Thread: The views of Russians, according to the "Pew Institute". True or false?

There is gromozeka as well. She is also a moderator.

Originally Posted by Hanna

@Pavelov and Eric C & co...

First of all, there is only one moderator as far as I know, and that person is extremely tolerant - nobody has been banned for all the time I have been a member, despite the fact that there have been several people with mental health problems, as well as several bullies/trolls. As far as I am aware, the moderator doesn't live in Russia and is technically not Russian (I think), so therefore there is no prejudice in favour of Russia or the USSR for that matter.

Secondly, just face it: Your worldview is in minority here! As it is on the planet as a whole. Nobody here is a Fox News viewer.

On this forum, economic sanctions, invasion, superior weapons and sly manipulation of public opinion will not work! You will have to argue your points of view with examples and certain amount of politeness!

And don't forget that most of the regular contributors are mature people with an interest in current events, politics and history!

Many are bilingual or trilingual and have lived in more than one country with experience of several different cultures and political systems.
In the case of people from the ex-USSR countries, they have experience of several quite different political and economic systems and have survived challenging times of much upheaval and dramatic events.
The experiences and observations of such people are valuable to learn from!

I have personally changed my views and prenotions on lots of matters to do with Russia, the USSR etc after reading what people here have said.
You would benefit a lot from opening up your minds a bit.

Finally, the emphasis here is on learning Russian and learning about Russian culture etc. Let's have a certain degree of respect towards the "hosting nation", so to speak. Not that we can't critisize or challenge Russia or Russian people, but let's do it respectfully without being rude. This forum is quite unique on the internet. Let's keep it a nice and friendly place.

First of all, you seem to be a little bit confusing the administrator and the moderators. I have no doubt it was NOT the admin who erased my post. But the fact remains, somebody did it. Then, considering that as I noted above the post wasn't actually rude or offensive (it didn't contain obscene words or personal attacks on anyone), I made a conclusion we might be dealing with censorship on this quite unique forum, which can easily ruin its uniqueness, and turn it into an oppressive resource where you will only be allowed to praise certain political forces and characters. Is that what you'd stand for?

Finally, don't you think it's bit risky to speak for the whole planet and assign your views to it???

Originally Posted by mishau_

Yes, you can read about this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_F_Word_(South_Park)
^[

Good observation, mishau! Yes, the "F word" episode of South Park was making the same joke -- that "faggot" sometimes refers to male homosexuals, and sometimes does not.

After thinking about it, I also remembered a Russian анекдот about Ilya Muromets, who comes to a crossroad and sees a sign: "Налево пойдешь -- коня потеряешь, а направо -- п*дором станешь". In the joke, Ilya goes to the left, and doesn't lose his horse, but he soon meets Змей Горыныч and Баба Яга and chops off their heads. He's ready to kill Соловей-разбойник, too, but the bandit says "So, Ilya, you've become a п*дор after all!" (I.e., a п*дор in the Southparkian sense of a "loud, annoying asshole who rides a Harley motorcycle", but not in the sense of "homosexual".)

By the way, speaking as an American homosexual, I would much prefer to learn about rude words such as п*дик and пиндос, although I appreciate that the forum has rules against using such terms in a careless, casual way! But it doesn't help Russian learners if such words are totally censored, all the time.

Originally Posted by Hanna

@Pavelov and Eric C & co...

First of all, there is only one moderator as far as I know, and that person is extremely tolerant - nobody has been banned for all the time I have been a member, despite the fact that there have been several people with mental health problems, as well as several bullies/trolls. As far as I am aware, the moderator doesn't live in Russia and is technically not Russian (I think), so therefore there is no prejudice in favour of Russia or the USSR for that matter.

Secondly, just face it: Your worldview is in minority here! As it is on the planet as a whole. Nobody here is a Fox News viewer.

On this forum, economic sanctions, invasion, superior weapons and sly manipulation of public opinion will not work! You will have to argue your points of view with examples and certain amount of politeness!

And don't forget that most of the regular contributors are mature people with an interest in current events, politics and history!

Many are bilingual or trilingual and have lived in more than one country with experience of several different cultures and political systems.
In the case of people from the ex-USSR countries, they have experience of several quite different political and economic systems and have survived challenging times of much upheaval and dramatic events.
The experiences and observations of such people are valuable to learn from!

I have personally changed my views and prenotions on lots of matters to do with Russia, the USSR etc after reading what people here have said.
You would benefit a lot from opening up your minds a bit.

Finally, the emphasis here is on learning Russian and learning about Russian culture etc. Let's have a certain degree of respect towards the "hosting nation", so to speak. Not that we can't critisize or challenge Russia or Russian people, but let's do it respectfully without being rude. This forum is quite unique on the internet. Let's keep it a nice and friendly place.

