Happy new year, all.

orange_girl comments on Jan 1, 2019:

I watched a documentary on Netflix recently and I was surprised by how emotional I felt. I grew up listening to them and I still listen to them!

genessa replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@Darius77 it was on pbs and it is called the beatles eight days a week: the touring years. g

Happy new year, all.

orange_girl comments on Jan 1, 2019:

I watched a documentary on Netflix recently and I was surprised by how emotional I felt. I grew up listening to them and I still listen to them!

genessa replies on Jan 1, 2019:

me too! i wonder if it was the same doc? it wasn't an exposé but it wasn't one of those silly, fluffy docs that really don't say much but just sort of showcase whomever, like you'd see on decades for example. it had substance and it was very touching. g

One of the things I've always noticed about the bible belt is they have a grudge against "book ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 31, 2018:

An interesting thought, but you might like to look back at the grammar in your post. Unless of course you are being ironic!

genessa replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@nvrnuff, @ladyprof70 at worst carelessness, not ignorance. g

One of the things I've always noticed about the bible belt is they have a grudge against "book ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 31, 2018:

An interesting thought, but you might like to look back at the grammar in your post. Unless of course you are being ironic!

genessa replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@nvrnuff right. i misspoke there. i still contend that the errors were either typing errors, which anyone can make, or errors of voice translation. it isn't that difficult to tell. g

One of the things I've always noticed about the bible belt is they have a grudge against "book ...

genessa comments on Dec 31, 2018:

anti-intellectualism has been a thing in this country for a long, long time, and it shows no signs of abating. in fact, with trump in office loving "the poorly educated" (insofar as he can love anyone) either it's more rampant than ever or it's easier for folks to admit publicly (note the idiots ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@mordant i don't know how much of our anti-intellectualism is attributable to religion (more and more, surely), but i know you're right that religion breeds anti-intellectualism in the manner you described. i didn't notice any inevitability about its connection to religion back in the day. it may be that anti-intellectualism lends itself to religion, too -- that it works in both directions. g

Wishing everyone a healthy Happy New Year. It is going to be a great 2019.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 31, 2018:

Same to you, and I hope you're right. 2019 can't be worse than 2018 can it????

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

shhhhh. last time anyone said that, it was worse.... g

One of the things I've always noticed about the bible belt is they have a grudge against "book ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 31, 2018:

An interesting thought, but you might like to look back at the grammar in your post. Unless of course you are being ironic!

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

there is a difference between not knowing how to spell or how to use words properly and making a typo (or having your voice-activated program misunderstand you). yes, proofreading is a good idea, but even i, who DO proofread, sometimes miss a typo. i saw someone spell "petal" as "pedal" several times in the same post; that wasn't a typo. that poster didn't know the difference between the two words, at least visually. but "worst" and "worse" in an otherwise grammatical post? it's something we do sometimes when we type too fast. it doesn't invalidate the poster's premise. g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

i am not commenting on the video; i am not turning the sound on for someone who is liberal but called alt-right (really? no, really?) or who thinks diversity and multiculturalism are silly (they're not). it would be a waste of my time. and that was my comment (albeit not on the video). g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Jacar you just lied about me. okay, since your finger is broken, i'll block you. i don't block people for disagreeing with me or for posting stupid crap with which i disagree. if i did that i'd have blocked you long ago. i do block them when they lie, especially but not exclusively about me, and when they get personal, both of which you've done. you're not just pathetic. you're also a creep. creeps i do not need in my life, even online. so you get your wish. BYE. g

I wonder if this counts as gaslighting.

Buddha comments on Dec 31, 2018:

Block him..

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

oh well, yeah, long since done lol g

Does Technology Enhance or Diminish Childhood?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

technology isn't just one thing, or even one group of things. i am pretty old, and when i was a kid and teen we had tv, radio, record players, cassette tapes, movies, all of which are technology... and most kids still got outside and played with each other, and were as active or inactive as their ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Grayghost oh PLEASE. i heard that about MY generation's parents, and the next, and the next. everyone says the parents of a particular generation (but always a different one) are too permissive. it has become meaningless. g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

Wurlitzer comments on Dec 31, 2018:

So this chicks argument is that there are 3 options 1 civil war because presumably whites are too fearful and hate filled to live in peace with anyone 2 kick all the immigrants and muslims out (which will leave only native americans here) to preserve the white power, er peace 3 ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@wurlitzer you have hit the nail on the head. you keep doing that lol g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

Wurlitzer comments on Dec 31, 2018:

So this chicks argument is that there are 3 options 1 civil war because presumably whites are too fearful and hate filled to live in peace with anyone 2 kick all the immigrants and muslims out (which will leave only native americans here) to preserve the white power, er peace 3 ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Jacar that's a good argument. too bad it's wrong. g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

i am not commenting on the video; i am not turning the sound on for someone who is liberal but called alt-right (really? no, really?) or who thinks diversity and multiculturalism are silly (they're not). it would be a waste of my time. and that was my comment (albeit not on the video). g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Jacar what i have been told about peterson? i don't even KNOW peterson, so you are making an assumption based on facts not only not in evidence but not so. i've never been told a damned thing about peterson. i have no idea who she is. i know that diversity is not silly. saying it is silly is silly. i do not listen to people who make idiotic statements. what's wrong with YOUR finger? you can't block someone you don't want to hear? oh wait, that would be refusing to listen, wouldn't it? hypocrite! listening to you doesn't teach me that i am wrong. it teachers me that you are an ignorant hypocrite, and a lazy one at that if you can't be bothered to block me yourself but want ME to do it FOR you. feh. at this point i WOULD block you (since you got personal about it) but i won't, because you want me to. do it yourself. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 you started early. i was eight already when i read my edith hamilton! g

