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Flat Earthers Are Going To Antarctica To Prove Earth is Flat!

Lunarorbit

Member
Watching flat earthers do science is a fascinating demonstration of cognitive dissonance.

You expect them to just be dumb, but a lot of them come up with pretty sophisticated experiments that are perfectly valid. The problem is that, when the results inevitably point to a round earth they just go "Fuck, we must have done the experiment wrong."

I remember seeing a doc a while back where they pooled their money and got some laser gyroscope, a piece of scientific equipment that cost 5 figures, so they could see if it really would drift x number of degrees in the same direction due to the earth's rotation. Good experiment, smart experiment!

But when it ultimately did what round earthers said it would they just go "Bah, must be magnetic interference. And they built a magnetic shielding chamber. That's called a control, acceptable science!

But then they do the experiment with the added control and the same thing happens. And they go "Well, fuck maybe we need to bury it underground" and so they bury it underground and watch it and the same thing happens.

And at the end of all that they're looking at each other like "What are we missing here, fellas? We KNOW the earth is flat so why can't we prove it?"

Probably worth mentioning that flat earthers are almost all religious creationists. They aren't all biblical literalists but they almost all believe that round earth is a conspiracy to undermine God somehow.
Great write up. There's a reason the catholic church loves killing science and scientists in general.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Atheists normally don't do "belief" per definition so I wonder how many flat earth atheists there actually are.
Roughly zero percent of flat earthers believe in natural origin. Some of them believe in sci-fi kind of stuff like Alien Zoo theory or they believe in God but not the Bible, but none of them are like "Yeah the earth is flat but it just naturally formed that way and the people who say otherwise aren't evil they're just doing science wrong."

It probably bears mentioning that like 40% of Americans believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old, which is exactly as stupid. And that number is high enough that it includes a lot of people here reading this.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
flat-earth2.png
TBF....there are also a large number of orange worshippers too.
 

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
Lots of the flat earthers on YouTube are grifters.

Dave Weiss was on podcast with flat earth royalty Steere and Roberts and literally said if the sun shines all night down south it’s irrelevant because “our model” is flexible.

They’re always running on lies, excuses and delusions so this will change nothing.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
You can google about the firmament.







https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/earth/does-bible-teach-earth-flat/ (hilarious source, BTW)

I know about it, but I don't use Google as a source. That's also not suggesting a flat earth either.

No it's not, and even so, that's not a counterpoint to what I said. A lot of the ones in the USA are using religious justification for their flat earth beliefs.

Yes! That's what I mean. These people are using religion to back up their nonsense claims. However, religion doesn't agree with their views. Therefore, religion isn't the cause.



At this point I feel like you are not interested in an honest discussion possibly because you are christian yourself?

But anyways a quick google and

Psalm 104:5
He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.

Revelation 7:1
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth.

Proverbs 8:27
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep.

Daniel 4:11
The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

Job 26:7
He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

Acts 10:11
And saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

Of course feel free to call these analogies or metaphors, but then you have to do that with the whole book imo.

Nothing there is suggesting the earth is flat. Four corners? When would a flat earth have corners? It's a round circle. Those are big reaches.

I'm interested in a honest discussion if there is evidence. I'm a scholar of medieval history (majority English and French) and part of this is understanding the religion of the time. I've never encountered a source that talks about a flat earth, especially not a religious source or early Christian texts. We have evidence people were well aware of a round earth, even the Church.

I'm not an expert on Islam, Hinduism or any other religion, but I'm pretty confident they don't talk about the earth being flat either.
 

midnightAI

Member
What do they intend to find in Antarctica that proves to them the world is flat?
They aren't, the trip was is being set up by someone to prove to flat earthers that is a globe, the title is misleading. The trip originally was going to be two flat earthers and two flat earth debunkers and they was going to show the 24hour sun in the Antarctic at this time of year.

