4 ms·

> A robust society can take the jokes. Let me rephrase that: > A robust society requires everyone in the minority to shut the fuck up when anyone in the major

> A robust society can take the jokes. Let me rephrase that: > A robust society requires everyone in the minority to shut the fuck up when anyone in the majority makes them feel invisible > An irony is that many of the people calling offense don't realize their own transgression in becoming part of a self-righteous mob meting out punishment at the speed of thought. There's a difference between pointing out someone acting obnoxiously and couch-fainting.

mc32 12y ago
No not quite. A robust society is one which evolves to know limits. You can have stereotypical jokes, racist jokes, etc. But they are part of a bonding mechanism rather than an alienating mechanism. Societies need to allow the free flow of ideas. We can't be choosy about what we consider proper or not, desirable and not. We have to allow everything. I used to be a dreamer growing up and thought why not make these bad thoughts illegal, racism cured. No. That was naive. It has too many negative collateral consequences.
- kaonashi 12y ago
  > Societies need to allow the free flow of ideas. Then when does "That makes me feel like shit when you say things like that" become taboo?
  - mc32 12y ago
    You should not receive that from a superior. Nor should one be harassed (repeated uninvited antagonism). Else, society at large, there is no guarantee --taboos change over time. They come and go. People become sensitive to things and become desensitized to other things. My belief is only our own selves have control over our reaction. We as receivers of all kinds of bad things need to learn how to deal with adversity. Nature is not sanitized, we should be taught how to deal with this kind of adversity. It's a cold place, and not everyone's or every thing's nice. Children often are not prepared by adults for these things. Now, bullying is something different and there are different aspects to it. Sometimes it's peer pressure, other times it's harassment, other times it's a social mechanism to get people to behave a certain way (don't cut in line), be a certain way (slim, not fat, etc.) Bullying is an intimate attack, a malicious attack on a particular person, typically by a group, but also by an individual often accompanied by explicit or implicit violence. It's about control.

mc32 12y ago

No not quite. A robust society is one which evolves to know limits. You can have stereotypical jokes, racist jokes, etc. But they are part of a bonding mechanism rather than an alienating mechanism. Societies need to allow the free flow of ideas. We can't be choosy about what we consider proper or not, desirable and not. We have to allow everything. I used to be a dreamer growing up and thought why not make these bad thoughts illegal, racism cured. No. That was naive. It has too many negative collateral consequences.

kaonashi 12y ago
> Societies need to allow the free flow of ideas. Then when does "That makes me feel like shit when you say things like that" become taboo?
- mc32 12y ago
  You should not receive that from a superior. Nor should one be harassed (repeated uninvited antagonism). Else, society at large, there is no guarantee --taboos change over time. They come and go. People become sensitive to things and become desensitized to other things. My belief is only our own selves have control over our reaction. We as receivers of all kinds of bad things need to learn how to deal with adversity. Nature is not sanitized, we should be taught how to deal with this kind of adversity. It's a cold place, and not everyone's or every thing's nice. Children often are not prepared by adults for these things. Now, bullying is something different and there are different aspects to it. Sometimes it's peer pressure, other times it's harassment, other times it's a social mechanism to get people to behave a certain way (don't cut in line), be a certain way (slim, not fat, etc.) Bullying is an intimate attack, a malicious attack on a particular person, typically by a group, but also by an individual often accompanied by explicit or implicit violence. It's about control.