Dear O Sung Wu,

Thanks for your concern.

I'm still a work in progress.
But, I'm staying positive.

I agree with Poirot.

I always look forward to your posts.

There is so much hatred in this world.
A fundamental insight of sociology is that once people
no longer take their world for granted, but instead
understand the social authorship of their lives and
futures, they can become an irresistible force in
history. Whether we choose to destroy our
civilisation or save it is a collective decision and
it is one that hopefully may well be made within our
lifetimes.

If we continue with the destruction of our planet,
if more nuclear weapons are built, and if more
sophisticated methods of delivering them are devised,
then surely we risk our own destruction.

If ways are found to reverse this process, then we can
divert unprecedented energy and resources to the real
problems that face us, including poverty,, disease,
overpopulation, injustice, oppression, and the
devastation of our natural environment.

We can only hope and trust that our ultimate choice
will be to enhance life on this lovely planet of ours,
before it's too late. Hatred destroys.

I find it very annoying when people keep repeating
the words, "You know..." in their conversations.
I'll let you know as some more come to find.

//Your most despised or loathed single word in the English language, and why?//

At the moment 'Gertrude' springs to mind. A sort of anti-particle to 'cellar door' - a word so ugly just because of how it sounds that even Vogon poets wouldn't dream of using it.

My sincerest apologies to anybody named Gertrude: you were not to blame for your parent's poor choices.

And while we're on the subject of horrible things to call your daughter, what is the go with all these supposedly loving parents naming their female offspring Mackenzie? Are they so ill-informed as to be unaware that the prefix 'Mac' or 'Mc' means 'son of'? What sort of weirdo names their daughter Mac-anything? And people say that Safe Schools causes gender confusion. What about all these weirdoes proclaiming their DAUGHTERS to be the SON of Kenzie (or Kenneth, Ken)?

If I think of a less pleasant word than Gertrude I'll let you know.

As FOXY has said '...hatred destroys...'! You're so, so right - I couldn't agree with you more. If some people in the world could only stop hating, then perhaps the recipient of that hate, may proffer the olive branch ?

Though I wonder, whenever a zealotry controlled religion is involved seeking to establish a world theocracy, those of whom are vehement practitioners of that particular faith, often are blinded to anything that involves secular common sense or secular standards of behaviour. Preferring instead to follow the strict dictates of their unique brand of fanatical religious beliefs.

Hi there POIROT...

Your kind remark is wholly misplaced I'm afraid. Regrettably, I've used my physical prowess and size, together with my academic ignorance, to menace and intimidate many of the young ne'er do wells during my early years in the job. Invariably in my time I must've generated quite a bit of hate directed to myself, as a consequence ?

Hi there STEELEREDUX...

Indeed we have in some measure been deprived of our human qualities and subsequently degraded ? I wonder if there will ever come a time, when we'll all be divested of our various names and be allotted a series of numbers instead. Our motor vehicles are subject to registration, why not us ?

I would've thought a series of numbers scientifically inscribed upon our foreheads would completely remove the need to possess any other documentations or other (hard copy) identification? Most convenient and cost effective I would've thought. Moreover it would aid those neo-liberal technocrats, to completely debase us, absolutely ?

Some of those annoying speech uses adopted by many of our 20-35 yo. - 'chill out', 'the oldies' 'LOL' 'the snorter's' and a 16yoa post-pubescent calling me 'mate'. Whenever we watch an American TV show, the phrase I find the most 'grating' is '...you know what I'm sayin'...'.

some things are worth loving and some hating. Surely dv,abortion and racism are worth hating while kindness, forgiveness and mercy are worth loving.

Hi there TONI...

I regret to say Toni the only 'Gertrude' I've ever known was a Friesian cow, who regularly delivered up her quantity of milk each day? The name as you would know is of Germanic origin meaning; 'spear maiden' which can be extrapolated to; Gert, Gertie, Trudy, or Trudi. So things can't be all that bad for all the Gertrude's of the world eh ? Notwithstanding the 'Vogon' poets may decline to incorporate the name within their work. Might a 'Bogon' poet be more dispossed to make some use of the name perhaps?

I agree with you Toni there's no accounting for what persuades modern parents whenever they select a given or christian name. All in the name of modernity I should think ? There's no thought given to the deleterious effect such a wretched name will have upon the child as they progress through their schooling. Some poor kid with a name like; 'Aethelbert' for a boy or 'Africa' or 'Sis' for a young girl, the mind boggles at the possibilities without limitations.

The biggest problem in the world today does not come from not hate but intolerance.

However, both are fed from flawed beliefs and belief systems that are used not as a reason for hate and intolerance but an excuse for both.