So now there is woman and her four kids that will be occupying what little space exists in my small three bedroom apartment currently occupied by myself, my fiancée, and our two kids...
My friend entered into a relationship two years ago. Everyone was happy at first, but that soon changed. He cared very little for her three girls and enjoyed drugs and drinking far too much. Being that she had little self esteem and he is a good looking guy who payed attention to her, she made the mistake that far too many people do... namely she thought that he would change.
He did begin to change. He became controlling and lightly abusive. Soon he changed a little more an became more abusive. Then he convinced her that it was all her fault and that she needed to try "sharing" the things he enjoyed. Fortunately she didn't do drugs for long before realising that the situation was quickly becoming untenable.
At this point he did what most abusive and controlling people do when control is waning. He apologised and promised to change. Everything will be different, he promised.One night he moved her belongings out of her apartment and into a trailer on his parents property. He began convincing her, through his family members, that her friends were the ones causing trouble. We lost contact for a while.
Recently we began speaking again and the situation has deteriorated further. We had still had contact with her sporadically. When he tossed her against the trailer wall, she called. When he hit her, she called. When she tried to leave and get help from social services and abuse organisations, she called. Each of these times we tried to help, and each time he emotionally blackmailed her back. His parents also did this, by threatening to throw away every thing she owned and promising to make sure she was painted as the person at fault.
Each time the cops were called they did nothing along the lines of investigation, though they once asked the parents if the allegation were true. Each time the abusive twat got away with not so much as a warning. One cop intimated that she was hurting the child that she had with him by making these complaints.
Last night he, his foster sister, her boyfriend, and others were at a party in another town. His tires were slashed on his car, which he had left in this town. He immediately called the cops when he found out, which was around noon after the booze and drugs wore off and he came home. He immediately called the cops and reported that she had done it and he had witnesses. The witnesses are his foster sister and her boyfriend, both of whom were drunk and stoned with him all night.
Now the real kicker:
The cops decided that the allegation of slashed tires, witnessed by people who were in a different town, constituted FELONY spousal abuse. Yes she was charged with a felony.
So now I have a family of five living with my family of four in a three bedroom apartment. All because the cops here think that hitting a woman, and verbally and physically abusing kids, is not worth investigating but a woman that is accused of slashing a tire is a criminal worth throwing the book at.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Trolls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29
--In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or --off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, --chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a --desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic --discussion.
--A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of --view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts --in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the --group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with --professed "concerns". The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the --group.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll
--1b. Noun
--A person who, on a message forum of some type, attacks and flames other members --of the forum for any of a number of reasons such as rank, previous disagreements, --sex, status, ect.
--A troll usually flames threads without staying on topic, unlike a "Flamer" who --flames a thread because he/she disagrees with the content of the thread.
Other troll activities are frequent erasing of posts, "offence" trolling (claiming offence for others or topics for no reason other than causing disruption), and claiming to be the aggrieved party when in fact they were the very cause of their own being considered a troll.
Offence trolls often make their grand displays of being offended on behalf of other people or groups, generally ignoring any behaviour exhibited by those people or groups that is as bad or worse than those whom they take offence to. Quite often, they then turn around and claim to be misunderstood or "only" trying to rectify some wrong.
Very often, a user will set up a troll acct in order to have someone to be offended on behalf of. This person makes off-topic, rude, demeaning, and nonsense posts as a form of catharsis or simply to "let their hair down." This generally leads to the troll acct being insulted or people calling for others to not feed the troll which allows the other acct to step in and protest the terrible actions of others. I tend to agree with some that the troll acct shows signs of mental illness, but whether or not it has one is not something that is able to be diagnosed and people shouldn't have to post on eggshells "just in case."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twat
--Although sometimes used as a reference to the female genitalia, the word twat is --more often used in various other ways:
-- * As a derogatory insult, a pejorative meaning a fool, synonymous with the word --twit - 'You are a real twat and a half' (often used in the UK)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=twat
--1) A derogatory term for a person whose behaviour is considered to be extremely --or intolerably ignorant, obnoxious, offensive or moronic.
--1.A vagina
--2.A cretinous person
--3.To strike someone(this definition is almost certainly of Northern English --origin)
I like the word twat when dealing with misogynists. It works well because it not only means "fool" or "moron," but comparing a misogynist to any aspect of a woman is generally a good way to make them shut up and/or provide further evidence of their bigotry.
Just because YOU only use a word for it's most negative aspect, does not mean that everyone else does. Getting your own mind out of the gutter is a good place to start learning how to use language effectively and to recognise that your own base word usage is quite likely not what others intended.
I say this all because it is germane elsewhere at the moment. Two days ago I called someone a troll and a twat for some very demeaning and misogynistic statements, statements in a VERY long line of them I might add. This called another troll onto me and I've been undergoing constant trolling at the website since.
The frustrating part really comes about when others come in late to an argument or instance of trolling, after 20+ of the troll posts have been deleted by the troll, and then suggest that I have no right to defend myself or even blame me. This particular troll has done this for months.
