Provocative Questions

Fandango’s Provocative Question #216

Fandango24 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

Yesterday, the WordPress Daily Prompt asked, “Do you remember life before the internet?” I answered it here, but I spent more time in my response chastising WordPress for asking the wrong question than I did in answering the question.

Anyway, my blogging buddy, Jim Adams commented on my post, He wrote, “This was a very detailed explanation of the internet, Fandango, but you never mentioned the deep web or the dark web, but perhaps that is for another post, or possibly for a provocative question.”

I didn’t mention the deep web because I really didn’t know what it was. And the only thing I know about the dark web is what I’ve seen in movies or TV shows where bad actors conduct evil business. But Jim’s comment did pique my interest.

So what are the deep web and the dark web? Well, the deep web is a layer below the regular public, searchable web. As Jim Adam’s explained, we’ve all used the deep web, most of us without even knowing it. “The deep web,” Jim wrote, “contains web pages that search engines can’t access because they are hidden, and can only be accessed via passwords and authorization. If you’ve logged into an online banking account and viewed your bank statement or accessed a secure online portal for healthcare or academic purposes, you’ve surfed the deep web. It’s often used for legitimate purposes. Think of it as a way where certain information is kept away from public view. If you have created a draft blog post, it is being stored on the deep web.”

The dark web is part of the deep web, but it is used for keeping internet activity anonymous and private, which can be helpful in both legal and illegal applications. While some use it to evade government censorship, it has also been known to be utilized for highly illegal activity. While using the dark web may seem suspect on the surface, it is perfectly legal. Unless, of course, it is, in fact, being used for illegal activities.

All this leads me to today’s provocative question.

Have you ever accessed or used the dark web? (Note, I’m not asking for what purpose you used the dark web, so if you answer yes to this question, don’t feel as though you’re confessing to doing something illegal. There are legitimate and legal reasons why people may use the dark web. Are you one who has?)

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #215

Fandango34 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

I first started working from home in 2005. I loved working from home. Not having to get up every day and commute to an office in order to get my job done was a wonderful thing. I considered myself fortunate that my role afforded me the opportunity to work out of my house.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, many more employees got to (or had to) work from home. Were you one who was asked to work from home? If so, are you still working remotely, or has your company required you to return to the office?

I recently read that Elon Musk has described working from home as “morally wrong,” likening it to a privileged indulgence of the “laptop class.” He went on to say that, “You’re going to work from home, and you’re going to make everyone else who made your car come work in the factory? People who make your food that gets delivered can’t work from home. Does that seem morally right?”

Musk continued, “People should get off their goddam moral high horse with the work-from-home bullshit. Because they’re asking everyone else to not work from home while they do.”

And that leads me to today’s provocative question (or questions).

If you are not yet retired, do you regularly work from home? If not currently, have you ever telecommuted on a regular basis? If so, did (or do) you prefer working from home? Why or why not? And finally, how do you feel about Musk calling working from home “morally wrong”? Do you agree or disagree? And why do you feel that way?

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #214

Fandango15 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

In September of 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that movies must meet certain criteria in terms of representation in order to be eligible for the Academy Award for best picture beginning in 2024. The goal was to “encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience.”

It means that in order to considered for an Oscar, films must meet certain benchmarks. They include that films should feature actors from under-represented groups in significant roles or accounting for at least 30% of the cast, and that the same 30% criteria should be applied for the crew working on the film behind the scenes.

Apparently, Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss is not a fan of the Academy Awards’ new diversity guidelines. In a recent interview on the PBS series “Firing Line,” Dreyfuss said that such rules “make me vomit.” He said that he feels that way because film is an art form. “It’s also a form of commerce and it makes money,” the actor said. “But it’s art. And no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”

Dreyfuss went on to say during the interview, “I don’t think that there is a minority or a majority in this country that has to be catered to like that.”

And that leads me to today’s provocative question.

Do you think that the metrics the Academy Awards will start applying in 2024 regarding composition of at least 30% of the cast and crew by under-represented groups in order for a film to even qualify for a Best Picture Oscar nomination is appropriate? Or, do you share Richard Dreyfuss’ opinion that because filmmaking is an art form, imposing such criteria in order for a film to even be considered for an Oscar is inappropriate?

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #213

Fandango26 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

It’s been about 21 months since I bought an electric car. That means 21 months since I last went into a gas station and filled my car with gasoline. Most of the time I charge my car when it’s needed, which is about once a week, using a charging station I have installed in my garage. In the 21 months since I bought the electric car, I’ve only charged it five times at public charging stations. I love my electric car.

I read an interesting article yesterday about electric vehicles. It seems that the share of Americans who say they’re “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase has been growing in each of the first three months of this year. Apparently, persistent worries about EV charging infrastructure (or lack thereof) and vehicle pricing have dampened enthusiasm. Other concerns include range anxiety (most gas cars can go farther on a full tank of gas than most EVs can go on a full charge), time required to charge an EV, and power outage and grid concerns. The market share of EVs of all new-vehicle sales dropped to 7.3% in March, down from a record high of 8.5% in February.

And that leads me to today’s provocative question.

Do you currently own an electric vehicle? If not, are you considering purchasing an EV for you next vehicle? What are your reasons for either considering or not considering buying an EV?

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #212

Fandango22 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

Lately it seems that many Americans have become confused about how to understand and discuss issues around sex, gender, and gender identity. As a result many are reluctant to publicly voice opinions on that topic. Sadly, trans activists and right-wing culture warriors have turned into a battle of dogmatic extremes.

In Republican-controlled states, for example, legislatures are criminalizing drag performances and parent-approved hormone treatments for children with gender dysphoria. Questions arise about whether trans women should be allowed to participate in women’s sports or if it should be limited to biological females. Extremists on both sides insist there is only one valid view on gender — and that all others must be silenced, punished, and even made into crimes.

This is a complex issue, that is for sure. And that leads me to today’s provocative question.

How do you feel about this topic? Do you believe that gender has a biological basis defined exclusively by chromosomes, genitalia, and internal plumbing? Or do you believe that “male” and “female” are merely socially conditioned behaviors and that gender is purely a subjective experience of identity? What are your thoughts?

If you choose to participate in Fandango’s Provocative Question, you may respond with a comment or write your own post in response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.