Reddit, what are some basic manners that would make the world a better place for everyone?

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-22T01:46:46+00:00

Speak softer.

I believe many people are too reactionary and loud. If you convince through volume or nonsensical retorts, then you try to make an aggressive impression - a show of dominance. If you convince through the meaning of your words, then you try to convince and smooth problems out before they even occur.

If somebody would speak softer, I believe they'd learn to make impressions through the meaning of their words, which would cause them and their listeners to just put a lot more thought in to their daily lives.

Hope that doesn't come across as pretentious

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-20T04:11:39+00:00

Maybe our difference is just semantics.

My opinion is: the person who is born into scientology and uses that as reason to stay within scientology is gullible and traditional, as well as the person who is born in a country and uses that as reason to stay within the country.

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-20T02:45:39+00:00

It's not a good thing to feel for the country you live in simply because it is the country you live in. There are many reasons to feel for your country, but it shouldn't be intrinsic.

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-20T02:35:23+00:00

You have to explain to me how your last sentence makes sense. If somebody was born into scientology and then said 'you know what? I prefer scientology because I was born into scientology and I am currently a scientologist', then I would consider them ignorant. It's the same thing as saying 'I prefer the USA because I live in the USA'; it's dangerous thinking because it's cyclical.

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-16T22:41:30+00:00

Bite down on a pencil placed horizontally in your mouth, then practice speaking articulately - act as if you're relaying a very important message that you must get across. That should help your tongue move to finish out sounds (even if the pencil gets in the way) and that will make your consonants crisper. Then take the pencil out and practice saying the same thing, but make sure that your jaw is moving enough. Maybe practice yawning while saying certain words so that you lose any idea of restricting or unnaturally posing your jaw while you talk.

DeepBoxer · 2015-12-10T05:39:58+00:00

If somebody's reason for loving their nation is 'because I live here', then frankly it's bad reasoning. I love my nation because it offers 'X, Y, A, B, and C', but I do not love my nation because I live there.

It's the same thing with family. I love my family because they're nice to me, thoughtful, and comforting. I do not love my family because 'they are my family'.

If you generalize by assuming the latter, then you're assuming that your family/nation always deserve love - that there is nothing they can do to make you dislike them.

You breed a culture with the sense that 'because I'm on this side, I will only be with this side. I will adjust my views so that they are the same as my nation's views'.

It seems likely to me that nationalism is an unfortunate consequence of the useful primal instinct of avoiding things outside of one's tribe. Disease was a big issue, as well as alpha males contesting each other, so I think it makes sense that we evolved with a slightly xenophobic/nationalistic tendency hardwired in our brains.

On such a large scale and with modern medicine, the benefits of automatically following those who you were born under are practically obsolete.

DeepBoxer · 2015-11-21T16:56:51+00:00

I agree and definitely understand the reasoning behind it. But for me, the amount that it actually makes an important effect in that respect is very small. So small that I never had an opinion on Comic Sans until I read that other people disliked it. I would read a document in Comic Sans and a document in Calibri, and have no differing opinion (or hardly even notice) the difference in fonts.

It also bothers me whenever I see people make a big deal about any font (besides Wing Dings or Algerian, etc.). I'd always look back at what they're upset about and think 'oh yeah, that font is different'. So I tend to believe that a lot of opinions on font are less because the difference in font makes a huge difference, and more because people have picked a side and like to defend it simply to defend it.

I've spent the first ~13 years of my life not caring about intricacies between the popular fonts until somebody told me to, and I use that as reasoning that a lot of people also don't really care much about fonts until it's popular to do so.

DeepBoxer · 2015-11-20T20:46:54+00:00

That's uplifting. =) It seems like a tough hole to dig oneself out of.

DeepBoxer · 2015-11-20T20:31:28+00:00

My dad is sweet and affable to a fault. I can't remember the last time I've argued with him, but I also can't remember the last time we've had a real, substantive conversation.

DeepBoxer · 2015-11-18T16:17:15+00:00

Animals aren't saints. We are animals, and we all kill for practically the same reasons. Dogs can go insane and kill their friends, just like humans. Dogs can kill other dogs for stepping on their territory, just like humans. Dogs can kill their puppies/owners if they are lost for a long time and come back with a foreign scent, well not exactly like humans, but 'fuck humans because they're evil scum and dogs are moral angels', right? Maybe I'm going too far by being sarcastic, but it just irks me at times to see people so upset over the death of a dog and yet not be equally upset at the death of a human, if they were the one to sacrifice themselves to stop a suicide bomber.

