# I wish our species would stop with the bullshit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 5, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501 "2007-08-05T12:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/161 "2007-08-06T17:32:44Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] God, what small minded arrogance. I am sure it will come as great comfort to the millions of people killed, disenfranchised, tortured and abused each year that they are not “normal.” [/QUOTE] The poster was referring to normal in the statistical context. You seem to be deliberating misconstruing statements in order to support your indignation. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/162 "2007-08-06T17:32:57Z")
[QUOTE=pool] Ok so you’ll never be happy then, what is your next move? [/QUOTE] _applause_ Get busy living or get busy dying, as the wise Morgan Freeman has said. Way to cut to the chase, **pool**! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/163 "2007-08-06T17:53:26Z")
Good post, **phouka**. [QUOTE=Contrapuntal] God, what small minded arrogance. I am sure it will come as great comfort to the millions of people killed, disenfranchised, tortured and abused each year that they are not “normal.” And to be clear. No one said that seeking happiness is a choice; rather, that happiness is a choice. Surely you see the distinction. [/QUOTE] Arrogance? You’re reading far too much into my posts. I’m aware that there’s suffering in the world. When I talk about “Normal” people I’m generally talking about everyday Joes in the free world who are not far below the poverty line or in abusive relationships. I’m quite aware that women living under the crushing oppression of the Taliban have little to hope for. But they’re generally not the people who sign up on message boards to complain about how life has no meaning. I’d bet you almost anything that the OP has a better life than Afghani women. For him, happiness is a choice. That’s who the comment was directed towards. And yes, I see the distinction. Take the statement for what it is, general advice. It was never intended to be a blanket statement of falsifiable fact, applicable in all situations to all people. Why you’re treating it as such is beyond me. Take a chill pill, dude. Oops, sorry, I forgot that Schwartz-Pharma has never developed a chill pill, therefore my statement of fact is in all cases false. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/164 "2007-08-06T17:57:17Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Get busy living or get busy dying, as the wise Morgan Freeman has said. [/QUOTE] Paraphrased by Dr. Boyce 30 years earlier! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/165 "2007-08-06T18:17:16Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] God, what small minded arrogance. I am sure it will come as great comfort to the millions of people killed, disenfranchised, tortured and abused each year that they are not “normal.” And to be clear. No one said that seeking happiness is a choice; rather, that happiness is a choice. Surely you see the distinction. [/QUOTE] I think part of the problem here is that the word “happiness” has different meanings for different people. Does it refer to our emotions? our circumstances? our attitudes? some metaphysical state of being? Weighing in on the side of our _attitude_ being a choice (not just for some, but for all) is Victor Frankl: > [@](#): > > We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that **everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.** ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/166 "2007-08-06T18:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. –Marcus 😃 [/QUOTE] Few and unlucky are those who get what they deserve. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/167 "2007-08-07T04:09:21Z")
If this OP doesn’t convince everyone to become atheists, nothing will. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/168 "2007-08-07T04:26:04Z")
Dontcha just hate it when they ban dickwads before we’re done abusing them? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/169 "2007-08-07T04:58:29Z")
[The Little Things That Make Life Worth Living…"](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=431856) Lighting A Single Candle Instead Of Cursing The Darkness Since 1973: It’s Taking Longer Than We Thought… ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501/170 "2007-08-07T05:00:22Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Dontcha just hate it when they ban dickwads before we’re done abusing them? [/QUOTE] Sorry about that. Here, go get it! ::throws wad of cellophane:: 😉 Oh, and I think it’s time to let this thread sink into the depths. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-our-species-would-stop-with-the-bullshit/414501.md?page=8)