorer health. so when the ugly, sickly people fuck other ugly, sickly people, they have ugly, sickly children and the cycle continues. it's common sense.
take you for example. let's face it- you're never going to fuck a model (while i on the other hand have). you're disgusting. you're not rich either, correct? anyone that's willing to fuck you is also going to be a disgusting mongrel. how much do you want to bet the resulting child that pops out of you is NOT going to be a successful millionaire and supermodel when they grow up?
people that live in the ghettos have made their bed and now they must lie in it. you can't help someone that doesn't want to help themselves. poor people have every opportunity to get out of that life in this country, but most are not willing to work hard enough. you're not going to see many rich kids NOT working their asses off. it's been instilled in them at a young age that they have to grow up to be successful like mom and dad (another thing you don't see often in ghettos- daddy). in the ghetto, it's good enough to even have a job at McDonald's, as long as you can afford rims for your hoopdee.
you can feel sorry for the people on the #52 all you want. personally, i don't and never will. i wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth and i made success on my own with a lot of hard work and patience. the people in the ghettos have the EXACT same opportunities i had. in fact, probably even more if they are a minority. i certainly couldn't get a scholarship based on the color of my skin. some people act like it's an outlandish claim when i say things like that, but i can prove it's true any day of the week.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-08 11:07:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Caul,
You poor dumb bastard.
That is just what the doctors want you to think.
If you didn't get vaccinated when you were little you wouldn't have mercury hurting your back now. It is obvious you need to stop eating gluten and pay a "natropath" to show you what food to buy from their store so you can get better.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:54:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
who do you see when you have a tooth ache?
a dentist.
who do you see when your car is broken down?
a mechanic.
my dad used to say: "when you're sick, everybody is a doctor"
it's so true. which is hilarious considering it's probably the toughest profession of all. i met a lot of fuckers in gyms or when i injured my backs. lots of people who based on their own anecdotal crap, thought they had all the answers.
i met a shitload of kinesiologists and nutrionists recently and everytime they say what makes them good or not is their capacity to listen and not cross their competency. meaning: if your client's problem isn't obvious, ask for medical diagnosis before intervention.
"what's that? your son stepped on a rusty nail!? the hell with tetanus vaccine! just rub half an organic potatoe gently on the wound and voilà!"
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:52:48 EDT (#)
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Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 09:57:31 EDT (#)
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And no, I don't have a biochemistry degree, but I do know where the library is.
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But do you know where the books are that are written by real doctors?
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/thimerosal.htm
This took all of 30 seconds to find and clears up your worries about mercury and vaccines.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:47:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 09:57:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. I'm going to ride bus #52 all day today and pass out gluten-free cookies and coupons to Whole Foods.
I know some of you are unwilling to grasp this fact, but I am not a total moron. All I said about the diet was that it helped me. I don't expect poor people to spend an assload of money on food, and by the way, who said it was more expensive? When did fruits and vegetables become exotic fare?
I'm talking about spreading awareness about exposure to all kinds of toxins. Mercury in vaccines, for example. And no, I don't have a biochemistry degree, but I do know where the library is.
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So what did you mean? You want to open a clinic or an outreach program for people who probably can't afford health care, work long hours and don't speak english well so you can teach them to eat healthy?
Yes fruits and vegtables are more expensive than grains. Fruits and vegtables that are organic and not sprayed with anything are much more expensive. And I doubt anything you learned from going to a "naturopath" would advocate non-organic foods (doesn't that fall under exposure to toxins).
Great idea though teach them about the dangers of vaccines. There kids will have less toxins, but of course they might be dead from an easily preventable disease.
However since we stopped putting mercury in vaccines in the late 90's you might want to re-think that. However I am only going by what the CDC says, not some highly educated "naturopath" who probably has a degree in medicine from a prestigious university and tons of real research to back them up.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:38:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
every day my gf has to write 'health capsules' for her classes that i spell check. sometimes i write them myself to help out so i have to make my own research. i already had a pretty good knowledge of nutrition and working out but i've learn a great deal of stuff on a lot of subjects. i think i actually know more about pregnancy and post-pregnancy than a lot of women. books after books...ZZZzzZZZzzzzz, so boring. not to mention i am followed by two of her employees, a nutrionist and a kinesiologist (translation?). we also both have a personal trainer (that fucker is expensive). basically, considering my gf occupation and my involvement in it, my life outside my cubicle revolves entirely around health.
