lauren o:

#91 - It's not a generalization to say that feminists want people to be regarded as people regardless of sex or gender. Feminism is about gender equality. That is its definition. It has a lot of different strands, but the thing - maybe the only thing - that unites those strands is gender equality. Saying that is a generalization is like saying, "You don't have to believe in God to be a Christian. That's a generalization."
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that is a definition of feminism that you agree with. i have read many others. for example, i have seen it defined as a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. this says nothing about "people" in general, except by implication.

however, this is beside the point.

what i said was that in attributing a single view point to "feminism" you are generalizing. not all feminists espouse this philosophy. some are actively hostile to men, some are not. i'm just saying that in my experience feminists run the full gamut of opinions and views, just like everyone else.

sum.zero

"Fmnsts wnt vryn t b cnsdrd "cmplx, ntllctl bngs wh dsr mr t f lf," rgrdlss f sx r gndr."

nt tryng t wd nt th rgmnt hr, bt ths rspns t gnrlztn bt fmnsts s tslf gnrlztn...

sm.zr

there is no spoon.

sum.zero

i spent four and a half or so years living in la paz as a pre-teen and have been on the yungas road many times. it was at that time the only road, but i understand an improved road now exists.

the yungas road was high volume [think trucks full of produce and workers coming in and out of the jungle] and was fairly dangerous, although accidents were less frequent than you might think. it was narrow throughout and was frequently washed out by slides or rain [you never knew if you'd be able to complete the journey when you set out]. passing consisted of backing up until you thought you had a wide enough section. there were many check points, usually requiring some form of bribe [i'm ok with this, i believe bribery is a part of every culture. we call it lobbying, etc...].

all of that said, it is truly beautiful and a one of a kind experience. you can lean your head out the window and look straight down for thousands and thousands of feet to dense rain forest canopy. well well worth the journey.

sum.zero

it was death that killed him

sum.zero

we better get steve zissou investigating this asap.

sum.zero

well that was condescending.

the fact is the statement was unnecessary.

if someone wants to use ads to generate revenue, by all means they should do so. i'm not above this myself. however, i don't see why the discussion was framed in such a confrontational tone. imho, nothing is gained by opening with a polarizing generalization in support of your chosen method. it's a lot nicer to simply ask that people support your project in method x.

sum.zero

my complaint was about this statement:

"There are folks who do not believe creative effort should be rewarded monetarily."

it is out of place and has nothing to do with the subsequent paragraph.

the issue with ad-tracking was an aside...

that said, perhaps instead of tossing around crass generalizations in your appeal for ad revenue, you also considered offering a paypal [or whatever] donation option.

sum.zero

"There are folks who do not believe creative effort should be rewarded monetarily."

this was an unnecessary and somewhat ignorant thing to say. in fact, it puts me off to the point where i am not interested in perusing your publication despite my actual interest in it.

also, while i do believe in supporting creative effort, i might not want to become targeted and tracked via the data profile generated thanks to those dynamic ads. i am sure i am not alone in this feeling...

sum.zero

how come nobody is up in arms about "irregardless"?

it's non-standard and illogical...

sum.zero

dubai is a temple to conspicuous consumption.

sum.zero

"Sum Zero (129), I thought the difference in attitude was partly due to Canada having stronger minimum-wage laws."

to clarify, i believe in tipping.

i however do believe that tipping has become essential to make ends meet working on in a food service position is largely a result of owners/managers shifting these costs to the consumer. it is same in canada, food service workers rely on tips even with minimum wage protections because minimum wage is a subsistence living standard. managers hide behind minimum wage to avoid paying a living wage.

but let's be clear, a tip is a gratuity. it is earned. the earning may be trivial, say the minimum standard as per the job description, but it is not guaranteed. it is also possible to be undeserving of this gratuity for various reasons.

and while i understand the frustration expressed by ububbatu regarding his wife, that does not condone racist behaviour. full stop.

