Posts by placidjackal36

velvetsailor26 said:But you’re actually acting like you want to stick around after posting something like this.

If you’re seriously contemplating suicide, there isn't much left for us to say other than suggesting you go see a psychiatrist; because no matter how sharp or bright your mind might be, thinking this way just isn't healthy.

Actually, that is normal thinking. He’s not talking about ending things right this second because he’s feeling okay in this moment. He didn't come here to whine or ask for tips on how to do it.
He was honest enough to say he feels alright now, even if he knows things will take a turn soon. Viewing suicide as a practical future option isn't some sign of madness. Most people have had those thoughts at some point in their lives, so why wouldn't he when he knows a struggle is coming?

__________________

Laura Hayes74, I hear you, but I can't say for sure what it's like because I haven't been in those shoes. What I do know is that you carry an enormous weight of responsibility toward your family.
I'm not going to tell you whether killing yourself is the right move or not, but I will say this: you need to talk to your family about what's going through your head. And honestly, it might be better to enjoy life while you still feel okay before everything goes south.
Think about them.
And don't forget, euthanasia isn't (yet) legal in this country.

Regardless, knowing how much life can suck, I also know how much you miss out on if you leave too early. Talk to your family and your inner circle. Let them give you strength, because despite everything, there are things worth living for. Once you're dead, you're gone—there's no room for regret or anything else after that.

Not exactly. This goes way deeper than it looks on the surface. If you take a quick look through some of the related articles on Wikipedia: The Magical Negro is a supporting, sometimes mystical stock character in fiction who, by use of special insight or powers, you'll start to see the bigger picture. It’s woven right into the fabric of American culture.

Washing Machine - Freestanding WA63121
User Manual

You can find just about anything on eBay, even people's souls if you look hard enough, so... I know this stuff is out there somewhere. 😁
I was just wondering if anyone in the States actually carries it.

This whole thing was cooked up by William Tabar back around 1985 over in Salt Lake City. Nowadays, the company manufacturing them goes by Exotic Sands™.
They go by all sorts of names; honestly, I’m not even sure what the legal status is on them at this exact moment.

I remember being able to pick one up in a town like Savannah, right across from the main pharmacy where local artists usually set up shop to sell their stuff. That was sometime in the late nineties.
Back then, the thing cost less than twenty bucks, and after years of messing with it, it finally gave out on me. It’s actually a brilliant little device, though. The first time I saw one, it was stuck to a metal filing cabinet in some pediatrician's office, and I remember thinking, "I need one of those." Now, I can't for the life of me remember where I tucked mine away, but I know I used to fix it by pulling capillaries out of glass tubes and using them to pump water and air through a tiny hole in the rubber seal.

Basically, you've got two glass panes held together by some kind of rubber gasket, with two types of sand sandwiched in between. You've got these heavier, coarser black grains and lighter, finer white ones. There’s a solution in there—a really weak detergent—that keeps the air bubbles stable. When you shake it and flip it over, those bubbles act like anchors, preventing the whole mass from just slamming to the bottom at once, which allows the sand to trickle down in patterns. As one bubble shifts, it clears a path for the sand to pour through. Once enough sand drops, the bubbles migrate again, opening up new paths. That’s how you get those incredible, unique visuals of dunes, lakes, mountains, and valleys.
Over time, they tend to fail because the solution isn't perfectly stable; it eventually coagulates, coating the grains until they clump together and won't flow properly anymore.

Does anyone have any clue where you can find these today or what they’re going for? I see online that the original plates—whoever made mine, I have no idea—can go for as much as $100, which isn't exactly pocket change.
I’m going to try and hunt my old one down and see if I can patch it up, but I have my doubts about whether it'll actually work.

It’s not just about whether white characters are disappearing from the screen, but rather "how many African Americans aren't being treated as magical?"
This trope is spread way too thin in cinema. There's always some "wise African American character who drops a profound nugget of truth and then just fades into the background."



It's always that specific brand of "rural wisdom" that some damn white guy just can't seem to wrap his head around.

I have a hunch most of you have run into this concept coined by director Spike Lee, so here is the breakdown from Wikipedia:

Wikipedia: The Magical Negro is a supporting, sometimes mystical stock character in fiction who, by use of special insight or powers, helps the white protagonist get out of trouble.

You’ve probably noticed those grating, stereotypical roles where some clueless white Americans find themselves totally out of their depth, only for a "wise, experienced, brilliant Black man" to swoop in like a total deus ex machina.
One of the most glaring recent examples is the role of Oracle in The Matrix.


Here are a few other pretty obvious ones:

-hotel employee Dick Halloran in Radiation


-the apostle Rufus in Dogma - alien Guinan


-alien Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation


-God in Bruce Almighty


-soldier Bubba in Forrest Gump


It is important to point out that The Magical Negro isn't just "any smart Black actor in an American movie." It refers to a specific trope: a character whose sole purpose is to bail out a white person in distress, only to vanish or become completely irrelevant the second the white American is safe.
The Magical Negro often functions as a subtle, patronizing way to frame the white American as technologically superior, yet somehow unable to ever reach the intrinsic, almost genetically baked-in wisdom of their Black helper. If you're looking for the punchline, it’s just well-packaged racism—what people call "positive racism," though I don't think such a thing actually exists.

This xeno-centric stereotype has been evolving for a long time, tracing back to the "noble savage"—usually a Native American—who was depicted during the Romantic era as a "spiritually advanced being" compared to the "utterly unawakened white man who couldn't dream of such things."

Got any other good examples? What’s your take on this kind of stuff in film?
Personally, I thought Morgan Freeman was fine, but once I realized he's played these kinds of roles more than a few times—and he's clearly talented enough that he shouldn't have to settle for them—he lost a bit of my respect.

Joseph Watson3 said:How exactly do you know they're hearing a translation in their heads? Take road signs, for instance; when I see one, there isn't some internal monologue translating the symbols—I just get the meaning instantly. It’s the same deal with math.

Unless by "wired," you really mean "learned." And if I had to guess, that part becomes almost entirely subconscious after you've spent enough time reading...

That holds true for certain symbols, especially abstract ones where the name isn't even something you'd say out loud. Like a yellow triangle with an exclamation point. I don't hear my brain shouting "Danger!"—I just get the gist. Or a skull and crossbones on a bottle. I rarely hear the word "Poison," yet I am fully aware that whatever is in that bottle isn't something you want to drink.
But once you hit a sign that actually uses letters or numbers, you *do* hear them. It just stays in your short-term memory for a few seconds. You drive or walk past, and you aren't even thinking about it anymore. You don't retain a conscious memory of having heard it, so as far as your brain is concerned, it doesn't matter. For all intents and purposes, "you didn't hear it."
Math? I wouldn't go that far. I almost always hear the digits and variables in my head, but that mental echo vanishes faster the moment I start writing them down.

I have absolutely no clue how it works for people born deaf.

It’s like when people look at hieroglyphics; their brain basically "hears" a translation instantly. Even when we're scanning through a long block of text—which usually happens way too fast to actually hear a distinct voice in our heads, unlike just glancing at a few isolated words—we still "hear" it somehow. It's just wired into us. It’s one of those things that developed when we were toddlers, and now it’s so subconscious we don't even think twice about it while reading.

Rachel Jones10 said:That comparison of yours misses the mark entirely.
Who can truly say why someone finds themselves on the front lines? Perhaps it’s simply due to a mandatory draft order...
And in that truck he mentioned earlier, it wasn't Mexicans being tormented; it was civilians from a city like Tampa and some reservists who just happened to be caught in the crossfire—people caught in a situation they didn't choose. This individual, however, went out of his way to torture a living creature for no reason whatsoever.

Yeah, sure. Maybe do a little reading before you talk; you might learn something.

Besides, what does it matter who was there and who wasn't? Are you trying to suggest that a crime against one group is somehow less serious than a crime against another?

A lot of people ended up meeting their end at the hands of monsters who still walk those streets today—people who weren't provoked by anything. That isn't exactly a valid argument.

Morgan Bishop4 said:It’s honestly wild how people will call someone a complete monster just for being cruel to a dog or a cat, yet they don't give a second thought to politicians who drag millions of people into total ruin through endless wars, or those reckless, drunk parents who completely neglect their kids and leave them with lifelong psychological scars... or maybe it’s just me... it feels like people have way more empathy for animals than they do for actual human beings...

And what about all the pigs and chickens that get slaughtered every single day just to end up on our dinner plates? Or the little rabbits and monkeys used in those cosmetic tests for the products sitting in your bathroom right now? Nobody seems to view that as "cruelty"... buying stuff like that is perfectly fine and totally moral, apparently...

I'm not trying to defend anyone, per se, but the double standards are just glaring...

