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PrOn Artist | Registered: Feb 13, 2007 02:09
Oh hey. I'm just a guy who fails at actually using or updating this page. Maybe I should, y'know, actually put some art here if I can ever be assed to draw it. *punted*
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Comments Made: 25
Journals: 2
Recent Journal
"Controversial" survey meme thing
15 years ago
Pfft, these are still considered controversial issues? Boy, I'M out of the loop. May as well post my answers! I will correct the questions as I see fit; there are some grammar issues. C:
Be warned, this is very tl;dr.
[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and repost as "The Controversial Survey"?
Let's think for a moment here: If the person reading this journal can see this question, has it been reposted? (Do I even NEED to answer this question?)
[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Though I believe all drugs should be legalized and subject to strict controls, similarly to medicines, I am intensely phobic of drugs. I won't even use caffeine if I can help it. So no, I wouldn't personally use methamphetamines, whether they were legal or not. I don't really care if others do or not, though, as long as they're not putting anybody's life in jeopardy but their own.
[03] Abortion: for or against it?
What kind of question is this? "For" abortion? Is this question supposed to imply I want to go out and abort fetuses? xD Ignoring the really poor (and rather inflammatory) wording of this question, I support a parent's right to decide whether or not zie has to carry a fetus to full-term. Though I don't think abortion should be used as a substitute for birth control (not only does it damage a person's body, but it's rather irresponsible and most birth control is quite effective when properly used), I don't see any problem with it being used responsibly. After all, it's certainly better than placing yet another unwanted baby in a foster home, or have the parents' lives (and the baby's!) be crippled by the presence of a responsibility that they are unable to handle.
[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
This is a ridiculous question. The world wouldn't "fail" if ANY one leader sucked at zir job; not to mention that America is not the world and that president isn't a term restricted to America. With that aside, I feel that regardless of the identity of the president (whatever identity that may be) of America, as long as that president does a good job for zir country, what's the problem? Why would a woman be any poorer at this job than a man? I don't see any reason for that to occur.
[05] Do you wish that marijuana would be legalized already?
Since I don't consume marijuana and have no desire to ever do so, this doesn't directly impact me, but I feel that marijuana ought to be legalized (as with other drugs) in order to allow the people who consume it to not be treated as felons for possessing and using it. That's taking up valuable space in jail for people who actually commit crimes worthy of being jailed over. (That's not to say that someone who possesses marijuana can't also commit those crimes, but possessing marijuana in and of itself doesn't constitute any real criminal behaviour that I can ascertain.) Incidentally, Canada allows the possession of medical marijuana if it has been allowed by a doctor... and there has been talk of decriminalization, but I can't say for sure whether that will ever come to anything.
[06] Are you for or against premarital sex?
Another hopelessly inflammatory question. I don't think it makes any functional difference so long as everybody involved can give informed consent and uses proper protection (or have given inform consent to NOT do so, if that's their thing). Sex is an expression of love that is unique to every person, and therefore, every person should individually decide how zie wants to express it - if zie, indeed, wants to express it at all. One can't ignore the asexual people of the world, after all!
[07] Do you believe in God?
Not personally, no. I don't believe in any deity or anything of the sort. However, I recognize that, as a human, I am ignorant of many things, so it's entirely possible that there may be something that exists beyond my comprehension. After all, absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence. But, until there's some way that the existence of such a deity can be proven to me, I will err on the side of reason and say that there isn't one. Science is doing a pretty good job of explaining the universe to me as it is, and I see no reason to use paranormal explanations for anything if logical explanations exist (and if they don't exist already I am pretty confident that at some point they will). As for specific religions, considering the fact that they all contradict each other... Well, they can't all be correct, and they all say that they're the only correct one, which is demonstrably impossible.
[08] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
Define "wrong". Is it illegal? Yes, it is... But I'm not sure if it's immoral. Considering the amount of legal hoops one has to jump through in order to emigrate from a country, I can't really blame a lot of people for illegally immigrating. Still, it would be preferable to do so legally, because that way they can qualify for governmental assistance. (I think that, however, the symptoms of the underlying reasons for the mass emigration of Mexican citizens should be looked at first before passing any judgment on this - and I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough about the situation to do so.)
[09] A twelve year old girl has a baby; should she keep it?
That depends on a vast number of factors. Can she properly birth the baby? (Many twelve year old bodies cannot.) Does she have the money, time, or energy to support raising a child, or have a support system that will enable her to do so? Does she have other priorities in her life that would make raising a child unfeasible? Will her partner/s assist in the care of the baby? I don't think this question can be given a snap judgment answer, and I feel that each answer is unique to each situation. There do exist support systems for people in these situations, though, so that's an option.
