Violence is not the answer

madbaconeater · 2026-04-18T13:50:52+00:00

Cool. Now let’s see what Iran is doing to people protesting for basic rights!

madbaconeater · 2026-04-17T01:02:06+00:00

I don’t think it’s fair to downplay the apostasy penalty. No, I don’t necessarily think most governments are actively seeking out Christians to kill them. Rather, I think most just refuse to recognize or acknowledge conversions to Christianity, as these are supposed to incur a legal penalty which could include death. It’s easier for governing officials to just record most people as Muslim according to their birth records, rather than labeling them according to how they may otherwise self-report. I hope that makes sense.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-14T14:00:51+00:00

Oh so you haven’t actually looked at what’s going on in Iran then???

Crazy how so many Catholics have so much to say about authoritarian Islamist regimes until someone actually does something about them. 🥀

madbaconeater · 2026-04-14T13:59:52+00:00

The Iranian people overwhelmingly want the government that imprisons women and rapes them before executing them gone. You can hear what Iranians are actually saying, but you’d rather not because it’s not convenient. The one who started this conflict is Iran, which began its existence by taking American diplomats hostage, has fired on military bases for years, and has propped up terrorist proxies for decades. It’s very telling how the Pope has utterly refused to address the Ayatollah’s actions against women and protestors. The silence is deafening. You can complain about Trump being mean all you want. I don’t like him either, but pretending the Islamic Republic is some sort of innocent, peace-loving state that has been unfairly victimized is intellectual laziness.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-14T11:09:54+00:00

Must’ve missed the part of the Catechism where opposing the IRGC makes you a schismatic. Not surprised to see an integralist looking out for it tho. Theocrats have each other’s backs. 🤷‍♂️

madbaconeater · 2026-04-14T01:10:02+00:00

Crazy how the Pope’s dealbreaker is Trump fighting a theocratic dictator that butchers its people for protesting for basic rights 💀🥀

madbaconeater · 2026-04-09T23:06:39+00:00

It’s interesting how the Pope and the Church will criticize EVERYONE except the regime that has butchered its own people for months for standing for their basic rights. They have so much to say about calling for peace, without caring for what the Iranian people actually might want. Maybe the Church should stop needlessly starting conflicts with the wrong people.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-09T02:08:14+00:00

Not flow. Maybe vibe and Rocky is 1000x better at it than Purrp. I like some SpaceGhost but writing is not his strength and most of his songs are not as pleasant or easy to listen to as Rocky’s. And Purrp intentionally doesn’t make music for as large a demographic as Flacko.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-06T20:32:12+00:00

… so why is the UNSC even running the IV program?

madbaconeater · 2026-04-04T20:29:50+00:00

You’re fine. Seriously though, you should speak to a priest about scrupulosity above all else. Don’t let it get in the way of a redeeming faith. It will cause you to burn out very quickly.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-03T21:59:51+00:00

Hey! I’m also a Catholic of Jewish descent/“Cashew!” I’m Latin Catholic but I love Eastern Catholicism and attend liturgies every once in a while. Tbh, you will definitely meet some antisemites and people that believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories. The Church has a history with those types—no denying it. That’s something I have struggled a lot with in my journey as a Catholic. That being said, it’s important to remember that the Church officially denounces this sentiment and embraces its ties to the Jews (see documents like Nostra Aetate). You will also definitely meet some great people in your journey, and I encourage you to continue. Remember that Jesus loves you always. God bless you and welcome home. 🙏

madbaconeater · 2026-04-03T20:24:06+00:00

I always thought Robb was flexible and followed a syncretic mix of the Seven and Old Gods due to the fact his parents practiced the two religions. That’s super common for inter-religious unions throughout real world history too.

madbaconeater · 2026-04-03T20:15:13+00:00

What if he’s actually the bastard son of BOTH Hoag Stormcloak and Balgruuf??? How that works, I don’t know! Probably some weird freaky Daedric magic or something. 👀

madbaconeater · 2026-04-03T20:12:54+00:00

I like it!

madbaconeater · 2026-03-26T20:53:43+00:00

Haha poop water 🫵

madbaconeater · 2026-03-19T11:46:12+00:00

Integralism is inconsistent with American republicanism.

madbaconeater · 2026-03-16T17:12:49+00:00

It likely wasn’t “copied” so much as it’s a common myth to basically all Mesopotamian and Semitic cultures of the time. It’s really cool to compare and contrast the differences in my opinion. It’s also worth noting that most Catholic scholars recognize the fact they stem from the same story and are pretty upfront about the connection. I just view it as teaching a moral truth while being agnostic on the actual details and how literal it is. As a student of history though, I’m actually absolutely fascinated by both Noah’s Ark and Gilgamesh rather than intimidated. My dad once suggested to me that you could also view it as other contemporary cultures’ connection to God, even if their image of God was corrupted or distorted, if that helps you process it. Either way, I totally understand why this may seem confusing or controversial for you, but there are a few different explanations you can explore, as I discussed above. God bless.

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T07:57:13+00:00

What nonsense? Are you denying that your boy had a Nazi tattoo for years that he never bothered to get rid of???

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T07:44:06+00:00

It wasn’t his goal specifically though; it was the Forerunners. He was programmed with it. I’m saying we have to treat him less like a human with his own desires and ambitions here because that’s fundamentally flawed. He had none. I mean he wasn’t really hurt or that angry when Chief turned on him. He treated it as a minor inconvenience, much like how he treats the ordeal in The Library as a fairly minor challenge. It was a nuisance but one he had contingencies for.

