Remiforce's Profile

HAVE YOU HEARD OF ROBERT INGERSOLL?

St-Sinner comments on Sep 17, 2019:

I read this that was interesting... "His father, John Ingersoll, was an abolitionist-sympathizing Congregationalist preacher, whose radical opinions caused him and his family to relocate frequently." I was curious to know what caused to him to lead the beliefs he held. It is usually starts with ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

We owe a lot to early pioneers of free thought like him.

Do we need religion to provide a sense of justice?

brentan comments on Sep 17, 2019:

Probably not anymore but I think we need to remember the religious notions that brought us to this point. I'm saying that because I feel respect for justice is falling in direct proportion to the fall in respect for religion.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

In the past, our ideas of justice were based largely on the religious concepts of good & evil, Respect for religion is falling in many parts , although it is rising elsewhere. Respect for justice is falling because many people are beginning to realize it has been co opted by powerful special interests & no longer works for the people, if it ever really did.. God has been seen in the past as the Great Policeman in the Sky, who enforces the rules & punishes hidden crimes in the afterlife, but we are rapidly losing that comforting notion.

Do we need religion to provide a sense of justice?

St-Sinner comments on Sep 17, 2019:

What people did is another story. The answer to your question is - No, we do not need religion to provide a sense of justice. Justice comes from the sense of right and wrong that does not come from religion. That was how we were brainwashed to believe that goodness was in the church and world ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

We can make a rational sense of justice based on enlightened self interest & our preceptions of the greatest good for the greatest number. But since people are imperfect, the justice we create will always be imperfect, based more on our needs, or more accurately the needs of the powerful among us, than an ideal.But still we should strive to express the ideal of justice

Do we need religion to provide a sense of justice?

Nakedterror comments on Sep 17, 2019:

No. How could there be? The universe at large isnt just. Local nature isnt just. If a person wants justice they have to work together to create it

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

The universe & nature definitely are not just. I believe the only justice we have is that we as a people create for ourselves, imperfect as that is. Often justice is distorted by powerful interests.

Do we need religion to provide a sense of justice?

Deb57 comments on Sep 17, 2019:

There have been moments when I wished hell was a real place because I had to deal with people I felt deserved to end up there, but in general, religion has nothing to do with what I would consider justice. On the contrary, many of the crimes or sins that apparently warrant eternal torture by ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

I, too, wish hell was a real place. I've met several people I'd like to send there. I would start with many of the religious hypocrites who mess up people's minds with this nonsense. It is hard for many people to accept, but just because we want something to be real doesn't mean it is.

Film actress Shirley MacClaine said she played so many hookers, the producers don't pay her in the ...

bobwjr comments on Sep 17, 2019:

Love her

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

Me too

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

LiterateHiker comments on Sep 17, 2019:

I feel no need to hide my intelligence. It's an asset. Intelligent people are not oppressed. Just because Trump is a moron, doesn't mean intelligent people are persecuted.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

You may be in denial. Trump is not really the cause, he is a symptom. The idiocy he has unleashed has always been there in American society. You may be lucky enough to live in the liberal ghetto of a big city among reasonably intelligent people.. You might want to go out & find out what real people are like. I think you will be a sadder but wiser person

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

bobwjr comments on Sep 17, 2019:

Trying to be but I never hide my intelligence,at least because I was medical it's expected

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

You were lucky. Nobody wants a dumb doctor.

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

Matias comments on Sep 17, 2019:

Nowadays, *everybody* is intelligent, beautiful, special and belongs to an oppressed minority.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

Like Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, All the children are above average & must have prizes. If we didn't have oppressed minorities, how could we have priviliged majorities. Oppressed minorities play a crucial role in our society.

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

St-Sinner comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Yes, we need reservations, quotas, special rights, representation and be identified as a minority on U.S. Census forms.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

Right on, Brothers & Sisters, We should have protected status & official recognition by the census. Too long have we been discriminated against in silence. We should have Intelligent Pride Parades & organizations to represent us. I suggest the Intelligent Rights Defense Council. We should end defamation of elites by Trump supporters & use of derogatory terms like "Eggheads". For too long intelligent people have been a despised minority

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

gater comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Only when you try to share the truth with slow people.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

I have found the intelligent don't try to share their truth with slow people. As Eptitius said, "If a wise person tries to share wisdom with a fool, they will say it is foolishness"

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

WilliamFleming comments on Sep 16, 2019:

There are different kinds of intelligence. It’s hard to gauge somebody’s intelligence so I try not to. I’ve been surprised many times by what people come up with, even children. IMO it’s best to be true to yourself. Don’t even try to fit in—you’ll get more respect. Your ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

True, Intelligence is not one thing, it is many abilities related to many activities.. I have found the most intelligent people are most facile in fitting in with whoever they are with. Then we come to the issue of intellectual intelligence & emotional intelligence. Some people are fortunate enough to have both I have found it's important to judge the intelligence of others but that is not their total character. To paraphrase MLK, "Judge people not by their I.Q, but by the content of their character". Thanks for the compliment. I have had some intelligent ideas, but it keeps me humble to realize I have had some remarkebly stupid ones also

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

powder comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Definitely a minority, wouldn't say oppressed. The problem is capitalism does not reward intelligence, it rewards narcissistic behaviour. It rewards those best able to scramble to the top of the heap via whatever means.

