State some controversial beliefs that you have.

[elucidator]

Gwen Ifil is hot!

[Triskadecamus]

@Mangetout

I believe humanity will never make it off this rock, and will never colonise the galaxy or whatever, and I believe it doesn’t matter at all that this is the case. The universe will not mourn our demise.

I do not disagree with the factuality of your assessment. Yet, still, I believe we should strive to do so. In this case, wanting to make the journey may be the destination.

Tris

[cckerberos]

I believe that the left has a contempt for their fellow man that makes them just as unfit to govern as the religious right.

I’ve met too many intelligent, religious people to believe that you can’t be both religous and intelligent, but I do think the two work against eachother.

I believe that there’s nothing wrong with believing that members of other religious faiths/beliefs are wrong and will burn in Hell.

I believe that some people actually do “hate the sin but love the sinner.”

I believe communism (both the Soviet style and the Marxist style) is evil and that the USSR was as bad as Nazi Germany.

I believe the Japanese occupation of Korea had a net positive affect on the Korean people.

I believe that drug companies should be able to charge whatever the hell they want for their medicines.

I believe that positive rights are utter nonsense.

I believe that the invasion of Iraq, while stupid in practice, was just in principle.

I believe that public schooling, while good in practice, is pretty damn scary in principle.

I believe that “they can afford it” is not a good enough reason to steal from someone.

I believe that the issue of smoking brings out the inner totalitarian in a lot of otherwise rational people.

I believe that the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials were unjust.

I believe that roughly half of the posts in this thread, while possibly controversial among the general populace, are not particularly so here on the SDMB.

I believe MPSIMS should go away, and a lot of stuff is posted/ends up in IMHO that belongs elsewhere.

[woodstockbirdybird]

I believe, after reading this thread, that many of you are much bigger fucking idiots than I would have previously imagined.

[vivalostwages]

@Beware of Doug

That may just add up to people refusing to do anything at all in circumstances they can’t control. That scares me.

IOW, you’re either a Calvinist or a status qujo apologist. What you’re saying is, in effect, “If you’re a white-collar criminal prick with a shitload of money and three palatial homes, you automatically deserve it, no questions. And if you’re a single mom with 5 kids who has to work the graveyard shift at Squall-Mart and live by a crackhouse, you deserve that, too.”

And Fundamentalist Christianity will be right in there pitching.

And all these newly-ascendant fundies are part of the problem – most all unwittingly, but quite a few cynically, having hidden old tribal war-gods in Jesus’ robes and begun praying to them.

I believe there are a lot more sociopaths than you do, and that they are some of the most resilient and adaptive survivalists on Earth.

And harmful and/or useless to humanity? Put your money where your mouth is.

And you probably also think it has the best drivers, the most livable big cities, and the cleanest government. No? (Here’s a hint: NO.)

So you believe shame and repressed anger are positive qualities that build strong adults?

And the wise are both weaker and more willing than the simple believers in Moral Clarity?

Hey, I think the war is a shameful jack-off exercise myself, but that just sucks.

Who said that was controversial?

That last brings me around to another of my Beliefs:

Marketing has becomes such a powerful force that it now pretty much supports itself. Marketers no longer cater to public tastes so much as shape them to their own preconceptions and the parent company’s bottom line. When Big Business, Big Media, etc., says “We give the public what it wants,” they really mean, “We give the public what we want.”

---

The deal with the kids’ self-esteem business is this: If they are told constantly, for eighteen years, that they are wonderful, special, unique and can do no wrong, they enter college or the workplace with a very distorted view of themselves and the world. Due to the disservice they have been dealt, they become adults who cannot deal with the slightest offense, discomfort, failure, rejection or disappointment. They become students who are convinced they can write well when it’s obvious that they can barely string two words together, then get pissy when told they need to work on their problems or else drop the class.

The situation worsens every year.

[mrklutz]

I believe that any religion based on revelation (i.e., that god has revealed his will to humanity, usually through a specific set of writings) is a powerful force against peace and freedom.

I believe that major-league sports teams should all be made into publicly owned corporations, with shares being available only to people who live in the state where the team resides.

I believe that skunk spray smells good.

[wonky]

@woodstockbirdybird

I believe, after reading this thread, that many of you are much bigger fucking idiots than I would have previously imagined.

Well, of course. But who? Put your own beliefs out there for others to judge you by.

[cosmosdan]

@Walter Windchill

Jesus, there’s been some crazy shit posted in this thread, but this one really takes the cake.

for whatever reason this response to the lyrics from “The Greatest” , especially in light of everything else in this thread, really made me laugh. Thanks

[Beware_of_Doug]

@vivalostwages

The deal with the kids’ self-esteem business is this: If they are told constantly, for eighteen years, that they are wonderful, special, unique and can do no wrong, they enter college or the workplace with a very distorted view of themselves and the world. Due to the disservice they have been dealt, they become adults who cannot deal with the slightest offense, discomfort, failure, rejection or disappointment. They become students who are convinced they can write well when it’s obvious that they can barely string two words together, then get pissy when told they need to work on their problems or else drop the class.