If there is a 24 HR sun then that shows the earth is a globe but some flat earthers are already coming up with excuses for that (like artificial suns, seriously, they are nuts)

Since this has been set up I believe more are going as they have been crowdfunded.
 

calistan

Member
It's not so much a genuine belief that the earth could be flat, it's more about being part of a club. Sharing your societal discontent with a likeminded group, amplified by the internet.

Ars Technica has had some good coverage of the flat earth resurgence over the years.


 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
I know about it, but I don't use Google as a source. That's also not suggesting a flat earth either.



Yes! That's what I mean. These people are using religion to back up their nonsense claims. However, religion doesn't agree with their views. Therefore, religion isn't the cause.





Nothing there is suggesting the earth is flat. Four corners? When would a flat earth have corners? It's a round circle. Those are big reaches.

I'm interested in a honest discussion if there is evidence. I'm a scholar of medieval history (majority English and French) and part of this is understanding the religion of the time. I've never encountered a source that talks about a flat earth, especially not a religious source or early Christian texts. We have evidence people were well aware of a round earth, even the Church.

I'm not an expert on Islam, Hinduism or any other religion, but I'm pretty confident they don't talk about the earth being flat either.
For a fact the people that wrote the Hebrew Bible believed the earth to be flat, as did adjacent cultures at the time. It speaks about God creating earth by dividing the heavens and earth as if they are two halves, it talks about the sky being stretched over it like a big dome. There is absolutely nothing to suggest anything other than they believed in a flat Earth.

That's a little less clear when we get into the Christian period. The Greeks had figured out the Earth was a globe and Greek philosophers had a lot of influence on Christian theology in that period.
 

Laptop1991

Member
Better be careful they don't fall off the edge then lol, i don't mind beliefs in the sense of creating good Science Fiction or Fantasy books and shows, it's how far they take it that amazes me, i wonder how many people have voted or registered as Jedi Knights since Star Wars came out.
 
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efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
They aren't, the trip was is being set up by someone to prove to flat earthers that is a globe, the title is misleading. The trip originally was going to be two flat earthers and two flat earth debunkers and they was going to show the 24hour sun in the Antarctic at this time of year.

If there is a 24 HR sun then that shows the earth is a globe but some flat earthers are already coming up with excuses for that (like artificial suns, seriously, they are nuts)

Since this has been set up I believe more are going as they have been crowdfunded.
See my later posts. There are plenty of simpler ways to discredit flat earthers. A trip to Antarctica is overkill.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I know about it, but I don't use Google as a source. That's also not suggesting a flat earth either.
I'm not using google as a source either. I posted non-google links.

It's not suggesting flat earth according to your interpretation. However it's not your interpretation that matters here, nor is it the interpretation of the mainstream religious organizations. It's the interpretation of the flat earthers that matters, and the fact is, they are using religious foundations to justify their flat earth beliefs whether you like it or not.

You need to listen to what I said in the beginning, as this is all interconnected.

"It's not religion in and of itself that's the issue. It's more complicated than that. It's the kind of mindset that is strongly associated with religion of believing something on faith rather than evidence. It's no coincidence that most of the flat earthers are religious and are grounding their belief in a flat earth on Biblical evidence. Once you can believe one thing without evidence, your brain is primed to do the same with other things. In this instance, the concept of a flat Earth are the shiny keys that provide that avenue into that particular brand of terminally online brain worms."

Yes! That's what I mean.

What do you mean?

These people are using religion to back up their nonsense claims. However, religion doesn't agree with their views. Therefore, religion isn't the cause.

If I'm interpreting your syllogism correctly, it is thus -

Premise 1: Flat Earthers use religion to back up their nonsense claims.
Premise 2: Religion doesn't agree with their views (i.e. their nonsense claims).
Conclusion: Therefore, religion isn't the cause [of their nonsense claims/views/beliefs].

Premise 1 is in line with what I've been saying. Flat Earthers do use religious evidence to justify their flat Earth beliefs.

