delta_argument large_stringlengths 7 9.97k | no_delta_argument large_stringlengths 12 9.95k | topic large_stringlengths 4 295 | date_published timestamp[us, tz=UTC]date 2013-02-07 03:18:24 2017-04-17 15:16:03 | delta_len_chars int64 7 9.97k | nodelta_len_chars int64 12 9.95k | delta_len_tokens int64 1 1.76k | nodelta_len_tokens int64 1 1.75k |
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Interestingly enough, they did exactly this in the U.K. about thirty or so years ago. It all seems logical and practical and like it should work. Then they decided that legally, ownership was satisfied if you could own something at all. So handguns were turned in in huge numbers and you were allowed to keep rifles and... | I agree that SOMETHING needs to be done. However, what you suggest is not a "Win / Win" scenario, nor is it a compromise, it is a blatant retraction of the Second Amendment Rights (and if someone can vote to take it away, is it truly a "Right?") There seems to be no "Give" on the "Anti-Gun" side of the equation, just t... | Here's what I would change about American gun regulations. CMV | 2013-02-07T03:18:24Z | 3,809 | 1,445 | 704 | 274 |
**tl;dr:** Nobody is arguing for the right to marry (or have sex with) animals. It's a red herring, and it might be at least as interesting to explore your differences about morality before getting into the weeds on sexual politics. I think this argument frequently arises from those who are stridently opposed to homose... | Yes, I'm sure sometimes the animal does in fact enjoy it and want it, the problem is that you can never be sure because you can not communicate in a 100% certain way. You can manipulate a child into thinking it wants something and act upon it, just like you can manipulate an animal into thinking it wants something and ... | I don't understand what people find wrong with bestiality. CMV. | 2013-02-10T23:08:57Z | 2,634 | 1,768 | 448 | 324 |
There are three main arguments against bestiality, and I'm going to list them below in order from most reasonable (in my opinion) to least reasonable: **1. Bestiality is inherently harmful to the animal since the animal cannot give consent, and it can sometimes be harmful to the human as well.** The first half of this ... | Yes, I'm sure sometimes the animal does in fact enjoy it and want it, the problem is that you can never be sure because you can not communicate in a 100% certain way. You can manipulate a child into thinking it wants something and act upon it, just like you can manipulate an animal into thinking it wants something and ... | I don't understand what people find wrong with bestiality. CMV. | 2013-02-10T23:08:57Z | 4,498 | 1,768 | 740 | 324 |
While I would agree that it is just as possible for a vegetarian diet to be healthy for most people, there are some that are physically *required* to eat meat. I have a friend that has an admittedly rare issue with anemia. While most anemics are able to take iron pills or consume plants that are rich in iron, her body ... | I completely agree that many if not most of the processes by which we treat our animals for meat is inhumane. However, there is nothing inhumane about eating animals, simply look to biology for that, all animals eat different animals for various nutritional reasons. If you're staying healthy than being a vegetarian I b... | I believe there are no valid arguments for eating meat, other than "I like the taste" - CMV | 2013-02-12T13:24:36Z | 497 | 959 | 91 | 172 |
"I do believe that you were probably lacking some important parts of your diet when you were not eating meat." That sounds as close to a valid argument for eating meat as I think I'm going to get out of you. To not accept that it could even be possible that some people actually need some level of meat in their diets t... | Ok, here's my shot! Firstly, I agree with your environmental arguments, but let's leave them aside for now. Secondly, animal welfare is important and we don't do enough on it. Personally, I think every slaughterhouse and farm should be mandated to upload a video of their conditions to the internet every year. That way ... | I believe there are no valid arguments for eating meat, other than "I like the taste" - CMV | 2013-02-12T13:24:36Z | 2,387 | 2,889 | 439 | 527 |
Here's how I look at it. Just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you suddenly stop finding anything besides your SO aesthetically pleasing. We are built to appreciate beauty, whether it's in the form of a sunset or a brightly colored bird or an attractive person. You're not going to become blind to all that ... | Man, I feel you. I used to be kinda the same way (still am, to an extent)... Like you and other commenters have said, it's probably rooted at least somewhat in your own self esteem issues, so it would probably help you significantly to address those with the help of your gf if you feel.comfortable talking to her about ... | I get internally furious whenever girls/guys in a relationship (including my girlfriend) comment on the attractiveness of anybody else, especially celebrities, simply because I think it's wrong for a significant other to think about that sort of thing. CMV. | 2013-02-13T07:43:06Z | 1,643 | 2,657 | 298 | 477 |
Let me pose you a question: Do you simply accept as your significant other the most attractive person you can find? If you were with someone for a long time, then a more physically attractive person came along, would you just discard them because the next person is more physically attractive? For almost all of us, the ... | my boyfriend and i are actually pretty open about who else we find attractive. it's not like we/either of us outright, frequently state "oh she's hot!" or "mmm look at him". but we have talked about other people (i think mostly just celebrities) we find attractive. i think it's a healthy thing to be this open with your... | I get internally furious whenever girls/guys in a relationship (including my girlfriend) comment on the attractiveness of anybody else, especially celebrities, simply because I think it's wrong for a significant other to think about that sort of thing. CMV. | 2013-02-13T07:43:06Z | 941 | 1,548 | 161 | 273 |
The person in power needs to have at least some motivation to do what their office requires. I am currently a part of a committee in which no one wants to be the "head" who calls meetings, makes agendas, etc. Someone reluctantly stepped into the role and agreed to be head of the committee for a year, and guess what? No... | I've worked with a lot of other powerful people, at local, national, and international levels. If there's one thing I've learned from observing those kinds of people, it is that wielding power is a difficult job that not everyone are made for. No, I think the meek would be real shitty leaders. While the same things mak... | I believe those who want power shouldn't have it. CMV. | 2013-02-16T15:56:12Z | 1,539 | 1,321 | 280 | 237 |
What you are referring to is called adverse selection- the people who you want to do business with you are the exact kind of people you don't want to do it with. Some people make convincing arguments that randomly selecting a president would lead to better policy than the current systems. My only counter is that it re... | What if you want power as a means to an end? What if you do "believe everyone should be equal" and you think our government and society are doing the wrong things to make that happen? How would you change it but to become more powerful yourself and change people's minds and the government's policies? | I believe those who want power shouldn't have it. CMV. | 2013-02-16T15:56:12Z | 746 | 301 | 127 | 55 |
Unfortunately there may come a point, were your life will get fucked up. Maybe it's an accident, maybe something else. Maybe financial problems, or a psychosis, everything is possible. Who will stay with you, support you, when they get nothing in return? Friends? Even if you have really good friends it would surprise m... | I kinda have the same problem, I guess. But like Doctor_Candy said; it's probably a stage in your life and you may get over it soon. You may not, I don't know. Your views and decisions on life, relationships and most things are more likely based on them (Unless you somehow changed yourself to the point where aren't lik... | I do not love my parents. CMV | 2013-02-16T19:18:14Z | 1,007 | 559 | 187 | 106 |
Thanks for the clarification. You might be interested to know that you are saying something very close to the Rare Earth Hypothesis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis Life forming in early earth wouldn't be so much someone rolling a die, but more like a die rolling around a shaking bowl. It's bouncing ... | Just want to point out first that evolution has nothing to do with "creation by accident". Evolution refers to how life, once created, changed over generations. If you're talking about the origins of life, you're talking about abiogenesis. If you're talking about the origins of the universe, that's a completely separat... | I believe that intelligent design (not necessarily the six-day creation as Christians believe), but the idea that the universe did not happen by accident, is a valid theory, and should be taught alongside evolution. CMV | 2013-02-27T02:39:30Z | 1,920 | 1,037 | 310 | 170 |
* We have lots of evidence that shows how the Earth was created. None of it points to being created by another being of supreme intelligence. Refer to the [Watchmaker Analogy.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmaker_analogy#Criticism) * There is no evidence at all that a Supreme Being exists. We have Hubble Telescopes... | my biggest issue with evolution is odds. The statistics that any sort of anything, even a single molecule, could be created by accident, ex nihilo, is just preposterous to me. In addition to that, the sheer size and complexity of the universe exponentially decreases these odds, and I find it baffling anyone could belie... | I believe that intelligent design (not necessarily the six-day creation as Christians believe), but the idea that the universe did not happen by accident, is a valid theory, and should be taught alongside evolution. CMV | 2013-02-27T02:39:30Z | 964 | 778 | 153 | 126 |
