# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=36 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 37 --- ## [Confronting elderly parents about childhood trauma](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-elderly-parents-about-childhood-trauma/946683)
**Author:** [@Franklymydear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Franklymydear)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-elderly-parents-about-childhood-trauma/946683 "2021-07-22T14:51:39Z")
Do you think it is appropriate? On the one hand, i think a frank and open discussion is healthy. But on the other hand, it was a long time ago and they don’t even remember that, or so they claim. My specific situation… --- ## [Guns that look like toys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-that-look-like-toys/946477)
**Author:** [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-that-look-like-toys/946477 "2021-07-21T16:12:29Z")
With reference to the thread about the right to bear arms, what do those who advocate lassiez faire think about these? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57832053 https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/254… --- ## [UFOs = Aliens: any convincing evidence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ufos-aliens-any-convincing-evidence/945703)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2021, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ufos-aliens-any-convincing-evidence/945703 "2021-07-21T08:38:14Z")
There have been any number of sightings of “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”. Many are just lights at night, some are poorly resolved distant objects in the daytime. A few observers have claimed to have seen them closely e… --- ## [Does an overinflated housing market shift wealth downward](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-overinflated-housing-market-shift-wealth-downward/945108)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-overinflated-housing-market-shift-wealth-downward/945108 "2021-07-20T22:29:50Z")
Say you live in a city where you bought a house for 200k back in the 90s and now the house is worth a million. When the house is a million, generally only the 1% can afford it correct? I don’t think a household with 100… --- ## [Is Hell Hot Or Cold?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hell-hot-or-cold/945351)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hell-hot-or-cold/945351 "2021-07-19T21:47:38Z")
Strictly theologically speaking, is hell hot or cold? I know when I was in RC grade school, they used to say the heat of hell was just a metaphor. We got punished there, cut off from God. And that basically is what that… --- ## [How is the Constitutional Right to Bear Arms So Heavily Infringed Upon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-constitutional-right-to-bear-arms-so-heavily-infringed-upon/825781)
**Author:** [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Replies:** 642\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-constitutional-right-to-bear-arms-so-heavily-infringed-upon/825781 "2021-07-19T15:08:36Z")
Sorry, title should say, “How is THE Constitutional Right to Bear Arms So Heavily Infringed Upon?” Now stay with me here . . . When you look at the First Amendment, it seems that any law which may impose limitations up… --- ## [Hypotheticals in debate about views and positions - where is the line between inquiry and trap?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypotheticals-in-debate-about-views-and-positions-where-is-the-line-between-inquiry-and-trap/946709)
**Author:** [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2021, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypotheticals-in-debate-about-views-and-positions-where-is-the-line-between-inquiry-and-trap/946709 "2021-07-19T04:37:08Z")
I’ve been wrestling with thoughts about the utility and validity of using hypotheticals in debates… On the one hand, they can be useful in refining the borders of a debater’s position - i.e. “you have a firm stance that… --- ## [The Guardian's Kremlin leak: Too good to be true?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-kremlin-leak-too-good-to-be-true/946632)
**Author:** [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-kremlin-leak-too-good-to-be-true/946632 "2021-07-17T23:45:51Z")
(I haven’t seen a thread about this, which surprises me somewhat, so if there already is one, please redirect me appropriately) Yesterday, the Guardian published an article on a supposed leaked document from the Kremlin… --- ## [F-35: Death spiral is closing in](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-35-death-spiral-is-closing-in/766493)
**Author:** [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Replies:** 279\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-35-death-spiral-is-closing-in/766493 "2021-07-16T16:20:43Z")
Yes before you just say “happened with every fighter, they’ll get there”, read this article: It makes very very clear that the main delay in the F-35 at this point is actually the software. Now I don’t know anything a… --- ## [America needs Emancipation Day as a National Holiday](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-emancipation-day-as-a-national-holiday/945130)