Premise 2 is flawed. You're using mainstream religious organizations as representative of all religion, which it is not. You cited that the early church and that most modern church leaders don't preach flat Earth, and you're right. But that has nothing to do with my point. How I'm using "religion" in this discussion is different than how you are using it. I'm not talking about mainstream religious leaders. I'm talking about the mindset that religious thinking primes the brain to operate in.

Your conclusion is also flawed. I didn't necessarily say that religion is the "cause" of flat Earth beliefs. I said it is highly correlated, and while correlation doesn't equal causation, it can serve to be a good indicator of patterns when analyzed with additional supporting evidence and contexts.
 
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midnightAI

Member
See my later posts. There are plenty of simpler ways to discredit flat earthers. A trip to Antarctica is overkill.
It is, but is it ones they (as flat earthers) would agree with? thats the point, there was several well known prominent flat earthers that have said that there is no 24hr sun in Antarctica and if there was it would disprove the flat earth. One of those is going to see for himself. And in some ways its actually cheaper than things like hiring private jets etc.

There a loads of ways to prove the earth isnt flat, and a gazillion photos, but its always fake, cgi, or a complete misunderstanding of physics (such as the reason we dont see the bottom of buildings over water is due to perspective and things disappear from the bottom up (I know, bonkers))

These very same people deny that space is real, that the planets and stars are just projections on some dome, that the sun and moon are local, many believe we are being brainwashed by chemtrails by all the planes that fly over, that there are massive lands beyond Antarctica and we cant go to Antarctica due to the Antarctic treaty and many other wacky things, they arent very sane, some are completely unhinged (CC, Chris from Westchester County).



(And if you think flat earthers are weird, you should listen to the Mudfossil University guy who things rocks/mountains etc. are bones left behind by giant creatures, or the ultimate loon Hans Wormhat who thinks almost everything is fake such as Sloths, Gorillas, Volcanos, Titanic)
 
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efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
It is, but is it ones they (as flat earthers) would agree with? thats the point, there was several well known prominent flat earthers that have said that there is no 24hr sun in Antarctica and if there was it would disprove the flat earth. One of those is going to see for himself. And in some ways its actually cheaper than things like hiring private jets etc.

There a loads of ways to prove the earth isnt flat, and a gazillion photos, but its always fake, cgi, or a complete misunderstanding of physics (such as the reason we dont see the bottom of buildings over water is due to perspective and things disappear from the bottom up (I know, bonkers))

These very same people deny that space is real, that the planets and stars are just projections on some dome, that the sun and moon are local, many believe we are being brainwashed by chemtrails by all the planes that fly over, that there are massive lands beyond Antarctica and we cant go to Antarctica due to the Antarctic treaty and many other wacky things, they arent very sane, some are completely unhinged (CC, Chris from Westchester County).
In that case I wouldn't trust these people to not come up with a new excuse when evidence in Antarctica doesn't line up with their expectations. If they're funding the trip, that's fine. But I don't expect it to change their minds.
 

midnightAI

Member
In that case I wouldn't trust these people to not come up with a new excuse when evidence in Antarctica doesn't line up with their expectations. If they're funding the trip, that's fine. But I don't expect it to change their minds.
It wont, well, some might, especially those who went, but they are already making excuses including more conspiracies like those who are going are going to be hypnotised into thinking they went and saw a 24hr sun and the videos will be faked, or that there are two suns, or Nasa are going to be putting up a fake sun (its always NASA for some reason even when they arent involved).

I still haven't seen them explain the recent Starship catch, but many of the comments on SpaceX's youtube channel are that its fake or reversed video even though hundreds if not thousands of people watched it happen infront of their very eyes.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
For a fact the people that wrote the Hebrew Bible believed the earth to be flat, as did adjacent cultures at the time. It speaks about God creating earth by dividing the heavens and earth as if they are two halves, it talks about the sky being stretched over it like a big dome. There is absolutely nothing to suggest anything other than they believed in a flat Earth.

That's a little less clear when we get into the Christian period. The Greeks had figured out the Earth was a globe and Greek philosophers had a lot of influence on Christian theology in that period.

