[JasonS]

Most of the martial arts originating in Asia (not just China, of course, but Japan, Korea, and many other countries as well) are one of two categories. First, a lot of them are simply different types of armed fighting than are native to Western and Middle-Eastern societies. Just like Western usage of the sword, spear, etc., except they seem exotic because they use somewhat different styles or weapons. A lot of the unarmed fighting schools, or the ones that use really unusual weapons like the tonfa or the kama, originated in times when the possession and use of "real weapons" was reserved for certain classes of people as a means of maintaining power over the larger populace. Even if these styles use a weapon, it most likely resembles, or used to be used as, something that you could

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

I think it's used as fodder for comedy just because it's a shared experience. Nowadays, of course, more and more people can't seem to tell the difference between corporal punishment and child abuse, and of course a fair number of people won't even recognize that there is a difference, so of course it's not funny to them. Check out older comedians, the white ones used to do it to before they had to be more careful about offending people. Some of them still do, actually, but it's mostly comedians who also joke about even more "edgy" material, so they don't get flack for that because people are too busy being offended by the other things they say.

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

The only "teachers" I've ever met who made enough money to be "upper middle class" were a relatively few professors at some pretty prestigious universities. All the others I've met, let alone known, fit pretty firmly in the middle class or lower middle class range, and seemed completely aware of it. Like some other responders have suggested, it may be an issue of education vs. wealth, in which case there may be a bit of self-delusion going on here. Personally, I'm comfortable with the fact that I incurred an amount of debt comparable to buying a small house to get my lower middle class brain an upper middle class education. I accept that the benefits are more than just the money that would have been required to simply go out and buy that degree for my own kids.

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

You might have noticed, but saying someone is "black" is kind of borderline these days. The politically "acceptable" term is African American. Which is silly at times, since many white Americans come of families who have been in this country for a lot shorter period of time than many black Americans. But the fact is that if a white person refers to a black person as, well, "black," in certain situations, they'll be criticized regardless of what they're actually saying, or how they say it. So there's a fair amount of pressure to think in those terms, and hence the assumption that that's an important cultural influence in a given black person's mind as well.

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

The problem is, I think, largely because of a stereotyping of "eggheads" as being either unemotional and distant (a la Spock) or a little bit crazy (every "mad genius" ever, good or evil). It's kind of understandable, since one of the hallmarks of truly well-educated people is the ability to think and speak calmly about things that are actually quite upsetting, even to them. Another is to become very involved in their subject of specialization, which may very well make no sense to anyone who doesn't follow it. So "smart people" seem able to dispassionatly discuss major problems, while simultaneously getting all hot and bothered about what sounds like total nonsense to 90% of the population... It's just a fundamental misconception which has, unfortunately, been used too often to discr

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

Your urine is basically how your body filters out things that were digested, made it into your bloodstream, were present in too high a proportion, and can't be stored. I'd be willing to bet that if you only eat a little asparagus, you don't notice much, but if you eat a lot, the smell gets pretty strong. A food that has a lot of some thing that your body doesn't need or doesn't usually get will be pretty prone to doing this. Generally, though, eat enough of anything and it'll affect your urine's smell noticably. Body odor too.

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

I think the key word in what you're missing is "in anger." I was "spanked" as a child, which is to say that the punishment was only ever employed about 5 or so times in my entire childhood, and only once was it "in anger." On that occasion, my parent apologized and explained why she thought the punishment was still valid (I was old enough for this to work by then). Spanking used as an effective discipline is not just hitting a kid when they do something they aren't supposed to because you're mad they did it. That borders on, and can lead to, abuse, which is what it sounds like you're worried about. In my house, at least, spanking was the set punishment for certian things, only two or three. If you broke one of those rules, you knew what would happen if you got caught. Those rule

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

One thing to keep in mind is that in many cities, its mandatory that smoking be banned in certain businesses, particularly restuarants. The building/company managers may not have much of a choice. Personally, I think there should be fairly tight restictions on such things, only because it's been shown fairly conclusively that the unfiltered "sidesmoke" from cigarettes is pretty dangerous to those around you. Most smokers I know personally are pretty understanding about that, and at least try to crack a window even if they're in, say, their own car, with a nonsmoker. That said, I'd certainly say an awning is only fair, but there's probably a bit of an unconscious reaction against people who demand, loudly and rudely, the "right" to smoke whenever and wherever they want. Often to pe

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

It's because some guys really are out for nothing but sex, and more have sex as a definite, if not the only, goal than are generally willing to admit it. To a certain point, women just have to be careful. On the other hand, ladies, there is a point at which it should become clear whether sex is the guy's primary goal or not. Note, though, that "is he just trying to have sex with me" and "WOULD he have sex with me in some realistic situation" are very different. Even if the answer to the first is no, and he really is just being nice, the answer to the second may well be yes. It doesn't mean he's being insincere, it just means he likes you and doesn't find you unattractive. It may take a bit to be sure of all this, though, so I think some caution on womens' parts is justified.

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[JasonS]

Politically incorrect... my impression is that yes, it is. Whether that *in and of itself* constitutes a reason never to do it is another matter, I think. The word "mankind" does have a sort of historical resonance to it, despite being gender-based. Arguably, its actual usage has generally been far less sexist than its etymology, and depending on the context it might fit better. If referencing a document written in that style, or writing dialogue for a character meant to sound like a classicist, it might well be the way to go. Just be aware that using the word will give your text a certain tone, over and above the issue of whether someone in your audience may actually take some degree of offence. If you want to avoid that tone, incidentally, you're probably better off using 'huma

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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