East Texas... aka hell

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tedgresham

Writer, Thinker, Trouble Maker
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
221
Reaction score
21
Location
Lufkin, TX
Oh, the trees are ok. People are more courteous than they are down in Houston. Even so, when one is a bohemian, atheist (you gasp!), Buddhist (sort'of) it is an endless landscape of rejection. I refuse to play the games or "go along" just to try to "fit in." To do that would be to lie about who I am. Thus it is impossible to socialize in this town which is the absolute center of the buckle of the Bible belt.

I find myself in an endless and so far exceptionally fruitless search for a real person with whom to converse, share, discuss and be a friend to. Constant solitude is driving me slowly nuts.

I am not one of those people who can loose themselves in hobbies or interests or individual activities and be oblivious to the rest of humanity. If I can't share what I do it has no meaning. If there's nobody who is interested in what I can do or who I am I don't want to do anything.

Screw pity. Forget platitudes. Don't bother with useless phrases of encouragement. Unless I can be a friend to someone who wants me to be that then I have no purpose. At the moment, I have no purpose. I wonder, are you out there or is this all there is?
 
I'm listening. although i may not entirely always see eye to eye with you, i can be quite open-minded. tell me, what say you?
 
I don't live in Texas anymore but that was my experience too. I said fresia it and moved to California to live with the hippies. I was born and raised in Texas and didn't fare any better than you when it came to finding like-minded people in a place where Hell Houses were popular around Halloween. The culture has its good points, but it's not a place where everyone will be easily accepted.
 
I like Texas where no one complains about my firearms and I imagine once I acquire enough property, I can properly begin building my fiefdom <3
 
JamaisVu said:
...The culture has its good points, but it's not a place where everyone will be easily accepted.

Indeed. Those who fit into the southern rural christian way of life do well here. City folks find it stifling. for radicals, socialists, atheists, etc. it's cold and possibly dangerous. I am all of the above.

Lufkin sucks, and I've proven it. Every time I move or try to move away it sucks me back like a monster shop vac.
 
RJLJD said:
I'm listening. although i may not entirely always see eye to eye with you, i can be quite open-minded. tell me, what say you?

Thanks for your reply and open-mindedness. Such is rare these days. I started answering your reply but wound up writing an essay too long for a post. I decided to move it to my blog. Here's probably the most relevant part. It's not all that short but shorter than the essay.

...here I sit in my little shop, drinking my coffee and smoking my little cigars and writing this idiotic little biography. I am alone.

I am alone because even though I love my wife and she loves me we live in entirely different worlds. She will not even talk with me about the things I think about all the time, the idiocy of religion, the horror of war, the messed up state of this country. I am alone because the few people in the world I know of with whom I might have fellowship do not live anywhere close and to have their friendship would mean to leave the only anchor in this world I have, my family. I am alone because I can’t stand the ******* idiot attitudes of the deep woods religious rednecks in this part of Texas and I know full well to them I am the worst of human beings and the most evil of enemies. I am alone because this messed up country is falling apart, jobs are hard to come by, and employers not only want sheep but young, healthy sheep. I am neither young or healthy. And, of course, I am sure as hell not a sheep. Thus I can’t even afford to travel occasionally where there are a few sane people I could befriend.

When I was young, in the military, I didn’t have too many friends but enough to not always be depressed. Even so there were times I would go to a park with my guitar, alone, and sing songs, wishing I would attract some person or a few people to befriend. Through the years I had friends, virtually all of which turned out to be less than I thought them to be. I did not abandon them, they abandoned me. Sooner or later, being the goat that I am, I fell below the standards they had for friends. People, sheep, set limits and boundaries of acceptability. One must not go outside those or the sheep will scatter. And people, sheep, are cowards. Challenge them to have courage and they evaporate like water on a hot skillet.

I’m not like you, I just fresia up. Words from a song by Slipknot called “People=honeysuckle.” If people, sheep, especially christian sheeple, actually gave a **** like they say they do me being a fresia-up would not matter. But they don’t. And they get all snooty and self-righteously offended and indignant when we who do fresia up, who are goats, who refuse to kiss the Master’s ass or accept his bullshit lies say and do things in protest. Only we understand the meaning of “People=honeysuckle.” They just think we’re being rude and crude. Slipknot and many other metal bands sing their rude, crude songs to young crowds of kids who feel something just ain’t right, who feel the need to rebel, but who eventually will sink right into the morass of honeysuckle, follow a Master, and look back on their days of “rebellion” thinking how silly they were. Not even they really get it, except for the few who are goats. Those kids, I so feel sorry for them because they, like me, are messed.

