Interesting points made about Craig's new home country....
Furthermore, whereas in my Soviet Fishtown post I posited that the cause of this US mortality lag might have been due to a vicious symbiosis of loose pharma advertising rules and obesity, the example of New Zealand – which has seen very strong and consistent reductions in mortality – puts a big question mark over that thesis. That is because as pointed out by the commentator Chuck, New Zealand was the only country in the world – alongside the US – to legalize direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs; and New Zealand, too, has a fairly rotund obesity problem of its own. Nonetheless, it has not experienced the mortality stagnation that the US has.
Note however that New Zealand doesn’t exactly support “Leftist” explanations of the US White exception to First World middle-aged mortality declines either. That is because New Zealand too had a distinct “neoliberal” revolution – and one that hasn’t generally been judged to have been successful. Nonetheless, contrary to Leftist conventional wisdom, New Zealand in fact saw very rapid reductions in mortality – including middle-aged male mortality, as seen in the graph above – during the late 1980s and early 1990s, to the extent that it basically halved in overall terms.
moda0306 wrote:There are actually people of a sizable count (not just some fringe feminist) that posting things that actually assert that "white men should stop talking and acting and being involved in community and political life," or that "everything is our fault and we are a bunch of fearful racist boors?"
This sounds like standard hyperbole to me. Or that it would apply to only a small, radical fringe. If one of you could flesh this out a bit further for me, it'd be much appreciated. If this is exaggeration, no biggie... I exaggerate a lot for dramatic effect. I am just curious what kind of posts are receiving this type of critique.
What's so frustrating is how close they've been to winning almost every one of the games during Romo's absence, and they've instead lost all of them. Now, if they can eke out a win against Tampa, and go 7-1 the rest of the way with Romo (a big if, but possible) then maybe they can win the division. A tall order.
I'm sure Google didn't mean anything by it, though. Whenever you need to show generic people to illustrate a concept, it's simply the cultural norm to over-represent women and minorities these days. This is just an especially ridiculous example because of the contrast between the demographics of the picture and the demographics of the organization it's meant to honor.
Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary, but competition for limited resources remains a constant.
- CEO Nwabudike Morgan
Tyler wrote:
More easy access to pot will have zero positive effect on the OP issue of more people dying due to substance abuse.
I wouldn't go that far. Marijuana has anti-depressant effects due to the cannabinoids that opiates don't have. Opiates can be so physcally addicting, just taking one pill is like playing Russian Roulette with your future. Same for benzos, Valium, etc. Truly scary stuff.
Its quite possible the suicides are over the despair of being hopelessly addicted to opiates or alcohol. One doesn't have to be first depressed to get addicted to drugs.
Either way, mairjuana use isi rapidly increasing in the same Baby Boomer age cohort as the suicides. We'll see what wins out.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Fred wrote:
It was also unique to Caucasians which is one fact about the study nobody seems to want to take a crack at.
I'd say it was relatively higher expectations being dashed. These are Baby boomers we're talking about in an age of technological unemployment (the giant sucking sound of offshoring, defined contribution pensions, two financial crashes, etc). They're facing the end of their failed, empty, spoiled, expecting the best of everything life.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Pointedstick wrote:
What was the cultural zeitgeist like before this?
Watch Mad Men or The Cosby Show and you'll see. Very patriarcherical. Clinton (Slick Willy, not his wife!) broke the cultural death grip of such conservatism.
Speaking of Cosby and his sordid revelations... that's exactly the kind of substance that fuels the anti-male propaganda. Men basically got away with "murder" for so long, the pendulum swung the other way. It'll swing back sooner or later.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Pointedstick wrote:
What is weird about this cultural shift is that it is confined very narrowly, to schools, universities, and the mass media. Outside of these fields, you find widespread ignorance of it and resentment against it, including among women.
What is so weird about that? Its an incestuous liberal zeitgiest driven by radical extremist feminists, so of course liberals are receptive that are overpresentated in education and the media. Self-flagellation feels good if anyone wants to dare admit it. You don't have to be a masochist.
Last edited by MachineGhost on Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Pointedstick wrote:
You are undoubtedly correct, however I just want to point out that if this were Facebook or something and our genders were reversed, what you just said ("We have it bad too!") would leave you open to accusations of condescension and minimizing the struggles of other people. You can't even try to join the conversation without getting accused of some thoughtcrime or other. The censorious tendencies of this movement are what perturb me the most. Thankfully it seems to be on the verge of tearing itself apart because apparently every marginalized group believes that everyone else (including other marginalized group) needs to be silenced from time to time.
Facebook is now a Stepford Liberalism Hell? Get rid of your account just like you get rid of TV and its insipid commercials. Besides, the NSA is spying on you there.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
WiseOne wrote:
What about the bit about how when a man speaks up in a group, he's assertive, while when a woman speaks up, she's being bitchy? I've been so labeled for speaking up when a guy said something stupid & misleading.
Was he higher on the totem pole than you? Because my first thought is it was about protecting his ego and turfdom, not that you're a woman speaking up and standing her ground. But be as it may, the kind of double standard you're referring two seems culturally taught and reinforced and you're probably not gonig to see the benefit of equality in your working life as the Millennials probably will, sadly.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Greg wrote:
I will say though that I think MediumTex is a worthless person due to him being a Dallas Cowboys fan.
Greg, are you actually disabled? If so, any thoughts about the negative economic impact?
