Quote Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr View Post
If one is taken out the womb before the other, suddenly you have the butterfly effect and there you go one gets the Nobel Peace Prize and the other goes on a killing spree. Biology and environment/upbringing are the reasons behind everything we do. Unless of course you believe in some sort of soul, but then there's no more evidence for that than there is for the big man in the sky.
I seem to recall someone once saying something about an argument being built upon sand; and the other one said that sand is better than nothing at all... In this case, your argument is once again built upon no evidence, and no reasoning that I can see. A vast amount of evidence, research, and reasoning has gone into the question of blaming genes for our behavior. But the fact is while genes may help form the brain, so does the environment, and unless the brain is absolutely dead, people have control over their actions, and can freely choose.

Even a certain God people believe in allows for free will. So does science. You're curiously arguing against it, even though you yourself have said that faith is a choice.

Your argument is undermined by your own argument, and as such, there is no better rebuttal than your own words. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a break from this one for a little while, because (a) we won't make any progress (b) I think you've effectively defeated yourself and (c) I do find the defense of racists to be a little upsetting, and as such, I take my leave and will ponder things quietly without saying things that might offend people.



There were those days when we Japanese bragged about being allowed to be "Special Whites" for beating Russia. And that was the day when we lost Asian pride
You are an individual to me, Beefy; the crimes of others, in the past, are not yours to feel ashamed of. Whites in the past enslaved and conquered, and I feel no shame because I've done nothing wrong. Germans have nothing to be ashamed of, nor Italians, nor blacks or hispanics or persians or arabs... Blaming a race or a nation for the crimes of individuals is again, based on poor reasoning and fallacious thinking.

You have much to be proud of, Beefy... you're funny and smart and friendly, and people like you gawrsh darn it! Asian pride is perhaps nothing to miss; Asians are a vast group of diverse people, and people should be proud of their own accomplishments. I've never been a fan of racial pride. But at the same time, you, Japan, Asians.... have nothing to be collectively ashamed of either. I don't believe in collective pride, nor do I believe in collective shame. A person is judged on their own merits as an individual.

It's one of the reasons I oppose racists so much; they assign group pride and group shame. There's no room for that in my mind or in my heart.