I am alone, most of all, because I just don’t understand sheep. They are an absolute mystery. They do stupid honeysuckle, think stupid honeysuckle, act stupid, and then look down their self-righteous noses at goats like me even though I know more and can do more and have a hell of a lot more respect and compassion for my fellow man than they do. I do not fresia up in their eyes because I am a moron. I fresia up because I’m like a redneck in Japan, a guy far from what he knows trying to survive a culture with extremely alien ways. That is the way it is. It cannot be changed.

IgnoredOne said:
I like Texas where no one complains about my firearms and I imagine once I acquire enough property, I can properly begin building my fiefdom <3

Oh yeah, just say, "I got guns" and you're in the club here. I have a gun, a hand gun, primarily because half a mile away the community is infested with gangs who have 13 in their names. But I'm not fond of them, as a rule. I would hunt if I needed to feed my family but what people around here called hunting is just having fun killing things, it's not a sport. There's no sport in feeding animals all year and then going out to shoot them when they show up for more corn.

My idiot inlaw relatives start shooting guns around September and it sounds like a goddamn war next door. They have shot over our house a few times. I had to call the sheriff once. No, killing is not my thing and I am for most intents and purposes a pacifist. I'd certainly stop a gang banger if he threatened my family but if a hungry man came to my door I'd give him what I had without question. Such attitudes are just not popular around here.
 
You seem narcisstic. Several of your statements tell me you think you are above others.

You also seem to dissociate yourself from others. Meaning, you feel like you are the only consious being in your area of texas.

Learn to talk to others in ways which will not offend them, see them as people. Oftentimes me nd my friends don't agree on certain things but we are still friends.

Pretty much it seems like you are bitter over people not agreeing with you, thus making you feel invalidated and reducing your sense of self worth. Then, now, you turn around and do it right back to those people who made you feel that way.

Vicious cycle.
 
SophiaGrace said:
You seem narcisstic. Several of your statements tell me you think you are above others.

You also seem to dissociate yourself from others. Meaning, you feel like you are the only consious being in your area of texas.

Learn to talk to others in ways which will not offend them, see them as people. Oftentimes me nd my friends don't agree on certain things but we are still friends.

Pretty much it seems like you are bitter over people not agreeing with you, thus making you feel invalidated and reducing your sense of self worth. Then, now, you turn around and do it right back to those people who made you feel that way.

Vicious cycle.

You sound like a shrink. lol

I am not quite sure how you get that idea from my post. I'm about as far from being narcissist as one can get. It's like Slipknot said, "I'm not like you, I just fresia up." I am who I am. If I have to apologize for being who I am then fresia that. And I won't wear a plastic face. I accept anybody as they are. I only ask the same.

I'm not the only one here in this town, surely, but there are very few who think as I do, I am sure, but how to find them? One has to live here to know how these folks think. This is the home town of some of the most radical right wing christians in the country. I am courteous and kind and cordial day to day, to teachers at school where my kids go, whatever. The reality is that in social circles in this town, however, 'my kind' are not appreciated. I used to be hip deep in their thinking, though not quite the radical bigot most are. I recognize how horribly stupid and self-righteous I was. I repented. Now their religious attitudes drive me up the wall. If that's narcissitic, such is life. It's a matter of perspective. Fifty years of prejudice, bigotry, and self-righteousness takes a toll on anyone with an open mind. ...sorry, soap box. I'll get off.

I take chances and speak my mind on places like this form for the sole purpose of finding someone who feels as I do. Misery loves company and all that. In the real world I am one hell of a nice guy. I can get witnesses if you need'm. lol

BTW, I don't care if anybody agrees with me in particular. I'm wrong a lot of the time. But I am not wrong that there's too much violence, bigotry, selfishness and certainly too much war. Any war is too much. People who disagree with that, people who hate others for their skin color or religion, people who want what they want at the expense of others, people who enjoy watching other people hurt, and people who glory in the murder and destruction of countries for profit are wrong. That so many in this country think I'm an idealistic fool does somewhat piss me off. ...my soap box. I'll shuddup now.


