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Please study some history before you make claims like that. Have you seen any witches burned recently? Have 100K Japanese people on the west coast been put in

Please study some history before you make claims like that. Have you seen any witches burned recently? Have 100K Japanese people on the west coast been put into camps recently?

billybob 16y ago
Depends on how you define "recently." I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. There were plenty of professional philosophers in Rome while the emperor was burning Christians on pikes as party candles. And Rome was certainly the pinnacle of civilization in its day. The worst evils of the 20th century were done by people with lots of scientific, industrial and psychological knowledge propping them up. And the worst evils of the 21st century will be no different.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- chbarts 16y ago
  > I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. OK, find me a duel and a bear-baiting match in America and I'll believe you. Otherwise you're just mindlessly cynical, like any number of other teenagers.
  - nl 16y ago
    A Duel? UFC doesn't count? How about this, just from a quick search: http://current.com/news/92277104_a-near-fatal-shoot-out-between-incarcerated-rapper-gucci-mane-and-young-jeezys-entourages.htm http://current.com/news/92277104_a-near-fatal-shoot-out-betw.... You're probably right about bear-baiting. But there is plenty of organized dog fights and cock-fights around.
    - roel_v 16y ago
      UFC is not a duel in the traditional sense, nor is it 'violent' in the same way a war or aggravated assault is 'violent'. It's a technical sport (well UFC is a league of MMA fighters, where MMA is the sport) with well-defined rules designed to minimize damage to participants. Saying that the popularity of MMA shows that our society is getting more violent doesn't make sense, on the contrary - it's proof that we are able to channel primary urges to measure ourselves with our fellow humans in controlled and structured ways. As for your link, an anecdote does not data make. If you want to argue that our society is getting more violent you need to prove that the amount of violent episodes now is higher than in the past, not that there happen violent events now. And as a matter of fact, overall in most of the Western world, the amount of violent crimes has been on a steady decline for the last 50 years at least (the amount of other crimes has gone down too, by the way).
    - slackerIII 16y ago
      UFC is a lot less violent than boxing (and you simply haven't watched both if you claim otherwise), a sport that it is a rapidly displacing.
- india 16y ago
  > I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. No, there is quite some evidence behind that idea[1]. [1] http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violen...
Qz 16y ago
Are you forgetting Darfur? North Korea? Iraq? Pervasive forced labor worldwide? Maybe you should study some recent history. The list goes on an on.
- chbarts 16y ago
  Are you insisting that Darfur and North Korea are representative of the world as a whole? Do you really have that little conception, child?
  - Qz 16y ago
    They are representative of the state of the world in that we still allow them to go on. If you think your hands are clean in any of that, then you are sorely mistaken.
    - chbarts 16y ago
      > If you think your hands are clean in any of that, then you are sorely mistaken. Oh yes, original sin. Wonderful. That makes sense. Can I buy some plenary indulgence from you, or is it a 'salvation by grace' thing now? > They are representative of the state of the world in that we still allow them to go on. The world once allowed the Black Plague and religions based on human sacrifice to 'go on', as you say. Darfur and North Korea are nothing compared to those.
      - Qz 16y ago
        Wow, you have some serious distortion glasses on there. When did I say anything about original sin? And as for 'allowing' the Black Plague and human sacrifice to go on, that's an entirely different timeframe when the world wasn't globalized in the way it is now. At that time, people were isolated enough that direct social effects across societies were hugely limited. This isn't true now -- everything that goes on in the US directly affects the quality of life for people around the world, and vice versa. Any other poorly thought out responses you want to throw this way?
- 16y ago

Please study some history before you make claims like that. Have you seen any witches burned recently? Have 100K Japanese people on the west coast been put into camps recently?

billybob 16y ago

Depends on how you define "recently." I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. There were plenty of professional philosophers in Rome while the emperor was burning Christians on pikes as party candles. And Rome was certainly the pinnacle of civilization in its day. The worst evils of the 20th century were done by people with lots of scientific, industrial and psychological knowledge propping them up. And the worst evils of the 21st century will be no different.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
chbarts 16y ago
> I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. OK, find me a duel and a bear-baiting match in America and I'll believe you. Otherwise you're just mindlessly cynical, like any number of other teenagers.
- nl 16y ago
  A Duel? UFC doesn't count? How about this, just from a quick search: http://current.com/news/92277104_a-near-fatal-shoot-out-between-incarcerated-rapper-gucci-mane-and-young-jeezys-entourages.htm http://current.com/news/92277104_a-near-fatal-shoot-out-betw.... You're probably right about bear-baiting. But there is plenty of organized dog fights and cock-fights around.
  - roel_v 16y ago
    UFC is not a duel in the traditional sense, nor is it 'violent' in the same way a war or aggravated assault is 'violent'. It's a technical sport (well UFC is a league of MMA fighters, where MMA is the sport) with well-defined rules designed to minimize damage to participants. Saying that the popularity of MMA shows that our society is getting more violent doesn't make sense, on the contrary - it's proof that we are able to channel primary urges to measure ourselves with our fellow humans in controlled and structured ways. As for your link, an anecdote does not data make. If you want to argue that our society is getting more violent you need to prove that the amount of violent episodes now is higher than in the past, not that there happen violent events now. And as a matter of fact, overall in most of the Western world, the amount of violent crimes has been on a steady decline for the last 50 years at least (the amount of other crimes has gone down too, by the way).
  - slackerIII 16y ago
    UFC is a lot less violent than boxing (and you simply haven't watched both if you claim otherwise), a sport that it is a rapidly displacing.
india 16y ago
> I think the idea that humans are getting smarter and nobler is hogwash. No, there is quite some evidence behind that idea[1]. [1] http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violen...

Qz 16y ago

Are you forgetting Darfur? North Korea? Iraq? Pervasive forced labor worldwide? Maybe you should study some recent history. The list goes on an on.

chbarts 16y ago
Are you insisting that Darfur and North Korea are representative of the world as a whole? Do you really have that little conception, child?
- Qz 16y ago
  They are representative of the state of the world in that we still allow them to go on. If you think your hands are clean in any of that, then you are sorely mistaken.
  - chbarts 16y ago
    > If you think your hands are clean in any of that, then you are sorely mistaken. Oh yes, original sin. Wonderful. That makes sense. Can I buy some plenary indulgence from you, or is it a 'salvation by grace' thing now? > They are representative of the state of the world in that we still allow them to go on. The world once allowed the Black Plague and religions based on human sacrifice to 'go on', as you say. Darfur and North Korea are nothing compared to those.
    - Qz 16y ago
      Wow, you have some serious distortion glasses on there. When did I say anything about original sin? And as for 'allowing' the Black Plague and human sacrifice to go on, that's an entirely different timeframe when the world wasn't globalized in the way it is now. At that time, people were isolated enough that direct social effects across societies were hugely limited. This isn't true now -- everything that goes on in the US directly affects the quality of life for people around the world, and vice versa. Any other poorly thought out responses you want to throw this way?
16y ago