People Are Naturally Evil.. I Think So At Least…
I was conversing with a friend of mine earlier this week, and he asked me, "Do you think people are naturally evil?" Before even thinking, I told him "Yes." Now before you think I'm saying everyone is a product of Satan or something, or think I'm the largest pessimist there is, hear my logic first..
I start in that proverbial "sandbox" that we all allude to when talking about "blank" or "unbiased" children. Well, in that sandbox, you'll find raw human instinct and emotion, not driven by morals or values or anything else that must be taught.
If I take any 2 children in that sandbox and only have 1 toy between them, you'll see several different things. You'll see anger, possessiveness, might even see violence. By any morals and values that we've been taught, whether religious based or not, aren't those characteristics considered "evil" or not acceptable? If you were an adult in a work environment, and someone came up to you and took your keyboard off your desk, and you slapped the fire out of them, wouldn't you be thought of as "Hey, don't mess with him, that's the evil guy..." We're expected to "know better" right? Well the only reason we know better is because we're TAUGHT to know better, taught to coexist or ignore our natural "human" instincts. I placed quotes around human because there's no such thing in my mind as "human" instincts; that's an oxymoron. Instincts themselves are animalistic in nature. Instincts by definition are:
Instinct -An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli
So, by that definition, if we have to be TAUGHT to become good, then instinctually, or naturally, we're evil right? Can't be both.
The things that make us socially acceptible, able to coexist, and separate us as humans, are those morals and values. Or could it be simply fear of the reprecussions if we don't "play nice." If we aren't defined by our morals and values then we're just the same as animals. That's how we treat those social outcasts in our society, we throw them in cages just like animals in the zoo. We like to that we've effectively changed our chemical makeup or something or that we're "above" primative behavior. I personally think those same human emotions from the sandbox are still there, we're just taught to repress them and not act on our instincts. However, if you put any human in an environment where survival becomes the number one priority, impersonating or attuning ourselves to our animal instincts might be the only thing that can save our lives.
So, now that I've had a chance to think about the answer, "YES, I STILL think people are naturally "evil/animal", I just think we "play nice" so we're not socially repugnant."
What do you think?
What were you doing at 9?
I read this story and it truly touched my heart. I can't remember anything but good times in my life at 9. That was the first time I went to Disney World, I was in the 3rd grade, had a lot of friends, life was grand. So when I read that a 9 year old hung themselves in the bathroom at school, I couldn't even think what would drive a child to do this. I can't imagine what will go through the minds of these parents. I know they will dissect every second that they spent trying to identify signs that this might be about to occur. But it will still be too late.
9 year old boy hangs self in bathroom
What is going on people? I don't understand. There were things that I didn't even know EXISTED when I was 9. Are we so desensitized and surrounded by violence now that kids know of ways to take themselves out if they want to? I think the most violent thing I watched at 9 was Tom and Jerry. I get nervous when my 2 boys (5 and 4) run around the house talking about "blasting and light sabres" from lego star wars. They get rambunctious enough with just that. I couldn't imagine letting them see the real thing with people getting their hands sliced off, sons killing fathers, mentally choking the life out of people, etc. Even the GI Joe movie and Transformers were too adult for kids to watch, but daily my son comes home from school asking if he can watch it because his little friends were playing it, or discussing it on the playground and he feels left out.
You can control only so much in your own home. What happens when you let your children go out into the world and the others that surround them teach them of these "worldly things?" Daily, my oldest child comes home with questions about things that we'd prefer him not know about. But to not answer those questions is like sending him to war without "weapons", so you must prepare them. I'd rather him learn the truth from me, so that I can introduce him to certain topics and ideas properly and accurately, than another child brutally take his innocence away from him by giving him misinformation.
