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EverTheOptimist

117 comments · +922 / −1,107 · rank #40101 of 40,276

Any law that does not allow for people to grow their own will simply mean that cannabis users end up being exploited by businesses rather than gangs. Most members of the cannabis culture community that I know would feel much happier and safer if they themselves were responsible for producing their own buds, rather than having to rely on someone else producing it for profit.

+28−5

Surprising that a couple of people cite health & safety as a reason for choosing auto, when in fact an automatic transmission leaves you with much less control over the car, so is therefore more dangerous. Often Ill see the car in front braking mid-corner or downhill, swinging erratically around bends, in a way that reveals both that the car is an automatic, and that the driver doesnt really know how to drive (which is probably why theyre in an automatic to begin with). Get the bloody things off our roads!

+25−6

You might be surprised by exactly how many incredibly intelligent people use the stuff, and quite regularly at that. Funnily enough, most people who use it wont go around advertising the fact while it remains illegal.

+20−1

If you look at Nationals proposal, it is nothing to do with removing the costs imposed on cannabis users by the current law, and everything to do with shifting the profits in the cannabis market to wealthy investors.

+18−4

What about the devastating effects upon individuals, families, and communities caused by an unregulated market with no consumer protections controlled by gangs, and some users (predominantly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds) having their lives ruined by convictions?Prohibition is creating far more harm than cannabis itself ever could.

+19−5

Gets confusing when you factor in cultural differences between people of the same nation... I find very few NZers who share my cultural values, but many people from other countries that do. It is the nature of cultural that it is spread between people who make contact with one another. You cannot meet someone, share your ideas with them, but then insist they are allowed to learn nothing from your ideas because they have the wrong ancestry.And the director is right, of course. Actors and performers are often portraying characters that are different to themselves. Thats why its called acting. If someone in the audience cant see the character instead of the performer, it may very well be their own perspective at fault.

+16−3

When I was a kid, sports were not fun. Sports were horrible. I was the slow, clumsy one. No one wanted me on their team, no one passed me the ball. Being sent outside to play was torture.But gaming, that gave me a chance. I could finally be a winner. I could live out fantasies. So, when I noticed that Mum had left a ten dollar note on her dresser, I had already taken it down to Wizards and changed it for 20c coins before I could even stop to consider the moral implications of my actions. Sure, I knew I might get caught, but as kids we knew we were always going to be in trouble for something anyway, so I figured it was worth the risk for just a couple of hours of being happy.If I couldnt stop myself when it involved physically taking cash and riding my bike half-way across town, what chance has an 11-year-old of today got when you can just spend the money at the push of a button? Unless you get to the root cause of whatever unhappiness makes the gaming so appealing, you wont stop the addictive aspects of the behaviour.

+13−1

If people could legally grow their own, they wouldnt have to spend all their money on it. And most cannabis users that I know care very deeply about their children, like most parents. Your argument is based on ignorant prejudice, not reality.

+23−11

The argument that needs to be made is, what justification is there for keeping it illegal? The natural state of affairs is that people can grow and use it as they please. It is the law making it illegal that has been created unnaturally, and there is no valid justification for keeping a law that creates more harm than good.

+10−0

The worst part is, such jobs usually pay so little that by the time you spend all your money on trying to find relief from the stress and strain of faking your emotions all day, you end up financially no better off than being on a benefit anyway.

+10−2

Simon doesnt need work groups or discussions. Hell just run with whatever idiot notion pops into his head.His travelling the country has simply been about preaching to his faithful flock, repeating lies such as, Trickle-down theory works!, Climate change is a myth! and, Its possible to be a neo-liberal capitalist and an environmentalist at the same time!

+22−14

Have you ever tried to get anywhere while based in Invercargill?Even the cheap towns are becoming incredibly difficult to actually find a house to rent. Combine that with the added cost of fewer career and social opportunities.The answer is not to move all the poor people to Invercargill.