Well, I'm just trying to argue from a purely practical standpoint. Practically speaking, why should the rich bother with helping the poor? The frank, rather crass, answer to this, is that if the rich don't do anything to help the poor, the poor will kill them and take their stuff. It has happened many times in the past... | Although agree that the poor shouldn't be helped, I don't think the rich should have as much as they do. It's unnecessary to have way more than you need, and that money could be put to better use by helping the general public. | The rich have no obligation to help the poor. CMV | 2013-02-28T00:58:48Z | 961 | 226 | 179 | 43 |
Ironically, you're thinking about this in a stereotypically Christian way instead of a stereotypically atheist way. You believe that most religious people act a certain way because that matches up with how you *want* the world to be. That's more or less what blind faith is. If you really had a science-based viewpoint, ... | I submit that knowledge of morality (and the tendency to act in moral ways) is an innate human characteristic, and that the only difference between atheists and Christians for purposes of this discussion is a disagreement about where morality actually comes from. Many Christians may *say* that their morality comes from... | I think most atheists are better people than most religious people. CMV | 2013-03-04T16:55:58Z | 1,104 | 573 | 169 | 95 |
You're not the sort of person a Mac is targeted at. I finally figured this out: Macs are computers for people who *don't like computers* (and graphic designers). If you run a *nix box, you love tinkering with stuff. If you run Windows, you're happy to change some settings, learn about your computer, download the extras... | I remember when we were shopping for my wife's computer in fall 2011, the employee at Best Buy showed us an email he'd gotten from his supervisor about failure rates for laptop's made by different companies. I remember that Asus was the highest PC on the list, but I can't remember if mac was on the list or if he just t... | I see no logical reason to spend more money on a Mac opposed to a PC unless a college class requires one. CMV. | 2013-03-06T20:54:13Z | 1,356 | 1,097 | 257 | 189 |
American here. Gonna attempt the simple answer. Really don't know if this is going to help or change your mind, but here it goes. Maybe the reason is that we glorify our Founding Fathers the same way many cultures glorify their roots. It's a simple story that establishes us as a people, which we all can find common gro... | Can't really change your mind, [most of it is pure propaganda.](http://www.cracked.com/article_18489_6-mind-blowing-achievements-in-propaganda_p2.html) (#2 in the article). So the obvious thing is that we were all told that our "Founding Fathers" of the State were the "smartest people alive," so that it can be beaten i... | I don't understand why many Americans deify their founding fathers, and I feel as though I'm missing something obvious. CMV. | 2013-03-07T16:15:57Z | 608 | 1,000 | 106 | 149 |
I see it like this, it's a bit weird but, here goes: The lock and the key aren't really referring to vagina/penis. What they refer to is the chaser and the chased. What I mean is this, the lock is guarding something, it's always there, and you know there's something good behind it, but you don't know what. It could be ... | Isn't the saying "A good lock is opened by one key, but a good key opens more than one lock"? ANYWAY, more importantly, the "is a woman a slut for sleeping around question/should we applaud men for being player?" question. Basically, I want you to ask yourself two questions: What's wrong with a woman having sex with mu... | I think the saying "A good key can open many locks, but a shit lock is opened by many keys" has some truth to it. CMV. | 2013-03-08T16:52:59Z | 850 | 626 | 162 | 117 |
Kind of. It's a device to ensure that everyone in our society can maintain a certain quality of life. My analysis assumes the same assumptions as your premise. I want to reiterate to you that ending welfare would not end poverty. People have been poor since the dawn of time. For most of history there hasn't even been a... | I believe that the poor should find work for themselves and develop other means of resources via Civil Society and entrepreneurship. That being said, cutting welfare is not a valid option for a number of reasons. Unlike many other forms of husbanding resources poor people are active political actors, not to the same ex... | I believe we should cut welfare and let the poor either die or survive by their own means. CMV | 2013-03-11T02:21:30Z | 663 | 4,754 | 121 | 833 |
You can get the amino acids easily with combinations of beans/legumes and grains. (Beans and rice combined contains all the amino acids we need.) I absolutely agree that we would need to adjust what we grow, especially since a lot of the specific things we feed livestock can't necessarily be processed by our bodies at ... | I'll make a comment about the plants. I'm vegetarian. I became a vegetarian because at a young age I saw an animal being tortured (cut in half while still alive, front half trying to run away) and it scarred me. I could never do that to animal. Even if it's still being killed, I don't have to eat it. I don't want to, i... | I think moral vegetarianism is wrong and maybe even pointless, CMV | 2013-03-13T02:43:31Z | 678 | 957 | 118 | 187 |
[From two days ago.](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1a23kl/cmv_i_dont_believe_man_are_able_to_be_raped_by/) I'm not calling it a repost, but you might find it a useful resource. Firstly, I want to know what you mean when you say you don't believe men can be raped by women, but that you *know* they can. I... | Does it hurt men physically to be raped (no bondage/drugs/alcohol involved)? I sound like one of those legitimate rape Republicans here, but if a man is being raped by a woman, why can't he just... enjoy it? I hate to sound like a jerk but um...do you actually know what rape is? Rape is any time that one person, throug... | I don't believe men can be raped by women. CMV. | 2013-03-13T16:45:10Z | 4,775 | 3,141 | 859 | 584 |
I am going to disagree with half of your statement and agree with half of your statement. Piracy is not and can not be theft. Theft requires depriving someone of realized goods or money. Piracy does not deprive the copyright holder of goods. Piracy does not deprive the copyright holder of realized monetary gain. The ha... | The question here is "Does piracy cost replace sales?" The answer is apparently [no](http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/21/does-online-piracy-hurt-the-economy-a-look-at-the-numbers/). Using modern methods it's normally easier to get something legally via digital download than it is to pirate it. So, why shoul... | I think pirating movies/TV shows/music/software is theft and should continue to be illegal. CMV. | 2013-03-21T22:05:24Z | 2,713 | 1,378 | 463 | 221 |
The record/movie/entertainment media business has a serious problem. The fact is that they used to sell something that was tied to a physical product. A vhs tape, DVD, etc. Much of their money came from selling these things. But the landscape has changed dramatically. Now their content is available anywhere by anyone. ... | The question here is "Does piracy cost replace sales?" The answer is apparently [no](http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/21/does-online-piracy-hurt-the-economy-a-look-at-the-numbers/). Using modern methods it's normally easier to get something legally via digital download than it is to pirate it. So, why shoul... | I think pirating movies/TV shows/music/software is theft and should continue to be illegal. CMV. | 2013-03-21T22:05:24Z | 2,360 | 1,378 | 407 | 221 |
13.**Niagara Falls** [The age of Niagara Falls is estimated to be about 7,000 years. This only gives the age of the Falls, and not the age of the earth Not only must the falls be created, but the rocks which the falls cuts through must be deposited. Young earth estimates do not account for the deposition of the rocks I... | I don't really think there are good reasons to believe in God. That seems like a pretty basic challenge here - if you can't establish that there is a God, the rest of it can't be rationally defended either. I get that that's not really what the topic is about, though. That aside, if she did exist, why would she make a ... | I believe in a young Earth and a universe that is 6,000 years old rather than 13.8 Billion [CMV] | 2013-03-22T00:05:37Z | 6,889 | 1,746 | 1,034 | 296 |
What if you don't have the resources to support a child? What if you know any child you have would have a high likelihood of carrying a genetic disease present in you and/or your partner? Is it selfish not to want to bring a child into the world knowing they would only face hardship? What if you just never wanted kids?... | Having children only creates more people to demand resources. If you desire to see a couple with significant resources do good for the world, the best option would be to use those resources on kids without the need to bring more into the world. If a couple is certain that they have the resources, time, capability, and ... | I think that couples that do not have kids are selfish, CMV | 2013-03-26T01:06:22Z | 713 | 666 | 135 | 111 |
