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corona has given many scientists / experts a taste of power.

all these governments had official appointed scientists as spokesmen. they advised the government, on issues as lockdowns and QR codes, and the elected governments listened and merely executed the advice of the scientists.

a government led, not by democratically elected individuals, but by "experts" is called a technocracy. In a technocracy, there is no democracy. The experts can not be questioned, because they always refer back to science. When they refer to science, it is books closed for the common people.

the scary part is, that many people thought that a technocracy was preferrable over a true democracy. And look where it has led us. Massive economic damage, and a worldwide, age wide excess in death rates.

13 minutes ago, Rovim said:

cool station. paint me like one of your french girls.

i've drawn my sister the other day, when she was 8

"This is the conclusion of actual experts in the field"

=> nobody buys that crap anymore.

reports all over the place, of excess death rates (of up to 20%) all across the world, across all ages.

they blame it on air pullution, the flu, stress, our luxury lifestyle, ageing population and other BS lies.

they have invented new diseases: "sudden adult death syndrome", "happy heart attacks".

The amount of excess deaths (which are not covid related) is fastly approaching the number of total combined covid deaths.

I'm not making conclusions (or rather, I do make conclusions, but I figure most of you can't handle them so I wont post them), you make your own conclusions. Just recycling what mainstream media is reporting these days.

getting all set up for my first landscape painting

9 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

Unless I'm mistaken and I'm certain I'm not; this atomisation phenomenon does not equate to "100% of any and all decisions made by/within mass groups being wrong."

atomisation is very real.

it is the confusion you feel, when everything around you evolves; iphones, subscription services, cancel culture, climate change, war in ukraine, fear of a virus, ridiculous gas prices, the traditional family values being deconstructed; children not having a warm home, divorces, children being dumped in youth camps so the parents can go on a weekend, not knowing who your neighbour is, egoism, toxic culture at work,...

the feeling of being a total nobody, the feeling that your individualities are of no value whatsoever; you're a number, you're a spec in a grey mass, you need to conform to grey uniformity, and you will be punished if you dont.

THIS climate, is what is called atomisation of the individual. It are the perfect conditions for autoritarian societies. People have learned to set aside their individual needs, and blindly follow the rule of the leader. China is the perfect current example; and it all starts with it's huge population. China has so many people, that individualities can not be tolerated. Imagine 1.4 BILLION people all do as they please; the country would not be able to take it. Totalitarism is a way of containing the chaos; it begins to show signs of an ant colony (ant colonies can contain up to 2 million members, and you see different ants receiving fixed positions and tasks; without them the colony would not survive)

2 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

Human beings generally, not just specifically Africans, are tribal by nature.

I understand your point. But you also need to be wary of the context, if you don't want assumptions to be made.

"German people are actually just tribal."

"Africans/blacks are actually just tribal."

Both of those statements, as you know, will generally be received differently for obvious reasons. So just be more clear or don't be surprised by those expected assumptions, that's all I'm saying.

yeah, I know Oldest Goat. I fully expect to be called racist, and it would surprise me if it doesnt happen.

But it is the truth, wether "they" like it or not.

I cringe with people waving the "racism" card, but they don't have a single clue about african history. Most people are mindless drones, just following the cattle, hoping to score social justice points. Pathetic. We will all be judged when we die, but my conscious is crystal clear.

12 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

but apparently human beings naturally thrive in groups of no more than about 50 people. Going beyond that causes us to cut more and more corners socially/emotionally and harmony is lost. Supposedly our brains become overwhelmed.

when the group becomes too large, you get what sociologists call "atomisation" of the individual. All individualities are sacrificed, for the good of the "mass". In other words: mass formation.

The larger a group of people, the more likely that dictatorship will arise. The nazis could only thrive, on the wave of their massive support from the german people. The individual was "overpowered" by the suggestive powers from the mass, that everyone started to support the nazis. 

It is the very same mechanics that made us accept mouth masks as normal. At the very beginning, people were openly calling mouth masks ridiculous. But, as social pressure increased, those people wore a mouth mask regardless. Do not underestimate the power of social pressure. It turns people in hypocrites.

7 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

Yes but be careful when saying something like "Africa is just a bunch of tribes." Because there is real historical and ongoing baggage that brings negative racist connotations such as "They're just a bunch of stupid savage tribes people." etc.