I think as parents that we need to be more involved with our children. I mean truly involved. We always like to blame what we do during our days (work) with why we don't have time to do things. But we're to the point now to where our children are coming up in a very "adult-oriented" world. Children are experimenting with sex younger and younger, and children are also learning of violence at a younger age. A lot of children aren't able to handle the world we live in, they can't separate fact and fiction. If violence is all they're surrounded with, they can't foster any hope or positivity. They think all of the world is evil and it will only get worse. They're not allowed to stay innocent children anymore, so for their own sake, TEACH THEM!! They're being stripped of their childhoods by being introduced to the "world" too soon. Do you know what your child did today at school? Ask them about their day, who their friends are, what they like to do. BE INVOLVED!!!
When I went to Jr. High, I had it pretty rough due to my weight and I was considered "nerdy." I got picked on daily.. That was a very rough time for me. Every kid, I'm sure, has a story of a rough period they had to endure going through their scholastic careers. If not, they were probably the ones picking on kids like me. How those that are picked on deal with it normally has to do with the support system they have, or the relationship they have with those that they can trust enough to come to. So many of us assume that we know our kids, but there's so much that goes on throughout the day that they either don't tell or would rather forget. Protect your children, give them knowlege, nurture them for as long as you can.
Then there's the kids that are doing things they know are wrong, but fear rebelling against their peers for fear of being picked on as well. The "If you can't beat'em join'em mentality". That's just as bad. Kids will end up doing something that could potentially shape the rest of their lives. Give them an avenue to escape. Show them an alternative. Let them know you're there to protect them. SHOW SOME INTEREST IN YOUR CHILD!!!
A conversation could save your child's life.
What Were You Thinking?!?! #4 (Gilbert Arenas)
Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert...
I don't get it.. You are alleged to have brought a gun(s) to the Washington Wizards locker rooom. You say that was for a "joke" on your teammates. At NO point did you stop to think that was a bad idea, or that it might be taken out of context? Did we not learn ANYTHING from Plaxico? I mean come on, Washington's NBA franchise changed their names from the Bullets because the owner didn't want to have that negative connotation with DC's murder rate being so high. So you wanna bring the "bullets" back to Washington?
Now you're suspended without pay indefinitely because you were in essence taunting the commissioner by calling him "mean" on twitter. Did you not know employers were looking at social sites to hire/not hire people now days? Guess it's been a while since you were on an interview. So I might be persuaded to let that one pass.
Gilbert Arenas indefinitely suspended
I'm wondering how the NBA Players Association is going to come to his rescue (they always do). Are they going to condone him bringing a gun into the locker room? There isn't (I don't believe) any specific rule that says he couldn't. I mean if they can get Latrell Spreewell off for choking his coach, I think Gilbert stands a chance.. He didn't physically touch anyone, nor did he even get caught, he was just a little too talkative after the fact. I mean Ron Artest only got suspended a year for actually PUNCHING a fan.
The only other thing he might have to worry about is the Wizards themselves actually revoking his contract. No one can help him if that's the decision that organization comes to.
Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert...
What Were You Thinking?!?! #1 (HP)
HP - To produce face recognition software for your webcams that don't recognize darker faces due to "lack of contrast" from eyes and cheeks? So our color is now referred to as "insufficient foreground lighting".... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!! I'm sorry.. And all this time I thought I was black in any lighting.
HP Face Tracking Webcams Don't Recognize Black People
We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty "seeing" contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting.
Based On A True Story
Have you ever stopped to think, "When does something become truth?"
Think about it.. At what point are you fed information and it becomes "truth". Can you spot truth and point it out in a crowd? Do you only believe what you see with your own eyes? How do you validate truth or do you just take someone's word for it? Is everything outside of the truth a lie?
What qualities does information have to have for truth to occur?
Believeable Story - What makes a story believeable, if it's not TOO outlandish and makes you wonder? Something that provokes a reaction? Something you "could" believe based on a person's character or preconceived notions?
Credible Source - If 9 times out of 10 you get a story that is true and can be proven, but then on that 10th story, it is absolutely false, does that source then lose their credibility? Does who you hear a story from make the story credible? If a loved one told you something rather than hearing it from a well-reputed outlet does that make it more credible?
