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Roger Smith
Academy of Ideas
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Comments by "Roger Smith" (@rogersmith8339) on "Why are Most People Cowards? | Obedience and the Rise of Authoritarianism" video.

@ThesTroubleAtMill I know rather a lot about humanity, specially the darker side. What makes you not a sheep but a wolf? If most normal people are sheep, then the "elite" must be the wolves who prey upon them?
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There are people who do what they are told because it is right for them and there are people who will not for the simple reason that they don't want to.
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@ThesTroubleAtMill Sheep form flocks to protect themselves from wolves. Wolves themselves are pack animals who need to stick together to tackle large individual prey. I guess you know little about nature as that would make you feel different?
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@tinytownsoftware3837 Or rather, the rich and powerful & strong translated the old book to say that the meek shall inherit the earth while using that book to make sure they did not!
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If you tolerate this, then your children will be next! Where have I heard that before?
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Has anyone noticed that when you challenge someone who claims to not conform, ie not to be a coward and follow the "herd", just how conforming they are with the sort of things they come out with?
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@ThesTroubleAtMill I agree that there is subtlety in your comment, but I guess being one who always challenges what he sees, I immediately took it in the wrong context (given many of those commenting on here). Would you agree with my counter, regarding doing what is right for oneself rather than simply rebelling just because you think you should, regardless.
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Nearly all creatures are cowardly - Even a lion will turn and run if out numbered. There are exceptions - maybe a wolverine comes close and sometimes even the tiniest dog like a Jack Russell will not back down when faced with unbeatable odds. The exceptions are never good bed fellows as you can imagine and are therefore not social animals.
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You only have to compare the general standard of living in countries with high obedience/ conformity levels with the lawless countries to understand!
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@damnu8089 Perhaps you could write your comments in slightly better English then most of the educated world might understand what you are saying?
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@mattwilliams7566 Not illegitimate, just way too deep for your possibly slightly blinkered understanding.
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@paultark5870 Totally spot on!
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Nothing wrong with filling box cars with those who seek to destroy your way of life - Been tried before in Europe but sadly the boss guy went potty before he got far.
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@knutkarstensen3114 I think you rather missed the point with the irony of what I was saying? You do however raise a very valid point about people not caring about others, and that is the big issue!
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@jeffrey6618 Thankfully I do not live in the land of the free (loaders) and the brave.
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@jeffrey6618 There is a huge difference between irony and joking. It is often used to make people think about what they are saying. The mention of the people shooting at my father was to illustrate why some people resent others from personal experience and not necessarily from the bigger picture.
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Glad to hear it and I am sure many would be jealous of your two houses, two cars, large sailing yacht and pleasant early retirement.
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George Floyd did just that!
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@laszlokovacs8890 When does the good of the many outweigh the good of the few? If anyone could travel back in time to the Titanic and do something certain to save 100 people but also certain to condemn every other passenger or do something that gave a fair chance to every passenger but no certain results, which would be the right action?
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@laszlokovacs8890 Wow, pretty deep stuff. There are "have nots" who resent the "haves" and some that try to change the situation. There are also some "haves" that have way to much and some have what they have earned.
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@willieb6993 The Germans just push in - lol.
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@thelydiaspringexperiment6437 Long live anarchy!
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@theonlineanimal6009 And there are some on here that think the wolves (in the guise of the elite) are out to kill the whole flock?
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@phaedrussmith1949 A question: What is your take on the just stop oil or animal rights lot? After all, they are standing up for what they think is right.
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@captaintrepus3842 As I said, it is all really about perceptions at the end of the day.
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@knutkarstensen3114 Apologises accepted (I do normally tend to try and indicate the irony of what I am saying but failed to that time).
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@jeffrey6618 Talking down to people and in particular calling them "son" when they have no father is classic authoritarian behaviour. By the way, I guess you did not read my reply to another person on here pointing out that my box car remark was made in irony. If you are from the group who were loaded into box cars, yes, that was a terrible thing, however some members of that group shot at my father when he was out their way to protect them from the bad guys and he never forgave them for that!
