apedant
Full Member
Over himself, over his body and soul, the individual is sovereign--J S Mill.
Posts: 139
|
Post by apedant on Feb 3, 2010 5:58:37 GMT -5
I like to post online, blog and follow blogs. For me it is part of a dedication to rational liberal (libertarian if you follow American definitions) thought, freedom of expression and opposing extremism and fundamentalist theocrats.
Sometimes however I look at my RSS feeds and it's like:
"so...The Mail is spewing lie based nonsense and bigots are using its presence in a national "news"paper as proof of validity; charlatans, fraudsters and quasi-religious creepy leaders are twisting science to look like it supports them, or just making it up; The world's most developed nation is being taken over by religious wingnuts who want to impose their religion on everyone. For that matter people in said most developed nation are dying for a lack of basic healthcare.
"All this is the same as yesterday and no doubt will be the same tomorrow"
When I get this feeling sometimes it just feels pointless. What after all is the point of one voice being ignored in corners of the net?
That said having written out the reasons why I do like to post has just got rid of the feeling. I guess the point is that if I don't rant and rave in my padded corner of the web thn I am by implication accepting it.
So to find a point for this thread; does anyone else get that "posting is pointless" feeling, why do you post, especiall on political/religious/moral issues, and what do you do when the hate starts to overwhelm you (especiall given that reading the FSTDT quotes can kill all faith in human kindness)?
|
|
|
|
Post by MaybeNever on Feb 3, 2010 14:37:49 GMT -5
I start by not reading the mainpage. It's why I got started here, but having the intense urge to murder people fifty times a day is probably not very healthy.
|
|
|
|
Post by maskdt on Feb 4, 2010 0:59:25 GMT -5
I never had any illusions about somehow changing the world through this site. I came here to laugh at some of the ridiculous things that fundies still cling to and to vent a little anger in a safe way. My posts will never change a person's mind, but it makes me feel a little better because at least neither I nor any of my peers are that narrow-minded and insane.
So, yeah, I come to vent a little frustration. There's a lot for me to be frustrated about, but at least here I have a target to direct it at. Whether or not the actual target reads the post is completely unimportant.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mira on Feb 4, 2010 1:05:40 GMT -5
Actually...
after reading through the standard apologetics and such my faith was still extremely flimsy. When I found the mainpage it was amusing and frightening, but I found myself agreeing with some of the fundies a little bit. I didn't realise what was so absurd about them until I checked out some of the comments. So, in the end, FSTDT wasn't really what changed my mind's position, but I was able to get some good information for contemplation (no one changes their minds in the middle of an argument/debate anyway.)
Okay, lame story time is over.
|
|
|
|
Post by MaybeNever on Feb 4, 2010 20:03:23 GMT -5
That's actually a pretty good story, Mira. Nobody's going to be convinced if they aren't open to it, but somebody who feels that their faith or religion is hollow but can't express why would probably benefit from some of the comments on the main page.
|
|
|
|
Post by Magnizeal on Feb 4, 2010 21:31:28 GMT -5
What happened to Mira was exactly what happened to me. /$0.02
|
|
|
|
Post by SpaceProg on Feb 5, 2010 0:27:27 GMT -5
It's good for venting, it's good for making contact with others of like mind, and it's just fun. More fun than concentrating on whether or not our existence makes any sort of difference.
(I personally believe it does, but in a causal way that can be very complicated, or insanely simple.)
Yet another type post I usually do while drunk, yet I'm stone sober...
|
|