Think about where we get most of our news from, media outlets. Do you for one second think that every story that we're fed is ABSOLUTELY true? Do you not think a media source is above elaborating on the truth in order to stand out among competition? We refuse to say that media outlets lie. We call them "angles" and "media twists". We hear of it time and time again that the media doesn't report EXACTLY as they find, but they add 'color' to it and then print a retraction later.
Where is the next most likely place to get news, family and friends. I'm sure we've all told a lie in our lifetime, or elaborated on a story, or simply gotten the details wrong of a story that was relayed to us. This should affect our credibility as well, but it doesn't.
Are we as a society so rooted in entertainment, violence and scandal that we don't even really care about the truth anymore? Do we think the truth needs "color" so, "Based on a true story" is good enough?
The media's main priority is selling news. In their eyes, the full truth IS boring. They're in the business to make money, and with the internet, competition has grown by exponential bounds. Think about it, you're on my blog reading my thoughts RIGHT NOW. I'm keeping you from another would-be media outlet as we speak (you can thank me later).
One of the driving motivational elements is to be the first to market, or the exclusive outlet with the story. That being said, care isn't necessarily taken in all cases to ensure that the FULL truth is found before it's reported. Expediency is normally the most influential motivation, not truth. Stories are "rooted" in the truth, but that's not all that you're getting. Think of the lies (er. "color", yeah, we'll say color) that the media adds as the "special sauce" on your big mac. Don't really know what it consists of, don't really care, but it sure makes it better.
Next time you pick up an article and read it, try to discern whether the story is true, or just "Based On a True Story. "
It’s Been Proven, iPhone Users Are Delusional
I KNEW IT!!!
How could you justify and DEFEND having a phone that doesn't even have a removable battery? This report states that iPhone users are certified DELUSIONAL.. HA!!!
Study: iPhone Users Are Delusional
This is great.
CNet reports that Strand Consult recently did a little research into the average iPhone user and found that they'll defend the device because they're delusional. In fact, the folks at Strand even went as far as to liken iPhone-users' behavior to that of those suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Strand found that iPhone-owners have "accepted and defended" the iPhone's technological shortcomings even though these shortcomings can result in limitations in users' daily lives.
I get so tired of seeing the "We've Got An App For That" commercials as if other phones and operating systems don't have apps as well. I give it to Apple for marketing, because people don't know what they don't see. They focus so much on what they can do, that owners completely ignore, or justify what it can't do.
Blackberry is my phone of choice because it just WORKS, but I don't assume that other phones don't work because I have a blackberry, nor choose to ostracize any other usergroup of phones. Apple is just superior at spending marketing dollars for their apps as well as integration with their other products.
I'd personally rather have a phone that could keep up with me speedwise and not affect my productivity. Which iPhone can do neither with it's limited 3G locales (forced to use AT&T as of this writing) and inability to multi-task. Before I went with Blackberry, I was with Windows Mobile for 3 years. That phone and OS I can honestly say was a good phone (for my purposes) until it started having memory issues and it's technology became outdated.
What Apple would have you believe is that other phones can support apps or have just as many USABLE apps for their phones as well. I haven't thought of an application that I've wanted and it wasn't created in some respect. In both Windows Mobile phones and Blackberry you can also create applications if you know the programming language, just like iPhones as well.
Go For the Jugular!! Tiger Used HGH Too!!
Now they're angling to try to discredit Tiger on the course as well? This is really getting out of hand.
Doctor being investigated in PED probe
A doctor that treated Tiger Woods after his knee surgery in 2008 was found w/ HGH (an admitted user himself for 10 years) and Actovegin was arrested in October for having it in his bag at the US and Canada border.
So of course now an investigation is pending and guess who's involved.. "Tiger Tiger Woods ya'll." Man the media is really angling on this one. They're trying to systematically bring this man down and ruin his image. He got too successful, too fast.
"He HAD to have an advantage right? I mean, he couldn't have just been THAT good right?"