"First few"? As in a certain number of drinks? People become intoxicated after different numbers of drinks. How can we legally determine what that amount is? And you say "something other than yourself". No, you are still ledge_and, no matter how many drinks you've had, but your ability to make judgements and decisions ... | You know that drinking could lead you to these things. You know that drinking is a bad idea. you know drinking is stupid. You choose to drink. You blame it on drinking. You chose to drink. Total negligence if you do something stupid just because you wanted to fuck around. If you do something knowing that it could harm ... | I believe that people shouldn't be legally held accountable for their actions when significantly intoxicated, CMV. | 2013-03-27T19:38:09Z | 646 | 794 | 109 | 143 |
I read the title and thought "this should be easy". Then I read the body and thought, "well that was reasonable". I think the weak point of your argument is [what feminists want](http://i.imgur.com/xjCkkRq.png). There are so many types of feminism, and two in particular are not interested in creating a unisex world. Th... | I think feminism is not so much about pretending that men and women are alike in every way. It's more about fighting the idea that the differences make men superior to women, and fighting the fact that women get treated as inferior people because of that. The last sentence in your post seems to sum up the disparity be... | I oppose feminism, and I don't think women are equal to men. CMV. | 2013-03-27T22:53:41Z | 961 | 937 | 130 | 171 |
It's not just personal safety, though. It's also other people's liability. Say you don't wear your seatbelt. What if another car accidentally hits your car from behind. If wearing a seatbelt, you would have survived, but instead you hit the windshield and, with the harsh impact, die. Instead of a smaller insurance issu... | I also don't think it should be enforced by law, but I think it should be enforced by insurance premiums. If you don't wear your seat-belt, it increases the likelihood that you'll get seriously injured in a car crash. Therefore, insurance companies should be able to charge more for people who don't wear there seatbelts... | I don't believe wearing a seat-belt in a privately owned vehicle should be enforced by law, CMV | 2013-03-28T20:24:23Z | 484 | 686 | 79 | 116 |
One thing to consider is that free will and determinism are not the same thing. I agree that it seems unlikely that free will exists for the reasons you said, but I don't believe it's possible to determine the future due to quantum uncertainty. Basically, I believe that things happen on the quantum level in an non-dete... | Determinism can't be true if you look at quantum physics, but this still says nothing about free will. If you want to be convinced that determinism is wrong read some books about the quantum world, if you want to have free will I can't help | I hold a deterministic view on life CMV | 2013-03-31T02:19:07Z | 395 | 240 | 67 | 45 |
The reason for this is not that police officers have a greater value (if they do is not the question here) the reason is that police officers are more likely to to be killed. For example, if a criminal is being apprehended by the police, if he thinks that it would be possible to escape by killing the officer making the... | The reason the justice system elevates peace officers, and therefore the media imitates this notion, is because there would be an open season. Open season for cop killers. What incentive do criminals have for not murdering a police officer when they receive the same punishment when killing a regular person? We have to ... | I don't believe that "cop killers" are any worse than regular killers. CMV | 2013-03-31T03:01:34Z | 492 | 358 | 94 | 59 |
I am currently experiencing unmedicated depression. I have not been awake for more than a 90 minute period today. I have an exam in a subject I love on Monday, but studying for even a few minutes instantly results in a wave of crushing fatigue. I cry every time I wake up, both because I can't bear the thought of moving... | Hi! I'm you. Well, I mean, I was you two years ago, before a crushing battle with depression which I ultimately lost completely, as per my previous definition of winning and losing vs mental illness. Specifically: I am a previously healthy person who maintained a 4.0 through five semesters of school. Over the three sem... | I don't believe depression is a real illness. | 2013-03-31T03:13:33Z | 4,529 | 5,007 | 847 | 927 |
Don't attach rainbows and lisps with gays. These attributes aren't exclusive to gays. A lot of gays are nothing like that. A gay person acting like a fool should disgust you no more than a straight person acting like a fool. They are both fools. A straight man walking around in leather, acting like a girl, talking with... | It depends which component of it annoys you. Are you annoyed by the perceived attention-seeking component of the behavior or is it the fact that they're not "acting like real men" according to you ? And when you say "acting like a girl", are you talking about acting like a stereotypical drama queen teenager girl scream... | I can't stand flamboyant gay people. CMV | 2013-03-31T03:40:50Z | 962 | 665 | 178 | 114 |
If we can (relatively) cheaply manage or cure a genetic disorder in a person, how can we deny them the chance at a better life (or even life, period) on the basis that their future descendants will suffer from the same affliction, which by all estimates will be as easy or easier to cure by the time they are born. And w... | Genetic variation is important, it is the fuel for evolution that makes species robust. Human species is still lacking variation thanks to population bottlenecks and almost going extinct. The patient you are about to kill may hold mutation that would allow our species to survive in the future. Thanks to sex and geneti... | I don't think its a good idea to treat illnesses that are genetic because we are increasing their rate in the human population CMV | 2013-04-01T21:14:14Z | 905 | 1,872 | 161 | 325 |
I struggled with (and still do, to some extent) buying into this stereotype. I couldn't possibly see the appeal of frat life other than for drinking, partying, and sexing. When my best friend rushed his freshman year I was astonished. He wasn't the frat "type" by any stretch of the imagination. We were (and still are) ... | Story of a guy who joined a frat, then decided to leave. My freshman year of college, I rushed a fraternity. It was something I never thought I would do. Here is the sequence of events that led me to do it: First, as a freshman looking for the college experience, I went to a couple of their parties. I am not a big drin... | I think that fraternities and sororities are wastes of time and are full of partiers. CMV | 2013-04-02T16:17:00Z | 2,165 | 5,073 | 407 | 941 |
There's a difference between saying "I prefer not to eat dog/hamster/snake meat" and "eating dog/hamster/snake/ meat is wrong". The former is a preference and finding the consumption of those meats to be gross is a perfectly acceptable reason to prefer not eat them. | I'm personally not grossed out by any of the meats you listed apart from human. I don't know why but the thought is revolting. With that said I see any reason why consumption of any meat (including human) could be objectively wrong. Everything came from the same matter as everything else, which is why I found it silly ... | If you are willing to eat meat, then I don't think you should be grossed out by eating ANY meat, including dog meat, hamster meat, snake meat.. even human meat. CMV | 2013-04-03T00:51:35Z | 266 | 475 | 43 | 88 |
Well; I won't pry into your argument with her, but friendships are precious and I hope you have luck with that. Moving on. You're making a claim that someone needs to be happy with what they have. But I don't necessarily see that as true. I read to get smarter, work out to get fitter, make more friends, try new thing... | Some girls are taught at a young age that make-up is **required**. This is, of course, an old fashioned mind set, but still a mindset that, from my experience, very much exists. Then you have the self esteem issues. Make-up makes you look perfect when done properly, which gives you confidence, which makes you more attr... | I believe women just wear makeup to get attention, and that wearing it indicates self-esteem or self-worth issues. Reddit, please CMV! | 2013-04-03T02:43:47Z | 1,425 | 777 | 284 | 135 |
Let's say it does. So what? [*Drinking* raises your chances of being raped](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14743937), considering the high percentage of rapes which involve intoxication or doctoring of intoxicating drinks. Should people stop drinking in order to reduce their chances of being raped? If someone gets ... | There are a couple things wrong with the way this is worded, as well as how rape is discussed in general. * Women do not "get raped." Men rape women. Phrasing it the other way implies that the woman is partially at fault, when in actuality it is a man's responsibility to not be a terrible human being and take advantage... | I don't see how being drunk and in "promiscuous" clothing, doesn't increase the chance of rape | 2013-04-03T17:07:59Z | 834 | 1,819 | 113 | 327 |
A problem is that use of a condom is risk management, it doesn't remove risk. All the risks that are present without condoms are still present with them, just to a lesser extent. So, promiscuity is a potential health hazard, even with safe sex. Additionally, it's easy to wind up with different goals with sex partners, ... | When you think about the roles sex plays in our society, it's usually like this: girls fuck to get close to someone; guys just fuck to fuck. So when a guy says "I've fucked 7 or 8 girls before," that's just what it means. But when a girl says "I've fucked 7 or 8 guys before," she's seen as trying to fall in love with a... | I don't think it's wrong for a girl to be slutty and promiscuous provided that she practises safe sex and birth control. CMV | 2013-04-04T18:33:54Z | 1,339 | 817 | 234 | 159 |
