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source and clickable links for citations: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
Donkeystrength
Favorited this before I even finished. +1 for logic
BobbyBobbston
This is quite beautiful, every time I see it. Have that green arrow.
mseggnog
This looked like the start of a MasterCard commercial
BigGirl4u
God the oatmeal is such a pretentious wanker
Goreydar
"Fuck you, Travis!"
cajuninjun
damn, good read.
IJustCame
This. I like this. +1
zygomaniac
Cthulhukitten
Ah.. So this is why it's impossible for most of you fucks to hold a coherent discussion.
justinbaileyprime
Well that and the character limit
Cthulhukitten
I usually go crazy with several parts, probably should stop though...
MoReRoo
So it seems I'm not the only one who, when read about the slave teeth, reacted like "hmm...that makes sense for that time period".
SleepLikeYouMeanIt
Is no one going to make a comment about being indentured?
Pixie0422
I didn't find any of these statements to be terribly incendiary. Perhaps I'm not the target demo?
iHaveHarpies
I don't think anyone even the "crazy" conservatives he thinks he's offending would have any issue with these facts.
Paoloc0mments
This should be seen by as many as possible.
somepromethean
His emotional response to the guy who disproved his ideas about Tesla should be posted as well.
somellama
This is total bullshit!!! i demand to fight the oatmeal in a field of daisies at damn!
RobertEmmet
My gosh! Their backfire effect was so explosive, it gave them vertical sydlexia for the Ietter Double-U!
EarthTourist
as a therapist: welcome to Cognitive Therapy! I talk about this virtually every day. good stuff Oatmeal
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Cognitive dissonance! And other five dollars phrases! Yay therapy!
EarthTourist
i charge waaay more than 5 bucks
TylersSenseOfEnnui
To say a phrase? Seems like a rip off. I want to be told why I have cognitive dissonance and why it means I want to have sex with my mother.
EarthTourist
usually, knowing why doens't even change anything!
RevvyDrawsStuff
It kind of fucks with the message when he is only presenting facts uncomfortable to a very specific demographic... e.g. not him.
RobertEmmet
You don't know that. He might believe numbers make tacos, which... in a way... if you count the composite pieces of the taco first...
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Kinda but he did try to acknowledge each side of the political spectrum, you can't ask for much more in a comic than mild diversity.
fitnessjen1992
Oh time for this repost? Already?
TomIsMyDog
I just don't care.
TylersSenseOfEnnui
That's the mentality to let slavery go on for so long despite so many people publicly thinking slavery was bad for decades before it ended.
PoppinLochNessHopster
Right? fuck off with this
DorkyDevil
Yeah! Let's not care about things!
RobertEmmet
Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Apathy is a slippery slope. It feels good/safe enough, until gay people are fighting for equal rights and your response is "I dont care."
TomIsMyDog
I agree with both of your comments. I care about things that I can directly affect & that's not a whole lot of things in the grand scheme.
TylersSenseOfEnnui
I agree and am very guilty of similar thought. But thats also the rational between this countries abysmal voting turn out. "I don't care" 1/
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Makes us feel powerful and "My vote is irrelevant anyways in the grand scheme" helps us stave of the guilt of our surroundings.
KhajiitIsPleased
JamesProton
Just stating for the record: Christians know Christ wasn't born on Dec 25th. So the post isn't wrong, but it insinuates i'ts a misconception
whitewingdevil
It IS a misconception, a lot of communities celebrate the birth of christ on Christmas.
JamesProton
Keyword there is celebrate. You can celebrate things without it being on the actual date (like many people do with their own birthdays)
FireBreathingStockBroker
Celebrating on a day and actually thinking that was the day of the event are totally separate.
TylersSenseOfEnnui
I didn't think it was uncommon knowledge it was to purposefully detract from the pagan winter equinox celebration.
JamesProton
It seems like it was a recent trend to "uncover" this "secret" when I was taught it when I was 10 at my church
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Exactly it's not a dirty secret of catholicism or something.
Andiyou
I literally didn't have any emotional response to any of this "new" info.
RobertNAdams
I too am dead inside. High five! :'D
TakWriterOfWorlds
So, did Washington wait until the slaves were dead? Or did he walk around inspecting them until he found a molar he liked?
wolfgangundgeorg
In Europe, there apparently were street robbers that robbed people's teeth. If this is true, I guess George also used "fresh" teeth.
myusernameisalreadyinuse
Oh man, now you're making me go back to where I stopped reading.
MoReRoo
Well I mean, you don't cook an already dead lobster so...
