[karajorma]

Let's not get personal here.

[666maslo666]

in reality children are all lord of the flies. cold hearted beasts who will literally kill each other if left to their own devices. to be avoided in post apocalyptic scenarios (they would likely do you a cannibalism).

Yep, childrens brains are in many ways structuraly similar to that of a psychopath, another group where bullying and animal abuse is often present. It takes certain development until the empathy circuit is working well. In fact, an adult with the mind of a child would be diagnosed as a psychopathic pedophile, lol..

[Dragon]

i think the real issue here is whether dragon represents a hopeless failure of our civilisation in moving beyond being smallminded idiots, or whether he is merely an isolated-enough throwback to maintain faith in humanity

I'm just stuck in a backwards, backwater country with various systems either antiquated or messed up by trying to update them. Maybe it's not like that in the rest of the world, but if you lived where I do, you'd either form similar opinions about the majority of the teenage population, or become similar to one of those small-minded idiots I have to deal with. I might seem like an extremist, but trust me, everything I said, I've seen with my own eyes. And no, I'm not exaggerating. It's really that bad around here. Come and see for yourself if you don't believe.

Yep, childrens brains are in many ways structuraly similar to that of a psychopath, another group where bullying and animal abuse is often present. It takes certain development until the empathy circuit is working well. In fact, an adult with the mind of a child would be diagnosed as a psychopathic pedophile, lol..

Generally, "adult children" are considered another category of mentally ill. They have something in common with psychopaths, but are a different category. However, it is possible for empathy and rational thinking to develop around the time of middle school (and in rare cases, earlier), and in high school, they should be in working order. As many incidents show, that's not always the case.

[Nuke]

all humans have the capacity to be complete idiots given the right situation (or enough beer). even einstein had his derps.

[Dragon]

Yes, but they were pretty much harmless (like the time Coast Guard hauled him and his boat back in when he went sailing and got completely lost ). For alcohol-related idiocy, check out Darwin Awards. However, those are one-time incidents (or in case of alcoholics, at least predictable). Some people act like idiots all the time, and they're the real problem.

[jr2]

Don't worry, Dragon, everyone has that tendency somewhere.  The real issue becomes, what do you do with it?  The problem with visualizing it in your head etc is sometimes you can get put in situations where you might snap and actually do it.  It's better to try to find some distraction or outlet for your frustration.  exercise and Martial Arts would be a good one, as it has the side advantage of helping you prepare to better defend yourself, if only physically. 

For the mental bit, try philosophy and debate classes.  If you can talk your way in circles around your opponents and make them look dumb even to themselves, while maintaining a physical presence menacing enough to deter assaults that way...


Well, it's not always possible, but it's worth a shot and gives you something to shoot for.

[Dragon]

For the mental bit, try philosophy and debate classes.  If you can talk your way in circles around your opponents and make them look dumb even to themselves, while maintaining a physical presence menacing enough to deter assaults that way...

Believe me, I've tried talking circles around them. They didn't even realize that. That's what I meant when I mentioned that my rant was just speaking from experience. I could prove my mental superiority to them all I wanted, and they didn't even realize I was making fun of them and making them looks like complete morons they were! I couldn't believe that somebody could be so dumb, but there you have it. In fact, the only reason I've only started plotting their demise after 3 years was that they were somewhat amusing in their idiocy, and there wasn't much else to do. They were moments which made them worth putting up with at first, but later it stopped being funny and started being frustrating.

It was the same kind of fun as making an annoying, begging cat dance around, stand on hind feet and meow to get a leftover piece of meat (or even better, I've got a cat dumb enough to do that for a potato shaving, which she wouldn't even eat ). It gets old after a while though.

[deathfun]

...My cat eats potatoes actually

And I've plotted people's demise similar to you there Dragon
It is actually quite amusing

[NGTM-1R]

Yes, but they were pretty much harmless (like the time Coast Guard hauled him and his boat back in when he went sailing and got completely lost ). For alcohol-related idiocy, check out Darwin Awards. However, those are one-time incidents (or in case of alcoholics, at least predictable). Some people act like idiots all the time, and they're the real problem.

The mistakes of the capable are far more dangerous than the mistakes of fools. Those who are capable are trusted and given responsibility. Those who are fools are not. Who can do more damage?

[deathfun]

It's also a one time mistake as opposed to a constant occurrence
Regardless, that's a fair point. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to check his harness before latching him on the bungee cord"


That and, I was waiting for something like this to pop up somewhere

[Dragon]

...My cat eats potatoes actually

Mine doesn't, that's what makes this so funny. She's just dumb, but I've seen even dumber humans.