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@olive4naito Dating, marriage and having kids is certainly conformity and the same could be said for seeking a career. So much so that anyone not conforming to these are very much frowned on.
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@woodrowcall3269 When the government trusts the people, the people will trust the government?
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Anarchy and chaos are not caused by the good people? Just look at the situation in countries where respect for law and order is pretty much non existent?
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@UnschoolingCOM One of the other great lessons from history is that revolutions (ie rebelling against authority) rarely change much in the long term, only the leaders.
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"Morality2 in the west tends to be based on the ten commandments, all of which make sense to a degree although some go against capitalist principles. What puzzles me is that there is no reference to children in their, the only one I know of in the bible is something about "suffer little children".
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@brianmcmechan8625 Sorry, but where did I say I am sickly? I have type 2 diabetes having picked up some weird virus a few years back and asthma due to some of the reckless things I did as a kid. Both those conditions tend to leave you vulnerable to certain viruses or diseases.
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The rant - or even a tirade of abuse seems to have got lost!
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@williamdaniels6943 Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
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@ThesTroubleAtMill Cost, price, value or worth - all have subtly different meanings. Freedom can be costly, the price you pay can be high. How you value it and what it is worth to you, only you can determine and no one else.
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@1lonecrow Americans do what they think they should, except for the criminals who do what they want.
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@NathanMN Ever wondered what might have happened if the Americans had made a better job of making Covid more effective in their labs?
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I would like to hear how you judge when to stand up for yourself and when not to? How are you guided on this?
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@Relayzy1 Mostly true, and that tends to help you sleep at night but can have very negative effects.
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At the end of the day, the distinction between what is perceived as left or right is only in the eyes of the observer. Take a look at some of the old Alf Garnet shows on here and tell me which character is left & which is right?
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The big problem is who defines what is right and who says what is wrong?
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When you look at the number of ridiculous protests over daft things these days and everyone's "entitlement" you wonder if what this guy is saying is actually true or, the authoritarianism is actually the reaction to this?
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I have just seen an article about some no conformers in Solihull who saw a sign saying "Danger, thin ice" and thought it was to authoritarian for them to obey - LOL.
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Was Adolf a tyrant or was he trying to free his own people from other, more subtle tyrants who controlled them financially?
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I would love to know how many of you brave rebels love to take it on your hands and knees? Now that would be non conformist!
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You sound like an American and they are not he smartest race on earth being the rejects of Europe and descendants of those from Africa caught and sold on by their neighbours.
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Some of the biggest cowards (typically bullies) are those who do not admit it!
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@rockoyhead I guess it is people who think they are bigger / stronger / better than others and use this to take advantage of people. Often, when someone finally stands up to them - even an apparently weak person, they quickly back down (ben there, done that).
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@rockoyhead The truly weak (physically) cannot avoid being bullied and it is not necessarily their fault that they are week so they are not "allowing it" as you put it.
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I do love it when cowards try to show how brave they are by dismissing one herd and promptly joining another! What makes it even funnier, is when they purport to take the moral high ground and condemn those who are truly outside of the herd.
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There seems to be a big surge in protests that affect "ordinary" people - the animal rights lot of the just stop oilers ruining things for others because they are "standing up for what they believe in". And all the LGBTQ+ whatever protests - again, people standing up for what they believe in. No one, other than that guy the other day, has actually tried to protest properly against the dinghy invasion yet dozens on here love to blame others for letting it happen. Who are the true cowards?
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@donkeypunch5138 WOW, an American who can write sentences!
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@donkeypunch5138 I was really thinking about such places as Brazil and many African countries rather than the US. America is a good example of those who toe the line doing well and those that don't doing badly.
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There seems to be a big surge in protests by people standing up for what they believe is right - the animal rights lot or the just stop oilers ruining things for others because they are "standing up for what they believe in". And all the LGBTQ+ whatever protests - again, people standing up for what they believe in. Who are the true cowards?
