Hi ellgee!

How do you know he's from here? Isn't there a "people search" on Yahoo?

izzie:

I definitely applaud you for your unwavering optimism and tremendous strength after such difficulties. Not everyone is capable of maintaining an attitude such as yours.

However, you said, "God does not lay upon us any more than we can handle." I disagree with that. First, let's lay out some of the unspoken premises: (1) God Exists and (2) God is actively responsible for the external things that happen in our lives. These are requirements for the statement you made to be true, and I won't argue against them.

Your conclusion assumes that all hardships can be overcome by the victim. This is where I have a real problem with your statement. People have been mangled so badly in automobile accidents or burned so badly in fire that they cannot be given enough morphine to dull the perpetual, agonizing pain without killing them. Some people have faced horrific, traumatic events that have left them forever ruined emotionally. Others experience the effects of tragic head wounds, leaving them with the inability to carry on a conversation or care for themselves in even the smallest ways.

Crippling pain, agonizing illness, mental and emotional devastation, and horrific death — do these all fit in the category of "things we can handle?" Some people are stronger than others and can handle the stresses of life more easily, but if you claim that God never piles onto anyone's back more than the bearer can stand then your reasoning is flawed. Clearly _some_ people withstand great hardship, as you have, but some people are not as strong as you are, and many people have experienced many worse things than you have.

If you believe that God has given you the strength to overcome adversity, by all means give praise. But please do not do a disservice to those who have seen loved ones crumble under life's hardships by stating that God only gives each person the load s/he can bear. It is insulting and carries the implication that those who have not triumphed are somehow deserving of their fate.

(And no, I'm not specifically talking about myself here. I have not experienced a crushing blow, nor has anyone close to me. But I have seen agony, mental illness, and death, and it is clear that not everyone is capable of withstanding the burdens of life.)

I'm not trying to be difficult, nor is it my wish to attack you. I realize that your statement is a common one, and I'm sorry to single you out. However, people should be more mindful of tossing around clichés such as this.

Why is this thread up for deletion? I hate the new "vote to delete" system of moderation — it puts the fate of a thread in the hands of morons. This isn't spam and it isn't an advertisement. It's humor. It may not be _your_ style of humor, but that's of no consequence. This thread breaks no rules and is relevant to the topic. Stop being stupid.

To be fair, being sucked into an alternate dimension did happen only that once and goes against the laws of physics, generally speaking.


Oh, on a different note, the woman who played Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) is starring in a new program in Britain in which she plays a high-class prostitute.

Just paste the URL here, and we can copy-and-paste into new browser windows. I love the Doctor Who series (original and new, but have been watching a lot of the new lately), and I think I speak for every Doctor Who fan on here (it might just be the two of us, though) when I say, "please post your captioned pics."

Kelly:

Would you mind elaborating? I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but I'm curious about your assertion that God is evil.

This is precisely the reason I hate this new "moderation" feature. Somebody didn't _get_ the joke, and nominated it for deletion as being in the wrong forum.

By the way, funfella, great joke!

"My Life" by Billy Joel
[Selected for its message of self-reliance.]

My favorite excerpt:

They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in a strange place
Then they'll tell you, you can't sleep with somebody else
Ah, but sooner or later you sleep in your own space
Either way it's okay, you wake up with yourself

I agree, MsWizard. The deletion feature is a little ridiculous, in my opinion. The only instances that should be up for deletion are vulgar attacks and spam — and it shouldn't be based on a vote. Let the owners of the site determine if something that's been nominated has violated any actual rules. And if a message is in the wrong forum, how about we nominate to have it moved rather than deleted?

I think the new censorship feature is simply a bad idea.

ArtGurl: You beat me to it! Mine was "Imagine" by John Lennon, too.

Okay, back to the drawing board.

I really hate this new so-called moderation, vote-to-delete system. This entire category is "New Members Welcome Area" — yet this topic is up for deletion due to _redundancy_? How many _different_ topics could there possibly be in this chat area?

July1965 posted to the "New Members Welcome Area" to say "hi" and to let people know he likes to chat and wants to make friends. I imagine that's what most of the topics in this chat subject say, more or less.

