Doctor Terrorist. Is it really that shocking?

They say that eight of the terrorists in the latest London debacle were doctors. Many people are shocked and dismayed at these news. I am not shocked. Dismayed, yes. Shocked, no. Though it's easy to think that all terrorists are cut from the same block, things are rarely that simply. Both history and literature teaches us that being a doctor does not necessarily equate being a healer. Hippocratic oath? More like hypocrisy. Just goes to show that intelligence and book learning does not replace wisdom and some good old fashioned common sense.

Why You Should Not Try to Reason With Religious Nuts

Me: How do you know that this almighty God exists?

Other: The Holy Book tells us so.

Me: I understand that, but that was written ages ago. How do you know it's even based on fact?

Other: The Holy Book tells us so.

Me: Yes, yes, I know. But ponder for a moment the possibility of the Book just being a story, nothing more. I mean how can you base your evidence of the truth of the scriptures, on the same scriptures? Maybe they're lying, how would you know?

Other: It is the truth. The Holy Book tells us so. *starts quoting and speaking in tongues*

Me: *bangs head against wall and counts to a zillion*

The Dangers of Life Online

So I was scouring the net looking for interesting blogs. Stumbled upon HorsePigCow and read this post on Internet Safety for Women. Just read those last words I wrote. They're so typical. Internet Safety for Women, like we somehow need some kind of special security, separate from the standard.

Now don't get me wrong -I'm not saying there aren't any dangers with leading a life online. There are plenty of dangers and reasons to be cautious, but sex doesn't factor into that. Anyone can have their identity nicked online if they're not careful, anyone can have their accounts hacked into or something equally unpleasant.

The Internet is the great equalizer. The usual methods for distinguishing people from each other, like their sex, race, religion, socio-economic status etc that you have used before are pretty useless online. Obsolete if you so will. Because online we can be pretty much anyone we want to be.

So why should women be more fearful of putting themselves out there? I mean -yes giving out your real name might be risky for those with less than usual ones, but at the end of the day it's no more risky than being listed in the phone book.

I have this friend who's a semi-hacker-ish type. He warned me about how easy it was to find information about me online. He got my home phone number and address in about 30 seconds. At first that kind of freaked me out, but then I got to thinking and I came to this conclusion -so what?

So what if anyone can trace my name to my address and phone number? They can trace billions of other people in the same way. People do that all the time; the most popular methods used to be the public phone book and calling an information service. What makes me being listed online more dangerous than anything else?

It's true that more people can get a hold of you if you spend a lot of time being un-anonymous online, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. So you get an online stalker? You might have gotten one while being out in a club just as easily. So some creep got your phone number; creeps will always get someone's phone number and harass, it's what they do.

At the end of the day it all just comes down to common sense and taking your licks when and if they come. Though it's never advisable to simply give out your personal details to all and sundry unless you want irritating phone calls in the middle of the night and so on, that does not mean you have to be more paranoid than Machiavelli.

People who want to get a hold of you badly enough will find a way. Why live your life in dread of that moment? I mean, I'm as paranoid as the next girl, but I do have limits and going through life being scared of online predators just isn't in my repertoire of things to do. If someone actually comes haunting your homestead? Then you can start worrying.

The Curse of Kindness.

There was a time when I could and would turn many obnoxious people away with just a look. When my tongue was sharp enough to cut anyone, had an answer for everything, to anything. Now, I'm always so careful. I focus on being kind, to the point of being too kind, even flirty according to some (apparently smiling is an invite to sex, and here I thought I was being nice). I just can't seem to find that middle ground.

This is slowly driving me crazy. I did this to myself. I had a goal of becoming less confrontational, more understanding, kind and patient. But the coin has a backside; my fist is wrapped inside a velvet glove which gives little warning when someone has crossed the line, and it's slowly choking me. Not to mention the facts that the kinder you are, the kinder people expect you to be, and the more patient you are, the more patience they expect. It's a whole new kind of vicious circle.

Why this rant?Well, I met another guy today that had trouble taking NO for an answer. It saddens me to say, but I understand very well why people become wary of strangers, especially foreigners. And I understand very well indeed why some women start to detest the male sex to the point of militant hysteria. I have had way too much trouble from men in my life not to see all of these points.

How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to be patient and kind when men only seem to have two modes for me: Either they have met the confrontational me and are shit scared, leaving them hostile. Or, they have seen my smiling eyes, talked to me, watched me walk on the road, whatever -and think I would be just the luckiest little girl in the world if they'd take notice and offer to be my 'friend'.

As a bonus -if they're really blind they think I'm stupid and/or need protecting.

The whole male species is starting to get on my very last nerve. I'm so close to abandoning good will, kindness, compassion and patience in favor of tearing them a new one just so they'll all leave me the fuck alone. Look further than the exterior for the love of all that's holy. Look, at me, not my eyes, my hair, my weight, my smile, my skin, my chest, my sex. Look. At. Me.

You, who want me. You, who think I should be yours, just because. Why can't a friendly chat ever be enough? Why do you always want more? Why can't you just answer my smile without asking for my heart. Why can't you just be a friend, without being lecherous and icky. How can you ever think that you love me, that I love you, when you don't even know who I am?

Text, The Price You Pay

Regular people seldom understand the price paid for greatness. It’s one of those things that you logically know about, but don’t actually know or believe. And that’s really as it should be because if you knew, really knew about the prices paid by people for their greatness you wouldn’t envy them so much anymore, if at all. And that, believe it or not, would take away some of their shine. People are golden as much because we see them that way as because of what they actually do. Of course people can be great without being seen as such, but they won’t have the greatness.

Although great people are golden for a reason. Much of that shine is only surface deep. Though their ideas can be brilliant, their compassion, their love for the world and so on there is much darkness inside the golden ones. It’s one of those balance issues with how the world works. For something to shine on the outside it needs perhaps to be dull on the inside or extremely sensitive, be extremely hard or frail or have a history of roughness. Great people have this balance in their life. Constantly in one way or another. For many it’s a past that keeps them up at night or irrational fears about being a fake. Others have trouble letting people inside, keeping lovers and friends close. Others still are so afraid of failure that they can’t enjoy for a minute what they have for fear it will slip between their fingers. And of course there are those who just work too hard to ever be able to fully enjoy life, always working for a better part, a better thing, a better world.

They say the brighter the light, the shorter the flame burns. This is also true in some cases. But as we all are different people, so we all pay a different price for the life we lead, be it great or not so great. It’s strange really how few people would ever recognize their own greatness if they saw it in the mirror. Which they do, every day. But it’s so easy to believe everything bad that’s ever said about us, to us, around us. We as people have a tendency to soak everything negative up like a sponge and once it’s inside us. It stays there. We often starve for affection or recognition and we soak that up as well, but strangely enough it never gets a hold on us quite as good as the bad stuff. It takes a lot of work or much innocence to be able to believe the good things people tell us or just to enjoy the good things that happens to us, the good things that we see or experience.

That’s why it’s so important when looking at great people to remember that even a diamond was once a piece of coal and to end up a diamond it would have had to endure incredible pressure under a long time. That’s a good thing to remember about all people you meet actually. We all have had our difficulties and we are all in one way or another on our way from coal to diamonds with all of the tempering of our souls that comes with it. So be gentle with your fellow man. Too much pressure and the cracks might go deeper than time can mend.