+8−0

When I was a bar manager, I would ask those vaping to go to the smoking area to do so. Almost every time they would argue that they had a right to do it inside rather than comply. The fact that many people around them (myself included) were finding the pungent artificial fruit fragance extremely unpleasant didnt bother them at all, so Id usually have to remind them that if they argued with any bar staff I would simply revoke their right to be on the premise altogether (in accordance with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012).

+8−0

We are already working more than enough. The Earths resources are finite, and can not sustain excessive economic growth. Were all going to have to start taking more days off if our grandchildren are to have any future (or at least spend a few days being productive in areas that are less burdensome on the environment). If we introduced a UBI, it would be quite simple to achieve.

+7−0

Someone smokes a joint on Friday night, they fail a drug test Monday morning, despite the drug no longer affecting them. Someone arrives to work severely hungover, they pass the test, despite being a danger to everyone around them.Work place drug testing is less about safety, and more about cultural discrimination against cannabis users.

+11−4

How were you deceived? All the information is out there, if you only choose to look for it.Id suggest you look up each partys constition now, so you can be sure of what they all stand for, and wont be so easily deceived by anyone next election.

+17−12

It just goes to show that the current prohibition is discriminatory against many people in our society, whether their inclination to use cannabis is driven by cultural or genetic factors.If you dont want to use it, thats fine, dont use it. Just stop creating unnecessary problems for those people that find it beneficial to their lives. The current law is inhumane, and needs to be rescinded immediately.

+7−2

They should just allow people to grow their own. Anyone that wants to, not just those that can afford to get medical clearance, because otherwise you would still have a situation where those that are denied it would still have to resort to illegal means of acquiring it (meaning that if only some are allowed to grow it, those people would become obvious targets for burglary).

+4−0

No one can really own the land, as there was no one with the original right to sell it. The entire concept of private property ownership is simply a device for one group to exercise power over another.

+9−5

If it was legal, users would first of all have more control over the quality and quantity they purchased, meaning theyd be able to regulate their usage to ensure it supported their lives rather than causing problems. Secondly, those people who do find their use problematic would be able to seek medical help without fear of exposing themselves to criminal consequences. Of course, much like someone with a drinking problem, theyd need to face up to the underlying mental issues that lead to substance use disorder in the first place before anyone would be able to help them, but that is already 1 now, so legalisation wont affect that issue.

+4−0

When it comes to meeting a Brasilian woman, I usually find its hard to not fall in love! They tend to have such a free and easy charm, and a fun-loving, positive outlook on life (despite many having experienced some utterly horrifying situations), it just makes it so enjoyable to spend time in their company.

+4−1

Humans are not mere resources. No one is living their life for the sake of maximising your profits. The only thing that matters is what people want from their lives, and whether or not working for you is going to help them achieve that.Besides, if youre an employer, you should train your staff in their roles, and impart the necessary skills on them yourself. After all, if youre the boss, you should understand how to best perform every job thats beneath you, so set the example.

+6−3

Just an overly-privileged few trying to use their wealth and power to bully and control the people for their own gain. The attitude displayed by this threat is exactly why we need Government to take steps to protect the poor from exploitation, and why if anything the proposed changes dont go far enough.

+5−2

Schools are there to provide an education to all children. Under no circumstances should that ever be provisional on complying with particular cultural values. While I dont agree with children vaping, I would argue against any suggestion that schools have a right to demand that students obey any request that is not directly related to their delivering of the curriculum. Rules regarding hairstyle, makeup, clothing, etc, have absolutely no place in school, and any school that disrupts a childs education in an attempt to control their cultural expression should be severely punished. Some rules do not deserve to be obeyed.

+3−0

Maybe if you made more effort to understand scientific rubbish, youd know that no ones DNA is going to realign itself. Of course, genes are only one part of the equation. Your DNA may define what you have the potential to become, but its what happens to you through life that will determine the actual outcome.

+3−1

Its such a beautiful part of the country, stunning and majestic. Alongside the glaciers, the rainforest is home to an abundance of bird-life that is but a distant memory throughout the rest of the country. Sadly, if youre there on a sunny day you wont be able to hear the birds due to the incessant noise of helicopters.Oh, but some rich people will get to stand on the ice for ten minutes, so thats all OK then.

