Have you ever had an "eye opening" moment?

Discussion in 'The Cesspool' started by MacGyver1968, Jan 12, 2017.

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  1. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    Have you ever had a moment in your life where a belief that you held (maybe naively) was suddenly and drastically changed? Maybe it was political, or personal, or professional, or something else. I'd like to share an example from my own life.

    When I was a teenager in highschool, I just assumed that everything I saw on the news, and read in the newspapers was true and un-biased. I had no reason to believe any differently. But, that belief was changed with one (pretty insignificant) event. My highschool football team made it to the state championships. A local tv news channel sent out a reporter to do a "puff piece" on the event. I witnessed first hand the reporter interviewing our football coach and a few of the players. I went home that night and eagerly sat through the news broadcast to get to our story.

    When the piece aired, I was dismayed. The questions that the reporter had asked had been edited out, and replaced by "voiceover" questions....and some of the questions were completely different than the questions asked in the live interview. They used the footage of our coach answering one question, and through the use of editing, made it sound like he was answering a completely different question. It really didn't matter, it was just a "puff piece" and it didn't make the coach sound like he was saying something he was not. But it opened my eyes. If news reporters are willing to do this with a "puff piece" that's meaningless, what are they willing to do with stories that really matter? I've been cynical ever since.

    I'd like to hear other examples of "eye opening" experiences from other members.
     
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  3. geordief Valued Senior Member

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    Well there haven't been many,sadly (good question though).

    One I remember was the ritual where "new boys" got ragged on the first day of the new school.

    All of us knew what was coming and ,through reluctant compliance got through the procedure without harm

    One of us though refused the treatment and fought off his numerous assailants.

    I was sure it was a matter of time and he would be processed like the rest of us but,no they had to give up on him☺
     
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  5. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    long ago and far away, circa 1967
    when I was at the signal school for the army
    I had missed the morning formation
    and was strolling diagonally across the parade field on my way to class
    when an obnoxious twit of a major took it upon himself to get in my face and demand to know why i was not in formation
    by then, I had adopted the ready answer "No excuse sir"
    He then demanded that I salute him
    so i started to do so
    Then
    I paused
    and said:
    "Cub scouts salute with 2 fingers", and I did so
    "Boy scouts salute with 3 fingers", and I did so
    "Explorer scouts salute with 4 fingers", and I did so
    "And, in the army, we salute with all 5----(pause)------------------- OH MY GOD, I've been programed!"

    And, the silly twit stared at me for a moment, then turned and walked away.

    God bless his rotten soul.
     
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  7. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Mod Hat ― Response

    If you say so. Was there some reason you were worried about it?
     
  8. Kristoffer Giant Hyrax Valued Senior Member

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    The realization that even though I'm technically a more proficient guitarist than most, I'm not necessarily a better musician.

    That one fucked me over for a while.

    Now I just work on getting more expressive in my own way, while learning new stuff.
     
  9. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah...because mods like you think they know more about things than the unwashed masses that post on this board. I was actually concerned you would lock this thread.
     
  10. Dr_Toad It's green! Valued Senior Member

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    I have the opposite problem. I'm a better musician than many, but I can't make it talk to my fingers, or my voice either, these days... Old can suck some.

    Completely off-topic, but my post number 1597 is prime. Do any of y'all get a "sense" of primeness in a number?

    Edit: One eye-opening moment came when I was free-climbing. I reached for a hold on a rock that had a mouse on it. I jerked my hand back, then realized what a fucked up move that was since I was 300' up Seneca Rock with nothing but treetops below me. That's the last thing I remember.

    True story.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2017
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  11. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Mod Hat ― Response Redux

    How odd. Well, my advice would be to not go out of your way to pick pointless fights with site staff, especially when they are irrelevant to the thread at hand.
     
  12. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    In my 10 year history of being a member of this board, I normally don't. I just think you have overstepped your bounds as a moderator. Feel free to threaten me all you want.
     
  13. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    I feel silly for this, but I don't actually get it.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    I don't know army rituals, so I don't know what parts are ritual and what parts are you winging it.
     
  14. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Mod Hat ― Charmless

    I won't bother threatening you.

    Tell me, though, why do you support bigoted trolls? See, the thing is that you haven't really made an argument other than the staff should wait to deal with a situation until you are satisfied, which, in the end, is really, really, really stupid. So stupid, indeed, that I can't believe you decided to waste your time or anyone else's. I mean, seriously.

    And then you try to top yourself by posting an otherwise useful thread simply to pick a fight with moderators, in order to say, "Feel free to threaten me all you want."

    So, no. I won't bother threatening you.
     
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