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

Definitely don't let on you are more intelligent than your boss

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

Geoffrey51 comments on Sep 16, 2019:

I’m not oppressed, but then I’m not intelligent! As an ignoramus of the highest order I wonder why intelligent people would be wasting their intelligence on such matters. I thought they might be pondering more intelligent intelligentsia type thinks. But then what would I know? I am ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

If you know you don't know, you are among the most intelligent, right up there with Socrates. You might want to come out of the closet

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

LetzGetReal comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Fun illustration. :D Intellectual pride parades, really? I am cracking up here; I live alone and like the entertainment. My mind is going in a lot of different directions... Where is the anti-intellectualism coming from? The white house?

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

The current administration has certainly brought it out of the closet, but anti intellectualism has always been in American culture. Boobosity has always been part of many subcultures in America. People who stay in intellectual ghettos don't realize what's out there

Are intelligent people an oppressed minority?

Geoffrey51 comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Do you have a reference to these anti-intellectual subcultures? I’d like to see who they are and what they do

Remiforce replies on Sep 17, 2019:

For one, Trump supporters at rallies who rail against the elites & "fake news", like "the failing NYT". There are many others out there when you get away from the intellectual ghettos of the big cities.

harridan--a strict, bossy, or belligerant old woman

Cutiebeauty comments on Sep 16, 2019:

What's the equivalent of a man doing the same?

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

@Cutiebeauty So can't someone be intelligent & have a sense of humor too? Often humor is a good cover for intelligence, as there is a great deal of discrimination against intelligent people.

Old saying, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with B.S"

davers comments on Sep 16, 2019:

We had a saying when I was in the ambulance service in London "Bullshit Baffles Brains" If you don't know what you need to do just do anything. Most of the time you are playing to the public anyway who are always quick to criticize as though they are the experts because they had watched Emergency ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

When I was on the radio, I learned if I got foot in mouth disease, just move on quickly & don't call attention to it. The public has a very short attention span & most people are remarkebly inattentive

Woody Allen, "Sex without love is meaningless, but among meaningless things it's the best"

yvilletom comments on Sep 16, 2019:

If Woody was trying to be his own grandpa, he quit too soon.

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

Remember the old song, "I'm my own grand'pa"

harridan--a strict, bossy, or belligerant old woman

Cutiebeauty comments on Sep 16, 2019:

What's the equivalent of a man doing the same?

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

Probably an asshole

revanchist--a policy of seeking to retaliate, especially to recover lost territory

Cutiebeauty comments on Sep 16, 2019:

Does that even happen anymore? Especially with the United Nations?

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

Yes it does. Look at Russia annexing the Crimea & revanchism in Eastern Ukraine, for example

What’s a Jew to do during the high holy days when they question the existence of a higher power?

Remiforce comments on Sep 15, 2019:

Be an agnostic, not an atheist, then you can question the existence of a higher power too. You say they question the existence of a "higher power", which means the people you are with are agnostics. I have found that many Jews are

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

@sassygirl3869 Many Jews I know on the Upper West Side of Manhattan are cultural Jews who may visit the synagogue for family reasons on the High Holy Days, but actually they are agnostics & atheists. They question whether there is a higher power as agnostics, not as Jews.

The Ubiquity of Horror--What's God Got to do with it?

Varn comments on Sep 15, 2019:

*Shit* … that was a litany of reasons I’ll try to be more patient with the multitude of ‘idiot proofing,’ ‘safety features,’ and ‘helicopter parents’ I encounter…. *The good ‘ol days* :S There is no god or gods. Whatever there is beyond the unknown, for now, remains just ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

If nothing happens for a reason, then nothing can happen that is a consequence of predictable circumstances, If what is is beyond the known, then we cannot say if it happens for a reason or not. The "good old days" were dark & dangerous. We have more buffers today, but they are still dark & dangerous. No wonder the majority of humanity want some god myth to protect them. Reality can be very painful & uncertain

Woody Allen, "Sex without love is meaningless, but among meaningless things it's the best"

Athena comments on Sep 15, 2019:

He's pretty weird and disgusting, despite his great talent. I'm wondering if he kept it casual for a while, with his wife's adopted daughter, before things got serious.

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

@Athena That would be a very messy situation too.

Stalin, "When one person dies, it's a tragedy. When millions die, it's a statistic"

GuyKeith comments on Sep 15, 2019:

Not to diminish the horror of Stalin, and on an unrelated subject...The movie, *The Death of Stalin*, was a near-masterpiece. To actually pull off this Black Comedy within the framework of history was just astonishing. I highly recommend this movie. My review, of course. ...

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

The Death of Stalin was a really amusing black comedy. It was interesting to see Nikita Krushev portrayed as a hero

peccadillo--a small, rather unimportant offense or sin

WonderWartHog99 comments on Sep 15, 2019:

I remember a Lousiana newspaper by that name.

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

Was that the New Orleans Piccayune?

Woody Allen, "Sex without love is meaningless, but among meaningless things it's the best"

lerlo comments on Sep 15, 2019:

here, here! However I disagree with meaningless. it means two people are attracted to each other.

Remiforce replies on Sep 16, 2019:

I suppose that is a meaning. Sexual attraction can be a big meaning

Old saying, I think from Machiavelli, "Never wound a King"

yvilletom comments on Sep 15, 2019:

In aletter from a US congressman, I heard this as “Don’t take on city hall until you have allies”.