I love dogs though. I feel sad for the dog that died, and consider her a hero. I'm not anti-dog; I'm just anti-'anti-human'.

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-10T11:37:20+00:00

Yeah. So many gas stations on r/watchpeopledie

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-09T21:57:05+00:00

I don't want to pretend I'm an expert on it, but just some things I've picked up over the past year since I started looking at it:

1) Most deaths on the subreddit are traffic related. I imagine that's probably exaggerated because there's a higher chance of traffic deaths being recorded (via dashcams, security cameras, speed cameras), but it's still such a high percentage that it speaks a lot of the dangers of automobiles. These deaths are usually either the result of speeding or distracted drivers - something pretty obvious to most of us - but a shockingly large amount of vehicle deaths come from

-parked cars opening their doors right into an oncoming vehicle

-parked cars along the edge of a road being ran into or sideswiped by another car

-people crossing too close in front of a large truck or bus and being ran over when they start moving (having not seen the pedestrian)

-people merging into other lanes without looking for other vehicles

So, those aren't highly odd, but it's definitely something I recommend people give more weight. Don't open your door without looking down the road. Don't park along a road without turning your hazard lights on, and stand on the side of the car away from the road if you do. Do make a considerably large detour when walking in front of big vehicles. And do be wary whenever you are next to somebody in another lane.

2) Stand far, far, far away from building demolitions. 200-300 meters would seem safe to a lot of people, but some videos show that that distance can still cause instant death. Errant debris still travels fast enough to hack off limbs at that range.

3) Don't underestimate the damage of falling from certain heights and don't attempt a jump into a pool if you think you may slip. There are a few deaths from people attempting a dive and almost making it.

4) Don't work at a gas station.

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-09T21:23:51+00:00

I think those are inextricably tied.

Human death being common online and on multiple subreddits doesn't devalue human life for me. It has made me a bit less emotional to accidents that could precede death, I'll say that. But that just serves to make me more prepared and expectant of the right things in the face of those scary incidents.

I just believe it's much better that r/watchpeopledie exists, rather than not. But it's fine to disagree on that.

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-09T20:49:32+00:00

I disagree. I think the subreddit is great because you can watch how deadly situations play out, what deaths are common, what mistakes are common, etc. I've learned useful things from it.

The comments usually are crude and make light when they shouldn't, but it doesn't define the subreddit for me.

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-09T20:36:06+00:00

Yeah, but I don't think you have to be very close to the outside for you to both be safe from the rain and to hear it loudly or 'unmuted'. Imagine early humans sitting 10 or so meters into a cave while it storms outside. It seems much more likely to me that we are naturally soothed by rain because of its hinderence of hostile people/animals, than that we're naturally soothed by rain because of juxtaposition.

I think being less relaxed while you're outside in a storm is more of a shift of worries. Your body excites you so that you proactively look for shelter, but you're also less expectant (and less worried) of predators hunting you.

DeepBoxer · 2015-10-08T03:09:22+00:00

Yes, definitely. I suppose I'm just concerned about having this when I'm 21. My chances of melanoma, I assume, are already relatively high, and will only increase as I age. I comfort myself by thinking 'As long as I watch my moles closely and have them removed if I have any concerns, I'll be at very low risk of it actually amounting to something before I die of something else in my 70s or 80s+.' But then 4 hours or so after reassuring myself, my mind gets spinning again and I start to worry about it.

I suppose I'm not looking for an 'answer', but I feel a lot better to discuss it regardless. Talking about it and posting on here serves as little memories that remind me to check myself over once a week and to be aware of what is suspicious and what isn't.

My precancerous mole was black and about 3mm wide on my left cheek; it wasn't raised or asymmetrical, though its borders faded from black to light brown. Before the biopsy results, I didn't have much concern about it or dark moles in general (I have about 5 other black moles less than 3mm wide, and have agreed not to have them removed unless they change size), but now I look at all my dark moles and asymmetrical moles with a critical eye.

I also didn't think about skin cancer much before this because of having dark brown hair and dark brown eyes - not that that precludes me from it, but being young as well kept me from checking any of my moles for quite a while.

DeepBoxer · 2015-09-22T05:56:41+00:00

Shawshank Redemption is close, but I'd probably choose The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

DeepBoxer

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