A benefit you're missing: (Or, alternately, a cost to having the religious symbols): The symbols placed there/supported by gov't are alienating those that don't share those beliefs, especially if the gov't says "yes, religion X can have its symbols there, but not religion Y, and definitely none for atheists" A school t... | Public religious symbols, along with God's name on currency and in the pledge of allegiance, don't do any harm to anyone. Public religious symbols can mislead religious people, who have the ability to influence public policy, about the separation of church and state. Many times I've heard the argument that this is a Ch... | I absolutely despise atheist organizations that attempt to remove public religious symbols. CMV | 2013-04-05T22:39:31Z | 662 | 607 | 107 | 102 |
The fundamental flaw with your reasoning is that you assume that an action has to be justified. Do I also have to justify my love of pepperoni pizza? How about my coffee in the morning? Do I have to justify buying a BMW because, "I find it baffling that anyone would consciously choose to ~~drink alcohol~~ buy a BMW for... | For the simple reason that many people find the effects of alcohol enjoyable. That in no way means you personally should drink. But the fact that you don't enjoy it is not enough of a reason to deny it to anyone else. | I don't think that any social drinking (alcohol) is justifiable. CMV | 2013-04-07T08:53:24Z | 1,196 | 217 | 220 | 42 |
My problem with private, fee-charging schools is that they help to sustain inequality. Assuming in the UK pupils are assigned to schools based on where they live, and the funding of the school depends on the tax income of an area, this still perpetuates inequality. Schools in poor neighborhoods will remain poor. As th... | As they charge fees they have more money per pupil, which should mean that the quality of the education provided is better. Are you saying a step *up* for society would be to abolish those better schools, meaning everyone's left getting the same (which you've admitted is *worse*) public education? So children of the ri... | I think private schools should be abolished. CMV. | 2013-04-08T17:34:07Z | 1,531 | 902 | 254 | 153 |
Hi, this is my first answer to a CMV post so I hope I can be of some use. There are actually a great many things I would like to point out, so I'm sorry for the incoming wall of text. 1) You claim that private schools are bad because they disproportionately aid the rich. However, I think you would agree that they do no... | Do you also believe that private microwaves, cell phones, food, cars should also be abolished, since they all cost money and richer people get better ones, thus increasing inequality? Private schools are actually different from the above because they have more financial aid that public schools, so they actually allow ... | I think private schools should be abolished. CMV. | 2013-04-08T17:34:07Z | 4,552 | 1,135 | 825 | 189 |
Not all private school pupils are from rich families. I'm well aware I've been lucky in life; my parents are not rich, but they're not poor either. My Mum went back to work to pay our tuition fees (about 1.5k per term - low by comparison to most private schools) and we did without the big yearly holidays other people h... | As they charge fees they have more money per pupil, which should mean that the quality of the education provided is better. Are you saying a step *up* for society would be to abolish those better schools, meaning everyone's left getting the same (which you've admitted is *worse*) public education? So children of the ri... | I think private schools should be abolished. CMV. | 2013-04-08T17:34:07Z | 2,379 | 902 | 413 | 153 |
In order to understand transgender people, you need to understand why it occurs. Here's an explanation: In the womb, sex differentiation as well as brain differentiation occurs. Sex differentiation leads to either a male or female body (usually. About 1% of the time it's something in between. This is called intersex). ... | First off, human sexuality is a vastly understudied science. There's a lot we still don't know and are still learning about. There's three main sub-fields to human sexuality: biological/anatomical, psychological/behavioral, and socio/anthropological. Each are immensely understudied, and it's reflected in the culture as... | I have no problem with homosexuality or bisexuality, but I think anything beyond that is just a desperate cry for attention. CMV | 2013-04-11T02:49:56Z | 3,078 | 7,517 | 444 | 1,061 |
Well, think about it this way. It feels arbitrary to you because you haven't learned anything about it. It's very easy (when you don't know anything about a topic) to say, "Well, they just made all this shit up!" I mean, you can do that about anything. United States government? "Jeez, they just picked three branches of... | First off, human sexuality is a vastly understudied science. There's a lot we still don't know and are still learning about. There's three main sub-fields to human sexuality: biological/anatomical, psychological/behavioral, and socio/anthropological. Each are immensely understudied, and it's reflected in the culture as... | I have no problem with homosexuality or bisexuality, but I think anything beyond that is just a desperate cry for attention. CMV | 2013-04-11T02:49:56Z | 1,813 | 7,517 | 318 | 1,061 |
Would it have been more difficult for them to stand in line, though? I think the best solution for them would have been to call ahead, explain, and ask if they could reserve two seats, perhaps by paying a premium, or maybe hire someone to wait in line for them? Just spit-balling. You're correct that it's only 25% obes... | I find it interesting that you begrudge the obese couple from yesterday evening their seats, because i would argue that they asked for additional seating and you did not. Managment obliged to the wish of a pair of customers and you have no idea they would not have obliged yours if you had asked. I agree with you that i... | I believe the obese aren't entitled to the same accommodations we make for the disabled. | 2013-04-11T20:55:55Z | 617 | 2,402 | 107 | 436 |
Right, by that definition we could call video games a sport (and some might). I thought about making a case earlier for golf filling the role of physical prowess as well. I think if you require at least some physical prowess to exist to call it a sport that you can as golf does require this. At least, to be good at ... | This is more in agreement with you but this is something I worked out a few months back when having this exact same discussion with some of my friends. Keep in mind I hold no judgement for or against any category, I'm just making some definitions for everyone's clarity. Category 1 - Games Non-Active, Competitive, Vario... | I don't think Golf is a sport, more of a hobby. CMV. | 2013-04-11T22:01:16Z | 1,033 | 852 | 193 | 129 |
When my twins were a week and a half old we took them along with us and our older two kids to see Cars 2. They each fussed for about a second when it was feeding time, but then we gave them their bottles and they shut up, ate and slept through the movie. When the movie was done the people that we were near said to us t... | if someone brings their baby and it either starts making cooing noises or starts crying *and the parent either does nothing or tries to get the baby to stop crying while still in the theater instead of taking it outside* So this is the real problem. The part about babies is a red herring - if *anyone* is being disrupti... | I believe people should not be allowed to bring babies in a movie theater except if it's a special "everybody can bring their babies" showing/theater. CMV | 2013-04-13T12:43:59Z | 806 | 1,197 | 158 | 220 |
Well, it seems to me if one is very concerned about life then one must be against abortion. I think we could improve on this statement a bit. One motivation for being vegetarian or vegan is that you are concerned with the rights of others, even when those others are non-human. The question then is "what rights do peop... | As many others have mentioned, pro-choice != pro-abortion. I'm pro-choice because my grandmother was an OBGYN nurse who helped deliver high-risk pregnancies. She also saw many, many DIY abortions gone wrong, which can result in two deaths. I'm pro-choice because I value a woman's life more than a potential life and I w... | Vegetarians (and the like minded) are being hypocritical if they are Pro-Choice. CMV | 2013-04-13T15:09:03Z | 1,261 | 1,103 | 231 | 182 |
The reasons why I believe this are that the great majority of creationists and religious fundamentalists are from the South, and many of the horribly stupid politicians that we've seen over the past ten or so years have been propped up by their Southern supporters. I think a flaw in your argument is that you are presu... | Northerner here. Specifically Massachusetts. Yeah, we're much more progressive socially overall, better educated, and less godly on average. Most of the republicans here are intelligent and have good rationales, and maybe even are more libertarians (liberal on social issues) sometimes. I honestly can't disagree with yo... | I think that Northerners are smarter and more educated than Southerners (in the United States). CMV. | 2013-04-14T16:45:34Z | 5,085 | 1,380 | 858 | 227 |
