Yep. We’re pussies.
I should clarify DPUD’s comment (Around the Sphere in 80 IQ Points) on his blog about my assertation… Yes, the UK has gotten pretty squirrely as the article shows. This poor slob in a Transformers shirt is by no means an isolated incident of idiocy, both the UK and the US. I mean, when they take away a little kid’s toy soldiers… come on. I think my remark was aimed more at “The West”.
Here is a great opinion piece that kind of paints a picture and gives me headaches with pictures… as Fry on Futurama called them… “ideas”.
One of my “ideas” was regarding profiling. WHY is it wrong to engage in profiling? Simple: It’s NOT. Let’s use an example:
A 20 year old woman on a college campus has been brutally raped. She didn’t get a good look at the attacker but numerous other rapes on the same campus have had victims that could give a sketchy description of the attacker.
Question: Do we round up grandmothers and grandfathers? Do we also round up all children above the age of five? Do we round up all the women we can get our hands on, including soccer moms, teachers, judges, doctors?
NO WE DON’T. Because the typical profile of a rapist is (1) typically male, duh, (2) typically above a certain age where the could possibly be strong enough to overpower a woman, and a brutal rape implies quite strong, (3) we critically look at an age group of 18 to 30-something because those are the ages that are more likely to look like they belong on a campus and blend in.
We have just profiled a certain segment of the population. It’s not nice, it’s not pretty, and it scares and inconveniences the innocent guys. Should the innocent guys get pissed at the police? Nope, at the rapist. It’s worse if you start dragging moms in for lineups if you’re going to be that idiotic. That’s totally unreasonable. How about MALE judges and doctors? Do they fit the profile? Maybe. But whether or not they get upset is irrelevant, as we’re trying to catch the BAD GUY(S).
So saying that we are going to target every single person the same way is asinine. We’re doing it because somebody said that the idea of upsetting a segment of the population that fits a profile of likely bombers “Is Bad”. It’s a fact of life, it’s nothing personal, and people ought to get pissed at the assholes in their ethnicity who want to kill innocent people.
Put another way, if I’m looking for wheatback pennies in a jar, I don’t go looking for silvery-looking coins.
I’m certainly not going to form a group complaining that guys are being unfairly targeted as rape suspects. It’s just the way the world is. I’ve had mothers pull their kids behind them so they were between me and the kids (long hair and beard days) and yeah, that kind of hurt because I’d die to protect kids, but it’s a FACT OF LIFE. That mom was doing her job and she was right to do so – my hat is off to her for caring enough about her kids to do so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can’t post much else with actual thought involved until tonight, but in the meantime, gasoline jokes!
Personally, I wish people would quit bitching. Go carpool. Ride a bus. Walk. Change your lifestyle.
That doesn’t mean we can’t try to rile up Old Iron a bit with some ‘toons!
(please note the cartoonists and visit their work elsewhere)
Put another way, if I’m looking for wheatback pennies in a jar, I don’t go looking for silvery-looking coins.
*Cough* Steel Pennies
😉
****
I almost didn’t save you from the Angry God Akismet for your impudence, whelp.
But, since you’re generally all right, I had mercy and reached down into the septic tank of fate and brought forth your insolent message.
I actually have three steel pennies. Awesomely cool. Good catch, that. I wouldn’t have thought of that in the post.
LK
I got the same ‘toons on gas prices… was gonna post them but decided not too… and look! They appear! I like them… and on most days – it feels like you need a personal loan to fill up the tank! Ugh.
Now I’m gonna post mine… and get him really riled up!!!
Hello Akismet, my old friend
I’m stuck in your spam bucket again.
Because my comment softly creeping
Had an IP you were seeking
And the wisdom that had flowed forth from my brain
Still remains
In the spam bucket of silence.
Enas, refer to your original comment (#1) – I edited it.
It could be worse though, KC.
In 1977 (I think – I’m too lazy to go look up the exact date) we had the oil embargo. There it was a case of not only high prices but a real and true shortage. Now THAT was a pain. I remember sitting in line for literally HOURS with my dad to get the station wagon filled up. UUUUUG-ly.
I know probably most everybody got the same pics in their e:mail today all across the continent, but they were funny and I threw away a bunch that were too snide. (gasp!)
Oh do post yours! I didn’t see them earlier tonight, so I’ll check back later.
Sorry, I just had to tweak you.
Gas lines – I remember those. We lived in Maryland and they had odd or even days you could buy gas depending on the last number of your license plate or some damnthing like that. I was a kid then though. My big sister used to bribe me to come along to keep her company by stopping at the ice cream parlour on the way back and buying me an ice cream cone. Also, they had Space Invaders. For me the oil embargo = car trips + ice cream + space invaders = CRAZY FUN DAYZ!!
For me it meant sitting in the car with dad going absolutely bugshit crazy with pent-up energy. And dad seemed kind of cranky for some reason…
It’s all from your perspective, I guess. Now, I can’t stand snow and my daughter thinks it’s like THE coolest thing on earth.
They’re up… not sure why you can’t see them… hmmm???
Sorry guys… this ‘old’ gal apparently is younger than you guys (???) cause I have no recollection of that time frame as being a time of gas shortages….. I’m gonna hafta ask my dad about this one and if it hit Canada the way it hit the US…
Trust me… we’ve had gas shortages… last summer specifically in TO – and people were VERY angry!
Argh. You guys make me wish that I hadn’t posted something about smoking advertisements and had instead read over here first.
Oh, little tip; gas in Greenland is 78 CENTS a gallon.
-I wonder why…
LOL… now seeing what got you (Old Iron) all riled up on your post from my place… I should have written more about it… !
We like it when you get all riled up!
I think I’m going job hunting in Greenland….
– KC – which post at your place? I’m sorry, information overload today – spoon feed me on this one, ok? Also, the embargo was the Arab oil producing countries’ way of punishing the West, or more specifically that supported Israel against Syria and Egypt. Nevermind that the Arabs attacked Israel first. And it was 1973… my goodness. It is still so clear in my head all the stuff on the news, the lines, the economic woes… it seemed like I must’ve been older.
Old Iron – your comment re: smoking vs reading here first… You lost me – as I said, I’m on information overload today and it’s not your fault, it’s entirely mine.
I have a post up regarding an Air-Fuel car with some jokes at the bottom of it… I posted it yesterday… apparently not all the pics load up… which is really strange. But it’s there…
See… http://itsjustmeagain.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/is-this-for-real-apparently-so/
Information over load I suppose. There’s also a newer posting up since that one… and the smoking post Old Iron referring too is from this post here on my blog:
http://itsjustmeagain.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/much-ado-about/
And he then took that one and ranted over here: http://thebarslaves.com/?p=398
Clear? LOL… this should get you all caught up.