[kj] FW: jaz date change 4 spoken word

[Brendan Quinn]

You’re putting words in my mouth again. All I was getting at was that I have a say, and you’re creating a false dichotomy by talking about me as being separate from society. I AM society, as are you. Don’t assert something then go off on some idea of what I would or wouldn’t do, that’s not fighting fair.

 

In terms of my participation and vested interests in society, I believe I have a right to have a say and defend my freedoms and others’ too. Your idea of me defending homophobic hate-mongers is way off the mark, it doesn’t follow from what I’m saying, and it’s not me at all.

 

All I can and will do to messages I don’t like is reply with same, but I’m entitled to voice my opinion that I don’t like certain aspects of society and I won’t accept being lied to and manipulated. I’ll…I’ll…one of these days I’ll fucking WRITE A LETTER. I swear I will.

 

PS: Not to be Mr Contrary, but in terms of losing weight, if I had to choose only one of diet moderation or exercise…it’d be diet moderation. Being an exercise freak I used to think completely the opposite, but I’ve learned in losing 6 inches off my waist in the last year or so…you HAVE to watch what you eat. I can tell you how many calories are in every single thing I eat. It might be boring, but it works. When I don’t know, I make an educated guess, on the high side. I get a free meal at work on nights and that’s about the only time I ever have to make a guess, everything else I make myself. I diet, do cardio and resistance exercise (and stretching but that’s not very impacting on muscle, fat, or metabolism). When I first started getting fit I fucked up and added fat, cos I started eating like I used to when I was a gym maniac, regular meals, high protein. But I didn’t know how many cals were in everything, and also ate like I did when I was in my mid 20s, training more, more active, and carrying more muscle. It’s challenging, how calorie rich foods are these days. A handful of nuts can drown your day’s efforts to diet entirely. 100 grams of nuts = approx 5-600 calories. That and 2-3 beers = 1000+ cals…then see how hard it is to work off 1000 cals. Training at a 1000 cal / hour rate for an hour is fucking tiring. Much easier to forego the nuts and beers. 

 

  _____  

From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On Behalf Of The Exorcist
Sent: Friday, 20 March 2009 01:08
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] FW: jaz date change 4 spoken word

 

No, Dear Brendan, as far as I am concerned your interpretation is off.

First off, regarding your opening paragraph, well, next time someone on the list goes off on a bible thumper,
politician, preacher for trying to impose their will on the masses you be sure to point out to them that it's all alright.

Having a vested interest in society and being all the things you mention below means that "your" opinion must be
adhered to? I never said one needs to ostracize or be ostracized. There are laws that we can and should vote on.
Then there are things we should not.

So next time abortion comes on the table, or gay rights, which many religious people have issues with (both) be sure to say
" They might be a son / brother / uncle / nephew / cousin / employee / friend / colleague / taxpayer / consumer / fellow sentient conscious being. They 
have a vested interest in society, they contribute to it, they educate themselves about it, take part in debate about it, it affects them and they affect it, every single day."
When a fella is gonna say, "The bible says one male humping another male ain't right. Now see here, I don't want none of them gay folk
around MY son and daughter. They're gonna corrupt her and are a buncha blasphemous sinners". You go tell him Preach On.

Re:Weed---
Whoa...... I did not attack weed as much as say I don't CARE for it. In my eyes and for MY body I have issued with it.
Nevertheless, I think making it illegal is stupid. See, I'm not ostracizing myself here... I'm just deciding that though I
personally disagree with a practice doesn't mean I need to ban it.

Re: friends on weed.
I knew them from the time of early teens. I've had about 17 years of observation. They're not telly watchers.
There are plenty of people that smoke weed (and more) and many amazing things. It however is NOT the issue
here. 

Re: Food---
I don't eat most junk food, don't care for it. My niece and nephews don't get fed an overload of junk.
It's up to the parent to say "yes or no".  An overload of say red meat it is just as bad as an overload
of sweets. Shall we ban red meat? Moderation is the key (excluding truly harmful substances such
as certain pesticides, chemicals smoke pollution as you mentioned. When the weather gets nice I
tend to bike to work from Brooklyn to manhattan everyday. Being stuck behind trucks and shitty cars
makes me understand the plight of street horses.) However, when the gov't decide to start imposing
all their beliefs (say trans-fats or salts) I think it's overboard. If they promoted exercise as opposed to
food banning, kids (and adults) would be a hell of a lot healthier.

I never meant to imply that anything you said is a "cop out". If it came across as such I assure you it
was not meant.

What you think about other who defend it, I can not answer for that. However I think, I've given a somewhat clear
explanation on what/why/how my opinions are formed... Am I correct? Who knows. I can only say things as I see
and understand them.

I'll respond to your other emails later. I must head out to work soon. :)

Cheers Brendan!

At 11:40 PM 3/18/2009, Brendan Quinn wrote:



You're missing one thing. Ones inherent moral values should not dictate society.
 
That implies that I’m not part of society, which I am, very much so…so I have to vehemently but amicably disagree with you on that. 100%! I’m a son / brother / uncle / nephew / cousin / employee / friend / colleague / taxpayer / consumer / fellow sentient conscious being. I have a vested interest in society, I contribute to it, I educate myself about it, take part in debate about it, it affects me and I affect it, every single day. Remove someone from the feeling that they are part of a tribe and they get ill, they lose their spark…look at all the people who slip between the cracks in society. Ostracism from society (self or other inflicted) can be enough to cause mental illness, take bullying for example. We are social, tribal beings, without it we lose some of our sense of meaning. My morals are affected by and affect society. Society includes me! One six point six billionth maybe, but that’s as much as anyone else…
 
Re weed - I know several people who have achieved plenty while smoking weed daily (First class honours Masters in Psych for example), so I’d hesitate to diagnose your friend’s problems as actually *caused* by weed…(alcohol will do a far more effective job if you want to destroy neurons, plus all sorts of other nice side effects). If you sit around all day watching daytime telly, or drinking, you’ll end up in the same boat as the average clichéd pot-head. It’s the lack of spark that’s the problem, not the weed, as far as my understanding of the evidence suggests. Personally I’m more worried about sweeteners, colourings, flavourings, preservatives, pesticides, chemicals in shampoo, deodorant, exhaust fumes, pollution, (and the fact that I live within 50m of a cellphone tower, work nights, and in an open plan office, all of which are bad for health…oh and I sit right next to a fucking laser printer, which has recently been implicated in lung problems due to toner dispersal…awesome)
 
Oh that’s right…I have a mate who won a competitive car rally whilst stoned. Then there’s Michael Phelps, arguably the best swimmer of all time…etc etc. Not saying weed is totally harmless, but you have to have some perspective. (Anabolic steroids are another drug that doesn’t deserve the rap it gets either, but that’s another kettle of fish). Joe Rogan has some interesting things to say about weed smoking, I agree with him when he says that practically everything he does is enhanced by smoking weed, he gets shitloads done
 
In terms of prostitution – good call, criminalising it doesn’t get rid of it. I have no real stance on its legal status, I’d have to meditate on that one for a long while. I was commenting on its moral status. That’s not a cop out, just saying I haven’t given it enough thought.
 
I think a lot of people who defend it aren’t being honest with themselves. It’s gotta be a degrading thing to do. 
 
I suppose at the end of the day, you have to weigh up the harm it does vs the restriction in personal freedoms. Personally I’m fine relinquishing my right - unexercised, so far - to give head for cash. Doing quite well getting shafted by The Man already…(it really doesn’t hurt if you breathe out…) 

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