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
MediumTex wrote:
I really appreciate WiseOne's contributions to the discussion.
Just to clarify, I am not suggesting that white men don't still have it really good here; rather, what I am suggesting is that ridicule of a group or individual can have cumulative effects, and a message that seems harmless when delivered a few times may be very toxic when delivered continuously for years.
While we're on the subject of gender stereotypes, why is it funny when a man is kicked in the testicles? That always seems to be depicted in movies and TV as a light and funny thing, but it's not a funny thing at all. I really don't get that one. Is it just another way to playfully depict the emasculation of men? Would anyone think it was funny to see a woman kicked in the vagina and watch her double over in agony as people laugh?
LOL!!! Because it is funny. Men are the aggressor dick wielders and deserve to be kicked in the balls. Women are the torchbearers of the future of the species (OMFG!) and it is just a big no no to kick them in the va jay jay. Sperm is a dime a dozen but eggs are oh-so-precious!
Incidentally, all those fake fights you see on TV between women pulling each other's hair, pushing on each other's shoulders or other silly ridiculous shit is hilarious. In the real world, they do kick in the va jay jay or punch the angel cakes and damn well mean it. Picture a barrio Hispanic chica in a fight with a gangster Black queen.
Last edited by MachineGhost on Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Pointedstick wrote:
I'm sure Google didn't mean anything by it, though. Whenever you need to show generic people to illustrate a concept, it's simply the cultural norm to over-represent women and minorities these days. This is just an especially ridiculous example because of the contrast between the demographics of the picture and the demographics of the organization it's meant to honor.
I thought the guy raising his hand might been the L in LGBT or something?
The military's always been at the forefront of racial and sexual integration ahead of society. No big deal. It was multicultural before multiculturalism was even a term.
Last edited by MachineGhost on Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Greg wrote:
I will say though that I think MediumTex is a worthless person due to him being a Dallas Cowboys fan.
Greg, are you actually disabled? If so, any thoughts about the negative economic impact?
Contrary to my tagline, I am not actually physically disabled. I just have a special affinity/heart-string tugs/the feels for those with physical disabilities. As for negative impact for them, I am not positive. I do work as a civilian for the federal government though and they do something that I do like a lot. Almost all of our office products are from a company called Skilcraft, which are a bunch of products made by people with visual impairments (blind, etc.). I think that is so cool to have an act of congress that helped those with less abilities to find work that is very useful to us government-types.
MediumTex wrote:
Just to clarify, I am not suggesting that white men don't still have it really good here; rather, what I am suggesting is that ridicule of a group or individual can have cumulative effects, and a message that seems harmless when delivered a few times may be very toxic when delivered continuously for years.
Yes, absolutely. The fact that women (or at least me) get put down frequently in no way justifies ridiculing or putting down men. Thanks to the thoughts voiced here I'm taking a good second look at my reactions in group situations. I have no wish to be part of this problem.
Also realize I'm working in an atmosphere that is kind to no one. It's collegial sometimes but the competitive claws comes out way too frequently. So I always have to be on my guard. You can't be seen as weak.
MediumTex wrote:
While we're on the subject of gender stereotypes, why is it funny when a man is kicked in the testicles? That always seems to be depicted in movies and TV as a light and funny thing, but it's not a funny thing at all. I really don't get that one. Is it just another way to playfully depict the emasculation of men? Would anyone think it was funny to see a woman kicked in the vagina and watch her double over in agony as people laugh?
If you're saying this is part of the put-down of men, I agree with you. If it were treated as the same sort of gunshot and car crash violence that graces the silver screen every day then that's one thing, but the fact that this is supposed to be laughed at is something else. Totally inappropriate and makes me glad I don't watch TV very often.
MediumTex wrote:
Just to clarify, I am not suggesting that white men don't still have it really good here; rather, what I am suggesting is that ridicule of a group or individual can have cumulative effects, and a message that seems harmless when delivered a few times may be very toxic when delivered continuously for years.
Yes, absolutely. The fact that women (or at least me) get put down frequently in no way justifies ridiculing or putting down men. Thanks to the thoughts voiced here I'm taking a good second look at my reactions in group situations. I have no wish to be part of this problem.
Also realize I'm working in an atmosphere that is kind to no one. It's collegial sometimes but the competitive claws comes out way too frequently. So I always have to be on my guard. You can't be seen as weak.
MediumTex wrote:
While we're on the subject of gender stereotypes, why is it funny when a man is kicked in the testicles? That always seems to be depicted in movies and TV as a light and funny thing, but it's not a funny thing at all. I really don't get that one. Is it just another way to playfully depict the emasculation of men? Would anyone think it was funny to see a woman kicked in the vagina and watch her double over in agony as people laugh?
If you're saying this is part of the put-down of men, I agree with you. If it were treated as the same sort of gunshot and car crash violence that graces the silver screen every day then that's one thing, but the fact that this is supposed to be laughed at is something else. Totally inappropriate and makes me glad I don't watch TV very often.
I think that something similar happened in Britain several decades ago. IMHO, going from Winston Churchill to Benny Hill in only 30-40 years is the cultural equivalent of going from the Wright Brothers to the Appollo missions, except in reverse.
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
MediumTex wrote:
I think that something similar happened in Britain several decades ago. IMHO, going from Winston Churchill to Benny Hill in only 30-40 years is the cultural equivalent of going from the Wright Brothers to the Appollo missions, except in reverse.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