ProfanePag
According to Washington's booking, he bought 9 teeth in 1784 for 122 shilling (underpriced). The slaves were alive. 1/2
ProfanePag
However here is no evidence he actually got installed them. But it is highly possible. 2/2
zapbranagan
We all know he was way too classy to rob the dead of their teeth.
69thStPepper
Asking the important questions. That answer will definitely merit an emotional response.
RhorGath
Just to be clear, you know the slave teeth thing is a myth, right?
TakWriterOfWorlds
Meh. http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/george-washingtons-false-teeth-come-slaves-look-evidence-responses-evidence-limitations-history/
RhorGath
TIL: They may or may not have been slaves' teeth, but we'll never know for sure. THANK YOU
Jezebella
He only had one set of dentures, made of animal teeth, lead, ivory, and human teeth. It only said he purchased the teeth.
OldFriendForDinner
It wasn't uncommon to pay slaves for teeth to put in dentures apparently...
ExplainThisJoke
what did they pay them? beads?
theboringusername
Indentured servants.
mnmmr3000
3 yrs later and only 56 upvotes? I guess most people can’t recognize greatness when they see it
NuVanDibe
#1 comment of the day all days
GodofSnowcones
I sincerely believe this is the best and most underrated comment I have ever read while using imgur, bravo.
HadMeSomeChickens
That's nice they got paid.
ayymamacita
Yeaaaahhhhh.... I have a feeling that some of them did not get paid and I am being pretty generous with the word "some"
OldFriendForDinner
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Bahaha the pay did not go to the slaves. The money went to the people who owned the "property" to reimburse damage to personal items.
usernameczecksout
No. Read the Virginia.edu study. It's well doc'd they got $ for teeth but got less. Also, It's inferred but not proven GW Used slave teeth.
MissAizea
This guy went from funny to pretentious
buttdestroyer
Wasn't provoked, but the myth about Washington's wooden teeth made me want to find more sources for this study. It made me sceptical.
whitewingdevil
Good, always be skeptical of any fact, always try to find confirmation of some kind.
PatrioticLibertyPrime
I dunno I never really get mad at new information. Maybe some people just need to understand they aren't perfect?
LordKrondor9000
Certain types of people are very to and even encouraging of changes to their worldview, and certain types are not. That's just humanity.
NotMyUsualUsername
People need diff lvls of encouragement with every part of their reality. One is not always open-minded to everything.
NotMyUsualUsername
Plus, we all need some sort of truth that can comfort us when encountering a threatening situation. What that truth is, differs per person.
rediation
"the world is flat" is generally the only thing that triggers me.
RobertNAdams
Yeah obviously it's not flat. There's mountains and stuff. It's more of a cylinder with a bunch of pointy junk on top and turtles underneath
TheSaucyCrumpet
Yeah I don't understand this at all.
Ouroborus
It is more than that, if you're interested read "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altmeyer. It's available free online.
itsabooper
PLUTO ISN'T A PLANET
RobertNAdams
Motherfucker, I will fight you in the street.
HadMeSomeChickens
"I'm so logical that biology doesn't apply to me."
RedPandasAreGoddamnAdorable
Or he was inoculated at a young age with a belief that everything has to be rational and thought out.
PearjuiceATX
I think it's beacuse some of us research and form opinions based on facts rather than just blindly accepting what we're told. Has nothing 1/
PearjuiceATX
To do with perfection, it has everything to do with keeping an open mind. 2/2
RobertEmmet
& @PatrioticLibertyPrime yes, but also we all have blind spots (or days where we're less open than our average) even if we haven't found one
RobertEmmet
in a long time. The perfect storm of events can aggravate anybody into frothing incredulity.
usernameczecksout
Btw. VERY few Christians believe or teach Dec 25th is Jesus "actual" birthday. More on that here http://www.icr.org/article/shepherds-field/
RobertEmmet
Neat! It's what I got told as a catholic kid, but, well, there wasn't a WHOLE lot of magical thinking taught in my religious introduction.
kaitoofrose
I think, because I was never raised with solid beliefs, except maybe what is usually right or wrong, I can accept info fairly easily.
RobertEmmet
I bet somebody could make you incredulous, you just haven't encountered a provocative enough opposition belief yet
kaitoofrose
Eh, probably. Like, the most I can think of is pushy religious people, but that's pretty rare.
RobertEmmet
I'm interested to find a scenario in which you could get Ken M'd
RobertEmmet
What if someone argued vehemently to you that crystals have healing powers? Or that monogamy is a social failing that needs to be discarded?
kaitoofrose
Well, for the crystals, it's more of a belief thing, than anything else. If you 'believe' that crystals will heal you, fine, I just 1/?
kaitoofrose
don't believe in it. As for the monogamy thing, I would love to hear someone's argument on how it is a 'social failing'.