**Author:** [@HughGoply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HughGoply)\ **Replies:** 263\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-needs-emancipation-day-as-a-national-holiday/945130 "2021-07-15T22:23:47Z")
Juneteenth is great and all, but it doesn’t truly represent the end slavery. We need a national holiday on December 17 to represent the freedom of America’s final slaves. The way things stand now, we as a nation are piss… --- ## [What Actually Makes A Film Inappropriate For Children?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actually-makes-a-film-inappropriate-for-children/946472)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actually-makes-a-film-inappropriate-for-children/946472 "2021-07-15T18:45:45Z")
The Conventional Wisdom says that parents and caregivers should take care when choosing the entertainment children consume. Violence, drug references, sexual content, etc. are all considered inappropriate for children, a… --- ## [Do you suppose Jesus ever got sick?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suppose-jesus-ever-got-sick/946317)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suppose-jesus-ever-got-sick/946317 "2021-07-14T14:34:43Z")
Weird thought that occurred to me as I was falling asleep last night: For those who believe Jesus is the Son of God, do you suppose He ever got sick, like with the flu or something? Did He ever get very seriously ill? … --- ## [Questions regarding the mention of Israel and its claims to Canaan/Palestine in the Koran](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-the-mention-of-israel-and-its-claims-to-canaan-palestine-in-the-koran/946351)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-the-mention-of-israel-and-its-claims-to-canaan-palestine-in-the-koran/946351 "2021-07-12T22:09:43Z")
I’m always skeptical of anything that purports to say what is and isn’t in biblical texts, be it in the Christian Bible, Torah or Koran. I have not read the Koran and would like to know what precisely is in the Koran reg… --- ## [Will Death Valley Break the All Time Hot Weather Record in 2021?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-death-valley-break-the-all-time-hot-weather-record-in-2021/946182)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-death-valley-break-the-all-time-hot-weather-record-in-2021/946182 "2021-07-12T19:01:58Z")
Just what it says on the tin. It was 54 C in Death Valley, California, USA on Friday 9 July. It was 52 C today. 53 C is forecast for tomorrow. The all-time highest temperature ever in Death Valley was 56.6 C (134 F). Th… --- ## [New Zealand is the world's oldest continuous democracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-the-worlds-oldest-continuous-democracy/945669)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2021, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-the-worlds-oldest-continuous-democracy/945669 "2021-07-12T03:54:04Z")
America. It’s a great country. It has a long and proud tradition of democracy stretching back to 1965, when steep barriers to prevent some African Americans from voting were abolished. We hit benchmarks, predating Austra… --- ## [What's the purpose of the media?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-the-media/943156)
**Author:** [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-the-media/943156 "2021-07-04T17:42:05Z")
A spin-off from another thread: Continuing the discussion from Cops vs White Guys or Hispanic Guys?: While it’s true that the media is a business, it’s not usually treated as just a business. Journalists claim to have… --- ## [Will the teamsters be able to unionize amazon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-teamsters-be-able-to-unionize-amazon/945218)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-teamsters-be-able-to-unionize-amazon/945218 "2021-07-06T15:39:46Z")
A few days ago the teamsters voted to attempt to unionize amazon The union vote failed about 2-1 in Alabama for Amazon, but workers in a deeply conservative state would I’m guessing never vote for a union no matter wh… --- ## [Do white-collar criminals decide consciously to become accomplices, or are they mostly clueless until it's too late?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-collar-criminals-decide-consciously-to-become-accomplices-or-are-they-mostly-clueless-until-its-too-late/945596)
**Author:** [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-collar-criminals-decide-consciously-to-become-accomplices-or-are-they-mostly-clueless-until-its-too-late/945596 "2021-07-05T01:57:36Z")
Consider Weisselberg’s situation from his perspective: he probably (?) doesn’t remember making a conscious choice to become complicit in Trump’s illegal schemes to defraud the government. Assume he started out as an acc… --- ## [Proposed: That China is Fascist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-that-china-is-fascist/940820)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-that-china-is-fascist/940820 "2021-07-04T15:14:42Z")
Same as a thread from 2001, that never got any traction, but now 20 years later. I was idly thinking to my self that China is a post-socialist economy in exactly the same way as fascist Germany and Italy were, with what… --- ## [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: What's going on?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-aerial-phenomena-whats-going-on/852759)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-aerial-phenomena-whats-going-on/852759 "2021-07-03T14:43:58Z")
