Stereotypes
Terrorist Profiling at it’s best. Or Worst. You Decide.
A poorly packaged college application prompted a call to the bomb squad at Eastern Illinois University. …… “There was no return address, it was poorly written, poorly addressed to the university, there were misspellings,” school spokeswoman Vicki Woodard said Saturday. “There was some tape over it. Just the overall appearance was rather strange.” – [USA Today]
OK, I have a question. Is a disheveled package with a poorly written address, equally poor spelling, and no return address the current modus operandi for bombers these days? I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that you had to be at least half-way intelligent to package explosives for delivery without blowing yourself up, or having the package blow up in transit.
By the same token I would think that any semi-intelligent person who wanted to ensure that an explosive package reached it’s destination would take pains to ensure that it did not exhibit traits that would attract attention, such as the said lack of a return address, poor spelling and rather conspicuous packaging. Or are we all supposed to believe that bombers and/or terrorists are, in general, of limited education and intelligence?
It may make you feel better to believe this to be the case, but as much as I hate to break it to ya, at least so far as terrorist activities are concerned, you are sorely mistaken if you do. Regardless of whether or not we believe our presidents “War on Terror” is justified, make no mistake; we are in it now, and must heed this all important rule of war: Know thy enemy…
Disheveled college application causes bomb scare – [USA Today]
The “Plight” of the Homeless…
Why are homeless people homeless? Is it because they are unemployable? Lazy? Have other physical, psychological conditions that prevent them from getting a job? Or is it because they’ve already found a career they like… Being homeless. Every homeless person usually has a reason for their homelessness, however it appears that if you don’t mind living in a cardboard box, or standing out in the sun all day, it might be a… well… rewarding experience:
Social workers in Paris were astonished to find more than 68,400 euros (94,250 dollars) on a homeless woman when they moved her off the street last week, police said.
The woman, named only as Denise, 66, had lived on the streets of Paris’s chic 15th arrondisement for 10 years but authorities moved her pitch on July 6 because she was dangerously close to a wall found to contain asbestos. – [Yahoo/AFP]
Now we don’t really know how this lady came by her stash, however I am told that, depending on where they are, what spots they pick, how they “set up” etc., homeless people can actually do well off the generosity of strangers. There is, perhaps, more to this homeless beggar thing than is immediately apparent. I have observed several homeless folk around the area I live, and have noticed an interesting pattern. The same people tend to appear at the same, high-traffic spots on specific days and at specific times. They never move far from the most highly trafficked areas. It is almost as if there is a rotation going.
And then you read stories like the ones here and here, and you realize that some homeless folk are homeless simply because they want to be. For them, being homeless is just as much a way of life as holding down a 9-to-5. That’s not to say it’s an easy life style. I don’t think standing out in the sun all day would be a fun exercise. At least not for me anyway. But nonetheless it puts the whole homeless thing in a different light doesn’t it…? I might get a permit and give it a shot…
Homeless Paris woman carried nearly 70,000 euros – [Yahoo-AFP]
Panhandlers might have more cash on hand than you do – [Action News 5 (Memphis)]
How much money do beggars make? – [The Straight Dope]
Hi! I’m Troglodyte. Folks call me Trog…
I read an interesting article that kinda attempts to explain the source of a few of the common “politically incorrect” stereotypes of human nature:
“our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are produced not only by our individual experiences and environment in our own lifetime but also by what happened to our ancestors millions of years ago. ” – [Slashdot/Psychology Today]
Ok. So in essence we are basically all still cave people. How interesting. Anyhoo, much of the article deals with stereotypes. I’m not one to stereotype, however there is a big difference between predicting the behavior of the average member of a culture or race based on statistics, and attempting to predict the behavior of an individual member of the demographic in question by applying the statistics to that specific individual.
You can’t. But it’s a mistake I see people make daily. Anyone can tell you that any fairly symmetrical coin, if tossed in the air 100 times, should statistically land 50 times tails up and 50 times heads up. However nobody can guarantee which side will come up on the 50th toss. Or for any toss for that matter. It’s impossible. Stereotypes are the same.
Stereotypes are not pointless. A stereotype can actually be statistically accurate, and may be useful for situations where a gross generalization is needed. However it is a mistake to attempt to apply such generalizations at an individual level, since an individuals behavior can vary widely from the general parameters upon which the stereotype is based. So don’t do it.
All that aside, I found myself agreeing with most of what the article says, and though I found some if it rather surprising, it still made sense in a weird, instinctual way… Perhaps my inner caveman was nodding his head vigorously and going “Uh Huh! True Dat!”. Either way, take a gander, it’s a pretty good read, and it makes a lot of sense if you think about it objectively, even if some of it ostensibly flies in the face of “political correctness”.
Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature – [Slashdot/Psychology Today]
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