First of all, I did not expect my post about Iran to trigger such a discussion. In fact, I did not expect to get more than two or three comments at all. :P
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In connection to that, I thought about another topic that is definitely worth discussing and concerns everybody: How this world can be made more tolerant, respectful and reasonable when it comes to varieties.
What I have in mind when I say "varieties" are all types of superordinate "generic values", especially the cohabit of cultures and people.
To cite an example that we all know about, let's take homosexuality.
Gay people are stared at and ridiculed because of their supposed "otherness".
We all know that this "otherness" only exists in the sense of sexual preferences and a sometimes more female appearance (I am not sure if that is just a stereotype that many gays hew to, or if it really is a "thing" that many gays are by nature).
What most of us seem to forget is that we do not need to clear up others about this, for 95 percent know that anyway. They know that gays are not generally flamboyant, children rapists and all the other generalizations and stereotypes there are.
It's all far more obvious when it comes to drugs:
Everybody knows that drugs are harmful, but that does not seem to figure much.
Every teenager knows that alcohol kills your brain cells and aids impotence. Nonetheless, there are so many teenagers who drink alcohol (excessively!).
The same goes for cigarettes: Everyone who smokes knows about the dangers of smoking (and they do not know it from those notes on the cigarette packing, which tell you that smoking causes cancer or harms people around you through passive smoking).
Nonetheless, there is abundant demand for cigarettes from millions of people - in this rich and "enlightened" Western World.
At the risk of being alone with my point-of-view here, I have a divided opinion on possible countermeasures.
Prevention is fine, of course, and it is very important to teach children about tolerance, the dangers of drugs and comparable issues.
But apart from that, I absolutely dislike most of what is done against those problems, which is always this:
A person wants to demonstrate that he does not "hate" gays, does not want people to drink alcohol, or does not like fascism... things like that.
That person demonstrates his opinion by indicating that he or she does not tolerate intolerance of a certain nature or does not like drugs for certain reasons. So he or she has a few possibilities to stand his ground: For example he or she could put anti-fascism stickers on public toilets or street lights, or start an information campaign together with like-minded people.
In case of gay people, they often wear a rainbow bangle in order to solidarize with gays.
Or let's go back to drugs again: A while ago, interest groups (and some politicians) wanted a law that forced the tobacco industry to put those aforementioned notes on the packing that advise people on the dangers again (this law was passed a few years ago in Germany; I don't know how it is done in other countries, though).
To say it short: All measures are aimed at preventing people from succumbing to temptations like hating a group of people, consuming drugs, dangerous political ideologies or whatsoever.
Now let's look at history.
There has always been discrimination and whenever there was discontent about something, people needed a scapegoat to put the blame on. Further, people were always consumed by temptations like drugs, gamble, arrogance or whatever may effectuate a "boost" of your ego or self-conscience.
It happened everywhere in this world and it still does.
I believe that the effort that is put into pseudo-enlightenment as described above, or effort that is put into discouraging people from doing things by repeating the dangers over and over again, is absolutely futile. For those measures simply do not work.
Why is there still xenophobia, homophobia, alcoholism and the like?
That is what needs to be fathomed above all. When that is done, one will perhaps see further possibilities to really change something in the minds people, so that they are not prone to those idiocies anymore.
Now, feel free to let me know what you think about this. And perhaps you have ideas of how to investigate the "Why"-question.
Lunario
I was offered a blowjob. I think.
3 days ago
5 comments:
I don't settle for tolerance. I demand being accepted for being gay! But now to your question...
Why? The flesh is weak. Men is not controlled by reason alone.
I think there are two keys to overcome these atrocities: self-awareness and a strong caracter.
You have to know yourself very well to know when your flesh wins over reason. You have to know how you react when facing problems. If you don't know yourself, you can't control yourself. And you have to know how to spoil yourself. It is impotant to keep the balance in life.
If you haven't built a strong caracter, you can't stand up for yourself and for the ones who need somebody who does it for them. And you need one too, to say no, especially to yourself. The veneer of culture and civilization is extreemly thin. It is hold together by the people with manners and character.
The easy answer is education [particulary when still growing up] - the hard part is how to get it to it to every where that you need it.
I smoke - when I was younger I bowed to peer pressure - had I known then what I know now chances are that I would not smoke.
Most people start these things because they don't know or the people in their lives that teach them never learnt them selves. If you are armed with the right knowledge when young it is easier to make the right choisses.
To do all this would take many generations if ever.
It only takes one bad apple left in a barrel long enough to spoil the whole barrel eventualy.
So for me the answer is easy - how to go about achieving it that is what there is no easy answer to.
Regards Stef.
My first time reading your blog and I am impressed. You put a lot of thought into your posts, and the stuff you talk about is important.
I will be back to see what more you write.
Scottie
scottiestoybox.wordpress.com
Many people in the UK say they believe in capital and corporal punishment. Capital for everyone who murders (until you mention provocation, the influence of drugs, mental instability or inadequacy) when the more rational start to waver a bit.
Corporal punishment is widely favoured for boys and men for anything which is abnormal, basically.
So, in varying degrees, we all hate gypsies, people who have more of what we covet than we have, homosexuals, jews, blacks, arabs etc. Almost every country in the world has an equivalent to the Brits historic hatred of the French and our amusement at the Irish.
In our country we have a parliament which, thank goodness, leads on all these issues and legislates to advance and protect. Many of our dissenting citizens have to follow the resulting laws. But many do it with bad grace.
The other huge influence in all these things are the churches who give the impression that they have more followers than they generally do, but they are still largely an influence against change and for authoritarian values.
@Mr. Urs & southern
I basically think the same as you two do.
It's just so hard for me to understand why there are so many people who can't let reason prevail.
Sigmund Freud's model of the human psyche distinguishes between the id, ego and super-ego.
The "id" seems to be less strong in that person's mind who does not succumb to that dangerous and stupid behaviour.
@Scottie:
Thanks. :)
@Micky:
Yeah, I neither believe that the problem has to do anything with the country you lie in.
There may be nuances, e.g. with respect to certain cultures that are for example influences by Confucius in comparison to Europe that is influenced by Kant, for example.
However, all in all people are basically the same.
As an example, the Holocaust could have happened in every other country in the world, not just in Germany. Hitler's luck was simply that the circumstances at that time were very suitable for his plans. But it didn't have to do anything with the German people.
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