Things You Don't "Get"

[mjmooney]

4 minutes ago, BOF said:

Meta

Noel. 

[A'Villan]

2 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

I think it goes without saying that every single product which has been marketed has been aimed at certain demographics.. Look at the Diet Coke advert in the 90s with women swooning over a good looking, topless window cleaner, or older cleaning products with tags like "perfect for cleaning your man's home" etc etc. 

In a way it's a good message i.e. don't be a prick to people and make women feel uncomfortable, but then again, to me it just feels like more preaching.  I know I do my utmost to make anyone from any sex/race feel like they can act anyway around me, but I'm sure I've done things in the past which contradict that.  

So it just feels like Gilette are jumping on a bandwagon whereby they aren't exactly golden, so it feels stupid. 

I literally don't know what to think anymore, because I think we should all celebrate our differences and have fun around stereotypes, but then again, I hate the thought of being racist and divisive and I'd hate to upset someone.  But as a white bloke, I am finding it more and more common that I'm having to be mindful of what I say and to who, even though I literally have nothing racist/misogynistic to say! 

All I will say is, is that as long as we can call out gingers, that gives me something to hold onto    

I've run out of reactions for the day. So you get a comment instead.

You're obviously a top guy and embrace the good in life.

Life is fragile and precious. Barack Obama and Condeleezza Rice were the first black people to be appointed to positions of power since Lucius Septimius Severus.

That's going back to the f***ing Roman Empire. Even still, Obama and especially Rice served governments which have an atrocious treatment of people of colour.

Fred Hampton, MLK Jnr, Bobby Hutton, Malcom X. Assassinated for speaking for their right not to be subjugated to cruelty.

COINTELPRO, Northwood Documents, MK-ULTRA, it's all written in official documentation why there's a real sensitivity around how white people have acted.

[lapal_fan]

4 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

I've run out of reactions for the day. So you get a comment instead.

You're obviously a top guy and embrace the good in life.

Life is fragile and precious. Barack Obama and Condeleezza Rice were the first black people to be appointed to positions of power since Lucius Septimius Severus.

That's going back to the f***ing Roman Empire. Even still, Obama and especially Rice served governments which have an atrocious treatment of people of colour.

Fred Hampton, MLK Jnr, Bobby Hutton, Malcom X. Assassinated for speaking for their right not to be subjugated to cruelty.

COINTELPRO, Northwood Documents, MK-ULTRA, it's all written in official documentation why there's a real sensitivity around how white people have acted.

Oh no, absolutely right - I'd never be racist, because I know about previous prejudices other ethnities have suffered as a result of people of my ethnicity.  

This is such a nuanced problem, and I honestly don't have the vocabulary to express what I am trying to say/portray, which is frustrating.. 

What I am trying to say is (I think), is that people in the last 5 years (maybe even more recently) have approached the table about certain sensitivities.  Womens rights etc, as far as I have been bought up, women have been able to do whatever a man can do - albeit maybe on averages not based on strength or speed maybe - but I always enjoyed some of the jokes to and fro with the opposite sex.. 

Now that sentence makes me sounds creepy and inappropriate, but nothing can be further from the truth, because people which are crude make me wince and I'd feel awful about saying it, let alone how the person on the receiving end of it would feel. 

Again "nuance" is not something I'm good at, but the world feels a bit beige at the minute. I dunno.. I don't have the words  

[KenjiOgiwara]

Religion. Well I get it, but I don't get it. If that makes any sense

[mjmooney]

6 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Religion. Well I get it, but I don't get it. If that makes any sense

There's a thread for that

Edited January 18, 2019 by mjmooney

[Xela]

4 hours ago, A'Villan said:

.

Life is fragile and precious. Barack Obama and Condeleezza Rice were the first black people to be appointed to positions of power since Lucius Septimius Severus.

 

Can you expand on this comment please? Are you saying no black person has ever been in a position of power until 2008? I'm just  bit confused. 

