BradleyHillman

Easy, as a fellow "Christianity survivor" I can speak first hand too and neither of our experiences count to prove a point anyone with any debate experience should know about how much value anecdotal evidence holds. I'm not trying to "ban" Islam, I'm not trying to make it illegal, so the spousal abuse comparison is just completely out there and misses the entire message of what I said. The last lines there again, have absolutely nothing to do with this topic, as no one was advocating using government for anything. Once again "dangerous" institutions are not all equal. Jihad is not a "symptom" of religion. It's a symptom of Islam. Europeans and White Americans who want to address the problem of radical Islam are tired of kebab apologists and people like you trying to derail the conversation with unrelated comparisons to other religions who haven't nearly as much blood on their hands especially in modern times. As far as "a symptom of irrational thought" goes that once again shows a complete lack of nuance and pragmatism on your part. We don't need to focus on all schools of "irrational thought" equally. A side by side comparison of Christianity and Islam. Also comparison of Jesus and Muhammad. Historical comparison between Jihads and Crusades. Comparison between KKK/Spanish Inquisition to Jihad. Islamic terrorist attacks compared to next to no terrorism from the other “big 4″ (Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism)full list How do Muslims view terrorist groups? How do Muslims view attacks on Western troops? Muslims are permitted to lie to you to defend Islam. It’s called “hiding in plain sight”. This is called “Taqiya” in Islam. The “refugee” crisis falls under the category of Taqiya for many Jihadists. This isn’t a “refugee crisis” it’s a great replacement. The myth of Moderate Islam. 83% of Palestinians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans 62% of Jordanians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans 61% of Egyptians approve of attacks on Americans 42% of Turks approve of some or most groups that attack Americans 41% of Pakistanis approve of attacks on Americans 38% of Moroccans approve of attacks on Americans 32% of Indonesians approve of attacks on Americans [Source] A minority of Muslims disagreed entirely with terror attacks on Americans: Egypt 34%; Indonesia 45%; Pakistan 33% 42% of young Muslims in France believe suicide bombings are justified. 35% of young Muslims in Britain believe suicide bombings are justified 29% of young Muslims in Spain believe suicide bombings are justified. 26% of younger Muslims in America believe suicide bombings are justified. 22% of young Muslims in Germany believe suicide bombings are justified. [Source] Islam is a specific violent ideology that is very politically by nature. It requires a specific response. I've had enough of people derailing conversations with unenlightened nonsense about other religions and claims of "islamophobia". If you can demonstrate to me how the other religions are as dangerous or violent as Islam then we can discuss how "irrational thought" is the real problem here. Europe cannot be expected to continue this racial replacement. This isn't the time to flex your philosopher muscles with your unproven claims about the root cause. We need a practical solution to the problem Islamic radicalism and this "refugee crisis" pose to Western civilization. @whoever it was who said the link in the blue bubble graphic is broken, here's an archived reddit post with more information about where the info came from and it goes over criticism of the infographic and etc.

Actually as I've said before and I'll say again Islam is fundamentally different than the other Abrahamic religions. Rather or not the other religions are violent ideologies doesn't change the fact Islam is much more violent in practice. The spanish inquisition, the salem witch trials, the terrorism of the KKK, and anything Westboro baptist church ever did all pale in comparison to just what Islamic radicals have done in just the years between 2000-2015. I'm baffled by the lack of pragmatism shown here by those suggesting we should treat all religions equally just because we are atheists. You are exactly the cringe-worthy types of atheists that make theists so hostile towards our worldview. Live and let live. Islam doesn't practice that at all unlike the majority of people who practice the other religions being mentioned.

Thank you! That video will be a huge help I've already found use for it (discourse on my blog with kebab apologists). Great information! I apologize for misunderstanding then. I interpreted what you said differently but I do understand now what you're saying and you're not wrong. Although ideologically I am agreeing, though, I do know stupid Christians with horrible cognitive dissonance who likely would be worse people without their faith. They have no critical thinking skills and honestly I think the threat of eternal damnation is actually the only thing that promotes morality in their lives.