+3−1

Not that long ago there were shocking reports that the great French tradition of topless sunbathing was under threat by a generation of overly-Americanised young women choosing to wear bikini tops at the beach. Im glad to see that maybe the body-shamers arent actually winning after all.Luckily, for us here in NZ simple nudity is not a crime at all, so naturists have far more than 500 locations to choose from.

+3−1

Our schools need to be focussing more on educating children about the complex systems our society is built upon. Far too many people seem to think their waste simply disappears once they throw it in the bin, or that the products they use simply materialise in the shops without any environmental impact whatsoever. People need to understand the bigger picture if they are ever to take responsibility for their own part in it.

+7−5

Employers are not paying for their staff to have days off. Theyre paying for all the days and weeks when their staff build their entire schedules around work, making all kinds of personal sacrifices, just to receive enough income to meet the costs that have been imposed on them. The employer simply has to budget public holidays into the yearly cost of employing staff - which surely would not be too difficult for someone so emanantly superior in skill and work ethic that they deserve to be in a position of power over others.If public holidays were not treated as paid days off, employees would feel more compulsion to give up their holidays, and then the precious few days we have when families and communities can spend quality time together would be lost.

+4−2

Also, if any cafe expects me to pay the same price for a short black as they charge for a flat white, Im out the door. I will not subsidise the milk someone else wants to ruin their coffee with.

+1−0

This might also help in those situations when a driver wont take any opportunity to pass the slow car in front, but also refuses to leave enough space for any of the cars in queue behind to have a go at overtaking. Drivers leaving a bit more space between would make overtaking queues of slow vehicles much safer, because New Zealand roads over few enough opportunities to pass one car safely, never mind waiting for the chance to pass three at once!

+2−1

We need to establish more communities where like-minded people can have the chance to live in close proximity. Our current system of simply allowing those with wealth to buy all the houses, rather than governing land-use to maximise the greater public good, means many sub-cultural communities are simply too fractured to be able to provide support to each other in times of loneliness, as anyone who does not belong to those communities that wield all the wealth and power becomes isolated and cut off from any chance at building meaningful connections.

+1−0

When you see someone with an attractive smile, it automatically makes you feel like smiling too. We gain pleasure by seeing something aesthetically pleasing. If someone makes you feel good youll want to spend more time near them, so its quite natural to subconsciously favour someone that looks pretty.You dont even have to be all that good looking to take advantage of the effect. Ive gotten the job far more often when the interviewer was female rather than male, and Ive got a large, oddly-shaped head, with a face thats been left asymmetrical by past injuries. Simply being charming and (ever so slightly) flirty can be all it takes. Basically, its not necessary to be born with uncommonly good looks. You simply need an attractive attitude.

+4−3

I hate when Im driving along at 100km/h in a clear lane, when suddenly someone changes into the lane directly in front of me doing only 70km/h, forcing me to hit the brakes. Think about the impacts you have on each other, people!

+2−1

Employees just want the chance to have a good life, but are forced into needing money to achieve that, which forces them to have to suck up to some capitalist for a barely adequate income. The employer has all the power, while the employee just gets to be exploited. Simply being an employee is often humiliating and embarassing to begin with.

+1−1

We need more people who are prepared to do whats right even when its illegal, rather than those who will do what is legal even when its wrong. A government is supposed to be working for its people, and to hold their governments to account those people need access to complete and factual information. Of course, we well know that the National party views governance as a right to rule over people, and is all about making dodgy deals behind closed doors, so no surprises about their position here.

+22−22

It depends, really. In a customer service role, good looks often equate to increased sales, so being attractive can actually be considered a legitimate job skill in such cases.Also, in the case you describe above, its entirely possible that your negative opinions of this woman were affected by her looks just as much as your bosses positive opinions were.

+0−0

Its written down phonetically. The spelling is using European letters to literally describe the pronunciation. You simply need to learn how each letter sounds (much like learning to read German, French, or Spanish).

