Thoughts On Controversial Subjects

[Zydrate]

I'm just saying you seem impressionable.

"Drugs are evillllllllllll"

"Oh look, weed isn't that bad"

I'm just saying this, try to educate yourself before you go full on 1 side of the pendulum. I think they should be legalised but it should be taken in steps as some of them are extremely damaging and we shouldn't charge head first into the legalise brigade just because some of the stats are bullshit.

I don't claim to know everything. Only going by what I saw.
A thing I've tried to portray but you, for whatever reason, have rooted your thoughts about me so I'm just going to move on.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

And, finally, unlikely alcohol or tobacco, marijuana is provably useful to the medical community

Hey now! Alcohol's handy for emergency treatment of methanol poisoning.
[sub]Although methanol poisoning wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for alcohol.[/sub]
Yeah, that's pretty much all I've got in defence of it.

Ah, you're right.

Actually, some methanol poisoning comes from suicide attempts - people drinking copy-toner fluid to kill themselves. Or that might be a different -thanol, I can't remember. Either way, alcohol treats it. So yes, alcohol does have one (rarely needed) medical use. Compare that to the thousands of people with cancer (not to mention dozens of other uses) who could have many of their sometimes-fatal chemo side-effects 'cured'.

And anyway, I like alcohol. I don't want it prohibited. I also believe that tobacco should remain legal. I don't want anyone smoking it near me, but I have no problem with people smoking in their own homes, and I don't like the way smokers are demonized.

I'm just saying that if those are legal, then marijuana should certainly be legal as well. Marijuana is actually useful. Alcohol (other than methanol poisoning) is not useful.

 

[Morti]

How would you solve that? That's confusing to me.
Was trying to think of it myself. Do you think it is the right of a man to demand the lady get an abortion? Just wondering.

Well it's the woman's right to choose whether not to be a mother, but it's very hypocritical to be fighting for that right and at the same time look down upon men who don't want to be a father. In fact, while it's legal in most places to have an abortion, it is also law that if you impregnate a woman and she desires your involvement, you HAVE to be a father.

It stems from outdated ideology that if a woman is impregnated, she will without a doubt have a baby. Men were expected to help support that child whether they wanted it or not. After all, shit happens, the woman didn't choose to have the baby either, it's unfair that she has to support it all on her own when you were involved in it's creation.

However, these days, it is only an aspect of morality that is being challenged, in most places it is the legal right of women to have an abortion, it is now her choice. So now instead of both parties equally having no say in the matter, it is solely the decision of the woman whether she will allow a pregnancy to be carried out. Now that it is her decision, it is unfair to expect men to financially support this decision if they had no say in the matter but she did.

They fight for a morality debate while men are legally oppressed by the very same rights they enjoy today. Simplest solution, child support should not be law, it should be a moral decision made by men.

EDIT:

Well, actually child support should still be law under certain circumstances. Like if you were married, had a kid and then separated. Though it would be trickier to determine similar scenarios involving unmarried couples.

I would say give the man the same time frame as the woman to decide whether or not he wants the kid (ie. when abortion is no longer legal, ... the third trimester is it..?). If he registers his stance through I notable authority and she is made aware, then he is under no financial obligation should she continue the pregnancy.

On the flip side though (he wants, she doesn't), I do think that we still need to side with the womans wishes as he's not the one who would have a parasite growing inside him for nine months before being violently and painfully ejected.* Obviously this could be repealed once artificial wombs are invented... or maybe a willing surrogate...?


Anyway, as to the original question:
4Chan: what can I say, sometimes I feel a little deviant
Anonymous: At least they're generating press... I just worry if it will have the desired effect
Drugs: Legalise, regulate, educate and TAX TAX TAX. What grown adults does to their own bodies is noones besiness but their own.
3W Feminism: After a cursory glances at wikipedia, seems fine to me, can't have too much equality.

 

[Worgen]

Aren't women who get abortions called harlots and whores and murderers by the right wing wackos that tend to congregate around those places?

Most civilized people tend to hate those wackos and completely disregard their opinions. If Adolf Hitler called you a whore, would you really feel like his opinion meant anything?

That doesn't mean that if a women is facing a tough choice and/or is in a delicate state that those words don't not hurt.

 

[Jonluw]

And, finally, unlikely alcohol or tobacco, marijuana is provably useful to the medical community

Hey now! Alcohol's handy for emergency treatment of methanol poisoning.
[sub]Although methanol poisoning wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for alcohol.[/sub]
Yeah, that's pretty much all I've got in defence of it.

Ah, you're right.

Actually, some methanol poisoning comes from suicide attempts - people drinking copy-toner fluid to kill themselves. Or that might be a different -thanol, I can't remember. Either way, alcohol treats it. So yes, alcohol does have one (rarely needed) medical use. Compare that to the thousands of people with cancer (not to mention dozens of other uses) who could have many of their sometimes-fatal chemo side-effects 'cured'.

That...
Sounds like the worst method of suicide ever conceived.
What with the blindness and everything.

And anyway, I like alcohol. I don't want it prohibited. I also believe that tobacco should remain legal. I don't want anyone smoking it near me, but I have no problem with people smoking in their own homes, and I don't like the way smokers are demonized.

