3 ms·

In the past people weren't able to voice their concerns and demand better things. Violence as entertainment was used as a tool by the ruling classes as a way to

In the past people weren't able to voice their concerns and demand better things. Violence as entertainment was used as a tool by the ruling classes as a way to enforce their power. The effects of the trauma of violence are clear and well studied. Just because something happened in the past doesn't mean we can assume it had true support from the people who had no choice. Maybe people in the future will say that the people today found it entertaining to pollute the world, while we know many of us find it upsetting and wish in vain for alternatives against the strong tide of the power system in place. Another thing to consider is the old taboo around left handedness. As the taboo lifted the actually recorded rate of left handedness increased dramatically! Turns out social systems can lead to people acting in ways that are personally uncomfortable for them rather than going against the tide.

arcanemachiner 4y ago
This sounds like the response of someone steeped in modern culture, safe from the influence of having to kill things as part of day-to-day life. What is missing from the discussion is likely (if I'm not projecting too much here... I feel this way about myself as well) that you have a relatively detached relationship from death compared to people in times past and are disconnected from the experience of what it is actually like to be steeped in such experience. I have no idea what it would be like to live in such a life, but to assume it's inherently bad is a prejudiced outlook based only on your own limited experience. If you were raised watching public executions every week, you might be singing a different tune, and casting doubt in the opposite direction.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  I'm not claiming that the opposite from the original claim was the truth, I'm doing the same as you and saying be careful not to project your current feelings onto a past that we can never truly know. No one can say the people of the past felt one way or not, that's my main point. The other point I'm adding on is that people are inherently varied in their mindsets and it's only very recently in history we've had such an equal opportunity to share our feelings and hope to have them heard. I would add one thing as well: In many societies there's been a great reverence given to animals and their slaughter ritualized or governed by cultural rules. To me this suggests at the very least that people have always had some sense of the gravity of their actions and felt a need to make sense of and tame their feelings by externalizing or controlling them.

arcanemachiner 4y ago

This sounds like the response of someone steeped in modern culture, safe from the influence of having to kill things as part of day-to-day life. What is missing from the discussion is likely (if I'm not projecting too much here... I feel this way about myself as well) that you have a relatively detached relationship from death compared to people in times past and are disconnected from the experience of what it is actually like to be steeped in such experience. I have no idea what it would be like to live in such a life, but to assume it's inherently bad is a prejudiced outlook based only on your own limited experience. If you were raised watching public executions every week, you might be singing a different tune, and casting doubt in the opposite direction.

AlecSchueler 4y ago
I'm not claiming that the opposite from the original claim was the truth, I'm doing the same as you and saying be careful not to project your current feelings onto a past that we can never truly know. No one can say the people of the past felt one way or not, that's my main point. The other point I'm adding on is that people are inherently varied in their mindsets and it's only very recently in history we've had such an equal opportunity to share our feelings and hope to have them heard. I would add one thing as well: In many societies there's been a great reverence given to animals and their slaughter ritualized or governed by cultural rules. To me this suggests at the very least that people have always had some sense of the gravity of their actions and felt a need to make sense of and tame their feelings by externalizing or controlling them.