* compare bullying to these things because I see our lives and societies as continual iterations of "variations on the same thing" over and over again. "It's a tough world kid, toughen up". Parents have it as their value system because THEIR parents (or their culture did) and they are mean to their kids to "make them stronger". Or they have a value system of, "Gotta grab what you can while you can. Screw the other guy, just worry about yourself. Beat down the weak and that makes you appear strong." Law of the jungle or whatever crap we've been fed. Goes to school. Value system goes with them. Taunts / beats up another. Kid withers away / stays the same / "toughens up" in response. All these kids grow up. Not individual kids. Millions of millions of kids worldwide. They follow the same patterns they learned in school ,that they learned from their peers who got it from their parents when they were toddlers or preschoolers or whatever. etc etc. Do I think any of this will change? No, it won't. But honestly, it's no different than bullying in school. The difference is fists are replaced with guns and bombs. "Gonna finish him once and for all" becomes possible in reality, instead of a schoolyard threat. Roleplaying becomes war games. You may see a big difference, but I don't. We're born, we live and we die and life inbetween is great and it also sucks balls too. What we do inbetween birth and death is a load of ridiculous nonsense. We make it important so our "lives have meaning". I'm all for it. Wanna blow yourself up for your cause? Go ahead. Want to declare big war and bomb someone? Go ahead. If I get bombed out of existence, what can I do? I'm just a plankton in the sea of life that's gonna get sucked up by a whale. But I'm going to enjoy my time as a plankton. Might as well. [1]3 mins * [2]Like * [3][IMG] [4]Kenneth Udut And yes, I'm doing my taxes with metaphors and analogies. That's what numbers are. I do my taxes and I pay. I have no problem with it. I like numbers. They behave themselves. But are they real? No. Numbers represent units. A unit is a thing that's the same as another thing. What two things are really the same? Money is a useful fiction that helps commerce move around and I play along because this silly game got me a mortgage and a house and utilities that I pay. We're part of this game, immersed in it. We want to 'win'. But it's still a game. References Visible links 1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/neoacademiaannex/permalink/654704077984726/?comment_id=655047471283720&offset=0&total_comments=233 2. Like this comment https://www.facebook.com/groups/neoacademiaannex/654698421318625/?notif_t=group_comment# 3. https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.udut?fref=ufi 4. https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.udut?fref=ufi