Where's all this intolerance coming from??

[scottyrocks]

Very Star Trek.

 

[Tiki Tom]

“Replicator, one cup of mid-twentieth century Hoodsie, please. Frozen.”

“Access denied. Am unable to replicate the requested item. Hoodsie has been identified as a factor leading to twentieth century social unrest on the planet earth. Please try again.”

 

[3fingers]

I was aghast to see a package of ice cream cups in the store freezer with plastic baby tongue depressors.
Is nothing sacred anymore?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep, those are now the standard. The splintery white pine that enhanced the flavor of the ice cream is as extinct as baseball players' pictures under the lids.

 

[scottyrocks]

Yep, those are now the standard. The splintery white pine that enhanced the flavor of the ice cream is as extinct as baseball players' pictures under the lids.

All is not lost!

https://www.google.com/search?q=wood+ice+cream+spoons&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1

 

[3fingers]

^^ I shall have to purchase a few spoons to go with some ice cream cups and throw away the plastic ones so that my grandchildren learn right from wrong!

 

[scottyrocks]

Ice cream tastes best off a wooden spoon.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Fridays For Icecream!!

 

[DesertDan]

Ice cream tastes best off a wooden spoon.

Truth.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I thought about it. And for old Germany, "intolerance" is in the end the wrong word. "Aggressiveness" is the much better description!

Maybe, the people were so much more relaxed in the 90s, because they just got more money at the end of the month, back then. That's a fact for the pre-Euro era. Purchasing power was halfed from 2002 on.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think a lot of the aggressiveness is fueled by media overload. Humans walk the earth today overwhelmed by a constant grinding din of information coming at them from every angle -- yes, sure, this has been lamented in the past, but any reasonable observer would have to agree that it has never been as incessant and as aggressive as it is today.

Watch a little child when they're in a place where there's too much going on, too much to see, too much to hear, too much to feel -- they panic, they scream, they get aggressive. That little child is inside every one of us, no matter how old we are, in some back part of the mind, and the constant screaming media noise coming at us from every direction has that inner child in a state of confused panic. And it comes thru, very easily, to the surface. We rationalize it because we labor under the fantasy that we're "rational beings" whose minds are fully controlled and governed by rational thought, but all the denial in the world doesn't change the reality. We're living and functioning in a state of near-constant sensory overload, and it's hurting us. We become aggressive because it's an instinctive effort to fight back against a media barrage that we're not mentally capable of processing. Show a lot of senseless flashing lights and make a lot of loud noises around a chimp, and that chimp will try to tear your face off. We, modern humanity, are now that chimp.

Those screaming hacks on cable TV are not your friends, and they don't have your best interests at heart. Every word out of their mouths was bought and paid for. Turn them off and keep them off. Quit social media. Turn off your phone unless you're actually using it for a legitimate need. Ignore the Boys. Don't swallow the hype. You don't need a constant stream of "information" to survive. You can get all the information you "need" by sitting down at lunch or at the end of the day and reading a daily paper -- relaxed and on your own terms, with no constant demand that you "react" to what you're reading.

 

[3fingers]

When we bought this house 8 years ago we decided to not sign up for cable television. I took down the antenna tower for a small construction project 2 years ago with the intention of putting it back up in a new location. The tower was in worse condition than I thought and needed to be replaced. I have not done that yet. While there may be a few things we would watch if it was available we watch what we choose on Netflix or Amazon and PBS on a small antenna.
My blood pressure remains in line much better this way. Now to give up the habit of looking at internet comment sections.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yeah, woman always preach tolerance, but then...

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

I think a lot of the aggressiveness is fueled by media overload. Humans walk the earth today overwhelmed by a constant grinding din of information coming at them from every angle -- yes, sure, this has been lamented in the past, but any reasonable observer would have to agree that it has never been as incessant and as aggressive as it is today.

Watch a little child when they're in a place where there's too much going on, too much to see, too much to hear, too much to feel -- they panic, they scream, they get aggressive. That little child is inside every one of us, no matter how old we are, in some back part of the mind, and the constant screaming media noise coming at us from every direction has that inner child in a state of confused panic. And it comes thru, very easily, to the surface. We rationalize it because we labor under the fantasy that we're "rational beings" whose minds are fully controlled and governed by rational thought, but all the denial in the world doesn't change the reality. We're living and functioning in a state of near-constant sensory overload, and it's hurting us. We become aggressive because it's an instinctive effort to fight back against a media barrage that we're not mentally capable of processing. Show a lot of senseless flashing lights and make a lot of loud noises around a chimp, and that chimp will try to tear your face off. We, modern humanity, are now that chimp.

Those screaming hacks on cable TV are not your friends, and they don't have your best interests at heart. Every word out of their mouths was bought and paid for. Turn them off and keep them off. Quit social media. Turn off your phone unless you're actually using it for a legitimate need. Ignore the Boys. Don't swallow the hype. You don't need a constant stream of "information" to survive. You can get all the information you "need" by sitting down at lunch or at the end of the day and reading a daily paper -- relaxed and on your own terms, with no constant demand that you "react" to what you're reading.

agree, agree, agree! Thanks Lizzie. Too much media overload, social networking, etc..... is just that; TOO MUCH! One of the many reasons I'm NOT on facebook, twitter, instagram, skype or any other of such sites. I refuse to watch CNN, Fox, or any news only broadcast. Don't want it, don't need it. If something shows up on the 6pm news then ok. Otherwise no, absolutely not.
When it comes to school shootings, racial problems, border wars, religious differences, people who don't look or act or talk like us... you'll never convince me all these things are not contributing factors. For some reason it now seems it's ok to shout down anyone who doesn't agree with us. Turn off your cell phone and/or think before you click "send".

