Chrono Compendium
Zenan Plains - Site Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: ZeaLitY on February 24, 2009, 10:26:09 pm
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I've got 150 Facebook friends. I check it once or twice a day, browsing the status updates and feeds to see if any of the friends I'm interested in are up to any interesting schemes, or perhaps to add a new friend now and then from the university.
Being a lover of language, I notice grammatical errors, misspellings, and so on. But I also inadvertently observe the intelligence of the people on my friends list over time through their status updates, notes, and comments. Some people I only knew as interesting acquaintances have proven satisfyingly intelligent, thoughtful people. Others have surprised me, and some have disappointed.
But if there are two fuck-ups who take the fucking cake for being shallow, ignorant, intellectually incurious, brutish, unempathetic, barely-lucid assholes, it's...
Well, ready to guess?
They share a common profession. They're the only two of their kind on my list.
You'll hit yourself once you read the answer.
Give up?
They're male models.
Never saw it coming, right? What are the odds?
Apparently, you don't need much thought, human worth, or self-determination to get through life if you're coronated by body culture. Worthless fucks. It's people like that who make me feel guilty to be born with height. People at career fairs flag me down to try and recruit me while shorter men and women have to vie for attention. Things like this. I would not use my body to achieve an unfair advantage, but it's people like these fucking models and the ignorant idiots who worship them and follow their cues that drag me into this despicable arena. So yes -- if I, by standing next to a shallow person like these 2 idiots on my friends' list somewhere, even minutely make them envy my height -- good. Let them suffer. They're overdue for the suffering they condone and facilitate through thoughtless body culture. Let them feel inferior. Fuck them.
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Damn...angry much Zeality?
Two of the shallowest people I've ever known were models. Female models though. I used to ask them how they thought they would get through life once their looks inevitably failed them. One still goes to UNT I think. Last I heard her modeling contract is off and she works at Twin Peaks or Hooters or something. I told her she should just be a stripper and make more money, you know, if she's going to be profiting off her body in the first place. It's not like it is that great of a dip in morals.
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Yeah. I'm tired of seeing these fucking people on my Facebook updates. I want to defriend them, but I don't defriend people out of habit in case I ever need to ask a favor or something down the line.
One of them is just going on to star-studded things. I'm not jealous, because I have my own ambitions very separate from what he's doing. But what does piss me off is that he's achieving all this regardless of any merit that he earned or created for himself. The Compendium is a reflection of my love of a meritocracy, and that's how it is / should be in the United States in general. But models, what did they earn? They were genetically given that body. Fuck that.
Edit: I'm also fucking pissed because a female friend of mine has taken up arms against sexism, but is suffering for it. No matter how much sexism pisses me off, I'm still male. I still get the free pass in this world. She has no refuge like that. It fucking angers me.
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But models, what did they earn? They were genetically given that body. Fuck that.
But do note that your very intelligence is something you were genetically given. Now, it might well be that you worked hard to achieve your high level you hold in it, but do not those that have the pinnacle of physique also work towards it? If one says that the physical body you possess is something you are given, then so is the mind. And if the mind is something you must work towards, so is the body. Of course, and you know this, it is balance, and not having one out of measure with the other, that is the truly desired mean.
Of course, I do understand your frustration, and it's an old one. Take solace in Socrates as your companion. You see, when he was on trial for corrupting the youth, and he was asked what he thought his sentence should be, he suggested free meals at city hall. Now, this might seem overtly seem a certain levity for the jugement rendered against him, but instead it is a profound comment on this very thing. You see, it was the athletes who, having had an Olympic victory, were entitled to a lifetime of free meals there. In stating that, for upsetting the city with his observations, making people think, etc. he should receive the same luxury, he was essentially stating that his effort on behalf of the intellectual good of the populace was as, and indeed more, beneficial than that which the athletes gave the city. This was actually the topic my Graduate supervisor spoke on when he was the speaker for the year end get-together in the department a few months back. So if you're feeling frustrated, remember that just beside you, calmly drinking the hemlock, is Socrates.
Just another note about model sorts... that need not always be the case. For example, a recent acquaintance of mine. Judging by some of her pictures on Facebook, she seems to have, a while back, done a shoot of modelling. I've not asked her about it, but judging by the captions it was for some jewellery catalogue or some such thing. I must say, she looks absolutely stunning - to match with the best, in my opinion. All the same, from the context in which I got to know her, I know her as probably the most brilliant person my age I've ever met. Extremely passionate about her studies, these being Classical linguistics (alright, maybe I'm biased because of this, heh), someone of apparently remarkable ability and extreme love of the subject. To top it off, she has had some time in the field of astrophysics. Plainly here is someone of extreme ability and intelligence - I will lightly say far outmatching my own, and that is not a judgement I typically make so surely.
