posted November 07, 2012 05:28 PM            

Of course even in cases like this guns are almost never actually fired, and when an assailant is shot in self-defense the assailant usually survives because the victim has already called 911 (or does so right after), and the goal is to stop the assailant not kill him (whereas criminals find it easiest to sometimes kill their victims to eliminate witnesses and they certainly don't call 911). And even in the rare case that it does result in an assailant's death, I don't see that as "murder." To me, murder is a predatory act, not self-defense against immanent violence.

That said, I really oppose Florida's tendency to give a free pass if you actually kill someone with a gun whereas if whoever you pulled a gun on lives then they can press charges. An example was a woman who fired a warning shot at her husband who said he was going to kill her and the children and when he stopped the mother fled with her kids and called the cops, and while the man first said outright that if she hadn't fired a bullet into the ceiling above his head then he was going to try to kill them all he later recanted and said her doing that was unprovoked and she was looking at years in prison, which would also have the affect of putting the children in his custody if the prosecution won. Of course if she'd just shot him until he was dead (in front of the children) then there'd be no legal risk for her. That's just too messed up for words.

Also, while I support a woman's right to choose and believe the majority of those who want to prohibit all abortion don't really care about the child so much as punishing women (though kudos to the ones who don't blame her for the rape, or even think rape is part of a "gift from God," that's actually progress, even if I suspect there's some extreme prejudices in who they imagine the assailants & victims are in promoting such self-defense), I can also agree that better a dead rapist than an abortion (or even a rape). Furthermore, a dead predatory rapist (who's likely to repeat his crimes if left alive, even if convicted) is, IMO, a service to the community.

posted November 07, 2012 11:25 PM            

I would rather the killer be dead, than an innocent person.

But I don't think less of people who get abortions at all. I know it was a very painful decision to make. They don't need other people making them feel bad about it. Cause I'm sure that they do. They don't need the harsh judgement.
On the today show they showed some political guy on tv who was against abortion, he cheated on his wife the mistress got knocked up. Guess what he told the mistress....to get an abortion. Go figure. (tried to find the clip on youtube)

And the way I see it, if abortion was illegal people would find other ways to do it.

posted November 08, 2012 10:57 PM            

so I guess I have an uncle on my dad's side that is republican apparently. Shared this on fb today

"CAN WE HAVE 5,000 LIKES FOR RETURNING AMERICA TO ITS CHRISTIAN VALUES? SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
And then the meme said "LIKE if...AMERICA SHOULD RETURN TO IT'S CHRISTIAN VALUES!"

lmao at SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA! haha...wow! hilarious!

posted November 09, 2012 12:42 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Stawr:
oh yes true that.

so I guess I have an uncle on my dad's side that is republican apparently. Shared this on fb today

"CAN WE HAVE 5,000 LIKES FOR RETURNING AMERICA TO ITS CHRISTIAN VALUES? SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
And then the meme said "LIKE if...AMERICA SHOULD RETURN TO IT'S CHRISTIAN VALUES!"

lmao at SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA! haha...wow! hilarious!

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posted November 09, 2012 12:38 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Stawr:
[b]oh yes true that.

so I guess I have an uncle on my dad's side that is republican apparently. Shared this on fb today

"CAN WE HAVE 5,000 LIKES FOR RETURNING AMERICA TO ITS CHRISTIAN VALUES? SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
And then the meme said "LIKE if...AMERICA SHOULD RETURN TO IT'S CHRISTIAN VALUES!"

lmao at SHARE=GOD BLESS AMERICA! haha...wow! hilarious!

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posted November 09, 2012 09:30 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Aquacheeka:
That's interesting, I read an article in this week's Metro basically recriminating middle-classers for watching shows like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" as a way to mock southerners, rednecks, etc. The journalist called it class war and elitism. I never thought of it that way, but I do tend to look down my nose at people like the ones you describe and everyone I know likes to make fun of them. You doing it too as a Southerner makes me feel like I have permission, though .