And besides: What would people cut the weed with if tobacco was outlawed?

I'm just saying that if those are legal, then marijuana should certainly be legal as well. Marijuana is actually useful. Alcohol (other than methanol poisoning) is not useful.

Certainly.
I normally take more of a "personal freedom to put whatever I like in my body" and "this drug is no worse than the ones already legal" angle, rather than coming with the medical marijuana argument. It's not that I don't think medical marijuana is a great thing, but I would like to be honest in my debates that, yes, the main reason I'd like cannabis to be legal is that I would like to be able to get high without having to break the law.

Oh, I just remembered: Alcohol's pretty decent at disinfecting as well.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Certainly.
I normally take more of a "personal freedom to put whatever I like in my body" and "this drug is no worse than the ones already legal" angle, rather than coming with the medical marijuana argument. It's not that I don't think medical marijuana is a great thing, but I would like to be honest in my debates that, yes, the main reason I'd like cannabis to be legal is that I would like to be able to get high without having to break the law.

Oh, I just remembered: Alcohol's pretty decent at disinfecting as well.

True, but the kinds of alcohol that will kill you (if drunk) are better at disinfecting.

As to medical vs getting high - one doesn't negate the other. Marijuana is the BEST drug for treating nausea ever discovered.

So, if it were legal, I could get some to make fun brownies out of (always wanted to try that, but too scared of the cops to try it while marijuana remains illegal). Then, if several weeks later I got the flu and was nauseated, I could self-medicate with the marijuana and prevent unpleasant puking.

Anywho... Hermes_legalize_it.jpg

 

[Jonluw]

Certainly.
I normally take more of a "personal freedom to put whatever I like in my body" and "this drug is no worse than the ones already legal" angle, rather than coming with the medical marijuana argument. It's not that I don't think medical marijuana is a great thing, but I would like to be honest in my debates that, yes, the main reason I'd like cannabis to be legal is that I would like to be able to get high without having to break the law.

Oh, I just remembered: Alcohol's pretty decent at disinfecting as well.

True, but the kinds of alcohol that will kill you (if drunk) are better at disinfecting.

Psssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh.
Technicalities...

As to medical vs getting high - one doesn't negate the other. Marijuana is the BEST drug for treating nausea ever discovered.

Of course.
I just meant that my main argument is the whole "freedom" thing, while medical use is more of a bullet point. It's a good argument, but not the foundation of my stance, is what I'm saying.

So, if it were legal, I could get some to make fun brownies out of (always wanted to try that, but too scared of the cops to try it while marijuana remains illegal). Then, if several weeks later I got the flu and was nauseated, I could self-medicate with the marijuana and prevent unpleasant puking.

For me, the main reason I want it to be sold in legitimate stores (rather than on the black market) is that I want the supplies of any drug to be clean and of good quality, so that users don't get themselves into more trouble than they applied for.
Plus it would kill the black market, reduce the related crime, and potentially bring in heaps of tax money (or at the very least save us the expenses that go to the current war on drugs).

It's pretty clear to me that pretty much everyone who's educated themselves on the matter in an unbiased manner are in favour of legalization. The whole situation is really just quite silly at this point.

 

[Rylingo]

I'm curious as to what your guys thoughts on controversial subjects are. What do you think of 4chan, and by extension, Anonymous?

4chan is a weird and occasionally fun forum.
Anonymous do both good and bad. Then tend to do more good things in my opinion.

What are your thoughts on Cannabis Control or other drug abuse issues?

I think each drug needs to be looked at seperately. Cannabis needs to be legalised. So many use it that it is now just like alcohol and cigarettes.
I think other drug related crimes need to be given far smaller sentences and with the room created in jails, violent crimes can get longer sentences.
Also america needs to legalise alcohol at 18 but increase the punishments for drink driving. Its a little too lenient over there. A 1 pint limit is important. Also get some of the good meaty drink driving adverts were kiddies get broken into pieces by drunk drivers. Attitudes change quicker when someone gets a glimpse of little Timmys head shattering like an egg.

What are your thoughts on Third Wave Feminism?

I don't understand what that is. I tihnk feminism is needed far more in the middle eastern and african nations right now. Thats were the serious problems lie. We only really need equalism here since both men and women have issues of relatively similar magnitude.

 

[Robert Ewing]

I support homosexual marriages

You know things are incredibly fucked up when believing in equal rights for consenting, loving adults is a controversial opinion.

I'm not aiming that at you by the way, just in general.

I think homophobia is a religious prejudice that is only there because some controlling old men said it was against god 2000 years ago.

Before religion surfaced, homosexuality was common place in places like Rome, Greece, Persia, Egypt, Timbuktu, whatever.. Homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality, and musn't be contained.

So yeah, I think homophobia is stupid.

