Historical "context" doesn't excuse hatred, ignorance, or bigotry. Ever. It may explain it, but History is not some tool you can trot out when you want to justify being rude to others. We all, at an individual level, should treat others how we would want to be treated, regardless of the larger social forces at…

As others have mentioned, the US was responsible for the three of the deadliest days of WWII (Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki) for civilians, so I think you have underestimated the Blood Index here.

I don't think he was disparaging sex workers as much as he was disparaging their fashion choices.

Nope, just those trying to extrapolate a rare personal experience into data. Actual, factual, scientifically-collected data shows that your experience is an outlier, yet you present it as the norm. Pre-school is, as a matter of fact, "super awesome and necessary" and you are using non-scientific arguments to try to…

Real relationships don't involve contriving 'tests' like that. I'm sorry that she did that to you.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

And that's how you do it.

Can we send 500,000 notes, letters, and cards to the people of Chicago, too? It seems they've lost quite a few people to gun violence recently.

You can keep arguing with independent statistical research with your personal experience, but my point remains that where you are now would not be any different had you been educated under the model you just suggested. You may say that you could have achieved more if the 'dumb' kids had been in a separate class, but…

In addition, if you don't see education as a collaborate process undertaken through to cooperation and participation of both peers and instructors, and truly resented helping those not as fortunately-intelligent as you, then you really didn't/don't grasp what your education was all about. Extra attention wouldn't…

Regardless of your personal experience, those "dumber" kids in your class did far better as a result of being grouped with you than they would have without. Are you suggesting we purposefully ignore (and limit) the educational opportunities of ~70% of students in order to see no meaningful improvement for the top…

Funnily enough, all the educational outcome research on 'tracking' students based on ability show the opposite effect. More advanced students achieve exactly the same long-term life outcomes (education, income, etc.) even when placed in classes with "dumber" students, while those 'dumber' students have far better…

For those looking for further reading or alternative perspectives on these observed phenomena, adolescent culture has been a fruitful area of academic research in the field of Sociology, in addition to Psychology. I may be biased towards my field, but I would classify the explanation gleaned from the longitudinal…

Well, I'm not exactly saying that necessarily. For a religious (or functional equivalent) ritual to work, be it Holy Mass at the Vatican, a Presidential inauguration, or the 7th inning stretch at Yankee Stadium, there simply must be measures of distinguishing insiders from outsiders. In capital-R 'Religion', this…

Thank you. I'm just trying to counter-balance all of the ignorance and misinformation.

It goes back to the division between Islam (which actually is defined in the Qu'ran as any belief in the Abrahamic God) and polytheistic religions ("idolaters"). In effect, the Qu'ran says that as long as you accept the Abrahamic God, no matter Christian, Jew, or other, you're okay. It's just their version of the…

Verse 2:62: Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

I'll keep that in mind the next time I feel the urge to shoot someone with my PB&J.

No one is considering that the following: