Posts by Charles Roberts33

Ashley Bailey6 said:I have one question for you then.

If you aren't an atheist, what are you?

And don't say agnostic. That's just a fancy way of saying "I can't decide if I want to eat or sleep."

Just your average local stray, if you must know.☕

Usually, these kinds of threads are sparked after a joint and a liter of cheap booze, shared with some girl with German-style tattoos you met two hours ago, where you try to navigate the conversation with broken English, blaming any awkwardness on "miscommunication" the second you say something too wild. But fine.

For me, spirituality isn't really about religion or the lack thereof; it’s more of a personal philosophy and a way of looking at things. I see this world—in all its magic and mystery—as a singular, divine entity with infinite facets, something that deserves quiet, dignified respect along with everything that makes it up. I suppose that falls under some kind of pantheism or paganism, call it what you will.
Atheists tend to trivialize that magic by trying to explain, define, label, and rationalize every living thing, effectively sucking the joy out of existence through sheer over-analysis. There's just no need for it.

By the way, you guys have been tripping harder than usual over the last few pages. Ugh. I'm just watching.

brightpilot6 said:I am not going around telling anyone they aren't allowed to believe something, nor am I demanding they adopt my own convictions. My only contention is that they shouldn't burden me with rules derived from their belief in the supernatural. The distinction is more than clear, isn't it? 🤷

As far as I'm concerned, you can worship at the altar of Christmas or believe in flying spaghetti monsters for all I care, just don't try to stop me from eating a steak simply because you’ve been told it's a sacred animal.

Then again, so many Christian customs have drifted into being just part of ordinary, secular life that they barely hold any primary connection to faith anymore. You see Muslims living in cities like New York decorating with fir trees, much like how even old-school communists embraced Santa Claus as a convenient substitute for the traditional December gift-giving season.

To claim otherwise—to insist these are strictly religious elements—is to suggest we've lost our grip on reality. Don't you think?

it’s a level of confusion that’s hard to quantify, even with the most precise language☕

I'm not imposing anything on anyone—much like you claim you aren't doing, and frankly, I couldn't if I tried. My point is simply this: if you claim to stand for one thing while doing another, or if you attack a phenomenon in one breath and embrace its components in the next, you come across as unserious, unfocused, and incoherent. That's all there is to it.

brightpilot6 said:I have to admit, I’m struggling to grasp the specific point that Charles Roberts33 and Paul Martinez73 are attempting to drive home in this discussion. Are they suggesting that anyone who participates in rituals tied to Christianity out of sheer force of tradition—despite not actually believing in all the religious mumbo-jumbo required of a Catholic—is somehow a hypocrite? If that is the case, what exactly is the logic behind why such a person shouldn't participate? Or am I missing something else entirely?

And if the answer is yes, does the same logic apply to believers: would it be considered hypocritical for them to utilize or engage with institutions whose very essence stands in direct opposition to church doctrine?

Thank God. If you’re going to stand for something, you do it all the way—not halfway, not a third of the way, and certainly not whenever it happens to suit your mood.
I'm not a believer. I don't hang lights, I don't sing Christmas carols, and frankly, I don't mind the people who do. I tend to avoid the crowds, too. But I find it pretty hilarious when people spend the entire year calling believers hypocrites—mocking how they interpret their faith just to suit themselves—only to turn around during the holidays and embrace every single one of those traditions. They cherry-pick exactly what they want from the customs: mostly the superficial stuff, the glitter, the kitsch, and the noise. It seems they find some sort of comfort or solace in that shallow spectacle.

It’s all or nothing. There is no middle ground. ☕

I’m not particularly fond of the Christian underpinnings behind all these Christmas traditions—being a logical, rational, enlightened atheist who relies on reason—but I just can't resist the gifts, the shopping, the credit card splurging, sipping mulled wine, and setting off fireworks. I suppose I have to find some sort of middle ground between these two worlds so I can keep indulging like an unrestrained child during this holiday season.🙂

Pure consistency, really. Just in terms of stupidity, hypocrisy, and being a total jerk.☕

Patrick Martin said:oh, nothing much, man, life's just absolutely perfect right now
except I got steamrolled by two total soldiers (one like a heavy mare gasping her last breath and the other like a shaky colt in labor),
besides the fact that I got drained dry by two different socio-economic systems (watching dead socialism collapse and wild capitalism struggle to be born)
and having watched one millennium die out just to witness the start of the next one

it’s a classic case of being in the wrong place at the absolute worst time...

Come on, don't be such a drama queen, for God's sake.😁

There was never such a thing as "the right time" here; something always gets in the way before everything can finally run smooth. Every generation has its own history of trauma and circumstances they were supposed to rise above, along with a long list of reasons why they didn't.
There’s no room for defeatism or despair. Let's be bold and aggressive about making new conquests in this new year.☕

Wait, you guys actually follow all of this? You listen to the speeches, the statements from headquarters, study the polls, the results, and everything else 🤣 🤣

my dear brothers

Patrick Martin said:Man, this whole country is just absolutely, fundamentally broken beyond repair. It’s a total disaster zone from top to bottom.