So the Pentagon has disclosed that three videos recorded by Navy pilots in 2004 and 2015 respectively are unknown craft performing aerodynamic manouvers that no existing aircraft, foreign or domestic, is capable of doing… --- ## [Global tax reform: curbing tax avoidance by multinationals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-tax-reform-curbing-tax-avoidance-by-multinationals/943606)
**Author:** [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-tax-reform-curbing-tax-avoidance-by-multinationals/943606 "2021-07-02T16:57:04Z")
The progress currently being made in curbing tax avoidance by large corporations is highly significant for the world, so I’m surprised there hasn’t already been a discussion about this. The current initiative will begin… --- ## [Mobile Phones in the Classroom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-phones-in-the-classroom/945371)
**Author:** [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-phones-in-the-classroom/945371 "2021-07-01T15:58:55Z")
There is a government proposal here to ban Mobile/Cell phones from schools. There is general support but some discussion on whether it should be a countrywide ban, left to County level or left up to the governors of indi… --- ## [Deists/theists: why ONE god?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deists-theists-why-one-god/944122)
**Author:** [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deists-theists-why-one-god/944122 "2021-06-29T20:00:06Z")
I’m an atheist, so I’m not coming at this from the same direction that others might. It seems to me, if I felt the universe was too complicated to have formed without a creator, then it’s also too complex to have been f… --- ## [I'm a biologist. I think evolution theory is only half right. What do you think of my Theory of Everything?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-biologist-i-think-evolution-theory-is-only-half-right-what-do-you-think-of-my-theory-of-everything/944927)
**Author:** [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-biologist-i-think-evolution-theory-is-only-half-right-what-do-you-think-of-my-theory-of-everything/944927 "2021-06-29T12:44:05Z")
No, I’m not a creationist, and neither are you, I know. But I do think that “survival of the fittest” and sexual selection only play a part in how life exists. How anything exists, really. I propose the same mechanism a… --- ## [It's our Constitutional Right to be Jerks to teh Gays - Fulton v. City of Philadelphia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-our-constitutional-right-to-be-jerks-to-teh-gays-fulton-v-city-of-philadelphia/924786)
**Author:** [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-our-constitutional-right-to-be-jerks-to-teh-gays-fulton-v-city-of-philadelphia/924786 "2021-06-29T00:31:03Z")
The Supreme Court, including the newest member Amy Coney Barrett, heard oral arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia today. It’s a complicated case, but at its most basic, the question is whether the City of Philadel… --- ## [Religion: where do we draw the line](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-where-do-we-draw-the-line/944869)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-where-do-we-draw-the-line/944869 "2021-06-28T16:00:17Z")
One or two of us would probably be happy to see religion just fucking go away, but it appears that we are saddled with it. Much of the time, it is not a problem, but also much of the time it is, especially when the perso… --- ## [What is considered "acceptable disagreement?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-acceptable-disagreement/944717)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-acceptable-disagreement/944717 "2021-06-25T21:33:58Z")
Within each political/social cause, there are generally people who will tolerate a certain amount of disagreement with their viewpoint. Pro-choicers may agree, “Okay, no partial-birth abortion,” but still demand that abo… --- ## [The intellectually disabled and bodily autonomy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-intellectually-disabled-and-bodily-autonomy/944280)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-intellectually-disabled-and-bodily-autonomy/944280 "2021-06-24T23:15:00Z")
I have a 45 year old brother that is intellectually disabled (ID) and lives in a group home. He has a girlfriend that is about his age that also lives in the home. (Technically, she lives in a separate physical building … --- ## [Another Critical Race Theory thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-critical-race-theory-thread/941389)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 765\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-critical-race-theory-thread/941389 "2021-06-23T16:54:31Z")
The last one was shut down, so I’m starting a new one. I came across this blog post which I believe provides a great and concise defense of CRT: Why are you afraid of critical race theory? Some key quotes (from the whi… --- ## [What planet/moon in the solar system is best one to colonize?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-planet-moon-in-the-solar-system-is-best-one-to-colonize/838126)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-planet-moon-in-the-solar-system-is-best-one-to-colonize/838126 "2021-06-19T03:25:27Z")
I’ve been watching a video on why not to colonize Mars and it struck me that SD would be a great spot to discuss solar system colonization. So let’s get to it. Assuming we are self-sufficient with food (hydroponics), w… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=37)