Things that pee you off...

[MargieH 7,600]

@mary1947  I so agree with your last paragraph!  But I would go even further than that, as I believe it is wrong to take away someone’s life even if they have taken away someone else’s.

 

[The Pianoman 1,535]

I think hanging is too good for them. Should keep them alive and make them suffer.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

3 hours ago, mary1947 said:

what if you were that person standing by the rope waiting !!!!! and you are innocent?

What if you are guilty and your victims were innocent? 

 

I'm playing devil's advocate here. I have never been in favour of capital punishment but I can understand those who are. I've never been in favour of abortion, either. The law does not recognise existence as a person whilst life is still in utero. But it is life, nonetheless.

 

Life is cheap. It always was and probably always will be. We are very good at destroying it but cannot create it. Says a lot about us.

[DJ360 6,730]

I'd have thought the recent release of a 'Convicted Rapist', who spent 17 years in Gaol for a crime he did not commit, including time he could have avoided had he 'done a deal' by confessing to something he didn't do..would be enough to finally silence the 'hang 'em and flog 'em' brigade.

 

Not sure if it was Goethe, or Neitzsche, or both who urged us to 'Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.'

 

“But thus I counsel you, my friends: Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.  Mistrust all who talk much of their justice! Verily, their souls lack more than honey. And when they call themselves the good and the just, do not forget that they would be pharisees, if only they had—power.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

 

There are a number of more modern and relevant terms which could replace 'pharisees'.

[DJ360 6,730]

Looking at previous discussions about terms describing ethnicity, or other human characteristics, such as height, weight, etc.. and offence taken.. or not.

 

It seems to me that it is mostly white British, or white European/American folks who protest loudest about being denied their 'right' to 'free speech'. Any such folks also often try to portray those who disagree with them as 'politically correct, 'snowflakes', 'woke', or whatever.

 

Think about that for a moment, because in my view, what is happening there is a deliberate attempt to preserve a comfortable 'status quo', in which the 'old' terms' are OK, because those who were always in the ascendency, continue to be so.  That is the real purpose behind terms like 'Woke' etc...

 

Which brings us to the question of who, exactly, is trying to re-write History here?  For example, slavery was enthusiastically embraced not just in the US, but in the UK too, to the extent that UK slave owners actually demanded, and got, compensation for the loss of their slaves after abolition. Simply pointing out that others, such as Arabs etc., were also involved on the trade, doesn't excuse it.

 

For what it's worth, I'm not in favour of, or in the business of, trying to 're-write' history, or to purge our streets of historic statues etc, but what is more important in my view is that we all learn, or are taught, about our history.. good and bad.. and work to construct our society and our social attitudes in better ways for the future. 

 

It also strikes me that some of the discussion in this thread is close to 'political'.

 

 

[Brew 5,419]

Capital punishment? Civilisation is, like beauty, only skin deep. Tell me all the arguments for turning the other cheek and I will listen, and may even nod in agreement. BUT, When a fully grown adult deliberately hurt my son on a bank holiday in Crich Museum... it did not go well for him.

[Beekay 5,151]

Sounds intriguing Brew, would love to hear more. Unless it's a private personal thing of course.

[DJ360 6,730]

Here's  one that 'pee's' me off....

 

People... including many supposedly educated people..  who use the expression 'The proof is in the pudding'

 

NO IT ISN'T!!! That's a nonsensical saying...

 

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

 

Geddit?

 

Rant over.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

You've clearly never eaten one of my puddings!! 

[Brew 5,419]

Not to beat around the bush or add insult to injury, but there are several whimsical idioms that do not cut the mustard sense-wise. However, we shouldn’t cry over spilt milk, a little elbow grease will soon have it cleaned up without stealing anyone’s thunder or raining on their parade.

[Cliff Ton 10,467]

You've been taking too many cliché pills.

[Brew 5,419]

1 minute ago, Cliff Ton said:

You've been taking too many cliché pills.

Hmmm, maybe, I suppose the proof is in the pudding! 

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

Never forgetting that least said is soonest mended!