I was actually discussing this subject with my stepfather recently. I don't remember how definitive this theory is(I think it may be determined to be true) but apparently human beings naturally thrive in groups of no more than about 50 people. Going beyond that causes us to cut more and more corners socially/emotionally and harmony is lost. Supposedly our brains become overwhelmed.

western people do not know different, than living under a nation with a king or president. They are conditioned, to see the concept of a "tribe" as a bad thing. This is a very supremacist way of viewing things. Our way is best, all the rest is inferior.

The african people do not think this way, themselves.

If a white man claims it's racist to refer to african people as "tribal", he is actually projecting his own culture on to the african people, which is precisely what a white supremacist would do: a white supremacist considers his own culture as supreme (being organised as nations, catholicism etc).

In short, it's the problem of those who shout "racist", not my problem.

to call africa a tribal continent therefore is not racist; it is a sign of empathy and understanding.

it is also, in no way derogatory to view africa as a collection of tribes

in the west we were in the same boat, not so long ago.

after the fall of the roman empire, when the frankish warriors took over, western europe was organised in tribes, with a tribal "king", and tribal institutions. This period is known as the early middle ages.

Under the influence of various political philosophers, the powers of the state were centralised, but lack of technical development meant it would be a long time before nations would have efficient central administrations.

It's not easy to rule a country, when it takes a trip of three days to go from one end of the land, to the other.

Africa had never had these internal political thinkers or powers, that would prove fertile ground for the spontaneous emergence of nations. African people do not think this way, they do not see the point in having nations. But is that such a bad thing? We could learn a thing or two from them.

9 minutes ago, janrichmond said:

Africa is not a country, it's a continent of over 50 countries and you're saying everyone of them is the same.

'that's why I don't ever give a penny for development for africa; it always ends up in some fraudulent company's hands'

Why doesn't this surprise me?

africa did not really have internal countries until the west divided the continent under the colonial era from the 19th century, under the influence of the white middle class in africa. The african people always were grouped in "tribes", not nations as we know them in the western world.

Look at the borders of the african nations. See something peculiar? Perhaps, it is the straight lines, as if drawn by a ruler. That's no coincidence. The west has created these borders, not the african people.

So yes, it is more accurate and fair to the african people to describe africa in terms of the continent, than in terms of the arbitrary nations

1 hour ago, ZoSoRose said:

Man your posts are stupid. 

This might be the highlight in the hall of fame of your stupid posts

actually, her post made a lot of sense

through the 20 th century, and on to this day, the african people are left to themselves. There's famine, civil war, dictatorship... 

Africa is one big slump. Their people are kept stupid by the west. The age of colonialism and catholic preaching has destroyed the african culture and caused a lot of turmoil.

You have to wonder why. It's because the west benefits from a weak africa of course. The west can continue to plunder the continent, but this time through the facade of development efforts.

that's why I don't ever give a penny for development for africa; it always ends up in some fraudulent company's hands.

There is no good in this world, and we're all doomed.

1 hour ago, SoulMonster said:

Okay, for the sake of the argument we can talk about Africa as if it is one homogenous region and not widely different countries with widely different Covid-19 stories. No reason to complicate things. Let's dumb it down for your benefit.

You are of course entirely wrong, as usual. African countries did get the vaccines, too, and they did impose restrictions, too (often more readily than many European countries). Yes, in general, less people are vaccinated in African countries, but this is also due to the real reasons why African countries in general have not seen the same mortalities from Covid-19 as, say, European countries.

I don't know what you are thinking about when you say "amateurism all across the board", maybe just offhand racism or whatever Internet hit you will get when you now franticly google for an answer to retrospectively fit your stupidity. Your post is ironically a great example of "amateurism all across the board" with it's untruths, seemingly offhand racism and erroneous conclusion. Heck, you are the very personification of "amateurism all across [this] board".

The real reason why most African countries didn't suffer as much from Covid-19 is believed to be a more favorable climate and a younger population. As for whether they the disease has run its course there, nope, not there either as long as it keeps being one of the main reasons for why people die.

african governments are, by and large, corrupt and dictatorial. Or are you going to argue that the likes of mugabe and kabila are examples of good governmentship.

Your attempt at making a factual observation about race, is pathetic.

At least, you acknowledge that african countries didn't suffer as much from covid.

And yes, they DID vaccinate less, the restrictions WERE less, and government response was chaotic and amateuristic as with pretty much every other social issue they have to deal with.

they did not vaccinate in afrika

covid has runs its course there too, regardless.

and that, with no vaccines, no restrictions, and amateurism all across the board

if we had done like afrika, we would be were africa is today, but without the massive economic, social and psychological damage

20 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Beatles or Rolling Stones?

the correct answer, is Queen

4 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

You mean borderline personality disorder? Autism and aspergers(Autism Spectrum Disorder) aren't separate diagnoses?

