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Humanity isn't adaptable? Last time I checked, we were pretty far up the "evolutionary badass" list, a feat which requires amazing adaptability.
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Sol: Physical evolution is not the same as social evolution... not that evolving towards Socialism is 'evolution' in any sense. (In fact, 'Social Darwinism" is very much the opposite of Socialism, but is in and of itself not a very palatable philosophy)
------------------ "Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master
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First: My post was mostly about making a clever _Cryptonomicon_ reference. Besides that, it was our legacy as the current animal on top of the heap that I was alluding to, not any particular social philosophy.
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"And how long did it take us women to get you idiot males to understand that we were equal?"
It was around the time that you showed us you could open a pickle jar without help. Pity you've never been able to repeat that feat.
------------------ "If every vampire who said he was at the Crucifixion was actually there it would've been like Woodstock. I was at Woodstock. I fed off a flower person and I spent six hours watching my hand move." - Spike, BtVS
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But what are we missing? Everyone has the right to vote, don't they? The only exceptions are children, which is understandable (even though I resent it), non-citizens, which also makes sense, and in some states, criminals. 'Bout the only thing I've noticed we're not where I'd like us to be in that respect is that there are limitations on marriage, which I see as a purely religious ceremony.
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
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Howsabout religious equality? Stupid and inconsistent consoring of foreign films, tv and books? The ability to tell the difference between an English and an Australian accent (I'm looking at YOU Mr Chris "I do 5 million voices on DBZ" Sabat)? And howsabout letting British people be the good guys for once?
------------------ "If every vampire who said he was at the Crucifixion was actually there it would've been like Woodstock. I was at Woodstock. I fed off a flower person and I spent six hours watching my hand move." - Spike, BtVS
"...marriage, which I see as a purely religious ceremony."
Er... No. There is such a thing as religoous marriage, wherein a couple has the leaders of their particular theology acknowledge their relationship, usually involving fancy clothes and a lot of pre-written words. There's also legal marriage, wherein the couple has the government of their particular nation acknowledge their relationship, usually involving a piece of paper w/ their names on it, and often tossing in the fancy clothes and ritual drivel, just for good measure.
Then there's the only definition of marriage that really matters, wherein the couple decides for themselves that they're going to devote their lives to each other.
But, if you need a priest or a judge or whoever to tell you "okay, you're married" before you'll believe it, that's your prerogative.
------------------ "What he did to that walrus gentle-man was inexcusable." -T. Herman Zweibel on "Mr. Woodrow Wood-pecker", The Onion, 7-Nov-2000
When I say we still have a long way to go, yes, I am referring to the gay right's movement. I'm also referring to how three white men in Texas decided to drag a black man to death with their pickup truck.
If you don't think this country has a long way to go, then you need to go out of your home and take a look around.
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Oh, would you get off it, JK? Exactly what do you think the government could have done to stop James Byrd's death? You keep saying, "Look! The country's imperfect!" Well, duh! The POINT is that as far as the government doing whatever it can to protect the rights of people, then the constitution is as close as it's going to get.
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
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In the case of 'hate crimes' there isn't much the government can do... You can't stop someone from hating another, unless you want to make thought a limited right. And education doesn't do squat if their parents are teaching them the hate too.
What is needed is a fundemental change in society, and that will not happen by the government.
------------------ "I'm not like George Bush. If he wins or loses, life goes on. I will do anything to win." - Al Gore, Newsweek, 1999
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