+9−9

Only if you have enough social connections to begin with. Even then, if your friends are only turning up when they want a bottle of booze, it just starts to feel like youre being used, so no cure for loneliness there.Besides, would it really be wise to have a whole lot of alcohol sitting around when youre not happy with your life? Trying to drink the blues away can become dangerous very quickly.

+0−0

Depends on the relationship. Sometimes sex is all it is, sometimes theres no sex at all. The important thing is to be aware of who you are, and what you desire, and dont pay any attention to anyone who tells you youre supposed to be doing things their way instead.

+0−0

Theres plenty of those around too. Most craft brewers will mix up styles batch to batch. Its simply that those beer lovers who have acquired a taste for hops still havent created the perfect beer, so theyre still really working on that one. Stouts, Scotch ales, and other malt-heavy styles are always there as safe, traditional fall-back options.I also find that, with the close relationship between cannabis and hops, cannabis smokers do tend to find intensely hopped beers more appealing, and with so many people in this country falling into that category of course that includes a significant number of brewers.

+5−5

Apple and Google already have far too much power. They can stay out of my car, thank you very much.Id much rather Toyota brought us a road-going version of the Yaris WRC, so we could finally have a worthy successor to the wonderfully enjoyable Celica GT-Four.

+11−11

Time to scrap the so-called debt that was imposed on so many inexperienced teenagers just doing what they were told they were supposed to do after school. An educated population is good for society, so time to spread that tax burden onto those who are taking the most money from society rather than driving our educated people overseas.

+9−11

We have the ability to accommodate far more tourists in this country, but certainly not if they all try to go to the same place at the same time. Everyone on Earth deserves the chance to experience the magic of these beautiful islands we call home, but to make that work we need to spread the load around the country.Now, why oh why arent some of these tourists choosing to stay in Taumarunui instead of Queenstown? There are lakes and mountains all over New Zealand, after all. Queenstown is not crowded because it has more natural attractions than the rest of New Zealand, but simply because it has embraced tourism while the locals in other areas range from simply inhospitable to downright hostile towards visitors.

+10−13

Yes, they were forced to take the loans, because society decided only those with higher education were worthy of higher income, and without taking the loans only those from wealthy families could afford higher education. Just another example of the upper classes trying to protect their position of power and privilege.

+4−7

Just make all toilets unisex, and average out the waiting time. The cubicles in mens toilets are empty most of the time anyway, so if you have a row of urinals around the corner the average waiting time would probably be reduced.Unisex toilets also means no longer excluding people that are intersex or non-binary, who are far too often denied the right to have their existence acknowledged and respected.

+2−6

Great, so now I have to renew my contributions holiday every year instead of every five. Just let me opt out already! I will put my money where I can control it myself, thank you very much.If only everyone would just take a permanent contributions holiday, then the government would be much sooner forced to introduce a better system for ensuring all of our elderly get their needs met.

+5−10

Insisting that someone covers a tattoo that has deeply personal meaning to them is also causing cultural offense. No one else gets to decide what my tattoos mean but me. If anyone chooses to associate my tattoos with Yakuza, then they really should learn a bit more about the world and different cultural perspectives, because that is so far-fetched as to be idiotic.Everyone is entitled to their worldview, just so long as they dont deny others that same entitlement. As long as a particular cultural practise is causing no harm to another, it is acceptable anywhere in the world.To put that into context: It is absolutely fine to believe that a mountain is inhabited by a god. It is also absolutely fine to run around naked on a mountain. It is not at all fine, however, to impose a punishment on someone because they were running around naked on a mountain you believe to be inhabited by a god.

+7−14

The National party has a long history of spending far more than all other parties, and it now seems they are spending some of that excessive money on paying people to spend their time going through Stuff comments and downvoting any comment that supports the government. Its all a bit sad, really. They should realise that if they have to go to such lengths to make themselves appear right, it becomes ever more obvious that they are in fact wrong.

+7−16

Just goes to show that he excessive farming in our country does not only have a negative impact on our own land, but is in fact a global catastrophe. The likes of Nauru already paid a huge price to bring phosphate to NZ, but rather than changing these evil ways, the greed is just stretching its nasty claws further afield. Utterly shameful.

+18−29