HOLY SHIT! I MUST BE A FUCKING DOCTOR!
with that in mind, i think i'm gonna build a lemonade stand like a 5 years old and i'll hand out leaflets with health tips to change THE WORLD!
or perhaps i will just stfu and worry about my own problems.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:20:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
why would you want to help beaners should be the question.
and i'm sure you won't actually help anyone. how will you approach them and spread the good news? how are you going to convince them into following your health tips after your done passing out your info? this is another ets-like post of "LOOK WHAT I'M DOING FOR THE WORLD" when we know you won't do anything.
there's a lot of tony robbins wannabe nowadays.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-08 10:14:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well Indo, reducing the number of poor people is in every society's interests. Over time we have established that there is a right way and a wrong way to exterminate the problem and now, in the 21st century, urban regeneration is a very real answer to society's population of ugly, low brow, unfunny, un-cultured, hoi polloi.
I'm sorry Indo. I got distracted by something and now I've come back to my computer I've totally forgotton my point or even what I was commentating on.
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 09:57:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. I'm going to ride bus #52 all day today and pass out gluten-free cookies and coupons to Whole Foods.
I know some of you are unwilling to grasp this fact, but I am not a total moron. All I said about the diet was that it helped me. I don't expect poor people to spend an assload of money on food, and by the way, who said it was more expensive? When did fruits and vegetables become exotic fare?
I'm talking about spreading awareness about exposure to all kinds of toxins. Mercury in vaccines, for example. And no, I don't have a biochemistry degree, but I do know where the library is.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2007-05-08 09:20:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:01:10 EDT (#)
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I'm not excusing people who escape their personal responsibilities, but because I'm interested in and have learned a lot about alternative ways to help people with health problems, I think I have a social responsibility to try to educate them. What could possibly be wrong with that?
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You are less crazy because you stopped eating gluten, so now you are an expert on eating healthy and it is a magical cure-all that you should share with the poor people on bus #52.
Do you really think a diet that will cost them much more is going to really help them out in life?
I know when you have disposable income natural healthier food seems like a good idea, but if you are scraping by it isn't feasable.
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:54:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
From what I gather, you're talking about how the environment affects our bodies and health. Right?
So, Hidden is saying that we need people at all levels of society, right?
So... what does one have to do with the other?
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:39:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"In fact when you look at most people in the world, irrespective of levels of poverty or race or where they live or whatever, they're physically repulsive for the most part."
hahaha
Yes, I really do intend to find some way to spread awareness of the issues that interest me, even though my college major is something completely irrelevant to health.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:35:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Actually the people on the Iberian peninsula probably speak better english than those filthy, poor people on the #52 bus. So I guess that could make them more appealing.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:28:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
People from Spain or Portugal are just as reppelant as people on the #52 bus. It's nothing to be concerned about, perfectly natural.
If you don't believe me then just look at those communities in the Amazon jungle that have only the most limited contact with the civilised world. They're really rather minging in spite of being lean and strong.
In fact when you look at most people in the world, irrespective of levels of poverty or race or where they live or whatever, they're physically repulsive for the most part. The interesting thing is that as the better looking people in a society start hooking up with other good looking people, all the good looking people start to congregate in the same areas. Also, because good looking people are looked up to in society, they tend to be wealthy areas.
So, basically, when you catch the #52 bus you will see all the mingers that live in their filthy hovels as they have for generations. It's perfectly normal and not evidence of some kind of terrible cataclysm.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:23:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
do you really intend to help people or tell us about it? :-D
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2007-05-08 08:01:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-07 13:03:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
is it really so hard to figure this stuff out?
our environment has nothing to do with these "sickly" people. they are sickly and obese because of a mixture of being born out of the shallow end of the gene pool and not taking care of themselves.
it's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. where is this "social responsibility" coming from?
Not everyone who has health problems is lazy and irresponsible when it comes to taking care of themselves. And the answer is not always as simple as running ten miles a day. There ARE poisons in the environment that interfere with the way bodies work, and to act like that's untrue is ignorant.
I'm not excusing people who escape their personal responsibilities, but because I'm interested in and have learned a lot about alternative ways to help people with health problems, I think I have a social responsibility to try to educate them. What could possibly be wrong with that?
Submitted by BongZilla (user info) at 2007-05-07 17:42:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
shit.
