“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” — Mark Twain.
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MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
Had a bad day?
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A little too cynical for Twain and for you, Bob. I try to give to charity whenever I can (gave to Mercy Corps and Doctors Without Borders this week to help people suffering from the famine/drought in Africa, and I encourage others to do the same.)
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So true. So painfully true, this.
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I dont follow cathartic charity news Bob. Who did what now?
Thanks for another Mark Twain quote atleast.
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No particular reason or instigating event, I just happen to like this quote and appreciate the general sentiment.
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So, what's the actual sentiment of the quote? Is it against the idea of charity, or just a generic “people are cunts” statement?
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Bob, why does the dog wag its tail?
Because the dog is smarter than the tail.
If the tail were smarter, it would wag the dog.
@Everyone else: http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/wag+the+dog.html
No particular reason or instigating event, I just happen to like this quote and appreciate the general sentiment.
And the movie was fun, though I suspect there really is a B-3 Bomber…….
http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/bombers/b3.html
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@Bob
Alright, I just dont want to be out of the loop on… I dont know really.
@Dave
So… are you saying Bob is distracting me from something he did? Or that I'm an appendage on a dog's behind?
Because I find both accusations unfounded.
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@O.T: I'm saying neither, nor was I accusing anyone of anything. I haven't insinuated anything others haven't already said in this post thus far; I merely chimed in with accord in my own, unique way.
But thanks for putting words in my mouth. If anything is unfounded, it is accusing me of making accusations of anyone about anything. Next time, exercise a bit of reading comprehension and think for a bit before making disingenuous assertions.
Danke.
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Here's another one I'm fond of:
“To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.” – Sun Tzu
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Still funny after over a century. And true.
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Never believe that a quote is by Mark Twain unless it has a source in his books. Everyone attributes just about anything to him, though this seems to be right in line with Twain's thoughts on people in general.
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Speaking of….. don't you ever feel like these “people suck” quotes seem to carry the tone of not just “everyone sucks” but moreso “everyone ELSE sucks”?
Yes, I know the term “people” would normally be all-inclusive, but it seems that these sorts of misanthropic quotes serve to divert attention away from one's self and blame others for their life's problems.
People do this all the time; they hide behind pseudo-intellectualism (which they use for the sake of getting attention in the first place) as a means of avoiding their own faults, and their own wrongdoings, and engage in passive-aggressive projection. It's rather masturbatory, really. Just the usual “woe is me” crap that diverts from the real issue.
The true difference between man and dog is that a dog lacks the higher brain functions to attempt to justify its wrongs, or refuse to acknowledge the consequences of one's actions. A man, on the other hand…..
The irrational, impulsive man lashes out at others and justifies his actions, and through his sheer obstinate nature and egotism, stirs the hornets nest and blames the hornets instead of his own impetuosity.
The rational man is humbled, and views the acknowledgement of his wrongdoings as a sign of strength and humility – not of admitting weakness or defeat, as the impulsive man does – and never hesitates to admit “mia culpa” when the moment calls for it, nor does he refrain from reassessing his own world views when the foundations of his reason are corrected.
THIS is the difference between a wise man who possesses a “sight beyond sight”* and the churlish man-child.
The question I have for the former is, “when are you going to stop whining about others and ask yourself what YOU may have done to bring this upon yourself?”
*yay for my childhood cartoons imparting moralistic lessons via entertaining allegories. And people say redeeming value sucks the fun out of entertainment value. Ha!
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sounds like a great excuse to not give to charity.
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All-in-all, I think that people are pretty awesome and generally kick ass. However, this is just a good quote. I like it very much, and I appreciate it when I get to hear a good new quote. I'll probably use it sometime. If I spent time trying to analyze what everyone on the internet was thinking everytime they posted a quote from someone else, I'd never have time to sleep…
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I don't want to be that guy, but this has to be said.
This is an interesting quote from someone who has a tip jar. >.<
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I should clarify I have no issues with a tip jar being done by anyone for any reason – just find it frustrating that someone asking for charity deride doing so.
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Isn't the whole point of charity that you don't care if you get bitten for it? If you are expecting recompense or even gratitude, then it isn't really charity, it's merely an exchange.
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Twain wasn't specifically talking about charity with that quote, he was just making a sentiment about human gratitude in general.
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@ Sylocat
Can't the same be said of most of his quotes? Clemens was not much of a fan of his fellow man.
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interesting…… bad experience with the tip jar?
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