It's our responsibility to be honest and speak out against evil regardless of the danger it may bring us. Especially in the West where we have free speech laws in most nations. They aren't. I'm an atheist but I cringe every time I see a fellow atheist compare Christianity and Judaism to Islam. You're actually dead wrong. They aren't comparable. Islam is infinitely times more violent and evil than the other two. Yes, Judaism has some jewish supremacist verses in their text. Yes, Jesus said "I bring not peace, but a sword..." Those two portions of their respective holy text absolutely do not compare to the 17% of the Quran dedicated to the subjugation and enslavement of nonmuslims. I know literally dozens of Christians who are good, yet stupid, people and without their religion they would probably be shit people. I know Stefan disagrees, and I'm sure most of the community would too, but you're simply wrong for acting as if the other Abrahamic religions are nearly as bad as Islam.

This topic is really relevant again following the Paris attacks and Stefan's repeated denunciation of Islam. The religion of peace has struck again and between 115 and 150 are dead. Global Jihad is being waged on a scale unseen before in modern times. These truly are scary times we live in.

Was she a Muslim? If not that's weird especially given: The Quran says that people of other religions are to be violently punished in this world. Allah himself fights against the unbelievers (9:30), so why should Muslims not fight in his cause rather than in the cause of evil (4:76)? About 19% of the Quran is devoted to the violent conquest and subjugation of non-Muslims. More text from the Quran supporting my assertion that the teachings of Islam would go against a Muslim helping a non Muslim: Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. (8:55) Verse 7:176 compares unbelievers to “panting dogs” with regard to their idiocy and worthlessness. Verse 7:179 says they are like “cattle” only worse. Verse 5:60 says the unbelievers are unclean. Verse 6:111 says they are ignorant. Verse 23:55 says they are helpers of the devil. Verse 5:60 even says that Allah transformed Jews of the past into apes and pigs. This is echoed by verses 7:166 and 2:65. A hadith (Bukhari 54:524) says that Muhammad believed rats to be “mutated Jews” (also confirmed by Sahih Muslim 7135 and 7136). Verses 46:29-35 even say that unbelieving men are worse than the demons who believe in Muhammad. Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures. (98:6) The Ayatollah Khomeini, who dedicated his entire life to studying Islam, said that non-Muslims rank somewhere between “feces” and the “sweat of a camel that has consumed impure food." The only acceptable position of non-Muslims to Muslims is subjugation under Islamic rule: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (9:29 Jizya is the money that non-Muslims must pay to their Muslim overlords in a pure Islamic state.) I understand there are good Muslims, those are my target with these posts, because if a Muslim is good by my standards it shouldn't be too difficult to convince them not to be a Muslim. I understand all religions have flaws, they all have highly questionable seemingly violent passages, but there is a fundamental difference between Islam and the other "big four" religions (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism). The Quran actively advocates a hostile takeover of the world in the name of Allah. Christianity may have done the same, but they'd be hard-pressed to support their actions with passages from the text without completely disregarding the actual context of the passage.