I see two "flaws" with your argument, and would like to ask one clarifying question. **Flaw 1** The reasons why I believe this are that the great majority of creationists and religious fundamentalists are from the South You're making the assumption that all creationists and fundamentalists are dumb. If that's the claim... | Hey I can help here. I've lived and worked in the South/Midwest and the Northeast, as an adult, for 3+ years each. (Texas/Northern Florida + Maryland/DC). I feel like this puts me in a unique position to give some insight here. There is a culture in a lot of the South and the Midwest that leads people to believe in the... | I think that Northerners are smarter and more educated than Southerners (in the United States). CMV. | 2013-04-14T16:45:34Z | 3,664 | 1,127 | 640 | 196 |
You ever beamed a Nutria with a .22? That in and of itself is pretty hard, but you ever killed one with a .22? Do you then know how to dress and clean a nutria so that it can be food? Can you service a tractor? do you know whats wrong with a diesel engine simply based on its sound? Do you know how fucking hard dynamit... | Hey I can help here. I've lived and worked in the South/Midwest and the Northeast, as an adult, for 3+ years each. (Texas/Northern Florida + Maryland/DC). I feel like this puts me in a unique position to give some insight here. There is a culture in a lot of the South and the Midwest that leads people to believe in the... | I think that Northerners are smarter and more educated than Southerners (in the United States). CMV. | 2013-04-14T16:45:34Z | 2,073 | 1,127 | 388 | 196 |
My contention was with the fact that you failed to address the underlying support system. You can't just say "oh, let's make this legal" without addressing it. Decriminalisation now - that's a different ball game. BTW - prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas. With drugs - what do you think might happen to cartels? Will ... | The first thing I really feel a need to address is the seat belt issue: I'm driving down the highway, behind your car. In Scenario 1, you have a seat belt and you're buckled in. In Scenario 2, you aren't wearing your seat belt. Now, in each scenario, the car in front of you stops short, so you stop short. I was maybe d... | I believe all victimless crimes, including prostitution and drug use should be legalized. CMV | 2013-04-14T19:11:41Z | 799 | 7,464 | 140 | 1,360 |
Methamphetamine is a schedule 2 drug in America, meaning it can be prescribed by a doctor. It's primary use is weight loss, but sometimes its used for ADD. I think you're comparing apples to oranges here. Those drugs are regulated by the food and drug administration and given for a specific purpose (such as those you m... | The first thing I really feel a need to address is the seat belt issue: I'm driving down the highway, behind your car. In Scenario 1, you have a seat belt and you're buckled in. In Scenario 2, you aren't wearing your seat belt. Now, in each scenario, the car in front of you stops short, so you stop short. I was maybe d... | I believe all victimless crimes, including prostitution and drug use should be legalized. CMV | 2013-04-14T19:11:41Z | 1,470 | 7,464 | 250 | 1,360 |
Not wearing your seatbelt does not just impact you. If you're the driver I can immediately think of a couple ways in which you not wearing your seatbelt impacts a lot of other people: - If you lose control of your car, through no fault of your own or otherwise, you're going to have a much better chance of mitigating t... | The major issue I always have with these arguments are that you may think "victimless crimes" are always self-inflicted but they generally harm everyone else indirectly (and sometimes directly). They are to protect yourself (and others) from yourself. Examples: Example 1: I am a meth addict. I decide I want to do meth ... | I believe all victimless crimes, including prostitution and drug use should be legalized. CMV | 2013-04-14T19:11:41Z | 1,095 | 1,666 | 202 | 319 |
Everyone else is doing the statistics stuff, so I'll address this: Even on a personal level I have found that girls are petty and silly, while men I have interacted with are far more interesting to have conversations with. I'm a woman. I could very easily say something like, "I have found men are rude and creepy, whi... | girls are petty and silly, while men I have interacted with are far more interesting to have conversations with. I'm going to be frank about this. Most people IN GENERAL are dull, petty, and to be frank, uninteresting and unintelligent. However, your biases for some issues make you place those as of greater importance... | I am sexist, CMV. | 2013-04-15T06:46:20Z | 1,210 | 1,028 | 224 | 174 |
My mother has worked in the nuclear industry my entire life. My step-father has worked in the nuclear industry for nearly four decades. First of all, with this kind of background you probably have a significant confirmation bias towards nuclear energy. If we are going to change your view, you have to try and consider a... | The biggest problem with nuclear is that it simply isn't cost effective. In the 50's it was billed as too cheap to meter. Nuclear power plants went up across the West at a startling rate, but new plants stopped being constructed almost entirely during the 70's because nuclear power is just too expensive. The interestin... | I think that research into wind and solar energy sources are a waste of time. Nuclear power is the only way to go. CMV. | 2013-04-15T23:34:50Z | 4,703 | 3,794 | 800 | 630 |
The trial isn't living or not living. The "trial" involves humans as a whole. I can't explain to you why bad things happen, or why kids die from cancer or accidents, all I can do if explain it scientifically. Just because that seems so tragic and unfair now, doesn't mean that its part of some overbearing "plan". Bad th... | Just playing devil's advocate here... or I guess God's advocate, but one argument that could be made is to say all of this "horrible stuff" is part of His plan, which is far too vast for us to even begin to understand. | I don't see how God could let so much horrible stuff happen, and the free will argument doesn't make sense to me. CMV | 2013-04-16T00:24:09Z | 674 | 218 | 124 | 42 |
It's all about perspective. Let's assume that God decided when He made the world that terminal diseases (save for disease as a result of old age) and wars and natural disasters and murders and accidents and things that kill more than a handful of people every year were bad and shouldn't be here. We would have no clue ... | Perhaps God let's these things happen because no matter what, nothing can deviate from a 'plan'. Bad or good, events must unfold the way they are intended. It's not a matter of 'letting it slide', it's a matter of following the guidelines. That's what my argument would be if we are removing free will and that non-exist... | I don't see how God could let so much horrible stuff happen, and the free will argument doesn't make sense to me. CMV | 2013-04-16T00:24:09Z | 1,024 | 332 | 187 | 59 |
It's likely not possible to prove a substance is what the picture alleges it to be. Also consider the power of photoshop. The amount of time and resources needed to police the internet, and ensure the pictures truly are what the allege to be, makes the idea somewhere between infeasible and impossible. So, as my point ... | I do believe it is admissible proof currently. However, a proof's admissibility does not make it also conclusive. There are multiple ways of tampering with such pictures, as well as multiple ways to reinterpret the picture as not showing any illegal act. The presumption of innocence is strong on this one; one would hav... | I think any pictures of someone using or possessing a illegal substance (or minors in places like bars) posted to social media should be admissible as proof for them to be arrested. CMV | 2013-04-16T13:24:06Z | 417 | 631 | 73 | 111 |
Holden Caulfield much? Just kidding. Empathy is real, and it's incredibly important in humans. That's why people who do not feel empathy, namely psychopaths, are such aberrations. It's also why people who fall on the autistic spectrum have such difficulties in day to day life. As social creatures, being able to concept... | Sympathy isn't always based on logic. You can be happy watching a good news story even if it doesn't have some meaningful physical effect on your life. Same thing with feeling a little bit of pain over a disaster. Something tragic happens, and the warm/fuzzy part of my brain goes "dammit". No, it doesn't have a prolong... | I feel that people who feel sympathy towards disaster victims are phonies, and they don't feel real pity for them -- CMV | 2013-04-16T14:42:52Z | 1,525 | 642 | 263 | 119 |
Well first of all you'd have to accept that many people do actually like the taste, even though you personally don't. I'll admit it was an acquired taste where i didnt like most alcoholic beverages at first, but over time those flavors built up positive associations in my mind and i found myself enjoying them. Despite ... | I still don't have much of a palate for alcoholic drinks - I'm getting into wine a little bit, but that's it. For me, good quality loose tea is my drink of choice. I worked in a tea shop for two years, and I went from just drinking the fruity flavoured teas and thinking the plain ones were boring or even gross, to real... | I believe that people who love old wines, whiskeys and scotches are lying to appear classier. CMV | 2013-04-17T15:59:41Z | 1,824 | 2,505 | 323 | 459 |
Yes. And since this is one of the few places that tries to prevent people for being absolutely shit on for having an unpopular opinion, I think it's important that we leave those sorts of discussions open. | I'm sure that once upon a time in certain parts of the world, issues like slavery, separation of church and state, the moral inferiority of certain races, and women's rights were considered not controversial, but in the opposite way we think they are. And there are other issues that used to be non-controversial that ar... | I believe there should be a rule ix: Posts must be controversial enough to stir adequate discussion, rather than proposing an opinion that little to no users will disagree with. | 2013-04-18T21:41:07Z | 205 | 1,495 | 37 | 244 |