Of course, that does not excuse the dim wits that populate Facebook. I share your agony.
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But models, what did they earn? They were genetically given that body. Fuck that.
Yeah, there's no hard work or determination to put into that. They're earning shit all. It's irritating as all hell when they flaunt their appearance with a "Oh, I've had it tough all my life and now I'm getting the money I deserve" alibi. The common mindset seems to be "Oh hey, I'm good looking, I must have a fucking amazing personality." If only people would learn, maybe relationships wouldn't suck ass and end up dead the next week out of incompatibility.
I'm also fucking pissed because a female friend of mine has taken up arms against sexism, but is suffering for it. No matter how much sexism pisses me off, I'm still male. I still get the free pass in this world. She has no refuge like that. It fucking angers me.
I long for the day when genders become equal, and people move away from the "men are the wonderous ass-kicking super strong miracles, and the women support them" shit.
I can't stand sites like Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, etc. I know it's a good way of keeping in touch with friends and family, but most of boils down to "stalk a few people and see what they ate for breakfast this morning and how they reduce you to a statistical value in their list of pals". Oh, and while you're at it, you might even get to do a quiz based on facts about themselves! Holy cow! I wonder what colour shoes Ted wears, question 7 is a toughie.
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I feel I have justified my gift of intelligence through certain actions and ethical uprightness, which is by no means perfect. I've been aware of a need to act "rightly" since I was a toddler; sort of a self-imposed awareness and curiosity about what's good. But I also rationalize it by placing a duty upon myself to humanity; to use my gifts for the betterment of the world. Because I've been dragged into body culture, I use that as part of it, now. If shallow people will pay attention to tall people more than short, then I'm going to use that audience to promulgate ideals and good things.
Yes, my best friend used to be a model...she's extremely intelligent. She admits that the vast majority of people involved in the business are shallow derelicts.
"stalk a few people and see what they ate for breakfast
I will admit that Twitter has its use when you can see what MC Hammer had for breakfast. He really does have a twitter. It would be so fun to tell people what Hammer's up to out of nowhere; that is sweet surreal humor, heh.
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I'm great friends with a model myself...You can't stereotype them all into the whole "we have bodies so we don't need to do anything" category. Do you know how much work it takes to actually be a model? It takes a shitload of work and determination. Sure, you have the genetics to be one, but you don't automatically become one with a perfect body, you have to work at it. I'm not trying to say they're all like that, it's just the one I know actually is not like what's been described at all whatsoever up above.
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I'm great friends with a model myself...You can't stereotype them all into the whole "we have bodies so we don't need to do anything" category. Do you know how much work it takes to actually be a model? It takes a shitload of work and determination. Sure, you have the genetics to be one, but you don't automatically become one with a perfect body, you have to work at it. I'm not trying to say they're all like that, it's just the one I know actually is not like what's been described at all whatsoever up above.
Our experiences aren't different. But perhaps the arena is. Your model friend probably works in the US. Mine was in Europe, in Paris, et cetera. And she says that 90% of them are worthless derelicts.
I know it fucking takes work. But it's a privilege.
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In so many instances, beauty's a curse though. Unwanted attention from weirdos. Objectification. Being labeled a "bimbo" or a "jock." What a prison for the beautiful will that lurks within, in some cases truly beautiful, in other cases shriveled due to lack of nurturing attention.
As I see it, beautiful people may be the most overlooked, the most invisible in our society.
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From the one I know, it really is a curse. He gets flirted with by so many guys and girls, he can't stand it. Hell, he actually dropped modeling for awhile because it takes up too much of his personal time.
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In so many instances, beauty's a curse though. Unwanted attention from weirdos. Objectification. Being labeled a "bimbo" or a "jock." What a prison for the beautiful will that lurks within, in some cases truly beautiful, in other cases shriveled due to lack of nurturing attention.
As I see it, beautiful people may be the most overlooked, the most invisible in our society.
It is a curse. You can't walk the streets of fucking Milan, Italy as a beautiful woman without being harassed verbally or physically.
These people also need to fucking be violently beaten. Fucking molesters and improper bastards. Fuck them. Fucking goddamn Italian courts barely even prosecute rape.
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I've gone through something similar to this. Shallow fuckers. They're everywhere. Thing of it is, I know I've done some shallow shit. Turned someone done because I dind't think she was pretty enough or turning the other way when I should help or step up as the case may be.
BUT there are those few Z brings up, the really evil shallow fuckers. I've seen some in my classes, some aren't really good looking but they carry themselves with an air of....hatred, really. I always want to ask them how the view is up there, but it's not worth it. Ii will pass, and you'll appreciate the good again.