One day in the future when I have my own disposable finances I definitely will contribute though! Thanks for the well wishes and let me know if you guys ever need someone to volunteer to do research or anything. I know you probably spend countless hours doing research and preparation for the show and I'd be happy to help in any way I can. In the meantime I'll continue promoting the show and it's message both in my real life interactions and throughout the places of the internet that I frequently visit. It's a long relationship. We are already engaged. There couldn't be a better woman for me, really, I can't even begin to explain how much I owe her and how much faith I have in her ability to raise children. We are both big Stefan fans, though I'm quite a bit more avid about it than she, and we have every intention of doing our research and being the best parents you can imagine. We'd like to model our "style" after Stefan's relationship with his daughter, an expectation we are sure to always be straining to meet, because we both agree if we could go back and choose the way we were parented we would both choose peaceful parenting based on cooperation and compromise rather than coercion and manipulation. We have both already made great strides at being much less manipulative towards and recognizing manipulative behaviors from outside of our relationship. It is decided, that's what an engagement is, a promise to enter a lifelong commitment. So while I'm open to discussion on my relationship and my future with my fiancee I can assure you that's one thing I'm unlikely to budge on. The love I feel for her is unlike anything I've ever felt for another person. As far as my parents go; what makes you think I care so much what they believe? Do I seem in some way deeply distraught by this? I've seen countless shows about this kind of things on FDR and I'm afraid I have to suggest that you maybe projecting things onto me that just aren't there. They could both come to me tomorrow and break down sobbing explaining how they feel responsible for everything wrong with my life and I would still be in the same situation. Would my relationship with them be better? Sure. But my relationship with them isn't of huge importance. They won't have a big part in my children's lives. They don't have a big part in my personal life. They are continuing to give me money, without expectations of repayment, so that I can survive. Money they don't actually own to give me in the first place more often than not. They have no retirement money. They have no health insurance. Their health is deteriorating. They both work at the same small business, an Italian buffet, my mom a waitress and my dad is the locations manager. They've been working those same jobs for 20 years now and the business doesn't look like it'll survive another 5. Look, I get it, they fucked up. Sure. They really did, I agree, and I don't mean this sarcastically in the least. But they also made sacrifices above and beyond what any of the people who called in to the show to speak about their parents have made. They put me through private schooling my entire life based on income far below the average household at the schools I attended, sacrificing much because they believed it would ensure me a safe and productive place to learn, and for that I'm grateful. For the money they give me now to buy food I'm grateful. For the room they let me move back into that I still live in today I'm grateful. I wasn't perfect either growing up, they weren't the only ones who fucked up, and while it's easy to make assumptions I can assure you from experience that my issues are hardly rooted in my home life growing up. Read the small text on this thread. I didn't have perfect parents, hell I didn't even have spectacular parents, but my parents did an above average job in comparison to your average family considering the situation they grew up in. My parents met in a mental hospital for depression by the way, they were both abused relentlessly and grew up in pretty shitty homes. Both had alcoholic physically abusive fathers and extremely manipulative mothers. The little violence I faced from my caretakers growing up was almost (maybe even 100%) perpetrated by my mother and her side of the family who I spent my days with growing up since my parents both had to work to keep the house afloat. Also, I said "my parents" a lot throughout this response, let me reiterate: My father did a pretty okay job. My mother has rarely ever been much of a mother. We basically hated each other throughout my adolescence. I've come to accept it, I accepted it a long time ago, there is no more need for me to be "honest" with myself. I've gone through introspection and have been able to vocalize this stuff to my Fiancee who is good at listening and aiding me in figuring this kind of stuff out. I had all of these realizations when I first stumbled onto Stefan quite a long time ago. Now I'm trying to address ongoing toxic habits that I have such as a history of responsibility avoidance and my addictive personality. Something is still wrong, sure, but if we are going to continue down the "it's something your parents did during childhood" route I'm going to need you to explain to me how you seem positive that you've deduced the root cause of my issues and yet you are just now hearing my actual background in bits and pieces. Very condescending. A "need" for it to not be true? I'm totally open to admitting it is true once you've demonstrated such to be true. Every time someone disagrees with you isn't a sign of some deeply rooted emotional block. Sometimes people just have different opinions. It happens. Unlike the vast majority of people I've encountered I'm completely willing to change my opinion when exposed to new information. If you'd like to explain how I'm wrong we can continue the basis of safety conversation on this thread or in the other one. No one ever said my parents are blame free. What I said was for the most part the responsibility for my situation falls on myself. For the most part being critical to the message here. I went on to make the point that ultimately assigning blame isn't going to do much of anything for me. I have practical desires that I need to work towards and honestly I have very little interest in repairing my relationship with my parents. We just don't have much in common. I love them, sure, but they're christian republicans (pro-military, pro-cop) and I'm an atheist anarchist. I'm into nerdy stuff like reading and discussing a mixture of philosophy and politics. They're into boring stuff like watching reality television. One of my most prominent beliefs is the non aggression principle and the opposition against using force on children & babies, one of their most prominent beliefs is that negative consequences for bad behavior is the best way to raise a 'good' child. We aren't similar. We live in the same house yet don't even talk more than maybe once or twice a week. Once I move out, as I have in the past for about a year, it will likely be back to me only seeing them a few times per year. The entire premise for your assertion that my home life is behind my addiction problem is based around the idea that I can't accept their flaws and previous evil actions. But that's false. I accepted this stuff long ago. That's a really good point. I'll have to reconsider how I plan to deal with permanently imbalanced dopamine levels and other chemical imbalances that resulted from years and years of taking medicine that changes my brain. You've given me a bit to think about. I can't really cook because I live with my parents and it's illegal in my state so they don't really allow me to be open about my pot use while I live here. I used to have a vape, a couple different ones actually, and they worked wonders for cutting down the amount I use in addition to being much healthier. Sadly I no longer have either of them though and a new vape is rather pricey. I'll figure something out, I'd still like to attempt an abstinence based approach to getting clean, even if just as a trial that I later realize is not the method I want to use. ___ I try. The problem is the way the education system is structured makes finding people from my generation who are capable of watching an hour long video, much less one about something serious like Stefan's videos, nearly impossible. That's mostly why I try to spread it through my internet presence. A few hundred followers on a couple tumblr blogs gives me a much higher chance of finding people who fit the mold of critical thinkers than suggesting the video to person after person in my town (Laplace, Louisiana) just for them to tell me they'll watch it later (inevitably they don't, those who feign interest typically will just say they are busy any time I bring it back up).

