Letters to the Editor
Tobbar
Published Letters: 159 Editor's Choice: 9
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Wicked Burn-
[Read the article: The holy blitz rolls on]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]- have you no shame, sir? None at all? Don't wait for the translation, answer the question!
My point, which I fear you missed, is that a large swath of our population lacks, has lacked, and will continue to lack - wait for it- humanity to begin with. Sociopath is a perfect label for these people as that is what they are.
I do not throw this label around lightly. Right now it's a label that is really hard to back up. But, as I've alluded, there are technological advances that are going to enable us to tell the sociopaths from the rest of us. And, one would assume, the believers from the non-believers, the smart from the dumb, the liars from the truthers, and the liars from the lying-to-themselves. Terrifying stuff? You bet.
I never said that the Christian right was a bunch of sociopaths. I said that they were likely to be lead by sociopaths. Or by True Believers... both are pretty scary. Their leaders do seem to fit the definition. Sorry.
I'm not trying to end the debate, dude. I'm trying to start it. The debate is: What do we do about the sociopaths? The relentless, mercilless explotation of christian cultists by their leaders provides a perfect background for bringing these things up.
As to your charges of name-calling- am not! Well, a little bit, with the True Belivers and all. But mostly I'm trying to bring to light that there are predatory individuals among us- literal wolves in human skins- and what are we going to do about them?
I truly believe that the leaders of the religious right and the current president are sociopaths. I have a nagging feeling that one cannot rise to a high political office without being, or assuming the traits of, a sociopath. How often do we hear "Who in their right mind would want to be president? Who would do that to their FAMILY?"
Most of us, with healthy emotional attachments to our families would not choose that path. So, I fear that narrows the field of possible players down to a rather unwholsome minority.
Your turn at armchair psych- what disorders do you think better label the leaders of the Christian right and the president?
The rarity of sociopaths is a subject of hot debate. I've heard the numbers 1-4% of the male population, about 1% of the female, thrown around with confidence. That's a lot of sociopaths in a country our size.
Further socipaths are limited in their rise to power by many of the same factors that limit the rest of us- intelligence, education, drive. So a lot of the dumb ones show their hands too early, but there are plenty of clever ones left to go around. These clever ones are often very good at mimicing emotional nuance. It's part of the game, so they'll get as good at it as they can.
While a schizophrenic may believe that he/she is choosen by god for something, a sociopath has no problem CLAIMING that he/she is chosen by god for something.
As for who watches the wathers- that's the big question isn't it? As I said, many sociopaths seek power, and they would love to be the watchers. Mr. I, or some other kind of brain scan, is probably going to be instrumental in the Big Sorting to come.
But like you, I wonder what we'll do after the sorting?
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C'mon Wicked Burn, go the extra mile
[Read the article: The holy blitz rolls on]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dude, deciding to nitpck the morality and legality of EC is pretty weak way to get out of facing up the ugly truths of our natures and the harsh light that technology is illuminating those natures.
I'm not the one who offered any final solution to the sociopath problem. That was you. And I'm shocked that you inferred such a bloody end to the scenario. What horrors must lurk in your mind. Old testament horrors, no doubt.
I'm just curious how people would feel if Ted Haggard was Mr. I'd, shown to be a sociopath, and then all of the remaining Christian right leaders refused to step into a Mr. I.
I'm still waiting for an answer. We have unbeatable lie detectors, we can tell the sociopaths from the rest of us (or are very near that point). What now? What then?
Scary stuff? Yep. Not addressed in any holy books? Pretty much. As inevitable as the tide. Uh huh.
And yeah, it's all about procedures, in the end. Even your EC arguments come down to procedures.
And, just to cover this base, I don't share your feeling that the soothing balm of the free market will take care of everything.
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I can see the humor-
[Read the article: The unkindest cut]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]-in the essay, and maybe the book goes into deeper discussion about the fallout from the circumcision decision.
But if there was any justice in the world, dendrio's Amazon culture response should get it's own Salon article.
And they should pay him/her DOUBLE for it.
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I sometimes feel a little bad about eating meat-
[Read the article: Herbivore vs. carnivore]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]- since I'm made of it...
But, having said that, I would prefer that the animals are raised and slaughtered humanely. Yes, I'll pay extra for it. I'd prefer that, if we start making vat-grown meats, we don't drive the chickens and cows to extinction 'cause we don't need them anymore. Yeah, I'll pay a little bit for that, too.
You can't argue with the simple fact that it is much more efficient to grow vegetable crops than to grow animals, for the most part.
And I loved the fact that the reviewer pointed out how a lot of people like to show how tough they are by fucking with the vegetarians. Sometimes I actually pretend to be vegan when someone starts that, just to get up in their grill and all that. Fun, fun, fun!
I'm sure somebody already asked this, but if we're growing vat-meat, are we gonna grow human meat for human consumption? Start a chain of Long Pig restaraunts (which is from TRANSMETROPOLITAN). Eerie!