u/TMLFAN11 has given a pretty thorough response to this, so I'll only add my two cents where I differ from him. His answers about asymmetric information are excellent (and since they're coming from an econ major that's no surprise!) For ... the non emergency stuff ... why cant someone pick a hospital based on reviews ... | Government regulation and insurance companies fuck up the free market. Let's also remember, that when talking about healthcare, it's not all emergency care. Yes, there needs to be a catchall system for heart attacks, etc., but the free market would lower the costs of preventative health care. We need to be able to go g... | I believe a private, market based healthcare system is superior to a tax payer funded one. CMV. | 2013-04-19T13:40:38Z | 4,269 | 843 | 740 | 142 |
Isn't it a bit racist to generalize a race for being... racist? The problem with racism is that it generally just fosters more racism. A [majority](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks) of people have explicit racist views against black people, and there has obviously been a s... | Honestly, your view of racism is highly determined by where you live. If you live in on the west coast or in general white suburbia type places, black people seem more racist and white people walk on eggshells because of it. Now, I live in a rundown industrial city in the Northeast in a poor black neighborhood. Black p... | I believe black people are more racist than white people. CMV. | 2013-04-20T00:35:25Z | 1,381 | 1,581 | 200 | 292 |
Racism is a highly subjective topic. What one person considers racism may look completely egalitarian to another. If we made a law that says all prison sentences are increased by one year, it may appear to not be racist and the legislators that passed it may not have had racial motivations, but the truth is that black ... | Honestly, your view of racism is highly determined by where you live. If you live in on the west coast or in general white suburbia type places, black people seem more racist and white people walk on eggshells because of it. Now, I live in a rundown industrial city in the Northeast in a poor black neighborhood. Black p... | I believe black people are more racist than white people. CMV. | 2013-04-20T00:35:25Z | 1,472 | 1,581 | 260 | 292 |
"Bad words" need to retain their social stigma. They psycologically reduce pain when said (like when you stub your toe) and for that reason having emotionally charged words should not be abused. These words are filed in a different part of our brain and have emotions attached to them, allowing them to be more powerful.... | By not saying "bad" words you give them power and encourage people to use them for emphasis. Let me try and turn this around on you. Why shouldn't we want them to have power? If "fuck" is a word you toss into every other sentence, you don't have anything left for when, I dunno, your car gets smashed up in a hit-and-run... | The refusal to say 'curse words' is idiotic CMV | 2013-04-20T23:24:17Z | 664 | 887 | 107 | 148 |
Well I'd say your title is accurate, but part of your further reasoning below might miss an important aspect of this community. You state that the upvotes are because a post holds a very popular opinion on Reddit, but then later state that people here upvote those submissions because they HAVE this opinion. I'd say tha... | Brows http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/new/ It's the best way to view this sub. But to your point, I think of course reddit has a great deal of circle jerking. But people upvote what they want to see. They can upvote it if they think it is interesting or if they want to see a refutation of it. They can also upvote... | I believe that most of the well upvoted posts on this subreddit receive upvotes simply because they are widely held opinions amongst Redditors. CMV. | 2013-04-22T20:55:15Z | 1,018 | 667 | 178 | 119 |
There are a number of studies that suggest that students who participate in the arts also have higher academic performance in other areas as well as improved emotional and social development. (A summary of a number of studies on the impact of arts and education can be found [here](http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED466413.p... | Real world application of the core subjects requires more than just the acquisition of knowledge, it requires the use of critical thinking, common sense and imagination, all traits of individuals. Study in the arts nurtures individualism i.e. self-expression and imagination, which are critical to developing new ideas f... | I think the studying the arts in high school does not help prepare students for the "real world" CMV | 2013-04-23T02:51:49Z | 1,796 | 702 | 286 | 110 |
Well, while I would agree that arts programs do not prepare students for the "real world" in the way your colleague is implying (unless they are planning on being artists), this isn't a reason to cut arts from school. Much of what we learn in high school does nothing to prepare us for the "real world" on the surface l... | He thinks that focusing solely on studying core classes such as mathematics, social sciences, and history is much more effective than wasting time with arts such as theater or music. Pretty sure arts/theatre/music are big industries. That said, it doesn't make sense if the only aim of a school is to give the average dr... | I think the studying the arts in high school does not help prepare students for the "real world" CMV | 2013-04-23T02:51:49Z | 2,006 | 557 | 340 | 94 |
First off, I can't change your view if it's not your view and I want my fucking triangle if I make good, but I digress.... The logical extreme of your friend's thinking is that we should eliminate all humanities and science from the curriculum as they are not relevant to real jobs. It isn't my intention to strawman thi... | He thinks that focusing solely on studying core classes such as mathematics, social sciences, and history is much more effective than wasting time with arts such as theater or music. Pretty sure arts/theatre/music are big industries. That said, it doesn't make sense if the only aim of a school is to give the average dr... | I think the studying the arts in high school does not help prepare students for the "real world" CMV | 2013-04-23T02:51:49Z | 2,425 | 557 | 397 | 94 |
I don't know if I can change your view about cancer being a good thing. However, your basic assumption is flawed, in that there is no such thing as a cure for cancer, and we're not expecting to ever find one. [PHD Comics explains.](http://toomuchnick.com/post/798911868/phd-comics-there-will-never-be-a-cure-for-cancer) | If you'll look at [this](http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/), from WHO, it shows that cancer is only accounting for about 12% of deaths in the top 10 causes. That's really not that many deaths, so "curing" cancer wouldn't have a huge impact. Heart disease still has far more impact. In the same link, worl... | I don't think we should find a cure for cancer. CMV | 2013-04-23T10:49:14Z | 319 | 403 | 44 | 66 |
I shall take up this challenge! I had posted many things we will discuss with another member in a CMV i posted the other day. It would be very much in your benefit to read it as it outlines many major points in response to pretty much the same question you are posing. Only difference was that the other poster didn't be... | I'm taking the opportunity to ask the community what they think about this kind of post. OP says "CMV either way" and that they are "a blank slate that is yours to etch." Will the most popular opinions always rise to the top and therefore make the post as if it was an unpopular opinion to start with? I'm sorry if this ... | I am not sure if global warming is a real issue. CMV either way. | 2013-04-23T15:08:43Z | 546 | 453 | 101 | 82 |
I think the issue lies more with what we DO about it and less about what is IS. Here is a link to a paper I wrote on the issue fairly recently. It is pretty brief and offers various perspectives and "solutions" with addition resources. Its an easy read and I think it could sway your opinion a bit OP. Let me know what r... | I'm taking the opportunity to ask the community what they think about this kind of post. OP says "CMV either way" and that they are "a blank slate that is yours to etch." Will the most popular opinions always rise to the top and therefore make the post as if it was an unpopular opinion to start with? I'm sorry if this ... | I am not sure if global warming is a real issue. CMV either way. | 2013-04-23T15:08:43Z | 424 | 453 | 69 | 82 |
To me three points are necessary to believe that global warming is an issue. 1. Show that greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. You say that you are already familiar with the mechanism behind global warming, so I won't go into this. This has been understood by scientists for over 100 years: http://en.wikipedia.... | I don't have studies to quote, but how's this for a view: It's not that global warming isn't an issue so much as it isn't the important issue. I, personally, feel as if REGARDLESS of data, dumping chemicals by the ton into the air and water that haven't been there before is a bad thing. By the very nature of the global... | I am not sure if global warming is a real issue. CMV either way. | 2013-04-23T15:08:43Z | 2,518 | 839 | 375 | 158 |
