joshua goldin

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  • in reply to: Medication questions #40848

    Books such as The Pill Book are readily available, as well as medical web sites, etc. It is very easy to find out just about everything you could possibly want to know about any given medicine. It might even be a good idea for a pharmacy to have a couple of these reference books available for the customers to look at.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Poor students #45865

    Different students have different problems. For some, it is simply a question of money, and this may manifest itself in various ways. A very bright individual who will probably do well in life may have poor grades because he or she just does not have time to study. A person may do something unusual because they need the money, such as be a stripper, escort, etc. A much bigger problem is people who come from a background in which education and even intelligence are despised and where they have to hide such tendencies in order not to get beaten up or worse. Similarly, middle-class social values and styles would be very inappropriate and self-destructive in other situations, and a person may have to learn how to be very different person at different times and locations. If a person is capable and intelligent, they may have to deal with the hostility of those who feel such gifts are wasted on people from the wrong social class. If they are intellectually slow but have other gifts, they may have to deal with systems designed to make them feel inadequate, etc.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Homeless and shopping carts #14834

    There are different types of ‘homeless’ and different motives behind how people discuss this topic. Some ‘homeless’ are just helpless people nobody is willing to take care of, some are compulsively destructive people nobody wants to have anything to do with, and some are criminals using ‘homelessness’ as a cover for their activities. As for people’s attitude toward them, it varies from ‘it can’t happen to me’ to ‘someone should do something about this problem’ to ‘they are being punished for their sins’ to ‘do not remind me what a cold cruel world this is’ to ‘life is tough,’ etc. As for the person who posted the original message, you are probably terrified to acknowledge how vulnerable all of us are to misfortune and how swearing to ‘God’ that you will succeed does not guarantee anything – you have been lucky – so far. I hope you stay lucky and continue to feel that ‘God’ is looking out for you.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Are coffee tips justified? #16192

    Tipping is a custom that is often abused – especially by employers. It does create a better atmosphere – usually – because it encourages the workers to be helpful. In any case, they have no choice since the employer could charge more and pay them more. Also it is a way of creating tax free income for some. Personaly I have never been comfortable with the custom, but many people seem to like the idea. Maybe it gives them a sense of power that they can tip – or not.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Marketing the police #33381

    The police are very special people. Contact with them is where the ‘average’ citizen meets the power of the state. The police officer usually has a gun and a right to use it if he or she deems it necessary, while ‘resisting arrest’ is a crime as far as the citizen is concerned. The system decides who will be police officers, how they will be trained, disciplined, rewarded, punished, etc. Thus, how police treat different people is a good way of telling who has power, who does not have power, etc.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: The view on auto mechanics #15056

    What about all the TV programs on this topic, all the books in the library on this topic, all the magazine articles on this topic? I know there are honest, decent and competent mechanics out there. I have dealt on a few lucky occasions with them, and some of my friends have received ‘excellent’ treatment from mechanics with whom they have a long-term relationship. Nevertheless, the problem is real and very serious. What’s more, major corporations such as oil and car companies are involved, and they could do much to fix the problem if they really wanted to.

    I and many others do try to do our own work, but we do not have the special tools and diagnostic equipment, and we do it only occasionally, so that we constantly have to ‘look things up,’ which slows us down a lot.

    Again, the problem is not just auto mechanics. I have had people offer to ‘fix’ a VCR for more money than it actually took to buy a better replacement. I even had a shoe repair person offer to re-sole a shoe for more money than I paid for a very good pair of replacement shoes. We are talking about a ‘religion’ or ‘creed’ that says that any weakness or vulnerability in others is an opportunity to take advantage – and some even believe that it is their duty to do so.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: African-born/African-American hostility #36248

    The real problem I feel is that we only recognize certain problems as ‘legitimate’. A woman I knew came from an extremely disadvantaged background. Her mother could be classified as either ‘mentally ill’ or ‘cruel and visious’. As a young girl this girl was pressured to sing and perform in public and then her mother would beat her up if she did well while shouting – ‘It is me not you that they are applauding’. Yet, this woman was not eligible for a program designed to help the disadvantaged. Similarly, many people from Africa have advantages of family support, money, a positive and proud cultural backgroung, etc. that many Afro-Americans do not enjoy. Worst of all many Afro-Americans are not able for various reasons to take advantage of many opportunities supposedly created for their benefit. All this results in many Afro-Americans feeling that they are being ‘robbed’ of what is theirs. The targets of this frustration are many – including : African-Immigrants, Immigrants in general, Foreign Aid (Why can’t we get some of that money ? ), etc. In general we need to have a more rational policy of helping people involving such considerations as: what do they desire, what do they need, who can benefit from a given program, are we concerned with helping or just create the appearance of helping, are we helping or giving in to extortion where most of the benefit goes to ‘leaders’ and those who really need help get very little, what is help and what is investment in our population and economey, etc.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Murder of 13-year-old in Arkansas #25723

