# Could someone explain the whole thing about ZPG Zealot? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731 "2012-01-16T21:24:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/221 "2012-01-19T10:17:39Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > I don’t see any sexual irresponsibility here. The only way he would be obligated to this woman for anything would be if he made a contract with her. Fucking someone isn’t a contract. It’s just sex. Safe, legal abortion exists to correct mistakes like unintended pregnancy. Anyone who doesn’t want to deal with the possibility of occasionally having to use it when birth control fails, shouldn’t be having sex with a partner capable of getting them pregnant. Uh oh, now you did it. You fell for their trick and posted something zany and crazy. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/222 "2012-01-19T14:51:26Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Uh oh, now you did it. > > You fell for their trick and posted something zany and crazy. > > DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. Nobody’s forcing her to reveal her craziness. If she posts her true thoughts and they’re crazy-pants, that’s all on her. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/223 "2012-01-19T15:21:27Z")
And once again I ask: are you capable of knowing that your opinions on all these matters are contrary to what 99% of the country believes, and respecting the fact that other people believe differently than you? I mean, I can easily respect your belief that your adopted child should not call you mom due to some cultural reasons. I can even accept that it bothers you when other people do it, to the point that you wish people would stop. But you sure seem to be saying that we are wrong, and that we should change to fit what you say. And if that’s still respecting other people’s culture, then how in the world are we disrespecting yours by doing the same thing? BTW, I actually respect you for one thing: how you deal with fortune telling. It actually makes sense to me: you don’t claim to be magical, just insightful, right? You just don’t stop people who do think you have some sort of powers. And you simply don’t know if your abilities of being a fortune teller are supernatural or just from learning, right? I feel the same way about things that I have always just been super talented in. If you believe in the divine at all, it’s impossible not to wonder, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/224 "2012-01-19T15:45:04Z")
Fortune telling requires the supernatural, IMO, not merely insight. It presupposes determinism, and foreknowledge of outcomes. Im sure there are people who have insight into personalities that most of of don’t, and they often call themselves personal counselors, or if they have the degrees, maybe sociologists or psychologists or psychiatrists. If someone markets themselves using the term _fortune teller_, they are running a scam, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/225 "2012-01-19T15:48:28Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Nobody’s forcing her to reveal her craziness. If she posts her true thoughts and they’re crazy-pants, that’s all on her. Nonsense. If the posts he true thoughts and they’re cuckoo-batshit, she can blame everyone for being biased and deliberately misunderstanding her answer to a loaded gotcha question that was quoted out of context. I learned all my communication skills from Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/226 "2012-01-19T16:44:13Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > How do you feel about menstruation huts? You know, the small huts that women are placed in when they are menstruating, or ovulating, or whatever it’s called. > > I guess they were used a lot in olden times, but they’re kind of hard to come by now. Which brings me to my next question, which is actually the question I really wanted to ask you: > > Are sheds a suitable replacement for huts? (Menstruation-wise, I mean.) > > I mean “menstruation SHED” doesn’t really have the same kind of ring to it as “menstruation HUT”, but I have a shed I can use right now. I don’t have a hut, and I probably won’t have one in the foreseeable future. I don’t think my neighborhood is even zoned for huts. > > Anyway, I hate to sign off with that old- and overused- chestnut “need answer fast”, but I REALLY DO NEED AN ANSWER FAST. > > Thanks a lot! I read your newsletter every week, and I really am a big fan. Well, not Roma (TM: ZPG) -approved, but Bible-approved: [Menstrual Shacks](http://www.landoverbaptist.org/2009/march/menstrualshacks.html) > [@](#): > > The Menstrual Shack at Hardwick Farm was designed and built by Fundamentalist Baptist architect, William Hargraves. It was featured in this month’s issue of Fundamentalist American Magazine. It’s a perfect example of form follows function. It can accommodate a single Fundamentalist female weighing up to 600 pounds, ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/227 "2012-01-19T17:45:26Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > … > [Menstrual Shacks](http://www.landoverbaptist.org/2009/march/menstrualshacks.html) This is a hilarious site. You know it’s a parody, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/228 "2012-01-19T17:47:42Z")