 
What I'm about to say is in no way an entire slight against you Ted, merely conversation.
for one, if you feel good in your own mind about your own self that should be enough. don't be bitter that others don't see it your way. stay resolute in that you're proud of who you are. its interesting because if that were the way, then you haven't f***ed up, at least not in your own eyes. sure others may think you have, but you're the one keeping score on your life.
sorry you live in a town on radical right wingers, i don't like their ideals very much either.
religion seems to be a running theme of your angst, particularly christianity. now, do you actually have a problem with the values of chrisitianity or how they become warped in certain people's hands?
violence, bigotry, selfishness, and war... yes, too much, not only in this country but across the world. i have no issue with that statement whatsoever.
"people who want what they want at the expense of others"
let me ask you this, and i realize its a loaded question... are you against capitalism? if you are, i disagree with you, but that's ok. my point is our society the way it is based is always going to have winners and losers, people who gain and people who lose. i graduate college in the spring. of course i want that job that's hopefully going to be out there... at the expense of everyone else who applied. i don't personally wish for bad for the other candidates. i'm looking out for my self interests. you have to sometimes.
 
RJLJD said:
What I'm about to say is in no way an entire slight against you Ted, merely conversation.
for one, if you feel good in your own mind about your own self that should be enough. don't be bitter that others don't see it your way. stay resolute in that you're proud of who you are. its interesting because if that were the way, then you haven't f***ed up, at least not in your own eyes. sure others may think you have, but you're the one keeping score on your life.
sorry you live in a town on radical right wingers, i don't like their ideals very much either.
religion seems to be a running theme of your angst, particularly christianity. now, do you actually have a problem with the values of chrisitianity or how they become warped in certain people's hands?
violence, bigotry, selfishness, and war... yes, too much, not only in this country but across the world. i have no issue with that statement whatsoever.
"people who want what they want at the expense of others"
let me ask you this, and i realize its a loaded question... are you against capitalism? if you are, i disagree with you, but that's ok. my point is our society the way it is based is always going to have winners and losers, people who gain and people who lose. i graduate college in the spring. of course i want that job that's hopefully going to be out there... at the expense of everyone else who applied. i don't personally wish for bad for the other candidates. i'm looking out for my self interests. you have to sometimes.

Thanks, RJ, appreciate your post. No, I have nothing against the principals of Christianity, as in what Jesus himself is said to have taught. It is, in fact, virtually identical to what Buddha taught, btw. My wife is a Christian and we get along fine. She is not radical or fanatical, just hangs on to her faith mostly out of fear. I don't badger and she doesn't preach. The problem I have with Christianity is, first, the thing about how it has been corrupted and is used by the right wing to destroy. There are those who would literally have me hung if they could because I am an atheist. Not very Christian or American of them. The other thing is that many claim to have this strong faith but when push comes to shove they chicken out. If they believe what Jesus said, or Paul for that matter (1 Corinthians 13, for example), they'd live that life. But they don't because it'd cost them something. I have no respect for cowards.

The ideal of capitalism, "an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth," is ok to a point. The reality is, however, it has led to Corporatism, or more bluntly, Fascism. Corporations own and control this country. This I am absolutely and without a doubt against.

I am not opposed to a regulated capitalist system that prevents what has happened to us. Our country is slowly falling apart, too, because of the concentration of wealth. But how do you kill Walmart? As unbridled capitalism sucks Americans dry Walmart profits. The right wing sticks capitalism up on the pedestal right next to and equal to their warped version of Jesus. I'd like to see both pedestals come down.

In that word of "winners and losers" I'll take the losers. Those folks I really love. I worked for Enterprise Rent-a-car. It was a horrible, corporate, dog-eat-dog world. I once said to a co-worker, "I won't climb over anybody to get to the top." She looked me in the eyes and said, "you won't last." She was right. My wife works for an employment agency that throws money around like it grows on trees. They hold their meetings in lavish five-star hotels and are entertained by the top stars. The company is global. It's money comes from paying people low wages and charging a fee to employers so they don't have to deal with the paperwork and can toss workers away for any or no reason at all. Something wrong with that picture.

