Yeah, those posts are … well, a bit depressing. Really, a lot depressing, because there’s absolutely no empathy; just what they think is logic and reason. There’s been a lot of rape threads lately, but still … put yourself in the shoes of the victim, and it’s difficult to look at what happened in some emotionally detached logical fashion, and think "Well, I guess back in Ye Renaissance Faire Olden Times, this was normal, and besides, I’m sexually mature, and he might have interpreted my ‘no’ as “when she says no, she really means yes’, and …” 
Yeah. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who kind of throws up a little mentally after reading that.
On a lighter note, before I read the SDMB I never heard of anyone who got seriously upset or mad about learning about Santa Claus. Some posters have talked about themselves or their SOs learning and feeling betrayed.
This is the only place that I’ve seen people say that it’s okay to have sex with your dog, as long as the dog enjoys it. It’s not surprising that a lot of people would only feel comfortable saying that anonymously though.
Disproportional crime and poverty among blacks is in itself a result of racism. There are very specific historical events which have contributed to urban black poverty, one of the most obvious being the fact that most blacks were excluded from the benefits of the New Deal in 1935 and the GI Bill in the 1950s. Refusing home loans to blacks following WWII (which was explicitly recommended by the FHA), redlining, and urban renewal (in which inner city housing was destroyed but never rebuilt) have all contributed to the “white flight” phenomenon and the urban poverty and crime rates of African-Americans. At a time when a government public welfare initiative gave poor whites significant mobility and the chance to move into a middle-class suburban lifestyle, poor blacks were left behind. Many middle-class people who piss and moan about blacks on welfare have no idea that the middle class as we know it would probably not have existed if it weren’t for the government-initiated opportunities afforded to whites by the GI BIll.
You can argue that there are well-meaning non-racist whites would move away because they expect their property values to go down, but the reason the property values go down in the first place is because of racism. Frankly to me it doesn’t make a difference whether racism is individual or institutional. No matter which way you look at it, the evidence of current racial oppression is damning.
This can certainly happen, at least with cats. They depend on their sense of smell to tell if food is ok to eat. If they can’t smell it, they will not eat it. My cat had an upper respiratory infections when we got him from the shelter and refused to eat for 3 weeks, lost over 1/3 of his body weight and very nearly died. If it wasn’t for a vet hospital stay and forced nutrients he would have been gone very soon.
This is the argument you generally hear from people who refuse to get a cell phone, and I always think it’s a pretty odd one, because it seems to presuppose that the only reason you’d get a cell phone is for other people’s convenience. I have a cell phone for my own convenience, no one else’s. I’m not at anyone’s ‘beck and call’ in the slightest. If I don’t want to talk, I don’t answer the phone. I’ll turn off the ringer if I’m in a place or at a time I don’t want to be contacted. It’s only a ‘leash’ if you allow it to be. But I always have it to use when I want to use it, and having a cell phone can be very, very convenient.
Obviously, no one needs to defend their right to not have a cell phone; if you don’t want one, you don’t want one, and you certainly don’t need to defend it to me. But the whole ‘I don’t want to be on a leash’ argument always seems so backwards to me.
I am NOT saying that I dont think it’s possible or that I do not believe it almost happened to your cat, but I have never heard of such a situation before, and for me (never owning a cat) its a bit hard to wrap my head around the fact than an animal would starve himself to death when food was sitting in front of him…
I am glad that your cat is doing well.
Matthew
It is an odd thought, but as humans we don’t rely on smell nearly as much as cats do.
My contribution is that I’ve not come across the idea that someone would have the desire/need/whatever to carry a gun on a regular basis that wasn’t needed for their job. (or if I have, it’s been many years and I’ve forgotten about it)
If the cat’s hungry enough and there’s stuff in his dish, why wouldn’t he just eat that?
Antinor, same here re: the gun situation. It’s kind of frightening.
I remember something from a couple of years back that stuck with me.
Apparently there are several Dopers who seem to feel that human rights would be set back to the middle ages if Americans who recieve food stamps were somehow prevented from buying 90 dollar bottles of Tuscan truffle oil, or stocking up on Norwegian Elk chops for 35 bucks a pound (or any other ultra luxury food) with their food stamps…
I am pretty sure that 95+% of US taxpayers would not be OK with those type of purchaces, but many Dopers seemed to think that someone’s dignity and freewill would be shattered if there were ANY restrictions placed upon food stamp choices.
