Hotter, Badder, and Unpopularer Takes

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Trump's obvious atheism is what gives me the most pause about my likely vote for him in 2020. A person with as much power as the US President needs to feel accountability to something greater than themselves.

And that something greater should be the US Constitution, the American people, and the rule of law.

I love the Constitution, but it can't love me back.

God can't love you back either, it's all in your head. like saying your imaginary friend loves you back, hell, it's literally saying that.

This is a thread for "hotter" takes, we don't yet have one for scalding ones.

I realize I sometimes come across as a typical /r/atheism euphoric fedora-tipper, but if you really look at it, how can you say there's any more evidence that God exists than there is that imaginary friends are real? it's all a matter of the individual having faith that something exists in spite of the fact that it's impossible to prove and incredibly unlikely to actually exist.

There is clearly more evidence for the existence of a deity, which is what makes this an interesting discussion for literally thousands of years. You have to be willfully obtuse to ignore or dismiss the evidence so freely.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Again, you are demanding FACTS that serve as 100% certified evidence when such a standard is not remotely feasible. That standard is like letting obvious criminals go free because you did not witness the crime happen. Evidence is available for the taking. Your line of thinking totally disregards the goodness offered by having faith in life and in discovering truth. But you have the freedom to decline access to that virtue and stick to only what you can see.

You can say that you have lifted a 1500 pound car with your bare hands and then be unable to lift a table later that day thanks to something like hysterical strength. Oddities do happen. I don't know what supposed miracles happened in history or which one in the Bible were unable to be understood by humans of the time - whether they are all divine miracles, logic-defying oddities or allegory to teach, I cannot say. Nor do I say with complete certainty that there is a deity. Any of those explanations are reasonable. Your dismissiveness of the other side being reasonable when it very clearly is very reasonable is one of the most embittering instances in politics today that creates the constant fury. You literally did is yet again to Tom who gave a verbose but reasonable response. "Words n stuff" is something you do to a loon rather than someone speaking very rationally. It only makes you look like the loon to all but a tiny subset of cretins.

Regardless of whether of not there is a deity, I don't think it matters all that much. The values created by (modern western though probably some other) religion largely continue to be extremely relevant in maintaining a successful and happy life

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

     Adding a hot take of my own, bicyclists going on major streets should have to carry a license. Make them more responsible for their actions rather than doing whatever and endangering everyone.

So true! Bicyclists have no respect for the rules of the road and are constantly the cause of nearly every problem I see on the road. I don't drive, but it's very obvious who is in the wrong from the pedestrian's perspective.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

    Adding a hot take of my own, bicyclists going on major streets should have to carry a license. Make them more responsible for their actions rather than doing whatever and endangering everyone.

So true! Bicyclists have no respect for the rules of the road and are constantly the cause of nearly every problem I see on the road. I don't drive, but it's very obvious who is in the wrong from the pedestrian's perspective.

Good thing the law says you're wrong!

The law says it is okay for them to bike the wrong way down the middle of a one way street? Go through red lights pre-emptively before it is safe? Bulldozing pedestrians over? Dangerously weaving through traffic? All extremely frequent occurrences. None of that is to mention the juvenile flash mobs who intentionally intimidate cars by faking them out by riding on one wheel and violently shaking back and forth towards each car's windshield. That's just the normal stuff. I can't help but think of who's poor mothers have to deal with the more severe bikers' intimidation.

Not all bikers are bad here. Those brave enough to go on the Parkway know the hand signals. But the streets? Totally unsafe. I respect the road enough to only bike where I am supposed to. A very rare thing.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The DINK (double income, no kids) lifestyle is selfish and incredibly narcissistic, especially when the people in question are well-off.

People are and will always be very selfish. That's why we need much better child tax credits to disadvantage those DINKs

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The most convincing argument for abortion rights isn't that it's "her body her choice", it's population control.

Definitely, but if the anti-vaxxers get their way using poorer arguments, there is at least the good side effect of population control. It's also probably the most convincing argument in favour of bombing Iran and the impending Uyghur genocide.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

And incidentally, I'm a convert from Catholicism to protestantism, and your attitude towards Catholicism smacks of bigotry as well.

When I wrote this, you put it in the Absurd posts mine....

