15 years ago, this site was a whole lot better.

That’s just a lazier version of my joke.

Same as I am now, just older.
I joined 15 years ago. When the site changed, I was unable to carry over my original username. Im not going to out who I was.

Chairman Meow? :cat:

I also see buzz words like “triggered” getting thrown around on here, but yeah, what you said is spot on! Just contribute to the threads that make you happy, and don’t feed the trolls :wink:

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I would say it is pretty much split down the middle ( as is most of the World), and a little tongue in cheek because people are set in their ways , generally. There can be banter / Memes, etc, but from both sides of the Fence, which is healthy. The “Voices” are not Hi-jacking" the site, or undesirable because their views may differ from your own.
Welcome anyway :wink:

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This thread:

Ugh. That’s pretty sad

The comments on that thread were pretty sad as well. Also don’t see why that would be the top thread on a forum about Taiwan, but hey, that’s the internet these days.

Diversity of opinion is a good thing. If everything everybody found offensive was off limits, there wouldn’t be much left. I find your labeling other posters with the loaded term “alt-right” offensive, but that’s OK. Everybody is welcome here.

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I value diversity too, but there are certain lines I don’t cross. The problem with discussions these days is that everyone draws the lines in different places, and the other side invariably gets “triggered”. I got triggered by the comments in that thread, and I’m sure others will get triggered that I consider some of that content to be reminiscent of the alt-right. Maybe I should have said The Red Pill, which in retrospect seems like a better fit. Personally, part of the reason I love Taiwan is because I feel further away from the things about my own country that annoy me, so on this forum I don’t intend to get involved in such things (and i’m sure many would agree with that sentiment).

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If you stick around a while, you’ll find that Taiwan has its own version of the alt-right, so there’s really no escaping in the end. As long as you keep an open mind, I’m sure you’ll do fine.

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It is true we have lost some illustrious posters who have mooo-ed on to other pastures.

Some have returned under other names and personas and may have gasp matured or have otherwise been denatured.

And yes there are too few regular posters , perhaps they have gasp better things to do.

Oh well the only constant is change.

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Some , writing their adventure stories mooo-ed onto pastures new , happy in their new Utopian bliss.:neutral_face:

I am absolutely sure you are right, which is why I don’t intend to stay in Taiwan too long either (which you may have seen if you check my very few posts on this site, haha). I’m no stranger to this effect, having lived in Japan for many years and then eventually leaving after I found enough reasons to dislike it. Just for the record though, Japan may have alt-right sentiments, as anywhere would, but it is nowhere near as ugly, as prevalent, or as in-your-face as it is in the USA. Japan is a class act, and they generally keep their beliefs to themselves in the interest of preserving the cohesion of society.

Japan? The country where you can still find “no foreigners allowed” signs, and ethnic Koreans who don’t have Japanese citizenship despite living the the country for generations? I’m trying hard to think of an American equivalent in the 21st century…

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regarding the signs, that’s virtually untrue these days. In 4+ years in Japan I never found any such signs anywhere, nor had anyone refuse me service, even before I could speak Japanese. I was often treated better in Japan than I was in the US (this is just superb Japanese service and part of their custom, really), and even black people in Japan tend to agree (that’s why so many move there from the US and never look back). Even 10-20 years ago, the “no foreigners” thing may have been more prevalent, but I guess they got enough bad press about it back then that it’s all but eradicated now. Again, I never saw or even heard of such a thing happening among the hundreds of foreigners I met and worked with in Japan. If you ask me if it has ever happened in history, well according to documentaries, it has happened at least a few times, but it comes more from xenophobia and panic (“what do I do if they can’t speak Japanese?”) than it does from a place of hate.

As for the Korean issue, yeah, it’s a very real problem (and it is hate), but very unlikely to affect you unless you yourself are Korean. The two countries were at war in recent history, so yes, there is a lot of tension there and lots of hate groups. But still, they aren’t getting shot by cops all the time or run over by cars at hate rallies.

and then…
But still, they aren’t getting shot by cops all the time or run over by cars at hate rallies.

Hmmmm. Right or wrong/ Left or Right , that’s pretty Political ?

Those aren’t (or rather shouldn’t be) political issues. Those are fundamental issues of basic decency toward other human beings in a civil society, which is becoming more of a problem in the US. I’m not afraid to speak out against that. If you ask me how I feel about our POTUS, or whether or not I agree with NAFTA, those are political questions and I’m not going to comment. But I think we can all agree that those things I mentioned are bad without being political, right?

My thought exactly.

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You think Forumosa has “alt-right” sentiment ?
" The alt-right, or alternative right, is a loosely-connected and somewhat ill-defined[1] grouping of white supremacists, neo-Confederates, neo-Nazis, neo-fascists, and other far-right[2][3][4] fringe hate groups.[5][6] Alt-right beliefs have been described as isolationist, protectionist, antisemitic and white supremacist,[7][8][9] frequently overlapping with neo-Nazism,[10"
Or are you saying Peterson/ Trump etc, supporters are "alt-right?. I don’t think I have seen any of the above here ? There are jokes, there are opinions, there are anti Hillary DMC opinions and also plenty of anti-Trump sentiment . It is indeed a Polarized World .

I can only presume when you said “alt -right” , you meant Conservative views, Republican supporters or even folks who think Trump is doing ok?
I hope you are not intolerant of opposing views…it’s fine to debate, even have a dig and express your own opinions but being so intolerant of other opinions ( unless very extreme or illegal) would be the very definition of bigotry.

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Just FYI, you can also find this in South Korea. I got denied entry to a Koreans-only nightclub once. No foreigners allowed.

If Taiwan doesn’t have off-limit places like this, then they’d be the exception in East Asia, and that’s quite refreshing.