Unpopular Opinions

[Kontra Kommando]

Doomtodeath said:

I think the arcade version of Contra is superior to the NES version.

I agree with you!

[Doomtodeath]

Kontra Kommando said:

I agree with you!

You just made my day.

[Flesh420]

My 2nd unpopular opinion: Rap is low-frequency dribble to keep kids on a sex, drug level of brain operation. Purely by design, of course. Even the 'artists' are too stupid and only worried about gold teeth to understand they're being played like the neighborhood whore.

[hardcore_gamer]

I think democracy is extremely overrated and that it is given more praise than it deserves. A republic on the other hand, is more realistic.

[Technician]

hardcore_gamer said:

I think democracy is extremely overrated and that it is given more praise than it deserves. A republic on the other hand, is more realistic.

The term republic has much stigma attached to it thanks to communism. I get a chuckle when Iran calls it's self a republic despite being a theocracy dictated by a single man.

[Clonehunter]

Flesh420 said:

My 2nd unpopular opinion: Rap is low-frequency dribble to keep kids on a sex, drug level of brain operation. Purely by design, of course. Even the 'artists' are too stupid and only worried about gold teeth to understand they're being played like the neighborhood whore.

Unpopular IRL; popular online.

This said I still don't mind certain artists, or some of that genre meld stuff. Gorillaz has some of that which is pretty good, and I've liked some T.I. Sean Kingston is okay for those Teen hip-hop/rap urges when you're yearning for late 90s early 2000s shit. (Anything he's done recent though is mostly garbage from the bit I've heard of it).

And of course, Weird Al rapping is often pure gold.

[Cupboard]

Technician said:

The term republic has much stigma attached to it thanks to communism.

[/B][/quote]Not at all, in the USA, it doesn't take much for Rush L. and Glenn B. to correct their viewers and state triumphantly: "America is a republic, sir!" They are trying to emphasize the electoral college and the fact that money = free speech. In a democracy, 1 citizen = 1 vote. That is never the case in the USA. The USA is a representative democracy, on its best days. The US is entirely a republic. It is not a democracy, and I am a liberal socialist.

[Phml]

Unpopular IRL; popular online.

No kidding. Hating hip-hop is the perfect modern outlet for politically correct white men to satisfy their need to bitch about black people without being called out on it.

Then they go listen to heavy metal, those themes of vague nordic cultures and medieval stuff are much more comfortable colorwise. And of course, high-paced music with lyrics about violence and morbidity tell kids the important message it's really cool to rebel against mom and dad and society.

[Kontra Kommando]

This thread is like the insanity pit of ideas. Looks like its going pretty strong too. Perhaps it will endure, like the Insanity Pit [NSFW] thread.

[RUSH]

Jaxxoon R said:

Bionicle rap song

Holy shit... I'm crying. That's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

[Clonehunter]

Phml said:

No kidding. Hating hip-hop is the perfect modern outlet for politically correct white men to satisfy their need to bitch about black people without being called out on it.

Then they go listen to heavy metal, those themes of vague nordic cultures and medieval stuff are much more comfortable colorwise. And of course, high-paced music with lyrics about violence and morbidity tell kids the important message it's really cool to rebel against mom and dad and society.

Hey hip-hop was cool once. I'm down with some of that jiggy Will Smith stuff. 80% of the rap music I've heard my friends play is either about how purple or pink pussy is colored or how about drugs are so cool and how all the side affects are just wives-tales.

Granted, they might just have a really shitty taste in rap music.

[Joshua Schäferhund]

With the possible exception of Super Mario Bros. Crossover, I do not give a single fuck about flash games.

[Linkrulezall]

I actually kinda like The Nutshack
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkwNT2YOI3mXSJhVocZ20Q <<If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is

[geekmarine]

My thoughts on hip-hop - it seems there's this entire subculture that has arisen where it's all about how much money you've got and how many chicks you're bangin' and such. I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate all hip-hop, there's actually stuff out there I quite like, even it isn't one of my go-to genres and I mostly prefer it in small doses. I just... if all you're doing is bragging about how awesome you are through song, regardless of genre, I'm probably gonna hate it. Even then, though, it can be okay if done right. For instance, Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good," (classic rock, not hip-hop, but I needed a quick example) is exactly that - boasting about how much shit he's got and whatnot, but the song is satire, it's meant to be funny. It's not a song about a rock star who has everything - it's about some bumbling dumbass who doesn't know what the hell he's doing now that he's rich and famous. Even in hip-hop, there are some songs I know that take that approach, mocking the idea of being rich and famous and how dumb that can make you act, and that's alright. It's just obnoxious as hell when it's done with a straight face, with no hint of irony, and no clue what an asshole you are by doing it.

