Strophic

Part of 4, by your logic you can justify killing someone because there are people out there who have killed more than one person. There's always a "more bad," that doesn't justify doing something that you know is wrong.

Moopetguy, that argument is so stupid though? You're basically saying "I'm going to go do this clearly immoral thing, and no one is allowed to criticize me unless they are a literally perfect super-being who has never done anything wrong."

Yes, sometimes I use paper plates and it's not good for the environment. That doesn't mean I am not allowed to say "Hey don't do that!" if I see someone kicking a puppy.

There is a lot of misinformation going on in this thread. Just because one knows that keeping dolphins captive is immoral doesn't mean that they are obligated to believe that keeping any animal captive is immoral. My 1 bedroom apartment is a perfectly suitable environment for a cat (an animal that was domesticated for thousands of years.) Is a small tank a suitable environment for a completely wild animal that naturally travels hundreds of miles? The false equivalence and mental gymnastics are mind-boggling.

I don't have statistics on bottlenose dolphins at my fingertips, but I happen to know offhand that orcas—the largest species of dolphin—live significantly shorter lives in captivity, to the tune of 40 years cut off their lifespan. And those are just the orcas kept at SeaWorld, ostensibly the most equipped facility in the US for their care. Do you think these dolphins that are used for profit in small, non-US facilities with much less funding are even on equal footing as the ones at SeaWorld? I highly doubt it.

Honestly, stop kidding yourselves and just admit that you go on dolphin excursions because you want to, and the well-being of the animals does not factor into your decision very much at all. You don't care about dolphins, you just want to get people off your back and do a fun excursion without care for the repercussions.

Dolphins and other cetaceans should not be kept in captivity. It is immoral to go on excursions that involve captive dolphins.

We are scheduled to cruise to San Juan and St Maarten in early December—I don't plan to cancel or reschedule. They are going to need the money brought in by the tourists.

My boyfriend is also Type 1 and he just used his best guess on our last cruise.

You specifically quoted my comment in which the declination was phrased as a simple and polite, "No thanks," so I feel like it's you who is missing the point as hard as one possibly can.

The difference is that religion is a personal and divisive topic, singing waiters are not. If I invite you to a rally for my favorite political candidate, would it be fair to paint you as offended and asocial for politely declining? I'm sorry but saying grace at dinner just does not have anything to do with dancing waiters or singing happy birthday. They are very different things, no matter how broad a brush you wish to paint with.

People are being very generous with the word "offended."

"Would you like to join us in saying grace?"

 

"No thanks."

Yes, there is a difference between participating in a religious ritual and clapping for a singing waiter. And I would never in my life think to ask someone to participate in the latter anyway? If someone doesn't want to clap for singing waiters, they can do what they want. I will clap or not clap depending on how I feel and not concern myself with what the other people at the table are doing.

I do not support keeping cetaceans in captivity and would not recommend swimming with captive dolphins at all.

Doesn't matter what their motivation is, confrontation shouldn't be the natural reaction. Take the high road and set a positive example for uncomfortable situations. Everyone will be grateful. A polite patient tone is a show of respect and integrity.

 

Burt

Who said anything about confrontation? If someone asks me to say grace with them I am going to say no. It's not confrontational to simply not participate in a prayer when asked.

While offering grace isn't considered good social etiquette by many, the person offering had everyone's best interest in mind.

I don't think that's true, I think the person offering only had their own interests in mind. If they had everyone's interests in mind, they would understand that not everyone shares their religion and would say grace silently to themselves.

Yeah...I know all about Christianity because I was raised in it. Saying grace is not an exotic ritual from afar that I have some amazing opportunity to learn about. It's not a new and exciting culture for me to explore, it's something that I already have a lot of unpleasant experience with and something that I chose to separate from.

If someone wants to say grace at the table, more power to them. Go nuts. But it is absolutely rude and inappropriate to expect a stranger at the dinner table to participate in your religious rituals. And I suspect that if someone asked you to hold hands and "partake" while they prayed to Satan, or Xenu, or Zorp the Surveyor, you might not feel the same way.

Your religion belongs inside your own personal bubble. You are welcome to chant over your food at the beginning of the meal, I am equally welcome to exercise my deliberate lack of religion by not joining in.

It's obviously not advisable to talk about politics at the dinner table on a cruise. But it's unacceptable to respond to someone making a comment about your preferred politician by escalating to physical intimidation.

On mobile right now so I'm not going to write a novel in response to you, SeagoingMom, since I feel like there's a lot to unpack in that comment.

But I think there's a big difference between saying "I like ethnic diversity," and saying "I only want to talk to white people." The point is that a cruise is a good opportunity to talk to people who aren't exactly the same as yourself.

I just get a very smililar vibe from your post as I get from people who say "well why isn't there a straight pride parade?"

Don't people know there are four topics not to bring up at the dinner table with relative strangers?

Religion

Abortion

Politics

Economics

Just don't bring it up!

One of my favorite parts is actually the mini road trip to get to the cruise port. It's about 8 hours for us and it's a really enjoyable drive. My boyfriend and I talk for hours, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, and I play games on my 3DS when I'm not driving.

Just different priorities - and there's nothing wrong with that

 

 

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It could also be less about the money and more about the taxi itself. Someone who hasn't traveled much or who has had bad experiences with taxi drivers might not want to take one in a foreign country, especially one where they don't speak the primary language.

Have you installed Add Blocker Plus?

I would strongly recommend uBlock Origin over AdBlock Plus. It uses far fewer resources and is more reputable.

96 days...unfortunately this cruise is my "next big thing" aside from my anniversary and Thanksgiving, so I don't have much to hold me over.

FTTF = Faster to the Fun. A limited number of passengers can pay $69.95 per stateroom to basically not have to stand in line.

 

 

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You know, I missed the window for FTTF on my last cruise and I was really bummed about it, but I honestly thought the lines were not bad at all. Maybe it's more worth it during peak cruise season.

I use uBlock Origin so I don't see ads, but any autoplay video or advertisement that makes sound is just horrible. I agree that it's unreasonable for a site to not want its users to use adblockers if the ads are so intrusive.

Not to turn this into a giant debate, but according to Wikipedia Jim Crow laws were in effect until 1965, putting them firmly in the boomer era. And as for people being nice and not having to lock your doors thing...there was way more violent crime in the 50's and 60's than there is now, it just doesn't seem that way because news can spread a lot quicker and further these days. So even though there is less crime, you hear about it more often.

Likewise, you might be surprised to learn that teen pregnancy is currently at the lowest rate it's been in decades. Far fewer teenage girls are getting pregnant...it's just that when one does, she does not mysteriously disappear from school "to go live with her aunt," so the sparse cases are more visible.

Perception is not reality. And be careful about looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses.

I have never seen anyone put their mouths up to the spout on beverage dispensers. We're not talking water fountains here.

I had a brain fart; I've been thinking 'water fountain' this whole time.

RC specifically asks that you fill all water bottles, etc. by using a clean glass and not placing your bottle to the spout. Staff members will tell you if they see you doing this, even though you may not be touching the spout.

I won't argue that it's policy, but I will argue that if another passenger actually barks at you for filling up your water bottle (when you are not touching the spout) they are being more than a bit uptight.