BruceVC

Comrade whats your view on racism? Do you think most\all white people are inherently racist and do you think you are racist? I dont think you racist ?

Interesting post, you raise some good talking points I do think you are conflating some issues like credit profile checks with racism, banks dont decide on loans based on race they decide on risk profile and whether you can pay back the loan. I have never heard of anyone not getting finance because of their race? Maybe you can provide links so I see what you talking about, do you know how many white people I know who have had credit and things like home loans denied to them? I dont agree the Western world is largely racist, it exists but it is incidents of racism and not structural. Do you think bigotry is worse in the West or in places like the ME, Russia and China? At least in Western countries their is societal and media acknowledgement and criticism of it or do you disagree? And then Im not obsessed with BLM, they represent a vocal but ultimately small part of my ideological views. Some of you guys keep bringing it up every time I mention it but their are many more pertinent developments than BLM when we discuss inequality and bigotry. So do you mind dropping the whole " you believe BLM is responsible for all the problems in our societies " ( because thats not what I believe) point when I raise issues about them and just respond to the question I raise about them, I can provide links if necessary to confirm what I am talking about ?

Thanks for sharing, I have heard people raise similar issues to what you saying and I agree with some of it but you referring to the Oz experience and not the global reality of how true " white, male privlidege " is so we not debating the same point Have you heard about a suggestion, it comes from the US, from some BLM activists that the way you deal with structural racism is all white people must first admit we all inherently racist. So the argument basically being if you acknowledge something as true then you can start to address it I dont agree with that logic because why would anyone admit something as true if its not ? So why would I say I am racist if I am not? Whats your view on that argument because it intersects with your view and the systemic racism in Oz ?

I am watching the following series Yellowjackets : A mystery series, similar to Lost, about a women's soccer team who crashes in Canada and how did some of them survive ....huge supernatural potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjackets_(TV_series) LA BREA : A sci-fi series about a massive sinkhole that opens in LA and this sinkhole leads to 10,000 BC. It sounds silly but its vert well done and " believable " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_(TV_series) Honour: A true story about the honor killing and disappearance of a Kurdish women in the UK, its only 2 episodes and worth watching to understand this appalling type of criminality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour_(TV_series)

Finally another fantasy TV series I can really get behind because I have read the books and the Riftwar saga is excellent. Like the Witcher @Zoraptor Zora forget WoT, the Riftwar is a TV series you need to support

CRT is about a selective review of history and it creates a false or inaccurate reading of that history, the events of history are always immutable. Only the reasons or motives of people are a debate because unless their is written record we can only reflect on the outcomes of history and not what people thought . Holocaust denialists or people thinking " Jews are white so what happened isn't genocide " ( this is what that SA professor said ) is also a false interpretation of history So what she said isnt directly part of the curriculum of CRT ( as far as we have access to it ) but the historical misinformation is the same Okay, Im still not 100 % clear on your point but I think I understand. Can you clarify what you mean by Goldbergs comments being about a different interpretation of the Holocaust, we both agree what she said is incorrect and unacceptable but I am interested in the interpretation you are referring to. Because its simple to me, the Holocaust was genocide and the definition of genocide is the following "In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group " So Im unclear how anyone can have a different definition of what the Holocaust is unless a person is uninformed or you have your own selective interpretation ? Thanks for engaging in these debates, I appreciate your opinion even if we dont agree on everything I agree that both the " left " and " right" are not monolithic groups in reality but in debates like this its easier to use those generalizations because of the nuance and complexities of these groups. We can always go into more specificities if you want in future debates? Do you believe all white people where the default ethnicity is white come from " white, male privlidege " automatically because we born white? What about South Africa, white people are only 6% and often " white, male privlidege " gets raised? So Im trying to understand when this term is relevant and when it doesnt apply ?

Im not sure we debating the same point and concern? My point is Goldberg repeated a false and selective understanding of history and in this case its about the Holocaust. She stated indirectly " the Holocaust was not about race because its white people killing white people ". Here is exactly what she said and the link is below “Let’s be truthful about it because [the] Holocaust isn’t about race,” Goldberg said on Monday’s episode. “It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man… These are two white groups of people. The minute you turn it into race it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s [about] how people treat each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, Jews — it’s each other.” https://www.aol.com/whoopi-goldberg-criticized-anti-defamation-002353328.html This is what some people who believe in this type of revisionist and selective history believe, they think Jews are white so its okay what happened because " white people did this to group xxx in their history " or something similar I have personally come across this example of selective\uninformed history before in other debates. Here is a link to a SA professor of political science that believes the same thing https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-04-08-uct-launches-investigation-into-academics-lecture-on-adolf-hitler/ This debate is not a comparison between which minority group has been the greater target of oppression and bigotry. This is about a commentator not understanding her own argument and this is studiously misunderstand by a small groups of people globally as it suits their own ideological narrative

I agree the book Maus shouldnt have been banned in Tennessee but the good news is as usual with this type of cancel culture it is now a bestseller on places like Amazon https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/28/maus-amazon-bestseller-after-tennessee-school-ban.html But what concerns me much more is commentators and activists like Goldberg who dont even know the history and facts of their own arguments, how much other selective history is out their that influences people ?