Just... Give me comedy, give me social commentary, your philosophy of life, or just a song that's all about having a good time - just don't sit there boasting about how awesome you are while having no real substance behind that whatsoever.

[DooM_RO]

geekmarine said:

My thoughts on hip-hop - it seems there's this entire subculture that has arisen where it's all about how much money you've got and how many chicks you're bangin' and such. I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate all hip-hop, there's actually stuff out there I quite like, even it isn't one of my go-to genres and I mostly prefer it in small doses. I just... if all you're doing is bragging about how awesome you are through song, regardless of genre, I'm probably gonna hate it. Even then, though, it can be okay if done right. For instance, Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good," (classic rock, not hip-hop, but I needed a quick example) is exactly that - boasting about how much shit he's got and whatnot, but the song is satire, it's meant to be funny. It's not a song about a rock star who has everything - it's about some bumbling dumbass who doesn't know what the hell he's doing now that he's rich and famous. Even in hip-hop, there are some songs I know that take that approach, mocking the idea of being rich and famous and how dumb that can make you act, and that's alright. It's just obnoxious as hell when it's done with a straight face, with no hint of irony, and no clue what an asshole you are by doing it.

Just... Give me comedy, give me social commentary, your philosophy of life, or just a song that's all about having a good time - just don't sit there boasting about how awesome you are while having no real substance behind that whatsoever.

My country has its own brand of that kind of music and it's more putrid than any hip hop song.

[Maes]

It is important that there are multiple poles of power in the world -therefore I applaud Russia's actions, though I'd have liked more initiative from China.

BTW, this is not an unpopular opinion in Greece, which is probably the most pro-russian member of the EU (at least the people are, politicians have their hands tied).

[Phobus]

Honestly, I'm with Russia on this one too. I consider the EU the aggressor here, almost on behalf of the United States, who, as a political entity, are the most dangerous thing in the planet and have been for decades.

[dew]

Phobus said:

Honestly, I'm with Russia on this one too.

Which one? I don't think the idea of a multilateral world is unpopular outside of 'Murca, #1 World Cop & the Dictator of Freedom. Russia did pretty good with Syria and it's a shame they didn't press their concerns more with Libya.

On the other hand, fuck Russia and their bullying of Ukraine. As a fellow Slav and European, I support Ukraine in giving Russia the middle finger, we're no one's bumper zone or "sphere of influence". If anything, EU (500+mil) needs to be a power player of her own, not a second stringer to smaller, but more aggressive entities like USA (320mil) and Russia (140mil). Couch warriors from far away countries in love with Putin's macho realpolitik should go live in the shadow of the quirky beast for a time.

[Phobus]

I'm from London, so I've been directly affected by the oligarch money that Russia seems to routinely export, in the sense that London is now ridiculously expensive even by British standards, so I'm up the other end of the country for a cheaper daily spend. Obviously I don't suffer for their politics much compared to the ex-Soviet states and so only see the analysis of international actions, which as of late have been doing the very positive thing of countering the USA.

As for the EU - it's a failing organisation that can't hold together, IMO. The sooner the countries in it are allowed to break loose and value their economies and currencies appropriately, the sooner things like austerity can be broken off. Then again, it could probably work without the underlying debt problems at start, if very strong federation was am explicit goal and instantly imposed. The real problem is this halfway house, IMO.

[DooMAD]

Phobus said:

The sooner the countries in it are allowed to break loose and value their economies and currencies appropriately, the sooner things like austerity can be broken off.

I wish I had your optimism. Realistically, austerity isn't going to end, regardless of what happens to the economy, regardless of whether it's tied to a wider union or not. Austerity is an ideological standpoint. Once they know they can get away with cutting public services with what the public wrongly perceive as a justifiable excuse, there's little incentive for them not to keep the money and funnel it wherever their campaign supporters deem best.

