OT- Anyone read Old man's war?

[Randallw]

I can see what you mean Narf, and believe me I despise discrimination, between huamns. The idea that just because someone is different or even has different skin makes them worth less is absurd. Any human being can kill another, it doesn't matter what colour their skin is, but I am opposed to the idea that aliens are somehow like us but in a different body. A lot of this conjecture is distracting since we don't even know if aliens exist, but if they do exist I feel it would be a giant mistake to treat them as "human". A Lion and a zebra are both animals but does this stop the Lion eating the Zebra. No, because the Lion needs to eat to live. In its mind the Zebra exists only to further its own existance. Aliens would be alien, not only in body but mind. Short of Humans having been seeded by ancients aliens won't be human. Who will be able to tell what they will think or plan. Our repsonsibility is to advance mankind, not only through putting aside our divisions, after all we are all humans, we can feel emotions for each other, but by ensuring the continuation of the species by acting in our best interests. Animals here on earth are useful because we share proteins. we can use them to fuel ourselves. Animals we don't eat we can relate to because they share a common origin, 1 head, 4 limbs. But aliens offer us no benefits or familiarity, they are a threat. Consider the long term. If we go out into space and meet another race what will we do?. Will we agree not to expand beacuse it might lead to conflict. The result of that is in a few thousand years we are stuck on earth starving because we used up all the resources, or stagnant because we do not wish to grow and use more resources, and meanwhile the aliens have followed their own agenda and one day the human race discovers the aliens have an overwhelming advantage and then for their own "alien" reasons they decide they don't like humans being around. Why shouldn't they destroy us, they owe us nothing, we aren't them. That probe that got sent out with a greeting from humanity to aliens and an illustration of us saying hello. That has to be the stupidest thing we ever did. If somehow aliens do find it, and this is applying human thinking so granted alien minds might be different, but are you willing to risk humanity on it, what might the aliens do. "oh look there's this primitive oxygen breathing race where this probe came from. Let's exterminate them so they don't pose a threat in a million years"

Let me use a final analogy. Let's compare Humanity going out into the stars and possibly meeting aliens. I say compare it to a man swimming out into the ocean (and yes I know I am slipping into a Robert Heinlen example). He finds himself surrounded on all sides by water. If he get's tired he might drown. The water doesn't care what happens to him. Meanwhile sharks are swimming around. They aren't going to think "oh look a fellow traveller in the ocean. Let's be friends" no, they will eat him because the only thing he offers is food.

I realise my arguments revolve around meeting a race at the same level as us, and that's highly unlikely. They might be so high above us we are literally ants compared to them. You don't watch what you do for the sake of ants (unless you're a jain). You step on them and never notice. The roles might be reversed. We discover aliens less developed then us. What should humanity care for them?. They're not cute little fellow apes. Leave them alone, someday they will evolve and then they might be a threat. Why put it off. Exterminate them at once and maybe we might even be able to gain resources for ourselves.

I don't consider myself some crackpot. I don't believe in flying saucers, area 52, or aliens controlling the government. That's x-files sci-fi genre staple. I am a realist, and to me what makes sense is that aliens, if they exist, pose nothing but a threat to humanity. You know what the US government plans to do if they meet aliens, hmm. Not say hello and take it to their leader. They will whisk it away to a bio-hazard lab because it might be dangerous.

In my defence. This does not indicate bigotry on my part. It is not hatred of other people. It is the opposite. It is love of humanity. Doing what is in the best interests of all people. Aliens are not people.

whew. I'm tired. I'm off to bed