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@donkeypunch5138 Please don't use America as an example of any form of freedom or being a good place to live. They have so many laws to prevent what is considered acceptable, even normal in the better countries.
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@GhostRangerr They are not obedient in those countries, they just have no real chance but to obey.
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@googlehomemini So a guy with a special vest on who decimates a crowd might be doing what he sees as right?
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@h-a-y-k4149 I really had to read what you are saying there carefully to get the full gist of it but what you are saying is pretty deep stuff and I am very much in agreement with it. At the end of the day, what is right or wrong has to be defined by someone and there by hangs the problem. My philosophy? The good old fashioned do unto others as you would be done, with the caveat that if they do unto you something you do not want them to, the rules go out of the window.
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@h-a-y-k4149 Some very deep and wise words there. There are some things I do (including with others) that, because they cause no harm to anyone else in society, I do not consider to be wrong, yet often get told they are wrong by others who are not affected by them. There are other things I think to be wrong because they do affect other people yet seem to be considered to be right by many. This is where it all gets tough!
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But morality is all about what you have been told, the alternative is anarchy where people make up their own morals.
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@googlehomemini And its even rarer for someone to be able to define "right" without relying upon someone else's definition.
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@jgappy5643 And I guess a larger amount of immorality too?
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@darnellpistachio2991 I don't laugh at the ones that pour milk around supermarkets or stop traffic, just because they think they are doing the right thing!
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@drjonesey5 Have people become more moral over time? Have we stopped burning witches and hanging, drawing and quartering enemies of the state?
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@h-a-y-k4149 You make some very good points there, but the big issue is how you define what is right without reference to what is wrong. The climate loonies think that they are right in taking action to save the planet and the animal rights lot that it is right to treat animals better / go vegan. Who says either are not right?
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@googlehomemini It is even rarer to meet them again a few years later!
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@Hotomato Some one just doing what they are told in an old book!
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Isn't morality doing what someone told you is right or you think is right? After all, who actually determines what is "right" in the grand scheme of things?
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 I am a troll and I live in a hole as the old nursery rhyme goes. I have no idea what a troll is in the sense you seem to be using it as I don't follow all the latest fashion/ trends.
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 The big issue with that notion is that it still means people decide what they think is moral - just look at the animal rights loonies and their mad ideas?
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 If you say so, yawn.
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 I have no uploads as I do not want to fall into the social media trap of having to follow trends and "obey" the norm.
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 I have uploaded a cou8ple of videos in the past - from various holidays etc (sailing & skiing). As for subscriptions, I just checked and it looks like I have quite a few. As I said previously, I do not follow the masses and "have to be seen" like some people.
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 Yep that's me - still eating goats who cross my bridge and not going out in daylight to avoid being turned to stone.
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 By your rules, is big game hunting moral? And what about pornography? - If you consider it to be immoral, how do you define it (and don't use the legal definition as that is written by the elites to stop ordinary people seeing things that they can). Where do you draw the line between porn and art / entertainment?
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@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 I always eat what I shoot unless it is vermin (foxes, rats, magpies etc) and am a firm believer in the good old fashioned do unto others as you would be done by, even if the last puts me a little to the left by some people's judgment.
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@googlehomemini Those prepared to blow themselves up because of what they believe?
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@drjonesey5 It is interesting that you raise the moral question over capital punishment. The truth is, it is not the deterrent that many believe it to be. When being gay was a capital offence in the UK, people still were in secret. Murders still happened. What it can do is stop the criminals doing the same again and free up prison space, saving the state lots of money.
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Morality is doing what someone told you was right.
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Shaun No, the lack of tin foil hats!
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@poom641 Was that man not from the most vulnerable group in terms of who covid affected?
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Shaun I had a look at that, but am always sceptical of anything that Americans say, specially given that they developed the virus, presumably for ulterior motives.
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@dhaltonmiller1215 Blah, blah, blah? If I am a conformist then it has paid dividends when it comes to my life style. If you knew me though you would see just how nonconformist I really am, assuming you define conformist as being boring and doing the same as everyone else.