[Davkaus]

5 minutes ago, Xela said:

Can you expand on this comment please? Are you saying no black person has ever been in a position of power until 2008? I'm just  bit confused. 

Incredibly silly comment, I mean, Condoleezza Rice wasn't even the first black person to be US Secretary of State. This guy was.

 

[Risso]

On 16/01/2019 at 10:47, mjmooney said:

Two girls, one cup? 

Christ, the first actual thing from the last twenty years that you've heard of, and it's THAT?!

[sidcow]

11 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

I think it goes without saying that every single product which has been marketed has been aimed at certain demographics.. Look at the Diet Coke advert in the 90s with women swooning over a good looking, topless window cleaner, or older cleaning products with tags like "perfect for cleaning your man's home" etc etc. 

In a way it's a good message i.e. don't be a prick to people and make women feel uncomfortable, but then again, to me it just feels like more preaching.  I know I do my utmost to make anyone from any sex/race feel like they can act anyway around me, but I'm sure I've done things in the past which contradict that.  

So it just feels like Gilette are jumping on a bandwagon whereby they aren't exactly golden, so it feels stupid. 

I literally don't know what to think anymore, because I think we should all celebrate our differences and have fun around stereotypes, but then again, I hate the thought of being racist and divisive and I'd hate to upset someone.  But as a white bloke, I am finding it more and more common that I'm having to be mindful of what I say and to who, even though I literally have nothing racist/misogynistic to say! 

All I will say is, is that as long as we can call out gingers, that gives me something to hold onto    

Thank god for your final line.  I had broken out in cold sweats that @lapal_fan had put up a stone cold serious post.

I have quoted the old Diet Coke ads before, the double standards are shocking, imagine the same advert reversing the roles, the outrage.  There are a few ads out now as well where men are being overtly sexsualised by women. 

I've not seen the Gillette ad but from what I hear is seems to be a similar hole into which Pepsi fell into with the Kendall Jenner riot ad. 

Big corporations seem so desperate to be on trend, relevant, up to date, with it but 99% of the time when they do it they at best are wildly wide of the mark or kind of sickening. 

In my opinion they should just say "buy our product it is good" but going with the no publicity is bad publicity view maybe they do these things deliberately to gain even more exposure. 

Anyhooo......Gingers eh? 

Edited January 18, 2019 by sidcow

[A'Villan]

11 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

Oh no, absolutely right - I'd never be racist, because I know about previous prejudices other ethnities have suffered as a result of people of my ethnicity.  

This is such a nuanced problem, and I honestly don't have the vocabulary to express what I am trying to say/portray, which is frustrating.. 

What I am trying to say is (I think), is that people in the last 5 years (maybe even more recently) have approached the table about certain sensitivities.  Womens rights etc, as far as I have been bought up, women have been able to do whatever a man can do - albeit maybe on averages not based on strength or speed maybe - but I always enjoyed some of the jokes to and fro with the opposite sex.. 

Now that sentence makes me sounds creepy and inappropriate, but nothing can be further from the truth, because people which are crude make me wince and I'd feel awful about saying it, let alone how the person on the receiving end of it would feel. 

Again "nuance" is not something I'm good at, but the world feels a bit beige at the minute. I dunno.. I don't have the words  

It's a difficult dynamic to understand let alone articulate so I know what you mean.

I find it interesting to note that a presidential candidate for the U.S came out and said in an interview that a Rockefeller came to him and said they were funding feminism to create a divide in the family structure and make people more dependent on the state. I don't know what to believe in regards to that. But I mention it as an example of how complex it all is.

7 hours ago, Xela said:

Can you expand on this comment please? Are you saying no black person has ever been in a position of power until 2008? I'm just  bit confused. 

Like @Davkaus has insinuated, it might lack accuracy. I meant to say that there have been no black leaders of the largest super power or empire of the world since LSS in the Roman Empire times. Pull me up on it if I'm wrong, I'd appreciate it in fact.