You should stay away from Menstrual Shack - their business model depends on purchasing absorbent materials produced by the major manufacturers but rejected for not quite meeting their quality control standards. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/229 "2012-01-19T17:51:21Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It presupposes determinism, and foreknowledge of outcomes. Well, there _are_ plenty of people on the Dope, including atheists, who believe in determinism, if any of the myriad of threads on the subject are any consideration. They do not, of course, believe in foreknowledge, but that’s irrelevant to my so-called “point.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/230 "2012-01-19T18:20:27Z")
Wouldn’t fortune telling require that she touch _gasp_ peoples’ hands! ---
**Author:** ![markm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@markm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/231 "2012-01-19T18:37:36Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > You should stay away from Menstrual Shack… Yeah, that was a poorly thought-out sequel to Love Shack. The B-52’s should have known better. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/232 "2012-01-19T18:42:39Z")
[Orgy.](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hands-across-america.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/233 "2012-01-19T18:58:20Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > How oddly we move through the Dope. I read a hundred times more than I post and like AT, have read countless ZPG posts but never noticed evidence the crazy. > > A few days ago I’d never seen/read anything by **Gagundathar** despite a heavy post-count for the time. Yet all of a sudden he’s showing up in all sorts of threads. > > It’s interesting when our obliviousness hits us on the nose. I have been semi-lurking. Until recently, as I trying out my skills at writing using y’all as my audience. I do hope you don’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/234 "2012-01-19T19:36:23Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wouldn’t fortune telling require that she touch _gasp_ peoples’ hands! I think she said that it was okay to touch in that context because it is the same as providing necessary medical care to someone. Of course, now that she has referred to fortunetelling as ‘entertainment’, we can see that that argument was bullshit and she is, in fact, a hypocrite. Quelle surprise. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/235 "2012-01-19T20:44:35Z")
> [@markm](#): > > Yeah, that was a poorly thought-out sequel to Love Shack. The B-52’s should have known better. To be honest, for most of my life Menstruation Shack was a very happy sequel to Love Shack! ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/236 "2012-01-19T22:25:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think it may have something to do with her fortunetelling career. Like many con artists, ZPG divides the world into two groups, “our people” (in her case, blood relatives) and “marks”. People who can’t be clearly defined, like adoptees (who are family, but aren’t blood) and illegitimate children (who are blood, but are raised outside the family), confuse and anger her. I think you’re right - she sees family as being due to blood bonds, not silly things like bonding, relationships and love. In **ZPG** ’s mind: [“This concept of _wuv_ confuses and infuriates me!”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khc4UaLdMKk) ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/237 "2012-01-19T22:49:59Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I have been semi-lurking. > Until recently, as I trying out my skills at writing using y’all as my audience. > I do hope you don’t mind. Every single sentence. Does not need a new line. There’s these things called paragraphs. You can use them to connect multiple sentences that deal with the same or similar topics. Otherwise your posts read like bad poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/238 "2012-01-19T22:57:44Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > Every single sentence. > Does not need a new line. _And in strange aeons Even Death may die._ What ?! It flows. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/239 "2012-01-20T10:34:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This is a hilarious site. You know it’s a parody, I assume. Yes, but … Poe’s law applies. That’s why they regularly link to real-life Fundie churches actually saying these or similar things. ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731/240 "2012-01-20T11:44:02Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > Every single sentence. > Does not need a new line. > There’s these things called paragraphs. You can use them to connect multiple sentences that deal with the same or similar topics. > Otherwise your posts read like bad poetry. What an asshole response! That should encourage him to post more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-whole-thing-about-zpg-zealot/609731.md?page=13)