Joss Post at Whedonesque

POSTED BY: FireflyPassenger
UPDATED: Monday, June 11, 2007 08:49
VIEWED: 40107
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ZOID

Friday, June 1, 2007 4:43 PM

KWb posted (a couple of times, but more succinctly thus):

Quote:
...That's what I meant about fantasy vs. reality. In my mental fantasy world, "gun control" sounded like a great idea. But in reality, the only way it could work would have to involve the application of magical powers that would cause all guns everywhere to disintegrate when the law was passed...

I am 49 years old. *does math, realizes that he is 7 years older than KWb* I guarandamntee you that I have seen more horrific things than you have...and more sublimely good things than you have, in my time here on Earth.

You ain't thinking.

..But, that's every American's God-given right.

And I wouldn't take your precious handgun from you. Would I like to see a ban on handguns and assault weapons? Yes. Would I like to see everyone who commits a crime (whether intentional or not) with a handgun or assault weapon sentenced to a 'Hard-40'? Yes. Do I write letters to Congressmen, sign petitions, stand in picket lines, et cetera, to get them outlawed? No. I just go my own way and let people behave any way they choose to. But if I hear somebody standing on a (website) corner advocating handgun ownership, they're gonna get a disputation from me, whether it makes them uncomfortable or not.

I'm a staunch supporter of the rule of law. It may not be perfect, but it's the only way in which a society may govern itself. So, you are breaking no laws by owning a handgun. Motorcyclists who operate their bike without a helmet (in states that allow it) are breaking no laws by refusing to wear a helmet. But anyone who does so is a damned idiot.

I grew up in Texas. People in Texas love their weapons. I have first-hand experience of handguns, and first-hand experience of the gamut of pros and cons that accompany their utilization. The cons outweigh the pros by an overwhelming margin, based on that experience.

I used to ride motorcycles, from age 15 to age 42 (same age you are now, coincidentally). I have an Advanced Riders' card. I never rode without a helmet, even though the state in which I now reside allows it. One morning, on the way to work, the unforeseeable occurred and the motorcycle and I parted company in the classic 'T-bone', which any biker can describe for you. In the process, the bone (ulna) inches above my right (dominant) wrist snapped; my left tibia fractured and ruptured the flesh of my leg below the knee; my left kneecap shattered into eight fragments and took with it all of the ligaments in my knee. I also struck the car with the top of my head; my helmet saved my life. I stood up, looked at my left leg and observed that it was in a configuration that can only be thought of as gruesomely incorrect; I decided to go ahead and flop back down to the pavement and await the meat wagon. While I was waiting, I called my boss and informed her that I wouldn't make it to the tower on time to run the opening checklist, because I had been involved in a motorcycle accident...

Now, I don't ride motorcycles anymore. For the rest of my days I will walk with a limp; I'll be unable to use my right hand normally; I'll live in constant pain from nerve damage in my lower left leg. No amount of preparation or experience could have altered what happened to me that day. My mistake was in thinking that I was the master of my own fate, learned, experienced and skillful. I'm not stupid enough to make that mistake twice.

Maybe that makes me different from you. You tell me: Who lives in a fantasy? A person who fully understands that humans are fallible and that Reality doesn't care about our carefully laid plans? Or a person with a total disregard for the power of Chaotic Effect and the self-centered, unrealistic belief that one's fate can ever be mastered?

Incredulously,

zoid

P.S.
The day that Chaos entered my life and taught me how foolish I was to believe that I could ever control or conquer it, I paid a high price, and I could have died. When Chaos schools you, hopefully it will on

KAYLEEWANNABEE

Friday, June 1, 2007 5:22 PM

*covers ears* I can't hear you....lalalalalalala

As I said previously, I'm done responding to you regarding self-defense issues, Zoid. If you want to exercise your fingers for the benefit of other readers, go ahead, but I've tuned out your frequency.

Have a nice day!

-----
It's my job to incite powerful yearning in the hearts and loins of my clients. No, silly, I'm not a Companion...I work at an advertising agency.

KAYLEEWANNABEE

Friday, June 1, 2007 5:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by redhead:
I would have to agree that I would put the vicious drunk out but...Only after having attempted several times to talk her down....I felt cheated that she was thrown off so quickly....Maybe a some Hot Liquid of Listening and some homemade bread with a slather of common sense might settle her down.

PS. Got Freckles? Then not only do you have more fun but "A face without freckles is like a sky without stars!"
Stephen Majercik

I never said she was a drunk, just vicious. Drunk eventually wears off, but some people are vicious 24/7.

I can see your point...but I can also see the moderators' point. It's much harder to have a civil conversation than it is to name-call and make ad hominem attacks. The anonymity of the message boards makes it even easier to say things online that you'd never dream of saying to someone's face.

I think that generally speaking, you're just a much nicer and kinder person than I am, Redhead!

That's where my age shows...I'm reached my lifetime quotient of being around nastiness, so I like it when people stand up against it.

And no...I don't have freckles, since L'Oreal doesn't make them (they're responsible for my red hair, LOL!) But I do have green eyes, so people tell me I look Irish.

