Some Questions Concerning Victims

 

“One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”

-- Michael J. Fox

Why does describing oneself as "humble" have the opposite effect, that it makes the one who said it sound arrogant instead?

I describe myself as humble, in many respects. Am I arrogant? Only in the fact that I really don’t care what people think of the fact that I strive to be humble. People will think what they want, and I can’t change that. To invite that drama into my life would put a speedbump in my desire to be happy always.

Life is not a box of chocolates, the outer skin may look appealing but underneath is just all of us. The outside is just fancy wrapping. Can you see this?

Absolutely! We have fancy wrapping and, inside, there is so much more! The fact that most people can’t see this explains why so many struggle in drama instead of rising above it all to move forward, striving to be happy always. Humans are resilient, creative, loving, and caring… when they are selfless. We have so much inside of us to offer those around us, the world, and the universe… if we want to. Never sell the spirit of humanity short. There is evil all around us, and we may be slow to rise to meet it, but we will rise. It is who we are. Ignore life’s fancy wrapping and go deeper into the sweet chocolate that is us. We can make this life wonderful!

Reader comment:  Chaplins, priests, pastors and mullah all care about humanity and I have gotten along with them fantastically. Keep up the good fight!

Do we always buy what we wish to have?

I think most people do, whether they can afford it or not. They think it will bring happiness and ignore the debt that will weigh them down. How many things do we buy that sit around, unused when we get tired of it? Better to buy only those things we can afford and will use, and strive to be happy always even if we don’t.

“It is wiser to love who you are than what you want.”

-- Rasheed Ogunlaru

What is the most satisfying way you saw a smirk get wiped off someone's face?

Military basic training. I got chewed out by the instructor and the guy that smirked got chewed out for smirking and was awarded by assisting me in cleaning the latrines.

What person do you secretly desire to see?

If I told you, I wouldn’t be “secretly” desiring them.

I have clown and mascot phobia. Is that weird?

Weird? No. Have you seen “killer clowns” before?

“No clowns were funny. That was the whole purpose of a clown. People laughed at clowns, but only out of nervousness. The point of clowns was that, after watching them, anything else that happened seemed enjoyable.”

-- Terry Pratchett

How do I stand up for myself and speak the truth without being gaslighted by a male senior to me in the workplace as being too sensitive? The male is controlling and uses me to show other women he can control me.  But, he is likable at work.

And, he's senior to you?  Not for long.  It doesn't matter how "likable" he is at work, he acts like a sexist moron.  Record his comments and turn him into HR, especially if HR are women. That will probably shut him up. What people do, at or away from work, has a bearing on their employment, even if it doesn’t. 

I’m unable to hide my neediness for a relationship because I’m 26 and never had a girlfriend. Are there women who aren’t good at picking up desperation and aren’t experts on body language since I’m a sincere guy who wants love but just inept?

Nope. Most women are pretty sharp, and they network. Relax and be yourself. Try not to come on too strong. You’re more likely to find women that like guys a tad inept, than a woman who doesn’t have a clue. 

Do you make your decisions more emotionally or rationally?

Rationally. Take some time to think before you act. The “great deal” on the car will be the “great deal” tomorrow. This is true for just about everything. If you have to make a decision immediately, tell them you need time to think it over, or walk away from it. Emotional decisions can have emotional consequences.

"I think when it comes to decisions, I try not to be emotional. To drown out the noise and look at the important facts." 

-- David Tepper

Slanted news, are you being fed with Fake News?

Not necessarily, it just means the news is slanted to make one side seem better than the other. Fake news is what most media outlets deal in, flat-out lies or deception if they report the news at all. There is no balance in the reporting, and what you’ll probably get is an “editorial” by a quasi-reporter, not the editor who lets them do it.  The rot starts from the top down.

Which problems are in the news today?

Unless you’re watching the highest-rated news show on TV, you aren’t getting real news, facts, or journalism, for that matter. 

How can media and information affect our daily lives?

You might as well shoot yourself in the foot if you actually believe what most media outlets are spoonfeeding you. Just because a reporter says it, a “journalist” says it, doesn’t make it true. Especially not nowadays.

“In the political/geopolitical news segment - one who pays someone to create content has a hidden agenda, and one who likes to get paid for the content creation has a vested interest.”

-- Rahul Guhathakurta

How many people do you know who you desperately want to outlive?

Not one. However, there are many people out there wasting half of the country’s oxygen, and a bunch of them are in politics. I’d really like to outlive them.

How should humans think and act as intelligent life?

They should be “smart” about it. Being smart is so much more important than being intelligent. Politicians are, for the most part, intelligent, and look at how screwed up they make things. Farmers could do a much better job.

I know that many leftists think that humans are basically good. If this is true, how did humanity ever get messed up in the first place?

If leftists are, by evidence, the League of the Perpetually Offended, doesn’t this explain it all?

“The useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the Soviet socialist or Communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That’s why my KGB instructors specifically made the point: never bother with leftists. Forget about these political prostitutes. Aim higher. They serve a purpose only at the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in the United States: all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of the subversion only to destabilize a nation. When their job is completed, they are not needed anymore. They know too much. Some of them, when they get disillusioned, when they see that Marxist-Leninists come to power—obviously they get offended—they think that they will come to power. That will never happen, of course. They will be lined up against the wall and shot.”

-- Yuri Bezmenov (1939-1993), former Soviet journalist and KGB informant

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.