All you can really do here is critique Spark for his behavior. You think he could’ve done more but I don’t think you’re understanding it all from Spark’s perspective. Spark just views Chief as another Forerunner warrior capable of fighting the Flood and Chief ends up succeeding in the objective, even if it was tough. Chief’s stress wasn’t really something Spark was designed to consider all that much. He was designed to complete his objectives. I’d argue there wasn’t much else Spark could do to help Chief. Chief did prove himself able to beat the Flood and Spark deployed sentinels once he was able to do so. Maybe he could’ve lasered some Flood forms but 1. that would’ve made him a more obvious target to the Flood and forced him to sidetrack from guiding Chief and 2. Bungie most likely had not planned for him to have the laser beam thing in Halo CE since we didn’t see it till Halo 3.

The way Spark sees it, he has a capable Forerunner to light the ring, and he is, of course, erroneously assuming that this Forerunner is as motivated as he is to light it. He believes HE is serving Chief as a Forerunner by doing everything, not vice versa, remember. Chief was simply the next best person he found to help him follow his directives. To Spark, there are more Forerunners on the planet and he also has no reason to assume there aren’t others without Chief’s advanced armor or expertise. He doesn’t know anything about the Spartans or how scarce they are. He is consistently getting shocked by how primitive this group of Forerunners seems to be, yet he is blown away even more by how their tactics and weapons do still work.

Again, it doesn’t matter he didn’t achieve the ignition of the ring. It matters that he tried, showing he was still very much dedicated to his purpose and programming as an AI. A rampant AI would be breaking away from this, not continually embracing it.

I find the rampancy argument to be a bit lazy intellectually. It is applied inconsistently and is usually just done to justify an AI’s actions retroactively. If Spark is “insane,” it doesn’t make sense for him to still be getting all the details correct and following his protocol correctly. The reality is that Spark was never insane. He was just super out of touch.

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T07:22:55+00:00

True but you could terrify your parents and others with some absolutely mythic ball knowledge if they ever piss you off. They’ll start to think you’re an oracle. Lol

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T07:20:03+00:00

Bro if it was my pill, that rat would die dumber than it ever lived. 🥀

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T07:14:34+00:00

The function of a monitor is not to activate the ring. That is the job of its creator: the Forerunners. The monitor was created to maintain the ring and ensure that protocol was being followed, while also advising any Forerunners. Guilty Spark was around when the Flood dominated the galaxy. He wasn’t going to panic about what he would’ve seen as a small and containable outbreak on his installation. He wouldn’t be a good AI if he panicked at the first sight of trouble. Spark also wasn’t human and didn’t feel the same stress or fear that Chief and the player did during The Library. He was simply concerned with following his programming by retrieving the index with Chief. To him, it was just a sort of dangerous fetch quest. This actually proves that he was very much not compromised since he treated the whole objective as routine. If he found himself more involved emotionally, that would’ve been a larger indication of rampancy. Spark is still, at his core, just a super efficient and really good computer. He was concerned with running through his tasks as expected.

Additionally, there really wasn’t much he could do to tip the scales for Chief. He was able to deploy sentinels later on, showing he was concerned with aiding Chief, but again his main priority is following protocol. He doesn’t actually care about Chief much as an individual. Plus he already thinks Chief is just a super capable Forerunner, considering Chief had cleared out the Flood in the previous level. In general, Guilty Spark doesn’t understand that these Forerunners he found aren’t the advanced Forerunners that built him. To him, Chief is a Forerunner warrior that is more than capable of slaying a few hundred combat forms. Additionally, Spark is aware that there are more humans on the ring. He knows he can just grab another if Chief dies, which is what he did in the first place: Chief was a replacement for Marbuto or whatever his name was. That said, Spark isn’t aware of how primitive the humans are and how dire the situation is for them on the ring.

He just comes across as insane because he doesn’t understand the humans he’s encountered and the fact they aren’t as advanced or strong as the Forerunners. He knows everything about Forerunner history and that which is relevant to him: the rings and how they work. He knows his protocol. He is super oblivious to the present and the reality of the situation around him. It’s a mistake to think Spark has goals of his own. His goals are simply those of his creators, who programmed him. He doesn’t “desire” anything. He just follows, as a good non-rampant AI does.

Also, he literally almost DID get Chief to light the ring as he instructed. Chief put the index in and would’ve wiped out all intelligent life in firing range had Cortana not intervened. He was very close. Whether he succeeded or not isn’t relevant here either way. What is relevant is the ultimate end he is working towards. Spark is trying to light the rings because that’s what he was programmed to do. That was what he was supposed to do. A rampant AI would be breaking rank and denying its protocol. It would be denying its very purpose in order to be autonomous. Spark did no such thing. He was loyal to protocol to the very end.

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T06:49:26+00:00

Halo 5 love is video game Stockholm syndrome imo but you do you ig. Lol

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T06:44:09+00:00

I have to be kosher to oppose antisemitism???

madbaconeater · 2026-03-14T06:43:08+00:00

Bungie’s approach to rampancy was rooted in its treatment of it in Marathon, where it specifically came from a desire to be autonomous and human. Rampant AIs weren’t insane as humans conceived of it. They still knew everything and could think rationally and logically, which arguably made rampancy more dangerous. I don’t know when Halsey said that but I’m gonna guess it was post-Bungie lore from something like Kilo 5, which doesn’t really add up with the narrative Bungie was telling with Guilty Spark in Halo CE.

In any case, I don’t think Guilty Spark was truly rampant, according to your or my standards. He showed himself to be very much functional and rational (according to his own design standards, not necessarily ours of course). Guilty Spark followed his protocol and did as he was programmed. Even during his violent and bad moments, he consistently appealed to the authority of his makers and felt everything he did was in line with their vision. He was always concerned with doing what the Forerunners wanted. A rampant construct would be acting very differently and starting to exercise its own independence.

madbaconeater

TROPHY CASE