Nationwide protest against Proposition 8 tomorrow.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The Chinese give me a hard-on with their coldly logical pursuit of power and their rejection of the abstract bull**** America tries to push on them.

Because they don't have abstract bull**** themselves that they counter Western abstract bull**** with. One need merely watch the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

But keep digging your hole deeper and deeper.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Because they don't have abstract bull**** themselves that they counter Western abstract bull**** with. One need merely watch the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

"We're coming for you Western *****es" isn't abstract bull****.

But keep digging your hole deeper and deeper.

You can't condescend to me, Imran, when it's patently obvious that I'm smarter and better-informed than you. It's about as effective as me trying to talk down to KH.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You keep thinking that.

[Naked Gents Rut]

I'm confident in my assessment. I'm not the one who argued that "every society" is based on abstract bull**** like liberty and the pursuit of happiness when there's a large body of IR literature that examines just how exceptional America is in that regard.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
I'm confident in my assessment. I'm not the one who argued that "every society" is based on abstract bull**** like liberty and the pursuit of happiness when there's a large body of IR literature that examines just how exceptional America is in that regard.

Imran said that every society is based on some abstract bull****. He did not say that the "abstract bull****" he was referring to must be "like liberty and the pursuit of happiness". In fact he didn't say it was the same abstract bull**** at all, but rather explicitly stated that it varied, giving some examples of variation.

The same subjective nature of your use of "bull****" applies to Imran's use of the term as well. Yet instead of understand this subjective nature of the term, you instead try to deal with it as some sort of absolute which only refers to "liberty and the pursuit of happiness" even when such qualification is absent or explicitly qualified as inapplicable.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Happiness is one of the great goals of our 'great experiment', as the Declaration of Independence makes clear. ...

You mean like "liberty", "security"? Our society, Hell every society, is built on the basis of "abstract bull****".

[Aeson]

He noted his interpretation of what you were referring to by "abstract bull****", but not what he was referring to. You still are having trouble understanding the subjective nature of the term "bull****". (I would not deign to guess his unstated intention there, neither should you.)

When Imran did get around to qualifying his use of "abstract bull****", he did so by expressly noting that it applied to more than just "liberty and the pursuit of happiness":

Every society has some abstract BS that underpins it, whether it is Britain with the monarchy's (supposed) looking after the best interests of the people (whatever "best interests" means) or Sweden's overarching belief in equality.

[Naked Gents Rut]

You still are having trouble understanding the subjective nature of the term "bull****".

God, I love Asperger's...

[MrFun]

Hey Drake, how would you feel if what you wanted in marriage was put up for popular vote?

Heaven forbid if two gay men or two lesbians should be provided equal legal protection because they love one another. I'm scared to think what will happen to the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples in California who were already legally married.

[Aeson]

As always NGR, you can be counted upon to give up on the subject matter due to being incapable of backing up your statements, and resorting to casting aspersions upon my psyche as if your sophomoric attempts at playing psychiatrist have any pertinence whatsoever.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Dude, you want to argue about the "subjective nature of the term bull****." Have fun with that.

Hey Drake, how would you feel if what you wanted in marriage was put up for popular vote?

Like a true democrat.

[MrFun]

And Drake just so you know, if you and I were switched around with this issue, I would never want to take away your right just because I have moral disagreements with your pursuit of happiness.

[Naked Gents Rut]

If we were switched around I would understand that I don't have a right to gay marriage and would be much cleverer in trying to get the state to create one.

[MrFun]

If you did research on this, you would already find a whole range of arguments provided by gay civil rights activist organizations for the reason why equal marriage protection is important, and why indeed, marriage is a civil right.

Internet and Google are wonderful things.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
Dude, you want to argue about the "subjective nature of the term bull****."

No, I am pointing out your own inability to apply the subjective nature of "bull****" properly in the discussion. You have illustrated that for all of us to see, and have not even attempted to refute the assertion other than to throw up the aforementioned psychological strawman.

(A strawman which illustrates your ignorance in regards to my personality and the various symptoms of Asperger syndrome.)