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Re: Empathy and what it means to be "human"

Do I like change? I neither like nor dislike it. I have, however, literally picked up, left everything behind and moved half way across the country once before. That was interesting. I have been in and out of the military. I’ve been married and single. And I have very recently moved again, temporarily, to live with family in another city as a way of taking a break from my normal routine. So I don’t have a problem with change.

So you not just embrace change, you initiate it as well, in order to observe and be involved in the experiences it might bring forth. Did those experiences add to your perceptions and view of this world, of the types of people around you?

Sure it did. Reading, writing and ‘rithmatic. And I learned how someone like me can navigate through the world of humans. It’s funny, but in a sense, society doesn’t really change much from high school and that’s because the people themselves do not fundamentally change. So many of them think they grow up, but in their heart of hearts, they never stop being a frightened child.

Yeah, many people just don’t change a lot. Why? I don’t know. Probably being stubborn, I guess. Resisting change and so on. And then there’s evidence(supposedly) that suggests many people are unable to accept certain types of changes.

I’m not sure. It’s the tone, the choice of words. Usually I can just tell. But of course, in your case, it helped that you chose the name Dee, which is normally a feminine name.
All good points. I’ll keep that in mind.

Of course. Aren’t normals known for doing things like this, things that are in the exact opposite of their rational self interest? :-)


No, I wouldn't date one. Namely because it would be like playing with fire. That's all. No, not making any assumptions. But mainly, because it’s not easy to deal with egoism, nihilism, narcissism, etc. without leading to conflict. And conflict of any kind usually leads to problems for either or both sides. So, there you go.


You know, I think you might actually be onto something here. At least, partly. We should never, however, underestimate the power of true belief to motivate.

Heh… hmm, makes a lot of sense. True beliefs? Hmm… makes sense too. To me, though, that’s a silly thing actually. To believe, wholly and totally in a concept without learning how to question it or understand how someone arrived at the concept would be silly(neurology, geography, cultural, disease, etc.).


Advaita Vedanta and Dzogchen are the non-dual schools of Hinduism and Buddhism respectively. They are, in essence, supposed to serve as teachings which point the adherent directly to the absolute. Existentialism is a Western philosophy that focuses on the subjectivity of the individual, his “responsibility” to face the world, his self and the truth of his “existence”, alone. I’m greatly simplifying all of this, but if you want to know I’m sure you’ll find a way to learn more.

To the absolute? Hmm… interesting. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later, what this “absolute” means.

Existentialism: interesting concept. Thanks for taking your time to explain.

Incidentally, the movie scene you wrote out: which movie did it come from?

Re: Empathy and what it means to be "human"

Also, forgot about this:

And no offense, but it sounds like your country sucks! If gaining power isn’t even fun then what’s the point of all that oppression?


Oh because someone(Lee Kuan Yew) already beat the others to the top. He maneuvered to the very top, established himself as Prime Minister(now Senior Minister) and formed a personality cult here, and stuff like that. People incredibly worship him: pour praises on him, attribute all their hard work to him and so on. It's incredible, actually: the machinations and how he controls the entire country.

And also sickening because of how the masses just deceive themselves and keep parroting like some "brain-dead morons". And this guy is amazing. Because the American and many other governments often have no choice but to give in, should the government make demands. Just think about it, forcing someone to go against everything they believe in. And to make things even more hilarious, the government of my country supposedly co-operates with countries like Myanmar, North Korea, Iran and so on. No, I'm not paranoid. I just read the news from various sources every now and then.

Hmmm... I could make a lot of reasons about the oppression but mostly, just think of a much more "democratic" version of "North Korea", where oppression is just another "tool" for the rulers to use, to keep the masses in line. Oh, we're more civilized than that to have concentration camps like the North Koreans, really. But that's for now. Unseeable for the future. And the oppression policy is from the old days of the British: the policy of "divide and conquer" they used to gain control of the people here.

Btw, a tip from me: if your country/state wants to implement IDs and link them to, or treat them like, your Social Security Numbers, and also computerize much of the city/state and link up much of the state's services to this ID, just say NO. If they implement that full-scale, the government will probably have access to your bank details and every other single **** thing on your life, that's been computerized. Just imagine this: a network that will link up your dental records, phone records, fingerprints, driving records, family records, library records, bank records, occupational records, your travelling records, criminal records(if one has any) and possibly even your DNA or even which websites you last visited and many other details, with just a couple of commands. The implications are really even worse should many or most of the states start co-operating and sharing their data. Last I heard a few years ago, I know some American states were already trying parts of this out. Hmmm... I wonder if they continued or aborted that practise.

Re: Empathy and what it means to be "human"

Dee
Did those experiences add to your perceptions and view of this world, of the types of people around you?


I learned that there is a lot of truth to the old cliché "wherever you go, there you are." Wherever my travels have taken me, I have always come back to the realization that although I am biologically a member of the human race, psychologically I am an alien. There is no home for someone like me, no "true" role. I am incapable of believing in or emotionally investing in any of it.

The upside of being on the outside of things is the enhanced vision it brings. I see things with greater clarity. Notice I don't say perfect clarity. There is no such thing.