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.[3][4][5][6] These findings are recognized by the national science academ... | (devils advocate mode loaded) The earth is far too large for tiny humans to have an impact on. Stuff we can't explain has been going on forever outside of climate but that doesn't mean climate follows any kind of pattern or rules. Global warming, global cooling, the earth is either getting warmer or colder, which is it... | I am not sure if global warming is a real issue. CMV either way. | 2013-04-23T15:08:43Z | 2,924 | 470 | 435 | 86 |
If I were to guess (and sorry, but I don't feel like researching this from work), I would say that the relevant argument probably deals with two issues: 1. Is it possible for an animal to become traumatized in ways that are not readily apparent during the act itself? If trauma can manifest *after* the fact, then there ... | To further comment on the issue of implied consent, I think that associating physical pleasure with consent is unreliable. People (and I'm guessing animals) can be sexually aroused and experience pleasure even if they don't want it, or it is causing them distress or pain at the same time. A person can experience an or... | Unless an animal clearly doesn't enjoy what's happening, I believe bestiality should not be morally frowned upon. I've searched and found no good arguments, so CMV (read the first sentence before you downvote) | 2013-04-23T20:20:42Z | 1,111 | 498 | 202 | 89 |
Growing the plants locally is great, but as I said, having an independent small farm usually requires fertilizer. Having some animals on a farm is good for the soil, and reduces the amount of stuff you would have to truck in- trucking in poop is a waste of resources, again, when you could simply keep a handful of chick... | I think other people have said better things than I could but my experiences working CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) taught me that meat doesn't have to be about mass production or that it needs to be in every meal. I know you're mostly getting into the morality side of the debate though, and while I wouldn't hes... | I think our current amount of meat consumption in the first world is immoral. CMV | 2013-04-24T04:41:20Z | 794 | 1,241 | 144 | 229 |
So to clarify, nothing is worth being concerned about unless it wipes out *all of humanity*? So to shift to alternative scenario, if Russia were to launch a global nuclear war tomorrow... that's fine.. nothing to worry about.. some pockets of humanity will probably survive. All I can say is, that your level of concern... | a) People seriously underestimate humanity's ability to survive. Even if major cities go under water, our technology and knowledge will not be lost. There will be some places where humanity will survive and with wikipedia's backups in thumb-drives, libraries around every corner, doctors and engineers in all countries, ... | I don't believe we should be concerned about global warming. CMV. | 2013-04-24T14:32:37Z | 1,597 | 5,048 | 291 | 886 |
I am entirely certain that I exist in some form, be it reality as we see it, or within a complex simulation. Experiencing my perceived reality is evidence enough to confirm I am at least something that exists. | Are you aware of the concept of Logical Absolutes? There are some things that, by there very nature, are absolutely and always true. For example: "Something cannot bring itself into existence." We know this is true because if something does not exist, it cannot have any attributes and would not be able to perform any ... | I think that the only thing we can know absolutely is that there is nothing else we can know absolutely. CMV. | 2013-04-25T16:21:07Z | 209 | 687 | 38 | 118 |
If you had an illness that was not depression would you feel bad about taking medication to cure it? Or, in some cases, to just be able to live without having to many problems? Do you see a diabetic who has to depend on insulin as a drug addict? Depression is actually a pretty complex illness. You might have the same s... | Psych major here. What you talk about is totally a valid criticism, and an oft-cited reason why people diagnosed with depression don't want to be dependent on prescription. This is why treatment involving antidepressants pretty much always comes coupled with therapy sessions. Often times, you'll even get a therapist th... | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 3,800 | 777 | 689 | 129 |
Speaking from a person who has bipolar II, the reality is that antidepressants do work as "reality goggles", but that this is not a bad thing. Generally, they allow you to function better and experience a reality that is closer to other humans. It's not as if they make you a perpetually peppy person, but rather they ev... | I would tentatively point out that i think you paint depression meds as more of a fix than they are. I would argue that the meds are used more as a way to tone down the worst and most invasive shit going on so that you can really properly sort yourself out long term (very much helped by therapy). This stuff is annoying... | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 1,280 | 1,134 | 224 | 202 |
I'm going to speak anecdotally here. I had similar feelings about antidepressants (specifically SSRIs) for a very long time. Then I started to struggle with OCD. I didn't know what was wrong with me at first, but my doctor and I worked out a dosage of Zoloft that worked for me. If you don't know much about OCD, I was b... | I would tentatively point out that i think you paint depression meds as more of a fix than they are. I would argue that the meds are used more as a way to tone down the worst and most invasive shit going on so that you can really properly sort yourself out long term (very much helped by therapy). This stuff is annoying... | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 2,695 | 1,134 | 473 | 202 |
I'm not sure this will be helpful, but here is some information that might be helpful in considering your position on antidepressants. For background, I have experience both with research and treatment using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for depression, I've worked with numerous depressed clients, and I have known peopl... | I would tentatively point out that i think you paint depression meds as more of a fix than they are. I would argue that the meds are used more as a way to tone down the worst and most invasive shit going on so that you can really properly sort yourself out long term (very much helped by therapy). This stuff is annoying... | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 2,938 | 1,134 | 467 | 202 |
Not sure how interested you are in anecdotal arguments, but I sure as shit love talking about myself, so look out. My wife and I both have severe depression. I've ingested literally (not literally) every antidepressant, pill, and small round object at one time or another, and my cocktail consisted of as many as 4 at a ... | I would tentatively point out that i think you paint depression meds as more of a fix than they are. I would argue that the meds are used more as a way to tone down the worst and most invasive shit going on so that you can really properly sort yourself out long term (very much helped by therapy). This stuff is annoying... | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 2,262 | 1,134 | 396 | 202 |
Haha sorry if it was a bit overwhelming. And okay I see what you mean about the happy/grumpy thing. I just wanted to stress that you would not be on antidepressants forever, and that they are not addictive! | Xanax*, sorry. I don't take Xanax, but it's for panic disorders and anxiety attacks--to be taken on an as-needed basis whenever you feel an anxiety attack coming on. From what I've heard, it can be addictive. My point was more so that what the OP was describing was not the function of most anti-depressants. | I believe that antidepressants mess you up and addict you in the long term because without them you are back to the "reality" goggles. CMV | 2013-04-25T22:35:16Z | 206 | 308 | 38 | 54 |
I want to change half your view. That is, communism as it has been practised in the world is pretty bad, and its an ideology that's contrary to most endemic American values. Let's start with that. I currently live in a post-communist state, and no one here really regrets the revolution, except those who were power-hold... | Communism can only work on a small level, and that's the problem with it as an overarching political philosophy. It will never work on a large scale in America. One of the reasons I like the Voluntayrist idea is that if you and 5000 others want to set up a Communist society, you can do so. I think the main issue I have... | I've never seen Communism as a bad thing. CMV | 2013-04-26T02:58:08Z | 1,384 | 1,045 | 218 | 191 |
I'm glad you acknowledge that there is a distinct difference between functional communes and functional Communism. Personally, I'm opposed to communism primarily because it doesn't work, but there are a lot of other reasons that Americans demonize it. The underlying message of communism is an inherently un-American sen... | I would ask, are there any examples of successful communism? Two examples you cited, the kibbutzim and China, I wouldn't count. The kibbutzim are no longer the perfect examples of communism that their founders envisioned. They have introduced wages and can only survive by very generous subsidies from the capitalist Isr... | I've never seen Communism as a bad thing. CMV | 2013-04-26T02:58:08Z | 519 | 1,288 | 76 | 215 |
First, I will say that I am *not* arguing that the status quo is an acceptable approach to education. There are certainly tons of flaws with it. Second, I will say that I used to agree that teachers should be paid based on performance. Since, I have become more involved with non-traditional route teaching (so, I am bec... | Good question. I think - in a nutshell - the flaws lie in the fact that we don't listen to experts. **Here's a secret:** the field of education knows how to teach students to be critical thinkers, to be persistent in their work, to think creatively, to be compassionate and moral citizens, etc etc. Plenty of countries d... | I believe teachers should be paid based on performance, and underperforming teachers fired. CMV | 2013-04-28T02:59:38Z | 4,258 | 3,075 | 726 | 549 |
