Nuclear War must become obsolete OP/ED

[henryp]

The issue of nuclear annihilation is serious.  This thread is not.  That's why I make jokes here, but would refrain from juggling watermelons next to a launch button.

Brian is indeed known for being preachy enough that he can derail other threads with this sort of stuff.

But this is his thread.... and yes, nuclear annihilation is serious, but if you actually read the original post in full you will see he's correct about everything he says in it.

I haven't read anything else he's said on this thread, so I dunno if I agree with any of that. But the original post is spot on.

The first 7 seconds of this video is an example of why the OP is hilarious.   Listen to the laughs he gets for saying he doesn't care for Hitler.





You can replace Hitler with Nuclear War, and you have the premise of this thread.

[Edwardo Piet]

Brian is indeed known for being preachy enough that he can derail other threads with this sort of stuff.

But this is his thread.... and yes, nuclear annihilation is serious, but if you actually read the original post in full you will see he's correct about everything he says in it.

I haven't read anything else he's said on this thread, so I dunno if I agree with any of that. But the original post is spot on.

The first 7 seconds of this video is an example of why the OP is hilarious.   Listen to the laughs he gets for saying he doesn't care for Hitler.  





You can replace Hitler with Nuclear War, and you have the premise of this thread.

That's funny because it's an understatement that is intentionally designed to be humorous and delivered in a humorous manner. It's supposed to be a funny comment.

The original post in this thread is nothing like that. It's merely a list of true opinions that are anti-nuclear war. It's also not as obvious at all as "Hitler is bad M'kay".... and it's not simply saying that "a nuclear war would be bad m'kay"... it's a list of true opinions that are pro-peace and anti-war and pro-nuclear disarmament and anti-nuclear arms...in a world where very many people are pro-war and pro nuclear weapons, and to them it isn't obvious at all.

There are people who are pro disarmament and anti-arms and there are people who aren't. Brian lists a bunch of opinions I agree with and takes a position I agree with, in his original post. He says a bunch of true things. That's absolutely nothing like understating the fact that Hitler was a bad guy for humorous effect in front of an audience.

[Jackalope]

Nuclear war won't become obsolete until greater means of mass destruction make it so. War in general will not become obsolete unless and until we achieve a post-resource scarcity society and overcome human tribalism.

[The Grand Nudger]

The first part is within our reach, even if the latter isn't.  I'd even go so far as to suggest that post resource scarcity tribalism may express itself in an entirely less deleterious way. We may only have to accomplish that one already achievable thing.

[Brian37]

Nuclear war won't become obsolete until greater means of mass destruction make it so.  War in general will not become obsolete unless and until we achieve a post-resource scarcity society and overcome human tribalism.

Dude, I am not being unrealistic here. I accept that evolution is what it is and competition for resources won't end.

I am talking about the one advantage our species has IF we choose to use it, and that is a very high level of self awareness. I am not claiming anything new. Sagan in his Pale Blue Dot speech put it far more eloquently than I will ever be able to. But there are points in history where a rise in more voices are important. Now is that time.

War I don't see ever ending. If the best we can do as a species is limit it to ground without global destruction that is still better than a collective suicide. 

The one thing humans cannot afford is our own extinction. Like I said, nobody wins if everybody dies.

[The Grand Nudger]

Those two things aren't immutable, though.  We don't have to be hostages to our evolutionary baggage and we don't have to compete for resources.  We're capable, as you put it, of self awareness...and obviously we're capable of cooperation.  

We probably wouldn't even need to change who we are in the least if we could find a credible global enemy.  A-li-ens come on down and get shot at....we need ya. 

[Brian37]

Those two things aren't immutable, though.  We don't have to be hostages to our evolutionary baggage and we don't have to compete for resources.  We're capable, as you put it, of self awareness...and obviously we're capable of cooperation.  

We probably wouldn't even need to change who we are in the least if we could find a credible global enemy.  A-li-ens come on down and get shot at....we need ya. 

We don't have to default to our base instincts no. There can be positive competition. What we have now is global competition based on speed and greed. But I don't see positive competition as a bad thing. That would be where people get together to problem solve and provide, not exploit. 

I am no fan of the little green men Area 51 bullshit. But I could see a plot of a si fi movie, where space aliens passed buy us, observed us and said, "Those are some violent fucks, no thanks."

[henryp]

That's funny because it's an understatement that is intentionally designed to be humorous and delivered in a humorous manner. It's supposed to be a funny comment.

The original post in this thread is nothing like that. It's merely a list of true opinions that are anti-nuclear war. It's also not as obvious at all as "Hitler is bad M'kay".... and it's not simply saying that "a nuclear war would be bad m'kay"... it's a list of true opinions that are pro-peace and anti-war and pro-nuclear disarmament and anti-nuclear arms...in a world where very many people are pro-war and pro nuclear weapons, and to them it isn't obvious at all.

There are people who are pro disarmament and anti-arms and there are people who aren't. Brian lists a bunch of opinions I agree with and takes a position I agree with, in his original post. He says a bunch of true things. That's absolutely nothing like understating the fact that Hitler was a bad guy for humorous effect in front of an audience.

Perhaps if I made a thread in R'lyeh called "Secular Bores must become obsolete OP/ED" that would be more in your comedic wheelhouse?

[Brian37]

That's funny because it's an understatement that is intentionally designed to be humorous and delivered in a humorous manner. It's supposed to be a funny comment.

The original post in this thread is nothing like that. It's merely a list of true opinions that are anti-nuclear war. It's also not as obvious at all as "Hitler is bad M'kay".... and it's not simply saying that "a nuclear war would be bad m'kay"... it's a list of true opinions that are pro-peace and anti-war and pro-nuclear disarmament and anti-nuclear arms...in a world where very many people are pro-war and pro nuclear weapons, and to them it isn't obvious at all.

There are people who are pro disarmament and anti-arms and there are people who aren't. Brian lists a bunch of opinions I agree with and takes a position I agree with, in his original post. He says a bunch of true things. That's absolutely nothing like understating the fact that Hitler was a bad guy for humorous effect in front of an audience.

Perhaps if I made a thread in R'lyeh called "Secular Bores must become obsolete OP/ED" that would be more in your comedic wheelhouse?

"Secular" damned, I din't know that was a bad thing. Seems to have worked for the west for quite a while.

[Angrboda]