I'm glad he found something that works for him. I get it, it isn't terribly complicated, it has elements similar to buddhist mantras which I'm familiar with. I'm hesitant to worry about any "guilt" I may subconsciously be displaying because if I am acting guilty it's probably because I am and I recognize that. The lifestyle I've been living, not the mention the bare minimal effort I put into my future when I had a much wider array of opportunities, has me ashamed. Maybe because shame and guilt are very similar, and by no means mutually exclusive, that's what you could be picking up on. Shame and guilt that I'm very much aware of and am actively choosing to hold onto rather than move on because if I don't get tough on myself no one else is going to. I don't have much of an opinion to give you on the video. I watched the whole thing and think it's a interesting idea that could be helpful to many. Perhaps even me. For whomever it may concern (so I can avoid repeating myself in the future on this): I am willing to listen to anyone's perspective. Meaning I'll consider it and discuss it with you. I pride myself on this and have been this way for quite some time now. I follow the evidence and rational thought wherever it may lead. That being said I notice a lot of people here may think they are some sort of authority on logic or rational thought. Let me just say that if I disagree with you, and i present reasons for why I disagree with you, it's rather condescending to reply with misrepresentation of both my beliefs and mental state by asserting that I'm putting up some sort of mental blocks or am otherwise unwilling to listen. I am willing to listen. Let's talk. Just remember that me being willing to listen to what you have to say doesn't always mean I'm going to agree with it. If you believe my disagreement is rooted in emotion or cognitive dissonance feel free to explain how and why you came to this conclusion. Yeah, my disagreement had absolutely nothing to do with my personal life in this regard, I just disagree that safety "comes from" honesty. It's not an important subject of debate or anything but I can assure you that my stance on that topic was completely unrelated to anything personal to me. It was just my understanding of the foundation of safety which differs from dsayers opinion on what the foundation of safety is. Once again, as I said in the last topic, I never said detecting threats is an unimportant part of safety. I just disagree that safety "comes from" honesty. I'm completely open to continue down that topic of conversation too if he, or anyone else, wants to continue that line of thought. I found it a rather trivial thing to argue about but I'm not shying away from debate on the subject if people want to discuss it.

I appreciate the response. In the future I may use marijuana for medicinal purposes but recreationally I think abstinence is the way for me. I'd be interested in seeing other people's thoughts on your comment. I know I could still like it, like you say, it's not even that I don't like it now because I do. It's just that I don't think I can control my use. I don't think I'm in control when I buy marijuana. I mean I'm in control of myself even during the high, yeah, because I hardly get high anymore due to tolerance but I have no control over how much I smoke. It's embarrassing and bad though. Way more money is spent on that than food in a typical week for me. I realize I'm use it to cope, filling a void so to speak, but I hope I can find healthier and more productive coping mechanisms than substance abuse in the future. My pot use is the real issue right now because if I could get my finances straight my life would fall into line. But my drug use is obstructing that. My "work" was absorbing the work they actually produced. I don't know, I don't really feel like bettering myself was something I deserve credit for, it was in my own self-interest after all. It was what I was supposed to do, wasn't it? You're not wrong, this addiction would be infinitely times more disposable if I didn't struggle with depression and anxiety chronically. I lost my chance at tuition free college by not applying myself at all (did drugs til I dropped out) and I can't seem to find employment anywhere. It's killing me, because I have the best fiancee who works five days a week and I'm just sitting on my ass. The weed keeps me emotionally and mentally stable from the stress and depression but completely ruins my finances resulting in further inability to find work or re-enroll in college and the cycle continues. I've deduced that quitting smoking weed is the first step in permanently ending it.