 

[Robert Ewing]

I wouldn't touch 4chan with a 40ft pole, though I concede I've had very little experience with it. As for Anonymous, I find it hard to form an opinion on an organisation for whom literally anyone can speak on their behalf. With regard to Feminism I support the basic principle behind it; i.e. bringing gender equality into fruition, though I might not necessarily agree with certain people on what measures need to be taken to achive this, or what constitutes misogyny (and perpetuation of same)/oppression and staunchly oppose the more radical proponents of the movement. For example, misandrists nutjobs like Andrea Dworkin are only part of the problem and serve to denigrate the public perception of Feminism. I agree with Jonlow's opinion pertaining to drugs, I'm in favour of Euthanasia, gay marriage and...really I'm finding it hard to nail down anything specific as I'm rather socially libertarian and really don't care what people are doing as long as they aren't causing any harm.

I do not support anything to do with a theocracy

I agree, though I wouldn't really call that a controversial opinion, I would imagine (or hope at least =/) that most people in Western society would be averse to this.

When I said that, I meant literally ANYTHING to do with it. For example, England is at the mercy of the church of England. They are a major political power in this country for absolutely no reason. Obviously they don't have THAT much power, but they can renounce governments, and persecute people publicly. Which I think is just wrong. Religion shouldn't play a part in politics.

 

[Ninjamedic]

As for Third Wave Feminism - I am a third-wave feminist. It's one reason why I'm so outspoken about sexuality. I seek to reclaim words like *****, ****, and slut, and I see nothing wrong with pornography when drugs or financial exploitation are not involved. Furthermore, I love sex and seek to do away with sexual censorship and American prudishness through actions and my writing.

BTW - when people talk about feminism being bad, they're almost always talking about Second Wave. If you actually do your research, those are the people who say insane things like "all sex is rape." Second wave sucks ass.

Edit: Having read the rest of the thread - I am shocked by how little people know about Third Wave Feminism!

No wonder people are always like "Feminists suck!" - you guys have no idea what modern feminism (third wave) stands for.

Here's the link. Read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_feminism

Would you believe that despite studying it in school (Both in Irish and American history) and supporting it, I honsetly didn't know of the term Third-Wave feminism?

Good God my country's backwards.....

 

[MammothBlade]

I'm curious as to what your guys thoughts on controversial subjects are. What do you think of 4chan, and by extension, Anonymous?

What are your thoughts on Cannabis Control or other drug abuse issues?

What are your thoughts on Third Wave Feminism?

Just curious.

4chan is an amalgation of various boards. /b/ being the most prominent... they have the right to Anarchic self-expression. I really don't care what people say on there, they're exercising free speech. Of course, those pathetic individuals who launch anonymous hate campaigns need to be punished, they are not exempt from following laws protecting people from harassment in real life.

I'm in favour of legalising regulated Cannabis, LSD, and magic mushrooms. I used to be rather anti-drugs but I realise there are double standards in the system; drugs are not just for weak people, they can expand the human mind and enhance creativity. Like anything they can be used the wrong way, but the benefits of their safe and responsible use outweigh the minority of cases where people suffer an adverse reaction or turn to abuse. Furthermore, decriminalisation may bust the drug dealers overnight - of course, that will have its own effects. I'm sure that a lot of drug dealers wouldn't stop being criminals. They'd turn to other forms of illegal activity as income.

I think possession of artificial child porn should be legal, but centralised & regulated, and lots of professional help available.

I agree, it's a victimless crime and people are needlessly criminalised for it. If you lump all paedophiles into one boat of demonic child molestors then it will just drive them underground, and towards more nefarious activities. It's far better than having a system where a person's life is ruined for looking at a few drawings.

I support the death penalty for the worst crimes. I think for some murderers, death is the only way justice can be achieved for the victims. The same goes with castration for rapists.

As for abortion, I'm in favour of laws which protect unborn humans from being unfairly terminated, assigning them a degree of human rights, but which respect the dignity of the mother. I don't think there's an either or of being in favour of women's rights or in favour of babies' rights. Both should be balanced. If an unborn baby is going to live a painful and disabled existence, it is right to take the decision on their behalf, to carry out abortion as euthanasia. Unborn humans deserve the same treatment as a child. I see a massive inconsistency in the way some people approach abortion - babies are not much different outside the womb as they are inside it, especially in the later stages. The mother's consent is important - if she was impregnated against her will, the baby is illegitimate. Yet I have no sympathy at all for mothers who suddenly decide that having a baby is inconvenient - I trust that most women will make fair and reasonable decisions about what goes on in their womb, with all the options laid out clearly. A system should be in place to ensure responsible decisions - a certified pregnant woman will have access to financial support during and after her pregnancy, and so there is a benefit in confirming pregnancy early on, ensuring that the rights of both the baby and the mother are respected.

Euthanasia is another prickly subject. It is ethically and morally right to let suffering terminally ill people die peacefully, whether they are in a coma or consciously making that decision. Maximum safeguards need to be in place to ensure that the system is not abused by anyone.

Prostitution should be legalised and regulated in government-run brothels - with the primary aim of protecting sex workers from unfair working practices, and protecting clients from sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, it would put most sex slave traffickers out of business. I don't believe prostitution to be inherently degrading or immoral. Infact, there are some women and men who actually enjoy it. That's their choice, they shouldn't be shamed for it.