Rowan
Boxer of the Galaxy

Probably some kind of libertarian, both socially and economically liberal (in the true, non-American sense of the word). If you lived in New Zealand you'd vote for the Act Party, maybe. Free markets, low and flat taxes, hard on crime, civil liberties.

I was going to comment on Facebook. But it won't load for me (Linux + Chrome). I'm surprised you scored on the socially conservative side. Were there questions about crime and punishment? I could see that tipping you over.

I see your argument also. I mean, have you read Leviticus? There's some cray stupid shit in there. In fact shit that would put you in prison for doing it. I think my point is that the Bible/Quran/Captain Underpants have both good and bad things to live by. They're old ass books, written by different people in different contexts. They're bound to contradict. It's easy for people who are already prone to violence to then use those bits to justify their actions. I don't think the progression is [religion --> bad bits in holy book --> inclination to violence --> actual violence], but rather [inclination to violence --> religion --> bad bits in holy book --> actual violence].

However without that initial inclination to violence, which almost all people lack, the process seems to be from experience: [no inclination to violence --> religion --> bad bits in holy book --> carry on with your life despite them]. No one has ever been a "perfect Christian" or "perfect Muslim" if your litmus test is "never do anything that goes against the holy book". If that were actually possible to do, centuries of theological debate would have never taken place to resolve the contradictions contained within. Typically what happens is an "accepted school of thought" will develop to handle these things. So that despite the Quran saying that you should kill person X in situation Y, it will be decided that no in fact, in situation Y you should just ignore person X, because by following the letter of any given passage, you're probably going against the spirit of hundreds of other passages.

I know it sounds complex and airy-fairy. It is. Holy books are not computers. They do not have discrete, universal rules that produce single answers for particular problems, IMO. They're guidance for people who put stock in them.

To avoid derailing:

Of course it plays a part, just not the whole part. Blaming "Islam" as a whole for militant Islam is the problem, and its the type of dumb guilty-by-association that leads to discrimination and xenophobia (and much worse). By way of analogy to things that may be more familiar: The Irish troubles were influenced by religion, but claiming that an IRA terrorist and my (completely harmless) mother have much in common just because they're both Catholic is bizarre. The vast majority of Muslims that have lived, live, and will ever live are just ordinary people trying to go about their day. I only found out last week that one of my colleagues is a Muslim. I'd had no idea, and never asked because religion typically isn't polite conversation. Blaming ordinary people for the actions of a visible few is offensive and is an immense logical flaw.

SQEX shared the Theatrhythm review on Twitter, so that usually helps! Who knows whether they'll stay though... that's the tricky part.

I was thinking about reporting him for that one, but he's really not worth the effort. I'd rather keep his comment on my page to show off how much of a douche bag he really is.

I would too if I took him seriously. He's too insignificant to be mad at some ignorant shit he tries to start. He's just a troll. Best not to feed him.

His version of trolling is harassment, really. At least when we do it, we're funny about it. And we don't even do it that often. I probably do it more than you, but like 75% of the time, I'm being serious. Like right now!

I don't know. I guess he's just dumb.

Yeah well he seems pretty shaken up. Why did he even bother attempting to have a go at you? The cake thing? He's probably too young to know even who Clint Eastwood is. He is obviously from a different generation cause his version 'trolling' to me is just whining like a little bitch.

I think I broke Ezio.

I'm not sure. I had tightness in my throat for the good part of the spring this year because I thought I had lymphoma. The way I see it, hypochondria is a mental disorder dealing with anxiety, and like any mental disorder, it can be controlled. I told myself that everything that I was feeling was in my head, and I convinced myself to believe it, and it worked. My symptoms all went away within a couple of days.

Essentially, it's an anxiety disorder. If you can focus your mind, calm yourself down, and understand how irrational you're being, you can control it.