What's that you say, government? There's no money for firemen or hospitals? But there's plenty of money for a new aircraft carrier that doesn't have any aircraft and a new nuclear deterrent we're never going to use. Of course we can spend millions on Thatcher's funeral, clearly a necessity. Payrise for MPs while everyone else's wages are stagnating in real terms, sure. And most important of all, plenty of new money printed out of thin air to pump into the finance sector so they can gamble on derivatives and inflate the housing bubble even further.

It's a hideous lie. A deliberate transference of wealth which harms the economy more than helping it. And of course once they've finished driving public services into the ground, they then sell them off to private companies who can then charge more for those services. I guess the gap between rich and poor isn't wide enough for their liking yet.

[Kontra Kommando]

Terminator is better than Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

[Scripten]

Kontra Kommando said:

Terminator is better than Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Is this unpopular? I rather liked the dark sci-fi atmosphere of the original more. Also, John Connor is the most annoying little shit ever. T2 is still a masterpiece, though.

[Doomkid]

The North should have allowed the South to secede. This could have led to less racism and better reform of certain laws, as it wouldn't have been 'forced'. Time would have likely shown soon after the period where the civil war took place that slavery wasn't a viable or humane option and it would have been outlawed, the two halves would have probably ended up merging again anyway, the main difference being that a violent (and embarassing, globally speaking) war wouldn't have been required.

(SHEILDS UP, RED ALERT)

[geekmarine]

My big gripe with the "North should've allowed the South to secede" argument... well, one of many big gripes, is that the South took an aggressive stance after seceding, basically forcing the North's hand. I think war would've been inevitable, even if the North had adopted a position of appeasement. The South lacked resources and infrastructure (one of the reasons the North won the war in the first place), which likely would've driven them to armed conflict eventually. Also, at least in my personal opinion (I'm sure it's up for debate, I'll acknowledge that straight out), the South seemed to me to be an expansionist power, going along with the shortage of resources I mentioned earlier.

I also don't believe racial tensions would've improved at all had this been allowed to occur. The war was in itself a small step toward equal rights, forcing the issue of slavery among other things. Allowing all that to go on, in my opinion, would foster a sense of complacency with the status quo. Even if slavery was on the way out, that sense of complacency would still result in black people being treated as an underclass - because that would've just been the way things always were, and there'd be nothing to force that issue to be closely examined. Cultural inertia can be a bitch to overcome. People love to talk about how, "Well if so-and-so wouldn't shove the issue in my face, maybe the change they wanted would happen, but when you get in people's faces about it, that makes them resist." However, for many social issues, it's been crucial for the issue to be brought to the foreground in a confrontational manner. It's incredibly easy to maintain "traditional" values when you're never forced to confront change personally. It's easy to dismiss social issues when they're an abstract. It's easy to say, "There's no need to make a big fuss over it," when you aren't made aware of the consequences of it through firsthand exposure.

Hell, something as simple as chunky tomato sauce never would've gotten off the ground if it hadn't been pushed onto consumers who had no real clue about it when it was introduced (seriously, it's an interesting phenomenon, you can look it up - consumers were asked time and time again what they wanted in tomato sauce, and went with bland, smooth, boring style, because it's what they knew - they rejected chunky because they had no experience with it, but as soon as they were exposed to it, they loved it).

[Aliotroph?]

I think the North should have started a program of settlement and assimilation of what was left of the white southerners. Maybe they should still do that.

[Doomkid]

While I wasn't being 100% serious with my statement, I think you've made some excellent points, especially about cultural inertia.

It really is hard for me to wrap my mind around genuinely thinking of someone as 'lesser' just because their skin is a different color, and the fact that the civil war was a stepping stone on the way to equal rights makes me appreciate it.

There's a part of me that thinks maybe the right wingers and left wingers should just form two different nations to see how it plays out. (I'm not being 100% serious with this one either, though it is a funny thought.)

[myk]

Perhaps if the US had split the two parts would have engineered (with Canada) a more humane region contributing more aptly to international democracy, but that period was not a good moment to make such a division, with slavery on the line.

Technician said:
So you're forced to vote for idiot A. or idiot B. Or should there be a check box for "disregard this vote." Oh wait, that's what the Green Party is for.