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@dhaltonmiller1215 I have just thought, surely being selfish is actually being anything but conformist? Conformity would be doing what everyone else wants you to or expects you to?
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@dhaltonmiller1215 I would very much like to know what, on a day to day basis, makes you a non conformist and what you believe (?) makes me a conformist? Is it retiring early because you got fed up with all the BS, having only a tiny city car when everyone else wants bigger and faster, or do you live in a tiny house that most would consider to be small for a first time buyer?
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@Guitarzen "They"? Which "They " is that?
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@damnu8089 It is funny how the ignorant and uneducated people seem to hang on every thread of extremists who have a dark agenda.
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Passive aggressive is the favourite term of the conformists to describe anyone who doesn't "fit in". Funny that, isn't it?
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@Guitarzen Cowardly is shouting about something but not actually doing anything about it. Just think of all those who rant about the channel crossers but don't actually go down there and try to do something about it?
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Shaun And to believe everything they watch on here!
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@Guitarzen There are many levels of "they" from the elite to the giant lizards to ordinary decent people going about their lives to make the best of what they have.
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@dhaltonmiller1215 I will happily answer your question and try to explain the reasons for my decision if you are interested. I too will ask you a very simple question and would like you to explain the reasons behind your answer. Yes, I have had the jab and the boosters, much like I have been having the flu jab since I got it for free. I even had the jab to give me some protection from pneumonia and tetanus in the past plus all the other ones we got as kids. Now the reasoning. I have a couple of minor health issues that on their own really don't affect me much but before I started to have the flu jabs I would be wiped out for a week or two each winter a couple of times I got really bad. Over the winter before Covid was "officially " recognised I knew a few people who were very ill for a few weeks with what could only have been Covid (due to symptoms and how / when they became sick with it). Before the vaccine became available, a few more friends and colleagues also became seriously ill with it and talking to them afterwards it sounded horrific. When the Oxford one was announced I looked into it to find out more. It seems that they had been working on the concept and technique to prevent other related conditions for some time and with my scientific background and close contact with many people with quite a lot of knowledge on the subject I decided that the risk/ benefit analysis said for me it was the correct thing to do. I could have dosed myself up with vitamin D, but that is not quite as easy as some think in reality and where some of the supplements come from and how they are made and who by is another matter. Now I have a very simple and not contentious question for you to see if you are a conformist. Do you wash and clean your teeth and use deodorant every day and if so, please explain the reasons why you do.
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@brianmcmechan8625 Ok, it was those conditions that made me vulnerable to covid and other viruses. Sadly there is no magic drug to cure either or prevent you getting them. There are some that help with the conditions and I do use an inhaler when the asthma is bad. I control the diabetes by diet and exercise.
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@brianmcmechan8625 I was tempted to answer you very frankly but thought it better not to sink to the level of the rest of the herd on here.
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@dhaltonmiller1215 Good morning Dhalton. I still have had no response from yourself. Could it be that I have challenged your perception of your self as not being a coward or a conformist? Are you afraid that people might consider you to be a conformist and afraid of what they might think of you? If I don't receive a sensible reply I will assume that I am correct.
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@justdev8965 If you actually knew anything about rats you would realise how inaccurate what you said was. They are not pack or herd creatures and only look out for themselves. They are incredibly intelligent and as for bravery, size for size, you would not want to take one on! A better analogy would be gorillas who follow their alpha Male (maybe he would do podcasts in another world?) loyally.
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@brianmcmechan8625 I have never tested positive for Covid nor had any of the recognisable symptoms. It could be that I am naturally immune as I have been in close contact with people who have had it before my vaccines. As for exercise and "living better", I go from regular quite strenuous walks in the local countryside, including beating for a local pheasant shoot, I sail a 40 yacht with just my rather petite other half although you probably won't know how physical that is! I have a very balanced & healthy diet, largely consisting of wild meat. Since contracting the type 2 diabetes about ten of so years ago through some obscure virus (I cannot recall the name but could probably find out) I lost 3 stone and this has helped my asthma which was caused by growing up on a farm, playing in haystacks and later things like working in very dusty environments and spraying cars without proper PPE. I sail because that is about the only activity not tied down by stupid rule & laws - any there are, are there for good reason but very rarely get applied due to the fact that most water users are sensible (power boat owners not included). Other activities I enjoy are far from the "normal" & conforming and would disgust many people although they would never find out that I did them in day to day life. Please explain what you get up to to illustrate what makes you not cowardly & obedient?
