User:Apisite

This user has been on Wikiquote for
13 years, 11 months, and 19 days.

en	This user is a native English speaker.

As a citizen religiologist, I don't take seriously the camp against "cults/sects" (used as a term of abuse against unpopular religious movements), because for one thing, inter alia, the term "criminal religious movement" is a more accurate and useful category than the category "cults/sects" could ever be. Couldn't we agree, besides, that ostracizing persons of certain religious communities (henotheistic or otherwise) and having the reflexive urge to denigrate such people is not generally a sign of good character?
Furthermore, what would you rather do and where would you rather be, whether online or offline?

What or who is as rare as chancing upon the whole truth about any outcast or many? (That question is rhetorically based on how ashiks would verbally duel each other, as a side note.)

As far as Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Stephen A. Kent are concerned, what better excuse for ostracizing religiopolitical dissidents could any unscrupulous hivemind hope to have?

If religiology were a religious community, then Massimo Introvigne, Marco Respinti, Susan Jean Palmer and Eileen Barker could be four of its holy men and holy women.

Wiktionary Userpages

Favorite Quotations

“Charity is of heaven, welfare is of hell.” - Wrath Of Gnon
“See with your ears, and slash with your heart.” - GSD, Dungeon Fighter Online
“Without audacity, there is no battle.” - Kargon, Dungeon Fighter Online
“Wise is the man who knows how to recognize his mistakes.” - Ragno Nero
“When they force me to accept the massacre as love / Do you know that I am with you” - Uyghur writer Perhat Tursun, in his masterpiece “Qeside,” or “Elegy,” composed in Beijing in 2006
The reason why fairness in taxation matters is institutionalized unfairness rots society from the inside, and the social order and economy eventually collapse. - Charles Hugh Smith, "Our Tax System Is an Unfair Mess: Here's How to Fix It" (January 28, 2024)
Even if you aren't being paid, be productive. - Charles Hugh Smith
“It is the just decree of Heaven, that never seeth a traitor his danger, till his ruin is at hand.” - Possibly misattributed to Pietro Metastasio
“The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” - Attributed to Niccolò Machiavelli

Entry Wishlist

The Apothecary Diaries - see its entry at Wikipedia
In vitro fertilisation
- Added partly because of the following Quotation:
- Though a Christian approach to IVF is commendable, even if only one embryo is created and transferred, trial and error with that one, full person, is still occurring. Participants are then responsible for the death, if this occurs, of that one human person, a blame which never falls on couples participating in the co-creation process that God conducts within the mysterious sanctuary of the mother’s body.
  - Katie Breckenridge, "The IVF Alternatives Tim Walz Doesn’t Want You To Talk About", The Federalist (September 6, 2024)
Criminal religious movement (Why not use the term "pseudocriminal religious movement" for at least the academic research of persecutory deeds and campaigns?)
Youyou Zizai - also known as The Wonderful World of Chinese Characters

Translation Wishlist

I would like the following entries into any language translated.

Some of the places I would like to visit

Anything to do with Plethon and other men and women like him
Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in Redmond, Washington and anything else to do with the True Buddha School
Anything to do with the Taijimen Qigong Academy (太極門氣功養生學會 in Chinese)
Anything to do with The Church of Almighty God (全能神教會)
Anything to do with Perfect Liberty Kyodan (I like the new religious movement's Chinese-language name「完美自由教團」better than the original name.)
Anything to do with Weixin Shengjiao (唯心聖教)
Anything to do with Falun Gong

Some of the Quotations I added

The reason that communism is the greatest evil is simple: Communism is the greatest enemy of personal responsibility ever invented.
Communism waters down and diminishes personal accomplishments. Once one sees this clearly, seemingly inexplicable communist-driven policies make sense. Every communist policy—from the minimum wage to single-payer health care to rent control—is designed to minimize and thwart personal responsibility.
Conversely, individuals who take personal responsibility become leaders, inspiring others to take control of their own lives. Individuals who take personal responsibility for their actions are accountable for their behavior, which results in better relationships with others.
- Trevor Loudon, "Why Is Communism Evil?"

"My son," said he, "if every one in your case should shed tears as abundantly as you have done, the world would have been drowned in salt water by this time.
As for your friend, think not ill of him; no man loveth another who is always giving."
- Howard Pyle, Twilight Land, "Not a Pin to Choose" (Here, "pin" means "mood" I think.)

