4 ms·

> Just like polygamy is a choice That's not much of a choice though. In several places you can go to jail for it. Or it is choice in the same way that being a

> Just like polygamy is a choice That's not much of a choice though. In several places you can go to jail for it. Or it is choice in the same way that being a criminal is a choice.

zamalek 11y ago
Yeah, I should have prefaced that whole argument with "advanced societies." It's very hard to argue these points when you have e.g. the middle east getting in the way of rational and humane thought processes. In places like that you really have no choice or autonomy and arguments such as my original one simply hold no ground.
- Cthulhu_ 11y ago
  The middle east was an advanced society up until recently, definitely better off than Europe & co was during the middle ages in terms of scientific and mathematics and whatnot. Can we just call it "different"?
  - zamalek 11y ago
    We're veering off-topic here. Suffice to say: I have my reasons, and they aren't just about a difference.
  - panzagl 11y ago
    The middle east squatted on the remains of the roman/greek culture they destroyed, claiming civilization because they played with the few shiny things left.
- Asbostos 11y ago
  You can't objectively label different cultures as not being advanced just because they're different. There could well be good reasons for enforcing monogamy on people that your society disregards. I'm just guessing here, but maybe no monogamy may end up with a lot of people suffering the natural human emotion of jealousy and perhaps something like most women queuing up to be with the most attractive men, leaving the majority of men without sex their whole lives. Maybe ancient societies experienced problems like that and decided to enforce a more "wealth distribution" kind of system like monogamy as a solution. Modern societies often laugh that off but they also can't explain the reason for it. It's a bit like deleting ugly code when you don't realize it prevents a corner case bug. If we really had complete sexual freedom and didn't impose legal restrictions on it to protect human emotion then rape would be nothing worse than other kinds of physical force, even for children. Maybe that's how an even more advanced would see it?
  - ewzimm 11y ago
    Unfortunately, there's so much bigotry in the world that it's difficult to separate different types of criticism of large areas of the world, but it's entirely possible to be positive about Middle Eastern cultures and strongly against the power structures there. For example, they have great food and literature, but you can be whipped to death for publicly criticizing unelected rulers in places like Qatar. It's not necessarily culturally insensitive to say that's backwards policy.
  - Karunamon 11y ago
    You can't objectively label different cultures as not being advanced just because they're different. When that culture normalizes things like throwing acid at rape victims and violent mass retribution for violation of religious laws, well, yes, I can and will label that culture as being backwards and primitive.

> Just like polygamy is a choice That's not much of a choice though. In several places you can go to jail for it. Or it is choice in the same way that being a criminal is a choice.

zamalek 11y ago

Yeah, I should have prefaced that whole argument with "advanced societies." It's very hard to argue these points when you have e.g. the middle east getting in the way of rational and humane thought processes. In places like that you really have no choice or autonomy and arguments such as my original one simply hold no ground.

Cthulhu_ 11y ago
The middle east was an advanced society up until recently, definitely better off than Europe & co was during the middle ages in terms of scientific and mathematics and whatnot. Can we just call it "different"?
- zamalek 11y ago
  We're veering off-topic here. Suffice to say: I have my reasons, and they aren't just about a difference.
- panzagl 11y ago
  The middle east squatted on the remains of the roman/greek culture they destroyed, claiming civilization because they played with the few shiny things left.
Asbostos 11y ago
You can't objectively label different cultures as not being advanced just because they're different. There could well be good reasons for enforcing monogamy on people that your society disregards. I'm just guessing here, but maybe no monogamy may end up with a lot of people suffering the natural human emotion of jealousy and perhaps something like most women queuing up to be with the most attractive men, leaving the majority of men without sex their whole lives. Maybe ancient societies experienced problems like that and decided to enforce a more "wealth distribution" kind of system like monogamy as a solution. Modern societies often laugh that off but they also can't explain the reason for it. It's a bit like deleting ugly code when you don't realize it prevents a corner case bug. If we really had complete sexual freedom and didn't impose legal restrictions on it to protect human emotion then rape would be nothing worse than other kinds of physical force, even for children. Maybe that's how an even more advanced would see it?
- ewzimm 11y ago
  Unfortunately, there's so much bigotry in the world that it's difficult to separate different types of criticism of large areas of the world, but it's entirely possible to be positive about Middle Eastern cultures and strongly against the power structures there. For example, they have great food and literature, but you can be whipped to death for publicly criticizing unelected rulers in places like Qatar. It's not necessarily culturally insensitive to say that's backwards policy.
- Karunamon 11y ago
  You can't objectively label different cultures as not being advanced just because they're different. When that culture normalizes things like throwing acid at rape victims and violent mass retribution for violation of religious laws, well, yes, I can and will label that culture as being backwards and primitive.