Kind'a long winded, I suppose. Can't help it. I'm a writer.
 
tedgresham said:
RJLJD said:
What I'm about to say is in no way an entire slight against you Ted, merely conversation.
for one, if you feel good in your own mind about your own self that should be enough. don't be bitter that others don't see it your way. stay resolute in that you're proud of who you are. its interesting because if that were the way, then you haven't f***ed up, at least not in your own eyes. sure others may think you have, but you're the one keeping score on your life.
sorry you live in a town on radical right wingers, i don't like their ideals very much either.
religion seems to be a running theme of your angst, particularly christianity. now, do you actually have a problem with the values of chrisitianity or how they become warped in certain people's hands?
violence, bigotry, selfishness, and war... yes, too much, not only in this country but across the world. i have no issue with that statement whatsoever.
"people who want what they want at the expense of others"
let me ask you this, and i realize its a loaded question... are you against capitalism? if you are, i disagree with you, but that's ok. my point is our society the way it is based is always going to have winners and losers, people who gain and people who lose. i graduate college in the spring. of course i want that job that's hopefully going to be out there... at the expense of everyone else who applied. i don't personally wish for bad for the other candidates. i'm looking out for my self interests. you have to sometimes.

Thanks, RJ, appreciate your post. No, I have nothing against the principals of Christianity, as in what Jesus himself is said to have taught. It is, in fact, virtually identical to what Buddha taught, btw. My wife is a Christian and we get along fine. She is not radical or fanatical, just hangs on to her faith mostly out of fear. I don't badger and she doesn't preach. The problem I have with Christianity is, first, the thing about how it has been corrupted and is used by the right wing to destroy. There are those who would literally have me hung if they could because I am an atheist. Not very Christian or American of them. The other thing is that many claim to have this strong faith but when push comes to shove they chicken out. If they believe what Jesus said, or Paul for that matter (1 Corinthians 13, for example), they'd live that life. But they don't because it'd cost them something. I have no respect for cowards.

The ideal of capitalism, "an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth," is ok to a point. The reality is, however, it has led to Corporatism, or more bluntly, Fascism. Corporations own and control this country. This I am absolutely and without a doubt against.

I am not opposed to a regulated capitalist system that prevents what has happened to us. Our country is slowly falling apart, too, because of the concentration of wealth. But how do you kill Walmart? As unbridled capitalism sucks Americans dry Walmart profits. The right wing sticks capitalism up on the pedestal right next to and equal to their warped version of Jesus. I'd like to see both pedestals come down.

In that word of "winners and losers" I'll take the losers. Those folks I really love. I worked for Enterprise Rent-a-car. It was a horrible, corporate, dog-eat-dog world. I once said to a co-worker, "I won't climb over anybody to get to the top." She looked me in the eyes and said, "you won't last." She was right. My wife works for an employment agency that throws money around like it grows on trees. They hold their meetings in lavish five-star hotels and are entertained by the top stars. The company is global. It's money comes from paying people low wages and charging a fee to employers so they don't have to deal with the paperwork and can toss workers away for any or no reason at all. Something wrong with that picture.

Kind'a long winded, I suppose. Can't help it. I'm a writer.
you make a lot of good points.
christianity within itself is a good idea. i would go as far as saying that for the most part religion and the teachings of religions are good ideas, whether it be christianity, islam, buddhism, or what have you. the problem is when the teachings become warped or radical, or even worse, used to attain some other humanly (usually selfish) gain.
i also agree with your stance on capitalism. pure capitialism won't work for most because the top will take advantage of the system. it does indeed need to be regulated.
mind you, i said there would be winners and losers, but what i neglected to say is that just because there are those 2 groups doesn't mean that those that don't win out should be frowned upon like they have the plague. everyone deserves fair treatment.
 