Russia Investigation: Jill Stein Explains Her Relationship to Putin, Trump and Hillary Clinton

Jay1313132018 comments on Dec 31, 2018:

We have a 2 party system that represses all third parties. If you accept that it will always be a 2 party system, then “they” have done their job of repression. In order to affect change in our current system, we have to both work from within and from the outside. From the inside, we must elect...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

in what way does this system repress third parties? that's a nice claim to make but in fact there is no evidence of that. about money in progress and the injury's already being there i agree, but i do not agree that the attack was a mere insult. it was devastating and continues to be so, and this particular attacker used, and continues to use, the green party in particular, to its advantage. the gren party is not an honest party, or at least its leadership is not honest, and the fact that we already have a dire problem doesn't change any of that. we must indeed elect progressives. we must also know the difference between a progressive and a fake, like stein. g

What is a telltale sign you are dealing with an INFJ?

AmmaRE007 comments on Dec 30, 2018:

INTJ PERSONALITY (“THE ARCHITECT”) It’s lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, INTJs know this all too well. INTJs form just two percent of the population, and women of this personality type are especially rare, forming just 0.8% of ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Seeker3CO glad! not sure everyone catches that. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Fernapple i will more likely nap lol. but i would not mind having a lead into this if you can provide one. it sounds interesting. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Fernapple if this is so (and i have not heard this; can you elaborate?) he is not alone, but i don't hear people blasting thomas edison and refusing to use light bulbs! g

Russia Investigation: Jill Stein Explains Her Relationship to Putin, Trump and Hillary Clinton

Marine comments on Dec 31, 2018:

Russia,China,N Korea and Iran have a lot to gain by messing with our elections.

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

yes they do, and when one does, it doesn't stop the others, of course. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Fernapple, @Gwendolyn2018 i refer you both to bruno bettelheim's book, the uses of enchantment :-)) as for freud, he wasn't a total idiot. like many brilliant folks finding their way through uncharted territory, he got some things right, others not so much, and it was all colored by his personal experiences. g

Do you think that one "chooses" to become an atheist or is it more like they always were but only ...

MLinoge comments on Dec 30, 2018:

No one chooses what to believe. But there are many hypocrites who act like they believe to reap some benefit. Also, I believe _If you accept the statement "there is no god, therefore religion (Christianity, etc) is false" as true,_ is backwards to the usual order of things. I think I would be ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

that didn't happen to me. i didn't question what little religion my family had; i just independently came to the realization there was no god. i didn't even connect it in my mind with religion. of course i was never a christian; maybe it works that way for christians. g

What is a telltale sign you are dealing with an INFJ?

AmmaRE007 comments on Dec 30, 2018:

INTJ PERSONALITY (“THE ARCHITECT”) It’s lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, INTJs know this all too well. INTJs form just two percent of the population, and women of this personality type are especially rare, forming just 0.8% of ...

genessa replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Seeker3CO the only part that was said by ellison (whom i adore -- i have met him, and i made him blush the first time i met him) was the enquoted part about opinions and ignorant. he never as far as i know said a thing about intjs or any other personality types. the last two posts (not yours) appear to be taken whole cloth from an article not written by, or having anything whatsoever to do with ellison apart from quoting that one thing he said, which you can find at https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality . oh, ellison is used as an example of intj, but what has that got to do with what ellison himself thought? not a thing. i stand by what i have said about personality types: there are behaviors, not types. we are not so easily pegged. quite frankly, i think ellison would agree with me. i wish we could ask him. last year we could have. g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

i am not commenting on the video; i am not turning the sound on for someone who is liberal but called alt-right (really? no, really?) or who thinks diversity and multiculturalism are silly (they're not). it would be a waste of my time. and that was my comment (albeit not on the video). g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@A2Jennifer self-censorship is when you don't express something for fear of being censored. it has nothing to do with what you choose to watch or read or listen to. the poster has misunderstood the meaning of the phrase (giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he is not deliberately misusing it). g

What is a telltale sign you are dealing with an INFJ?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

oh the briggs-meyers garbage? it IS garbage, you know. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Seeker3CO that is gracious of you, and i am glad you recognize that i am not calling YOU garbage. i will add, as i think i meant to, that people do not have types. they have behaviors. they sometimes have disorders. types? no. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 i always wanted to find out i was adopted, but then i'd look in a mirror. i am an exact cross between my mom and my dad. there is no escape. g

Love this person::: Blonde in the Belly of the Beast: She is a liberal that is called alt-right: ...