I appreciate this. I do what I can to contribute now by sharing Stefan's videos and citing his work in my blog posts, but I would like to be at a place in my life where I can also contrinbute financially. Me and my fiancee also plan on having kids and raising them nonviolently with principles and philosophy. It's funny because the fact I'm someone nobody expects to have a drug problem actually played a major role in the start of my marijuana use. See, I went to the same catholic school for 10 years and almost all of my classmates were close friends because we were in the same class year after year. This was actually a break for me because if I were in public school I would've been harassed relentlessly. I've always been very bright but also physically underweight and very pale. Typical nerd. This isn't to say catholic school wasn't without difficulties, it was hell more times than not, both my peers and teachers were interchangeably the reason I would fake sick often growing up. This probably set me up on the path of not taking responsibility for myself. Anyway I went to high school and things were much different. When I realized people's first impression of me was something between "loser nerd" and "potential school shooter" I knew I needed a rebranding strategy. So I started smoking weed and drinking. After all being underweight and without a history in sports "stoner" always seemed a more attainable label than athlete. This led to my grades slipping, a long spiraling history of addiction problems, and ultimately led me to dealing pot as an upperclassmen. What a mistake in hindsight. I was smart, I went into high school already in AP & Honors classes, I tested well on my ACT (26 composite) and would be in a much better place now if I had just not allowed myself to get into this position. I never should've cared what other students thought of me. Other than that a history of alcoholism and depression in my family combined with the ADHD medicine I was on my whole life basically created the perfect environment for addiction to thrive. My parents and I are likely as reconciled and close as we will ever be. My mother and I have never been able to truly get along, we have a history of dramatic and for me even traumatic fights, and I don't expect this to change. My father has expressed remorse for the mistakes he made raising me and he's a really good guy. He tries hard. He negotiated and compromised with me growing up rather than hit and he still gives me as much financial support as he can and houses me. Regardless of their role, and I'm not saying they are without any guilt, they are in no position to help me right my situation. The vast majority of my household's income goes to my two sisters' tuition and the rest barely pays for the food and life necessities after bills are paid. I have some pretty alarming health problems and no health insurance, same with my parents except their health is even more troubling, and have less than great credit due to a hospital bill that I was told I wouldn't be charged for (it was a charity hospital). My situation is unfortunate but for the most part cannot be blamed on anyone but myself, and regardless of blame it's either fix my life or don't.. no one else is going to do it for me. I have a post in the welcome forums with a little more info about my past if this still isn't enough, hopefully I answered your question, if not I guess simplified what I meant by it's been better since I've taken responsibility for myself is: I always felt hopeless kind of, like life was just getting screwed over again and again, and since I've taken responsibility for my role in screwing myself over I've been able to look at life as more of a challenge to be met than a punishment to be dealt with.

Muslims can't drink alcohol. Almost definitely Sikh and they are considered enemies of Islam by many Muslim folks. You should google Sikh And see if that's what you are talking about. Muhammad was a scum bag. So is Allah. There is very little peace in their book. Read the blog post I wrote with passages from the Quran in it. Also source on Jesus was a warlord?

I didn't say accurately identifying threats isn't foundational to survival. Although it isn't necessarily in the modern industrialized world because plenty of /r brained people with no threat detection live very long lives. I said safety isn't a product of honesty. Because it isn't. No matter how honest you are if you don't have the strength or intelligence to defend yourself there is a potential for you failling victim to violence. Even with perfect threat detection. Fair enough with your point about people's view of taxation and violence against children. But I recognize all of these things. So me saying "as I see it" doesn't prove your point, because the way I see it is honest by your own standards. I recognize taxation as theft by means of government force, I recognize hitting children as child abuse, I recognize these things. Still, as I see it, honesty does not necessarily produce safety. So I stand by my stance on this, unless I'm still failing to understand what you're conveying here? Edit: If what you are saying is threat detection is crucial to safety, well, that I agree with. But that's an entirely different statement than "safety comes from honesty".