7 hours ago, Davkaus said:

Incredibly silly comment, I mean, Condoleezza Rice wasn't even the first black person to be US Secretary of State. This guy was.

 

It's not an incredibly silly comment as far as I'm aware. Rice was the first black female to be appointed to a few different roles. I'm open to being corrected.

Though I fail to see how your post makes gives any foundation as to why mine was silly, let alone 'incredibly silly'. Again, all for being shown the light.

[bickster]

11 hours ago, sidcow said:

they should just say "buy our product it is good"

False advertising in many cases 

[sidcow]

How anybody, ANYBODY can pick out the current Man City away kit when looking at a series of designs to choose from. 

[choffer]

When did “support slot” become “afternoon headliner”?

 

 

[Designer1]

4 hours ago, choffer said:

When did “support slot” become “afternoon headliner”?

 

 

He should contact Theresa May - I hear she's desperate for a Plan B.

[Xann]

Quote

Wildlife lovers are in uproar after officials in charge of nature-protection gave gun owners permission to shoot dead some of Britain’s most treasured and rarest bird species.

Welsh conservation chiefs gave the go-ahead for the slaughter of dozens of breeds including kestrels, curlew, linnets, sparrows and fieldfares. More than 1,000 birds may have been killed under the permits.

The revelation comes days after nature fans posted furious objections over similar licences granted in England to kill thousands of endangered birds from dozens of breeds – ranging from skylarks and lapwings to rare species such as meadow pipits and oyster-catchers.

They also included garden favourites wrens, robins and bullfinches.

Many of the species are on the RSPB red and amber lists, meaning they are of the highest or critical conservation priority. They may be globally threatened with extinction, in severe decline or rare breeders.

Environmentalists condemned the decisions as “appalling”, a “horror story” and “wanton, mindless destruction”.

But officials said the permits were handed out for air safety, public health and safety and to prevent serious damage to livestock.

Natural England, which says it promotes nature conservation, issued permits over the past three years between 2015 and 2018 to shoot at least 40 species, including the skylark, blackbird, great tit, bullfinch, robin, wren, red kite, moorhen, mute swan, kestrel, peregrine falcon and golden plover.

Natural Resources Wales, which states that it “maintains and enhances biodiversity”, issued 73 licences to kill at least 20 species, including the linnet, redwing, song thrush, mistle thrush, meadow pipit, lapwing and skylark.

It is not clear how many birds actually have been shot dead under the licences but the Welsh permits, covering January last year to September this year, allowed for as many as 2,348 individual creatures.

The figures came in response to requests under Freedom of Information laws, and were published by wildlife blogger Jason Endfield, whose readers were outraged by the revelations.

“One of the saddest statistics from the list is that of two licences to kill a total of 100 linnets for being a threat to air safety,” he wrote.

Video: Critically Endangered Parrots Prepare to Board Plane for 'Assisted' Annual Migration (Storyful)

“While we all appreciate that ensuring the safety of air traffic is essential, one has to wonder whether permitting the extermination of 100 linnets is entirely necessary, or indeed appropriate, to maintain public welfare.

“One of the linnet licences resulted in no reported birds being taken but the outcome of the second licence, allowing for a further 50 birds to be killed, is not confirmed.”

Linnets, long treasured because of their delicate song, are now globally threatened with extinction in their farmland habitats.

Although some licences ultimately resulted in no reported deaths, Mr Endfield said the actual number of species targeted is likely to be much higher because other species, such as ravens, would have come under licences not covered by the FOI request, which centred on endangered breeds.

Welsh conservation officers, who charge a £100 administration fee for issuing licences, gave permits to kill up to 617 herring gulls, 499 lesser black-backed gulls – mostly to “preserve public health or public or air safety” – and 1,022 starlings for reasons incluing preventing “serious damage to cattle feed”.

“Another reason given as justification for culling both starlings and various species of gull was (bizarrely) to prevent ‘serious damage to livestock’ including chickens, cattle and lambs.