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

i am not commenting on the video; i am not turning the sound on for someone who is liberal but called alt-right (really? no, really?) or who thinks diversity and multiculturalism are silly (they're not). it would be a waste of my time. and that was my comment (albeit not on the video). g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Jacar you have no idea what i have learned or what i know (you don't know, for example, i'm not part of the so-called alt left, which doesn't actually exist). i am not censoring myself. i'm just not wasting my time with crap. if you don't know the difference then there is one of many things YOU need to learn. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 stranger things have happened lol g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 in our case that's literally G mta as we both have the same initial as well. g

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 lol gmta! g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@TheMiddleWay but i do not hate ordinary people who are republicans, even though i hate the republican party and the russian-owned members of it in power. i think you, not i, are confusing facts with stereotypes. i do not have to support the 70 percent line since i did not claim it. all i claim regarding it is that it is not hate speech. in addition, i actually do not care whether i change your mind. i think you are correct in suspecting it won't be changed; i suspect it wouldn't be changed even if i presented evidence of some kind (to prove what i do not know, since i did not make the claim you seem to think i did). i have no idea what percentage of the republican voter based are poor white trash. i feel confident that a good number of them, a majority in fact, are to one extent or another racist, because of whom they support locally and because of their support for racist old trump. but i can't put a number on it. i have no data to support a number. i don't care about a number. i care about people willing to let crime and corruption be, as long as they can feel superior to someone. g

What games do you play?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

none of the above. i play howrse, throne: kingdom at war, and more recently also lady popular, which sounds dreadful but it's actually pretty cool (but no version for guys -- at least those who would want male avatars -- as far as i know). i play those on my laptop. i have asthma so despite my ...

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Annaleda no, but i have sufficient pillows, as long as i'm calm at the time i lie down :-)) g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

sfvpool comments on Dec 29, 2018:

If atheists had a marketing campaign, it could be something like this: Become an atheist and enjoy these benefits: * Sleep late on Sundays (thanks to @nicknotes * Enjoy life now, instead of waiting until after you die * Get rid of your irrational fears * Stop feeling like someone is always ...

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@nicknotes maybe, maybe not. it would be nice if it worked that way. it might just lead to fracking though. g

When I get into a philosophical discussion with a believer and I offer an opinion on some subject, ...

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

i have a friend who thanks god or praises jesus in just about every sentence on any subject and it gets quite tedious. g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@Easytraveler we're not close. we are friendly because she knew my guy before he knew me (they were not an item) and she was nice to him in a time of need, so they're friends. she prayed jesusly over him on his birthday and everyone (mostly jews, including my guy and me) at the table was shocked. that is NOT going to happen again. g

A “Conversation Pit” from the 1960s. Did you have one in your home?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

since i saw one in a movie in the early '70s i have also always wanted a conversation chair.

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@HankSherman i think you're correct about that! g

I had stated before that the cops don't have to protect you, the cops on here said I had ...

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

funny. "to serve and protect" comes from somewhere... can't think where.... g

genessa replies on Dec 30, 2018:

@jerry99 lots of people don't want a second serving :-)) g

A “Conversation Pit” from the 1960s. Did you have one in your home?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

since i saw one in a movie in the early '70s i have also always wanted a conversation chair.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@Sheannutt i adore them! those and telephone tables, one of which i once owned, in maple. it's gone now, alas. g

Does Technology Enhance or Diminish Childhood?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

technology isn't just one thing, or even one group of things. i am pretty old, and when i was a kid and teen we had tv, radio, record players, cassette tapes, movies, all of which are technology... and most kids still got outside and played with each other, and were as active or inactive as their ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@sfvpool i was the opposite -- very sheltered in many ways. no church, by the way. secular jews we were. g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Buddha comments on Dec 29, 2018:

He just froze their wages too...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

it's their own fault because they're mostly democrats. except they all support him. except they can all afford to skip paychecks. except... wait, i am lost. which lie are we on? g

Does Technology Enhance or Diminish Childhood?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

technology isn't just one thing, or even one group of things. i am pretty old, and when i was a kid and teen we had tv, radio, record players, cassette tapes, movies, all of which are technology... and most kids still got outside and played with each other, and were as active or inactive as their ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@sfvpool i have never been a parent but i've been a child, and i KNOW parents lol. also... remember, when (we were?) i was young, tv was decried as the techno babysitter. when my parents were young, movies were decried as that too, among other things. g

Does Technology Enhance or Diminish Childhood?

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

technology isn't just one thing, or even one group of things. i am pretty old, and when i was a kid and teen we had tv, radio, record players, cassette tapes, movies, all of which are technology... and most kids still got outside and played with each other, and were as active or inactive as their ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@sfvpool lol winning them all. my childhood was well before theirs, so there were no video games. we had no particular restrictions on tv but didn't spend all our time watching it anyway (except for one year when i was really sick and mostly bedbound -- and i still remember almost everything i watched that year, and it influenced me, not to be inactive but to think about things like racial and religious and ageist stereotyping, and other important stuff; it is possible to learn a lot from tv if you are observant, and being observant is both an innate skill for some and teachable to some). now if a kid grows up on roseanne and fox news.... i shudder to think. g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Remowill comments on Dec 29, 2018:

He lies when he doesn't need to lie.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@Remowill why? if i were that interested i would have searched already. i am also not the one asking if there have been studies. g

Controlling your Atheism...

genessa comments on Dec 29, 2018:

i'm NOT like you, at least in the respect you mention. i don't have any trouble restraining myself from trying to change people or mouth off that they're different from me, unless they're hurting others (yeah, yeah, i know, religion can hurt others, but that's not what i mean). i'll mouth off ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX oh indeed! g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

sfvpool comments on Dec 29, 2018:

