Open letter to some asshole in the marijuana subreddit

I decided to go for a quick run through the marijuana subreddit, which is famous amongst it's subscribers for being a tolerant place, where people get together and share articles, experiments, anecdotes, art or just random thoughts on which marijuana or cannabis plays an important role.

It is a fun forum, kept light and it has a sort of censorship free feeling. An honest, oppression free water-cooler, where you get to smoke weed.

I was reading one of the famous "self-posts" (which is when a user doesn't share a hyperlink, but an opinion, anecdote or personal doubt) titled:

"It's 7:55 am, and I'm getting fucking stoned right now. Who else loves a good wake & bake?"

Here I found a comment by some asshole, going with the username of "eco_was_taken" who just completely misses the point of the marijuana legalization struggles by the people. He writes:

"There needs to be a Stoner subreddit so I can unsubscribe to it while still getting marijuana public policy discussions."

He gets a few upvotes by other people missing the pissing bowl completely as well, and proves how far behind some minds are when it comes to political reasoning. I single out eco_was_taken's comment as an example of the retrograde thinking in our society. This is more than an attack on him and his views, it's an attack on our society's arrogance and embarrassingly greedy lack of self analysis, which is at is core what is preventing us, us all humans, from equal rights to success and joy.

So eco_was_taken, here's an open letter to your post:

You do not get to call us stoners you fucking asshole. Don't you get it?! Marijuana is not an addictive drug nor it is a crime inducing drug. Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think your shit doesn't stink? Or that you are better than us because you are not a filthy "stoner" but some sort of proto-politician who just likes to discuss "public policy".

The Marijuana debate is not just a legalization debate moron, it's about decency and freedom. If I want to smoke that herb I'll smoke it and feel good about it, I don't require the sympathy of some high-nosed asshole yuppie giving me legal passage to get my "dope".

It's about SCIENCE over political bullshit. It's having scientific knowledge shared with the people in a humane way, not locking it up and keeping it away because it doesn't fit your agenda. Just because you happen to feel legally towards "OK" on the marijuana issue doesn't change the fact that most political morons out there still feel like they should ban the substance.

It's about getting over how you morally feel about something and having some goddamn sense and reason on how to enable a more dynamic, scientific and empathetic law for the people and by the people, not politicians and other flavours of populist assholes and their minions (the so called "experts"), that much like you, look down on "stoners" (which is a word we captured and we now defiantly use with pride) because you consider us "bums" or "dumbasses" without even stopping for a second to think that most of us are in fact successful professionals with passion and dedication for our craft. Or not. The point is that it's not up to you to judge us and label us based on something as innocuous as getting high with marijuana and enjoying the fuck out of it.

Get over yourself, idiot, and allow people to fulfill their lives in whichever way they deem satisfying. If people want to get home after work, roll up a fatty and laugh out loud with some friends while watching a movie, or even just sharing with people in the marijuana subreddit (this little marijuana safe haven so neatly set up by ourselves) about stuff we like to do, you better damn well respect their choice and not go about crying to the sky about how much you feel sickened by their attitude and demand more isolation and segregation.

Because right there you are stepping into dangerous ground, and you might start to realize that you aren't as liberal as you felt you were, and that all you really want is to legalize you morals and values, without regard for what's fair and just for all. Some years from now you might wake up and realize you've become a fascist and in your liberal disguise you've hurt us all more than you have ever thought you could. So open your mind and put yourself in someone else's place before you wave your flag, shoot your gun or worst of all, impose your irrational judgement.

The Final PES 2009 vs FIFA 09 Review

I've played both full versions and both demos, on the PC. I am a huge football fan. I pride myself of being a passionate connaisseur of the beautiful game and I've been playing the game itself since I can remember having good use of my legs (that is until a week ago when I got  injured, but I'll be back on the pitch creating magic in a few weeks).

Why does this matter? Well this is not a review for the casual gamer, nor is it for the gamer that doesn't make footy games his priority, this review is from and to the football fan. The one who suffers with his team and screams and runs at the top of his lungs when they score.

We are reviewing much more than a computer program here, this is about passion, feeling and a season of hard work and joy. I will tell you which binary executable gets your heart pumping as well as cursing and cheering for the little virtual souls giving it all on the 3D pitch. As simple as that.

This is both a joint review for both FIFA 09 and PES 2009, as well as a comparison. "Why?" you ask. Isn't it like this every year? This is an attempt to give you an unbiased and fair review, because if you are anything like me, gaming sites just aren't that thrust worthy anymore.