(And no, I dont know if a workable system could be put into place to prevent such extravagances or not; this was all hypothetical but it illustrated how some Dopers are unwilling to see how the vast majority of their fellow citizens could resent the wasting of taxpayer funded programs)
I’ve never done this at McDonald’s, etc., but I always get the cheese sandwich at Five Guys.* I’ve heard of people requesting no-meat “cheeseburgers” at other places, but at Five Guys it’s right on the menu. I really like it. As with the Five Guys burgers, you can get any topping you want from a pretty long list – the regular stuff like mustard and pickles, plus more unusual options like sauteed mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, and hot sauce. They do grill the cheese sandwiches on the grill too, it’s not just cheese and condiments on a cold bun.
*I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat red meat. If I’m at a McDonald’s or something I just get chicken, but Five Guys doesn’t serve chicken.
A Christmas bump: in the real world, with the exception of my ex-girlfriend, I’ve never heard or known of anyone that expressed a preference for receiving homemade or handmade Etsy-style Christmas presents over store-bought gifts. However, on the SDMB, the overwhelming majority seem to prefer them. Most of the handmade gifts me or my friends have received have been of the “kountry krafty” or “kountry kitschy” variety; knit mittens that would make my hands even colder during the winter, kleenex cozies with googly eyes, and the like. I understand and appreciate handmade gifts during other occasions, and really treasure them for Valentine’s Day from a significant other, but Christmas seems to bring out the knit doilies, knit coasters and knit Comet Cleanser cozies with googly eyes.
It seems there is an abundance of refined palates here. I don’t know anyone who considers chain restaurant food to be “bad”, Budwieser to taste like “cat piss” or Hershey’s chocolate to be “dog shit”.
I’ve seen all those views expressed here.
Why do you hate America/Christmas?
I keep meaning to crochet one of those bizarre Southern belle Barbie-doll-with-hoopskirt extra toilet paper hiding things. Ironically, of course.
Love Christmas, even though I’m a Jewboy. Love American, even though I’m not a blind, unquestioning patriot. I fcsking hate knit remote control cozies with googly eyes, knit salt and pepper shaker cozies with googly eyes, and knit teapot cozies with googly eyes.
Eh, that’s just hyperbole. It’s usually a shorthand for “inferior”, which honestly is usually true to some degree.
The Olive Garden isn’t bad - it’s just not usually up to the standards of a decent-quality non-chain Italian restaurant ( for that matter it is not as good as better Italian chains ). It’s hallmarks, like most chains, is consistency. It’s edible, if you’re not a utter snob, but it surely isn’t ever sublime.
Budweiser doesn’t taste like cat piss - it is, IMHO, relatively flavorless as non-mass market beers go. It’s certainly no Steel Reserve ( which doesn’t exactly taste like piss either, but is a stretch to describe as “good” ). Some people like crisp, relatively light pilsners like Bud for their refreshing qualities on a hot day and it’s relatively inexpensive, making a fine combo for such folks. But it is inarguably NOT a premium beer ( and makes no pretensions to being one ) and doesn’t win international taste compeititions within any regularity ;).
Standard Hershey-branded chocolate doesn’t taste like dog shit - but it can’t stack up to slightly more premium manufacturer like Guittard, let alone Domori. Or Scharffen Berger, which is why Hershey bought them out. Hershey is now putting out Hershey-branded higher-end products ( “Cacao Reserve” ), but the mass-produced standard-issue milk chocolate bars, while fine for what they are, are the Budweiser of chocolate. Nohing special.
That’s true, but “normal people” (ie, non-SDMB members) don’t usually go out of their way to find obscure brands of premium imported chocolate (for example), and even if they do, they’re still not likely to refuse to eat Cadbury’s/Hersheys/Whittakers/Etc if they can’t find it or can’t be bothered looking.
Similarly, whilst a chain restaurant might not be as good as an independent one, I don’t think anyone in real life would absolutely refuse to eat there if it was suggested and that’s where their friends wanted to go- but the way people on these boards talk, that’s exactly what they’d do- refuse to go and berate their friends for having plebeian culinary tastes.
I’d never met anyone who wants to eat a steak cooked less than medium. Heck, I thought it was illegal to serve steak that way, as I’ve been to places that say the FDA won’t let them serve it that way.
I’d never met such intellectual powerhouses. Very rarely do I meet someone smarter than me, yet they’re all over the place on the Dope.
I’d never heard of anyone who thought abortion wasn’t at least something to be discouraged.
I’d never met a Randian, or even knew anything about her work. I barely even knew about Libertarianism. (Not that they’re popular here.)
Maybe you’re right, Tamerlane. Maybe what I mean is that Dopers are more hyperbole prone than the people I know in real life.