If atheists had a marketing campaign, it could be something like this: Become an atheist and enjoy these benefits: * Sleep late on Sundays (thanks to @nicknotes * Enjoy life now, instead of waiting until after you die * Get rid of your irrational fears * Stop feeling like someone is always ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@sfvpool lol the guilt part is slightly mythological and applies more to catholicism, so you're right about no monopoly :-)). @nicknotes oy vay, the delusional soldiers. glad you had a sense of self-preservation! g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

sfvpool comments on Dec 29, 2018:

If atheists had a marketing campaign, it could be something like this: Become an atheist and enjoy these benefits: * Sleep late on Sundays (thanks to @nicknotes * Enjoy life now, instead of waiting until after you die * Get rid of your irrational fears * Stop feeling like someone is always ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@sfvpool well it WAS funny so you succeeded there! it's just that i often see generalizations about religion that don't apply to all, and most often i find that this reflects an assumption about judaism. i'm neither defending religion nor advocating judaism, just trying to be accurate. i happen to know a bit about it, being jewish (culturally, but not religiously). pardon me for going off on this tangent (please don't get mad if i ramble off-topic for your post, or even for the original post) but while i am thinking about it, some of the most frequent assumptions are: 1. that jews either believe in or live for an afterlife, as christians do. there is a word for the afterlife, "sheol," but it's not like heaven or hell, and even rabbis disagree about whether it literally exists (i personally heard a sermon in which the rabbi was speculating, and he sounded doubtful, but came to no conclusion). (at any rate, even for those jews who believe in an afterlife, the focus is on THIS life.) in jewish folkslore there is all that, but folklore is different. jewish folklore has demons, and the devil and demons are simply not part of judaism. oh, that should've been #2! 2. no devil. no demons. 3. no "everyone else goes to hell" (or is cursed or damned or whatever). judaism doesn't say everyone has to be, or even should be, jewish. in fact, there ate no 10 commandments in judaism. there are 631 jews must follow (most jews don't, and i don't mean they're bad jews, i just mean they don't take them literally) and seven that nonjews must follow. there is the concept of "the righteous gentile" too. so there is also no proselytizing, and while conversions are possible, they're discouraged and they involve a lot of studying, usually for about a year. 4. judaism is just christianity without jesus. judaism's main tenet is all about how jesus isn't god. uh... no. no. just no. 5. jews use the old testament. nope. there is no old testament. there is only one testament! lol anyway the thing that christians call the old testament has been translated and retranslated and mistranslated and edited and all that so much that the hebrew bible and the old testament are not the same book. 6. oh come on, five is enough (there is more but i'm really sleepy and need a nap!) i've already gotten way far off the track from your joke, which, as i said, actually was funny! g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX i call that "molested by an angel." but i like criminal minds and especially murphy brown (and i loved the good wife, whose main character was a self-described atheist). its administration comes and goes. obviously someone made a bad decision. g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

sfvpool comments on Dec 29, 2018:

If atheists had a marketing campaign, it could be something like this: Become an atheist and enjoy these benefits: * Sleep late on Sundays (thanks to @nicknotes * Enjoy life now, instead of waiting until after you die * Get rid of your irrational fears * Stop feeling like someone is always ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

jews already sleep late on sundays (and do not focus on an afterlife)! the opposite of atheism isn't christianity lol. it's belief in a deity or deities. that belief manifests itself in various ways, some of which do not believe in or at least focus on an afterlife, or have anything to do with sundays. the campaign as you envision it is funny but presumes christianity as its target. g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@LucyLoohoo in my mind it isn't, but i don't run a network. g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX it was? what went missing? i don't watch cbs much (murphy brown now, and criminal minds in the past, still dvr-ing it and never remember to watch it!) i am pretty sure the version i see on msnbc is uncensored and it's the only version i've ever seen (but if they were going to censor it, i can think of a few lines, notably the closer, which lucy noted -- except it's "not afraid of burning in hell" -- that would have been cut!) g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@LucyLoohoo i love that one! g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Seeker3CO comments on Dec 29, 2018:

But with his base, he CAN have it both ways. He has their support regardless of what he says or does. And that is all he plays to. Logic, reason... they have no place in breaking down his actions except if you look at them as attention and approval seeking of his own rabid pack.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@Seeker3CO truth doesn't matter in trump's camp, or the entire republican camp, it is true. but i also think that the polling can be quite skewed. we don't know what they were asked, in what context, or who was asked. a lot of people are uninformed and might answer "is trump doing a good job?" with "i guess so" and that's a "yes." others may be asked "what do you think of trump?" and answer "i think he's doing a great job!" the latter are his supporters. the former are... a mixed group, many of which may not even vote. but they get counted the same way, right? so i hold out a little hope by not trusting polls unless i know the details of how they were conducted. still, you're right, even reflecting mere ignorance and not blind support, it's too large a number. g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX really? when? i still see it from time to time. who censored it where and when? in what way censored? are we talking about the same psa? g

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

PalacinkyPDX comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Wanting... no. There are no great benefits given to atheists. No big buildings with fancy artwork (other than in the Soviet Union, which had its own state 'religion' ), no holidays, no sacred greetings to fellow atheists, no infomercials, no props given from society. It's a state of being when the ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

wait, no infomercials? well okay, but one public service announcement, very clever and amusing, by ron reagan. admittedly normal length for a break, not pretending to be a "show." g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Seeker3CO comments on Dec 29, 2018:

