ChadT

Gay men don't tend to like trans women. Most people are somewhere on a spectrum. I had a gay friend who was 99% into dudes, but every now and then, he would find a certain woman sexually attractive. Just like what you like and don't get hung up on labeling it.

This seems like a truly game changing moment to me.

But there is a self. I think therefore I am. Even if the self is an illusion, it's still an illusion then. It seems to reason it has a purpose. Even if it is god fooling itself into experiencing reality as the self. I like the self. I'm really not trying to be argumentative. I just struggle with this. Sometimes I feel like I almost see it, but never can quite fully buy into it.

@Leo Gura I guess what I struggle with is, if I ( Chad ) die, merge with everything and cease to be, It seems like that is basically the same thing as just disappering. As Chad. Nothingness. Or no thing. Now, if I merge with everything and have some degree of awarenes of the process, than that would be different. I guess I am not sure which you are saying. Perhaps I am misunderstanding, or just not at a point where I can see it.

Regarding your blog Merging Into Infinity. Isn't this basically what atheists believe? You die and there is nothing.

I always liked this exchange in the Malazan book series... "Every decision you make can change the world. The best life is the one the gods don't notice. You want to live free, boy, live quietly." "I want to be a soldier. A hero." "You'll grow out of it." Fuck fame. It's a trap imho. As for achieving something great... More power to you, if that's what you aspire to do, but I also think we change the world in ways we often never even know. Butterfly effect, etc.

Here's an anecdotal experience from my own life, but I'm guessing this is generally true for a lot of people... I work for a company that is owned by a fairly conservative family. I'm one of the few liberals that work there. The day Kirk was murdered I heard several people openly use the word libtards. I rarely talk politics at work, but it's fairly common knowledge that I'm not a fan of Trump. I just kept my mouth shut. I get that emotions were high that day. This type of thing is not uncommon though. Communist is another term that gets used frequently when referring to democrats. I wonder how they would feel if I started referring to them as magatards and fascists at work? I get that my experience is situational and geographical, to a large extent, but I find the right to be way more vocal and confrontational on a personal level. I see this in many poker games I play in too. Most democrats / liberals avoid engaging in political conversation more often than not. I knew who Kirk was. I had a vague idea what he stood for. After he was shot, I researched him a bit more and of course saw many of the horrible things he has said over the years. I was somewhat surprised by how many of my coworkers idolized this man. It was eye openning and disturbing. None of that justifies his murder. To be crystal clear. He was murdered.

Couldn't disagree more. There is plenty of rhetoric coming from the right. I hear it all the time at work. I'd love to see both sides tone down the rhetoric though. There's no money in that though. Which is another point I was trying to make.

Seems like a very rational thought experiment to me. There have been many on the far right calling for revenge. That got me thinking, who would they even go after that is the equivalent on the left. That's all. Obviously I am not condoning they actually do it. My point is the left doesn't churn these type of people out like the right does. I thought that was fairly obvious as well, but apparently not.

Condone what? The fact that I am trying to determine if the left has an equivalent of Charlie Kirk?

So many of these right wing "influencers" are really just grifters at this point. They have figured out that there is a ton of money to be made, pushing peoples buttons. I think many of them start out conservative and just get more and more extreme because they realize that's what gets them the attention and $ they seek. I'm not even sure they are self aware enough to see it. Hell, just look at what happened to Rogan. The left does it too, to some extent, but there really is no real equivalent on the left. I've been asking myself, if the right wanted revenge and wanted to kill the left wing version of Charlie Kirk, who would they kill? The left doesn't have an equivalent. I could name a half dozen on the right though.

Curious if you have seen The Wire Leo? I think you would get a lot out of it. It's brilliant. It was written by a former Baltimore Sun crime reporter and former Baltimore homicide detective. Each season, looks at inner city Baltimore from a different angle. It teachs without coming across didactic.

I can't stand Tucker. I find him to be a totally dishonest actor, but I found this interesting.