I've had some fair time with both games, playing them enough as to let the novelty and the hype wear off. I'll compare both games on the exhibition (or friendly) game mode since for me it's all about gameplay. It seems rather obvious that a game should be above it all fun, cups and leagues and all that is wonderful but I want to assess how the games fare on the pitch.

This year I also have the opportunity to compare two very special game modes, my favourite  from both games: Become a Legend and Be a Pro, from PES 2009 and FIFA 09 respectively.

FIFA 09

The first game I tried was FIFA 09, since it was released first. So installation out of the way and after correcting a little issue with my controller I was ready to go. First stop though, who on Earth would want to play this with a mouse?! I mean I understand it if you don't have a controller and you want to play with you little brother, but this seemed like an insulting idea to the hardcore footy gamer in me, there is just no way a mouse can offer the level of depth I demand from myself when playing a football game. Moving on, I setup my favourite team and the menus pop up. This widget crap and stats, it's awesome. I love casually checking those stats every now and then. So off to my first friendly.

Exhibition

The Good:

Wonderful ambiance from the get go. The commentary is spot on and you feel like the commentators are actually watching the game from a booth, everything is so authentic. The way they comment on every play and the usual side note about your team or star player really takes it up a notch. The stadiums look beautiful and you can almost smell the grass. The ball starts rolling and this FIFA is onto something. The ball feels right, nice and heavy while on the air. The players look tiny on the best camera for tactical play, although is not really an issue, you can set a closer camera, passes will go towards the player all by themselves and you'll get a glance at the well rendered players models.

The Bad:

I'm linking up plays, taking shots, running down the flanks, and scoring from every single one-on-one situation. Here's my first gripe with the game, it feels too easy, and yes I always go straight to the hardest difficulty setting. No matter where I decide to shoot the little player with the ball just squares it easily past the keeper. I get a very convincing 5 -0 victory on my first game (I know it because it's there on the stats widget). And even though the midfield battles are interesting, everything is pretty washed out near the box, defending or attacking. The AI isn't really very good either, they seem to play always the same game, game after game. Players are still sluggish, slow to react and respond to your commands, is a true FIFA-ism since the series went into the 2000's.

Be a Pro

The Good:

It's really fun to add yourself to your favourite team and fight for glory with your heroes. The third person camera works like a charm and offers the best view of a football game ever. EVER. You really feel that you are on the pitch and you push yourself to get a goal or an assist. Choosing how the AI controlled players passes the ball to you is very handy in those situations where you just feel the AI is going to be more A than I. Also the RPG side of it is very cool, upgrading your skills and planning you growth is what keeps you going. Well that and achieving the personal and team objectives you get assigned each game, I found myself immersed in fulfilling those little tasks during every single game. Where this mode beats PES' counterpart hands-down is the ability to bring in another human player into the mix, halfway through the season I got my brother involved and we were both hooked on it. This is all about you.

The Bad:

This is all about you. Really you can take all the free kicks, and corners, no matter how much your stats suck at it. Your teammates are forced to pass the ball to you when you command them to it, which can turn into a mess when you are playing with another human on the team. And the absolute worst of it all, there is no season table. You cannot even take a glance at how your team is doing, because apparently it doesn't matter. And the team and personal objectives are the same for everybody. I played and attacking midfielder and my brother a defensive midfielder. We both had to score a  goal or get assists, never ever did he get a defensive objective, and after a while, we were both just repeating tasks. This killed any replay value it had and we just stopped playing it.

PES 2009

Exhibition

The Good:

After playing a rather competent FIFA and the horribly disappointing PES 2009 demo, I have to admit I was very much pleasantly surprised by this game. The leathery thud felt just right, the ball feels and sounds as it has been inflated to regulation. Players are very responsive and the amount of plays you can create is infinite. The AI is very good as it pressures you and tries to fool you with a pass, this little dummies are really pushing you to play at your best. The pace is just right it, can go from lightning fast counterattacks to slow build ups very organically.

The Bad:

Offensively your players are rather tame, they aren't bothered to run and find holes in the defense, which can really slow down your attacks. Defensively is hard to get the ball now, it's a bit hit-and-miss, not very consistent. The referees while improved still card you for perfectly good tackles. Getting the ball down from a high pass is still a bit cumbersome, and on occasions were a volley could land you a superb goal, you get a goal kick from the lamest of headers or toe-pokes.