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@brianmcmechan8625 By the way, I am not sure if I have been whining any more than those who think they are special and not "cowards".
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@damnu8089 I guess English is not your first language, but can you please try a bit harder as what you have written makes no sense.
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@brianmcmechan8625 I wonder if you have spotted that I am not a coward either and am more than capable of standing up for myself, even if I have to play dirty to beat bigger and stronger bullies. I use my brain when I fight so some people are easily beaten.
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Getting married (to a woman), having kids, sticking together, driving an "ordinary" car, not wanting to do anything out of the ordinary like spending months sailing a yacht round the more wonderful parts of Europe- that is conformity and cowardice!
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@brianmcmechan8625 So I am sickly in your eyes, do I not have the right to try and protect myself, to stand up for myself? Or are you a supporter of eugenics and euthanasia? Perhaps you need to move to Canada where they seem to be into that sort of thing.
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@brianmcmechan8625 Maybe you should look how I put Dahlton Miller in his place by asking a very simple question? He has gone remarkably quiet making me think he is not quite what he would want others to think he was.
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@brianmcmechan8625 So you are a teenage girl?
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@brianmcmechan8625 Oh how wonderfully whity, Sounds just the sort of remark one might get from one of the woke masses. There seems to be far too many people willing to judge the actions of others on their own behaviour and not accept that a lot of people can make up their own minds. What is your take on the Balenciaga story?
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@HoratioFitzbastard He can't help it, you can tell because he does not understand simple statements or answer simple questions.
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@brianmcmechan8625 I know it is very bad form but as a weakling coward, I just love to see the response of big strong & brave men when the truth is pointed out to them - LOL.
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@brianmcmechan8625 Then why have you not answered any of my questions to prove your point? I very clearly explained why I chose to have the vaccine then randomly you said it obviously didn't cure my pre-existing, incurable health conditions (ie the reason I had the jab). It was almost as though, because I am not 100% healthy like some claim to be, I should allow myself to get Covid with possibly lethal results? Is that not eugenics or euthanasia, hence my remark on that topic.
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@brettmmontague Please define "Boomer" - it seems to be something imagined by the moronic younger generations who cannot take responsibility for their own actions and have to find someone to blame for everything they bring on themselves.
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@laszlokovacs8890 There is always one weirdo making strange comments on here - unless you are being very ironic, however, when I make an ironic comment, I usually leave a big hint that it is.
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@mattwilliams7566 You ought to see his mad rant further down!
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@mattwilliams7566 Sorry but I thought LK was trying to be a bit sensible but having seen his rant at me further on, I now agree with you.
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This is LK's rant! "The death of millions of people is nothing compared to the loss of animal, plant and fungi life occurring right now, and for which you are personally responsible for. I do not care if you only carried one morsel to the ant hive, with your ant buddies, you are still guilty of genocide. It is not human genocide, which makes it worse. Because the animals, the plants and the fungi are innocent. You are filthy evil, just like all your two-legged, two-armed fellow. Wake up and take action. The good of the few must outweigh the evil of the many. This is all I can tell you." - Mad as a hatter!
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@laszlokovacs8890 I have my place booked in the halls of Valhalla alongside all great huntsmen and warriors. I feast on the flesh of the animals of the field, stream and wood and sing their praises when they offer their lives to me.
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@delfine7163 The human brain is capable of far more than virtually anyone alive today can use it for. So stick to your 20% while I try to stretch mine.
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@delfine7163 I still want to know how I can join the elite as it sounds really great to be one. Maybe we need a revolution?
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My dad had a similar philosophy, but he was a little to the left of Marx!
