You know what I love about DAMN?

[c|"Sixhits"]

... That these forums are international.

I love that. It makes me glad to be a part of this community. Even the guys who talk about there not being enough 747s to make us understand how wrong the US is to bomb other countries (not that 747s'll do that - only our own people's political change of heart can do that).

I like that I can come here and speak with a group of people that are diverse in their opinions and beliefs. It warms me. It's something I feel less and less here at home, even in Los Angeles. The right to disent, to disagree with those in control - it flows away daily.

And here is a place I can yell, without fear of reprisal:

FUCK BUSH
FUCK CONSERVATIVES
FUCK'EM ALL

thanks,


needed that


six

[The Ghost of Bondo]

That is what makes me not be able to leave here, I haven't found another place to debate that offers as much.  Aside from just different nationalities and political leanings, most of the people who debate here are generally extremely intelligent (although some posters like to deny that of others   ).  I think it has a lot to do with it being a Mac based place...you know, Think Differently

[Cossack]

There are better places to debat politics and whatnot than this gaming forum. When you go to a University that offers as many services as the Soviet Union did you find all sorts of forums. Unfortunently most of us are white males in the middle class. Sure we may be different types of "white." We may be a white man from Austria, a white Russian living in Texas, a white Californian. We dont get much from the lower class or from other races with exceptions ie Bander. It will be a while until we get opinions from the lower class on to this forum. They would have to get a computer first.

[jn.loudnotes]

True Cossack.  But if you can't afford a computer, you probably can't afford much of an education.  And even the most intelligent person won't ever have the chance to form much in the way of qualified opinion if they never have their horizons broadened.

Sad. . .but the reason uneducated people can't better themselves is because they're uneducated, and they're uneducated because they can't better themselves.  It's a vicious cycle. . .

[The Ghost of Bondo]

Did you just spoil yourself?

The big problem is that for whatever reasons (less funding, less nurturing to succeed, etc) schools in poor areas aren't as good.  I think the main difference is child care.  Parents in the higher classes tend to have more free time to spend engaging their child, encouraging them to try new oppertunities to learn.  That contact is greatly important in the younger time and poorer parents just don't have the ability to offer it.

[0 Kilz:M:]

Does'nt help when dads in jail ( or if you even know him ) and mom smokes crack instead of makin breakfast....

[kami]

It's a good topic Six, I really like this forum because I get to see a bit more of a diversified picture of Americans, together with GR (seldom get any 'intelligent' discussions going there though) this is like my only chance. If it hadn't been for GR and this forum I'd be just as clueless as any other Swede (well maybe not, after all I do speak politics at the dinner table).

Cos, I don't agree with that, I'm a half-Jap living in Sweden (upper middle-class too). But really, poorer people all have computers as well, just that they have PCs, many of the people who have macs are more educated people like academics and then their kids catch on to the same thing (that's what happened to me anyway). Most of my 'poorer' friends all have PCs, the ones who have a mac of some sort are all pretty rich.

[The Ghost of Bondo]

My school had Apple computers throughout.  But mainly I've been with Apple because my dad is an engineer and likes the best tech toys, and seeing as the Mac kicks the PCs ass in being the best, he always got Apple's for us.

[tasty]

Yeah, the wealth distribution among races in America is pretty unbalanced. This fact is from my Class Issues course: "If a Ford Escort represents the average financial wealth of an African-American household, you would need a stretch limousine 300 yards long to show the average for a white household." Generally all my online buds are white and middle-upper class like me. I grew up and currently live in utter white bread communities, but I can't wait to move to a larger metropolitan area and out of the 6th whitest state in the union.

btw kilzo that was a pretty racist comment you made.

[The Ghost of Bondo]

I know a person online who lives in a poor area of New York City (technically Jamaica, NY).  I know one hispanic person at least and one person originally from Spain but with Russian descent (all these people I'm mentioning are girls I know online).  Certainly not all of them are white or rich (or male).  Mind you none of them have Macs.  Really, if you get to areas that have more PC/Mac balance you do find more class diversity.

[kami]

You're the pimp eh Bondo (It's descent btw, dissent is something totally different). Well I know what you're saying, simple explanation to that though, well what do you know, macs are expensive!

[The Ghost of Bondo]

Err, yeah, I knew that *edits post*

But yes, contrary to what hanging around mac gaming forums and servers might make it seem cookie excepted, there are actually females on the internet...you just have to like figure skating and having an online journal to find them.

[Snipes]

omg sixhits your a fucking fucker...I am a republican, I like President Bush, and I like the community so..

FUCK SIXHITS

[kami]

Bondo, you like figure skating? All the respect I might've had for you is now gone.

Hehe, I know there are females on the net, I know quite a lot of 'em, the joke was really about how the only people you mentioned were girls (leading to the suspicion that perhaps girls were the only people you chatted with online..)

[The Ghost of Bondo]

Hehe, I know there are females on the net, I know quite a lot of 'em, the joke was really about how the only people you mentioned were girls (leading to the suspicion that perhaps girls were the only people you chatted with online..)

That was more my attempt to insult this community than a misunderstanding.  And btw, about 90% of the people I know online that I chat with are indeed female.  What can I say, women dig guys who talk about hot guys with them.

[jn.loudnotes]

Snipey - way to make your position seem more attractive  

Does'nt help when dads in jail ( or if you even know him ) and mom smokes crack instead of makin breakfast....

And tasty, I don't think kilzo's statement was racist.  Stereotypical, yes.  But he never mentioned race.  If anyone is being racist, it's you in assuming kilzo was referring to an ethnicity when he lumped all poor people together.  Not all poor people are black, for example.

[kami]

Haha, Bondo, surely there are better ways to get to talk to girls on the net than to talk about how guys look..

[tasty]

Loudnotes, I was going from this post:

Unfortunently most of us are white males in the middle class.

Maybe kilzo wasn't referring to that at all and I was being unfair. If this is the case, I apologize to kilzo for my hastiness and wrongness. Either way though, his statement was a massive stereotype, and an unfair one at that regardless of whether he is making it about racial or class issues. Your statement about me being racist was kind of silly in itself though - everyone is a little bit racist, the key is to make sure we ignore those racist influences and behave as equitably as possible. I don't think my statement was even very outrageous. In America (and most other areas) its impossible to disconnect the issues of race and income. All nonwhite races make/have a great deal less than the average white citizen in America. I never said anything about a specific ethnicity either - I was just referring to all nonwhite people. You are the one that immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was, and even provided the suggestion that the specific ethnicity I was referencing was black people. Race is a sensitive issue that is swept under the rug a lot in this country, but I don't think you were any more racially sensitive or politically correct than I was.

[(SEALs) one]

omg sixhits your a fucking fucker...I am a republican, I like President Bush, and I like the community so..

FUCK SIXHITS

haha snipey you dumbassrabid

[jn.loudnotes]

Just trying to play devil's advocate a little.  As it is, I've become convinced that the only way people will ever stop discriminating on the basis of race is if they stop identifying with it.  That goes for everyone - it's one thing to celebrate your shared culture, homeland, etc - but there's really no need to tie that to skin color.  If everyone just found something else to group people by - we could all ignore skin color.  Since it's meaningless anyway. . .