Correct. The Hebrew bible was written well before Greeks such as Pythagoras discovered the earth was a sphere.

It's pretty clear in early - late medieval Christianity. I can't speak before that as it's not my area of expertise.
Your conclusion is also flawed. I didn't necessarily say that religion is the "cause" of flat Earth beliefs. I said it is highly correlated, and while correlation doesn't equal causation, it can serve to be a good indicator of patters when analyzed with additional supporting evidence and contexts.

If you don't believe religion is the root cause then we already agree with each other.

While you've made a valid point regarding correlation and causation, I believe our disagreement probably lies in the weight we assign to religious factors in shaping flat Earth beliefs. While it's true that there is a correlation between certain religious interpretations and flat Earth theories, I argue that this correlation is often secondary to other factors.

For instance, a lack of scientific education, the influence of conspiracy theories, and social media echo chambers play a far more significant role in driving individuals towards these beliefs. While religious beliefs may provide a framework for some, it's the interplay of these other factors that ultimately leads to the adoption of such theories.

While I agree religious interpretations can certainly contribute to a predisposition towards flat Earth beliefs, they are not the primary cause. It's a complex interplay of various factors that ultimately shape these views.

Finally, I doubt either of us want to spend the rest of the day/evening debating flat earth belief causes, so can we at least agree that religion isn't the only cause and call it a day?
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Correct. The Hebrew bible was written well before Greeks such as Pythagoras discovered the earth was a sphere.
Some of it was later, and it went through revisions for many centuries, but yeah most of it was written by the reign of King Josiah who was the first figure to really attempt to canonize the whole mess and centralize the religion.

For instance, a lack of scientific education, the influence of conspiracy theories, and social media echo chambers play a far more significant role in driving individuals towards these beliefs. While religious beliefs may provide a framework for some, it's the interplay of these other factors that ultimately leads to the adoption of such theories.
It's probably fair to point out that community is also how religion spreads and is reinforced. Humans are social animals who want to fit into consensus groups. But where in the past people would have to change their beliefs to align with the group, the internet makes it possible for people to seek out groups that align with their beliefs, no matter how stupid.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
While you've made a valid point regarding correlation and causation, I believe our disagreement probably lies in the weight we assign to religious factors in shaping flat Earth beliefs. While it's true that there is a correlation between certain religious interpretations and flat Earth theories, I argue that this correlation is often secondary to other factors.
Our disagreements lie in the way we reference "religion". You are talking about modern mainstream religious organizations. I am talking about religious thinking specifically and how that turns off critical thinking skills and conditions people to believe things on feelings and not facts. As for whether it's primary or secondary, does it really matter? You're right that we seem to assign different weights to these things, but I'm lumping them all together since they all feed of of each other. All these flat Eathers for the most part have religion, lack of scientific education, influence of conspiracy theories, and social media echo chambers as part of their toolkit. As far as I can tell, the correlation is significant for all of those things.

Finally, I doubt either of us want to spend the rest of the day/evening debating flat earth belief causes,

I Can Do This All Day GIF
(lol)

can we at least agree that religion isn't the only cause and call it a day?

I'm not even saying it's a cause, though. I'm saying it's just one factor out of many that trains people's brains to believe things without evidence. You can substitute "religion" for anything else like a belief in astrology, numerology, crystals, homeopathy, or whatever else new-age hipster content is trending on TikTok, and my point is still the same.

The only direct cause pathway from religion to flat earth that I can think of, is if a religious person becomes a literalist, and then takes all those passages about the dome, firmament, and corners of the earth as literal fact, which leads them to conclude the earth is flat and 6,000 years old. I don't know how most flat earthers became flat earthers so I can't say that this is THE cause, but it's one probable pathways among many.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Our disagreements lie in the way we reference "religion". You are talking about modern mainstream religious organizations. I am talking about religious thinking specifically and how that turns off critical thinking skills and conditions people to believe things on feelings and not facts.
So, as an aside here, religion doesn't really teach you to think based on feelings or facts, it conflates dogma and identity. People believe something because they are taught that that believe makes them a Christian (or whatever group identity) and that to interrogate that belief would be to deny who they are.

