Posts by Paul White80

Good luck with that little assembly of yours.

Richard Wells said:Wait, how is it not about belief? Look, you basically construct your own version of "truth" based on your biases, how you were raised, your environment, and a million other things. Eventually, those views get so deeply rooted that you mistake them for absolute reality, and you end up filtering everything through that lens. The only truths that are truly indisputable are natural phenomena—like the sun coming up or trees growing. Everything else is open to interpretation because the human mind and our senses are pretty limited. We barely grasp even a fraction of what's actually going on.

We can't even fully wrap our heads around the laws of nature. One "because" just triggers a thousand more "whys." Absolute truth is always slipping through our fingers, mocking us for being so arrogant to think we could ever truly grasp it.

I’ve always found the whole "honesty equals truth" premise to be total nonsense.🤔

Someone can be completely sincere while judging or criticizing someone else based on nothing but half-baked facts. They might truly believe their own version of events, but they could still be miles away from reality.

So, trying to grab hold of some absolute truth and shouting it from the rooftops? It just doesn't work. There isn't one single, perfect truth sitting in a specific spot or taking one specific shape. It’s always out there somewhere...

That’s why I think there's no point in all this endless yapping and self-justification. Real honesty comes from within; you live it. An honest person is someone who lives by their own code, someone who has shed the burden of mimicking others and feels zero need to explain themselves or prove anything to anyone because they've already set their own standards.

Kenneth Wood9 said:Look, honesty is just delivering the truth. People might hate it, sure, but it isn't inherently destructive... it might blow things up in the moment or cause some drama for a while, but eventually, the truth always comes out!

I suppose I agree to an extent. But let’s be real: the motives behind this "truth-telling" can be totally unbalanced or even toxic. What if someone is just using the "truth" as a smokescreen to climb some social ladder or assert dominance? Is that really about honesty?

Michael Sanders10 said:Over the last few years, I’ve been struck by how drastically the circle of trust among people seems to be shrinking. What worries me most is that this erosion has started to seep into even the closest friendships. Have you all noticed this shift in your own lives? How exactly are you maintaining your friendships and nurturing that mutual sense of trust?...

Every single generation claims things were better back in their day. By that logic, shouldn't we have all gone extinct 10,000 years ago? 😁

Even honesty can be destructive if you overdo it. Doesn't excessive transparency just feed into some massive ego or a self-righteous complex?

True value lies in being honest with yourself instead..

ambercrane722 said:Most of my closest friends were brutally taken from me during the war, and growing up in such a violent environment left scars I’ve never breathed a word about to anyone... I just don't think people actually want to sit there and listen to that kind of heavy stuff, so I just handle it all on my own, playing my own therapist. But honestly? I can't help but feel like death is just one big release from it all.

Release from what, exactly?

How does any of this even relate to the topic at hand? 🤔

ambercrane722 said:Sure, but honestly? Death is the only thing I'm actually craving, even though I love living life

Where on earth is this coming from now? 🤔

ambercrane722 said:carpe diem :How much of our baggage do you think we actually pick up from our family dynamics when we're kids?

Honestly, pretty much everything. It’s like the entire blueprint of the environment you grew up in gets hardwired into your brain. Sadly, it shapes my whole damn life, and there are days where I seriously regret even being in this world because of it.

Joe Biden, sure, but eventually people grow up and actually get the chance to question everything they were taught.

Almost everything, including the influence of the environment we grew up in. Unfortunately, it affects my entire life, and sometimes I regret even being here.

That’s just a fancy way of saying, "I give up, I have no self-control, and I'll let my surroundings dictate my existence." 😁

Hannah Alvarez2 said:Because let's be real—"normal" parents are basically a myth. They don't actually exist. 👍

Don't be ridiculous. They exist. It’s just that even when they mean well, they cram all sorts of useless, broken ways of thinking into our heads. We end up spending half our lives just trying to unlearn the nonsense they taught us.

But let's be real: there are plenty of toxic parents out there who cause damage left and right without giving a damn about the fallout.