BifuriousPanda
Do people really care? Hitler didn't sit in a corner tapping his fingers and snarling "Jews". People are multidimensional. Context matters.
LianRosie
I agree - but I think oftentimes context isn't given, people have knee-jerk reactions to out-of-context facts, and form a barrier (1/2)
LianRosie
(2/2) against facts/ideas on emotionally-founded morals.
TylersSenseOfEnnui
It's not even that people believe that. People WANT TO believe that. It makes it a lot easier to call him the devil incarnate than it is 1/2
TylersSenseOfEnnui
To say " Hitler was an opportunistic politician who loved dogs, was a vegetarian, fought animal cruelty and strived to make is country 2/3
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Successful for it citizens following the hardest economic time of his country in decades" shades of grey humanizes people and makes it 3/4
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Much harder to send young men to kill him or make people happy back home to hear of his suicide. Painting everything in black or white 4/5
TylersSenseOfEnnui
Its our lizard brain trying to rationalize complex ideas lizards were never meant to try to handle. Thats why "Demonize the enemy" is step 1
TheSerialSquirrelArsonist
In those situations, I just remind myself: good and bad are situational. Right and wrong are sociological. Good and evil are universal.(1/2)
TheSerialSquirrelArsonist
I always find the problem is when people blur the lines between the three and treat them as one construct.
crazedhermitwizard
It's a shame that the source taints the message a bit. The whole time I was reading I was fighting the urge to yell "Take your own advice!"
RobertEmmet
I think the point of the comic is it's a reminder from himself to himself about this problem. He's speaking in positive affirmations about
RobertEmmet
his behavior, because those are the behaviors he wants to reinforce and believe are in keeping with his internal compass, so he'll do them.
exponant
It's OK advice but felt a bit condescending.
sandhamwich
Hold on guys, you seem to be making sense...
reverendcaptain
My same reaction. He's not exactly the most accepting of alternative opinions.
mercurialphoenix
Can someone who goes to the gym to get back in shape not advise others to do the same? You don't need to be perfect to offer recommendations
IamNotAshamed
ironically this is pretty much the reaction he describes
RevvyDrawsStuff
Doesn't help that all of his 'uncomfortable facts' are clearly targeted to a certain demographic.
the1whoknocksssssss
i was pretty shocked to know that roe v wade was made possible due to mostly republicans
Mixelphlick
Really? Because the roe v wade one is targeted squarely at the left.
YouCantGetDiseasesFromABird
It's a sad, comical hypocrisy that those presenting psychological biases are often considered immune to them by themselves and others
RobertEmmet
I don't think oatmeal ever said in this that he's immune to this problem. I think of works like the above comic as a project made for the
RobertEmmet
artist, composed in a lucid state to help themselves when they're not being the person that they wish they could be every day, then shared
RobertEmmet
with the world in case other people who struggle with the subject of the work can also be inspired by it and maybe use it as a reminder like
shuffletheconversation
How? I don't see where you guys read that? He seemed pretty chill to me.
jazzmatazz
His statements about jesus, roe v wade and the pledge of allegiance are possibly inflammatory for conservative Republicans.
Mixelphlick
He roe v wade one was likely targeted at the left honestly
RobertEmmet
Americans from every political alignment could find the Washington thing a painful tarnish on their patriotic head canon
alex5775
What about those of us that don't have a patriotic head canon because of how corrupt everything is?
RobertEmmet
Then you wouldn't find it that way. Isn't that straightforward? My point was that the Washington one presumed no reader political bias.
usernameczecksout
The left tend toward Globalism vice Nationalism. No shocker then that they look & will look for every angle to demonized the Forefathers.
RobertEmmet
Not as heavily as you might think. Bernie Sanders was much more isolationist than Trump. A lot of liberals love(d) him, but that was some
RobertEmmet
And finding the tarnish isn't always so you can grind your ax. Plenty of people just want a complex picture of history. Look at Hamilton:
jazzmatazz
But he doesn't say "the red cross wont allow gay men to donate blood if they have had sex" or something like which would upset a liberal
jazzmatazz
Sorry with in a year**
RobertEmmet
I'm sure there are tons of conservative and compassionate gay men who would be pissed off about that too (and already are from knowing it)
jazzmatazz
True! I was trying to be broad, as the oatmeal was with his statements. Some democrats don't like socialistic ideals, some oppose abortion.
jazzmatazz
I dislike having to put people into one of two or three categories but that's life.
RobertEmmet
Yeah. It'd be nice if it was easier to somehow say a bunch of different words at once when talking about a person, since, well identities