I think it is disgusting. If someone is a bajillionaire and dies then that is one thing but usually the inheritance tax hits hardest those whose loved ones have owned a decently priced property and it just hits the threshold for needing to be taxed.
Like those people haven't already paid enough tax during their lifetime, now their relatives have to foot a bill which no one expected. We got smacked with a huge bill for inheritance tax a few years ago and it was a number that still makes me angry now - and it was ONLY due to property. And I'm not talking mansions or anything either - just a standard semi. Two days after the bill, they changed the threshold so that had it all happened just a little later, there would have been no tax at all.
When my grandmother died at the age of almost 90, she had about £3000 to her name to divide between 4 kids and 9 grandchildren. She also had a property which of course by that age had been paid for in full...unfortunately, it had become a listed building in recent years and the value had shot up significantly because it was in a nice part of Sussex near a historical site etc. So began 2 years of legal nonsense to get the tax paid and the money distributed - 2 years of upset for her children, basically.
Sorry, ranting now - tax annoys me when it hits people who barely meet the requirement but the law states they have to pay up regardless of circumstance.
Just had a similar rant in the ranting thread. I have similar sentiments to you about this. I wouldn't mind if I knew that the hard work of my grandparents and parents went to help charities and people who need it, but it seems like the government want to keep the money for themselves to benefit themselves.
Knowing the government, I bet they would have tried to take a portion of your Grandmother's £3,000 if they could. It's despicable that they are allowed to put such a high tax on people who don't earn much at all.
Exactly. If clothing and being female was the main reason for rape, then why do guys who are hetero suddenly decide to rape other men in prison. It's all about power trips, taking away dignity and humiliating their chosen target. These people just want someone to control and they pick whoever they think will be easiest to do that to.If so I think you're correct about it. No, I know you are. Rapists and weirdos don't care what a person wears or even if they look feminine, they look only for something to take advantage of.
I agree with both of you, Ieyasu and Loopy. What too many victim-blamers fail to realize is the fact that rape is less about sexual attraction, and more about domination.
I think I may still get a verbal beat down from the "I can wear what I want" crowd. And I am not denying anyone the right to dress as they please - I was just wondering why someone would deem it necessary to wear barely-there clothing if they don't want others staring or checking them out.^ the thing about the clothing?
If so I think you're correct about it. No, I know you are. Rapists and weirdos don't care what a person wears or even if they look feminine, they look only for something to take advantage of.
Date rape might be slightly different. Still I don't think many people dress revealing to get rapey attention. Who would? Except maybe a tiny number of people who might get off on being raped (not many I imagine). Most probably want attention and compliments, and don't expect people to want to rape them, let's face it. That would be like saying someone who likes to drive their expensive car around town wants it to be stolen.
I heard of one pretty extreme case where a man was drugged and then later the woman who did it to him told him she was pregnant and he now has to pay child support for a baby he had no say in creating.Not to mention men get raped too, and not just in prison by other men. Women are just as capable of slipping ruffies into drinks, too.
Exactly. I don't know why people try and blame others for their appalling lack of self control.Self control is what holds it all together. Blaming a victim is like saying people without self control are cool and not answerable for their actions. Imagine if murderers were given the same sympathy as rapists. It's a nonsensical view. . .
Don't understand victim blamers. I can't side with a rapist, even if there might have been provocation, since you've got a simple choice when it comes down to it: you either take the side of people who bring society down through their lack of self control, or you condemn those who bring society down (and hopefully in the process it lifts society a little higher out of the mud).
Ignoring rapists and blaming victims means you might as well endorse a society full of that crap.
I mean hey, many of us might want to rob a bank but we don't. Self control is what holds it all together. Blaming a victim is like saying people without self control are cool and not answerable for their actions. Imagine if murderers were given the same sympathy as rapists. It's a nonsensical view. . .
I actually like that there are those ads now from the Hollyoaks cast - its aimed at teens and I think it is valuable for them to understand that rape is not necessarily being dragged off into the bushes by some stranger or being interfered with by a dodgy family member. I recall confiding in my best friend one time and her first reaction was to laugh and then say "but that's nonsense - he's your fiance. Are you sure you're not confused?"
Never spoke about it to any of my peers again - I figured if my best friend didn't believe me, then who would?
The worst part of that is, I have heard guys believe that crap about not being able to help themselves. Like I was saying in my other post, they also use that excuse to justify affairs when their partners/ wives are pregnant. Forums are full of guys like using that excuse and then blaming the woman because he wasn't getting enough. Women aren't blow up dolls, you know. :facepalm:Exactly; and in the cases of victim-blaming, they always make it seem like the rapist (usually a man, in these scenarios) "can't help himself". What utter bullshyte.
If that's the case, if men truly were uncontrollable rapist animals with no libido control like these excuses make out, then there'd be some kind of curfew for men, or they'd all be put in prison as a precaution just in case they decided to rape one day.In essence, it makes all men look bad, like they're slaves to their libidos. It's completely insulting to everyone involved; where's the accountability for one's actions?
Sadly, there is still the view that if marriage or engagement is involved then it can't possibly be rape. Maybe that goes back to the idea of women being the property of their husbands? Or the religions teaching that women must have sex with a man because it is her duty to please her husband, even if she is unwilling. Or like those adverts, because the normal image of rape is violent, and not coercive bullying, and of course, husbands are never capable of that. :facepalm:I recall confiding in my best friend one time and her first reaction was to laugh and then say "but that's nonsense - he's your fiance. Are you sure you're not confused?"
Never spoke about it to any of my peers again - I figured if my best friend didn't believe me, then who would?