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Lots of people "make fun of their own" but when an outsider does it don't be surprised if they all, even the ones poking fun at their own, close ranks against you. And just because Texans fall down from laughing so hard at "You Might Be a Redneck" jokes when Jeff Foxworthy does it doesn't mean they won't punch you in the face when you say the same things (especially if they know you're from Canada, or even worse, the North of the US, aka Yankees)...which might be followed by the deputies refusing to let you press charges and maybe getting their own licks in.

Still, such overly simplistic views (like "rape is impossible if you carry on you") do deserve mockery (though safest to leave it to the professionals who get paid for it).

And be careful about lumping all of us Southerners together. Not only does the South have a wide variety of people with a lot of people and media not of the South mixing in and helping change it (though my East Texas family mistook my British slang picked up via internet and Harry Potter as "speaking like a Valley Girl" ) but the states themselves can be fiercely opposed to each other. I think the Texans & Oklahomans who hate each other don't even know why anymore (they just use the college football rivalry as an excuse to keep at it). At least I can understand the TX vs. TN conflict (even if it's pretty dumb, IMO), that's based on so many Texians (original TX settlers), including Davy Crockett, coming from TN (and when I told a TN neighbor that Davy Crockett may have been born in TN, "but he CHOSE to live in Texas," she nearly shrieked, "Texas killed him!") and some don't like how the other state claims Crockett (and thus towns, counties, etc, may be named for him). There's also the Texas Country (not to include the Dixie Chicks) vs. Nashville rivalry. And then there's the cooking...as a general rule it's best to never tell a Southerner that you've tasted better food elsewhere, not even another Southern state (and while you're at it, don't ever try putting sugar on grits, and don't insult beef or act surprised beef replaces pork in Texas). At least in Texas it can actually be easier to be accepted with Southern hospitality as a tourist (even when they'd normally look down upon the same person if the tourist were instead a resident) from say California than from another Southern state (especially Oklahoma or TN).

And even the states show a lot of individual elements (I think Louisiana is the most diverse that way). Janis Joplin and the Dixie Chicks came from Texas just like Bush and George Strait. (I often call my Texas accent my "Joplin accent," sorta to make fun of the CA Deadheads who made fun of my Texas accent and then not recognizing that Joplin, whom they also loved along with the Grateful Dead, sounded a lot like me because she was from TX, too.) You might also notice that I often say "East Texas" instead of "Texas" a lot and that's because the East is very different from the West, and though conservatives rule Texas from Austin (state capital), the city itself is surprisingly liberal locally. I vaguely recall how it was taught in school (with some pride by the teacher) that Texas could be divided up into 8 different states and that maybe it should...

In any case, some in CA have suffered because they got the wrong idea about me, and a few times I had no problem with taking the fool for all he was worth. For example, a fugly CA idiot who looked down on me for being a blonde with a TX accent not only spoke condescendingly to me a lot but was also something of a sadist. When we haggled, I'd tell him of all the expenses went into my crafts, using standard pricing which are generally expensive, especially with gas prices. I'd feign being upset when he talked me down to just barely at my expenses, or even a little below (he loved it when he thought I was taking a loss, he'd actually puff up in pride and look liked he was fighting not to smile while I pretended to try not to cry, and that was usually when he'd say something about me needing someone like him to take care of me, which just made fleecing the lamb that much easier). Given that I exaggerated my Texan accent, twirled my blonde hair, used incorrect grammar, he never realized it was me playing him rather than the other way around and had he instead stopped to think about it he might've realized the reason I kept doing business with him was because I WAS making a profit and then realize that I was lying about my expenses (got most everything from a discount store, found creative ways to get more stuff, and I'd catch a ride with a friend who was heading out that way anyway or use public transport instead of paying for gas, among other things). He eventually ran out of business (though I'm sure I wasn't the only one to take the obnoxious idiot for all he was worth), while this Texas blonde found ways to make even more money working for myself.

And there is something really annoying about people prejudiced against people with my accent because they think we're the ones who are prejudiced.

And btw, this ep was a butterfly effect in my life that changed my life for the better in the long term (long story to explain), and it started because while babysitting some kids they were watching HM and for the first time I started paying attention when it got to the part shown where Miley meets Trey's parents right after 2:30 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=warP5HSWY6E