But with his base, he CAN have it both ways. He has their support regardless of what he says or does. And that is all he plays to. Logic, reason... they have no place in breaking down his actions except if you look at them as attention and approval seeking of his own rabid pack.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@Closeted yep, small enough to crawl into a vagina :-)) (or, as they say, small enough to drown in the bathtub.) g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Seeker3CO comments on Dec 29, 2018:

But with his base, he CAN have it both ways. He has their support regardless of what he says or does. And that is all he plays to. Logic, reason... they have no place in breaking down his actions except if you look at them as attention and approval seeking of his own rabid pack.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

his base is vocal but tiny. unfortunately, it has a lot of power nonetheless, because it is also the republican base, and mitch mcconnell will do anything to stay in power (and in the money) so he plays to that. but back to trump: in terms of truth, he cannot have it both ways, because the REST of us have actual memories, and powers of observation. this WILL catch up with him. g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Remowill comments on Dec 29, 2018:

He lies when he doesn't need to lie.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@JackPedigo of course there have. i am not sure, though, that the studies ever focused on the republican party. someone should do one on them. g

Federal workers do NOT want shutdown

Remowill comments on Dec 29, 2018:

He lies when he doesn't need to lie.

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@JackPedigo he certainly has a problem with that -- but surely he knows when he's just making stuff up, too. g

What would cause you to end a relationship?

genessa comments on Dec 22, 2018:

i have ended three romantic relationships. i had one ended for me by the other party because he found someone else, but we both knew we were basically friends with benefits anyway. the first relationship i ended was my first sexual one, and every time we made love, it hurt. i left him for a ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@TomMcGiverin it is just a colon, a hyphen and two close-parentheses. it makes a broad grin if it isn't translated. i am so used to it i forget i can use the real emojis. anyway it gets translated except for the second parenthesis, so it looks like a smiley face waving, or like... like a smiling face with an extra parenthesis lol g

What would cause you to end a relationship?

genessa comments on Dec 22, 2018:

i have ended three romantic relationships. i had one ended for me by the other party because he found someone else, but we both knew we were basically friends with benefits anyway. the first relationship i ended was my first sexual one, and every time we made love, it hurt. i left him for a ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@TomMcGiverin :-)) g

What would cause you to end a relationship?

genessa comments on Dec 22, 2018:

i have ended three romantic relationships. i had one ended for me by the other party because he found someone else, but we both knew we were basically friends with benefits anyway. the first relationship i ended was my first sexual one, and every time we made love, it hurt. i left him for a ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@TomMcGiverin oooohhhhh yeah. tell me about it! and i was hungry, too! g

What would cause you to end a relationship?

genessa comments on Dec 22, 2018:

i have ended three romantic relationships. i had one ended for me by the other party because he found someone else, but we both knew we were basically friends with benefits anyway. the first relationship i ended was my first sexual one, and every time we made love, it hurt. i left him for a ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@TomMcGiverin we really have no one but each other (and the cats and the dog). tonight i guided him through what to me is a relatively simple recipe for dinner. it took him three hours, and that's only because i stepped in and helped at the end. otherwise... i'd still be waiting.... g

Beto O’Rourke Is A FRAUD - YouTube

towkneed comments on Dec 28, 2018:

I live in Texas. Beto is from Texas, running for Texas and a rep in Texas. Oil is huge in Texas. Saying Beto is a fraud because he took money from Oil execs is misleading. In Texas big Oil gives huge to both sides. The difference between Beto and the others is that it was not given as PAC. ...

genessa replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@towkneed there is alec, of course. but that doesn't mean that anyone who contributes to a candidate is a member of alec. alec doesn't support democrats, anyway. g

What would cause you to end a relationship?

genessa comments on Dec 22, 2018:

i have ended three romantic relationships. i had one ended for me by the other party because he found someone else, but we both knew we were basically friends with benefits anyway. the first relationship i ended was my first sexual one, and every time we made love, it hurt. i left him for a ...

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@TomMcGiverin thank you. i do worry about what will happen to him if i die first, though. g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@OpposingOpposum alas and alack. g

In modern times, the young generation meet up and talk a lot, laugh hard but it’s empty in their ...

genessa comments on Dec 28, 2018:

on what basis do you make this assertion? i have not found this to be so at all. furthermore, how can you generalize about an entire generation (one you do not actually specify apart from labeling it "young" -- which to me is anyone under 60)? people are not all alike based on their age. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@JimG got that. but again, answered for the lurkers too. g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@TheMiddleWay calling that small but vocal segment of our population who happen to be poor white trash "poor white trash" is calling a spade a spade. they're the ones who are hateful. recognizing it and saying so isn't hateful. "hello. my name is inigo montoya. you killed my father. prepare to die." :"you MEANIE, that's HATE speech!" hey, who was the one who killed inigo's father, huh? g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@TheMiddleWay not even a large segment. a small, noisy, deplorable bunch. g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@TheMiddleWay you see hate in @OpposingOpposum 's speech. i see facts. if facts are hateful, work to change the situation instead of decrying our verbal recognition of them. g