-BongZilla
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2007-05-07 17:04:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
on the upside of your medication swing?
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2007-05-07 17:04:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Fuck'm all .
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-05-07 16:42:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
hmm, there's a lack of bitchiness with this post - what's wrong?
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-07 13:18:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i agree with hidden. this post soudns like a bad ripoff of the movie Amelie.
saving people who won't save themselves is useless and ungratifying.
the only way not to become dust after you die, not to be forgotte, is to have a family. other than that, you're just a fucking pawn...except me of course!
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-07 13:03:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't sleep that much last week, so I fell into a daze watching them enter and exit. I thought about how beautiful and strong-looking people with Iberian and indigenous ancestry can often be. But these people were sickly, obese, and sad-looking. Balding women, teenage girls with apple-shaped figures, pockmarked and potbellied men. I thought, why is everyone sick? What in our environment is preventing the genes of these races, selected by Darwinism through generations and generations, to express their full potential?
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is it really so hard to figure this stuff out?
our environment has nothing to do with these "sickly" people. they are sickly and obese because of a mixture of being born out of the shallow end of the gene pool and not taking care of themselves.
it's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. where is this "social responsibility" coming from?
not everyone can be a model and a genius. we need janitors and truck drivers too. if everyone was a genius, we'd be screwed. we need the balance of the people you see on the bus, the middle class, and the upper class. this can get complicated, so i won't get into it because it's a nice day outside and i gotta get out of the house.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2007-05-07 12:25:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That was not entertaining at all.
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2007-05-07 11:55:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
See, whenever I'm blue, I go to the GAP and get myself a sweet new pair of shoes. Then I wear them outside when I'm landscaping and get them all covered in mud and cement and shit, and take them back and give the little GAP faggots crap about selling me shit-covered shoes.
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-05-07 09:00:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
All we can do is try.
+2 for hope.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-05-07 08:48:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
iberian?
is that some kind of english expression or are you into portuguese/spaniards?
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2007-05-06 22:12:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2007-05-06 21:24:32 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
You know, I fully believe that modern society is actually killing people, or at the very least, mutating them. I'm referring to Western society.
When I was in high school, we had an exchange student from Milan Italy. She was simply beautiful; shining black hair, light olive skin, perfect complexion, and was an American size 4/5.
After one school term, the poor girl had acne, her hair had dulled, and was a size 10/12. She was miserable.
Mind you, she wasn't overeating. She was just eating like the average American and living like the average American.
She told me, she couldn't wait to get back to Italy. She said our culture was unhealthy and ridiculous.
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that's funny, my friend said the same thing about Italy after living there for two years.
nice try at sounding like you know what you're talking about.
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2007-05-06 17:23:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2007-05-06 21:24:32 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
You know, I fully believe that modern society is actually killing people, or at the very least, mutating them. I'm referring to Western society.
When I was in high school, we had an exchange student from Milan Italy. She was simply beautiful; shining black hair, light olive skin, perfect complexion, and was an American size 4/5.
After one school term, the poor girl had acne, her hair had dulled, and was a size 10/12. She was miserable.
Mind you, she wasn't overeating. She was just eating like the average American and living like the average American.
She told me, she couldn't wait to get back to Italy. She said our culture was unhealthy and ridiculous.
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Because as everyone knows, Italy isnt a western nation at all.
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-05-06 17:07:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Zebra (user info) at 2007-05-06 16:45:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The mark of an immature man is he wants to die nobly for a cause; the mark of a mature man is he wants to live humbly for one. - The Catcher in the Rye
To know that even one person has breathed easier because you have lived, that is to have succeeded. - Emerson
Treat others as you wish to be treated. - Many sources
Virtue is its own reward - Fuck if I know.
These may or may not be exact quotes, but the point is that treating others decently is a nice contribution to society and you will benefit from it, if only because it will make you a better person.
Anything else you add during your life is gravy.
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2007-05-06 16:39:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm never eating again!!
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2007-05-06 16:24:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You know, I fully believe that modern society is actually killing people, or at the very least, mutating them. I'm referring to Western society.
When I was in high school, we had an exchange student from Milan Italy. She was simply beautiful; shining black hair, light olive skin, perfect complexion, and was an American size 4/5.
After one school term, the poor girl had acne, her hair had dulled, and was a size 10/12. She was miserable.
