chinangel said:
Okay escapist, your turn! >:3
I think eugenics (or at the least, genetic modification) is a perfectly acceptable concept. I do not support the castrating or killing of anyone, but I don't see anything wrong with deciding the sex of a child or aspects of its genetic inheritance. I also see nothing wrong with people selectively breeding with other people to improve their genetic base, as long as it's strictly voluntary.
I think most people don't get how small a shit the Universe cares about intentions or morals. One of the major opposing viewpoints for the above opinion is that it's "Unfair." That's a completely human concept, and one which doesn't make for a very good argument the moment a disease ravages your system because it found a weakness in your T-cells.
Concertedly, I think almost everybody underestimates exactly how fucking magnificent the modern world is. The Universe is a collection of rules that doesn't give two steaming fucks whether or not you die a horrible, agonizing death. That most people on this planet aren't eaten by predators or succumb to fatal parasites is tantamount to the real advantage of being human - and to scoff at the accomplishments or attribute them to other sources (including deities) is incredibly disingenuous to me.
I would be perfectly fine if all of the hardcore Republican states seceded and created their own country. I believe the United States is too big for its own good; you can spend all your life living in Southern California and never have to interact with someone from Alabama and vice versa. The only way around this (which will never, ever be funded), in my opinion, is to setup sort of vast webcam stations and put significant amounts of effort to make the nation a more cohesive social population. Setup a national language, have buildings dedicated to reinforcing interstate relationships, construct mass transit infrastructure that makes traveling between the states easy and cheap.
I'm fine when Conservatives call me Liberal and Socialist, and not just because they usually use them incorrectly. I believe a flatter wealth pyramid in the country is necessary for the persistence of the United States as a top world player. I find it completely ridiculous that 85% of the nation's wealth is tied up in less than 5% of the population, and the wealthy in that category should be paying 85% of the taxes. I believe that raises and benefits for Officers shouldn't exceed, percentage wise, double that of what the lowest paid employee of the company earns. I fully support raising Capital Gains taxes (even though it will directly affect my returns on investments), and I fully support the "Class Warfare" that's currently going on right now because it didn't start in 2011. It started 30 years ago when top earners saw their income double every few years and the average worker saw their income go up a measly few percentage points, and the persecution from Middle and Lower earning families we're seeing today is merely the natural result of that concentration of wealth.* That there exist people who honestly believe that $400,000/year (or $10M in investments) is "barely enough" to raise a family on is a sign that things are far off of where they should be.
*= Not actual figures. Don't quote me on this. I may be hyperbolic or hypobolic here. If you want actual figures, I'll find them.
I have no trouble admitting that the OWS crackdowns were a violation of the Right to Assemble, in my opinion.
I don't find white women attractive most of the time, despite being caucasian. I find different ethnicities (black, Indian, South American mostly) are more appealing to me, physically speaking.
I don't know how many of the above are actually "dark secrets" of mine. I'm a pretty open guy with loads of self-esteem (read: big ego) and usually passively optimistic; so I'm not really ashamed of much. I just hold a lot of views which, as with most opinions and beliefs, others will find practically the opposite of what they believe to be good and true. Are there tons of those people on the Escapist? Not really, and in some ways that's unfortunate.