Bay 12 Games Forum

Majority of Americans want increased gun restrictions (it wasn't a ban). In any case, there's 1.75 years left for the Republicans to shoot themselves in the foot over and over again, and they will.

The original proposal most certainly was a ban. And it wasn't until less than 24 hours before the final vote that the background check proposal was in a form that was acceptable to even the ACLU, so in the minds of the average poorly informed voter it might as well have been.

And yes, the republicans are likely to shoot themselves in the foot. But the single issue voters for the second amendment will be out in force, and people have become largely desensitized to conservative absurdity. Last year, it was looking like the end of the republican party was inevitable and fast aproachinh, the democrats could have done nothing and sailed into a clean victory. Now they will have to fight to regain an advantage.

Ouch. That... that was basically an exact mirror of one of the lines/thought processes that the mouthfrothing extremists use, Nada. "I don't hate them, they're just infected" is... I've basically heard that word for word from homophobes ("homosexuality is a disease"), xenophobes (blah blah islam blah sick), people talking about sinners (Don't hate the sinner, hate the sin? Classic line. Tends to be functionally identical in the actual expression.)... several sorts along those lines. Not going to help you if you were trying to actually refute what scriv was saying, at least the first sentence.

Disease. People keep using that word, when I did not. The words I used were virus, parasite and infection. Because I am explicitly describing the mechanics. The mechanics of religion are very much literally like a virus and parasite when you translate from the  context of a biological host programmed by genes to an intellectual host programmed by memes.

Disease describes a condition that is always harmful. Virus, parasite and infection do not. Your gut is "infected" with bacteria. A remora is a parasite to a shark even though it likely does it little or no harm. I can't think of any neutral or beneficial viruses at the moment, but I have not gone looking for them either.There can be a hypothetically positive religions under the right conditions, even if I have looked for them and not found any. There are many variates of religion that often cause little or no harm in some conditions, but conditions change and even the most benign religions can evolve into something that programs a corrupted and harmful mindset and a twisted moral compass.

Could you pick a clinical term with a less derogatory connotation then? Because, believe it or not, some people could be offended by the term "parasite". Myself very much included. It is, in fact, quite rage inducing.

Would it be better if I said that you were programmed to be used for purposes often not in the interests of yourself or the population to which you belong?

It does, the kabar is a combat knife.

i am not attempting to smuggle connotations. i am outright making a literal statement. religions are memetic viruses and parasites.

Quote from: Nadaka on April 24, 2013, 09:42:44 am

Even I wouldn't say "religion" causes all wars. A lot of them certainly. but all?. Faith perhaps, but faith isn't reserved exclusively for supernatural beliefs.

Honestly the reason I don't think that viewpoint is correct is because I feel it fails to understand the position religion takes in the lives of others and turns religion into almost a living entity in it of itself with an influence of its own.

Religion is more often the source of justification for what were more important causes.

In the same way I don't consider Religion the cause of the KKK, I consider Racism to be and religion to be the excuse/context they use for that racism.

A virus is not alive by itself, it is merely a bundle of genetic information wrapped in a shell of protein. Yet give it access to the cellular machinery of an appropriate host, and it displays all the qualities of a living thing. It consumes energy, alters its environment(host), competes with other infections, evolves to overcome its natural predators in the form of antibodies and white blood cells, reproduces to spread through its environment and from host to host. Even if it harms or kills a host, it can still spread through the larger population. And while a typical virus is something a population can withstand, it just takes one wrong mutation to bring a population to its knees.

A religion is not alive by itself, it is merely a bundle of memetic information wrapped in a shell of ritual. Yet give it access to the mental machinery of an appropriate host, and it displays all the qualities of a living thing. It consumes energy, alters its environment(host), competes with other religions, evolves to overcome its natural predators in the form of logic and reason, reproduces to spread through its environment and from host to host. Even if it harms or kills a host, it can still spread through the larger population. And while a typical religion is something a population can withstand, it just takes one wrong mutation to bring a population to its knees.

Religions are effectively memetic viruses, parasites of the human mind.

I on the other hand have a TREMENDOUS and entirely justified disrespect for religion. The kind that can only be developed after growing up in a radical fundamentalist religious home and barely making it out alive.

Quote from: mesor on April 22, 2013, 09:19:17 pm

More interesting then most of the others, but it depends on what your planning to do with it, theres not very much you can do without it ceasing to be an AK at all.

Can I ask why you picked the AK other then that it's a weapon thats easy to build?

It pretty much uses the same cartridge as the Mosin-Nagant, and any assault rifle we build at first is probably going to look similar- I'm just using some good features from it, as well as some good features from others. Hence, it's going to sound very similar to the AK on paper, aside for some differences like a longer barrel, inventing muzzle brakes, reinforcing the stamped-metal receivers, so we can still manufacture cheaply and easily while still maintaining accuracy, etc.

Um... the Mosin Nagant and AK do not use nearly the same round.

The 7.62x54 has an overall length of 77mm, a pronounced rim and a case diameter of up to 12.37mm The projectile is 11.3g at about 800m/s for about 3600 joules of energy.

The 7.62x39 has an overall length of 56mm, a recessed rim and a case diameter of up to 11.35mm. The projectile is 7.9g at about 730m/s for about 2100 joules of energy.