Unpopular Opinions.

RaRaRasputin · 22-05-2012 10:30AM

What's the point in posting in this thread if every "unpopular opinion" will be attacked and deemed "stupid" and "heartless" anyway?

If people are sick of donating money because they think it does not reach the targeted people that's fair enough, it happens frequently. Be it India, some African countries or elsewhere, the money often ends up in the pockets of greedy individuals. I am sure IrishAM would not have a problem giving money for food to a starving family, but just feels like he/ she is rather feeding a rocket programme.

the purple tin · 22-05-2012 10:32AM

Nature/the great outdoors gets very boring very fast.

Dudess · 22-05-2012 10:34AM

If you post an "opinion" (very loose definition of what that is here - a "feeling" you have, based on your own personal prejudices/agenda and contradicted by reams of evidence is too much a pile of bollocks to be bestowed the term "opinion") surely you can't complain if people expect you to support it with something substantial?

mikemac1 · 22-05-2012 10:39AM

Coffee is a horrible drink and I hate when people bring it into the office

Just the smell of it makes me grimace

sbsquarepants · 22-05-2012 10:44AM

Darren Aronofsky (the wrestler, black swan, requiem for a dream etc) makes appallingly bad films.
Quentin Tarrantino is not to far behind him, kill bill is one (actually 2) of the worst films ever made.
To be fair Tarrantino churns out the odd good one amongst a pile of vastly over rated shíte, but not Aronofsky - every film he's made is absolute bollox.

Susie_Q · 22-05-2012 10:53AM

cloptrop wrote: »

So you suggest the starving parents should have the starving babies that can only hope to live to 16 or whatever and hope someone will marry her for the paltry dowry her father can pay.
Is it true religious organisations work these places and offer food for accepting christianity. Would this be an effort to increase the female population because they are more religious as a demographic and more likely to give birth which brings loads more christians into the world.
Is this a religious abortion issue .

Certainly, Christian missionaries have a long and horrid history of forced conversions in exchange for food/ shelter/ security etc, though I don't think this happens (much) anymore. I have definitely never experienced anything like this and have never heard anything about it from people here in the field.

The only 'religious abortion issue' I would see here is that of the Hindu religion, in which dowry is practiced. This is a system where the parents of a bride are expected to pay a large sum to the groom's parents upon marriage... this is a huge financial strain on families and is an immediate deterrent for a poor family to have a girl child. If they have a boy, however, they are pretty much guaranteed a good dowry payment at some stage. For desperately poor families, this financial incentive is a huge factor.

stupidusername · 22-05-2012 10:59AM

The King of Moo wrote: »

The aid isn't for the people who design and build the nuclear weapons, jets and rockets.

It's for the people who are starving while the government spends money on the above.

I dunno, I think there's a good point in that. I mean how is a government ever going to feel pressure to take care of it's peoples basic needs, when other countries are forever supplying aid? It really doesn't make sense to me to continue doing it.

pickarooney · 22-05-2012 11:02AM

There's no point trying to help people who are stuck in the stone age, unfortunately.

The King of Moo · 22-05-2012 11:03AM

stupidusername wrote: »

I dunno, I think there's a good point in that. I mean how is a government ever going to feel pressure to take care of it's peoples basic needs, when other countries are forever supplying aid? It really doesn't make sense to me to continue doing it.

I can see the sense in that argument, but for me it's just too unfair on the people who actually need help. It'd feel like using them as pawns in an ideological argument.
I'd much prefer to try to help the people while also getting their own government to pull their weight, if possible.

I think this especially applies to India where the huge scale of poverty and the caste system mean it's unlikely that the problem would be sorted soon, even if the Indian government diverted all space-programme funding to aid tomorrow.

RaRaRasputin · 22-05-2012 11:04AM

I think there are enough examples of charity fraud all over the news, usually following major disasters in Haiti, when so many people decided to donate to enable quick help for the survivors only to find out later that large sums had not reached the people in need. Google it yourself, maybe you'll be kept busy for a while whilst analysing the validity of the evidence you cried for.

Susie_Q · 22-05-2012 11:19AM

Most established NGOs now work on two levels; firstly to provide support and help for people that need it, and secondly to pressure national governments to support and help their own citizens. This is done through research, policy and advocacy and is a HUGE part of what international NGOs do these days.