That's what makes these beliefs so strong. Religious people are perfectly happy to defer to science and reason when those questions don't intersect with their identity markers, but completely immovable when they do.

This doesn't even have to be a matter of dogma, bands like Insane Clown Posse and Greatful Dead have cashed in on this idea that their fandom is an identity. Once could argue Donald Trump did it with all his personal flags and hats and shirts where people became personally invested in a MAGA identity. Group identity is the core of cult thinking.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
One of the core tenets for many religious faiths is "faith", which is literally feelings over facts.
It's neither. Religion doesn't ask people to make up their mind based on how they feel any more than it asks them to examine the facts.

Religious dogma functions by saying "These are the beliefs of this identity group, so this is what you believe, and you just have to accept that or you aren't really part of the identity group.

There's no room for feelings or facts in that dynamic. There is a book that came out recently that argues that religious beliefs aren't even really "beliefs" in the same way as evidence-based beliefs, and that they're engaging the part of the brain more associated with imagination.
 
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Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
It's neither. Religion doesn't ask people to make up their mind based on how they feel any more than it asks them to examine the facts.

Religious dogma functions by saying "These are the beliefs of this identity group, so this is what you believe, and you just have to accept that or you aren't really part of the identity group.

There's no room for feelings or facts in that dynamic. There is a book that came out recently that argues that religious beliefs aren't even really "beliefs" in the same way as evidence-based beliefs, and that they're engaging the part of the brain more associated with imagination.

These are all different sides of the same coin. Faith is a justification for belief that lacks empirical evidence, and faith is a foundational core for many religions.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Some of it was later, and it went through revisions for many centuries, but yeah most of it was written by the reign of King Josiah who was the first figure to really attempt to canonize the whole mess and centralize the religion.


It's probably fair to point out that community is also how religion spreads and is reinforced. Humans are social animals who want to fit into consensus groups. But where in the past people would have to change their beliefs to align with the group, the internet makes it possible for people to seek out groups that align with their beliefs, no matter how stupid.

Our disagreements lie in the way we reference "religion". You are talking about modern mainstream religious organizations. I am talking about religious thinking specifically and how that turns off critical thinking skills and conditions people to believe things on feelings and not facts. As for whether it's primary or secondary, does it really matter? You're right that we seem to assign different weights to these things, but I'm lumping them all together since they all feed of of each other. All these flat Eathers for the most part have religion, lack of scientific education, influence of conspiracy theories, and social media echo chambers as part of their toolkit. As far as I can tell, the correlation is significant for all of those things.



I Can Do This All Day GIF
(lol)



I'm not even saying it's a cause, though. I'm saying it's just one factor out of many that trains people's brains to believe things without evidence. You can substitute "religion" for anything else like a belief in astrology, numerology, crystals, homeopathy, or whatever else new-age hipster content is trending on TikTok, and my point is still the same.

The only direct cause pathway from religion to flat earth that I can think of, is if a religious person becomes a literalist, and then takes all those passages about the dome, firmament, and corners of the earth as literal fact, which leads them to conclude the earth is flat and 6,000 years old. I don't know how most flat earthers became flat earthers so I can't say that this is THE cause, but it's one probable pathways among many.

Sorry, gentlemen. I love a debate, but this one is getting too tedious for me.

My choice now is to further debate flat earth and its connection to religion for hours on end, or sleep with my wife.

it was a hard decision, but I've decided to bail.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
50% from folks who legit think there is a giant ice wall down there and 50% from folks who hope this guy crashes and dies on the trip.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
These are all different sides of the same coin. Faith is a justification for belief that lacks empirical evidence, and faith is a foundational core for many religions.
I agree, I was just explaining how faith works, that it isn't about feelings, it's about the group identity.
Sorry, gentlemen. I love a debate, but this one is getting too tedious for me.