RJLJD said:
you make a lot of good points.
christianity within itself is a good idea. i would go as far as saying that for the most part religion and the teachings of religions are good ideas, whether it be christianity, islam, buddhism, or what have you. the problem is when the teachings become warped or radical, or even worse, used to attain some other humanly (usually selfish) gain.
i also agree with your stance on capitalism. pure capitialism won't work for most because the top will take advantage of the system. it does indeed need to be regulated.
mind you, i said there would be winners and losers, but what i neglected to say is that just because there are those 2 groups doesn't mean that those that don't win out should be frowned upon like they have the plague. everyone deserves fair treatment.
Hi. And thanks. At their root, almost all religions have the Golden Rule, treat others as you would want to be treated. In the real world, however, it's rarely practiced. The problem with deist religions, especially christianity in this country, is that people just dump on god and relieve themselves of responsibility. I like the old phrase, 'god helps them whut helps themselves'. I know too well how phrases like "it's not meant to be, god knows best, if god wanted this/that..." become catch phrases and excuses. The biggest problem isn't the religious beliefs, it's the powers who control them.

Protestants like to think they're independent, they don't have the Pope, etc... but their actions and deeds are dictated by the people who write the stuff. Religious people are taught not to think for themselves and they don't. The Pat Robertsons and Billy Grahams and organizations like that horrid Vision America, based here, tell followers what to think: "Vision America is all about empowering the "shepherds" to lead their "flocks" back into being salt in our nation." Ugh.

Those of us who refuse to just 'accept' quickly see through the bullshit. Vision America is dead set on an oligarchical country based on bigoted fundamentalist principals where folks like me have no rights.

I am Buddhist because the teaching of Buddha, identical to that of Jesus, is peace, respect, love, etc.. but Buddha made no demands, put no conditions, never claimed to be any kind of deity. He just gave his Four Nobel Truths and other teachings and said, "these are good. They should work for you. Try them." Humility is extremely lacking in deist religion's hierarchies. Buddhist monks, however, are the definition of humble.

Buddha also said what we do is up to us. He said gods are irrelevant. He was a cool dude. I would really like to have met him.

If there is a purpose to humanity as a whole it has to be for us to rise above Darwinist "survival of the fittest" mentality and recognize the value of all people. Those who crawl over others devalue themselves as much as they do their victims. We loose as a race every time we let hatred, fear, selfishness and bigotry win. I see it here and hear it all the time, the idea that this or that is 'human nature'. Bullshit, it's only residue of our biological past. We can and should be better. We should use our minds and our hearts to rise above hurtful actions and thoughts rather than dismiss them as "our nature." Instead we let our gut and our genitals drive us.

I don't think anybody actually "deserves" anything merely because they are human. But that's not the point. Like Buddha and Jesus both said (I think Jesus was Buddhist, may have said that) was that we should treat each other with kindness, respect, and do no harm because we choose to. Ultimately we help ourselves with such an attitude. Buddha's whole focus was really how a person could find happiness himself. There's a selfish twist in what he taught. Even so, it turns what Americans think will make them happy on its head. And it works, too.

Yes, everyone should be treated fairly, and equally. Governments should exist only to fulfill the needs that can't be met by the community. Government should provide for our safety, insure fair treatment for all, protect the weak, and nothing more. But then the gut and genital club that sits atop our corporatocracy would be out of work and have to fly coach. That would be horrible, huh?

I appreciate our discussion.
 
in a lot of ways, i think it would be fair to say corporate America and the conservative republican party are doing their absolute best to eliminate the middle class of this country.
i'd no doubt agree that the authority of christianity and other deist religions does get out of hand. you need not look any further than the radical Muslims of today or the highly conservative Christians that are ignorant to everything else around them. that's why although I consider myself christian, i don't do denominations or church, and i don't believe in the need to organize religion. i do it in my own way. i come up with my own concept that works for me.
let me ask you this... do you see something wrong with individual people gaining either material or privileges that other people do not have? if all other things are equal and i gain something you don't have, how do you explain that? clearly not by god, which is fine... luck? or is it my obligation then to provide you with half and otherwise i'm being selfish?
perhaps i'm missing the point. its not the material or privileges that should make one happy, but the self-worth.
is there human nature? are there qualities that are inherently human? i wonder.

i appreciate it too. it brings out the inner philosopher in me, and seems to do likewise for you.
 