In any case, welcome July1965 — I hope you get this message before this thread is deleted.

*sheesh*

raise — raze

sanction — sanction

I once called my Mac a PC — but it was shortly after PC and I had
parted ways and I didn't mean anything by it. Honest! Old habits die
hard. PC meant nothing to me, I swear! Don't judge me...

Oops, sorry if I made it sound like I thought you were attacking anyone.
I started off tongue-in-cheek, but moved into a more serious tone rather
quickly. Most of my previous post was just me rambling, not in response
to anything specific you had written.

As for polyamory, I find it quite fascinating in all its varied flavors.
I'm not sure it is a relationship style that would work well for me, but
that doesn't diminish my appreciation for it. For most people, finding
compatibility and common ground between just two people is an
overwhelming task, and to add a third person to the mix often results in
a big mess. But, that doesn't mean that I think it's impossible or
without merit.

heatherrae wrote:
"jeff and i like being married so much we're gonna add another wife.
hows that for ya marriage party poopers."

Hey, I allowed for 25% chewy, chocolatey perfection. If you are counted
among them, I'm very happy for you. And, while I don't believe that
many people can make a polyamorous lifestyle work, I do believe that the
rare few who do are able to experience something wonderful that the rest
of us never will.

But, for those of us who are single, I don't see much reason to take the
legally binding plunge into marriage. I can have a loyal, trusting,
long-term relationship with a woman without marriage and be quite happy.
But, if things turn out to be "crap-filled," there's little tying me (or
her) to a bad relationship.

Here's an analogy: If I were to wager 100% of my money, and the payoff
if I win is the amount with which I started, why place the bet?
Additionally, if I lose, I forfeit 50% of my bet (which is a hell of a
lot better than loosing all of it, granted). And on top of that, the
bet has — at best — a 50-50 shot, and more likely only 1 in 4.
Nobody would gamble at a casino if these were the rules and the odds.

(Oh, and I'm not talking about the financial costs of divorce here, even
if there happens to be a similarity.)

Additionally, I have serious concerns about how marriage changes a
relationship. That intangible barrier to leaving the relationship seems
to make most people somewhat lazy in the relationship, tend to take
their partner for granted, and put less effort into growing as a couple.
It's not always like that, of course, but the tendency is there for many
people.

Further, I never want to question whether my partner is with me merely
because it's less hassle than leaving would be. And, I never want the
possibility for having similar motives for staying in a relationship
either. I think a commitment means much more if there's no external
restriction placed upon it — to know day after day that the commitment
exists because we actively choose it, not because we thought we wanted
it years ago and find ourselves "locked in."

That said, I would never tell anyone to not get married. I'll joke
about it, but in the end there are a lot of good marriages and I have no
place to tell others "it's not going to work." And, just as I want to
be allowed to make my own mistakes, I consider it everyone's right to
have that same freedom.

sandylou2456 wrote:
"Whew! My name did not appear on that list..."

That is _too_ funny. I almost wrote "Sandy" instead of "Jen" at the end
of the list.

Ah, good point, heatherrae (even if it may have been inadvertant).
Sometimes it takes a lot longer to get through the candy shell than
other times, and you find yourself reaching the crap-filled center much
too late (e.g., after kids are involved, etc.).

Greyhound wrote:
"Only 4 reasons? heck I can think ofba dozen great reasons to stay
single
in a few seconds."

Yeah, me too... Mary, Sue, Tonya, Sheila, Tammy, Beth, Rachael, Ann,
Julie, Amber, Karen, and Jen.


(Just kidding. I'm not _actually_ a womanizer. Oh, and all names above
were selected randomly — so nobody freak out if your name shows up.
It was just the luck of the draw.)

Getting married is like...

... a tootsie pop, where there's a 50% chance of getting a crap-filled
center that you eventually spit out, a 25% chance of getting a different
flavor of crap that you manage to swallow, and a 25% chance of getting
what you expected (i.e., the chewy center of chocolatey perfection).

My condolences.
: frown:

In all seriousness, of course, congratulations. Like everyone else,
you're free to ruin your life as you please.