NGOs do not want to serve as welfare states, rather they are intermediaries in situations where there are no safety nets for the poor. Here in India the government has created quite a lot of pro-poor policies and schemes to try and help the poor, though there are issues with implementation and comprehension. This is something we are constantly working on here; linking poor people in our operational areas to government schemes, for example they can get 100 days paid work per year in rural areas, they can get subsidised supplies of rice, and widows are entitled to a pension. The government pays for all these schemes, and we are working to make sure people are aware of them and know how to link to them and use them to their advantage.

We're not here handing out food and splashing around money needlessly, we take a long-term approach towards sustainable development, where a national government has to be become more responsible for it's own citizens. Sadly this is a long process, so in the meantime NGOs support poor people who are unfortunate to live under unresponsive governments.

K-9 · 22-05-2012 11:35AM

pickarooney wrote: »

There's no point trying to help people who are stuck in the stone age, unfortunately.

Aye, that view has been around for centuries, very common in the UK round about 1845.

pa4 · 22-05-2012 11:47AM

mikemac1 wrote: »

Coffee is a horrible drink and I hate when people bring it into the office

Just the smell of it makes me grimace

the smell is absolutely disgusting when everyones drinking it

Ruralyoke · 22-05-2012 11:48AM

Unpopular opinion:

Those that break the law should be first and foremost punished.

It's not ALL about turning peoples lives around, rehabilitating etc - yes, do that (or attempt it) by all means, but there should be quantifiable punative measures taken against those that break the law.

Every time. No "rough background" bullsh1t or no "good family" bullsh1t.

cloptrop · 22-05-2012 11:56AM

I think sex offenders should be given a distinguishable mark so they can be recognised from a few metres away. This would make my choosing a babysitter alot easier.

kieranfitz · 22-05-2012 01:46PM

Tea is ****e.

Nodin · 22-05-2012 01:52PM

Ruralyoke wrote: »

Unpopular opinion:

Those that break the law should be first and foremost punished.

It's not ALL about turning peoples lives around, rehabilitating etc - yes, do that (or attempt it) by all means, but there should be quantifiable punative measures taken against those that break the law.

Every time. No "rough background" bullsh1t or no "good family" bullsh1t.

Thats the way it used to be. It didn't work.

Ruralyoke · 22-05-2012 02:18PM

Nodin wrote: »

Thats the way it used to be.

Aren't you referring to punishment only rather than punishment primarily though?

mikemac1 · 22-05-2012 02:22PM

Suicide is a big issue and something that should be discussed

However, I'm sick of the taxi industry using suicide as a lobbying tool.
When they call Joe Duffy or talk to the roving reporters of Pat Kenny show they always bring up suicides of their comrades.
Yes, very sad and tragic.
And their next line is about their wishes and demands and what they want to regulator to do.

You'd almost think the regulator and the minister killed the drivers themselves. Emotional blackmail

Not sure if that's unpopular, I'll stick it up on the thread as I haven't seen it

Nodin · 22-05-2012 02:23PM

Ruralyoke wrote: »

Aren't you referring to punishment only rather than punishment primarily though?

Punishment only. The US system, insomuch as it can been generalised about, is 'punishment primarily' and overall the US has a higher crime rate than here.

Ruralyoke · 22-05-2012 02:28PM

Well different argument, many factors etc etc but surely you don't think the US has a higher crime rate because con's "time" is more difficult?

Nodin · 22-05-2012 02:38PM

Ruralyoke wrote: »

Well different argument, many factors etc etc but surely you don't think the US has a higher crime rate because con's "time" is more difficult?

....to survive a rough enviroment, you have to become a harder individual, logically. You wouldn't expect somebody to spend a length of time in a warzone or area of strife and not be affected by it, so its only common sense the prison enviroment will do similar. The transition from being in such an enviroment for say 5-10 years and then- following discharge - the wide world, would be difficult in the most ideal of circumstances.

Ruralyoke · 22-05-2012 02:59PM

Right OK then, I advocate:

Punishment primarily, but not exclusively in a 21st century neo-conservative-but not US style-way then ?

But less chat on a thread like this.

You have to now provide an unpopular opinion to atone for the disruption in mini rant posts.

IrishAm · 22-05-2012 03:23PM

mikemac1 wrote: »

However, I'm sick of the taxi industry using suicide as a lobbying tool.

Yep, the taxi drivers have a lot of very valid complaints, but as a group, its hard to feel any sympathy for them. Their unions should invest in some PR classes.

As for the high number of suicides in the industry, again what are the unions doing about it? If somebody spends ten hours a day sitting in a car stressing over their financial problems, it will eventually have a major affect on their mental health. Why aren't the unions setting up social clubs, confidential counselling sessions, deals with gyms, etc for its members?