[Oztalgian 3,298]

Back on one of the subjects that regularly pisses me off, packaging.

Tissues, you have to destroy four or five of the first ones in a new box before you can get one out in one piece or without dragging two or three others with it? Not to mention the thickness of them, so thin and flimsy you need two or more for a good blow otherwise you face an environmental disaster.

 

Packaging that uses a piece of clear plastic stuck on a rigid plastic "dish" that contains the product. There is usually a little tab that is not stuck down that you are supposed to use to tear off the rest of the film. The little tab tears off but the rest of the plastic stays there. This sort of packaging is often used for ham, salami, other meats etc. In the good old days the meats were cut on a slicer, placed on greaseproof/waxed paper and wrapped in butchers paper, simples

 

The plastic bottles that our HP or tomato ketchup comes in have a silver foil seal over the top of the bottle. It has a little tab that you are supposed to use to pull it off. How the flippin' heck do you get to lift that tab up?

[Oztalgian 3,298]

On 9/30/2019 at 11:11 PM, FLY2 said:

fly tipping or vandalism

Talking of vandalism what do posters on here think should happen to the noisome little oik that cut down the tree at Sycamore Gap in Northumberland?

I'll post my suggestion after I hear from others.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

Bury him at the foot of it. It's a pity it didn't fall on him when he cut it down.

[DJ360 6,730]

Even though I don't like sycamores invading my local wood, which is typical Oak/Beech/Birch .with odd Chestnuts etc.. I'm appalled by both the act and the mentality which led to this outrage.

 

That said, I'm not sure we yet know who is responsible.  Yes a young lad was arrested and may be responsible, but I doubt he acted alone.  It's all very odd.

 

On the same topic, but if I may be allowed a brief return to 'systems' talk.  Yesterday on Radio, a tree specialist was asked about what can be done.  He claimed he could get a large replacement to the site and planted. But.. he also stated that in the meantime, it would be necessary to maintain the particular 'soil boilogy', which accompanies Sycamores, by planting smaller ones in the immediate area. I imagine he's talking about the fungal mycelia etc, which are crucial for all trees to succeed.

It's the reverse of the argument I use when asking youngsters not to ruin the woodland floor in our local woods, with their mountain bikes, and the spades they use for digging jumps, berms etc. 

I just hope the Tree Specialist has more success than me....

 

 

[philmayfield 6,140]

We call sycamores ‘weed trees’ in these parts. They drop their winged seeds and grow vigourously everywhere. We’ve certainly got at least one large one and also three maples of the same size and family, Aceraceae. I wouldn’t cut a tree down without good reason though.

[Stuart.C 491]

Unknown persons planted a new sapling nearby overnight.
No confirmation as to whether it's a Sycamore or not.

 

 

[woody 552]

Should be given a punishment that not only sorts him out for life but is a warning to others that this sort of mindless vandalism will not be tolerated. If we do not get a grip on society very soon the slippery slope is going to get a lot steeper.

[philmayfield 6,140]

Sadly you can’t mete out much of a sentence to an under 18. Most unlikely to get remanded into custody. Now that a 60 year old is also on the scene (probably ‘grassed up’ by the 16 year old) there could be a harsher sentence for him in the offing. He still won’t get what he deserves though. We’re pretty soft on sentencing.

[woody 552]

Never too early to teach discipline, pity the little oik's parents didn't do it earlier. Hopefully he will not contribute to the gene pool.

[Beekay 5,151]

They should use the wood, make a cross and crucify the little bleeder !

[Oztalgian 3,298]

9 hours ago, woody said:

Hopefully he will not contribute to the gene pool.

Apparently there has been another arrest.

If there are two of them I would tie them to the tree and cut their nuts off with a blunt chainsaw to make sure they cannot contribute further to the gene pool.

It really is about time that they introduced mandatory sentencing to stop namby-pamby judges letting offenders off with a slap on the wrist. Any supporters?

[woody 552]

With you all the way. If the judges won't do the job efficiently get rid of them and put somebody there that will. All you hear is "I have got rights". The people who have rights are the law abiding members of society, not the little urban terrorists that abuse the system.