Religion Considered Important to 72% of Americans

genessa comments on Dec 28, 2018:

world religion news says otherwise: https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/43-percent-americans-say-religion-important-part-identity g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@jerry99 i think people who look to religion for community are still not thinking outside that particular box, which is not to say i doubt their intelligence, or even their sincerity regarding their atheism. it's just that there is so much else out there, and choosing religion for community puts one in community with religionists! can't we choose our communities? g

In modern times, the young generation meet up and talk a lot, laugh hard but it’s empty in their ...

genessa comments on Dec 28, 2018:

on what basis do you make this assertion? i have not found this to be so at all. furthermore, how can you generalize about an entire generation (one you do not actually specify apart from labeling it "young" -- which to me is anyone under 60)? people are not all alike based on their age. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@JimG keep in mind that responses to one person are read by more than one person. g

Seeing quite a few rather sexists posts just lately.

Paracosm comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Sexism is the reason I've left most atheist groups/sites. Some of the posts I've seen here lately have made me wonder if this site is going in that direction too.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

the site goes where we take it. i'm the stay-and-fight sort -- not always with regard to every post or every person (i use that block feature judiciously) but with regard to a site that, itself, hasn't got the objectionable character, but sometimes attracts those who do. g

Politics and religion

Howdan comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Why does it come down to politics. The rich run EVERYTHING always did always will. End of story.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

the fact that you have closed the book does not make it the end of the story. g

One thing liberals and conservatives apparently still agree on, in a decisive environment these ...

genessa comments on Dec 28, 2018:

i have never thought once about lawrence o'donnell's cleavage. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@Unimatrix907 he would still be brilliant. i suspect, though, that his dreadful taxi accident aside, and his painful recovery aside, he is as comfortable with his body as a man his age (coincidentally also my age) can be. he doesn't seem uncomfortable with it. g

Breaking bread with those we care about is the best and most universal holiday tradition there is.

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

yes... for our own holidays. christmas has never been one of mine. i love to share a meal with those i love on the holidays i celebrate. not a single one of them is, or has ever been, a christian holiday. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@WilliamCharles superchristians are just plain weird. g

Breaking bread with those we care about is the best and most universal holiday tradition there is.

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

yes... for our own holidays. christmas has never been one of mine. i love to share a meal with those i love on the holidays i celebrate. not a single one of them is, or has ever been, a christian holiday. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@WilliamCharles nice quotation. i am guessing it's an interesting book, too. g

One thing liberals and conservatives apparently still agree on, in a decisive environment these ...

genessa comments on Dec 28, 2018:

i have never thought once about lawrence o'donnell's cleavage. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@Amisja i have to admit i admire his sometime beard. g

I just got 30 days in time out on Facebook for posting this meme.

TheMiddleWay comments on Dec 28, 2018:

"racist poor white trash" is definitely a hateful way to talk about a majority of Americans. Hopefully the timeout gave you pause to think about that.

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@TheMiddleWay a majority of americans are NOT racist poor white trash. i cannot say as much for republicans. republicans do not represent the majority of americans. if they did, they would not rely on voter suppression and gerrymandering to win (to put it more accurately, to correct the prize even when technically they lose). are there racists outside of congress? sure thing. is there poor white trash outside of congress? sure thing. are they the majority of trump's voter base, and the republican voter base? sure thing. are they the majority of americans? even the majority of white americans? WRONG. they're loud as shit and just as unpleasant. @opposing possum 's assessment is correct. but they're not the majority of us. and calling them exactly what they are is not hate speech. it's accurate reporting. as for a facebook timeout, how come facebook doesn't give a timeout to people who claim that hillary clinton runs a child sex slave operation out of the basement of a pizzeria that doesn't even have a basement? i never saw a facebook timeout for anyone promulgating pictures of michelle obama as a gorilla (i had to block those folks myself). g

Trump now claims most furloughed workers 'are Democrats' - NBC News.

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

1. he has no way of knowing the political affiliation of the gazillion civil servants who have been serving the country and now are furloughed. 2. if he did know, and democrats were being targeted for furlough, then he has just admitted to committing a crime, because doing this based on political...

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@GinaKay oh yeah, i forgot to mention that rofl g

Breaking bread with those we care about is the best and most universal holiday tradition there is.

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

yes... for our own holidays. christmas has never been one of mine. i love to share a meal with those i love on the holidays i celebrate. not a single one of them is, or has ever been, a christian holiday. g

genessa replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@WilliamCharles i am not knocking it. it just isn't part of my life. the last time i was invited to a christmas gathering i was shunned when the evangelicals who were running it found out jews were not just a weird kind of christian who nonetheless worship their jesus, and that i personally did not believe that the beach boys sat down with a physical devil and sign a physical contract with him. i didn't go the following year and i won't be going again. no one else i know gives christmas parties. i don't actually wish someone would; i don't THINK about it. it's meaningless to me. i get together with friends when possible and i don't need an excuse to do so (although birthdays are good, of course). i don't need to prove to some nonspecific public that i don't eat babies (anywhere) and no one i actually know thinks that of me (or of anyone). so... i don't need christmas. g

Most of us older folks remember this.

Wildflower comments on Dec 27, 2018:

All I noticed was the little black dress. That hasn't changed much!