Not long ago this trolls trick was swearing at someone, deleting the post, and then quoting the post as if I were the one that did the swearing. Everyone remembers seeing the notification and the words, but since it was deleted everyone simply assumes that the lying troll wasn't lying about who said it.
Then there was the ploy where he would post, delete the post, and then scream that I had deleted his posts.
Then there was the time that he was so vulgar and out of line that the site moderators felt the need to send him a warning message. The blame is still put on to others of course, even to the point of claiming that I had also been warned when I hadn't.
The best advice against trolls is ALWAYS to ignore them, but at times that means every post or reply you make will be followed by the troll and it is just easier to quit altogether. For this I suggest taking a break from the site in question. Sadly, most will take this as a sign that the troll was correct, but in the long run it won't matter.
It is always VERY nice to see that at least one person recognises what is going on AND says so.
--In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or --off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, --chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a --desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic --discussion.
--A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of --view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts --in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the --group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with --professed "concerns". The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the --group.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll
--1b. Noun
--A person who, on a message forum of some type, attacks and flames other members --of the forum for any of a number of reasons such as rank, previous disagreements, --sex, status, ect.
--A troll usually flames threads without staying on topic, unlike a "Flamer" who --flames a thread because he/she disagrees with the content of the thread.
Other troll activities are frequent erasing of posts, "offence" trolling (claiming offence for others or topics for no reason other than causing disruption), and claiming to be the aggrieved party when in fact they were the very cause of their own being considered a troll.
Offence trolls often make their grand displays of being offended on behalf of other people or groups, generally ignoring any behaviour exhibited by those people or groups that is as bad or worse than those whom they take offence to. Quite often, they then turn around and claim to be misunderstood or "only" trying to rectify some wrong.
Very often, a user will set up a troll acct in order to have someone to be offended on behalf of. This person makes off-topic, rude, demeaning, and nonsense posts as a form of catharsis or simply to "let their hair down." This generally leads to the troll acct being insulted or people calling for others to not feed the troll which allows the other acct to step in and protest the terrible actions of others. I tend to agree with some that the troll acct shows signs of mental illness, but whether or not it has one is not something that is able to be diagnosed and people shouldn't have to post on eggshells "just in case."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twat
--Although sometimes used as a reference to the female genitalia, the word twat is --more often used in various other ways:
-- * As a derogatory insult, a pejorative meaning a fool, synonymous with the word --twit - 'You are a real twat and a half' (often used in the UK)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=twat
--1) A derogatory term for a person whose behaviour is considered to be extremely --or intolerably ignorant, obnoxious, offensive or moronic.
--1.A vagina
--2.A cretinous person
--3.To strike someone(this definition is almost certainly of Northern English --origin)
I like the word twat when dealing with misogynists. It works well because it not only means "fool" or "moron," but comparing a misogynist to any aspect of a woman is generally a good way to make them shut up and/or provide further evidence of their bigotry.
Just because YOU only use a word for it's most negative aspect, does not mean that everyone else does. Getting your own mind out of the gutter is a good place to start learning how to use language effectively and to recognise that your own base word usage is quite likely not what others intended.
I say this all because it is germane elsewhere at the moment. Two days ago I called someone a troll and a twat for some very demeaning and misogynistic statements, statements in a VERY long line of them I might add. This called another troll onto me and I've been undergoing constant trolling at the website since.
The frustrating part really comes about when others come in late to an argument or instance of trolling, after 20+ of the troll posts have been deleted by the troll, and then suggest that I have no right to defend myself or even blame me. This particular troll has done this for months.
Not long ago this trolls trick was swearing at someone, deleting the post, and then quoting the post as if I were the one that did the swearing. Everyone remembers seeing the notification and the words, but since it was deleted everyone simply assumes that the lying troll wasn't lying about who said it.
Then there was the ploy where he would post, delete the post, and then scream that I had deleted his posts.
Then there was the time that he was so vulgar and out of line that the site moderators felt the need to send him a warning message. The blame is still put on to others of course, even to the point of claiming that I had also been warned when I hadn't.
The best advice against trolls is ALWAYS to ignore them, but at times that means every post or reply you make will be followed by the troll and it is just easier to quit altogether. For this I suggest taking a break from the site in question. Sadly, most will take this as a sign that the troll was correct, but in the long run it won't matter.
It is always VERY nice to see that at least one person recognises what is going on AND says so.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Non literal literalists
It is something odd that one notices after a short time of associating or arguing with fundamentalists and literalists; the oppositions ability to apply literal interpretations to some parts of the bible and yet ignore the parts that are actually commands.
I know numerous fundies, some of them work in the healthcare industry. How do they reconcile the fact that the bible states demon possession and lack of faith are the cause of disease? They deny science and it's theories that are proven out time and again while claiming that the bible is inerrant, yet their jobs require them to use scientific equipment and they apply germ theory to successfully cure the patients. No credible nurse or healthcare professional says that "germ theory is only a theory." Yet they do say this about evolution, even though evolution is a conclusive theory that has allowed healthcare to be what it is today. Why is this?
