Rambo wrote:angsty wrote:Okay, if your position is "Hey, it's cheap and magical and convenient, you need to give it a try or you haven't really lived" consider this: Weed is illegal in most parts of the US. That alone is a legit reason for anyone to not want to give it a try without any further peer pressure from the likes of you.
The likes of me? What’s that suppose to mean? Bob could live where it is legal. Anyways, it’s not really a big risk to him to go and find a joint. Do you listen to the government on every aspect of your life?
1.) Risk is in the eye of the beholder. 2.) Saying it's "easy enough, therefore you're missing out if you don't try it," doesn't strike me as a very strong argument. There are lots of things that are easy that you dismiss without further thought, and for any of these things you'd have to have personal experience in order to truly appreciate them. Explain to me why experimentation with alcohol and drugs is a special case that requires special attention?
Rambo wrote:And, unless you already have a ready source, it's not all that easy for the uninitiated to get hold of. And finally, do you live in the land of cheap weed? Because even when I wasn't trying to save money, I would never characterize it as particularly cheap. Further, a health-conscious person can have informed reasons for rejecting weed, and/or alcohol absent any personal experience with it.
Oh yes it is a huge risk financially to go out and buy a 5-10 buck joint. Oh yes it is a huge risk on your health to smoke a joint once and a while.
Lots of people are more committed to their financial well-being and health than you are. Apparently you
do live in the land of cheap weed.
Rambo wrote:As to the idea that Bob hasn't experimented enough with beer to be able to appreciate what magical things greater quantities of alcohol and/or weed could do for him, I just have to laugh.
I would have to laugh back at you. I know many people that didn’t like weed until they actually tried it more than 3 times or so. Are you saying a person knows what it is like to be drunk/tipsy after one or two drinks? (unless there a lightweight)
I'm not saying he knows what it's like, I'm saying he knows enough to know he's not interested in finding out. That's enough.
Rambo wrote:I've met scrapbookers who would be just as bothered by your dismissal of scrapbooking as you are by my dismissal of weed. They would defend it every bit as fiercely and they would say the same kinds of things. You think weed is something that has to be experienced in order to make informed judgments about it, there's many a scrapbooker that would make the same claim. You are biased because you really, really, love your weed-- and I don't blame you-- we've all got our blind spots.
I would be surprised if they made the same claim because I don’t think you can compare a mind altering substance something like scrapbooking. Most people can say what scrapbooking is like before they would even try it. I highly doubt someone that hasn’t tried weed or alcohol would know what it is like. You can read about it but you can’t honestly say you know what it will be like.
Do you know what is it is like to take mushrooms, mdma, acid, meth, and coke? I don’t have clue what it would be like. Sure I have read about it but I can’t honestly say I how those things will affect me without trying them.
You don't know what it's like to be addicted to scrapbooking. You haven't tried it enough to realize what it can do for your life. The reason you say this is because you haven't fully investigated scrapbooking. If you did, you would know what my Sisters in Law are talking about (I certainly don't).
Again, the issue isn't whether you know what it would be like without trying it, the issue is whether you need to know first-hand in order to reject it without being able to say that you aren't "missing out".
Rambo wrote:We all have limited time and resources. We have to prioritize what we do with ourselves. We can't all do everything that is within reach. Some of it has to fall by the wayside. That's just how it works.
Yeah it takes so much time to roll a joint or pour a few drinks. I’m not saying focus on trying this stuff I am just saying you might as well try them once cause you may find something that you really do like. I am a huge advocate of trying new things because then you aren’t missing out on something you might really love. By trying new things I just don’t mean mind altering substances.
I love to try new things. The general attitude of being open to new experiences is terrific and I totally agree with you there. What I don't agree with is the idea that a person
has to try specific things to a certain degree before they can rationally say they aren't missing out by abstaining further.
Rambo wrote:Bob has given us a list of the things he loves about his life-- spending time with his family, jogging, whatever. Bob has a life he enjoys filled with things he loves and he doesn't seem to be interested in further experimentation with mind-altering substances. He has other priorities.
Are you telling Bob that he shouldn’t try new things because his life is full already?
Certainly not. I'm saying that if he looks at his life and doesn't see the need to further experiment with drugs, he doesn't need to give it a further thought. You can't miss something you don't want.
Rambo wrote:Do you really think you are in a position to tell him (a stranger on the internet) that he is missing out because he hasn't experimented enough with your preferred way of living (however cheap and easy)? That seems pretty arrogant.
Hey Bob is the one who asked the question so I answered. I don’t think it’s arrogant at all to answer a complete strangers question.
There's a big difference between:
1.) "Hey, I really love X and it totally makes my life better and I think everyone ought to try it"
and
2.) "You are missing out on fully experiencing life if you haven't done X to Y specifications and you don't have any excuses because it's cheap and easy".
If you're just saying #1, then I don't think it's arrogant. However, something like #2 is plainly arrogant and more than just exploring perspectives on different ways of living.
