Good morning, and I thank you guys very much for making me feel welcome.
Glad you like my logos!
OK, let me first apologize for the length of this post.
When I was in high school, I was under pressure to sign up to join the football team, because of my size and weight. I was only 15 years old when I weighed over 200 pounds and I stopped growing at 5 feet 7 inches.
That is, I stopped growing vertically but continued to grow horizontally, and at the age of 17, I weighed about 250 pounds, so you can see why I was pressured to sign up for football.
But, I hated football. I was just a fat little nerd or geek. I was more interested in the arts and sciences, especially astronomy, which was my absolute favorite. I just wasn't mean or aggressive enough to want to play football. I had too much of a timid and gentle disposition.
I'm now 57 years old, and I now weigh about 400 pounds at 5 feet 6 inches. I had lost an inch from my height. As you can see by my avatar, I'm just big fatty. The photo in my avatar was taken back in April of 2007 when I weighed about 375 pounds.
I actually love my size and weight! I like being a large person, it makes me feel more secure. Also, I'm now much bigger than any jock who has ever bullied me around when I was a kid going to school. But I'm still a very gentle person, although I can get verbally sassy at times when I feel the need to speak up on important social or political issues.
OK, now I'm going to get a little bit off topic here, but it is related to why sports suck.
As you probably know, February 12th was the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.
OK, now here in the State of Texas where I live, the school boards are going to vote as to whether or not, to include teaching "Intelligent Design" in the sciences classes along with Darwin's Evolution, in the belief that it will give students a chance to decide for themselves which theory to embrace.
Oh WOW! Not isn't that nice!!!
Hey! Perhaps the Astronomy classes should also teach the flat-earth Geocentric theory along with the Heliocentric theory of the solar system, and maybe throw in Astrology as well! Eh? Yeah, that should give the students a choice on which theory they may choose to embrace.
YEAH RIGHT!!!
It's is unconstitutional to teach religion in a science class, and this so-called "Intelligent Design" theory is just another name for "Creation Science" or "Creationism" which is being disguised as science.
OK, now I do believe in God and all that, and I'm even in the process of converting to Judaism, and on Saturday mornings I go the the Reform Synagogue for Torah Studies, and religious services, and I'm learning to sing the songs in Hebrew, which is really cool! I love the Hebrew language, and the songs we sing really rock!!!
But, I believe that my religion is a personal thing, that I would NEVER force on anybody else. So I believe in keeping my religion out of sciences classes. My Rabbi also feels the same way.
During our Torah studies, we have discussed evolution, and the age of the universe, and we are NOT fundamentalists, or what I like to call "Funny-mentalists" who take everything in the Torah (Bible) so literally. We are more open minded and accepting of science, and my Rabbi firmly supports science and scientific research, and he's perfectly comfortable with Darwin's theory of evolution. So, he's really cool.
And during the religious service today, before reading from the Torah scroll, he gave a sermon concerning science and religion. Oh, and by way. The Rabbi does not read Torah to us, he sings the Torah. When reading most of the passage out loud, in Hebrew, he sings those passages. Some of the passages are spoken, but most of them are sung.
Anyway, he gave us a sermon this Shabbot on science and religion, and he read to us and article written by Jonathan Sacks.
It was about Darwin's Paradox.
Now, before I continue with the article, essentially, Darwin's Theory of Evolution is based on what he called "Natural Selection" and how life forms compete for scarce resources, such as food and shelter, and how the strongest or most adaptable survive.
No, contrary to popular opinion, Darwin never said "survival of the fittest" those words were never on his lips. It is not survival of the fittest, but rather, it is survival of the adaptable.
For example: an organism may be perfectly "fit" to live in it's present environment while another organism may be somewhat less "fit" for the environment, but still manages to do quite well. But if, in the event, there is a drastic change in the environment due to a climate change, the organism that was the most "fit" for the previous environment may not be "fit" to survive in the new environment, and thus becomes extinct, while the organism the was less "fit" for the previous environment, but still managing to muddle through, may be better able to adapt to the new radically changed environment, and thus survives.