Everywhere in the world, young men and women like what is forbidden.
- Massimo Introvigne, "The Xinjiang Class: How the CCP Tries to “Convert” the Uyghurs—and Fails"

Quotations of André du Pôle

After all, one can be black or Arab and wanting to live in peace as a free individual, not as an identity politics pawn who spends his life attacking another social category. ("Men Are Binded By Their Shared Realization Of Truth")

Quotations of ArchitectMMXII

In Twitter

September 2016

Architecture is an important part of our national identity.
Modernism has resulted in sameness across the Western world.
He who rejects his ancestors is also rejecting his descendants, because he is ignoring the foundations on which our civilisation was built.
Anyone with the most elementary skills in observation can qualify the superiority of Classical architecture to that of Modernism.
The evidence of our decline is not an excuse for retreat, but rather a catalyst for our restoration.

August 2016

Should our cities be beautiful? We believed it once. Let us believe it again.
They call it contemporary architecture... We call it temporary architecture.
He who stands for Tradition, stands longest.
As the number of practicing Classical architects grows, so does the need for master craftsmen.
Never underestimate the Modernists.
Good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created.

Quotations of Maximus Decimus Meridius

From "Is Islam Really The Biggest Threat To The West?"

When “they” want you to hate someone, it is because it is useful for them. (The same also applies to concepts, methods, items, etc.)
Cui bono? Who benefits from your hate and rage toward Islam and Muslims? (My personal extrapolation: Who benefits from your hate and rage toward European cultures and peoples? As a hint, it isn't your sons, your daughters, or any of your family-tree relatives.)

Quotations of Luke Stranahan

From "You’re Homophobic If You Don’t Accept The New Gay Abbreviation"

The problem with the tolerance of stupidity is that stupidity eventually becomes widely accepted as the truth, and those who are not stupid are forced to accept it or face persecution for their non-belief.
There’s an inherent logical flaw in claiming that a core part of your movement’s ideals is the acceptance of all opinions and views, then dismissing views and opinions that disagree with yours. A true believer of a legitimate philosophy should not be afraid to debate and defend his stance.
What is legal or trendy today may have been taboo yesterday... There is no reason to endorse current societal thinking on such things as it WILL change and NOT necessarily for the better.
Dictating policy, even in the guise of acceptance and promotion of individuality, is contrary to the ideals of free speech and the freedom of expression.
[About the Social-Justice Warriors] When you buck the narrative, you interfere with their vision of how the new reality should be, and, rather than debate with you, they seek to eliminate you professionally, socially, and perhaps, one day, personally. If someone does not welcome your ideas and speech because they think it’s dangerous, it is their speech that is dangerous, not yours.

Quotations of Corey Savage

From "15 Ways Masculine Schools Can Turn Boys Into Men"

If you’re not teaching the young ones how to be men, what are you teaching them? (Personal extrapolation: If you’re not teaching the girls how to be women, what are you teaching them?)
Overload, the fastest way to kill motivation and the desire to learn.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Christian or Confucian values—teach the youth something. Any traditional or national value is better than nothing.

Quotations of Quintus Curtius

You can tell a lot about a society by what it considers important ("The Underreported Epidemic Of Firefighter Suicide" March 6, 2017)
...by deciding who to fund and who to defund, governments tell their people what they value and who they value. ("The Underreported Epidemic Of Firefighter Suicide" March 6, 2017)

At the website qcurtius dot com

Debate, if that word is to have any rational meaning, can only take place if there is good faith on the part of all participants. When there is no good faith–that is, when one side deliberately lies and distorts the views of the other–then there are no grounds for rational discussion. ("We Will Not Debate You, We Will Replace You")
I take it as self-evident that languages are repositories of unique ways of thinking, culture, and expression. ("The Importance Of Linguistic Nationalism")
If you feel you do not belong somewhere, follow this feeling. If you feel out of place somewhere, follow this feeling. You are being told something on a subconscious level. ("Beauty Seeks Beauty, And Ugly Seeks Ugly")
No language is inherently more or less difficult than another. ("7 Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Foreign Language Learning Goals")
Saying something is too tough is just a mental roadblock that people like to set up, in order to give themselves a way out. ("7 Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Foreign Language Learning Goals")
If you do the work beforehand, and if you’re prepared, things are not as bad as people make them out to be. Don’t let other people psych you out. Don’t let other people project their own self-justifying excuses on to you. ("7 Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Foreign Language Learning Goals")

Concerning his translation of On Duties by Cicero

Voices that have been suppressed for too long must be re-animated, dusted off, and pored over.
Every language beats with its own heart. What may make perfect sense in a Latin sentence may be anything but clear in a literal English rendering.
Having cut off the modern generations from the ancient moral code that has sustained Western social systems for centuries, the modern media offers little of substance to replace it.
Or perhaps it does: a blind hedonism and a debilitating relativism, both capped with a corona of futility.