My choice now is to further debate flat earth and its connection to religion for hours on end, or sleep with my wife.

it was a hard decision, but I've decided to bail.
I didn't think we were on opposite sides of as debate, tbh, I was just adding to what you said.
 

adj83

Neo Member
The reason why the 24 hour Sun is important is due to this:
600px-SunAnimation.gif

Possibly already asked but where do they think the sun goes at night / why isn't it visible from all locations 24/7?

They appear to saying that there is a direct, unobstructed path to it from all locations, all day, every day. So it should be visible at varying levels of brightness from all locations, all day, every day.

Do light waves only travel a certain distance now? So it would be visible for longer if you go directly up vertically? Or is the sun tiny, like is God up there swinging a flashlight around?
 

FunkMiller

Member
Possibly already asked but where do they think the sun goes at night / why isn't it visible from all locations 24/7?

They appear to saying that there is a direct, unobstructed path to it from all locations, all day, every day. So it should be visible at varying levels of brightness from all locations, all day, every day.

Do light waves only travel a certain distance now? So it would be visible for longer if you go directly up vertically? Or is the sun tiny, like is God up there swinging a flashlight around?

Don’t try to rationalise or think through grotesque stupidity.

You just get covered in dirt, and the pig likes it.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
I agree, I was just explaining how faith works, that it isn't about feelings, it's about the group identity.

I didn't think we were on opposite sides of as debate, tbh, I was just adding to what you said.

I was just saying I've dropped out the discussion. I can't give flat earth this much attention.
 

DKehoe

Member
The thing I've never really got with the flat earth conspiracy is what the would be the point of it? If you take other conspiracy theories then there's a reason for it. Not that I'm saying the conspiracy is true but you could see there being a reason why some people might fake the moon landing. But I don't get why "the powers that be" would go to all this trouble of making people believe the Earth is round when it's not. What's to gain from that?
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
The thing I've never really got with the flat earth conspiracy is would be the point of it? If you take other conspiracy theories then there's a reason for it. Not that I'm saying the conspiracy is true but you could see there being a reason why some people might fake the moon landing. But I don't get why "the powers that be" would go to all this trouble of making people believe the Earth is round when it's not. What's to gain from that?
The other side has all the hot chicks!
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
The thing I've never really got with the flat earth conspiracy is would be the point of it? If you take other conspiracy theories then there's a reason for it. Not that I'm saying the conspiracy is true but you could see there being a reason why some people might fake the moon landing. But I don't get why "the powers that be" would go to all this trouble of making people believe the Earth is round when it's not. What's to gain from that?
Ive wondered the same thing. What's the point in hiding "the truth"? How will our day to day lives change.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Wouldn't that be strongly associated with that individuals feelings regarding the importance and relevance of the group identity as it pertains to their own self-image?
I guess so, but you're avoiding the point. I'm drawing a contrast between dogmatic belief and intuitive belief (i.e. "feelings").

Like, a lot of religious beliefs are morally unintuitive. They might even contradict the person's feelings about morality in general. But the identity belief structure overrides that.
 

Phobos Base

Member
The thing I've never really got with the flat earth conspiracy is would be the point of it? If you take other conspiracy theories then there's a reason for it. Not that I'm saying the conspiracy is true but you could see there being a reason why some people might fake the moon landing. But I don't get why "the powers that be" would go to all this trouble of making people believe the Earth is round when it's not. What's to gain from that?


They'll tell you it's just about keeping "the truth" from people. They desperately want to be Neo in The Matrix, the only one smart enough to see the truth.
 

Tieno

Member
Great, I hope they finally get to the bottom of this and solve this conundrum we've been in for the past centuries.

I wish them nothing but good luck and Godspeed.
 

RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
Flat earthers i lump in with Creationists, Maga, Islamists, Evangelicals as the absolute low of human intellect, i can't engage with them without wanting to just punch them for being so moronic and accepting of such blatant lies, they are the equivalent of adults believing in Santa Claus and deserve nothing more than our contempt, pathetic embarrassing cunts the lot of em
 
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