If you look at the statistics, isn't parenting essentially a recipe for disaster? Nobody actually teaches people how to be parents. You're just some kid who knows nothing about the world, suddenly handed the massive, terrifying responsibility of raising and keeping a tiny human alive. How can anyone be ready for that? 😁

Hannah Alvarez2 said:Yeah, right. Because clearly, growing up in some state-run group home only to get tossed out onto the streets at 18 is just the dream. 🥳

Oh, absolutely! Because nothing beats being raised by drug addicts or alcoholics who spend all day screaming and fighting, only to end up back on the street at 18 anyway. 😍

briskrider20 said:They don't. Having parents isn't a curse.

Not a bad thing? My ass. Once a parent screws you over, not even a freaking fairy godmother can fix that damage.

dustypilot11 said:How much do you think these volunteer moderators actually want to hand out bans to anyone who even breathes in their direction?🙂

[Look at this genius popping up from nowhere!]

I hate to admit it, but you’re spot on.

And I don't owe anyone anything—not money, and certainly not favors... 😁

So, I’m withdrawing my previous request. I refuse to be tied down by a favor I can't return. What happens when some moderator comes knocking with the same request tomorrow and I have zero leverage to help them?

Let's just not open Pandora's box here; we wouldn't want to throw the whole universe out of balance, would we? 😁

Instead, I'll just rely on a tiny little leprechaun to whack me over the head with a club every time I think about this forum. That should do the trick. You can lock this thread, delete it, or whatever else you need to do. 🙂

Can I get a ban on request for maybe two weeks to start?

[Just so I can take a break from all the mindless nonsense and idiots wasting my time]

I can always renew my subscription later if the break actually does me some good...

[Which it probably will, because there’s honestly nothing left here worth my interest]

Richard Wells said:Why do you think they're jerks? If you handed your power over to anyone—especially the wrong people—and they didn't respect it, wouldn't they act like jerks?

No, real trash is an amateur who can't tell a good person from a bad one. And the person exploiting that naivety to manipulate others or cause harm just for kicks? That’s what true perfection looks like. 🙄

I'm exaggerating, sure, but you get my point. I know you shouldn't throw pearls before swine, but isn't it harder when those swine are wearing designer suits and acting like civilized Americans? 😁

velvetrider14 said:Just me, honestly, flaws and all.

I'm not quite following the question. Am I supposed to break down my take on pathological liars, acting, and identity traits (which, by the way, even is that last one? 😁 ), or should I look at a pathological liar through the lens of performance versus character traits, or maybe just try to categorize them into one of those groups? 😁

Well... you don't have to do anything if the point isn't landing. I was just trying to show you that expressing who you are doesn't always mean you're strictly telling the truth.

Is that it? That's all you've got?

well... you don't have to say anything if you don't get the point of the question. I was just trying to show you that expressing who you are doesn't strictly mean telling the truth.

Of course it doesn't! People can barely manage to tell the truth 2% of the time they're actually awake, let alone 100%.😍

velvetrider14 said:I honestly don't think the "true self" is some final destination you just reach one day; it’s more like this ongoing process that lasts from the moment you're born until the day you die. At any given second, we're basically just out here trying to visualize who our real selves are and what our actual identity is.

So, what do you think—is someone like that just a pathological liar, a total actor, or are they actually just sketching out their own identity?

So, what is your actual identity? What is your true self?

In your opinion, what defines a pathological liar, an actor, or an identity thief?

I don't even follow the question. Am I supposed to explain my definition of a pathological liar, acting, or identity theft (what even is that last one? 😁)? Or should I analyze a liar through the lens of acting or theft, or perhaps try to categorize them into one of those groups? 😁

velvetrider14 said:Look, lying and acting aren't really the same thing. You might think I'm just putting on a show, but for me, this is just who I am—it's my natural state of being. So, you could actually argue that an actor is just finally showing their true self.

Give me a break! You can't spend 100% of your life performing your "true self" or blabbing every unfiltered truth you have. Humans aren't built for that kind of perfection, are they?

wearyhound73 said:If you get it, you get it. If you don't... well, whatever—it doesn't matter. 🙄

Look, if even half of these self-proclaimed truth-seekers actually lived by their word, this whole society would collapse overnight. 😍

But instead, everyone just keeps playing along with the madness, treating the actual truth like it's some forbidden taboo. 😍

wearyhound73 said:Forgot to mention—I NEVER fake it—and honestly, I’m glad about that!👍

That's like someone claiming they "never" tell a lie. 😁