 

[Harp]

I think a lot of the aggressiveness is fueled by media overload. Humans walk the earth today overwhelmed by a constant grinding din of information coming at them from every angle --
You can get all the information you "need" by sitting down at lunch or at the end of the day and reading a daily paper -- relaxed and on your own terms, with no constant demand that you "react" to what you're reading.

I typically relax with the New York Times during the evening rail commute but I view the internet as an informative
treasure trove along Milton's scratch: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
In all candor, I find the Times lacking in many ways, none the least of which is a dearth of intellectual quality that
frankly soils said publication to the point of objectively contesting purchase price. I disown moronic
television; cable included, and catch most televised sports at Gilhooley's, the hood pub where the spirit and spirits
are convivial if the food is lacking. Professional responsibilities necessitate a desk computer as does graded
thoroughbred stakes wagering but within practical limits. Away from the office I prefer not to look at a computer,
television monitor, or other devices if possible; though I dearly enjoy the informative nature of modern tech.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I’ll focus this post on London, where I live, although my argument might apply to some extent in other parts of the UK and the US. I think that identity politics along with the ideology and policy goal of ‘diversity’ are fuelling intolerance.
-First, because the focus is on our differences rather than our shared values and goals as citizens.
- Secondly, because the strident assertion of group rights (as opposed to individual freedom and civic responsibility) is used to shut down discussion and impose a uniform view: in Orwellian terms ‘Diversity is Conformity’!
- Third, because hierarchies of victimhood are created with self-appointed activists/community leaders competing for victim status for ‘their’ group and therefore refusing to show empathy towards anyone else.
-Fourth, because the population is increasingly Balkanised along lines of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality etc. and so there is actually less rather than more contact or dialogue between people with different characteristics or beliefs.
-Fifth, those who feel excluded by what we could call the 'diversity-industrial complex' are likely to become resentful and are good cannon-fodder for populist backlash movements.

Bartender Edit: very specific political content deleted.

This thread is already sailing very close to thew wind as regards house rules. Let's avoid having to shut it down entirely, please.

 

[M Brown]

My theory is, that the reason is the highspeed-internet.

hmmm...define "high speed" lol

I talked with a guy in L.A. yesterday who says he is getting 500Mbps down speed and 200Mbps up speed. Now that's fast!
My best down speed is around 13Mbps and best up is around 5Mbps, on a clear day. It takes 8 minutes just to download the word 'intolerance'. And I can't tolerate that much latency!

 

[MissMittens]

I think this thread needs to die now, just like the high speed internet apparently has outside of major metropolitan areas as experienced by the poor chap above. My commiserations, M Brown. Even my cellphone can do better than those data rates

 

[belfastboy]

I think this thread needs to die now, just like the high speed internet apparently has outside of major metropolitan areas as experienced by the poor chap above. My commiserations, M Brown. Even my cellphone can do better than those data rates

I agree, I think this entire thread skirted very closely to the boundaries right from its inception.

 

[MissMittens]

I’ll focus this post on London, where I live, although my argument might apply to some extent in other parts of the UK and the US. I think that identity politics along with the ideology and policy goal of ‘diversity’ are fuelling intolerance.
-First, because the focus is on our differences rather than our shared values and goals as citizens.
- Secondly, because the strident assertion of group rights (as opposed to individual freedom and civic responsibility) is used to shut down discussion and impose a uniform view: in Orwellian terms ‘Diversity is Conformity’!
- Third, because hierarchies of victimhood are created with self-appointed activists/community leaders competing for victim status for ‘their’ group and therefore refusing to show empathy towards anyone else.
-Fourth, because the population is increasingly Balkanised along lines of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality etc. and so there is actually less rather than more contact or dialogue between people with different characteristics or beliefs.
-Fifth, those who feel excluded by what we could call the 'diversity-industrial complex' are likely to become resentful and are good cannon-fodder for populist backlash movements.

Bartender Edit: very specific political content deleted.

This thread is already sailing very close to thew wind as regards house rules. Let's avoid having to shut it down entirely, please.

I'm going to say this despite the risk of being banned, but diversity ain't the problem. People being told to put aside their conscious biases, who either don't feel like they should have to give up bigoted views, or see them as something to actually be proud of, are the actual problem. "Diversity is Conformity"? It's the literal antithesis of conformity. Conformity is the demand that people unify with common thought, politic, and culture. I think you need to spend less time listening to talking heads engaged in political rhetoric, and spend some time looking at actual analysis of the economic benefits of diversity. Because if your belief is that you're being harmed economically by minorities, you haven't looked at both sides of the data. You might like to think that minority peoples are a drain on the resources of Jolly Ol' Blighty, but in actual fact, minorities consistently out-perform their peers in the workplace, contribute more in taxes, and in actuality, use benefits (which they've paid into just the same as everyone else) LESS per-capita. I can provide links should you wish to expand your understanding on the subject, and would be happy to share them with you offline.

I don't believe that the Lounge is a place for debating basic rights of other human beings. There was a time and place where a country in Western Europe actually had that "idea", and as I recall, it ended up costing the lives of many a Britisher, as well as the Indians, Pakistanis, Polish, Czechs, Gurkhas, and the many other diverse peoples who came to Britain's aid to prevent it being invaded by said country.

"Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle (of Britain) would have been the same" - Air Chief Marshal, Sir Hugh Dowding