So, it is not necessarily the strongest or the fastest creatures that survives through a drastic climate change, but rather the most adaptable, the most flexible, the most able to try something new, the least rigid.
For example, physically I'm not very strong. Actually, I'm a soft and weak obese little cream puff. But because I'm fat, if there were a drought and a feminine, I would be better equipped to survive it because of the excess fat on my body. Of course, I'm too slow and heavy to run, and too soft and weak to fight, so my own natural instinct would be to hide from the violent and aggressive predators to insure my survival. I would have to depend more on my cunning or intelligence to make up for my physical weakness in order to survive. So, I would find ways to adapt. So, I'm more famine resistant, and better adapted for colder climates, and well protected from physical injuries.
OK, now back to the Darwin's Paradox, which concerns why lower animals survive through competition, while we humans need mutual co-operation and working together to enhance our survival which appears to be the exact opposite of how animals survive.
Here is the article that our Rabbi read to our congregation during our Shabbot services.
Jonathan Sacks:
Now I want to ask, why is it that societies cannot exist without co-operation? Why is it that state and market alone cannot sustain a society? The answer to that is an absolutely fascinating story, and it begins with Charles Darwin.
Darwin hit a problem he could not solve. I understand from Darwin that all life evolves by natural selection, which means, by the way of competition for scarce resources: food, shelter and the like.
If so, you would expect that all societies would value the most competitive, and even the most ruthless individuals. But Darwin noticed that it isn't so. In fact, in every society of which he knew, it was the most altruistic individuals who were the most valued and admired, not the most competitive. Or, if I can put it in the language of Richard Dawkins: a bundle of selfish genes get together to produce selfless people. That was Darwin's Paradox, and it lay unsolved until the late 1970s.
It was then, that three different disciplines converged: sociobiology, a branch of mathematics called games theory, and high-speed computer simulation. Together they produced something called the iterated prisoner's dilemma.
Traditionally, that was the work of religion. After all, the word "religion" itself come from a Latin root meaning "to bind". And whether we take a conservative thinker like Edmund Burke, or a radical like Thomas Paine, or a social scientist like Emil Durkheim, or an outside observer like Alexis de Tocqueville, they all saw this, and explained it, each in their own way. And now it has been scientifically demonstrated. If there is only competition and no co-operation, if there is only the state and the market and no covenantal relationships, society will not survive.
What then happens to a society after religions wanes and there is nothing covenantal to take it's place? Relationships breaks down. Marriage grows weak. Families become fragile. Communities atrophy. And the result is that people feel vulnerable and alone.If they turn those feeling outward, the result is often anger turning to violence. If they turn them inward, the result is depression, stress related syndromes, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse. Either way, there is spiritual poverty in the midst of material affluence.
It doesn't happen all at once, but slowly, gradually and inexorably. Societies without covenants and the institutions needed to inspire and sustain them, disintegrate.
Initially, the result is a loss of graciousness in our shared collective lives. Ultimately, it's a loss of freedom itself.
To cut a long story short, what they discovered was that though natural selection works through the genes of individuals, individuals -- certainly in the higher life-forms -- survive only because they are members of groups. And groups survive only on the bases of reciprocity and trust, on what I have called covenant, or the logic of co-operation. One human verses one lion, the lion wins. Ten humans verses one lion, the humans are in with a chance.
It turns out that the very things that make Homo Sapiens different - the use of language, the size of the brain, even the moral sense itself -- have to do with the ability to form and sustain groups: the larger the brain, the larger the group.
Neo-Darwinians call this reciprocal altruism. Sociologists call it trust. Economists call it social capital. And it is one great intellectual discoveries of our time.
Individuals need groups. Groups need co-operation. And co-operation needs covenant, bonds of reciprocity and trust.