In what way is it simplistic, can you elaborate? Because many people do feel their is a modern societal narrative that makes generalizations based on race, for example " white, male privlidege " is an assumption for some and all white people benefit from it ?

55 hours into NWN EE and Im right at the end. I really have loved my gaming sojourn back to the Forgotten Realms and reminded me how excited I am about BG3 What I also am really enjoying is the usage of the D&D ruleset, I love using spells like Spell Breach and Protection of Alignment effectively in combat 🎆

Yes, their is a tendency to focus on the extreme comments from some Christians to suggest this is what all Christians think or its used in a pejorative way to malign Christianity generally But generalizations are typically never helpful and dont represent what all people think who are labelled in the same way

You win the globally coveted " BruceVC funniest post of the week "

https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/whoopi-goldberg-apologizes-after-her-holocaust-statements-causes-outrage-132228165736 Im not sure if everyone is aware of Whoopi Goldbergs offensive and ignorant comments about the Holocaust @Malcador Her lack of understanding of history is similar to that SA professor I posted about a few weeks ago where he thought Jews are white and they not their own ethnic group But this type of willful ignorance is more common than many people may think and is all about a lack of interest in history except when it comes revisionist and selective history. So Goldberg for example thought " the Holocaust was not about race because it was white people killing white people " My view on this type of false narrative is still the same, people who engage in these public debates should study the correct history of what they claim they care about and spend less time on CRT and other types of selective history Oh but she apologized and has only been suspended for 2 weeks so she will keep that particular job

Elerond that is definitely a candidate many people can support, he makes sense

I wanted to mention this earlier but its normal and healthy to have platonic relationships with women, I consider my friendships with my lady friends to be equally as important as the physical\sexual relationships I have with women And you brought up this possible age barrier with your friend , if she was 20 and you were 47 I would say its unusual but if she is 25-28 ( or older ) and you 52 or older its really not such a big deal unless you want it to be I dont think the age gap should be a reason you think " I cant try to date her" because sometimes in life many other more important things can influence a relationship and the age is not necessarily one of those Also I have dated lots of single moms and I find them generally to be very reasonable about lots of thing but is she a single mom?

Very detailed post, thanks for sharing The Portuguese system of government sounds complicated and a big mess....now I know why you immigrated to Sweden 🇸🇪

, okay now it makes sense. Yes the word " ruling " made it confusing ....you right. Its not a well written article

Im still confused, the article says " Portugal's ruling Socialist Party has won an unexpected outright majority in Sunday's snap general election for only the second time in its history" Who did they hand power over to if they lost ?

But the article says the Socialist party are the ruling party so I dont think they handed victory to anyone, this just affirmed their right to govern ?

You a student of history, why would you believe and think NATO borders nowadays have got anything to do with an invasion or attack on Russia when it didnt happen in the 50 years or so of the Cold War? Its a complete false narrative this argument that " poor mother Russia thinks that NATO will invade if its member countries are near our borders " This is primarily about economic and ideological concerns and not military concerns

Thats just part of the false narrative from Putin, he is asking for something that he knows the NATO members wont acquiesce to. This is brinkmanship from Putin and he is a master at it and Im glad you not falling for it Another ridiculous comment I heard today on CNN from this Russian apologist is that Russia has information that Ukraine is massing troops and plans to invade the Donbas region...so Russia will be " forced " to invade Ukraine to save those citizens who identify as Russian Its gaslighting 101

Yes many people have an issue with illegal immigrants who arrive in a country without papers , thats not racism and thats not going to go away But its basically over now anyway in the EU and their is no reason you cant go on holiday to the EU and have a great time. My family is planning trips to the UK from May or so

But you forgetting the important role the English tourists and holidaymakers contribute towards the economies of all the countries they visit....this was missed and noticed during the pandemic and lockdowns throughout the world when suddenly less UK tourism meant noticeably less GDP in many countries including SA . So we must never forget how much we love English tourists🍺

Good points raised about the time of the year and weather and how it can influence the decision of what EU country to visit

It sounds like you guys had a great time, where is she from and where did you take her to in Oz and what did you generally do ?