    The murder of the 13-year-old boy may not be homosexual in nature. It could merely be a bit of sadistic fun and games indulged in by a couple of rednecks, and the victim might easily have been a stranger of any age and sex. The Shepard murder may also not be related to his homosexuality, but a natural consequence of someone who was looking to hurt and get hurt. Remember the people charged with the Shepard murder ruined their lives and hurt their friends and relatives. The picture of Shepard that I saw in the paper was of a person I would stay very far away from and consider extremely dangerous.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Treatment of women in other countries #34220

    The problem is much worse than people realize. Most people in most countries are assumed to belong to a family, state, tribe, religion, etc., but not to themselves. Most people – men and women – in the world have very few rights. Someone feels that he or she owns them, and most people accept that. In fact, they like to be ‘owned’ if that means they will reasonably be taken care of. While the problem may be severe for some women, it is also very bad for most men.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: I need your help #38978

    You have chosen a very big topic and you need to be a bit ‘specific’. There are probably hundreds of books and magazine articles on your topic. One issue might be the payment of taxes by businessmen in Russia. I have read that the system is so corrupt and that everyone has to pay ‘protection money’ to gangsters who in turn protect you from themselves, each other, and the government. If you pay taxes it means that you can afford to pay a higher ‘protection fee’ and that only gets you into trouble. In Africa you have to be good to your relatives for they are the only people you can count on if your in trouble – this makes massive corruption almost mandatory. I have heard that in this country as well as globally chinese business men are very reluctant to hire anyone who is not a ‘relative’ because they feel that only relatives can be trusted. In Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. men and women can only meet electronically – never face to face – while working together for the same enterprise. In this country there is also the problem of workers having too many ‘rights’. In some parts of the USA jobs are very scarce because employers go to other parts or hire ‘undocumented’ workers who are easier to deal with because they do not have so many rights. In fact, far from taking jobs from the natives, a lot of ‘undocumented’ workers make it possible for the natives to have jobs by doing those things that the nativess will not do for the wages offered. That is some undesirable jobs have to be done by someone so that the more desirable jobs are available to the natives with all their high expectations and limited skills.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Islamic marriages a rush? #29913

    Your nephew might have been specifically introduced to the young lady as a possible marriage partner. He might even have joined this religion in order to find a wife or even to marry this particular woman.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Loopholes in religions #25966

    I am jewish but not very religious. However, the orthodox custom of walking to the synagogue on saturday is one custom that has a lot to recommend it. By stringing their special string they are setting the limit of how far one can walk on saturday. The net effect of these rules is to create a ‘comminity’ where people have to live within easy walking distance of each other and of the synagogue. It also means that they have to move as a community and any individual who moves away leaves the community. Given the isolated existance many people live this idea should not be dismissed too readily. When it works it means that you know and can trust most of your neighbours. A very valuable condition not to be easily discarded.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
    in reply to: Asian students and public speaking class #14476

    I recently read a story in the paper where a supervisor who was forced to take a sensitivity class reprimanded a worker for describing his previous job as ‘slave labor’ saying that this was offensive to afro-americans. The lone afro-american worker present was upset because she assumed that she would be blamed for the reprimand and wrote a letter to an advice column as to what she should do. It seems to me that everyone involved is not ‘on the up and up’, they are all playing games. The supervisor was angry at having to take the class and decided to retaliate at the afro-american worker whom she obviously blamed for having to take the class. The person making the comment may have been in on the ‘joke’. The worker who wrote the letter can probably sense the hostility and is asking for help. I feel that the afro-american worker should have completely ingnored the situation or treated it as a silly ‘joke’. She should also note that this type of sensitivity training only makes matters worse when the people involved are not of good will. In fact, I believe that the supervisor and most of the workers are very ‘sensitive’ in a negative sort of way. They know what ‘hurts’ and are using this knowledge as a weapons system. This I believe is a common occurrance. Many people believe that the ability to hurt people ‘accidentaly’ is a very valuable social skill that they are not about to give up. Some people also seem to believe that the opportunity to hurt people with impunity is a mark of streght and superiority.

    User Detail :  

    Name : joshua goldin, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 60+, City : College Park, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 
Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)