Journal Entries
The Left, Free Thought
Posted Jul 29, 2002
There are theories that the tolerance for minorities, and indeed the intolerance for the intolerant so common among the political left is having an unwanted affect on the psychological and emotional developement of the population. Controlling what is said about minorities, it is thought, is like resticting free speech, and the socio-cultural stigma for expressing things like negative feelings for a minority is resticting the otherwise unobstructed thought processes of the members of society, and we may all be headed for Farenheit 451. Two points I would like to make:
1. The opposite side of the coin, as always, should be examined in this instance. If it may be "harmful" to a developing personality to not consider such taboo and socially-inacceptable concepts as racial or gender inequality, then the reverse amy also be true. Is it not possible that being exposed to such ideas for the same durations may have unhealthy affects on the individuals? If it is an evil to not let the child think about such things, it is also an evil to force them upon her/him. In fact, everything a person is exposed to has the potential to change them, and to say it is wrong either to stop them from being exposed to some idea or make sure their is no filter on what they are exposed to is a fundemental difference in the ideas of what are right and wrong.
2. There is no evidence whatsoever that there is any negative effect on anyone because society has become less tolerant, on the whole, of intolerance. However, there are myriad examples of people being harmed by intolerance. Also, it is clear that the ideas some right-wingers are so worried about losing are not at all lost, but healthy and thriving. Just because its not on TV doesn't mean people don't believe it.
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Latest reply: Jul 29, 2002
flogging, and repitition
Posted Jul 25, 2002
Sort of a slang term for the ebating of a person, usually with an object. In more interesting floggings, the victim (or flogee) would be flogged (by the flogger) with an instrument designed specifically for flogging. Flogging was normally used as a punishment, and so it was used to deter behaviors. Sometimes flogging was used to symbolize specific relationships between individuals. Bigger children flogged little children-not for any real reason, but this is how children are, so who can blame them? Fathers flogged their children when the children disobeyed. Mother then flogged father for being so heavyhanded with her angels, and proceeded to flog the children for not sitting up staight at the table. Father, upset by his own flogging, flogs the children some more, and, providing they survive their childhood, either by leaving home at age four, or by growing a thick, leathery shell, the dear little kids grow up, have children of their own, and proceed to flog the air out of them.
Flogging, on the whole, has begun, in the last few centuries, to go into a bit of a decline. This is, in fact, due to the death of the man who coined the word "flog." He was a brilliant wordsmith and philanthroper, and he is utterly unknown in fashionable circles, or any other circles. His name was Nicholai Zembruder, and he made his mark on history, as so many great people do, because of a bet.
Nicholai was a smith by trade (not by name) but his true love was language. He was one day speaking with his smith-partner, a man by the name of Horatio Smith (who was, upon careful examination, a smith by name) when he made a startling discovery. Being done with the days smith-ing, Nicholai had bought bought some large amount of alcoholic beverage (the exact kind of beverage has been lost to antiquity) and was concerning himself chiefly with becoming unconcious. He was accompanied by his previously mentioned friend, the Smith-by-birth Horatio, and was, aside from drinking, eating plums (this sort fo thing was common in Nicholai and Horatio's Mysterious Foreign Land). Nicholai, who was close to his goal, was repeating the word plum to himself over and over, like this:
"Plumplumplumplumplumplumplumplumplumplum..." etc.
Just as his friend was slumping over to meet the ground side-first, Nicholai yelped aloud, jumped/climbed to his feet, and screamed "Osflonret!" (osflonret means something like Eureka! in the Mysterious Foreign Land). He had made the discovery of a lifetime, the kind of discovery that can only be made after ten to thirty rounds of whatever he was drinking, a discovery the implications of which are still not understood.
"Horatio! No, wake up, man! I've just made the most startling discovery!"
"Mraa?"
"No, listen! When you say a word, any word over and over again, it loses all its meaning! Its like gibberish! Listen: 'Plumplumplumplumplumplumplumplum..."
"So, what's it mean? Like, does it mean all our labels for the world mean nothing out of context? That language is a barrier for true expressive thought? That all the trivial things we hold in such high regard aren't what they seem?"
"..plumplumplumplumplumplumplumplu..."
"I don't believe you. It still means the same thing, only alot of times over."
"Well I'll prove it to you! I'll invent a word, one that is very easy to say, yet upon repitition becomes exceedingly annoying. Then I'll apply it to the most insanely common activity I can think of, and when people talk about it, we'll see if it isn't just gibberish!"
"You do that. I'm going to go over to Edmund's to drink. He won't try to impress me with his crazy philosophies."
And so it began. The word, as you may have guessed, was flog. And, as beating people was the most popular activity by far in the land, flog became beating, and vice versa. Nicholai started a craze that swept the world, and only died off after he did.
Ad if you don't belive he was right, if you don't think it all just turns into gibberish if you use one word too much, just re-read the first paragraph of the entry.
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Latest reply: Jul 25, 2002
Fuzzy
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