OK, now this does not rule out atheism. Because, as it had been asked earlier
"What then happens to a society after religions wanes and there is nothing covenantal to take it's place?"
Well, it does not have to be religion. Anything that is covenantal will work. I respect the opinions and the rights of atheists, because I have known atheists who have adhered to higher moral principles that would put many religious people to shame, and I have known many religious people who were absolute scoundrels. So, being an atheist dose not make one a bad person. I have friends who are atheists, and I have enemies who are very religious.
As I have said, I do believe in God, but I do not force my religion on anybody else. It is a personal thing with me, and I also don't like it when another person forces his or her religion on me.
And that is why, even though I believe in God, I agree that religion should be kept out of the science classes, that religion has no place in any science class, just as Astrology has no place in an Astronomy class, or Alchemy has any place in a class on Chemistry. Therefore, Creationism, or what they now so euphemistically like to call "Intelligent Design" has no place in a biology class, or any science class.
To introduce creationism into a biology class where evolution is taught, is unconstitutional and a violation of church and state, and even my Rabbi says the very same thing. If he were on the school board, he would vote against introducing Creationism or "Intelligent Design" into any science class, because it is not science, but religion wearing the disguise of science.
OK, by now you're all wondering what this has to do with football and why football sucks.
We all notice how all the jocks like to talk so high and mighty, saying that sports is a good thing, that it teaches "teamwork" or mutual co-operation, and working together for the common good of the team, loyalty to one's team and backing up your fellow team members.
Ah! Yes indeed! Beautiful sounding words! It would truly be nice, really wonderful, if these athletes actually carried this philosophy into the everyday world of the classrooms and through out the school, and in their day to day interactions with their fellow students, whether they be team members or not, and having the same respect for everybody else as they have for their fellow team mates.
But sadly, this is not so. If sports supposedly teaches mutual co-operation and respect for other people, then why in the fucking Hell do these jocks like to bully around all the other students, the nerds and the geeks???
And yes. I said the dirty F word.
I know I'm converting to Judaism, and I pray to God in the synagogue, and sing all the beautiful songs in Hebrew.
But sometime I get so damn fucking pissed off at these fucking stupid moronic Macho Jockos that I like to tell them all to fuck off!
Now dose that make me a hypocrite? Just because I sometimes say FUCK???
HELL FUCKING NO!!!
It's not a sin to cuss and swear by using the F word.
Just don't take God's name in vain.
Therefore, I don't cuss and swear using God's name, out of respect for God.
Also, I don't hate the jocks themselves because hate toward another person is a sin.
But I certainly hate what the jocks do! I hate and despise their bullying, I hate and despise the way they think they are above the law and can get away with all kinds of FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!
If sports teaches mutual respect, then why in the fucking Hell do they not show the same respect for all the other students as the do for their fellow team members???
And now, speaking of religion . . . . .
Football is only a game! That, and nothing more.
Ah! But guess what!!!
Football has become more than just a mere game! It has become a freaking religion! And sports is a religion that is being forced on the student body in our schools.
Therefore, to force sports, which has become a religion, on the other students, it is unconstitutional, and a violation of the separation of church and state. That is because sports has become like onto a religion, a cult! A dangerous cult!
I have my own religion, which happens to be Judaism, and I don't expect everybody else to follow my religion. I don't force my religion on anybody else. I like to talk about it because I'm proud of Judaism, but if you don't believe in my religion, that is OK. You follow your own religion, or non-religion if you choose, and I respect your choice.
And if you're a jock, then fine! If you love football, then fine! But you have no right to force the love of your sport on other people. Sorry Bubbah! But not everybody likes football.
Football is NOT the most important thing in the world! It is only a game.
There are things that are more important, like getting a decent education in science and math. Through science, we hope someday to find a cure for cancer, or diabetes, to find alternative sources of energy, to repair the damages we had done to the environment, and it's going to take people who are educated in the sciences to solve all of these problems, and it's not going to be done by football players.