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Isn't there a way to lower the amount of updates you get for certain Friends or something...? I forget...I only have a handful of people on Facebook and only really talk to a handful of them on there about anything...though I use the Flixster app almost religiously (and I'm fairly certain only like 2 or 3 of my friends ever reads any of my movie reviews or anything)...
As for shallow people...yeah, takes all kinds I guess...
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Freshman year of high school. We were having elections for class office. Guess who won president? Not the smart, short girl with a quiet voice who would obviously be the best choice. Not the smart, kind of short girl with a loud voice and a tendency to randomly start talking about Heroes in English class. No.
The big, stupid guy who's on the football team.
And I'm pretty sure he failed a class or two.
Shallow people bother me. I try not to judge on looks, but... I admit, I'm more likely to hang out with a guy who's tall and has little to no acne as opposed to the shorter one with a giant zit on his nose. Unfortunately, it seems that things like beauty, gender and race have been seriously hammered into society. Have we gotten better about it? Yes. Women can wear pants, people who aren't Caucasian can vote in America (if they're citizens), and you can still be cool, even if you're not the most gorgeous. But still, things from the past linger. Women seem to be judged on their looks rather than their intellect, people still have racial prejudices, and you're less likely to be rich and famous if you're ugly.
But... maybe this will change in the future. Maybe. I dunno. I'm not making sense right now.
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Turned someone done because I dind't think she was pretty enough.
Now see, I don't think this is particularly shallow at all. I think it is perfectly fine to turn someone down because you aren't attracted to them. Physical attraction is a big part of relationships. I'm sure if they found out that was the reason, they would be hurt, but that doesn't make you a bad person for doing it.
Now, if you completely wrote someone off as a human being because they were too fat - or whatever - that would definitely make you shallow.
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Shallow people do, unfortunately, come from all walks of life; intelligence is in no way a guard against it.
By random chance I happen to know a dean of admissions at a research university. He specifically works with Medical Scientist Training Program candidates (otherwise known as MSTP students). These are individuals who are working to get an M.D. and Ph.D. (in a biomedical field) at the same time. They are supposed to be the best and brightest the medical community has to offer. Unfortunately, sexism, racism, and general bigotry is a drastic problem in this group of people. While intelligent, they are so full of themselves that they are inherently incapable of working in a team (and gone are the days when major scientific breakthroughs can be made by lone individuals). Being intelligent in no way justifies assuming that any female labtech or student exists entirely and singularly for your pleasures; yet these individuals not only think that, because the selection criteria excludes such considerations, they are often put into positions where this sort of behavior has free reign.
As I see it, beautiful people may be the most overlooked, the most invisible in our society.
I'd agree with you, but for probably a reason that one wouldn't suspect. That is, I'd generally claim that beauty, contrary to the old saying, is inherant in the beholden rather than the eye of the beholder. All individuals are beautiful and it is only the observers that lack the ability to recognize it. To offer an analogy, I'm fairly tone deaf, so I don't make a claim that I can recognize all beautiful music; but I can still recognize that music I might not see the beauty in could have beauty regardless of my undeveloped senses. In a similar manner, we tend to be form-blind, as it were; I can recognize that there are individuals that I wont be able to see the beauty in but that still have beauty regardless of my undeveloped senses.
So yes, the beautiful people are the most overlooked and invisible members of society, generally because we lack the refined senses to notice that beauty.
But for how you meant it, I'd also agree. However, there is an unfortunately number of beautiful people who have accepted that invisibility whole heartedly. People see them as nothing but a beautiful body, so some of them seem to in turn see themselves as nothing but a beautiful body.
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My own personal mantra, or saying:
The more intelligent you are the easier it is to justify a wrong.
My father once said it to me when I was real young. He himself didn't mean a lot by it, in fact he probably doesn't even remember it. For me though it has stuck and been one of the largest guiding factor in my life, along with my love of learning.
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Let us not forget in all of this that we make the unfortunate dichotomy of shallow/not shallow by saying that to judge by looks is shallow, and by personality is not. And yet this is false. After all, do we not make snap judgements of people based on our initial instincts, as quick as any physical assessment? So don't forget that you do not guard yourself against that by thinking yourself to look at the personality.
In truth, an assessment of beauty can be every bit as deep as an understanding of personality. At this moment I am loath to make this distinction into which people are only too quick to leap so that they can pat themselves on the back.
What it comes down to is that any assessment of someone, either physical or personality, made without having known them a long time, should be classified as shallow. And a growing appreciation of someone's beauty, or even a judgment upon it, should not take second rank to judgments on someone's personality. After all, you might dislike someone for how they act, but those same actions might seem beautiful to another.
