Marvin,... you are being a little naive here...
Perhaps you should take a harder look at what I've said. A much harder look.
Marvin Shilmer
JoinedPosts by Marvin Shilmer
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109
The Confederate Flag
by Simon inthe latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
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Marvin Shilmer
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109
The Confederate Flag
by Simon inthe latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
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Marvin Shilmer
What we need to be asking is how are we going to make substantive changes to achieve a truly color blind society.
Causes of the woes you mentioned faced by contemporary human society are much, much bigger and more complex than skin color.
For starters, the view from one-million miles in space is that humans are essentially a sophisticated form of bacteria eating away at planet earth's resources, which resources are not infinite.
For seconds, no matter skin color humans are, like most other life forms, very selfish.
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109
The Confederate Flag
by Simon inthe latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
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Marvin Shilmer
is it legal to fly a flag with a swastika in Canada or America?
In the USA, yes.
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29
Royal Commission into Child Abuse - Australia
by biometrics insaw this in the paper today:.
the jehovah's witnesses church in australia is the latest religious group to come to the attention of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.. the child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial christian group the jehovah's witnesses, next month.. the inquiry, to be held in sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the jehovah's witnesses church in australia.. it will examine how the jehovah's witnesses church and its company, the watchtower bible and tract society of australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.. a victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former jehovah's witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.. the organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in australia but has also been described as a cult.. jehovah's witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong.
they are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse including the catholics, anglicans, australian christian churches and the salvation army.. the jehovah's witnesses australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on july 27.. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html.
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Marvin Shilmer
Imagine that. A PUBLIC HEARING!!!
What a breath of fresh air, and something the Watchtower organization does not see fit to practice of its own accord.
No. Watchtower wants all its "hearings" to be of the secret star-chamber variety where there are no neutral witnesses to what goes on there and the subject has no opportunity to have at least ONE observer for sake of inspiring carefulness and justice! This, DESPITE Watchtower decrying it when governmental organizations likewise fail to have public hearings.
See: Watchtower’s Judicial System
Watchtower prides itself in supposedly building an internal judicial system reminecent of the ancient Jewish practice of having local elders decide matters of justice. Hey Watchtower! Get THIS: Under that Jewish system elders heard cased PUBLICLY at the city gates, and meted out their decisions there too, in FULL PUBLIC VIEW.
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Changes for Volunteers at Conventions and Assemblies in Spain
by RayPublisher insomeone sent me this from jwtalk.
a guy on there just posted this regarding changes to the way the jws volunteer at conventions in spain and the changes seem fairly major:.
we had a special meeting today called a training session for volunteers.
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Marvin Shilmer
Looks like Watchtower is tiring of lawsuits. -
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Marvin Shilmer
There are good reasons for having firearms, including what might seem like high capacity magazines to folks who aren't familiar with these reasons (think: Joe Biden!). (By the way, 300 round magazines do not, in my opinion, have any place in the civilian world.) There are places I sometime have to go where exposure to feral hogs is probable. If you don't have a sidearm backup with you loaded with 15 and a magazine with another 15 nearby you're a fool. Those who've ever encountered one of these vicious beasts knows why. I also sometimes have to go places where criminal elements make it likely that I'll be in the presence of a stone cold killer mentality who has not yet victimized. I don't intend to be the first victim, and if I am I don't intend to stand there reasoning with a person who's confronting me or mine with lethal intent. He or she's going to get whatever I can give them right now and center-mass.
I believe in responsible civilian gun ownership. It would not hurt my feelings one bit for the US to require citizens to have a locally issued license to purchase, own and carry a firearm. This way non-criminals who feel the need have a means of purchasing, owning and carrying a firearm, and there is some minimum standard in place to demonstrate competency similar to what is done for driving an automobile on public thruways.
