Stuff that makes you pause and reflect on everything - Page 4

Blarg · #31 10-02-2005, 05:19 PM

I remembering reading a long article about L.A. news, and it was described as the worst in any major city in the nation. Our news here is so feature-based rather than hard-news oriented, and cut into such tiny chunks that even major issues are given less time than a single commercial, that the world the media describes can become surreal and trivial easy to feel completely disconnected from. A famine or civil war killing millions might be mentioned once every few weeks, and in a broadcast that spends ten times as long on a local dog show. Most people don't read the newspapers or know what's going on in either local politics or more broadly. So it can be strange and out of sync with our environment to think that anything really matters or could be taken seriously.

That anyone does actually care about anything can be so out of character it frankly scares people and sometimes prompts them to anger or ridicule, as if not caring or really knowing about anything were a form of sophistication or fair-mindedness, and trying to do anything or give a damn was a fall from grace or hopelessly naive.

I admire people who can commit to something in a world that sometimes seems to be all about nothing, and where fitting in is both such a treasured goal and an excuse for almost anything. Simply sincerely giving a crap is pretty cool.

I admire people like those retirees who have come down to help in Lousiana. It's not as easy to get around for them as it is for some of us, but they're still willing to bust their ass and put their health at risk for total strangers, for no reward. People like that give you a little perspective on yourself.

stabn · #32 10-02-2005, 05:37 PM

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I have no problem with responsible concealed carry.

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Guns put away safely in one's domicile are fine. There's no such thing as "responsible concealed carry".

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Bullshit. But this isn't an appropriate thread to have this discussion.

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I agree on both counts.

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KaneKungFu123 · #33 10-02-2005, 05:38 PM

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Life can seem really secure, but the foundation is shakier than it looks.

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That was pretty much the point.

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its more then shakier, its a complete illusion.

radek2166 · #34 10-02-2005, 05:40 PM

I work in a hospital. I have seen newborns die and old people die.

In fact I haveseen more people die than annyone should.

The hardest 2 I have ever experienced have been the guy that went into a funky atrial heartbeat. he was 24 I was 28. Listenig to his mother whale sucked.

A few weeks ago a 15 month old was brought in. He has fallen into an irrigation ditch and drowned. Hes was missing for 45 minutes or so. When they brought him in his temp was 83 eyes open. Just tore me up inside. The only saving grace that I could find was that we did not revive him after he did not have a heartbeat for over 2 hours.

I am working in a town of 6000 they had the balls to anounce the ladies name over the radio that was watching him.

That realy sucks.

theBruiser500 · #35 10-02-2005, 07:30 PM

Bump, I think Diablo's intention with the thread title of "stuff that makes you pause and reflect on everything" was for people to post their own stories, which would be quite interesting.

kgrad5 · #36 10-02-2005, 08:25 PM

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...d20050921.html

it happened about a minutes walk from my house...
now that made me stop and think..
and the fucker was living right next door and probably giving condolences to the family and living within walking distance of my family for over a month..
thank g-d he decided to give himself up

Weatherhead03 · #37 10-02-2005, 08:34 PM

This OP comes at a very weird time. Lastnight I was out at a party. This party was for my friend's birthday. The ages at this party are around 18-19 mainly. So about an hour and a half in two 22 year old kids show up. These kids are known in my city as being "crazy". Although we havent had any run-ins with these kids we've heard about them.

So 5 mins after they show up they start lipping everyone off and start throwing all the wood into the fire and causing a scene. I presume to get the point accross that they are older and bigger than we are. At about this time one of my friends confront him and ask him why hes even here. He has no friends here and what was the point of him being there. This is when they take of their shirts and say they are going to line everyone up and kick everyone's ass's. By this time there are about 30 of us around the kids. Then these kids grab the original kid who confronted them and bring them 10 feet away and pull out 2 9mm hand guns and put on to his head and say "not another word outa you or we'll shoot everyone down". Needless to say he shut up and they soon left. For the rest of the night we were left thinking how bad things could have gotten.

Scary considering ive never seen anything close to that in my life.

Ulysses · #38 10-02-2005, 10:15 PM

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Here is something that made me pause and think. At the anti war club someone came in who is a part of "veterans against the war". He was in the Persian Gulf War, and became strongly against war. He decided to drop out of college and spend his time working against war. What struck me was that he cared so deeply about this that he changed his life to work on it.

In the newspaper there have been a few stories about people refusing to serve in the military and going to jail and I always thought "big deal it's just a few people." This brought home the point that these were people who are not losers, crazy, or fools but intelligent real people and with lives of their own that cared so much about a topic they sacrificed greatly for it.

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You should do some volunteering, Bruiser. I think you will be exposed to a lot of stuff that you will really take a lot from, more than many others do. Working with the poor and homeless involved in programs to help get them back on their feet is something I think would be good for you. Also, working w/ abused kids, but that can be very stressful. Things like family shelters, homeless job programs, Habitat for Humanity, these are all things where you can learn a lot and do some good. Food banks and soup kitchens can also be enlightening. Also, hot chicks often volunteer.

Ulysses · #39 10-02-2005, 10:17 PM

That is pretty damn hardcore.

college_boy · #40 10-03-2005, 12:37 AM

A couple weeks ago i was sitting around talking to a friend of mine's dad. I've known him for like 8 years. He had a motorcycle and because I had never been on one he convinced me to take a 30 minute ride with him. I am a pussy so I was scared shitless. We had a good time laughing and talking that night. 2 days later he got hit at an intersection and died on the spot. We were fairly close and played b-ball together on most sunday nights for 6-7 years. He wasn't a good guy like we say after people die. He was one of the better human beings I've met.It's changed the way I think about and live life.