RJLJD said:
in a lot of ways, i think it would be fair to say corporate America and the conservative republican party are doing their absolute best to eliminate the middle class of this country.
i'd no doubt agree that the authority of christianity and other deist religions does get out of hand. you need not look any further than the radical Muslims of today or the highly conservative Christians that are ignorant to everything else around them. that's why although I consider myself christian, i don't do denominations or church, and i don't believe in the need to organize religion. i do it in my own way. i come up with my own concept that works for me.
let me ask you this... do you see something wrong with individual people gaining either material or privileges that other people do not have? if all other things are equal and i gain something you don't have, how do you explain that? clearly not by god, which is fine... luck? or is it my obligation then to provide you with half and otherwise i'm being selfish?
perhaps i'm missing the point. its not the material or privileges that should make one happy, but the self-worth.
is there human nature? are there qualities that are inherently human? i wonder.

i appreciate it too. it brings out the inner philosopher in me, and seems to do likewise for you.

You know, the only reason I wind up searching around on this infernal internet is to find people to have good conversations with. My wife is like those hear no/see no/speak no evil statues. My kids are not old enough to have philosophical conversations with. So, I talk to stuff in my shop a lot. lol

It's interesting that I'm having a very similar conversation with a 19 year old on Facebook who struck up a conversation this morning. Maybe that's a good sign.

There is no doubt at all, like ol' Alex says, "there's a war on..." not just for our minds but against the middle class. I published an online newspaper for a few months, collecting alternative news with a focus on Texas. I did research. It ain't pretty. Look up a company called WPP sometime. That company is at the top of the corporate pyramid. It produces advertising and promotions for everybody from Burger King to Blackwater. Corporate boards are all tied together. Not pretty.

Religion could serve a good purpose but it usually gets out of hand. For me, I want proof, evidence, reality. Faith seems a waste of time. Deist religion lets people throw away their personal responsibility.

I don't have a problem with material wealth. The reason some people have more and others less does not have a single answer. Neither god nor karma has anything to do with it. It's not luck, either. What happens is a consequence of everything that came before. To get at the absolute answer one would have to go all the way back to the beginning of time. Life is like one of those cool displays of falling dominoes. Years ago it was a fad for somebody to take thousands of dominoes and set them up in elaborate patterns on a gym floor somewhere. Then with the cameras rolling someone would trip one domino and it would hit two and those would hit two until all the dominoes fell. It's all circumstance, not providence.

I believe who we are and what we do is at least 80% genetic, maybe ten of fifteen percent environment, and the other small percentage is choice. That's why it's do **** hard to break habits. Some people are able to succeed because they have the skills in their head that others don't. It's interesting that I've talked about this with a few counselors who we took our kids to and I was surprised to hear them agree with me. Our challenge as humans is to use the intellect wisely. Doesn't science say we only use ten percent of our brain anyway?

However small it is, our intellect is a very powerful thing. The rest of who we are, drives us ahead to get, take, hold, survive. But our intellect gives us the ability to recognize our responsibilities to others as well as ourselves. Wise teachers always tell us to care for others. We should listen to them. We have the power to destroy ourselves or to reach the stars. If we can ever use the ten percent wisely and stop letting our mindless "natural" drives push us along we will reach the stars. If we don't, we're doomed.

OK, so I'm a bit wound up this morning. ha. With wealth comes responsibility. There will always be some more wealthy than others but if the wealthy will simply be fair, honest and compassionate to all then there would not be starving people and the only homeless that exist would be those who choose to be. I'd be happy in a commune of shared property but that's not practical. And I don't see that you must share 50/50 with the poor. If my wife and I did that our kids would go hungry. Just share of your bounty, give what you can, and sacrifice a few excesses. Mostly just give a **** and show that you do by how you live and how you act. That's what matters most, I think.
 
Jilted John said:
But...but,East Texas is where Sheldon Cooper comes from!

Ha. I had to look that one up. I am totally oblivious to what people are watching on TV these days. I run from sitcoms like cats run from water. From the bio of the character though Cooper is from Galveston. There ain't no similarity between Galveston and Lufkin. Without ever watching the show, though, I have no doubt Hollywood's view is as skewed as it comes.

One of the best, though very limited, glimpses of East Texas is in Charlie's War, about Congressman Charles Wilson. Now there was a good ol' boy if there ever was one. I was disappointed the movie showed so little about this redneck burg. Charlie was a good fella, though, not a typical East Texas religious nutcase. He's well remembered and liked here. A full size statue of him stands in front of the Charles Wilson VA clinic where I go. Good ol' Charlie! Would that we had another guy like him now and not that weenie from Tyler Loui Ghomert. Ugh. ...but I digress...
 
