posted on September 24, 2002 04:38:49 PM new
That sounds pat-hetic. "Those who are going to come to America have already done so"???????? What exactly are you smoking? I have no problem with you bringing up something interesting to talk about but this is such fantasy that it is best reserved for a fluff thread.
posted on September 24, 2002 06:40:19 PM new
You mean to say that you and some other friends have never sat around and brought up an unlikely scenario such as this one and tried to figure out all of the merits and demerits of the case? Does a subject have to be rooted in physical reality and/or total likelihood in order to discuss the issues that it would raise? How do you plan for your future? How do you predict what will happen to you in an unlikely given situation? Those occur, by the way. Unlikely or impossible situations. You have no imagination whatsoever? You've never participated in a fictitious discussion in your life? Gads! How boring! When I was a teenager, and instead of breaking into people's homes for fun, our gang used to sit around and conjure up improbable scenarios and try to figure out all of the rules, the merits and demerits, the pros and cons, and all that it entailed, just for the fun of it! It gets the ole' imagination fired up and gets those frozen gears oiled and moving again.
There are many applications in the real world for this sort of discussion. The Pentagon does their fictitious War Games scenarios against unlikely opponents. Large corporations use think tanks to pursue the results of proposed marketing strategies. Heck, even you local high school debate teams often use fictitious subjects to argue about in order to hone their intellectual skills! Where have you been?
Now, why not play along and let's PRETEND that this is a real possibility. Let's pretend that instead of attacking Iraq to get rid of the current government, Bush was proposing that we instead do it to Mexico and to annex the country in order to save ourselves from the immigrant boogyman! Can we figure out what all of the Pros and Cons would be? Can we manage to foresee the outcome of such a fantastic proposal? Will someone else reading this throw in the inevitable Monkey Wrench with their shrewd bit of logic and bollix up our trains of thought? Doesn't this appeal to anyone on here in the least?
Gads!
sp.
[ edited by Borillar on Sep 24, 2002 06:40 PM ]
[ edited by Borillar on Sep 24, 2002 06:43 PM ]
posted on September 24, 2002 07:34:04 PM new
Borillar- Intellectual threads/exercises have a time and place. There are many times when I was disappointed by the lack thereof here. This particular one is too easy to pick apart. Like satire, it is only meaningful if it has a large enough following on the minority side. There is virtually no other side. You are not the only one with intellectual capabilities, but like a comedian you must have a plausible premise for real humor, otherwise it is just slapstick, funny but not stimulating. Try again, perhaps on a different thread.
posted on September 25, 2002 10:54:35 AM new
Helen/krs- Why don't YOU take up the cause, as it must be worthwhile in your oh so humble opinions?
[ edited by stusi on Sep 25, 2002 10:55 AM ]
posted on September 25, 2002 11:19:56 AM new
Maybe you misunderstood my comment, stusi. It appears to me that the little fellow is trying to climb the ladder to reach Borillar, the previous poster.
That's only "my" interpretation. And as you can see, the fellow isn't having much success, as he keeps falling off the ladder. His efforts are futile. That is what I meant by "lost cause" or in other words, a losing battle. ...just a silly comment about a gif.
Krs may, of course, have another interpretation. I can't speak for him.
posted on September 25, 2002 01:54:56 PM new
Helen- you are agreeing with me? krs' graphic may be directed at me as is his usual tact. I stand by my comment and question to Borillar. This thread is way off track.
posted on September 25, 2002 02:39:09 PM new
The thread is off track, for sure. Actually, I lost interest when the topic changed from incorporating Mexico to "sorting people out" like God does". I think that Borillar,in his efforts to "dig up thoughts to put on the table" confused the issue. The fantasy, for example, didn't serve to clarify his position.
posted on September 25, 2002 02:46:55 PM new
Acutually, Helen, it is not offtrack. Maybe more roundabout than you can see the end to, but not off the track. The point that our immigrants offer a whole new range of consumers and that consumerism has a lot to do with their being here in the first place is, in fact, dead-on topic.
