DaVinci

You're welcome. I've been thinking about therapy recently too. I think Stef could do a whole show, if he hasn't already, on the difference in abuse between an older and younger sibling. I would be curious to see if there are any patterns.

I have my doubts about the authenticity of that post. If it is true then that is truly messed up. I'm not sure what to say other than that we have to raise our children to reject violence and this type of coercive behavior.

I'm a younger sibling too and I know exactly what you are talking about, and I'm sorry you had to experience that. I'm falling apart and I watch my brother just move on with his life like nothing is wrong. It sucks. All I can really say is that we are in the same boat together and if you want to talk I'll listen.

I feel like if I take your argument to it's logical conclusion that you would be arguing that there is no such thing as a sperm and an egg, just a collection of atoms arranged in a specific way. So why not just say that?

From what I understand everyone starts in the womb as a female and then is dosed with testosterone. This testosterone then will change the female pattern brain into a male pattern one and a female body into a male body. It is just sometimes the levels of testosterone are not what they should be and you end up with a female pattern brain in a male body or vice versa.

I would argue that a male brain in a female body or vice versa is very real and can be proven through science, so the idea of someone referring to themselves as transgender in regards to this happening with themselves is okay by me. I don't see any reason for the term to not exist.

For me video games have always been about having fun, having a challenge, and being able to have a shared experience with others.

Out of curiosity why does everyone keep mentioning "sophist tricks"? This is not the first time recently I've heard that thrown out and I was wondering exactly what that entails.

So he can't offer healing without himself being healed? Well, he has already gone against what you are saying. He said that he has reached out to them, apologized, committed himself to helping them, and is paying for therapy. You are saying he should not do these things because he has not healed himself 100%? Also, I never said he should not heal. Just that since he is committed to making amends that the healing of his victims should come first. I'm not sure why that is getting me down voted to say the healing of the victim should come first.

To me, your healing should take a backseat to the healing of those you have hurt. The therapy you mentioned paying for is a step in the right direction.

Well, like I said maybe I should have phrased the original topic a little differently, or expanded on my original post a little more. I didn't think everyone was going to think I was not accepting the truth by saying I was taking a break for a while.

I'm having a similar discussion here. http://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/38270-what-is-the-difference-between-a-bully-and-someone-who-stands-up-for-themselves/

I am always trying to understand the other person's point of view, and more importantly to me how they arrived at that point. However, the problem I have is that my understanding of them as a human being, to them, is an understanding that they can treat me however they wish. Like, a professor used to tell me "silence is understanding". Meaning if he would explain how to work through a problem and no one said anything he assumed they understood. So, it's sort of like that with people in these types of situations. Their behavior being met by my silence is seen as an understanding that their behavior is okay when this is not the case. My understanding is thus being used against me. As for using bad words, I understand what you are saying, but I also think this plays into what I just said about understanding. I've found with these types of people if I "understand" them they continue to have the same opinion, and I continue to have to be on the defensive around them because my understanding has led them to believe they can treat others how they want. If on the other hand I flat out tell them that their opinion is BS, or that they are being an ass to me or someone else I notice they actually back down from their opinion if just by a little. I think certain people thrive on others being nice and understanding and so sometimes you just have to call someone out and maybe curse at them to get a point across.

I listened to one of his audio book series a few years ago and it had a nice effect on my life. I think the reason why he had you do so many journals and exercises was because of his whole philosophy about putting things into action and not just passively listening.

I'm curious to hear some personal stories of the donation based model being lucrative. Not just sufficient, as in barely paying bills and scraping by, but actually lucrative. I'm thinking about using the donation based model for a project I am working on right now, but I see a lot of cases where people pour their heart and soul into a product and any money they receive is not nearly enough to justify the amount of work they do. So does anyone have any personal stories of success with this model? Are there certain methods that work better than others? I'm sure someone has been successful with this model, and success must be leaving clues behind to pick up on. Any thoughts on this topic would be great.

So have you completely decided against telling them these thoughts in person? I wrote a big long letter to someone one time and I know it got dismissed easily. I doubt they would even read a letter that would have to be the length you need it to be to say what actually needs to be said.

Interesting stuff. I lol'ed.

There are several instances. I'm not sure I can do them justice by typing them out due to how much backstory and context one instance would require, but the short answer is yes. I would say my parents and my brother, and some of my friends have all made me question whether me standing up for myself against them is me being a bully. I say this because of the reaction I get from them in regards to me defending myself, and it being a similar reaction to how I know I have reacted to actual bullies in the past.

Megatron? I thought you died and became Galvatron? But seriously, I guess I should have phrased my original post a little better. It seems like people took me saying "I am overwhelmed by the truth" as meaning "I don't accept the truth". That is not the case. It's just a big meal, and I have a tiny fork and I have to take a bathroom break every now and then to let things settle down.

Not a problem

No, I'm not talking about you in my post, or anyone else here. I'm just talking about past conversations I've had in other places. Sorry if I didn't communicate myself very well. I have seen that series, but thanks for reminding me about them. I will have to retake a look at those.

My suggestion would be to become independent of them as soon as possible. I know it is sometimes easier to live a normal life when someone is helping you out, but when the people helping you have toxic personalities it can often times be a higher price to pay to put up with them than to try to find a high paying job.

I am certainly trying to pay attention to when a conversation is not a discussion or debate of ideas, and instead becomes something more toxic that I should jump ship on. This actually makes me think of another topic I posted here recently where I brought up the idea of how defending my viewpoints in the past has gotten me met with animosity, and I am the one who gets accused of being harsh and unrelenting. It seems debate centered around having to defend yourself from others can lead to some odd situations where you can end up being made to look like the bad guy.

Yeah, I think that is why I have been approaching internet debates more from the perspective of having someone from an opposing viewpoint challenge me so that I am forced to tackle the material in a more thorough way.

I am surprised how certain people react based on previous conversations I've had where they seemed rational. So in subsequent discussions I was surprised to see attitudes towards listening and discussing become more dismissive and hostile. When this happens I will usually switch from trying to discuss whatever idea we were discussing to try and understand why they feel the way they do. I guess this is similar to Stef talking about how many atheists just switch from worshiping a God to worshiping the State. That they talk about reason and evidence but still have irrational views. So in that sense I usually am trying to make sense of what is making someone be that way.