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

it's only as little as whoever is poured into it! g

Breaking bread with those we care about is the best and most universal holiday tradition there is.

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

yes... for our own holidays. christmas has never been one of mine. i love to share a meal with those i love on the holidays i celebrate. not a single one of them is, or has ever been, a christian holiday. g

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@WilliamCharles you have somewhere to go along TO. my family isn't christian, never was. we didn't celebrate christmas. it's not something everyone in the universe celebrates. i have no occasion to "go along" to anything related to christmas. g

What happened after death

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

the brain, which creates our consciousness, dies, so our consciousness stops existing. our bodies decompose. that's it. the end. g

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX they crawl in, they crawl out, they play pinochle.... my grandfather used to play that but he was no worm! g

Should we???

genessa comments on Dec 27, 2018:

advantage in what way? i don't get a day off because i'm disabled so all my days are "off." i'm jewish and had chanukah (not the "jewish christmas" but a gift-giving holiday for the last hundred years or so) earlier this month and did the giftie thing then. so of what do i take advantage? ...

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@Paddypereira i have just explained how i do not, whether i want to or not. there is nothing for me to take advantage of. if there is something there for you, good for you, but it doesn't apply to all. it certainly doesn't apply to me. g

Uninterested in Christmas

genessa comments on Dec 15, 2018:

my family, what's left of it, is jewish. we have never had christmas. i hate christmas anyway. g

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@K9Kohle789 yes thanksgiving needs rethinking. about everything being closed though... i don't get out much. it doesn't bother me that everything is closed. i cook at home every night. we have no money for entertainment other than tv, which is expensive enough. so christmas day is no more special, not even more boring or more troublesome, than the whole season, which is annoying in and of itself, because we weren't going to go out anyway. g

Ok its Boxing Day, I am bored.

genessa comments on Dec 26, 2018:

i don't work because i cannot work. i wish i could but i cannot. i do not get bored. i get sleepy and exhausted, am in pain and depressed, and put upon to make ends meet and keep the place livable while also taking care of my alzheimer's-afflicted guy. bored, no. g

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@Amisja ah yeah tell me about it lol. but i still favor sleep, out of all possible activities. g

What do you think about the connection between those who long to follow rules, who actually feel ...

genessa comments on Dec 26, 2018:

trump doesn't follow rules. he doesn't even follow laws. in fact, he doesn't KNOW most of the rules or laws. so those who feel lost without rules and latch onto trump obviously don't care if anyone else follows rules! g

genessa replies on Dec 27, 2018:

@PalacinkyPDX ah you have a point. i meant normal rules. my bad! g

This time of year is difficult for some people.

ZantiMisfit comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Why not. You can still enjoy the Superbowl party and not really care about the game :)

genessa replies on Dec 26, 2018:

@MissKathleen it is good to have a choice. g

Karma, real or imagined?

Aushra comments on Dec 25, 2018:

I believe in it. I've seen it happen too many times. I don't think there is any religion tied to it. It is just basic, "what comes around goes around". You do bad things, bad things will eventually happen to you. Just be a good person and do good things and good things will happen to you.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@Aushra the "other word for it" you seek is "coincidence," or "chance." i am sorry you have hard times too. i have to say that there not being a good god is not proof there is no god at all. there are no gods, but that's not proof there is no proof. nonetheless there are no gods. that's just not why. g

Karma, real or imagined?

freeofgod comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Imagined. We don't always get what we deserve and we don't always deserve what we get.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@freeofgod lol we're surrounded! it happens! g

Karma, real or imagined?

freeofgod comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Imagined. We don't always get what we deserve and we don't always deserve what we get.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@freeofgod apparently. but i have a wider one. i don't believe in that what goes around comes around crap either. the thing is, i SAID i don't, and wurlitzer said so too, and then you said you disagreed, but apparently you agree with that part of what we said. so all we disagree about is the definition of karma. however, there is more than one definition of karma. the supernatural bit, feh! the part that just means that every action has a cause and an effect is hard to argue with. people argue about whether it means you get your just deserts. that i definitely do not believe. g

Karma, real or imagined?

freeofgod comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Imagined. We don't always get what we deserve and we don't always deserve what we get.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@freeofgod oh? got a reason? and which part of "that" and since the enquoted part was his and the rest mind, which "that" do you mean? g

Karma, real or imagined?

freeofgod comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Imagined. We don't always get what we deserve and we don't always deserve what we get.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@WilliamFleming wurlitzer said: "Karma is real and there's nothing supernatural about it. Actions resonate and we live in their consequences. There's no supernatural force meeting out perfect justice and that doesnt make everything fair in the end. Not everything we receive is something we deserve, but a great deal of reciprocation will occur for whatever you decide to put into the world. "There's only so many places for consequences to spread to, and the world is small enough that you will most definitely feel and sit in the consequences of your own actions. A good deal of punitive karma is self fullfilling by our own conscience and ego like someone else said, and a good deal is out of our hands. It's an echo of whatever we shouted bouncing back to us off the mountains." i will add that while we may feel and sit in the consequences of our own actions, it won't necessarily be perceptible as such, and it won't be anything like "what goes around comes around," the common (mis)perception of what karma is. it's not the universe smacking a misbehaver upside the head lol. g

To all who celebrate it, in whatever way, have a Very Merry Christmas, or whatever you call it.

genessa comments on Dec 24, 2018:

i am curious. what do you think people call christmas besides christmas (or yule, same thing, right?) i mean, that phrase threw me. is there some secret name of which i am unaware? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@KevinTwining to clarify: you said happy holidays was meaningless and bland. you said people prefer it to naming the day (by which i assume you meant christmas). i explained that people don't necessarily use it for christmas, that it is NOT meaningless, it has a meaning and i explained the inclusive meaning. i don't think you understood what i said and i have a feeling you didn't quite understand what you yourself said either. g

Karma, real or imagined?

