tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post7235497227824145945..comments2023-10-15T05:01:43.528-07:00Comments on Bamboo Killers: How to be an assholeEmily Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-20422337578192862122007-04-17T21:15:00.000-07:002007-04-17T21:15:00.000-07:00No I mean empathy. I do teach English for a living...No I mean empathy. I do teach English for a living and have a master's degree in the subject. I have a pretty wide vocabulary and I trust my own knowledge more than Wikipedia.<BR/><BR/>Empathy is the ability you have to feel what someone else feels. Not just recognize that they're in pain, but to feel their pain yourself, to understand what it is like to be them. People who can't feel anyone's pain but their own have no empathy and are therefore assholes.<BR/><BR/>And laws or no laws, I personally do not care for guns.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-15274166639248426152007-04-17T21:07:00.000-07:002007-04-17T21:07:00.000-07:00I believe you meant sympathize rather than empathi...I believe you meant <I>sympathize</I> rather than <I>empathize</I>. <BR/><BR/>Here's a point I pulled from wikipedia:<B><BR/>Empathic but not sympathetic, by internally experiencing another's feeling but not being motivated to alleviating action as a result (eg, a lust killer who is aroused by his victim's fear, or a con artist who knows how his mark feels but uses it to manipulate not support).</B><BR/><BR/>But otherwise I find your statement generally correct.<BR/><BR/>Just a note:<BR/>People are suggesting more gun laws again. Criminals are people who don't obey laws, therefore criminals will always get guns. I do however advocate for waiting periods and classes before allowing people to own weapons. I've known a good number of people who have weapons that really aren't mature enough to own them. On another note, I know children who were brought up with them, who I would feel safer with them having a loaded weapon than a number of police officers that I've met.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-6275630134442772742007-04-17T09:10:00.000-07:002007-04-17T09:10:00.000-07:00The incompetence of the police allowed that "assho...The incompetence of the police allowed that "asshole" to accomplish his mission. But for the wrong assumptions made by law enforcement, thirty people would be alive. Why not make the conservative assumption that we have a murderer at large on campus and do all in their power to make people safe? I have two daughters who recently graduated from colleges. I have such empathy for those poor parents who have lost their precious children. Such a loss is a penance few bear well.Nicholas Borellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04039565164605270488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-48416507513248524192007-04-17T03:08:00.000-07:002007-04-17T03:08:00.000-07:00This was an absolute tragedy. It's one thing to k...This was an absolute tragedy. It's one thing to kill yourself, but to take out completely innocent people with you is just unforgivable.<BR/><BR/>The irony is, of course, that violence of this scale never occurs in neighborhoods like where Emily works.<BR/><BR/>I grew up in Hollywood and I can tell you that while you worried that you might get mugged or get caught in a gang fight, you never really had to worry about some kid snapping and taking out an entire classroom before he took himself out.<BR/><BR/>And a lot more kids have access to guns at Emily's school than they do at these other places like Columbine.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what my point was there, but I assure you I had one when I started.IQCrashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14602445872864488724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-49503900257430376502007-04-17T02:59:00.000-07:002007-04-17T02:59:00.000-07:00Oh my, what a fucking senseless waste of young lif...Oh my, what a fucking senseless waste of young life. :-(<BR/><BR/>You're absolutely right about the empathy, Emily. It's from empathy that real <I>respect</I> flows. Respect for others, selflessness, honesty and so forth. No the "oh my, you've got lots of money, a flash car and a bigger gun than me" type of "respect" bullshit.<BR/><BR/>We in the UK can get all smug and holier-than-thou about "stupid Americans and their insane love of guns", but that's not the cause of the problem. I could have a room full of guns and not want to use them on anyone. As, I'm sure, could you. This is due to the recoil from the true horror of the consequences of <I>what guns do</I>. Not the "go bang and shoot people" bit, but the "look into the eyes of the mothers, brothers, fathers, sisters and friends of the ones you gunned down and tell them why you did it" part.<BR/><BR/>However disconnected and alienated this person felt, he/she didn't live in a war zone, hadn't been persecuted for simply say, being a Sunni or Shia Moslem, and no-one was trying to wipe out their entire section of society. But they still chose to go and obliterate the futures of fellow students. Stress I can completely understand, but this wasn't exactly the fucking Lebanon.<BR/><BR/>Maybe having an obscene amount of guns just lying about the place isn't such a terribly good idea after all.<BR/><BR/>Ahhh, I feel sick.<BR/><BR/>Please keep teaching your students the way you do, Emily.Riddley Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09488580029324036763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-44227927255707513462007-04-17T01:04:00.000-07:002007-04-17T01:04:00.000-07:00hey emily. because i'm an avid reader of your blog...hey emily. because i'm an avid reader of your blogs, I tagged you in one of my entries to see what you thoughts on the subject is if you decide to participate. come check it out at <A HREF="http://polypocket.blogspot.com/2007/04/on-goaling-forward-tagging-game.html" REL="nofollow">http://polypocket.blogspot.com/2007/04/on-goaling-forward-tagging-game.html</A><BR/><BR/>thanks hun!Marjiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12534443796050162164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-65208711219184851492007-04-17T01:03:00.000-07:002007-04-17T01:03:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Marjiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12534443796050162164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895692.post-50833742541473051212007-04-17T01:02:00.000-07:002007-04-17T01:02:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Marjiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12534443796050162164noreply@blogger.com