Fox News?
What do you mean here?

I think you have a rather narrow-minded view.

I only asserted my opinion that the political discussions are one-sided.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

By the way, speaking as an American homosexual, I would much prefer to learn about rude words such as п*дик and пиндос, although I appreciate that the forum has rules against using such terms in a careless, casual way! But it doesn't help Russian learners if such words are totally censored, all the time.

Russian slang dictionary –
Enjoy

Пиндос means an American, not a fag.

Ахтунг на форуме!

Originally Posted by mishau_

Пиндос means an American, not a fag.

Культурненько, да.

Почему американцев называют пиндосами. Комментарии : Дневники на КП

Originally Posted by xdns

By the way, here is one curious thing: seems that anti-homosexual laws always targeted men only (мужеложество), whereas lesbianism was not punished by the law. Why the bias?

Because in Victorian times when most of these laws were at their height women were not considered to have any sexuality at all. They certainly weren't suposed to enjoy sex. They were to lie back and think of England.

Plus to a hetrosexual man two women together is not automatically a turn off. Whereas, the thought of another man, doing that, touching them there, well, that's just icky. They know that's wrong. And men write the laws.

Originally Posted by mishau_

Пиндос means an American, not a fag.

Yes, I know -- to be more clear, I should have written, "For me as an American, пиндос is an interesting word to learn; for me as a homosexual, п*дик and п*дор are also interesting words." (But I understand that пиндос has absolutely no connection with homosexuality.)


Although, I guess пиндос could be translated as "American fag" in the South Park sense (loud, annoying person), but not in the sense of "male homosexual."

I attempted to experiment with foursomes or fivesomes. Nothing. I really cannot do it with a woman and a man at the same time. Mine recoils when the male partner starts fondling them. I wish so that I can have the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by sarah37

Because in Victorian times when most of these laws were at their height women were not considered to have any sexuality at all. They certainly weren't suposed to enjoy sex. They were to lie back and think of England.

There's some truth to that, Sarah, but the legal reality was more complicated. Anti-sodomy laws existed for many centuries before Queen Victoria came along, and to some degree they were rooted in the wording of the Bible: "If a man lies down with a man as with a woman..., Leviticus 20:13" (Note that euphemistic expression "lying down with a man" is the origin of the Russian word for sodomy: мужеложество.)

Also, the Victorian British were, in some ways, progressives on matters of sex and the law -- at least in the sense that they preferred to treat homosexuality and prostitution and other "sexual offenses" as social/medical problems that could be treated with compassionate, rational Science, instead of being condemned as sins against God.

Going back to the case of Oscar Wilde -- as I said above, he was officially jailed for oral sex with men, since the government was unable to prove anal sex.

And yet there was more to it than that: early in his trial, when the public only knew about Wilde's homosexual affairs with other upper-class gentlemen "of his own station", there was a surprising amount of public sympathy for him. Because the educated, progressive Victorian middle class (and the newspapers they read) said, basically, "Of course this is all rather disgusting, but surely it should be a private matter between individuals, and there's no reason for the Crown to treat it as a crime in our modern scientific era, etc."

But later in the trial, the prosecutors were able to prove that Wilde had been having lots and lots of oral sex with male prostitutes all around London -- and this fact outraged those very same Victorian progressives, who thought that a successful upper-class gentleman like Oscar Wilde had a duty to help educate young men of the lower classes, and not to take advantage of their poverty by paying them for blowjobs!

Originally Posted by heartfelty

I wish so that I can have the best of both worlds.

"I'm not bisexual, but I have nothing against bisexuality. It would double my chances of finding a date on Saturday night."

-- Woody Allen

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

But later in the trial, the prosecutors were able to prove that Wilde had been having lots and lots of oral sex with male prostitutes all around London -- and this fact outraged those very same Victorian progressives, who thought that a successful upper-class gentleman like Oscar Wilde had a duty to help educate young men of the lower classes, and not to take advantage of their poverty by paying them for blowjobs!

This sounds a bit commie. I do realize though it's complicated due to his paying for male blowjobs, but as for "straight heads" - I wouldn't understand how someone getting a paid sexual service violates anything...

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

"I'm not bisexual, but I have nothing against bisexuality. It would double my chances of finding a date on Saturday night."

-- Woody Allen

Well that might have been useful for him, since he was so desperate that he had to date and marry his own adopted daughter!!!

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Although, I guess пиндос could be translated as "American fag"

no more then translating "spic" as Mexican fag
зачем обсасывать расовую/национальную тему?
I do not call Americans пиндосы because I think it's offensive and usually used by some narrow-minded individuals who have never met any American personally but truly believe that know everything about Americans (bad stuff obviously)

Also why would anybody here care who f*cks who (or what), excuse my French