DOMA and Prop 8. Both History.

[eppie]

Great. Because that's not what I said at all. There's the craft\art\vocation, and the humanoid.

I can loathe someone and have little to no respect for them on a -personal- level, but still give credit where craft is concerned.

If you still think I'm advocating people to genuflect and throw rose petals on the floor for athletes and musicians. I'm not sure what to say.

So you are talking about making an effort, and respecting that right?
So but why would I respect someone more if the person happens to be good in something (e.g. playing on a professional level). There are many people doing the same training (well less of course because not being professional they need a job which costs time) and do not reach the same levels (sports and music requires some abilities you get born with).

It is probably a very American thing to think that only people who reach the top try hard enough.

So I can enjoy someones music or athletic achievements, I can appreciate and respect the hard work behind this (I have been doing tough trainings in running while I knew I would never reach anything near the top....so I was just doing it for the sake of it), but I don't respect the person just for that.


Don't forget that the level of self-centeredness among artists is much higher than that in the normal society. Of course this property is necessary to make it (I fully understand that, don't get me wrong), because the wish to 'make it' and become rich and famous is so important to actually do so. I mean this is the reason communism hasn't spread over the globe and capitalism has. Seeing yourself as the center of the universe will help a person put in much more effort in something than he would otherwise manage to.
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I decided to check out his wikipedia page and read some things I am a bit disappointed of that no-one here mentioned them here.

It talks about his giving to charity, investing in high tech start-ups and work for PETA. Well, this is exactly the sort of thing I can respect.
Much more than the usual Scientology, and dog-fighting hobbies that many of them have.