ASD isn't all bad, there's big upsides so yeah nothing to be ashamed of. I'm high functioning on the spectrum. Plus as you say a lot of people have it. And yeah so called normal people can be the most fucked up of all. Human beings are strange everyone has their quirks etc.

P.S. Is your sister hot?

we laugh about my range of disorders.

you have to understand though, that psychology is not an exact science. Some disorders only got a name in recent time. Me and her agree, that these "disorders" are really just labels, to label different characters. If you are a restless, creative person with bouts of depression, you get a label with a certain disorder.

It is all a load of bollox really. The psychological problems can be very real, and very annoying for the people involved, but the attempts of science to put it all in categories, is inaccurate at best.

Also, people can shift from one label to another, "evolve" to become more "normal" etc.

What is important, is the consequences these labels have for big pharma. Lots of pills to sell. Lots of profit. Don't get me started on it.

I wouldn't know if my sister is hot, I like to think of her as the least sexual being on the planet.

Just now, Oldest Goat said:

So have you been officially diagnosed with autism by doctors or is it a self-diagnosis?

my sister is a graduated clinical psychologists, and she told me, I have aspergers, borderline and autism, but it's ok she said, most people are. she said, it's the normal people who creep me out.

1 minute ago, Karice said:

But it's kind of disrespectful to me that you guys started hurling insults at each other on this thread, hijacking my thread. You guys should have just started your own thread and hurl insults at each other on that thread, not hijack my Autism thread. 🤷‍♂️

what about my respect? my autism?

30 minutes ago, Karice said:

This thread got hijacked badly. This is about me being Autistic and turned into posters hurling insults at each other! Please do not get my thread closed like my other serious thread about being an Axl Rose Fan got PERMANENTLY closed due to it becoming hijacked into being a thread about pizza! 😒

it's only a small step, to expand the subject of the thread, to all people with autism.

you have to admit, it would be overkill if I made a thread about me being autistic too, so I'd figured my posts would fit right in on here. 

16 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

When you say it like that, it sounds sarcastic, is it?

life is too short to be dramatic about everything. A healthy dose of self-relativism is the basis of a happy mood.

I realise some people might leave this discussion confused and angry, but to those people I say: put on a smile. A smile is free, and it instantly lightens the mood.

whew, crawled out of that one

and so, the basis is laid for a new year full of understanding, respect and whisdom

54 minutes ago, EvanG said:

Wrong, I can accuse you of being immature and talking shit about people behind their backs because that's a fact. But now run along to the other forum.

I ain't going nowhere 

1 minute ago, EvanG said:

Troll OldestGoat? I haven't reacted to his posts in forever, must be years now. Although I think I liked one of his posts a while back, hard to keep track. As for stay.of.execution, I can't make fun of his constant obsession with an autistic girl every now and then? He's kinda asking for it.
So, you can finally agree on the fact that you're a troll?

only thing you can accuse me of is deviating from the norm, and mostly have contrarian opinions.

But, again, I'm not sorry for that.

Truth can only be reached by challenging the field. Trivial fact; that's what scientists do, when they're conceiving experiments: introducing a foreign element, and watch how the environment reacts.

3 minutes ago, EvanG said:

But you're the one coming back here to troll.

why are you here?

to troll Oldest Goat?

to troll Stay.of.Execution?

so, please, don't go mister nice guy on me. 

6 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

No one is asking for an apology from you - no one cares about your childish insults, neither here or especially there. What I found incredibly funny was your idea that you somehow deserved a medal for fleeing to another forum to talk shit about people when you didn't have the courage to do it to their faces  That's not mature, it is childish, weak and petulant. In short, the attempted rebranding of yourself isn't going very well. Now run off somewhere else and whine about me again. 

tell me, do you tell people in real life, they're a moron? Are you asking in real life if they're retarded?

teach me, SoulMonster, to be more of a mature person

1 minute ago, Oldest Goat said:

 

And yeah, we buried the hatchet. Now you're talking shit again. Saying I'm not in a position to criticize anyone lol - or are you just talking about SoulMonster with that remark?

well, it's difficult to keep track of things lately, since everyone seems to  be fighting with everyone.

but as far as I'm concerned, Oldest Goat, we're good. There was bad blood between us, I talked bad about you on another forum like a snake, but I'm not the devil. After we buried the hathet I think you're cool, and I still do.