“How, one might ask, does a starling carry out serious damage to a cow?” wrote Mr Endfield.

He requested the information as part of a campaign to stop the cull of English ravens and says he discovered Natural England had allowed 60 ravens to be culled, with 45 actually being shot to date.

“The news that so many of our most treasured species of birds have been shot is appalling and fills me with dismay,” he said.

“While the specific reason for each of the licences being issued is not known, can there be any justification for shooting a bullfinch? Or a wren, for heaven’s sake?

“Who in their right mind requests permission to shoot a skylark? And for what possible reason?

“The long-term survival of our struggling birds appears to be in serious doubt while these public bodies are in charge of ‘protecting’ our precious wildlife.

“Unless this changes, we will surely see many more extinctions reminiscent of the passenger pigeon’s infamous demise during the 19th century when a population of 5 billion was reduced to zero in a hundred years because humankind found reasons to ‘control’ these beautiful creatures.

“An urgent and widespread shift in attitude towards wildlife is needed.

“The issuing of licences to kill threatened birds – just because they are are in conflict with human activity – needs to stop. Otherwise, they will be gone. For ever.”

Curlews, buzzards, red kites and peregrine falcons were permitted to be shot to preserve air safety; wrens, robins, blackbirds for public health or safety, and starlings and moorhens to protect agriculture.

Licences are issued for a limited time and specify a maximum number of birds to be killed. Licence-holders must report back within 14 days after the expiry of the licence.

Naturalist Mark Avery, former conservation chief of the RSPB, said some of the decisions seemed odd.

MSN/Independent

[Stevo985]

Anyone who takes pleasure from shooting animals is a **** psychopath

[villa4europe]

5 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Anyone who takes pleasure from shooting animals is a **** psychopath

Think this has been discussed before, shooting I get, it's a great buzz, the guy who took me last time took me on a game drive and it's one of the best day out activities I've ever done, he is a deer stalker, will happily spend 2/3 days in the highlands tracking deers, employed by the land owner to control the numbers of what they consider pests, talking to him was fascinating, detests trophy hunting, detests people who will injure or maim an animal due to lack of knowledge or skill, he wants to get close enough for a 1 shot instant kill with a suitable gun, if he can't do it that's his problem not the animals 

My brother in law in Germany hunts wild boar, he's the same, the main difference being how much of the animal they use, the meat is spread about the village, driving through the countryside and seeing all the hunting watch towers is mad, they're everywhere, again it's a pest number controlling thing, it's part of country life, he's in to shooting like I'm in to football

[Stevo985]

2 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Think this has been discussed before, shooting I get, it's a great buzz, the guy who took me last time took me on a game drive and it's one of the best day out activities I've ever done, he is a deer stalker, will happily spend 2/3 days in the highlands tracking deers, employed by the land owner to control the numbers of what they consider pests, talking to him was fascinating, detests trophy hunting, detests people who will injure or maim an animal due to lack of knowledge or skill, he wants to get close enough for a 1 shot instant kill with a suitable gun, if he can't do it that's his problem not the animals 

My brother in law in Germany hunts wild boar, he's the same, the main difference being how much of the animal they use, the meat is spread about the village, driving through the countryside and seeing all the hunting watch towers is mad, they're everywhere, again it's a pest number controlling thing, it's part of country life, he's in to shooting like I'm in to football

Definitely one for this thread. I don't get it.

Both activities sound **** horrendous to me.

[KenjiOgiwara]

Wrestling 

[Mark Albrighton]

Loved it when I was about ten. Kinda around early to mid 90’s - the Bret Hitman Hart era. Never really understood adults being really into it but each to their own. In fairness I saw a BBC four programme about the golden age of UK wrestling which was interesting in a nostalgic kinda way.

I did find myself dressed as Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase at a fancy dress party a few years ago. And yes, I had the entrance theme music playing on my phone just to make sure we endeared ourselves further to the other patrons.