Hmmm....I'm not exactly FROM Texas, but I just moved here. I believe I can relate to some of your situation lol. I hope everything works out for you friend!
 
ghbarnaby said:
Hmmm....I'm not exactly FROM Texas, but I just moved here. I believe I can relate to some of your situation lol. I hope everything works out for you friend!

Bless you my friend! lol Texas is like a 'hole other country. The people are different, sometimes very different, depending on where you are.
 
If anything, evolution demonstrates that those who thrive tend to express a modicum of aggression and ambition. I am definitely not seeking to be one of the "losers" and in a world of limited resources, I cannot help but find that even if one intends to do good, it is best to work from a position of strength.

Its really almost fundamental logic; I always enjoyed that in Texas, because we were a place that did not bother to go out of its way to coddle the weak. Hell, even just the nature outside can kill people with heat stroke. The sense of primeval honor, where a debt is to be repaid - good for good, evil for evil, where revenge is accepted as reasonable and sane, and where fighting back is still seen as okay is one of the reasons why I love my state.

And yeah, hell yeah that there are Mexican gangbangers just to name something you mentioned. But we haven't rolled over and played dead like so many other states. We take care of our own, no matter the cost and without excessive pity. I love that.

I'm one of the corporate people, for what it is worth. Marketing, in fact.
 
IgnoredOne said:
If anything, evolution demonstrates that those who thrive tend to express a modicum of aggression and ambition. I am definitely not seeking to be one of the "losers" and in a world of limited resources, I cannot help but find that even if one intends to do good, it is best to work from a position of strength.

Its really almost fundamental logic; I always enjoyed that in Texas, because we were a place that did not bother to go out of its way to coddle the weak. Hell, even just the nature outside can kill people with heat stroke. The sense of primeval honor, where a debt is to be repaid - good for good, evil for evil, where revenge is accepted as reasonable and sane, and where fighting back is still seen as okay is one of the reasons why I love my state.

And yeah, hell yeah that there are Mexican gangbangers just to name something you mentioned. But we haven't rolled over and played dead like so many other states. We take care of our own, no matter the cost and without excessive pity. I love that.

I'm one of the corporate people, for what it is worth. Marketing, in fact.

Ahh, the enemy. ha.

I stand by what I wrote. I don't care what evolution demonstrates, we can rise above it. It's probably some kind of contradiction that even though I am an atheist and a Buddhist I entirely endorse Christian virtues such as humility and forgiveness. A dog is a dog. It will never recognize it is anything else. Its instincts will be its guide. We as human beings have the capacity to recognize there are destructive impulses in our heritage and genetic tendencies that can and should be overcome.
There are parts of my Texas heritage I am not proud of at all. Quite often so-called "honor" is bestowed upon men who are ruthless and bloodthirsty in their pursuit of patriotism. The truly honorable man defends the weak against aggressors but he does not do so at the expense of innocent lives.
There's a difference between "fighting back," as in repelling someone who is attacking, and seeking a fight. I would protect my family with whatever force necessary. We live within a quarter of a mile of a neighborhood full of gangbangers. I own a hand gun. I would not stand quietly and accept a beating myself unless there was a **** good reason. I would never enjoy fighting. Violence is never good.
Back in those "primeval" days there was zero freedom and any who questioned authority was hung or stretched on a rack. Are you in favor of that too? I would hope we have forever progressed beyond the dark ages.
Resources on this planet are not limited. They are hoarded. And they are wasted. The average McDonald's throws away enough food every day to feed a lot of people. Or they did when I worked at one. There would be far more resources available if corporations were not destroying massive swathes of the planet in a headlong rush for wealth and power.
You said, "I am definitely not seeking to be one of the "losers" and in a world of limited resources" , "we were a place that did not bother to go out of its way to coddle the weak" and "We take care of our own, no matter the cost and without excessive pity." Are those not contradictory? Are the weak included in "our own?" Are not the weak always the losers? Will you take their food?"
When Texas means a whole lot of tall boots John Wayne bullshit bravado then I'm not so proud to be one at all.
 

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