[10] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Another question that doesn't impact me directly, since I won't ever consume alcohol - willingly, anyway. However, considering that most people are consuming alcohol before they hit eighteen, I honestly don't see what the harm of changing the legal age would even be. Besides, it's ridiculous that one can do far more dramatic things, like vote, drive a car, or fight in a war, before one can consume alcohol. It's a rather stupid double-standard, at least to me. Also, the major problem with underaged drinking is that people are irresponsible with the alcohol they consume, and that can be rectified with proper education instead of outright banning alcohol from being consumed (note that this tends to make the consumption of something INCREASE rather than decrease).
[11] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
I don't think it's that simple to "call off" a war. Though I regret the war even started to begin with, I think at this point the only thing that we can do is withdraw troops over time. That being said, the region is still in very bad shape. I don't have the knowledge to really tell whether or not withdrawing from Iraq would even be beneficial for Iraq to begin with. But it's chauvinistic of the West to think that we're necessarily the answer to all of Iraq's problems, either.
[12] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No, I don't agree at all. I feel that people who are suffering undue pain in their lives, that have no other recourse to deal with that suffering, should be allowed a dignified end to their lives if they so choose to take it. That being said, I would advocate an earnest search into every alternative before taking the very permanent option of ending one's life. After all, that's not an option that can be revoked or stopped.
[13] Do you believe in spanking your children?
Not at all. I don't think physically harming a person teaches zir anything whatsoever. Children should be taught concepts at a level that they can rationalize, because addressing the root of the problem is the only proper way to solve it. Spanking merely leads to a selective repression of the behaviour. (That is, children will do it if they think they won't be punished for it, because they won't realize that the behaviour, in and of itself, should not occur.)
[14] Would you burn an American [Canadian, in my case] flag for a million dollars?
I don't have any personal attachment to any symbol of my country, and therefore don't consider the Canadian flag to have any more inherent worth than any other scrap of red and white cloth. I think the worth of Canada is a sum of the worth of the people, laws, thoughts, and ideas that Canada espouses, and therefore isn't something that can be neatly encapsulated in a symbol. But I'd question the motives of a person who asked me to burn such a symbol. After all, what sort of rationale does one have to have in order to go to such an extreme? (Removing the philosophical element from the question, I don't have any qualms with burning the flag myself. I don't attach any sentiment to the action whatsoever.)
[15] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
No, not really. I think my friends are already pretty aware of my beliefs, because I'm fairly vocal about them.
~~~
And that's that. :D You're welcome to disagree with me, but please don't stoop to petty flames. I'll simply ignore those. Thoughtful discussion is, however, happily encouraged!
Be warned, this is very tl;dr.
[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and repost as "The Controversial Survey"?
Let's think for a moment here: If the person reading this journal can see this question, has it been reposted? (Do I even NEED to answer this question?)
[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Though I believe all drugs should be legalized and subject to strict controls, similarly to medicines, I am intensely phobic of drugs. I won't even use caffeine if I can help it. So no, I wouldn't personally use methamphetamines, whether they were legal or not. I don't really care if others do or not, though, as long as they're not putting anybody's life in jeopardy but their own.
[03] Abortion: for or against it?
What kind of question is this? "For" abortion? Is this question supposed to imply I want to go out and abort fetuses? xD Ignoring the really poor (and rather inflammatory) wording of this question, I support a parent's right to decide whether or not zie has to carry a fetus to full-term. Though I don't think abortion should be used as a substitute for birth control (not only does it damage a person's body, but it's rather irresponsible and most birth control is quite effective when properly used), I don't see any problem with it being used responsibly. After all, it's certainly better than placing yet another unwanted baby in a foster home, or have the parents' lives (and the baby's!) be crippled by the presence of a responsibility that they are unable to handle.
[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
This is a ridiculous question. The world wouldn't "fail" if ANY one leader sucked at zir job; not to mention that America is not the world and that president isn't a term restricted to America. With that aside, I feel that regardless of the identity of the president (whatever identity that may be) of America, as long as that president does a good job for zir country, what's the problem? Why would a woman be any poorer at this job than a man? I don't see any reason for that to occur.
[05] Do you wish that marijuana would be legalized already?
Since I don't consume marijuana and have no desire to ever do so, this doesn't directly impact me, but I feel that marijuana ought to be legalized (as with other drugs) in order to allow the people who consume it to not be treated as felons for possessing and using it. That's taking up valuable space in jail for people who actually commit crimes worthy of being jailed over. (That's not to say that someone who possesses marijuana can't also commit those crimes, but possessing marijuana in and of itself doesn't constitute any real criminal behaviour that I can ascertain.) Incidentally, Canada allows the possession of medical marijuana if it has been allowed by a doctor... and there has been talk of decriminalization, but I can't say for sure whether that will ever come to anything.
[06] Are you for or against premarital sex?