Become a Legend

The Good:

The player creation screen is amazing, my virtual persona really does look like me, it's uncanny. I set up the way he runs, celebrates, takes a freekick and a penalty, it's just awesome. It is about your career, you get contract offers from clubs and you really have to fight for your place in the team. With time better teams will approach you. Even training for a while is fun, but the first time you make it to the bench you really get a rush of blood to the head. And talk about the time you get your first official goal, you just want to jump and run around. It is totally immersive. The RPG element is very well executed. You can plan ahead your development and you really do feel your player's growth. You feel part of a team, the other little guys take their own decisions and you need to pace yourself and remain focused, looking for a good place to ask for the right pass and involve yourself in the game. And the menu music specially for this mode is amazing, it really gets you pumped for the game.

The Bad:

You teammates sometimes take too damn much passing the ball to you and spoil perfectly good plays, in your head at least. Sometimes the defenders really choke up and throw away your good game. There's a really weird bug that happens when you send a through ball to a teammate and when you run along to it, you teammate just stops chasing the ball and this reflects bad as an incomplete pass on your game report. The game report qualification score is kinda awkward as sometimes a really good game gets a not-so-really-good score. When you're not part of the starting eleven it really sucks to wait and watch 70 (PES) minutes or so to be included in the game, if at all (even if you can accelerate the tempo of the game when you are not on the pitch). Konami's version of the third person camera is just unplayable, which is a shame.

Final Thoughts

Let me say this first and foremost: They are both good games. I haven't covered all of the aspects here because most of them are irrelevant to me, such as menu design, licenses and online. I limited myself to covering the core of each game: Kicking the ball around while trying to get a goal or to avoid receiving a goal, and the space for creativity the game offers you to do so.

What game will I keep? What game should I recommend to you? Let me just say that FIFA 09 is not installed on my computer at present. While it has his good points, PES 2009 just surpasses it in every single point. Sure is not as shiny looking and boom sounding, and it's missing A LOT of licenses, but at least for the PC version, there's no excuse for you not to easily download all the licenses from the fantastic editing community. I even downloaded real team chants. And even if it's unfair to throw a punch after the K.O., The Champions League will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, even if it's just a gimmick.

You want some numbers for the sake of it? OK I'll comply, considering only that which was reviewed I'll give FIFA 09 a 80/100 and PES 2009 a 90/100. Considering the whole package, the gap grows.

I don't thrust gaming sites, I said it before and I stand by it, there's too much between the lines nowadays. This year I chose not to believe them in the FIFA vs PES battle and I'm glad I did. EA has a lot of money and pull, that's all I have to say about it and if you are reasonably smart that's all you need to hear.

Now do yourself a favour and start playing Become A Legend, is just the best thing ever in a footy game. EVER.

Electioneering

It's election time in the US, it's a fun time. We get to see first hand the political bullshit and absurdities than go on in the name of partisanship. For the elite, partisanship means plainly greed, to the rest, that just don't benefit from it, it's irrational extremism, hence they are by definition: stupid people.

Election time is fun because the bullshit get thicker, it's more obvious, look at how the Sarah Palin designation generated reactions and contorsion from both sides. Talk about flipflopping!

On one side some democrats are employing tactics they deemed inmoral when the republicans used them on Hillary, while some have actually pointed out some valid chinks in the armor, the minority of course.

On the other side the republicans are just too much fun to watch for anyone capable of understanding a string of words. They lie, cheat, suckerpunch, always pretending to be on a higher moral ground, because of Jebus and whatnot. Now Palin has a special "You're demeaning women" anti-criticism shield and the media is just too affraid to fight it, you know, because of the mean republicans.

The media though takes the prize for fun. Some are flatout sellouts, some are too affraid to contradict their sponsors and some even drink the Kool-Aid. You get to see softballed debates, stupidly long minutia stories, 24 hous a day mind you! And yet you never hear anything solid about their politics, unless you consider politics being catholic or not.

Between all the laughing and "slapping-yourself-on-the-forehead" moments, have you ever paused to think about it? Why isn't anybody talking politics? They are just insulting each other or padding themselves on the back, promising to be different and to make it all better, all without making any real significant change to the way you live.

They want to change the world from their office, away form you, without getting to know you. They don't really know how you live. They all have mansions, they are all sponsored by corporations. Their "work" is politics, which is basically, bullshitting. Debt? Hunger? Education? Health? Housing? Do you believe this concerns them? They have never worried about this, they are profesional politicians, it's a breed, an exclusive club that has it's rules and doesn't allow normal red blooded people in. A sort of new royalty. To some extent that explains W.

Right now these politicians seem to be our best friends, our buddies, they go to our towns and smile, some dance, some shoot hoops. They need to do this because they need you to see them as your neighbor. When in fact they would call the cops on you if they saw you around their neighborhoods.

Isn't there something rotten at it's core about this system? There's always an invisible wall telling you how much kratos does the demo has. Sometimes is just the fucking anti-riot forces.