# State some controversial beliefs that you have. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 25, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886 "2006-10-25T20:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/301 "2006-10-27T19:26:07Z")
I believe that OJ Simpson was quite likely innocent. I believe that the Tibetan theocracy is not at all worthy of admiration. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/302 "2006-10-27T19:33:16Z")
**D\_Odds** is on the money. This is not a debate forum, but the pit. I can no more prove my stance than Der can his, it’s just a belief I have about atheists. I just find it funny that someone who holds the belife that: > [@](#): > > homophobia seen in men is actually sublimated ( even subconscious ) jealousy Reacts so strongly when I suggest that atheists believe in God. I would expect a closet homophobe to react the same when confronted with his homophobia. Just sayin is all! > [@](#): > > I’ll be praying that you can finally accept the fact that you don’t really believe in God, that you’re just lying to yourself, and that you really, really, really want to embrace J.R. “Bob” Dobbs in your heart and soul. Ah, Finn, Finn… such a clear, see-thru attempt! Go back, try harder next time. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/303 "2006-10-27T19:46:54Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Fine. I think that’s not really an important issue in light of his death OR future decisions on how security should enforce what happens on a defaulted check, but I see your right to feel that way. [/quote] He was a _law enforcement officer_ attempting to stop a crime. I love the idea that police should just let criminals run away because it’d be less messy. Why even have laws at all, or a society. Because god knows at some point you may have to actually enforce them or make people adhere to the mores of society at large, and that could be problematic. > [@](#): > > Dude, than I hope your never in a position where someone else is driving and calls the shots. Like running a traffic light, with you as a passenger, and then not stopping with the police in pursuit. All the while you may claim vehemently that you told him to let you out, but how would we know? Especially if there’s conflicting stories on if you did so or not. Perhaps they’ll hold you to the same standard you believe in and charge you with evading arrest. I’ve seen no indication any of them made any attempt to say, “Hey, let’s just pay the bill.” So I’m going to assume they were all more than happy to ride off skipping the check. Not an analogous situation to your example. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/304 "2006-10-27T19:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] He was a _law enforcement officer_ attempting to stop a crime. I love the idea that police should just let criminals run away because it’d be less messy. [/QUOTE] You do know that cops aren’t allowed to shoot you just because you committed a crime, right? Just because a criminal is escaping doesn’t give a cop the right to use deadly force to stop that criminal. So yeah, if a cop observes somebody stealing some pancakes, and his choice is to either let them get away or use deadly force to stop them, he’s obligated to let them get away. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/305 "2006-10-27T19:58:45Z")
I think that [this woman](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewartjames/234827547/in/pool-75323500@N00/) is very well dressed, which makes her quite beautiful. I wish more people around here would dress like that. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/306 "2006-10-27T20:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] You do know that cops aren’t allowed to shoot you just because you committed a crime, right? Just because a criminal is escaping doesn’t give a cop the right to use deadly force to stop that criminal. So yeah, if a cop observes somebody stealing some pancakes, and his choice is to either let them get away or use deadly force to stop them, he’s obligated to let them get away. [/QUOTE] The choice wasn’t between “let them get away” or “use deadly force” until the driver attempted to murder the police officer, and I’m quite certain the policle can shoot you to try and stop you from killing them. And I’m also quite certain the police _can_ chase you down and physically subdue and detain you because you committed a crime, which I think was what the original plan was. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/307 "2006-10-27T20:07:47Z")
I believe that having someone scratch your itches , is one of the great joys of life. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/308 "2006-10-27T20:35:09Z")
Well, if this is the thread for posting pointy-headed beliefs, surely I can post my belief that your beliefs are unfathomably stupid. There’s no such thing on the SDMB as a “safe space” to post dumb ideas. Feel free to post dumb ideas, and I’ll feel free to post my ideas about those ideas, and you can post your ideas about my ideas about your ideas. It’s a “Circle of Life” thing. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/309 "2006-10-27T20:57:09Z")
[QUOTE=severus] I think that [this woman](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewartjames/234827547/in/pool-75323500@N00/) is very well dressed, which makes her quite beautiful. I wish more people around here would dress like that. [/QUOTE] I believe men should beat women who don’t dress modestly. I think women who don’t dress modestly are [“uncovered meat”](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15424040/) ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/310 "2006-10-27T21:08:21Z")
I think stupid drivers kill more people in traffic accidents than people who have been drinking do, yet see no laws against stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/311 "2006-10-27T21:26:03Z")
I think that relationships or marriages that are “open” (read: can fuck other people) can be healthy, but are obviously not for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/312 "2006-10-27T21:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] The choice wasn’t between “let them get away” or “use deadly force” until the driver attempted to murder the police officer, and I’m quite certain the policle can shoot you to try and stop you from killing them. And I’m also quite certain the police _can_ chase you down and physically subdue and detain you because you committed a crime, which I think was what the original plan was. [/QUOTE] Wasn’t there another thread for you guys to argue this shit in? Hint: Yes there was. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/313 "2006-10-27T21:34:59Z")
I think voting is a waste of time. I think dreams are meaninglesss. I thnk the idea that you must own a home is a sham. I think there is nothing suspicious about high gas prices. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/314 "2006-10-27T21:50:57Z")
After reading this thread, I now believe one should no have _any_ controversial beliefs. If you know it’s controversial, then you should know it’s just an _opinion_. You can hold that opinion, but don’t _believe_ in it. ---
