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Thread: Over-crowded rats behave like humans

  1. #21
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I understand Catholic Church bashing--they're an easy target, especially these days. But instead of focusing on Mother Teresa's shoes, why wouldn't you give her credit for every act of love and compassion she gave the poor in India? Of course she was fallible. Everyone is.

    It seems that with religion one bad apple can brand the barrel. But you don't have to look hard to find faith-based people, Catholic or not, who make a lot of tremendous sacrifice to make the world a better place. Catholic-bashing is just as bad as saying all Muslims are terrorists.

    I am not being an apologist for pedophile priests or a rigidly patriarchal church hierarchy, or sourpuss nuns. I am being an apologist for the body of Catholics, or born-agains, or Jews, or Muslims who actually walk the walk and inspire me and have my gratitude.

    And I'm not even Catholic (anymore). But I still gain tremendous insight and wisdom from Catholic writers, poets, and activists.
    Oh agreed, if even one such sentiment was uttered about a Muslim, that post would be attacked immediately. Reasonable people know saints are not saintly in all aspects of their lives, and who wants to be a saint, anyway? Not me.

    One aspect of the Catholic Church I like is that it has a giant think tank system of priestly scholars and is out front in determining medical procedures that are contrary to Church teachings.

    I have some interest in the ethics of human reproduction, the issues that go beyond abortion. Things like In vitro fertilization, egg production, storing of eggs and sperm and ownership and maintenance of same, and multiple biological parents. Our legal system is struggling to address challenges of these reproduction technologies.

    So, while I may not agree with the Catholic Church in their conclusions,
    I really like the fact that they identify the ethical issues and examine them in depth.

    I also really really like the Catholic Church for the 19th century buildings it erected all around me. And now, at our weekend house, the spire of St. George’s Catholic Church rises on the horizon to provide me with a scenic view.
    Last edited by iris lilies; 8-20-18 at 12:58pm.

  2. #22
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Catherine, I was not Catholic bashing and neither was the author of the book. I just found it really interesting and it showed a more human side of Mother Teresa. I spent a lot of time in Catholic Church growing up because I often went to guitar masses with my friends and boyfriend. I grew up Lutheran which is similar although I no longer believe. My kids went to a Catholic grade school because our local school was terrible. It was expensive because we weren’t Catholic. I loved all the people including the nuns and they were very good to my kids. They took religion and went to mass with the rest of the kids.

  3. #23
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Catherine, I was not Catholic bashing and neither was the author of the book. I just found it really interesting and it showed a more human side of Mother Teresa. I spent a lot of time in Catholic Church growing up because I often went to guitar masses with my friends and boyfriend. I grew up Lutheran which is similar although I no longer believe. My kids went to a Catholic grade school because our local school was terrible. It was expensive because we weren’t Catholic. I loved all the people including the nuns and they were very good to my kids. They took religion and went to mass with the rest of the kids.
    Sorry for misunderstanding, TT. Your negative comment came after a string of Catholic/religion-bashing posts, so you were the straw that broke the camel's back! Mother Teresa's own internal battles with her faith have been documented, and personally I find that more interesting than ill-fitting shoes.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  4. #24
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I just found it fascinating that she was willing to deform her feet as a novice instead of saying the shoes were too small. When we go to Europe we visit the Catholic Church’s as they are beautiful. My son turned Catholic for his wife so they could get married in the church in Poland although he is not a believer. They asked my husband to read a prayer in English after it was read in Polish. The ceremony was in Polish so most of it we had no clue what was said. It is the custom in Poland on the wedding day for the father of the bride to have bottles of vodka in his trunk. Then when they see friends in bizarre costumes they stop and give them a bottle. But we didn’t know this. So we come out of the house and a guy is standing there in a weird costume with a gas mask on. It scared me until my son said he is waiting for his vodka)

  5. #25
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Crazy, the gas mask guy! Now you just made me want to go to
    Krakow.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by HappyHiker View Post
    I remember some class or textbook reading that told us that if you keep crowding rats in a cage, at some point, they begin exhibiting anti-social, violent behavior.

    Got me thinking -- when I was a kid in the 1950's, world population was about 2,556,000,000. World population today is around 7,000,000,000

    Quite a population explosion.

    Our resources and arable land are finite. Climate change is reducing our natural resources.

    There also seems to be sense of futility and hopelessness that our world is on the downslope and things will not improve.

    Have you seen any evidence of humans exhibiting anti-social or violent behavior of late (said with tongue firmly n cheek).

    How much of this, do you suppose, is caused the press of population??
    I do feel there is a sense of hopelessness and also a lack of purpose. This along with the lack of meaningful, productive jobs i feel is adding to the huge numbers of people who choose not to be involved in society anymore, and just drop out and become homeless. Our community has seen a homeless explosion, and I feel that hoplessness and uselessness are at the root of the increase.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Polish weddings last 2-3 days. This began because the poles got invaded over and over and their lives were bleak. Never much stuff in the stores, standing in line all day hoping to get a loaf of bread. So weddings became a huge celebration. But they are much better than our weddings. They feed you a different course every hour or two. Tons of group dancing and tons of silly fun games. One game was my DH driving a toy car wearing glasses so thick you can barely see racing to a chair with shot of vodka and coming back. The men and women would line up to see which team won. We donned cowboy hats and boots and rode a big bouncy ball in a race. My daughter in law broke a glass and my son swept it up. She fed me cake while my son fed her mom cake. The winner gets to boss around the other for the first year. I made sure my DIL won. The two dads had to pass a cowboy hat back and forth while music plays and the winner ends up with it when stopped. Sylwia’s mom had to get up and sing a song. Then they called me to the center and tell me to sing. I just stand there like a deer in headlights because I cannot carry a tune. DH noticed and came out and sang with me. The father of the groom is supposed to be leading all the games but he is very shy so they used m husband. They taught us how to group dance and a few people spoke English and would translate so we could talk to everyone.

  8. #28
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Polish weddings last 2-3 days. This began because the poles got invaded over and over and their lives were bleak. Never much stuff in the stores, standing in line all day hoping to get a loaf of bread. So weddings became a huge celebration. But they are much better than our weddings. They feed you a different course every hour or two. Tons of group dancing and tons of silly fun games. One game was my DH driving a toy car wearing glasses so thick you can barely see racing to a chair with shot of vodka and coming back. The men and women would line up to see which team won. We donned cowboy hats and boots and rode a big bouncy ball in a race. My daughter in law broke a glass and my son swept it up. She fed me cake while my son fed her mom cake. The winner gets to boss around the other for the first year. I made sure my DIL won. The two dads had to pass a cowboy hat back and forth while music plays and the winner ends up with it when stopped. Sylwia’s mom had to get up and sing a song. Then they called me to the center and tell me to sing. I just stand there like a deer in headlights because I cannot carry a tune. DH noticed and came out and sang with me. The father of the groom is supposed to be leading all the games but he is very shy so they used m husband. They taught us how to group dance and a few people spoke English and would translate so we could talk to everyone.
    this is hilarious! I woild love to attend that kind of wedding.

  9. #29
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    People don’t get drunk because they are constantly feeding you. Poles live Americans too. We had a blast!

  10. #30
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    Oh agreed, if even one such sentiment was uttered about a Muslim, that post would be attacked immediately. Reasonable people know saints are not saintly in all aspects of their lives, and who wants to be a saint, anyway? Not me.

    ....
    Oh piffle. If anyone in my family had been intimidated by an Imam, I would be first out of the gate to comment. I hardly think anything I wrote was Catholic-bashing (or most of the other comments either). The church has more things going for it than some others, and I respect its latest pope.

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