That's why ballots are the way to go. You can include a white piece of paper (a traditional blank vote) or a picture of a Playboy centerfold (a null vote), if you want. Compulsory voting is the key remedy against policies to exclude people through bureaucracy or media (or social) pressures. It makes the authorities responsible that everyone must vote. It's more of an obligation on the State than on the people, because people can choose to vote "no one". Otherwise, apathy toward politics spreads mainly among the least fortunate, and government becomes even more distant to them and their interests.

Voting in Canada is at an all time low because we just can't fabricate the red and blue mentality of the American left and right.

Wasn't it higher in the past? Weren't parties also diverse earlier? If so, that can't be the cause. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because of North American free trade. Canada is less independent than before and its political elite have been listening more to global corporations and less so to their electorate, relatively speaking. This turns voters off and makes politicians care less.

The term republic has much stigma attached to it thanks to communism.

I don't see that. Perhaps it occurs in Eastern Europe to a point, but I'm skeptical, as republicanism has also always been espoused in capitalism. Over here, "saving the Republic" tends to be something the right calls out for, in a kind of nostalgia for a pre-populist "republican" environment, and because they can't say things squarely and get enough votes. That is, a period back when votes weren't secret (up to the early 20th century), or at least later in the 20th century when the populist Peronist party was banned. In some sense, I see it as an import from the US, especially by the Propuesta Republicana (PRO) party, but mainly through corporate media that reinforced a good deal of their power in the dictatorship of the '70s, that they hardly criticized and while other media got censored, driven out or appropriated, and thus despise the democratic process as populist noise.

The differentiation hardcore_gamer made between a Republic and a Democracy is a result of the dumbing down of political discourse where "democracy" is linked to Democrats and "republic" to Republicans. It's bullshit because a modern republic (as opposed to Plato's idea) refers to having voted representatives, and a modern democracy (as opposed to the original direct democracy of ancient Greece) is a concept where all citizens have political incidence over policy and human rights are espoused and protected by a nation state, mainly through representatives. These are not exclusive, on the contrary, as the people aren't being represented if the government is not responding to its citizens' interests. Perhaps it's true that the US tends to fail to be a democracy, since it tends to have little respect for it in an international sense, but trying to pin it down as a republic instead of a democracy is a political conceptualization against democracy, unless it's just meant as a complaint ("we are failing to be a democratic republic, let's correct this shit") along the lines of what TheCupboard may imply.

I get a chuckle when Iran calls it's self a republic despite being a theocracy dictated by a single man.

The US supreme court (which tends to have a final word on controversial matters) is not that much less arbitrary, not to mention the incidence of the military-industrial-financial complex on policy, or the weight of the elite on candidate making. The Iranian Republic has elected representatives that take care of most day-to-day affairs, so there's nothing special about it having that name.

[Phobus]

If it weren't for the numerous ad breaks, recaps and teasers taking up about 10 minutes of each 43 minute episode, I genuinely think I prefer Top Gear USA to the British Top Gear. Almost entirely because they focus purely on big challenges with smaller events built into it with a range of vehicles, dissecting the wider automotive culture of America (primarily) and the rest of the world. They've got the editing skills that we Brits know and love, but with a greater enthusiasm, a younger, more testosterone-driven cast of presenters and bolder stunts, plus they've got a gigantic, varied country that they're more than happy to take advantage of. The first couple of seasons were retreading the UK format and features,which was pretty weak, but since then they've become more and more their own thing and are going from strength to strength. The most recent episode I've seen, where Tanner's rally skill and experience was overcome by Adam (a New York comedian) applying common knowledge to a pumped-up Jeep that uses power and ground clearance in much the same way a helicopter does was incredibly entertaining and also showed me a lot about off road driving that I was never going to know other way.

[Breezeep]

I'm quite surprised inside to see how big this thread has gotten.

[MeetyourUnmaker]

Clonehunter said:

Granted, it's been a long time since I've actually listened to them, and if anything I was more of a kid back then, so I don't know. I might give 'em a listen again and re-evaluate, not that will necessarily change things.

Dark Side of the Moon imo is kind of hard to get into apart from a couple of songs like Time and Us and Them/Any Colour You Like. Start with something like Wish You Were Here or Meddle if you want to hear their better music.