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9 dead in ‘hate crime’ shooting at historic African American church in Charleston
by pronomono inhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/17/white-gunman-sought-in-shooting-at-historic-charleston-african-ame-church/.
this is such a shame.
i've always thought about things like this happening because of how crazy some people are, especially in regards to religion.
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Marvin Shilmer
I don't think this is as much a race or gun issue as much as it's a mental health issue. Obviously we don't know much at this point, but even a hard line racist will not usually do something this extreme, it usually takes some form of mental health issue.
There is a problem in this country with how we deal with the mentally ill. Too often parents are forced to stand by while their adult children cycle in and out through the mental health system.In my book racism is a mental disease, and demonstrably one that can be cured in individuals given appropriate therapy. Regardless, whether because of some other mental illness or not, what this man did is a result of a racist position then and there when he was firing rounds. I don't really care where he gets put away for the rest of his life, so long as he get's put away for the rest of his life.
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9 dead in ‘hate crime’ shooting at historic African American church in Charleston
by pronomono inhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/17/white-gunman-sought-in-shooting-at-historic-charleston-african-ame-church/.
this is such a shame.
i've always thought about things like this happening because of how crazy some people are, especially in regards to religion.
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Marvin Shilmer
According to reports the guy who did this shooting was arrested and jailed on drug related charges in March of this year. THEN in April of this year his father reportedly gave him a .45-caliber sidearm as a birthday gift.
MY OPINION: The dad should be arrested. I'm not sure what the charge should be. If nothing else, utterly and shameless stupid irresponsibility!
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9 dead in ‘hate crime’ shooting at historic African American church in Charleston
by pronomono inhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/17/white-gunman-sought-in-shooting-at-historic-charleston-african-ame-church/.
this is such a shame.
i've always thought about things like this happening because of how crazy some people are, especially in regards to religion.
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Marvin Shilmer
I disagree if it's a bat-shit crazy citizen who has been diagnosed as mentally incompetent to possess a firearm.
Then you and I don't disagree. My opinion is that in each case a citizen should have to demonstrate competency and be licensed accordingly. My view goes beyond yours because mine would have a person demonstrate competency rather than having to be identified as incompetent.
But for now I'm grieving with the family and loved ones who've suffered this horrible hate crime in Charleston.
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9 dead in ‘hate crime’ shooting at historic African American church in Charleston
by pronomono inhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/17/white-gunman-sought-in-shooting-at-historic-charleston-african-ame-church/.
this is such a shame.
i've always thought about things like this happening because of how crazy some people are, especially in regards to religion.
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Marvin Shilmer
When is America going to wake up to the fact that prejudice and racial hatred is alive and happening still after all these years and something NEEDS to be done about curtailing and preventing it? Either by more education in school systems or churches.
I think Americans are aware there is racial prejudice and racial hatred, and that it cuts in multiple directions and by individuals of every race. What to do about it is the question. When we see leaders (of any race!) making excuses for racist behavior by someone (of any race!) it does not help anyone, and arguably hurts everyone. When we see leaders (of any race!) minimize or overlook bad primary behavior by emphasizing secondary racial behaviors it flames racial divides and ends up making racial problems worse.
We need more leadership. At the end of the day resolving racial prejudice and hatred will likely find resolution the way most societal woes are ultimately tamed. It will be left to slowly find whatever equilibrium it ultimately finds the result of people getting tired of suffering it causes and taking individual steps toward resolution.
And when is America going to wake up to the fact that yes- we may have the right to bear arms - but does that include bat shit crazy mentally insane people ? In my opinion, no it does NOT. So many random shootings killing multiple people have occurred over the last 15 to 20 years you would think we are living in a f&cking war zone. All over the United States. This crime last night saddens me deeply but it pisses me off like hell.
I believe in a citizen's right to have firearms. I also believe in a citizen's right to drive an automobile. My opinion is that in each case a citizen should have to demonstrate competency and be licensed accordingly. Having a license is not removing a right; it's protecting the citizenry.