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@josericardotarpani26 And that is the big issue. What is right to one person is very likely to be wrong to the next. Everyone thinks they know what is "right " and there certainly is quite a bit of common ground, but even the most basic of things can cause divisions. Often trivial things that at the end of the day do not impact on those who view them as wrong can start to generate hatred and blame.
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@laszlokovacs8890 Many who stand up for what they think right these days are just misguided and have no clue about the real world. You only have to look at the animal rights loonies and what they get up to, to see this.
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Anna & I Please can you explain which of my comments you are referring to. Everyone has opinions and the fact that they might not be the same as yours does not make them wrong.
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@serpentines6356 He was born in 1915, his dad was in the Somme and came back safe. Dad was in the desert airforce in WW2 so he had experienced a lot of tough times under the Tories.
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It is much better to lose nothing than lose everything!
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@theonlineanimal6009 Very true, which is why sheep stay in flocks to improve their chances of survival.
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@theonlineanimal6009 Then by some people's reckoning on here, they are on the side of the unvaccinated/ anti vaccine groups which puts a whole different angle on things?
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@HoratioFitzbastard The problem with getting rid of the shepherds or farmers is clearly illustrated in Animal Farm! Much like the Russian revolution that it warned against.
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@paultark5870 He probably didn't go to school that day because he thought he knew everything and facts were lies.
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@HoratioFitzbastard If that is so, what do you propose to do about it? If you leave the safety of the flock, then you are at risk from the wolves?
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@HoratioFitzbastard Good on you! I just aim to be the wolf!
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What happens if the crowd are right?
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@1lonecrow And some Americans still believe that the earth loonies is flat, regardless of the fact they are totally wrong!
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@bassmoney1016 OK then, what if you are told not to molest children?
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@ThesTroubleAtMill So if the crowd say stop abusing our children, do you continue to do that?
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@bassmoney1016 I just hope when you smoke your weed and drink on your boat (guessing a motor boat? ) you don't cause any accidents because I have seen the results of such behaviour when they lifted the victims body away by helicopter!
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@WHEREVER-I-ROAM Beautiful cat? Is that not a contradictory statement?
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@ThesTroubleAtMill Sounds like a crowd might be right some times?
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@ThesTroubleAtMill Sorry, but the only "question" from you seems to be "WTF" which is not really a question unless it relates to something? You seem to be the one unable to answer challenges to your blinkered vision, like what if the crowd are right? You simple say that they cannot be which is obviously wrong.
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@kiabellie4987 And it does tend to be linked to mental health issues!
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@jakryan1497 I have not and it's a bit late now. I guess you have because it is the normal/ expected thing to do?
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@ThesTroubleAtMill I am a very lucky person often winning at gambling in various forms. As for a nice life, I retired at 63 and am currently sitting in my 40 sailing yacht typing to you.
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@ThesTroubleAtMill The whole sheep versus wolves thing is quite interesting when you look into the social structures of both species. Wolves are pack animals and the packs have clear leaders who the pack follows and any lesser animal that challenges the leader is likely to be killed. The alpha Male will kill the offspring of lesser males. Flocks of sheep don't have such a hierarchy and rarely fight eachother or other flocks.
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@theonlineanimal6009 And one man can kill many wolves and other vermin.
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@phaedrussmith1949 The big issue these days is who defines what is right? Just remember, a great many of those branded "left wing" these days are very far from that, much the same as those branded "right wing". To me, most from both sides are actually the good and bad sides of liberalism, and in truth, some of those declared "right wing" are much closer to being socialists than they realise.
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@paultark5870 Totally with you on that!
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@paultark5870 Probably never went to school!
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@bassmoney1016 So if someone told you not to jump off a high building, would you jump?
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Are animal rights activists or the just stop oil people fighting authoritarianism or risking becoming part of it?
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Always have and always will! That is why the foolish sons of the upper classes always got sent to the army rather than do something useful with their lives.
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@TheGunman69 I like it!
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@BillyBasd Not really sure that would be right? After all, you are the nation who joins in late and claims to have saved the world?
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