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

And incidentally, I'm a convert from Catholicism to protestantism, and your attitude towards Catholicism smacks of bigotry as well.

When I wrote this, you put it in the Absurd posts mine....

Citation?

His post in this case is correct though.

And the anti-Catholic bigotry continues.

You can't be "bigoted" against an organization. It's also not bigotry to oppose the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Southern Baptist Convention, NARAL, the NRA, etc.

So you're going to excuse the poster writing "main contributions"?  It's pretty evident that the poster's opinions extend beyond the Church itself.  Point #1 is evidence of that, as the poster portrays pro-life Catholics, who cite faith as their reasons for opposing abortions, as purposefully making women suffer.  Point #3 claims that the Catholic Church and, therefore, Catholics actively seek to establish schools that promote racism, a gross and disgusting claim to make. 

You can oppose the ideals of an organization, yes (though it's laughable that you included four non-religious or non-ethnic-based organizations up there to make your point), but when you claim that the Roman Catholic Church has only primarily done three terrible things in America, you are, in essence, tying the faith to those who practice it and are accusing all of those who follow the Church of carrying out these things or supporting them (two of which, Points #1 and #3, are not accurate and blatant attempts to call Catholics abusers of women and promoters of racism).

Please do not support absolute trash and bigotry like that post's content and then attempt to defend it by saying "But he was only attacking the institution, not the people!!!"  Furthermore, the fact that you agree with his post in its entirety, that the MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS of the Church are those three points, even if you are only referring to the Church, is certainly telling.

BRTD has always publicly hated Catholics, you see. He has revealed nothing that he didn't first reveal more than a decade ago when hating on every Catholic nation.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

You misunderstood. You made the post in question in the ignorant posts thread as an aside about B RTD being anti-catholic to the verge of bigotry. I empty quoted you in the thread not because I thought it an ignorant post, but because I agree wholeheartedly.

Awwww Thanks!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Isn't actually taking action to help society the opposite of what most people mean by virtue signaling?

Also can't help but feel like there is a lot of projection there. Many people really do care about their communities / the world in general and devote themselves to fixing it. To say all of that is superficial and meaningless strikes me as profoundly cynical towards humanity, and in a way that casually waves away the millions of people who actually spend enormous amounts of time helping other people.

I generally think flying across the world to a situation where you are making extremely marginal improvements is not worthwhile. Local community is extremely sensible.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I've lived in LA for three weeks now, and non-ethnic whites of LA are consistently the worst, most entitled people I've ever met. Hispanics, Armenians, Middle Easterners, East Asians, etc. have all been friendly and inviting, but your typical whites are just unrepentant trash.

Perhaps the only part of the US where the locals made travel a completely negative experience - and I am no tourist. This sounds like a complete expected take that holds true.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

On The Office, Jim should have stayed with Karen instead of dumping her for the clearly inferior Pam.

It is Pam who should have been with the vastly superior Toby. I find him much dreamier!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

BRTD has a much better comprehension of reality than >90 percent of the people on this forum. Not something I could have imagined saying 4 years ago. (Not intended to be a hot take. Just an observed pattern.)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Roe v Wade overturn in the summer of 2020 is inevitable, and anyone who thinks otherwise is just engaging in wishful thinking.

Yes, such a totally reasonable action to take in an election year without a solid majority on the court.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

In each geographic region but the South, poll respondents say slavery was the main reason for the war:

– By a large percentage, respondents in the West say slavery was the main reason, 67-27 percent.

– In the Midwest, 56-39 percent say slavery was the main reason.

– In the Northeast, 50-43 percent say slavery was the main reason.

But the response changes for Southerners, who say slavery wasn’t the main reason for the Civil War, 49-45 percent.

It's not "much" different for the north and south - but the west is a pretty radically different view. Not even holding other variables constant could really explain that difference.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Atlas is incredibly ignorant of taxation for an ostensibly "high info" forum.

I think the mere understanding of marginal tax brackets seems to qualify as high info in this country. So many people love to bring that up in discussions to sound smart (and in fairness, so many people are always claiming not to want to move into the next tax bracket)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Using this thread as another opportunity to plug this quiz I made a couple years back using responses from a similar thread as the metrics:

How Far Outside The Overton Window Are You?

Terrific survey, 85 percent radical normie, 63 percent radical right, 16 percent radical left