Schools have been assessing teacher performance purely on their students' performance on standardized tests more and more of late, especially with No Child Left Behind. However, I have not met a *single* teacher who thinks this is a good thing, and I know a lot of teachers considering my mom is one, and I know a lot of... | While I partially agree with you, I will be Devil's advocate for now. -performance on tests doesn't necessarily mean the teacher is "good": plenty of valuable skills that are taught can't be measured with standardized tests -performance on tests are not only a result of the teacher being "good" or "bad": it also depend... | I believe teachers should be paid based on performance, and underperforming teachers fired. CMV | 2013-04-28T02:59:38Z | 1,670 | 1,072 | 282 | 187 |
The government is far bigger, powerful and has shit ton of more data about you than Google could ever possibly have. They also have the power to wreck your life if they wanted to (speaking of potential) compared to any corporation out there. If the potential to do something is your defining factor, you should leave the... | You only have to be scared if you have things to hide, if you don't have any "data" that you shouldn't, then google has no reason to ever care. They have data on millions and millions of people, and all that means is names, e-mails, online shopping habits, nothing all that important. So for google to care about your da... | I think Google is dangerously large and powerful, and should be avoided. CMV | 2013-04-28T18:37:04Z | 793 | 478 | 141 | 88 |
I'd like to point out that what you have identified is the major difference between nationalism and cosmopolitanism. This is a sharply divisive topic within the political science community, with both sides having excellent points. Nationalist thinkers believe that co-nationals have more of a moral claim on each other t... | Note: Since I can't do a direct reply to OP without challenging at least one aspect of the post I'll challenge the fact that there is "no real benefit" to the average citizen. But I'll argue that this benefit comes at a cost to the greater global population (see paragraph 3). After reading through some of the comments,... | I believe that the concept of national identity is a divisive concept with no real benefit to the average citizen. CMV | 2013-04-28T18:57:12Z | 3,986 | 3,275 | 671 | 531 |
I understand you. I think it's good that you are seeking tolerance towards other people; it's healthy and will more likely make you happier. I suggest not having the mindset of "nor will I ever" thinking something is wrong or good. That isn't a characteristic of open-mindedness, actually it is the opposite. It makes it... | 1) Drinking only gives you temporary reprieve when you feel awkward in these situations. If you were able to get your own social fears by yourself or find your own courage or learn to relax by yourself, that courage/new ability to cope in social situations would stick with you as opposed to going away when you aren't u... | I think drinking is not okay, especially for high school kids. | 2013-04-28T20:29:08Z | 2,427 | 7,083 | 436 | 1,255 |
Your idea of an "archetypical" gun owner sounds suspect to me, and I believe you may be begging the question here. You assume that guns are purchased for non-practical purposes because the archetypical gun owner that you've designated purchases guns for those purposes, but I do not believe that your archetypical gun ow... | The average gun owner buys weapons for ENTERTAINMENT and EMPOWERMENT, not practical purposes. Be that as it may, it still doesn't mean that guns are fetish objects. What about a person who practices fencing, or iaido? Or even who plays golf. These activities can be entertaining, and they can be empowering in competitio... | Guns are fetish objects. CMV | 2013-04-30T14:26:46Z | 1,277 | 721 | 183 | 124 |
Women have been told in politics all along that abstinence is the only way to avoid pregnancy for sure, and access to abortion and birth control is continually restricted because of this idea. When it is restricted that is wrong. But that is not a reason to use the same argument against men. Women fought and largely w... | I'm not following anymore. Are you saying that because women supposedly get treated unfairly, men should be treated unfairly here? Revenge is the absolute worst advisor in defining politics and carries the risk of retaliation, further escalating the issue. I'm able to place it in a bigger context, but your comments are... | If men don't want to pay child support, they shouldn't have sex with any woman they don't want to be the mother of their child. CMV | 2013-04-30T22:41:56Z | 1,480 | 812 | 262 | 145 |
Is he somehow prevented from insisting upon a condom, though? No, of course not. The only reason why I brought that up was because I was expecting you to extrapolate that there are people out there who think taking a bc pill means no baby. Hell, there are people out there who think a bc pill will protect them from STD'... | X-post from other thread. The idea behind abortion is that women should have the right to choose what they do or don't do with their bodies. Birth control can fail, condoms can break, or even a mistake can happen. Abortion is not the easy fix many people say it is; it's very stressful and emotional to most women, and s... | If men don't want to pay child support, they shouldn't have sex with any woman they don't want to be the mother of their child. CMV | 2013-04-30T22:41:56Z | 1,267 | 1,885 | 226 | 339 |
you still have all of your work ahead of you to make the defensible claim that that God gives meaning to life. Not God, the act of believing and the reason is rooted in the human psyche. Why would a moral system based on logic necessitate that all variables be known? Because that's how logic is defined: "If A then B". ... | For full disclosure, I don't believe in God either. But that doesn't mean it's indefensible. A semantic thing first: lots of people say "I don't believe in God," but mean different things when they say it. Some people have their doubts, some people deny even the possibility of God, and others (like myself) hold that h... | I think belief in God is indefensible on any grounds CMV | 2013-05-01T19:29:56Z | 3,602 | 3,034 | 660 | 534 |
When I was learning English - I was thinking the same. English is so simple - who not use it everywhere, right? What stopped me then, after my English became more decent, is the finding that language has a huge influence on how people perceive the world. And when I thought about it, not much of the great minds in histo... | So you seem to have attempted to address the most obvious rejection to making a single language (cultural importance) in #3, but I don't really see how we are going to create a large language that somehow encompasses all cultures. You can't have your cake and eat it too; you're going to have to destroy a lot of culture... | [CMV] I believe adopting a single, unified language would be beneficial to the world | 2013-05-02T04:34:00Z | 2,045 | 3,845 | 363 | 654 |
You ennumerate the following hypothetical benefits: * Easy global communication * Global mass media reach * Global common ground to forge agreements So let's talk about implementing your language. * First, you need to get the world to agree on adopting the language. This requires you to forge **common ground** between ... | It wouldn't take. Language is not a static thing. Words change meanings or drop in and out of use. Regional dialects develop, and eventually turn into languages in their own right (the romance languages all used to be Latin, for example). Colloquialisms take on new meanings, and phrases that reference specific things l... | [CMV] I believe adopting a single, unified language would be beneficial to the world | 2013-05-02T04:34:00Z | 920 | 868 | 154 | 144 |
You don't need to be 100% Scottish to do that. Your child can be half Asian and still be raised in Scotland and taught Scottish culture, and she will identify as a Scot most likely. Why would this be bad? | you make an unjustified assumption in that humanity will become a blob of mixed and diluted culture. remember culture is just what has been learned over many generation it is always evolving and changing Scottish culture looked very different in 0 AD than it did in 1,000 bc without much outside interference you seem to... | CMV I believe that if you honour your personal heritage and familial culture you should only marry and have children with members of your own race and culture | 2013-05-02T21:46:08Z | 204 | 1,090 | 40 | 195 |
Why do you say they are of "similar" descent (other than in retrospect now that the groups mingled)? At the time they were foreigners, and they (or at least one of them) chose to breed together anyway. Geographic distances are easier to handle these days, but every Scotsman is descended from Genghis Khan. | So I have a question about that. I don't really have a 'familial culture', and I'm not really sure what you mean by 'personal heritage'. I have approximately as much Scottish as I do Blackfoot Indian, and I have a bunch of other things as well. What is a guy to do? | CMV I believe that if you honour your personal heritage and familial culture you should only marry and have children with members of your own race and culture | 2013-05-02T21:46:08Z | 306 | 265 | 53 | 52 |
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