this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2024
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.
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Words are one type of action - like if someone refuses to say something, that's a choice right there. e.g., I'll say it: "Nazis murdering people is bad", but there are some who won't say those words... and that's really saying something (managing to convey a message of a whole other sort).
Words are cheaper than most other types of actions though. Yet also they can amass in bulk, and there are ways to follow through e.g. if someone says they fixed something in a piece of code, and provide a GitHub link, you can verify that the words match the deeds.
Edit: also I find it hilariously ironic to see these early downvotes, essentially judging these words without even offering an explanation, so perhaps we should say that while actions are more weighty than words, votes (up and down) are the cheapest of all ๐.
Define 'bad'.
And 'Nazis' too for that matter, I don't know if you mean literally members of Hitler's National 'Socialist' party, or something else.
I would generally concur that killing (murder is sometimes defined as 'unjustified' killing, which is screaming for a definition of what is 'justified' killing) does more harm than good, ie is subjectively immoral according to my own sense of morality, which was shaped through my genes that were shaped by evolution, the society I live and grew up in and the experiences I've had.
But killing in self defense might be moral. If someone was a member of the Nazi party because they lived in 1930s Deutschland and didn't feel like they had any other option if they wanted their family to be safe, but didn't actively participate in it or help oppress minorities, and found themselves stopped on the way home by a person with a gun one night, who threatened to kill them, would it be that immoral for them to shoot their attacker in self defense?
Of course, you may disagree with me on various aspects, that's why it's important to clarify your terms, and not make blanket and loaded statements such as 'Nazis murdering people is bad'.
Edit: for the sake of clarity, everything after the first line is an edit.
From your question, I can infer that you - even if only for the sake of argument - are taking the position that it is subjective? In which case, feel free to do so - but don't be surprised if not everyone picks the same definition.
There is definitely room for nuance, but I tried to pick an example that was fairly clear & unambiguous according to most people's understanding of that term.
I was asking what you meant by it. How did you define the terms bad, Nazi, and murder?
Yes I think morality is subjective, but as I explained in my last comment, my subjective morality would mostly agree with your statement in the way I interpreted it, with some nuance. But I only know how I should interpret your statement if you define your terms more clearly.
I assure you that could look up the definitions of those words, if you were so inclined. Also, your comment was somehow a lot shorter when I replied, compared to now (e.g. why would I claim to have inferred that your position was subjective, if you came right out and said it, which at least now it looks as if you did?). I can't keep up with you if you are going to edit the past like that.
For the sake of future conversations, you might consider (1) waiting to reply until you have written out all that you want to say, (2) keeping your edits to a minimum, for clarity's sake, and (3) if you must edit - which we all do, all the time - then at least clearly denote which things are edits, so as to distinguish them from the original text. Edit: this is not an actual edit, but this would be one way that I could use to denote that I am adding a sentence to an existing paragraph, rather than leave people to see that something is different but then have to guess what it might be.
Otherwise... pure chaos ensues. e.g. I could say "you are a poopy-face", you then you reply "no I am not, but you are", and then I edit my first to say "wow, you are so smart!"... (haha, checkmate!) do you see how this leads to disingenuous exchanges, rather than logical, rational, reasoned discourse, among people trying to talk in good faith?
Anyway, yes Nazis were (and are still) bad, imho, but feel free to do you I guess - so long as you aren't forcing me to do the same. But let's end it here, b/c you have so far not managed to explain how any of this at all relates to the OP, and I am already too put off by this style. Hopefully we can enjoy better exchanges in the future:-).
I apologise, my intent was not to mislead anyone, I simply edited my comment quickly after listing it to add more detail, and I thought that you has read the updated version when you replied. I have since clarified the original comment.
As for
I already know several definitions, as I have said in comments that you definitely have read, but that wouldn't tell me what you meant by them.