Aushra comments on Dec 25, 2018:

I believe in it. I've seen it happen too many times. I don't think there is any religion tied to it. It is just basic, "what comes around goes around". You do bad things, bad things will eventually happen to you. Just be a good person and do good things and good things will happen to you.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

in that i most definitely do NOT believe. i have been as good a person as possible, doing no intentional harm and working hard to do no unintentional harm, and i am broke, in danger of being homeless, in love with a man slowly disintegrating from alzheimer's and possibly cancer-ridden myself (and my ptsd is keeping me from having the operation that will find that out). what goes around comes around? it isn't working so great in MY case. at any rate, that is the popular conception of karma but i don't think that's what karma actually is or means. g

Karma, real or imagined?

freeofgod comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Imagined. We don't always get what we deserve and we don't always deserve what we get.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

if that is what karma meant, then i would agree with you totally. however, that is not my take on karma. i think @Wurlitzer said it so well above that i don't need to say it, as i was going to. i will just add that i see it sort of as "the butterfly effect" rather than "what goes around comes around," which is the part in which neither of us believes. g

The one thing that religion offers that secularism fails to equal is the transcendence of self, the ...

genessa comments on Dec 25, 2018:

religion does not always offer that, and secularism's job isn't to offer anything. we get that elsewhere. why should we look to our views about whether or not there is a god for transcendence? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@rcandlish your best wishes are meaningless, and you are arrogant indeed. you don't know me. you will never know me. it's your loss. i judged your words and you presume to judge ME. insight? maybe IN is the only direction you care to look. maybe you're not too good at it, either. feh. i have no more interest in anything you have to say. g

The one thing that religion offers that secularism fails to equal is the transcendence of self, the ...

genessa comments on Dec 25, 2018:

religion does not always offer that, and secularism's job isn't to offer anything. we get that elsewhere. why should we look to our views about whether or not there is a god for transcendence? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@irascible ... not to mention the arrogance! feh! telling me if i have no progeny i am unable -- unqualified -- to determine my own raison d'etre. as if he even knows me! (as if he'd know me if he tripped over me!) g

The one thing that religion offers that secularism fails to equal is the transcendence of self, the ...

genessa comments on Dec 25, 2018:

religion does not always offer that, and secularism's job isn't to offer anything. we get that elsewhere. why should we look to our views about whether or not there is a god for transcendence? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@rcandlish i have no progeny and you are not qualified to tell me i have not gained the qualification to answer. i can live for the progeny of my peers or just of my species. your assertion is again wrong. and regardless of my answer, you said that religion provides transcendence of self, which it doesn't necessarily do, and that secularism doesn't, which it isn't even designed to do. transcendence can occur without regard to whether or not one believes in a deity or follows a religion. your original post's assertion is incorrect, and your assertion about my qualification to decide for whom or what i live is extremely arrogant and quite incorrect. g

To all who celebrate it, in whatever way, have a Very Merry Christmas, or whatever you call it.

genessa comments on Dec 24, 2018:

i am curious. what do you think people call christmas besides christmas (or yule, same thing, right?) i mean, that phrase threw me. is there some secret name of which i am unaware? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@KevinTwining "holidays" doesn't mean christmas. it means christmas, chanukah, kwaanza, solstice, new year's and whatever all else is celebrated in this general time frame. it may sound bland to you but it is inclusive and "christmas" is specific and excludes everything BUT christmas. the fact that people say it on cards that show red and green and santa and reindeer does erode that quality but it's still the intention. if it doesn't work for you, fine, but it isn't what you say it is. g

The one thing that religion offers that secularism fails to equal is the transcendence of self, the ...

genessa comments on Dec 25, 2018:

religion does not always offer that, and secularism's job isn't to offer anything. we get that elsewhere. why should we look to our views about whether or not there is a god for transcendence? g

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@rcandlish dismissing your own attachments and claiming a universal characteristic for religion itself are not the same thing. i don't know about the sci-fi (a term i hate) significance of the word transcendence. i know what the word means in real life. we have no way of knowing, from your question, that you intend it to mean something else. the thing you now offer as your question wasn't even in your post so how can you say it was the question? your assertion seems ridiculous to me and it doesn't help that you appear to be changing your assertion/question now. g

The one thing that religion offers that secularism fails to equal is the transcendence of self, the ...

Seeker3CO comments on Dec 24, 2018:

How does secularism not offer that? Religion only offers the illusion of it, but in real life you actually CAN escape beyond your selfish limits by giving to humans and helping them rather than tithing to a church.

genessa replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@rcandlish i don't feel any obligation to do that. it would be a thankless task anyway, and in some zip codes, a dangerous one. just because i know there are no gods i have some obligation to show the world what life is really all about (see my comment above concerning that)? g