Oh yes! I would like to respond to Detroit Sports Fan 08
Detroitsportsfan08 wrote: The education thing is a joke, and just untrue. It's harder to graduate high school today then ever before, and people are more highly educated today then ever before as a result of more and more people going to college.
Very, very stupid post. The regulars here ate it up though, so you're golden.
If this is so, that people are more highly educated today then ever before, then why is it, that about 20% percent of Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth? Pray tell!!!
Here are some facts.
Embarrassingly Stupid Americans -- One in Five Believes Sun Revolves Around Earth
The title of this article, that an embarrassingly high number of Americans believe that the sun revolves around the Earth, is only one point argued by the Washington Postâ??s Susan Jacoby, in her attempt to prove that Americans are in serious intellectual trouble, facing a virulent mixture of anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and low expectations.
What else is signaling that Americans are becoming increasingly dumbed-down as a society?
* Reading -- of books, newspapers and magazines -- is on the decline. A 2007 study even found that 80 percent of American families did not buy or read a book in 2006.
* Attention spans are declining; Jacoby suggests this is due to television and videos. For instance, between 1968 and 1988, the average sound bite on the news for a presidential candidate dropped from 42.3 seconds to 9.8 seconds. By 2000, according to a Harvard study, the daily candidate bite was down to just 7.8 seconds.
* General knowledge is eroding. This is evidenced not only by the fact that one in five U.S. adults believe the sun revolves around the Earth, but also many others.
Yet, itâ??s not bad enough that knowledge is quickly declining in the United States. On top of that, there is an arrogance about this lack of knowledge, almost as if a good portion of the population is saying, â??We know weâ??re ignorant, but we donâ??t care!â?
Consider, for instance, that a 2006 survey by National Geographic-Roper found that nearly half of young Americans did not think it was necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news was being made. And another one-third felt it was â??not at all importantâ? to know a foreign language.
Why is this so concerning? Because . . . . . . .
Fear and Ignorance Go Hand in Hand
Need I say more???
Back in 1969, when I was in high school, I had this one science teacher who was also the schools' football coach, but during football season, he was too fucking busy, coaching his team of pre-frontally lobotomized baboons to be teaching in my science class.
Sooooooooooooooooo!
Instead, he would set up a film projector, then turn off the light's and go out the classroom door, leaving us all sitting in the dark, watching a bunch of stupid cartoons!!!
Back in 1997, I talked with some kid who went to the same school that I went to back in 1969, and he said, "I have this really cool science teacher! He doesn't make us study or anything. He sets up a TV and a VCR and we get to watch cartoons instead! He is sooooooo cool!!!" and when I asked him the name of his teacher, it was the very same teacher I had about 28 years earlier, the very same teacher!!!
Only this time, instead of setting up a film projector, he uses a TV and a VCR. Well, now, he probably uses a DVD player. That is, assuming he hasn't croaked by now, and bought the farm or something.
Yeah! Talk about stupidity going high tech! Don't ya just love it???
Also, in my English Literature class, we did not study, we played Charades and learned how to fold paper footballs.
Like, WWWWHHOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
And now, according to the latest Gallop Poll, 1 in 5 Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth!
And you say people are better educated today than ever before!
YEAH, RIGHT!!!
I left high school, and I went to the public library and the University library, brought home lots of books and began studying on my own, because I wasn't learning jack-shit in high school!
Then I went and got my GED certificate which is just as good as a high school diploma. Better in fact! Because, to get that GED certificate, you have to pass all the tests in science, math, history, social studies, etc. etc.
But we have kids today, graduating from high school, especially the jocks, who can't even read beyond the 5th or 6th grade level.
So, if I owned a company, and I was going to hire young people, I would hire somebody with a GED certificate long before I would hire a high school graduate with a diploma.
If you came to me with your high school diploma, I would take one look at it, and say . . . . .
That, and a dollar, might get you a cup of coffee!!!
I'm fat and sassy! I love to sing & dance & stomp my feet & really rock your world!