I think that it derives from the general lack of rational thought and scepticism.
The obviously allegorical creation myth is held up as a truth by people that desire an absolute truth. What these people fail to recognise is that there are NO absolute truths. Often, they even recognise that the book which they like to claim as an absolute truth, isn't. The belief that the Earth is held up on four pillars or that the sky is some form of material (aether) in which the stars are "placed" into for our edification are also in the bible, yet these are dismissed by most of those that claim Genesis is the "word of god."
Another popular claim is one that marginalises an important and worthwhile segment of society, homosexuals. The most often heard claim is that the bible calls the act an "abomination." There are other abominations in the bible, however; rare indeed is the fundamentalist christian that abstains from pork or shellfish.
Some abominations that christians enjoy and pretend that jesus allowed:
-Wearing anything that is considered men's clothing or accessory. No wristwatches, pants, or short sleeved t-shirts are allowed to be worn by women.
Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
-No dogs, prostitutes, or gays are allowed in church. This gives lie to the "love the sinner" catchphrase.
Deuteronomy 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
-Eating shellfish is an abomination, and so is pork.
Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. (11:7) "The swine ... is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch."
11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
11:9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
11:12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
-Killing something for god that has a birthmark. This might seem to be inconsequential, but there are people that still do this and many people "bless" the meat, taking no care that the meat is free of markings.
Deutoronomy 17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
These people also like to push for public prayer even though jesus expressly ordered that private prayer is good but public prayer is exceedingly bad and hypocritical.
Matthew 6:5-6 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
They like to promote the gaining of wealth as a christian value, when actually christ commands them to relinquish all wealth and to become vagrant.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
So for all of you fundamentalists and literalists:
When you begin living day to day with no thought of tomorrow, when you actually obey the laws of the book you preach, when you stop forcing your prayer on others, when you dress according to scripture, when you obey ALL of the rules; then you can start demanding that society at large recognise some point you'd like to make. The point will still be wrong, but at least you won't be inviting us to call you a hypocrite when you do so.
I know numerous fundies, some of them work in the healthcare industry. How do they reconcile the fact that the bible states demon possession and lack of faith are the cause of disease? They deny science and it's theories that are proven out time and again while claiming that the bible is inerrant, yet their jobs require them to use scientific equipment and they apply germ theory to successfully cure the patients. No credible nurse or healthcare professional says that "germ theory is only a theory." Yet they do say this about evolution, even though evolution is a conclusive theory that has allowed healthcare to be what it is today. Why is this?
I think that it derives from the general lack of rational thought and scepticism.
The obviously allegorical creation myth is held up as a truth by people that desire an absolute truth. What these people fail to recognise is that there are NO absolute truths. Often, they even recognise that the book which they like to claim as an absolute truth, isn't. The belief that the Earth is held up on four pillars or that the sky is some form of material (aether) in which the stars are "placed" into for our edification are also in the bible, yet these are dismissed by most of those that claim Genesis is the "word of god."
Another popular claim is one that marginalises an important and worthwhile segment of society, homosexuals. The most often heard claim is that the bible calls the act an "abomination." There are other abominations in the bible, however; rare indeed is the fundamentalist christian that abstains from pork or shellfish.
Some abominations that christians enjoy and pretend that jesus allowed:
-Wearing anything that is considered men's clothing or accessory. No wristwatches, pants, or short sleeved t-shirts are allowed to be worn by women.
Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
-No dogs, prostitutes, or gays are allowed in church. This gives lie to the "love the sinner" catchphrase.
Deuteronomy 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
-Eating shellfish is an abomination, and so is pork.
Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. (11:7) "The swine ... is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch."
11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
11:9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
11:12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
-Killing something for god that has a birthmark. This might seem to be inconsequential, but there are people that still do this and many people "bless" the meat, taking no care that the meat is free of markings.
Deutoronomy 17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
These people also like to push for public prayer even though jesus expressly ordered that private prayer is good but public prayer is exceedingly bad and hypocritical.
Matthew 6:5-6 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
They like to promote the gaining of wealth as a christian value, when actually christ commands them to relinquish all wealth and to become vagrant.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
So for all of you fundamentalists and literalists:
When you begin living day to day with no thought of tomorrow, when you actually obey the laws of the book you preach, when you stop forcing your prayer on others, when you dress according to scripture, when you obey ALL of the rules; then you can start demanding that society at large recognise some point you'd like to make. The point will still be wrong, but at least you won't be inviting us to call you a hypocrite when you do so.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Daylight Savings changeover again...
I really dislike changing my clocks twice per year. I've yet to be convinced that there is even a need for it. Various groups insist that it saves lives and energy while various others insist that it does the opposite. Since it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, I suppose it is pointless to complain... but complain I shall anyway.
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