It's worth a thought, and worth an admonition for ourselves that we don't pride ourselves too highly in trying to look at personality whilst still acting in the selfsame manner.
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Yes, agreed. I arrived at my condemnation of those two people on my Facebook only after being forced to watch their behavior for a few months over the feed.
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Yes, agreed. I arrived at my condemnation of those two people on my Facebook only after being forced to watch their behavior for a few months over the feed.
Yes, that's different.
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I have given up Facebook all together. Just... don't effin' care anymore.
Um... may I suggest we change the title of this topic to something less... profane? Please?
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I have given up Facebook all together. Just... don't effin' care anymore.
Um... may I suggest we change the title of this topic to something less... profane? Please?
Well, I don't think it's technically profane. Indeed, the acronymn to which the word applies is actually a technical term. As it were, 'fornication under the consent of the king.' Or you could just go all Battlestar Galactica and go 'frak.'
Facebook... I don't know, I find the whole thing rather useful. But my status updates are... entirely unlike the others. What's mine currently... something like... 'Daniel wishes himself to be more as Geryon and be a many-eyed watcher of the wonders of the world. But here he must hold one heart, and look to Thucydides alone.' Oh, I do not all easily into the whole abbrevation and sound-byte culture of Facebook and text messages. I retain a certain pride in my grammar throughout all of these.
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I have given up Facebook all together. Just... don't effin' care anymore.
Um... may I suggest we change the title of this topic to something less... profane? Please?
Ha. But then it wouldn't have my 300% intensity going on.
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ZeaLitY. . . I have one thing to say about you and this topic. . . Youre fuckin awesome xD
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ZeaLitY was once ordered to wash his mouth out with soap. But you know what he did? He snapped the bar of soap in half. Seriously. It killed about 37 people instantly. You do not wanna fuck with this guy. If he wants to throw around a little longshoreman's language, I saw we give him a "wide berth" and count ourselves lucky.
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I believe that some people are shallow as an appearance, to hide a deeper more meaningful version of themselves, and the only reason they do that is they fear judgment from other people, so they wear a mask.
I say this, because I am one of those people
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ZeaLitY was once ordered to wash his mouth out with soap. But you know what he did? He snapped the bar of soap in half. Seriously. It killed about 37 people instantly. You do not wanna fuck with this guy. If he wants to throw around a little longshoreman's language, I saw we give him a "wide berth" and count ourselves lucky.
Really? I'd have thought it would have been more. Hm. Maybe they caught him on a less fiery day.
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http://dating.uk.msn.com/matchscene/article.aspx?articleid=10326&TrackingID=523984&BannerID=568010>1=50750&ocid=today
"Hey, why not lie and keep your personality and lifestyle secret from your partner?"
What fucking bullshit.
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http://dating.uk.msn.com/matchscene/article.aspx?articleid=10326&TrackingID=523984&BannerID=568010>1=50750&ocid=today
"Hey, why not lie and keep your personality and lifestyle secret from your partner?"
What fucking bullshit.
FUCK THAT ARTICLE, AND FUCK THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT.
Fucking hell. "RATIONALIZE SHALLOW MEN! BECOME SHALLOW YOURSELF!"
Why was I born into this hell of a world? This pit of intellectual incuriosity?
I am going to rip the fucking throat out of this article.
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Fuck, I know, it's not only encouraging lying to your partner, but essentially telling you to reduce yourself to a simple fucking shallow lifestyle.
This is the shit that discourages the growth of intelligence, discovery and acceptance.
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He doesn’t need, or want, to know chapter and verse about your bowels, fungal infections or spectacular faux pas.
I'm sorry, what? If you're looking for a lifelong partner, you shouldn't have to lie to them. Love isn't pretty, and it never should be. If you want a man to really love you, let him know everything about you. EVERYTHING. Are you gassy? Do you bloat easily? Do you not exercise? Do you have an overprotective mommy? DO YOU HAVE THE AIDS?!
Your partner has every right to know this. If he's so shallow he rejects you like this, then he's not worth your time. I'm looking through it now and it's essentially saying you need to be PERFECT to get a guy. You don't do anything with your makeup, you exercise rigorously, you're smart, you're thin, you have never ever had a boyfriend, and you don't spend money.
WHAT?!
I'm going to say this again. A man should love you not only because of your good sides but because of your flaws. And vice versa, if you're a guy who likes girls. Be honest and you'll find true love.
I guess.
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Yes. For fuck's sake; some of the most interesting qualities in the people I meet are the negative ones. Sometimes, pettiness can speak volumes about a person's character. Great light can cast great shadow.