Give me a break.. Give HIM a break.. What is the media really after? Do they want to see this man committ suicide or something? That's where you're pushing him.. You've already successfully helped rip his family from him by trying to unearth and listen to ANY woman that has said she had any kind of relationship with him. Ok, so he cheated, the only thing you're accomplishing now is making it more impossible for him to rectify his mistakes and salvage any kind of relationship with his family. That is not the media's place. They are to inform, not investigate and ostracize. And it's not society's place to pass judgement on his personal life.. Enjoy how he plays golf, and leave the rest up to him to sort out.
You should be ashamed..
First Michael, Now Tiger?!?! When Will It End?
Ok.. I wasn't going to get involved with the whole Tiger Woods thing, but THIS??? THIS RIGHT HERE?!?!?! I don't see where this congressman gets off removing his support for passing legislature to give him a Congressional Gold Medal because of his private life mistakes. He's DEFINITELY not the first to make mistakes and be backed by Congress.. Um, I'd say 100% of Congress themselves did something shiesty to get where they are.
Check this out..Congressman drops effort to honor Tiger Woods
And I quote:
Democratic Rep. Joe Baca proposed legislation in March that called for the golfer to be recognized for promoting good sportsmanship and breaking down barriers in the sport.
Baca said in a statement Wednesday that “in light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family,” he won’t pursue legislation this session to give him the award.
Um... Ok.. I understand that he supposedly cheated on his wife with an alleged 11 women, but how does that affect the sportsmanship that he's shown towards other golfers, OR the barriers that he's broken for the sport? He should still get his award. Are they going to force him to return the trophies he's won since 2007 as well? This is getting rediculous. Now every woman that has brushed up against him in passing is saying they had a sexual encounter with this man. If you were a white female in Vegas during 2007, you probably had a sexual encounter with Tiger Woods at this point. COME ON. "I ain't buyin it..."
First Michael Jackson was denied, and now Tiger Woods.. The reasons they are thought to be nominated for the awards have NOTHING to do with why they are denied. Imperfect citizens have won this award I'm sure. Can someone say ELVIS PRESLEY, who they used to call the DEVIL himself for his dancing, and he had alleged romps with minors as well. FRANK SINATRA was allegedly tied to the MAFIA. JOHNNY CASH was a known drug addict. Can someone please explain this to me?
Here's some info for those that would argue with me..Congress Disses Michael Jackson, Lets Elvis Slide!
Makes you say "hmmmmmmmmmmmm" doesn't it?
I GUARANTEE, the next time he's on ANY channel people are going to watch him play, whether to root him on, or to see if he fails. Personally, I hope he goes back to the Tiger that was whooping folks by 15 strokes. That was HIGHLY entertaining to see all the other golfers on the cards frustrated because they knew they were playing for second place.. When have you seen galleries as large in golf EVER? Jack Nicolaus, the greatest EVER (even Tiger's idol) never drew crowds as large as he does. People that don't even understand the rules love Tiger Woods.
The thing that I've said since this started is I sure hate it for all other golfers in the world.. Because when an elite athlete such as he has something like this happen, they come back 50 times stronger in their sport. Look at Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwayne Wade, just to name a few. They are told to stay out of the media and not draw attention to themselves, and focus on playing their games. If they're as good as they are with major distractions, once those are removed, and they're focused on their sports and nothing else.... "Beast mode activated."
I Blame the Media…
Someone on facebook wrote:
"...baffled by the amount of young people that are trying on homosexuality like they try on shoes. What has caused this sudden influx of gayness?"
This caused me to really pay attention to things going on around me.. I thought enough of the question to do an experiment.. So I decided to take note of the homosexuality witnessed just in one week in primetime media.. (because what people do in their own lives is their business)
Findings (of just a few shows that I don't watch on a normal basis, but for the purpose of the experiment made an exception):
Heroes - The college cheerleader and her roomate kiss
Melrose Place - Female was hired to try to "persuade" one of the characters to work for another PR firm by coming on to her sexually.