**Author:** ![rooster\_circle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@rooster\_circle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rooster_circle)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/315 "2006-10-27T22:09:59Z")
I believe that this is my first post here and based on that I will be called a troll. I believe that the sorry state of America’s youth, as well as the sky rocketing crime rate, is a result of desegregation and women’s lib. I believe that there was a man on the grassy knoll. I believe that there is nothing wrong with spanking a child; even in public. I believe that I can’t be bothered to give any kind of a shit about the environment or wild fucking animals. I believe that drugs should be legal. I believe that people on death row probably did something wrong and deserve their fate. I believe we should kill criminals sentenced to death within 90 days of sentencing. I do not care if we get it right 100% of the time when administering the death penalty. We get it right enough. I believe islam is a disaster and all followers should be rounded up and exiled totally from the rest of the world. I feel absolutely zero remorse or regret with regards to dead iraqi civilians. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/316 "2006-10-27T22:23:44Z")
[QUOTE=Dob] \I think a woman president would do the US, and the world, a heap of good! \ [/QUOTE] I don’t; I think any woman who can claw her way to the top of the heap in the current political climate with regard to women in powerful positions is the kind of woman who would be even worse than her male counterparts. (Hillary Clinton, I’m looking at you!) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/317 "2006-10-27T22:25:38Z")
[QUOTE=severus] I think that [this woman](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewartjames/234827547/in/pool-75323500@N00/) is very well dressed, which makes her quite beautiful. I wish more people around here would dress like that. [/QUOTE] I agree, and there is nothing about her face hidden or secretive. Mind you I also love women who wear hot pants and tiny t-shirts. I also know a women who dress like the first, despite their husbands wish that they would dress more western-like. So much for this being something always imposed by men on women. Unfortunately I don’t know enough women who dress in hot pants and tiny t’s. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/318 "2006-10-27T22:46:32Z")
[QUOTE=rooster circle] I believe that this is my first post here and based on that I will be called a troll. [/quote] Not based on that. > [@rooster circle](#): > > I do not care if we get it right 100% of the time when administering the death penalty. We get it right enough. Based on _that_, maybe. > [@rooster circle](#): > > I feel absolutely zero remorse or regret with regards to dead iraqi civilians. I’m not certain that’s a terribly uncommon or controversial opinion. If it were, people might make a fuss over the whole thing sufficient for the government to _care_. It’s still an \*assholish \* opinion though, if that makes you feel better. I believe that the state of the world sucks, but certainly not at historically high levels. I also believe that just because it’s not as bad as it could be is no reason not to try to make it better. I believe that people who bemoan “kids today” are not terribly bright, in as much as they seem to think that human nature can change significantly in the course of a generation. I don’t believe it \*all \* the time, but on weekday mornings, I sometimes believe that other people exist primarily to be in my fucking way. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/319 "2006-10-27T23:11:11Z")
[QUOTE=Dob] I think you should always give to a beggar on the street. So what if they use for drugs or alcohol? Why begrudge someone living on the street a chance to forget about their lives for a while? [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t mind believing this, but I lived in downtown Berkeley entirely too long. A Rockefeller could walk out of there dead broke, listening to this advice. **Ensign Edison** ’s [QUOTE=Ensign Edison] People have a right to food. I’m disgusted by how many Dopers apparently disagree. I think of them all as less than human. Anyone who has more than they need and doesn’t give to the hungry in some way is less than human in my book. I would still feed them if they were hungry, though. [/QUOTE] is better, but I think we need to set a lower threshold of “unacceptably hungry”. Compassion is one thing, but having people leech for a decade or more off generations of students is another. At one point or another they’re not even trying. Hunger is a fine motivator. I believe that inheritance is unAmerican, a crime against our ideal of a meritocratic society. Upon their parents’ deaths, grown children should be given some small but reasonable amount of credit (low-mid six figures maybe) to buy their memories back from the government at fair market value. The rest should be sold at auction. If they want more, they can buy it. In the case of underage children, I believe the estates should be managed until the youngest reaches majority. I believe in equal opportunity, not equal representation. That said, I believe that most people who say this are actually in the “Screw you; I got mine” camp and would run screaming from my particular interpretation of “equal opportunity”. I believe far too few criminals are dying for their crimes. On the other hand, having served jury duty, and I don’t trust my fellow Americans enough to say they should kill even one. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886/320 "2006-10-27T23:26:38Z")
[QUOTE=rooster circle] I believe that drugs should be legal. [/quote] This is an interesting incongruity with the rest of what you posted. I wonder if this is based on any personal experience of your own with drugs or just economic considerations. I can tell you that if you ever tried any of the sacred psychedelics, you would cease to hold these other unfortunate opinion. I’m guessing you only have experience with either the socially-sanctioned “oblivion” drugs that chase away reality, like alcohol or marijuana. > [@](#): > > I do not care if we get it right 100% of the time when administering the death penalty. We get it right enough. We get it right enough? Based on what? The triumphant drop in crimes that result in the death penalty? The lack of effective defense by people who can’t afford lawyers? > [@](#): > > I believe islam is a disaster and all followers should be rounded up and exiled totally from the rest of the world. Strangely enough, this already occurred, and was pretty much taken care of by geography. In fact Islam would pretty much remain in quiet exile except that we couldn’t leave them alone because of all that oil. > [@](#): > > I feel absolutely zero remorse or regret with regards to dead iraqi civilians. You urgently need to start tending to your own spirit, before you get to the point where you feel nothing for anyone or yourself at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-some-controversial-beliefs-that-you-have/377886.md?page=17)