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Could you please answer this short survey on reading habits for my sister's undergrad dissertation please? (X-post from r/samplesize) by nediamnori87in books

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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Yes. Yes I will.

I am pretending that I am dead? by Spoonsarefun1205in funny

[–]automirage04 11 points12 points

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Leave a note that says "We know."

Dammit Sheik! by [deleted]in zelda

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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You just made me lol in class. Take my upboat. And f-ck you.

Did others find it incredibly hard to choose flair? [Spoilers and Speculation] by teamdalyin gameofthrones

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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I haven't read those. Would you recommend them? I've been looking for a new fantasy series to get into.

Did others find it incredibly hard to choose flair? [Spoilers and Speculation] by teamdalyin gameofthrones

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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Tywin isn't a very dynamic character, but his role in the books served to make the other Lannisters more interesting, imo. In other words, even though he is fairly straight forward, he adds complexity to characters like Jaime and Tyrion.

Did others find it incredibly hard to choose flair? [Spoilers and Speculation] by teamdalyin gameofthrones

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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This made me lol more than it should have. Take an up boat, sir.

Did others find it incredibly hard to choose flair? [Spoilers and Speculation] by teamdalyin gameofthrones

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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Had to pick Rhaegar's house. The fact that GRRM has managed to make him such an interesting an important character, without even putting him in the main story, is amazing to me. I don't know that I've read books by any other authors who have accomplished it so well.

As a reader who is deeply invested in many of these charcters, I find myself mourning the kind of king that Rhaegar could have been.

Jon Snow speculation at the end of ADWD. ADWD Spoilers. by DarkElvesRulein gameofthrones

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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I really don't think he is dead. At least not for good.

He either a) survived outright, b) jumped into Ghost before the deathblow, or c) Melisandre will bring him back.

If he is dead, I will burn my kindle, a la Tosh.0, and curse the name of George R. R. Martin until my dying breath.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point *

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Where are you coming up with these analogies? Jumping off of cliffs? Jamming your leg into a wood chipper? Seriously, did you even get the point I was trying to make in my initial comment?

My whole point this entire time was that "making someone aware of a travesty" is worthwhile... and since you seem to have agreed to that point, I'm not understanding the hostility.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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Just because someone is an expert in a field (and a field that has many different schools of thought by the way) does not invalidate the opinions of anyone who disagrees with them. The man certainly has creditably, but that doesn't mean that I can't scrutinize what he says and ultimately choose to disagree.

Furthermore, the reason I put the word "same" in quotations was because I was hoping, in vain, that you would not mistake my meaning. By "same" I did not mean identical, I meant similar. I was just trying to phrase the idea in a simple way. We can empathize with semi-sentient things (i.e. dogs) because on some level we see them as sharing some qualities with us (the capacity for happiness, sadness, etc), as opposed to say... bacteria, which we view as being completely dissimilar. The more similar someone (or something) is to us, the greater our capacity for empathy. THAT was the point I was trying to make. The degree of empathy that these people appear to feel for these kids indicates, to me, less not more racism.

Also: who is advocating shooting anyone in the face? I think you are putting words in people's mouths. From what I have read, most people just want to see the man tried for war crimes. Do really see any similarity between putting Kony on trial for mass murder and forcing circumcision on people? Because aside from geographical location, I'm not really seeing it.

Finally, here is something that I found on Wikipedia:

Nirvana fallacy (perfect solution fallacy) – when solutions to problems are rejected because they are not perfect.

Small steps can make all the difference. We shouldn't discourage people from caring about something just because caring, by itself, won't fix the problem.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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The reason I resent it is because I think it is fallacious, and probably a reflection more on his views of race than the views of everyone he is criticizing. "The White Man's Burden" was the result of a feeling of superiority... the idea that our way of life was "correct", and that the people of Africa were simply too primitive to arrive at the "correct" way of doing things on their own, and therefore they need to be taught how to not be so wrong about everything. The idea revolved around one group feeling naturally superior to another group, and that is why the notion of "the White Man's Burden" was so racist. Superiority assumes "different".

In this case, no one group seems to be feeling superior to any other group. People are seeing suffering in others, and empathizing with those other people. Empathy, by its very nature, requires a person to see him or herself as "the same" as the person they are empathizing with. Keep in mind, no one here is trying to tell anyone how to live. They are just trying to keep anyone from shooting innocent people in the face.

I think this man is a very intelligent individual who just happens to have over-thought one aspect of this issue a bit too much.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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Imo, it is a fallacy to think that drawing attention to Kony means that one thinks he is the worst out there. Even if he IS the worst, no rational person would think that he is the ONLY one. Drawing attention to one of these lunatics just helps to put a face on the problem as a whole.

Also, cutting the heads off the hydra is part of what eventually killed it. One just has to remember that there is more to be done.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 -1 points0 points

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It is loosely related to Atheism, because Kony was killing in the name of god. Not the strongest link, but it is a topic that some of the people on this subreddit think is important.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 1 point2 points

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He makes a valid point about people making rash decisions. However, I have to ask: does he really think that mass ignorance is preferable to mass awareness? And I resent the implication of racism for empathizing with a group of people that are being murdered and are starving by the thousands.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point *

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So Kony shouldn't have to answer for his crimes because he stopped six years ago? There are a lot of pedophiles/murderers/rapists in this country that would agree.

If you have read any of the statements by the filmmakers, the goal of making this film wasn't to stop Kony's group, it was to encourage people to demand that he be brought to justice.

Edit: grammar.

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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Awareness is half the battle, imo. Humanizing the victims and putting a face on the douchebag responsible for these atrocities is a big deal.

Furthermore, posts like OP's just encourage the the people who currently don't give a shit to continue to not give a shit. That's not how you fix problems. You fix problems by convincing those people that they should care.

When you convince a lot of people that they should care, then there is the chance that some of those people might actually choose to help in some meaningful way.

What are your favorite/funniest glitches? by llldniedlllin gaming

[–]automirage04 3 points4 points

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Red Dead Redemption.

The donkey woman.

A new requirement before sharing the Kony video. by musicafictain funny

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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Not to defend ignorance, but....

Since when was geography a prerequisite for basic human empathy?

My friend spent 6 months working in Cambodia last year. This was his response to Kony 2012 [X-Post from /r/TheFacebookDelusion] by WednesdayBassin atheism

[–]automirage04 90 points91 points

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...because raising awareness is COMPLETELY worthless. Sorry OP, your friend is a self-important douche.

What does r/atheism think of my tribute to Hitch? by veradekokin atheism

[–]automirage04 3 points4 points

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Hitch often mentioned giving blood as a selfless act. Her tribute to him is honoring his memory by helping someone in a manner that he advocated.

...or so I assume.

It took a lot of work to get this guy, and he's become my favorite that I've ever had. by TedFTWin pokemon

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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So....So.....very jealous.

Hugh Hefner's secret by [deleted]in funny

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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The repost is strong with this one.

THESE are the droids we're looking for! by [deleted]in doctorwho

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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I must have this in wall paper form.

I was watching American Psycho when all of the sudden... by charmin_bearin movies

[–]automirage04 -2 points-1 points

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Stewie Griffin would f--king cut OP for this.

Just realized something by [deleted]in pokemon

[–]automirage04 0 points1 point

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Hahaha that's awesome! I just now noticed
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