Misleading title, sorry, but it's still true in a sense. Stefan Molyneux, and his team at freedomainradio, are responsible for improving my life tenfold at least. I was a depressed socialist "progressive" when I left high school and I really needed to learn critical thinking. The philosophy I picked up from FDR's videos and podcast can easily be pointed at as the medicine that saved my life. There is very little chance I could've turned things around if I stayed on the path I was on. The most toxic thing about my past mindset was that I was always making excuses and blaming other people for my situation and my actions. Taking responsibility for myself has been a breath of fresh air, though the embarassment from the past is sometimes hard to think about without cringing. Aside from just the philosophy of it all though I picked up a lot of knowledge. In fact, I picked up a love of learning that was beaten out of me by the school system and family who was less-than-welcoming of questions regarding serious things like religion or the morality of spanking. I still smoke marijuana every day, a habit that is still having a profoundly negative effect on my life and relationship, but I've begun to recognize things don't have to be this way anymore. I know that I will always be an addict. Always. Largely as a result of the amphetamines I was on since I was a small child. I want to take an abstinence based approach to quitting drugs and staying clean. I plan to start the process soon. How soon? Probably as soon as I recognize that I need to do it now and stop pretending like there's some chance I'll decide to start quitting tomorrow. Besides my drug problem, though, there are very few problems that stress me out on a daily basis. I'm unemployed and need to get a job, once I get a job I need to start paying for free mental health aid and knowledge Stefan has provided me with, and ultimately even then it will take me some time to feel I've adequately repaid the FDR team for the value they've provided me. In the meantime I already do run a few blogs, primarily nonviolentanarchistphilosophy.tumblr.com (NonviolentAnarchistPhilosophy = NAP , and on those blogs I do regularly share Stefans videos as well as cite his books and ideas whenever relavant. This isn't something I do to make myself feel better about receiving value without compensating FDR, but because I truly believe that this community and Stefan's show may hold the key to a widespread shift in philosophy and how people interact. Stefan advocates a world I would like to live in and I'm happy to stand by him, through controversy and celebration, as FDR moves forward with it's mission of spreading enlightenment and rational thought. This is both a thank you and an apology not only to Stefan himself and the rest of the FDR team but to the donators who carry the bill for this show while people like myself make the lifechanges needed to have the disposable wealth necessary to adequately support FDR. Thank you for all that you do, I'm sorry for how little I've done. Now to back up both my thanks and remorse with action. Mark the date, October 28, 2015, because this is the day I promised to make the change from leach to contributor. I'm posting this publicly on the FDR forums so that there's no way I can take this back. No way that I can allow myself to weasel out of my obligations.

If the entire premise of your post is "safety comes from honesty" then I reject most of what you said here. Safety does not come from honesty. You can be honest (and have people be honest with you) without being safe. Safety comes from both you and the people you encounter accepting the nonaggression principle and not initiating force against each other. Safety is the result of cooperation and compromise rather than coercion. Safety and honesty have very little to do with each other as I see it. All religions maybe characterized by beliefs and rituals but in no way does having beliefs or partaking in rituals inherently result in danger. The vast majority of religious people I've encountered I would not categorize as dangerous. You're right that if I hold concepts accountable I'm not holding individuals accountable. That's true. The responsibility falls on the individual, regardless of belief, to act morally and face the consequences of their own immoral acts. But this doesn't invalidate criticism of ideology, as I can be critical of a worldview while maintaining the responsibility for people's actions falls on the people performing said acts. I take on being critical of Islam as a way to maybe ease the cognitivie dissonance of good people who have been indoctrinated as Muslims since birth. I know it doesn't truly matter if they want to call themselves Muslims or not, but if I can convince them to turn their back on a system I view as evil then I would feel better about it at the very least.

Ah yes, ultimate tolerance, when you stick your head in the sand and wait for the blade to hit your neck because nonexistant heaven forbid that you acknowledge immoral acts carried out in the name of a religious group. What about feminists specifically then? They are more militant leftists who aren't focused on tolerance (they have no tolerance for men). I wonder why they feel "rape culture" is a important issue in western culture but fail to even recognize that there is an actual culture that advocates the rape of women based solely on the fact they aren't Muslims: Rape victims in Islamic countries, the vast majority of which are women, often are punished as adulterers. This is due to Islam’s requirements for proving rape. Under Islamic law, rape can only be proven if the rapist confesses or if there are four male witnesses. Women who allege rape without the benefit of the act having been witnessed by four men who subsequently develop a conscience are actually confessing to having sex. If they or the accused happens to be married, then it is considered to be adultery. Qur'an (2:282) - Establishes that a woman’s testimony is worth only half that of a man’s in court (there is no “he said/she said” gridlock in Islam). Qur'an (24:13) - “Why did they not bring four witnesses of it? But as they have not brought witnesses they are liars before Allah.” Qur'an (2:223) - “Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will…” There is no such thing as rape in marriage, as a man is permitted unrestricted sexual access to his wives. After military conquests, Muhammad would dole out captured women as war prizes to his men. In at least one case, he advocated that they be raped in front of their husbands. Captured women were made into sex slaves by the very men who killed their husbands and brothers. [sources & more info]