Another hopelessly inflammatory question. I don't think it makes any functional difference so long as everybody involved can give informed consent and uses proper protection (or have given inform consent to NOT do so, if that's their thing). Sex is an expression of love that is unique to every person, and therefore, every person should individually decide how zie wants to express it - if zie, indeed, wants to express it at all. One can't ignore the asexual people of the world, after all!
[07] Do you believe in God?
Not personally, no. I don't believe in any deity or anything of the sort. However, I recognize that, as a human, I am ignorant of many things, so it's entirely possible that there may be something that exists beyond my comprehension. After all, absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence. But, until there's some way that the existence of such a deity can be proven to me, I will err on the side of reason and say that there isn't one. Science is doing a pretty good job of explaining the universe to me as it is, and I see no reason to use paranormal explanations for anything if logical explanations exist (and if they don't exist already I am pretty confident that at some point they will). As for specific religions, considering the fact that they all contradict each other... Well, they can't all be correct, and they all say that they're the only correct one, which is demonstrably impossible.
[08] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
Define "wrong". Is it illegal? Yes, it is... But I'm not sure if it's immoral. Considering the amount of legal hoops one has to jump through in order to emigrate from a country, I can't really blame a lot of people for illegally immigrating. Still, it would be preferable to do so legally, because that way they can qualify for governmental assistance. (I think that, however, the symptoms of the underlying reasons for the mass emigration of Mexican citizens should be looked at first before passing any judgment on this - and I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough about the situation to do so.)
[09] A twelve year old girl has a baby; should she keep it?
That depends on a vast number of factors. Can she properly birth the baby? (Many twelve year old bodies cannot.) Does she have the money, time, or energy to support raising a child, or have a support system that will enable her to do so? Does she have other priorities in her life that would make raising a child unfeasible? Will her partner/s assist in the care of the baby? I don't think this question can be given a snap judgment answer, and I feel that each answer is unique to each situation. There do exist support systems for people in these situations, though, so that's an option.
[10] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Another question that doesn't impact me directly, since I won't ever consume alcohol - willingly, anyway. However, considering that most people are consuming alcohol before they hit eighteen, I honestly don't see what the harm of changing the legal age would even be. Besides, it's ridiculous that one can do far more dramatic things, like vote, drive a car, or fight in a war, before one can consume alcohol. It's a rather stupid double-standard, at least to me. Also, the major problem with underaged drinking is that people are irresponsible with the alcohol they consume, and that can be rectified with proper education instead of outright banning alcohol from being consumed (note that this tends to make the consumption of something INCREASE rather than decrease).
[11] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
I don't think it's that simple to "call off" a war. Though I regret the war even started to begin with, I think at this point the only thing that we can do is withdraw troops over time. That being said, the region is still in very bad shape. I don't have the knowledge to really tell whether or not withdrawing from Iraq would even be beneficial for Iraq to begin with. But it's chauvinistic of the West to think that we're necessarily the answer to all of Iraq's problems, either.
[12] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No, I don't agree at all. I feel that people who are suffering undue pain in their lives, that have no other recourse to deal with that suffering, should be allowed a dignified end to their lives if they so choose to take it. That being said, I would advocate an earnest search into every alternative before taking the very permanent option of ending one's life. After all, that's not an option that can be revoked or stopped.
[13] Do you believe in spanking your children?
Not at all. I don't think physically harming a person teaches zir anything whatsoever. Children should be taught concepts at a level that they can rationalize, because addressing the root of the problem is the only proper way to solve it. Spanking merely leads to a selective repression of the behaviour. (That is, children will do it if they think they won't be punished for it, because they won't realize that the behaviour, in and of itself, should not occur.)
[14] Would you burn an American [Canadian, in my case] flag for a million dollars?
I don't have any personal attachment to any symbol of my country, and therefore don't consider the Canadian flag to have any more inherent worth than any other scrap of red and white cloth. I think the worth of Canada is a sum of the worth of the people, laws, thoughts, and ideas that Canada espouses, and therefore isn't something that can be neatly encapsulated in a symbol. But I'd question the motives of a person who asked me to burn such a symbol. After all, what sort of rationale does one have to have in order to go to such an extreme? (Removing the philosophical element from the question, I don't have any qualms with burning the flag myself. I don't attach any sentiment to the action whatsoever.)
[15] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
No, not really. I think my friends are already pretty aware of my beliefs, because I'm fairly vocal about them.
~~~
And that's that. :D You're welcome to disagree with me, but please don't stoop to petty flames. I'll simply ignore those. Thoughtful discussion is, however, happily encouraged!
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basically anything
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haven't really watched any movies... *fails*
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hard to say; mostly Ecco series, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, some of the non-shitty Sonic games...
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"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it can be comprehended." ~ Albert Einstein
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