sum.zero

ububbatu:

i knew you were serious. just thought i'd give you an out.

first, you know absolutely nothing about my work history, but it is not unusual for a person to work a food-service job at some point early in their life. good try though.

as explained, tipping is optional, not a given. it is not part of the expected pay. that angle is largely pushed by owners/mangers who do not want to pay their waiting staff an adequate rate. maybe they're the real "canadians"? you know, those servers are "loosing" money because of this. it's just so uncivilized...

aside: i pesonally tip, unless given a reason not to. however, way to call me an asshole over your imaginary scenario. do you tip fast food workers? are you an asshole? a hypocrite?

also, how are people spitting on my food before they even know if i will tip. are you saying that your wife and her coworkers regularly spit on black people's food on the basis of their prejudices? maybe that has something to do with the low tip rate...

you are not explaining away anything, much less a euphemism. what you are doing is detailing the sequence of racial prejudices and actions your wife and, i assume, her coworkers routinely engage in.

and yes, we are talking about you, whether you think we are or not. why? exactly because you stood up and attempted to rationalize what is clearly racist speech. i'm sorry [truly] that you are unable to grasp that.

lastly, why should i, as a canadian, be proud that you have usurped my nationality to engage in a racist sleight-of-hand? i am insulted by the use, not proud.

sum.zero

ububbatu:

are you serious?

first, what you are doing is called racism. you are attaching a hate term to a particular racial demographic. just because you use a new word does not make it any less racist, ignorant, or hateful.

you also blame the victim for your ignorance. if they had just been netter blacks you wouldn't of had to refer to them with that camouflaged racial slur after all, no?

lastly, tipping is optional. not tipping is not theft. if tipping is not optional, it should be included in the price on the menu. perhaps these people aren't tipping exactly because they know people like you are in the back calling them "canadians". or maybe they just remember all those years where they weren't allowed in your fine restaurants. i know you stated you don't buy that, but i'm sure people wouldn't have called black these people n*****s either, except that they did something to deserve it.

it never ceases to amaze me when people stand up and try to explain their racist behaviour...

sum.aero

"Indeed you are correct, nothing is ruder than an Eastern Canadian realizing you're an American visiting their country. When my family took a summer vacation in Nova Scotia the populace could not have been more rude or mocking of us- our accents, our clothes, our careful review of the currency that wasn't ours. Most often it was guys in plaid shirts calling us F___s for wearing t-shirts!? I never again will spend money in Canada. Their rudeness is only matched by their lack of self-awareness regarding their rudeness. In the Maritimes. I've been told Vancouver is more open, but still, more provincial and monocultural than any US city."

while not excusing anyone's rudeness here, your response is equally small-minded and insulting.

i am assuming your inference too money was a knock on its colourful nature. the dollar is at par. spend your greenbacks if you want.

first, you attack the cultural clothing tradition of the region.

then you generalize this one-time, limited experience into a grossly inaccurate representatoion of an entire country and its populace.

you then say that you've heard of only one city, on the opposite coast, that might be more open-minded, but then surmise that all of canada is small and kind of backwater anyway so probably not.

wow.

i can only guess that this behaviour is equally manifest in your day to day interactions as it is in your written word. if so, it's exactly this sort of smug, self-impressed, and superior attitude that causes some canadians to react to some people from the us in a negative way...

sum.zero

maisel is spelled incorrectly in the title.

sum.zero

ok, remember when hdmi/protected path/etc were originally being promoted there were plenty of assurances from ms et al that this exact scenario would never happen. the worst that would happen is that you would receive a sd picture instead of hd...

intelligent people had serious doubts about that. it appears they were correct.

as i said at the time, i am not interested in having my pc neutered in the same way my audio receivers are. the pc is a multi-purpose tool and not just an entertainment device. the content cartel needs to be reminded of that.

drm is bad for you.

sum.zero

photoshoped! ;)

sum.zero