Interesting, an increase from the figures I'd previously seen: A woman is the party filing for divorce in about 66% of divorce cases. Makes it even more outrageous that women receive custody in about 84% of child custody cases. Not to mention, and I remember Stefan has previously cited a similar statistic, but 30% of those who test for paternity weren't even the fathers of "their" kids (bonus: At least 10% of fathers are victims of paternity fraud.). Considering women are cheating and lying about the paternity of their children, overwhelmingly are the party filing for divorce, and we have the statistics I'll include below that indicate the damage done to kids by fatherless homes.. When will society recognize the blatant anti male bias present in our society both culturally and systemically? 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average. 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average. 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control) 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes –14 times the average. (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26) 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (National Principals Association Report) 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average. (Rainbows for All God’s Children) 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Sept. 1988) 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Fulton Co. Georgia, Texas Dept. of Correction) Source Most people would be hesitant to even discuss the value a woman brings to a family. This is because while it's acceptable to look at men and see wallets, it is completely unacceptable to look at a woman and see her primary source of value as linked to her role as a homemaker. Both generalizations that fit pretty well to the "average" family, at least historically, yet only one remains socially acceptable (males-> provider | females->homemaker). Below are some statistics focused on highlighting the expectations of men as primary financial provider: 70% of UK women would instantly change their minds about leaving a boring man if he won a lottery jackpot. 78% of US women said a partner with a steady job was the most important trait in a future spouse. 75% said they’d have a problem with dating someone without a job. Only 4% would go out with an unemployed man. 70% of Chinese women expect a man to provide an apartment along with a cash marriage offer. Bonus2: Research also shows that parents share workloads more when mothers allow men to be primary parents. Also how can any of us be surprised women are filing for more divorces when Men pay 97% of Alimony and their chances of being favored by the courts are already ridiculously high: Court bias against men is at least 6 times bigger than racial bias. Average sentences for crime by gender: Female – 18.51 months | Male – 51.52 months Judge bashes Probation Department for gender bias in favor of leniency for girls In Britain, Judges are now ordered to “show more mercy” on female criminals when deciding what sentence they should be given. These are all serious problems because they have resulted in things like: 1 in 8 men in prison have been jailed because they are unable to pay child support. xOf course fathes' struggles in custody court can largely be attributed to the feminist misandrist ideology that's run rampant through our universities and the minds of our youth: Feminists fought a law for equal custody to be the default if both parents want custody and neither parent is unfit. Feminist say Women should have the right to put a child up for adoption before the father gets custody. A representative of the Michigan National Organization for Women testified in opposition to the Revocation of Paternity Act, which stopped the old law which stated that if a woman was married and cheated on her husband, the resulting child is considered to be legally the husband’s and the biological father had no legal rights to fight for custody or parenting time with his biological child. The question is what do we do about this?

How do you guys respond to the politically correct regressive left when they argue that "not all muslims are like that" and that "Islam is the religion of peace"? I've previously written a blog post about the religion of peace rhetoric that can be found here: My biggest crticism of the "religion of peace" argument is what makes a religion distinctly peaceful or violent? The teachings? The sum of the actions of it's followers? What acts are carried out in the religion's name? The criteria for "religion of peace" is not, and can not be, clearly defined for Islam to qualify for this mantra. More importantly, and maybe Stefan has already addressed this in one of the many podcasts or videos I've missed.. Why is the left so quick to ally itself with one of the misogynistic, intolerant, and historically violent collectives on the planet? Is it for no other reason than they are mostly brown people? Is it because the Muslims too oppose western society? Either way these seems like miniscule reasons for support in contrast with the differences between "progressivism" and Islam. Sorry blog post is here: http://answeringthehardquestions.tumblr.com/post/131457252344/is-islam-thea-religion-of-peace a couple examples of past discourse with the left/muslims who cannot (I know stefan would say they CAN accept it they just won't, don't rob their moral autonomy) accept my criticism: http://nonviolentanarchistphilosophy.tumblr.com/post/124616041196/most-religious-violence-is-carried-out-on-the-name http://nonviolentanarchistphilosophy.tumblr.com/post/128778210691/sahrawia-nonviolentanarchistphilosophy

Anti feminism: http://www.docdroid.net/qaJg2NH/copyofcopyofantifeministresourceconstruction31.pdf.html Pro life: http://www.docdroid.net/7gJeKsX/14pgpro-liferesource.pdf.html Do these work? Also I changed the links in the first post to google docs so you can view them.