And I've plotted people's demise similar to you there Dragon
It is actually quite amusing

If by "people like me", you meant "people from Poland", you're probably justified. AFAIK, this country most likely looks like a gathering of fools of the kind I'm describing from the outside. It looks like that from the inside too, BTW, only that you can occasionally meet a good person if you know where to look for them.
And if you meant it in any other way, then consider yourself invited to Poland.

Yes, but they were pretty much harmless (like the time Coast Guard hauled him and his boat back in when he went sailing and got completely lost ). For alcohol-related idiocy, check out Darwin Awards. However, those are one-time incidents (or in case of alcoholics, at least predictable). Some people act like idiots all the time, and they're the real problem.

The mistakes of the capable are far more dangerous than the mistakes of fools. Those who are capable are trusted and given responsibility. Those who are fools are not. Who can do more damage?

What makes you assume capable people are trusted and given responsibility? It's a rather wishful statement, but unfortunately not exactly true. Smart, competent, well trained people usually make small, harmless mistakes, though there are rare occasions (various vehicle crashes due to driver/pilot error, for instance) where this small mistake causes a great deal of damage. In toto, I think fools make more damage than intelligent people. As the old saying goes, "To err is human, to persist in error is foolish". One of the defining features of an intelligent person is the ability to realize their mistake and do something to fix it. A fool would persist in error.

[Aardwolf]

I object to the way you're defining things. "Intelligent/competent people" and "fools" are not mutually exclusive.

[Dragon]

You're right, I should've added a disclaimer. Of course they're not mutually exclusive, and there's no clearly defined border. I was speaking in generalisms to get the point across, but it's somewhat more complicated. Basically, I think that the worst mistakes are made by incapable people in responsible positions, something which happens all too often. Just turn on the TV and look for anything politics related. In many cases, people who get elected mostly know how to get elected, not how to run a country. They might not be idiots, getting elected is a good way to gain money, but they're usually incompetent at their job. Traits like stubborness, slow learning and inability to see their own mistakes only make this worse. An intelligent, but incompetent person would realize he isn't doing a good job and either delegate most of the responsibility to people who know how to do it, try to learn how to do it right, or resign. An incompetent fool, on the other hand would act as if nothing was wrong, and/or act like it was not his fault. That's as close to a definition as I can get.

[stinkyFeet]

This may seem out of place, but I probably wouldn't care if naked pictures of me were put on the internet. I'm a guy, but still, our society is weird.

Also, blackmailing someone by threatening to distribute pictures of them naked seems unfortunately common. Ex-boy friends.

Edit:Before I'm flamed, I'm trying to say that the problem wasn't about the pictures but how everyone around her was acting because of them and that should change because it's not uncommon.

[Nuke]

id rather her have just picked up an assault rifle and get some good old fashioned revenge, at least then some of the people responsible would have bled to death (and some others too, after all people dont give a **** unless there is some collateral damage). murder is a good alternative to suicide.

[karajorma]

I am constantly surprised that the number of suicides is so high compared to the number of shootings. You'd think more people would go the murder-suicide route.

[Nuke]

i couldn't kill myself without a body count, a number followed by no fewer than nine zeros.

[deathfun]

That's a large number

If by "people like me"

Um... what I meant was neither of what you stated
I just like plotting people's demises in hilarious and/or original fashions as an exercise for my creative mind
I write short little stories occasionally too about it

I am constantly surprised that the number of suicides is so high compared to the number of shootings. You'd think more people would go the murder-suicide route.

Most likely answer is the lack of access to firearms.

A more in depth answer to your question, I shall direct at this really interesting read
http://www.pins.org.za/pins39/pins39_bkrev_cartwright.pdf
It details what makes a shooter

Excerpt from page two to which a great majority of suicides could be attributed

Most traumatized people never kill anyone

[Phantom Hoover]

I am constantly surprised that the number of suicides is so high compared to the number of shootings. You'd think more people would go the murder-suicide route.

Reading this thread is definitely inclining me towards the latter.

[achtung]

Not really been keeping up with this, but I'm pretty darn sure this girl posted nudes on 4chan (/b/ or /soc/) looking for attention, they doxxed her, and then all hell broke loose.

I'll never say someone asked for this kind of thing, but that's a pretty stupid thing to do.

If this has already been mentioned please disregard.