Gossip Girl - There was a 3 some.
Brothers and Sisters - One of the main characters is gay
Greek - Some of the main characters are gay
House - "13" is bi-sexual
And probably the largest one talked about this week, American Music Awards - Chris Lambert kisses his keyboardist. Kids are still awake people!! Children are very impressionable at ANY age, they're still learning right from wrong. (If you're an adult and you feel homosexuality is right for you, then all power to you, but as a heterosexual parent, I think I should have a right to be at least warned if there's a potential for my kids to see something I'd rather them not. I don't even let my kids see GI Joe because I think it's too violent. So don't start in on me w/ the morality issues.)
Now GLAAD is going off on CBS for blurring out the kiss..
In a lame attempt at trying to cover their tracks, the following morning when discussing how wrong his actions were, CBS then proceed to SHOW the Britney/Madonna Kiss from a few years ago WITHOUT blurring it. Are we as a society trying to create a doublestandard here? Is it "ok" or "acceptible" to see women all over eachother, but it's perceived to be "more wrong" when men do it? I've heard that it's more "sensual" and "seductive" to see two women together, but to see two men is just... GROSS..
I'm not one to blame the media for anything I do, but I know that others (weakminded) ARE influenced by what they see or hear. I also know that the media in efforts to be more "realistic" tries to mimic life. Some easily influenced people try to mirror what they see as acceptable, and the media feeds off of life. It's a symbiotic relationship. This really is no different than the impulse to buy something you see a celebrity wearing on a show, or something you see on a commercial. Homosexuality is now being "advertised" in pretty much the same way. It's being passed on as "normal" or even "glamourous".
In a way, I DO blame the media for not giving us a choice or proper warning, and in another way I don't. And you can't say, "If you don't like it, don't watch TV." That would be like saying don't open your eyes, because it IS everywhere. In the media's defense, this would be a completely different conversation if a major TV station made a new show that had NO Blacks, NO Hispanics, and NO Asians. Well guess what? Homosexuals are also a group that have to be represented as well.
At the end of the week, I've found myself back to being de-sensitized to the whole thought of homosexuality in the media once again. This was just an exercise in thought for me. It never really got me emotionally "riled up" or even angry. But I guess that goes to me not really being influenced by what others do. I'm content in my life and feel that everyone deserves to be happy and I wish everyone was, but that's never going to be the case as long as people are different from one another. Someone HAS to have something to say.. I think that's the definition of a "HATER". I would hate for someone to have put in their facebook "Man, what's up with all these African Americans in the media. Of course they'd probably use a different word. So what can you do? Maybe they should see it from that "side of the tracks".
Here's my closing thoughts: I'm not taking sides, nor passing judgement here. I'm just trying to get to the root of someone's question and it provoked my interest. The media mimics real life. Homosexuality has been around longer than any of us reading this blog.. It was a staple in the Roman Empire. It was thought to make a king stronger to have young boys as concubines. It was socially acceptable then and over time has become taboo. Well, I guess it's coming back around again because it's being readily fed through the media. I think what made homosexuals creep back into the metaphorical "closet" was the first thought that AIDS/HIV was a "homosexual" disease in the 80s-90s. So of course you wouldn't want to be perceived as sick just because of your sexual preference. That doesn't mean homosexuality went away, it was just more "underground". As we've become more educated and accepting of change (I know you can't argue that we're more accepting, we have a black president for goodness sake), more socially liberal, if you will, people find it empowering to show their true thoughts, beliefs and diversity. So you have more people opening the door to that "closet" and stepping out. To my the original question, I don't think they're "trying it on" I think they're just being honest with themselves.
NBA or NFL?
GUESS WHICH ONE!!!
Even if you aren't a sports fan this is very interesting!
36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least
2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71...repeat 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits,
and
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year.
Can you guess which organization this is?
NBA or NFL?
Give up yet?
NEITHER....
NBA nor NFL!!
It's the 535 members of the United States Congress... The same group of folks that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.