Mind you, she wasn't overeating. She was just eating like the average American and living like the average American.
She told me, she couldn't wait to get back to Italy. She said our culture was unhealthy and ridiculous.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-05-06 15:57:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
and k-k
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-05-06 15:51:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
What Bubba said.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2007-05-06 15:39:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck... this was actually good.
Unfortunately I understand your issue. These thoughts can bring a certain despair, this hopeless desire to save the world. I think about it often and it usually just leaves me feeling empty inside. The best you can do is try your best; try to affect things on a personal level at first and then branch out. Helping a few before you help the many. The worst problem with this, is that you have an indentifiable face to go along with the tragedies.
My family and I have been volunteering every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter at a Point-Of-Light in my home town for years. We are an anti-religious family, but to us, this is how we feel connected to our fellow man. This is how we give back, serving the poor food on these holidays, driving meals to shut-ins and the disabled. But there's a kind of agony in it, seeing all those people like that, seeing the loss & need in their faces.
There can be an argument whether these acts are altruistic or not. For me, they're somewhat disturbing reminders of how feeble humanity can be. The best course is to choose to do it for vaild reasons; not for yourself, not even for those individuals you're helping, but for the PURPOSE itself. Do it because it's right. You'll see such suffering, and you'll suffer with them, but it will be worth it.
I don't know what you believe in, if you conceive of an afterlife or not. I don't claim to have any answers to that, but I do believe that we can achieve some level of immortality through our name and deeds. And when you pass on, if people remember you as a kind and generous person, some part of you will stay with them. Horribly esoteric, huh? None the less, we each have choices, and actions are greater than words. You CAN make a difference, regardless of how small, if you choose. And I believe small deeds done good (just as misdeeds) can have a chain reaction.
Every great Humanitarian started somewhere, you just have to take that terrifying first step. And if you're sincere about what you've written here... well hell, you've already done that.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2007-05-06 14:10:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Then I thought, what am I doing with myself? How does what I do matter? Am I going to spend my life in front of a computer screen, helping a company make violent games for teenagers who will spend their youths in front of computer screens?
__________
Oh my god....Lisa has a soul.
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2007-05-06 13:22:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You can do something- volunteer to work with the kids in the neighbourhood the bus went through, or do a job where you help the people you can every day.
Everyone changes the world a little bit for better or worse. I've been teaching disadvantaged kids for nearly 10 years, every single one of those that I got through their exams, or supported through a hard time might go on to change the world. Or murder someone!
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2007-05-06 13:18:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Maybe those people you saw live on little money. If all they can afford is beans and bread, their diets will cause many health issues.
I doubt that many of the world-shatterers started out with that in mind. Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Schweitzer, etc. were only doing what they thought was right. They weren't planning to change the world because the thought probably never crossed their humble minds. They did what they did simply to do what was right, which is exactly what you should do.
We can't all be rocket scientists nor can we all be world famous. We do what we can. If you give time to help the poor it will mean more to them than your legacy. Forget the fame. Leave behind a kind word and people who will cry when you're gone.
Submitted by Maddog (user info) at 2007-05-06 12:55:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Sounds like ethnic cleansing time!
Submitted by Draco (user info) at 2007-05-06 12:45:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I've felt this way before
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-05-06 12:24:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by pirate_pipi (user info) at 2007-05-06 08:56:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
The environment in which we live and our comfortable lifestyle make us sick. Without exposure to the trials we were designed for, we become passive, obese, plague-ridden creatures.
But then, who wants to live a natural life? We live twice as long as people used to.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2007-05-06 08:52:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
o rlly
Submitted by Acarnis (user info) at 2007-05-06 08:34:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
You just described one of the motivations of being a scientific researcher.
However, only having just this motivation isn't enough. You'd also have to love science, itself. The world wouldn't be optimized if everyone were scientists. We need artists, too. I'm sure there are venues where graphic design could be used for a more altruistic good.
But I digress...anyone can have a part in scientific research, even if it's at the investment level.
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-05-06 08:21:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The house i grew up in was No 52.. Gave some strange resemblance here..
And in reacton; some of the greatest minds are housed in crippled bodies, some of the weakest minds in hercules-statues... controversy?
No, this is the age of the mind. The body is a handicap, viewed from those facts..
Submitted by Beano312003 (user info) at 2007-05-06 06:39:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
an apple a day keeps the doctor away.