Azelma wrote:
Dvergar's arguments in this thread are infinitely more compelling than Aestu's
Aestu wrote:
The disrespect is yours in thinking you are better than your peers because luck and social bias has favored you.
Azelma wrote:
You said you said you didn't but you did say you did; again - that part about your belief that you will prevail in situations that prove impossible for millions of people like you.
Azelma wrote:
Again you ignore what is said when it conflicts with your biased opinions.
Projection.
Azelma wrote:
Aestu wrote:
I'm just saying it like it is - I am above average in many areas and you are not. That's just how it is.
You claim I am disrespectful because you claim I think I am better than my peers (when in reality it was all luck and social bias that favored me).
Yet, you also claim that you are better than me because "it's just how it is" and that is somehow not disrespectful?
No, because I have objective evidence as such - standardized testing and real-world performance - faster reading, better writing, better problem solving, more expansive knowledge, better creativity.
Azelma wrote:
And let me ask you something...how is it that you are so above average, and you are so much more intelligent than I, yet it seems I am enjoying more professional success than you? How is it, that even though I've had troubles with women (buses and all) I'm still able to connect with others in a way that you simply cannot (aside from an internet rendezvous that ended in disaster)?
Because you don't really connect with others.
You're a social chameleon. You assume views and attitudes that you think are "in the middle" and try very hard to be acceptable to others. But you don't appear to have any real empathy towards those that are not like you, or in your immediate surroundings. You make remarks from time to time that make it clear you're very racist (and cover it up with self-imposed political correctness because you don't like to think of yourself as such) and your views reflect a lack of compassion for those not as fortunate (while splitting the difference with your 'free market' views).
I'm the exact opposite. I'm not entirely indifferent to others' opinions of me - quite the contrary - but I don't particularly care about acceptance or adopting others' ways and values. I don't mind doing things such as whoring, hurting people's feelings, or holding unorthodox opinions, if my reasons for doing so seem valid and morally acceptable to me. Yet this willingness to create my own values also means that I am accepting and open-minded towards those not like me. Those who know me know that I have a deep-seated compassion and sense of justice that is a driving force in my ways.
Let me ask you - which of us do you think is more likely to take a risk, to break a law, or to do something unpleasant or against our attitudes because we think it is the right thing to do?
Azelma wrote:
You say it's all social bias and luck...fair enough, I've certainly had advantages...but didn't you have parents pay for your education? Didn't you grow up in an upper class neighborhood? At what point did my social bias and luck outstrip yours? I went to a private high school, yes...but that had little to do with my success later in life. When I was interviewing for jobs my high school was little more than some words on my resume. It had nothing to do with how I interviewed and didn't result in me getting into some elite college...in fact:
I went to Ohio State....which is a public university. Not a bad school, but certainly no Harvard. It's also much less expensive than YOUR university...and I had to take loans out to pay for it. I would like to trade situations with you in that respect since having student debt is really a pain.
When in college did my "luck" and "social bias" all of a sudden translate into internships (paid) and job offers?
You say you are so smart, tell me, tell me exactly when my advantages all of a sudden helped me get a job when yours didn't? Go ahead, explain it away as luck if you must, but I'm interested to see how I'm just so much luckier than you, when in reality you've had more advantages than I.
Well for one thing, your parents hooked you up with AP exams. Mine didn't, and I still blame them to this day. Actual reason: "Because they would say no for no good reason." Later changed to "We knew you would only fail."
My parents put me on a lot of medications during adolescence that really screwed me up (I still suffer from intense nocturnal itching). They were so unsupportive with serial lying, second-guessing, destroying my property and being generally obnoxious they triggered a psychotic episode then made it worse. They got me fired from a job. They've made phone calls to teachers and employers after I've told them not to. You think my social skills are bad, meet my parents - they've undermined me so many times by pissing off everyone they meet. I could fill a hundred pages (and believe me I have) with all their misdeeds.
Azelma wrote:
Does it help you sleep better at night to think that anyone else who enjoys success does so simply because of luck and social bias (even though you've had the same...)?
No. It doesn't. Quite the opposite I assure you. As anyone familiar with my sleep cycle knows.
Azelma wrote:
Dvergar wrote:
It's not thoughtful introspective of a wise man, it's a child prattling on about what he wants to be when he grows up. Much like the child, the reality is less the stuff of legends, and more a tale of disappointment and a mid-life acceptance of the mediocrity he toils in.
I find this argument to be rather compelling...I would like you to answer my questions and disprove Dvergar's argument.
There is no argument because there are neither facts nor logic. A metaphor is not an "argument".
Azelma wrote:
Your parents support you - mine don't support me at all. I haven't received a dime from them since I was 21. This is fact.
And it's a fact they got you where you are.