I wrote a short 14 page PDF of resources I use to support the pro-life position in debates on tumblr. I'll share it for free in case anyone's interested. I'm also currently working a much larger anti feminism pdf aimed at debunking common feminist arguments and providing resources for future discourse. If anyone is interested I'll share that one too once I'm finished with it. Here's what I have so far: Happy to accept constructive criticism on how to improve either, also taking suggestions on what resource compilation to do next. I thought about anti-spanking and peaceful parenting facts but Stefan has done such a good job compiling the sources for that topic so right now I'm leaning towards an anti-socialist resource compilation. Links fixed i think. No longer pdfs instead just viewable google docs.

I'm Brandon Lee Hickman. I'm a new member of the FDR website but I've been a dedicated listener for a few months now. It all started with "The story of your enslavement" which while a lot of it only confirmed things I had felt to be true for some time, also taught me a lot about the history of statism and ultimately convinced me Stefan Molyneux is an enlightened philosopher and teacher worth (at the very least) giving a chance. Since then he, with the help of you guys in the community and your calls in to his show, has taught me a great deal. I refer people to his books and videos every chance I get, I run a blog here where I promote a similar message of liberty, and I've decided to dedicate my life to furthering the messages of Stefan Molyneux and Ron Paul. Below I will elaborate a little on who I am and what I believe, but don't feel obligated to spend your time learning about me (a newbie to the community and little more than a child in comparison with the competence and wisdom of Stefan and other prominent members of this community) as I'm sure there are better, more productive ways we all can spend our time. I look forward to working with you all in achieving a better world and society for all people regardless of ideological differences. I'm an atheist anarchist. I'm fiscally conservative and I'm 21 years old. I'm unemployed (though seeking employment) and have never had a job in my life. At the very beginning of adolescence I became very enamored with black/hip-hop/African-American culture despite the fact I'm a white boy from a southern lower-middle class family who went to majority white private schools his entire life and this created a sort of conflict of interests in my development into adulthood. Lupe Fiasco (a rapper) and other "conscious" hip-hop artists helped in indoctrinating me into socialism and big-government ideas at this critical phase of my life which ultimately led to a lot of contradictory views and ignorant beliefs on my part. I was a socialist by age 16 and have been very interested in politics ever since. Being a leftist I always blamed others for my situation, a struggle I still am learning to overcome today, as now I'm forced to take responsibility for my situation in life (21 and unemployed leaching off of my parents and wonderful fiancee who works 5 days a week). Stefan probably saved my life, truly. I was forced to see the truth through his show that I am emotionally manipulative and leaching off of other people's hard work, that socialism and taxation is theft, that the answer to society's ills is not through gov't and law but instead through raising children correctly. I was spanked as a child as well as coerced through manipulation of my emotions and undeveloped mind, and I've already begun to inflict those things on those I love as a result of this (something I must discipline myself against or risk losing what I hold most dear to me). I come from parents who work hard, sometimes hundred hour weeks, to put me and my two sisters through private schooling and ensure the best possible future for us. My parents however were ignorant to the importance of being there during our upbringing and that's something I wish I knew how to talk to them about. I wish they would've cared more about having time for us and helping shape our personalities than just paying for schools that, in all honestly, while they had higher standards of education than the local public school also religiously indoctrinated me in ways that resulted in long-term mental illness and problems with authority and connecting with others. I was religiously indoctrinated by the roman catholic church from age 4 til 13 and can say from my personal experience that this is child abuse that cuts deeper into the psyche than any amount of spanking ever did (not that I'm advocating hitting children, I'm strictly opposed to it, thanks for that also Stefan) because I feared not only the fire and brimstone of god's negative judgment but also the disconnect from all of those who I love that aren't catholics and therefor was told they would either burn in hell or wait in purgatory. It doesn't help that the old stereotype about catholic priests isn't a lie, in my experience, but I don't want to go into that because I hope one day to have the courage to show this to people close to me such as friends or family. Anyway, that's a short summary about me and what made me who I am, now lets be friends and help shape a more positive future together you heroic lovers of liberty