That’s as may be, viva. But if it’s as you say, I see no one out there offering a constructive solution. Most of the people complaining about the self-esteem thing speak from the position of “Things were better when a kid could get tanned/walloped/hung out to dry by any and all in authority. All self-esteem not earned by hard knocks is coddling.” This position is, if you know or care anything about child psychology, totally untenable, and actually putting it in place in homes or schools would be irresponsible as hell.

[What_Exit]

@mrklutz

I believe that major-league sports teams should all be made into publicly owned corporations, with shares being available only to people who live in the state where the team resides.

That gets a little weird for the NY Giants and Jet that reside in NJ. Teams have metro areas, not states. Yanks have the entire NYC metro area that consumes half of NJ and Connecticut. Baltimore is another multistate team. Red Sox cover most of New England. Atlanta draws in a lot of fans from surrounding states. etc.

[woodstockbirdybird]

@jsgoddess

Well, of course. But who? Put your own beliefs out there for others to judge you by.

Oh, there are too many to name at this point. I don’t think I’ve got any beliefs that would be too controversial on this board - I’m a left-wing atheist; but the conspiracy theories and the “put-upon upper class”-type posts make me lose respect for the posters pretty much right off the bat. Then again, one of my beliefs is that I don’t think anybody here should give two fucks about my opinion of them (and vice versa).

[Ludovic]

@elucidator

Gwen Ifil is hot!

Well I dunno about that, but I always thought that “Gwen Ifill and the nation’s top journalists” would be a good band name.

[bouv]

The population of the deep south, and to a lesser extent all red states, are inherently more racist, more ignorant, and just plain dumber, on average, than the people in northern and blue states.

[cosmosdan]

@Hogwash

I believe the children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

Inspired by this post and it’s response I’ve started a new song lyric game in cafe

Here it is in case anyone wants to play.

[Beaucarnea]

@bouv

The population of the deep south, and to a lesser extent all red states, are inherently more racist, more ignorant, and just plain dumber, on average, than the people in northern and blue states.

Probably, but Southerners are much nicer and more physically attractive- so that makes us even.

[Lemur866]

@Ensign Edison

I think Der Trihs is one of the least offensive Dopers. I don’t agree with him on every point, but he is remarkably bullshit-free. I like people who aren’t willing to tone down the discourse below a level actually appropriate to the subject. In other words, I think talking about war and religion like they were tea and crumpets is nothing but circle-jerking, and it offends me much more than intentionally inflammatory rhetoric.

Dude, did you read where he said he not only looked forward to the extermination of the human species, but of all wild animals too? For their own good, of course.

Der Trihs is probably the biggest nutjob on the board.

[furt]

I believe that compulsory government-run schooling is the single worst thing ever to happen to the United States.

I believe the 17th amendment should be repealed.

I believe pornography, prostitution, abortion and recreational drug use should all be (a) legal and (b) socially stigmatized.

I believe TWA flight 800 was shot down.

I believe that we are in the early stages of a World War, and that it cannot be stopped, only mitigated. I believe that, as part of this, there will be a nuclear detonation in the US and/or the EU within the next 15 years.

I believe Buck Weaver got a raw deal.

I believe Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are the greatest Rock act ever.
I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

I also believe that we spend our whole lives running in fear from that goodness.

I believe.

I believe that what I believe makes me what I am.

[woodstockbirdybird]

@Beaucarnea

Probably, but Southerners are much nicer and more physically attractive- so that makes us even.

Nah, Southerners are just polite to peoples’ faces - once your back’s turned, they’re mean as shit.
Also, the largest groups of good-looking people I’ve encountered weren’t in the South, but in California and New York City.

[Ensign_Edison]

@Lemur866

Dude, did you read where he said he not only looked forward to the extermination of the human species, but of all wild animals too? For their own good, of course.

Der Trihs is probably the biggest nutjob on the board.

No, I missed that, and while I see him talking about humanity being ‘replaced’, I don’t see what you claim anywhere in this thread. I don’t think he’s ever said he’s pleased about what he sees as the failure of our species or its subsequent doom. Regardless, my point was that I like him even though I don’t always agree with him. I do agree with him much more than most people here, I’m sure, however. Where he’s not batshit insane he’s a fairly clear thinker.

[Sunspace]

I believe that marriage should be legalised between any combination of consenting adult humans, even the slightly-squicky combinations that I, personally, wouldn’t come within a million miles of.

I believe that the ciombination of authoritarian religion and political power is one of the most evil things humanity is capable of, and should be strenuously fought at all oppurtunities.

I believe that there should be both a minimum and a maximum wage. Both should be set as multiples or percentages of the average wage.

The minimum wage might not be too different than it is today. The maximum wage should be set at something like 100 or 250 times the average wage: much higher than the average person needs to live well. One could make more than that, but all excess would be a mandatory, public donation to charity or government program. The wage earner could choose the destination of half of the excess.

I believe that all banking records should be publically-viewable, both for individuals and corporations.

I believe that voting should be mandatory, as it is in Australia–but that there should also always be a “none of the above” choice. If “none of the above” wins, a new election must be held.