Nothingbetter2d · 22-05-2012 03:26PM

IrishAm wrote: »

Yep, the taxi drivers have a lot of very valid complaints, but as a group, its hard to feel any sympathy for them. Their unions should invest in some PR classes.

As for the high number of suicides in the industry, again what are the unions doing about it? If somebody spends ten hours a day sitting in a car stressing over their financial problems, it will eventually have a major affect on their mental health. Why aren't the unions setting up social clubs, confidential counselling sessions, deals with gyms, etc for its members?

because its easier for them to just complain about it rather than dealing with it.

they are no different to any other irish groups except the farmers who like a good march or go slow day in their tractors when they want something to change.

IrishAm · 22-05-2012 03:32PM

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

if they stopped breeding like f'ing rabbits there would be more food to go round.

over 1.3bil in india

They should stop worshiping the bleedin' cows and start eating the fuckers too.

Can anyone explain why a bankrupt rock off western europe that is borrowing billions, is giving aid to a country with a GDP of 1.75 trillion dollars, a space programme, an army that could deploy nearly 2.5 million soldiers and has more natural resources than the whole of europe put together?

If they can explore space, they can feed their people without our help.

taato · 22-05-2012 03:33PM

BrensBenz wrote: »

I have one or two opinions that, maybe, are not generally popular. However, you did ask!
· Boybands (aerobic routines), girlbands (pole dancing routines), instant singers, reality TV “stars”, X-Factor and cookery show contestants should be rounded up and used as organ donors;
· How now brown cow in a Norn Irn accent sounds idiotic;
· And, while I’m in Norn Irn, those airheads who travel miles just to be offended by an orange or green march;
· Multi-tasking is the performance of several low-level tasks.....BADLY;
· Tattoos – real or fake – are tacky;
· Noticeable fingernails and dyed hair are tacky;
· Facial hardware and false eyelashes are.....guess what?
· There was no football in Ireland until the British brought it over. Therefore, GAA football is not Irish...and it’s ugly;
· Mandatory GAA football man-marking, i.e. fourteen co-joined couples, two gooseberry goalies and two small men in huge white coats leaning against the goal posts;
· Mandatory GAA footballer hair-do – cheap gel, combed forward with that last minute flick up – is ugly;
· Why don’t they either pull their socks up or wear ankle socks?
· Why have they all got at least three names?
· Mandatory Nor Irn Unionist hair-do – centre-parting with “almost” spikes – is ugly;
· Jeremy Clarkson....and camogie – what the....?
· Orange and / or green marches?
· Journalists are paid muck-stirrers and we fall for it;
· The English, Welsh and Australians should be taught how to pronounce the letter “R”;
· Synchronised swimming is not a sport;
· France is one of God’s few mistakes;
· Heavy metal “songs”....in rhyming couplets? What the.....?
· 4x4s.....and the Angelus? What the.....?
· Undying loyalty to your county? They’re man-made lines in the bog, drawn by the British;
· Automatic condemnation of politicians? Who voted for them?
· Wasps? What the.....?
· Culchie and Western music in ¾ time and that Cavan / Kansas accent? What the ....?
· “Me faaahder vawted Feena Fawl so Oil vawt Feena Fawl”;
· Posters – yes, I can see you – eager to take offence and retaliate.

Where’s my coat?

All of which could have been written by me - really weird to see a post so in tune with my feelings. Possibly disagree about France tho - I'd insert the US or Australia instead.

Duggys Housemate · 22-05-2012 03:39PM

taato wrote: »

All of which could have been written by me - really weird to see a post so in tune with my feelings. Possibly disagree about France tho - I'd insert the US or Australia instead.

Of course you agree, Its all derivative sh*te, except the anti-French bit. Not only is it not unpopular where he lives, most of those opinions are expected in parts of lower middle class Dublin.

Nodin · 22-05-2012 03:45PM

Ruralyoke wrote: »

Right OK then, I advocate:

Punishment primarily, but not exclusively in a 21st century neo-conservative-but not US style-way then ?

But less chat on a thread like this.

You have to now provide an unpopular opinion to atone for the disruption in mini rant posts.

Eurovision shouldn't be held in Azerbaijan as the place is run by a bollocks.

Palytoxin · 22-05-2012 04:10PM

Nodin wrote: »

Eurovision shouldn't be held in Azerbaijan as the place is run by a bollocks.

Eurovision shouldn't be held because it's a load of bollocks.

Unpopular Opinions.

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