Series of explosions hits Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk

thomasquinn 32989 wrote:

Holly2003 wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote:

Holly2003 wrote:
Well there you go -- don't complain about anything, including terrorist explosions that injured 28 people, including 10 kids, because somewhere, somehow, others have it worse than you do. Lord save me from keyboard moralists.

If you'd learn to read, and to read things in context, you might have a clearer view of life and the world than you do now.

Obviously I can't be as omnipotent as you seem to believe you are. I think that's clear enough.

Have you noticed that I don't post in most topics? That's because I don't have anything to contribute to the topics I don't know anything about. I'm not omnipotent, I just don't flaunt what I don't know unless it's a concrete answer I'm looking for.

Well you obvioulsy think that I don't have as clear of view of "life" as you do. That despite the fact you've never met me and don't know my life experiences or qualifications. That's a lot of hubris on your part Thomas.

Holly2003 wrote:

thomasquinn 32989 wrote:
I am indeed saying that, and despite what you seem to imply, it is not contradictory. I do not intend to launch into bemoanings of civil liberties taken away - that time has passed, since everybody knows it already; however, I will cite these things when I point out the results of giving in to fear, to conspiracy theories (which, as you probably noticed, I did in the above post).
As you might also have noticed, I did not bring any of this up before this point, because it frankly has nothing to do with the topic at hand, which is that petty issues like what may or may not be a political trial and single terrorist attacks are allowed to serve as covers for deeper social problems, like the rampant corruption in the whole of the western world, as well as most other places, and the increasingly violent and polarized nature of society (in comparison to the period we had before).
I do say that we should not be complaining as much as we are, because we really don't have so much to complain about. Because the issues we do have are comparatively small, both in number and in kind (can you imagine someone starving in Somalia worrying about immigration, budget deficits or failing banks, or corruption?), we should not complain so much about them, but attempt, as individuals in our own little way, to improve these flaws, as they really are only minor scratches in what is otherwise probably the most humane and wealthy society that ever existed so far (which is not to say that we cannot hope for gradual improvement over the coming centuries).
People are all too swift in believing they are powerless. It doesn't take a thousand to make a difference, it takes one person with an idea. If you can see that something is wrong, that is because you can imagine how it could be right.
The Ukraine is not corrupt because Timoschenko is on trial, Timoschenko is on trial because the Ukraine is corrupt. We should fight the corruption, but at the same time, we should remember that the question of Timoschenko's guilt is entirely unrelated to the question of the Ukraine's corruption problems, and that is the original point I was trying to make all along, before we got bogged down: I don't believe her to be a saint just because she is being martyred; that, to me, requires a little more.

Just as a matter of interest Thomas, when you're not berating Lostman and everyone else who doesn't spend every waking moment weeping over the plight of everyone from Somalia to East Timor, what concrete things are you doing to help?

Well, for a start I do volunteer work for two mornings per week, in education programs for children, I help pay for a yearly medical expedition to East Asia (two months each summer, a team of seven specialist surgeons and a varying number of nurses provide free medical treatment, medicines and basic medical education. They provide their labor free of charge, three nearby hospitals provide most of the medicines, and a local charity, which I donate money to every two months, pays for the other expenses). Finally, I help with an annual free music festival, which might not technically be charity, but does make life nicer.

Sheesh, that's about as much/little as I do, and I'm a lazy ass with two of my own kids to look after. I would've thought someone who lectures us as stridently as you do MIGHT just do a bit more than that. I mean, what about Belarus! Somalia! Mexico! Egypt! Somalia again! That place is fucked up!

Sure, if you want to take a cheap jab rather than make a real argument, be my guest. I do not feel that I am not pulling my weight.

Incidentally, taking into account that I spend 8-10 hours a week on charity / volunteer work already, when would you expect me to actually work for my living, as I apparently don't meet your standards for a good amount of volunteering?

Settle down Thomas, I'm just yanking your chain.

There's very little point in discussing serious politics on a forum such as this, especially about countries none of us have any influence over whatsoever. We can have influence where we live though, and rather than internet rants, it's more useful to do something in your own country where you can make a difference. That's why I find your political posturing so overblown. Its all pointless. I mean, Queenzone?! Really? Too funny.