I have to wonder why you're making such a public spectacle of this, my dear colleague ajajajajajajajajuto. 🤔

Seriously, what on earth is driving you to be this obsessed?

Only Mr. Nedjeljko Babić and his 400x4 project can pull us out of this mess😉.

I’m practically celebrating every little finger sent skyward by this holiday's pyrotechnics, while keeping a very close eye on all the accident reports popping up on the news sites ☕.

No more NEŠ

Solid discussion over the last few pages.

brightpilot6, you really had to take some bizarre, convoluted logical detours to equate a single American woman with the entire population of our neighboring country.
In the end, you managed to interpret simple discomfort regarding that controversial concert—where she was riding a five-legged creature—and the sheer, unbridled enthusiasm her numbers sparked among a certain group of Americans who clearly lack any sense of shame, as some kind of regressive feeling of being threatened or fearful. You even framed it as an expression of open, toxic anti-Mexican sentiment, or whatever term you used. Honestly, it has nothing to do with that, and about six of us pointed that out before the debate even had a chance to head in that direction. But sure, whatever.
Discomfort, embarrassment, confusion—that’s all it was. Moving on.

I loved watching Star Wars as a kid; those old robots were so cool to me. But recently, after a ten-year break, I tried watching it again on my own, and man, I was bored out of my mind within thirty minutes. I just shut it off; basically fell asleep.

brightpilot6 said:Right, because we all living in Manhattan are just floating through some sort of utopia, completely oblivious to the reality of the world around us.

Is there actually any singer from the South who hasn't been slapped with some kind of political label by someone, somewhere?

We are approaching 2020. Seriously. In fifteen years—and it will likely stay this way because things rarely change, they usually just escalate—you all will become that same exhausting crowd that obsesses over outdated political factions, seeing them reflected in absolutely everyone. I say this as someone who actually lived through the conflict, unlike the younger generation who only knows it as a chapter in a history book.

I have nothing against artists from that side of the pond. Honestly, it feels beneath me to even bring it up. I listen to them constantly; I've paid for dozens of tickets. That kind of stuff doesn't affect me. Even mainstream pop-country isn't a personal issue for me, nor is the crowd that listens to it.

But Brena and her ilk? They represent the face of the aggressors. Their flashy, gaudy performances were basically the official soundtrack to the destruction of American cities. It echoed through ruins while boosting the morale of the "liberators" amidst the carnage. It’s frankly nauseating to see thousands of people in the capital singing those exact same songs along with a worn-out pop star. My subconscious immediately goes into survival mode.

I'm not even particularly bothered that she's performing here; I suppose I'm just disappointed that she didn't just attract the fringe elements, but such a massive crowd instead.

bluebison47 said:It’s... well, it's a tragedy of its own kind, I suppose. I don't know at what point in my life it would ever occur to me to pull out a phone during a concert or a big game... maybe I just don't get it.🙏

Did you show up to the event to record it, or to actually experience it?🤷

Personally, I forget my phone exists during concerts. I only remember it when I'm patting my pockets to make sure it hasn't slipped out in the crowd—and then I end up annoyed at home because all I have to show for it is four blurry photos and one shaky seven-second clip.

There's a middle ground, though. Knowing how to use your phone with some actual restraint isn't a bad idea.

brightpilot6 said:What on earth possessed you all to fall for that musical garbage that just rolled into New York City?🤣

That kind of music isn't really my cup of tea, though one has to admit the woman is certainly a household name.

Shoutout to ambertinker41 for that utterly futile attempt at a turnaround.

Well, I suppose those of you in NYC can afford to view this old legend as nothing more than a singer of questionable talent—treating her appearance with total indifference because she isn't quite your style. Meanwhile, back in other parts of the country, she triggers much deeper associations and far stronger emotions.
Whatever. Arguing about it is pointless.

But the woman truly is an Icon.

I’m really not an expert when it comes to smartphones.

I’ve been using some kind of Xiaomi device—can’t recall the specific model right now—but it’s solid. Plus, I’ve got that insurance coverage where I can just swap it for a new one if I crack the screen like I usually do by
now 🙂

I have no chill 🙂

So, are we doing this?

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the whole scene itself—let people party if they want to, even if there's an audience for it. But seeing Madison Square Garden sold out two nights in a row? Seeing that kind of mindless frenzy? It’s a hard pill to swallow. Even world-renowned icons can only dream of the hysteria that old relic has stirred up among Americans 🤦.

And it isn’t just about questionable musical taste. It’s more about a catastrophic lack of shame, a total loss of memory, and a complete disregard for the sheer scale of this country—for its recent history, its deep-seated traumas, and those wounds that struggle to heal. For some, they never will. Yet, all of that is being trivialized by this kind of unrestrained, mass-scale indulgence.

In the heart of Washington, D.C., for the second night running, they’re playing those tracks by the ever-popular Fahrete Yahić Živojinović 😎

It’s hard to explain how I can never quite get over that narrow-minded, small-town mentality.
Honestly, I start to boil over like a pressure cooker whenever I dwell on this kind of thing. God help us. ☕

Matthew Young35 said:A hit is a hit... damn it.
Evergreen.

I prefer this version. 🤷