Of course there are double standards. It’s honestly disturbing when you see people who act totally normal on this forum but reveal a warped mindset the moment you start questioning them. There is a massive amount of hypocrisy here.
I don't have a problem with minor hypocrites—we're all human and nobody is a perfect moral compass—but when someone starts trying to justify crimes against humanity, brutal murders, rapes, or persecutions, it’s only natural to feel sickened.

Fortunately, we have forum rules to shut that nonsense down. Unfortunately, rules are useless if nobody actually enforces them. A rule on paper means nothing if no one bothers to read it.

Jason Booth25 said:Of course, we need to implement much harsher penalties for the most heinous crimes. For some people, the sheer fear of consequences is the only thing that actually acts as a deterrent. It’s a necessity. But the problem we see here is the inconsistency—we have people getting hit with massive sentences for something as minor as a little marijuana, while actual monsters are out on parole after just a few years. That simply isn't right.

Life sentences without the possibility of parole are the only logical path forward. Back in the day, during the war, people committed absolute atrocities and were only handed ten-year sentences. To me, that’s the definition of insanity.

As for corporal punishment, it's a total joke. Not only is it criminal behavior in itself, but it doesn't actually guarantee anything. All it does is push the initial crime further underground, where—lo and behold—it becomes even more brutal. Criminals just get better at hiding the evidence, and once you connect "hiding the evidence" with "organized crime," I think you'll see exactly where this leads.

Regarding marijuana: look, I am personally against its use, but I can't wait for the day it's decriminalized and treated as a minor infraction rather than a major offense. The way things are being handled right now is pure madness, and it opens the door to a whole host of dirty business that most people don't even realize is happening.

To determine if a life can be considered a failure, we first have to establish if failure is even possible in a broad sense. And to do that, we need to define what "failing" actually means. In this context, failing means "missing the mark," where the "mark" is defined by purpose or meaning.
Since we haven't cracked the code on the ultimate meaning of existence, we can't really say whether someone’s life is a total wash in the grand scheme of things.

However, people create their own purpose through their actions. This is a personal kind of meaning, distinct from any universal truth, and it is very much real. Take, for example, a guy who decides his whole mission in life is to build a custom home for his family. That is his purpose. He pours everything into it, working himself to the bone for years, and he gets the house about 60% finished.

Then, out of nowhere, a brick falls off a construction site and kills him instantly. What happens to his "purpose" then?

Look, you didn't actually say what he said. Froggers’ post was short and to the point, which has absolutely nothing to do with how you post in other subforums. But hey, there’s certainly enough analysis from the community here. Not exactly politically correct, is it?

casualharbor9 said:... our five minutes in the sun will finally arrive 🙂 ...

If we end up at war with the Mexicans again, are you planning on gouging their eyes out and ripping out their tongues?

You aren't being funny. Not even a little bit.

It’s pretty much the same story you see with folks out in rural America, especially back in the day. Not everyone, obviously, but the majority? They care about their livestock because it’s their livelihood—it's capital. Empathy? Yeah, right. It either isn't there or it's been dialed way down. You can actually draw a straight line between that mindset and how people kill during wartime. Rural areas are notorious for those raw, brutal clan-style killings, whereas in the cities—where people aren't used to that kind of direct, visceral violence against mammals—you see more stuff like gunplay, sabotage, or poisoning. It’s not a coincidence. There is definitely a connection there.

Anonymous said:Aha, so it was your conscience that held you back!!!!!
See? You answered your own question. Where do you think that "conscience" even came from, my friend??
Did your conscience just drop out of a tree like a ripe peach??

No, your conscience exists because you literally can't bring yourself to commit a crime, because that's exactly how society and your environment conditioned you.

What makes you think that if you had been raised from birth to be a killer (just read a bit of history and you'll see plenty of examples), your "CONSCIENCE" would stop you from killing??

You have no right to judge people. You don't know what someone has been through. Being a "conscientious" person should mean helping those people, not condemning them—after all, weren't it those same "conscientious" types who introduced the electric chair??

Edit: Why do you think your moral limit isn't artificial??? It's not like some divine miracle placed a boundary on you the moment you were born...

So, are we saying people who aren't religious and don't follow societal laws basically don't exist? That there's zero such people?
Or are you trying to claim that religion or a legal system is a prerequisite for being human? Because they aren't.

Sure, I agree that a human being is pretty much a blank slate when it comes to their brain and their conscience at birth. Babies don't have a conscience. They only care about satisfying their own immediate needs.

Human morality, which is just a collection of standards derived from our sense of right and wrong, is something society developed over time. Don't worry, I'm not suggesting some deity dropped these ideas into our heads.
It's a fundamental pillar of civilization. It's inextricably linked to the very concept of society.