-----
It's my job to incite powerful yearning in the hearts and loins of my clients. No, silly, I'm not a Companion...I work at an advertising agency.

ZOID

Friday, June 1, 2007 5:42 PM

KayleeWannabee replied:

Quote:
Have a nice day!

You too!

v/r,
-zed

P.S.
If you really meant the other stuff about not engaging me anymore on the subject, then stop saying that I live in a fantasy world and implying that I don't know 'the reality' as well as you, because you are so much older and wiser than anyone who disagrees with you. You are neither. Buh-bye!

MALICIOUS

Friday, June 1, 2007 5:58 PM

MY hair is currently "Sparkling Amber."

Mal-licious

I'm going to add cursing and the hurling about of things to my repertoire.

REDHEAD

Friday, June 1, 2007 6:56 PM

I'm not sure I'm a

Quote:
nicer and kinder person

but I do know that age isn't likely to change me. I'm 47. I've also reached my lifetime quota of nastiness but I've found that most times (as in martial arts) confrontation only exacerbates hostility whereas a graceful sidestep and a pat on the back can help people to at least see your side and drop their confrontation level even if they never agree with you.

--too bad about the freckles but having green eyes makes you lucky.

Lots of us redheads here apparently whether natural or new. Maybe we should run a pic thread and flaunt our colors

PONYXPRESSINC

Friday, June 1, 2007 7:19 PM

Hello 6 String

Thanks for the link, I read it with interest and it was well worth it. Because of the subject matter of our conversation I had a pretty good idea of what was coming, but still, the contrast between the almost carnivale atmosphere and the ending was pretty sharp.

With regard to remembering our pasts, I'm a history buff so I'm right with you there.

Quote:
PONYXPRESSINC -
Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The human excuse may be religion, or honour, or pride but I think (and I really do accept that I could be wrong, it’s just an opinion) that this is just cloak for a basic animal desire to ensure that it's our genes that are passed on."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Very interesting concept. I've never looked at it this way before, but when you say it like that..... I think I'm sold.

Wheeeeeeeeee! I've sold a theory.

I may have more if I ever get the chance to sit down and read the rest of the thread . :D

~*~

"The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." - Winston Churchill.

KAYLEEWANNABEE

Friday, June 1, 2007 8:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by redhead:
I'm not sure I'm a
Quote:
nicer and kinder person
...I've found that most times (as in martial arts) confrontation only exacerbates hostility whereas a graceful sidestep and a pat on the back can help people to at least see your side and drop their confrontation level even if they never agree with you.

Ahem...[stage whisper] I've been trying that for a few posts now...not working, apparently.

[/stage whisper]

So....how about those Red Sox?!?

Quote:
--too bad about the freckles but having green eyes makes you lucky.

Hey, I could use some o' that!

-----
It's my job to incite powerful yearning in the hearts and loins of my clients. No, silly, I'm not a Companion...I work at an advertising agency.

ZOID

Saturday, June 2, 2007 7:45 AM

'Lish? Is that you?!

I thought you'd shuffled off to Buffalo. Where you been hanging out?

I hope you are keeping well. ...And having some fun. Remember: You deserve it. It's not good to be a grown-up, all the time. Gives you lines. (NB: I've got so many new ones, I thought my mirror was busted the other day. )

'Sparkling Amber', hmmm? Sounds like a microbrew. Errr, so, that would be like a darker strawberry blonde/light brunette or sumfin'? I bet it looks good on ya'... (but then again, what doesn't?)

Yours always...

Devotedly,

zoid

P.S.
Did you ever get your house painted?
_________________________________________________

"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'

MALICIOUS

Saturday, June 2, 2007 3:16 PM

BUFFALO?!? Why would I go someplace COLDER?? I'm not a Bills fan. Plus, I don't like their wings: too hot, not enough meat. Give me a nice, juicy thigh anyday.....Oh! I think I doubled my entendre without realizing it.

I hang out here once in a while, trying to keep up on any news. I make fun of ChrisIsAll and ManWithPez. That's always fun.

I am doing very well! I just finished school (at MY age, that's an accomplishment!) and I will receive my certificate in inferior design in August. Yay me!!

Nick and I are back together, sans the booze. Yay Nick! We are not yet re-married, I want to give the sobriety a full year before discussing it. But the prognosis is on the positive end of the scale (Fingers are crossed. Other limbs......not so much! ).

The house is painted, the bathrooms are redone, the kitchen is redone, the fence is going up. All of which makes the property value go up as well. Things are good for me. Which balances how badly things were just a few years ago. A time I thought would never end, my friend.

Firefly and Serenity are still in my DVD player (it holds 5 discs, coincidence? I think not). Every time I re-watch, I STILL cannot believe they took it off the air. What singular stupidity hovers over Hollyweird? All this time we've thought it was smog.

I avoid mirrors these days. I am no longer reflected in them. Some over-weight old lady is in there! Spooky.

Love and miss you,

'lish

Mal-licious

I'm going to add cursing and the hurling about of things to my repertoire.

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