Quotations in Twitter

June 2016

Even the nerds of the 1970s and 80s were more masculine than many guys today.
If you turn your back on a fire and get your ass scorched, you're going to have to sit on the blisters and deal with it.
Forget making yourself anti-fragile. Anyone can get gotten to. Instead make your ego anti-fragile.
Wimps and chickensh*ts hate to be wrong or make mistakes. Why? Fragile egos...too many today.
Biggest hindrance to your progress: "zero defect mentality." You should be making mistakes ALL the time. If not, you're not doing anything. (Reminds me of one of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: "Never appear too perfect.")
Don't be deceived by appearances. The best soldiers are often the ones who look most like vagabonds or bandits.
Terrorists can be rented, but they can never be owned.
Prosecutorial misconduct is real...it can happen when he or she is "actuated by an improper motive." You decide.
China's message: "I can scam from everyone else, but you can't scam from me."
Endless wars are the death of a republic.
Vices of lawyers: procrastination, failure to value their services, laziness, and lack of creativity.
Don't laugh at the idea of reincarnation. You never know.
Be good to your clients, do a good job, and be honest: and you'll have more clients than you can handle. Business success formula.
Biggest differences between girls of pre-1990s and now: more innocence, longer attention spans, less delusional, slimmer.
College campuses now are like a different planet than what they were in 1980s.
The British behave much like the ancient Romans, and the French much like the ancient Greeks.
Don't seek to be "anti-fragile" because that is an illusion. Seek to be...immortal through great deeds.
Never ask for permission unless absolutely necessary. People are inherently timid and resistant to anything different. Just ignore 'em and do it.
Wake up call to politicians: you can be replaced. You are not there to enrich your family or yourself. Work for your people or else.
History seems to suggest that leaders who are independently wealthy are less corruptible than those who chase after bribes and favors.
Enjoy time now...because 70 isn't the new anything.
You can't outsource innovation or creativity. Do your own bloody homework, Marv.
The bigger the mouth, the emptier the head.
No one can escape from history.
People will do anything for attention today. Anything. Attention-seeking obsession is the greatest threat to our national health.
Faking threats against yourself for attention is just as serious as making real threats against others.
What I love about 3rd World: No hypocrite gringo political correctness. You can speak your mind. I don't care about "violence" or "zika"
"Struggling with my body image" = code for "I'm struggling to get you to accept my laziness and sloth."
Every book on the Church's "Index Librorum Prohibitorum" (banned list) turned out to be a classic. Censorship fails.
The Syrian War is the Spanish Civil War of our time. A dress rehearsal of what is to come, maybe sooner than you think.
They say you can't force people to be creative or innovative. Bullsh*t. Damn right you can, believe me.
People forget that Europe didn't even know the source of the Nile River until 1858.
Ex-dictator of Chad gets convicted and sentenced to life. No one cares because average person can't find Chad on a map.
History is inflationary. A wise man will never focus on hoarding money for its own sake.
Governments look inept and out of touch when they try to censor things already widely available.
The US behaves like a huge pink-haired SJW around the world: "Hurt my feelings and you are evil & must be overthrown." (SJW stands for "Social-Justice Warrior")
Most heroism is not recognizable at the time for what it is. It usually takes time--sometimes years--to fully appreciate.
When the greyhound's belly is full, he can't run fast.
Mobility is security. (Reminds me of one of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: Assume formlessness)
Easy to forget that the Soviets were good--very good--at some things: weapons design, human intel, weapons metallurgy, etc.
Knowing when to do absolutely nothing is a critical skill, and one very difficult for action-oriented personalities to master.
Counterbalancing all your vices is an effective way to remain virtuous. Pascal said something similar.
Let victories speak for themselves in their own voices. The trumpet player who never stops is soon ignored, or despised. (Reminds me of one of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: In victory, learn when to stop)
As boss, accept fact that you'll have to pay for your mistakes. But don't allow witch hunts, flagellating post-mortems, or recriminations.
The reasons to retreat: (1) self-preservation; (2) pressure coming from elsewhere, or (3) as a ruse to regain the initiative.
Overcoming your own psychological barriers is the hardest first step. Over time they become deeply embedded, and form a security blanket.