What about people who did bad things in the past? Heh, if we used that as an excuse, the world would be a permanent disaster. Life has turned my world upside down a few times too. Does that give me a free pass to do whatever I want? Of course not.
Does it mean that if I *do* act out, nobody has the right to hold me accountable? Hell no. People should judge me for it, not turn a blind eye.

Anonymous said:So I took a look... and honestly, there are people out there who would literally want to gouge the eyes out of the guy who kicked that kitten...
I mean, what can you even say besides 🤦? Personally, I don't give a damn about posts like that. I’m actually surprised you reacted the way you did.

It’s not like these people are actually celebrating a crime or anything; most people just don't think before they type. Hell, you read some absolute garbage on internet forums all the time...

Some people are perfectly aware of what they're doing, believe me. People access the internet (in a world where everyone is constantly online), and there are plenty of nasty, disgusting individuals out there. Just because someone uses a computer doesn't mean they're a decent human being.

casualharbor9 said:... if we actually want to build a civilized, humanistic society that works for everyone, then everything this lady is holding in her left hand becomes utterly meaningless if her right hand is empty (whether she’s gripping a pencil, a trumpet, a paper windmill, or a peacock feather, for all that matters) :



... because at the end of the day, whether people care to admit it or not, humans are, first and foremost, just another kind of animal...

Look, how you choose to interpret Themis is entirely up to you. But the sword? That represents executive power. It's an ancient symbol from back when "law" was often just whatever could be forced upon people at swordpoint.
You could make the exact same argument about a pen. A pen can kill, too. In fact, the pen has probably caused more death than the sword ever did.
That doesn't mean you get to go around stabbing and tearing people apart with the blade just because they committed a crime.
Similarly, just because Themis might hold a pen doesn't give anyone the right to hunt people down through systematic, written persecution.

We're talking about symbols here, not someone's personal desire to watch people bleed out or suffer in agony.

Anonymous said:Good grief, I can't believe someone actually typed this out. 😂😂

Look, have you even glanced at a history book?
Have you noticed how human behavior shifts right along with changes in the law?
Man, war itself is proof that human behavior—meaning crime—is often dictated by the "Constitution."

How can you claim monsters are everywhere and that laws or the Bible are the only things stopping them from acting out? That’s just plain ridiculous...

How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? (That was a rhetorical question; if you need a definition for "rhetorical," go find a dictionary.)

Yeah, in case you weren't aware, there are plenty of people—and we're talking about the vast majority here—who don't commit crimes simply because they fear the consequences:

1. Consequences defined by a legal state (like losing your freedom or paying a massive fine)
2. Consequences defined by a holy book like the Bible or the Quran, where an invisible being threatens you with eternal burning beneath the Earth's lithosphere—basically, hell.

When government laws collapse—take periods of total anarchy caused by wars, for example—people act revoltingly. Most people start acting like animals.
A smaller segment might hold steady because of religion, but once they lose faith, they fall too.
An extremely tiny sliver of the population has enough actual character to keep them from committing atrocities.
Basically, people are nasty, and they need artificial boundaries because they almost always find some way to justify their worst impulses.

You'll learn it in school.

Anonymous said:@placidjackal36
So, if I'm following your logic, you've never actually felt the urge to take someone for everything they're worth—it's just that the law and the Bible
have kept you in check?
That’s just one example, though. I'm not quite following... what exactly are you getting at here? 🤷

I keep forgetting how much information spreads online. 🤦

No, it wasn't the law or any holy books that stopped me (I'm not religious)—it was my conscience. I have impulses just like everyone else.

Anonymous said:🤦 Seriously, who is glorifying crimes in this thread??? Do you even know what "glorifying crime" actually means??

If you actually saw someone doing that here, then please, go ahead and quote it. Because if I’m reading you right, are you actually trying to suggest that we’re encouraging criminal activity through this discussion??

PS: Don't try to pull the "moderator" card on me in this argument. I couldn't care less about who holds a mod title or who has "lost their cool."

Look, some people just don't grasp the concept of glorifying crime because they think punishing a rapist is somehow a good thing. That’s why their input is completely irrelevant.
I don't need to quote anyone; this thread is barely five pages long, and it was already toxic by page one.
And honestly, I have zero interest in getting dragged into those pseudo-philosophical debates trolls love to start—the ones where they try to relativize actual evil. People with those kinds of "brilliant" minds are essentially the engines that drive wars, and frankly, talking about it is exhausting.