Rudeness

I thought i'd discuss rudeness as it is one thing that really gets on my nerves and i do think is bad. I'm bringing this subject up because week after week the lectures are disrupted by people walking in and out during the lecture...what you all got such infantile bladders that you can't last an hour until the break!! Then there is mobiles going off and people talking so loud it is hard to hear what's going on... it is inconsiderate and down right rude!!

If people don't enjoy the lesson and don't want to be there DONT be there and give us all a break. I really can't understand why people come to a lecture and then talk all the way through it, if it is so boring then go and do something else, that way the ones who are interested, or at the very least have the manners to sit quiet and not disrupt the lesson for others, can enjoy the lecture in peace.

Sorry but i had to get that off my chest.

Here's some sites on rudeness and etiquette:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudeness
http://www.bmezine.com/news/lizardman/20040623.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/04/02/rude.americans/index.html

Body modification

In response to this week's lecture, i can't say i really find any of the things "wrong" as such, just a matter of personal choice really. Although i agree that things like self image and identity seem to be linked. In respect of tatoos, on the whole i don't like them because i think they detract from a person's natural beauty, i think they spoil a person's looks. I can probably count on one hand the number of tatoos i have seen that i've actually thought look nice. Plus they are painful to have done, which means i am never going to be tempted as i am a real wimp. Also they are permanent, so if you change your mind, which i frequently do, it's tough. I don't like the thought of being stuck with something i really don't like any more, i'd rather use make-up and jewellery, clothes etc. because you can change your style.

Piercings, well i did have my ears pierced 4 times when i was younger because that was the fashion, and yeah i wanted to fit in. Then nose piercing became fashionable and so i had that done too...never again, it was sooo painful, i really didn't sleep for 2 nights as it throbbed so much. In the end i was so fed up with the pain i ripped it out after 2 days and that was that. So i'm not the most adventurous then. Having said that, it was an experience and i guess that's what it's all about. When young we experiment with all these things, we want to find our own style and identity, i don't think there's anthing wrong with that, in fact it is probably a really healthy thing to do. I suppose you just have to look in to the risks and make safe choices.

As for the idea that God created us and we should remain in our natural state... i was bought up catholic and if i had a pound for everytime i heard that i'd be worth millions. My mom said it all the time, usually as a way of getting me to do what she wanted!! so control is probably an issue. I always used to answer that we weren't born with clothes on but we are more than happy to be wearing them... that usually shut her up. I think people are often afraid of things they don't understand or relate to and so they try to get rid of it. When they can't they use emotive topics to try and sway us. At the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you and if someone else has a problem, it's their problem ( within the law of course).

I think control is a good point and something most of us can relate to. For example how many women have changed their hair or bought a new outfit when a relationship ends? It is a way of clearing the ground and making a statement "i'm over you". I had a friend who for years had really long hair because her boyfrieng loved it, when he dumped her the first thing she did was have it cut short... she revelled inhim seeing her out with her friends and her new style...it was the next best thing to sticking her finger up and saying screw you.

So, all in all i don't really think any of them are wrong, as long as they are a personal choice and not enforced. They're not necessarily my choice but that's ok

http://www.multiart.nu/bodyart/english/index.html

http://tattoo.about.com/

image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_art

Being too religious

This week's lecture was good, i have often wondered what attracted people to sects or cults. If my understanding is right then sects were originally part of a larger demonination that broke off, usually over some disagreement. whereas cults are original or innovative in their ideas/ beliefs. Both are relatively small groups and have an element of "fanaticism" about them. Cults often have some control over members and exert their own beliefs on others, whereas sects don't explicitly do this, instead they recruit followers, believers or sympathisers http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm

I have no real issue with the idea of different religions or the depth of their religion providing no one tries to exert their beliefs on me and i think many people feel the same. One thing i did find unacceptable though was the idea of refusing essential medical attention because of religious beliefs, which Jehovah's Witnesses do and so do the Christian Science movement http://www.religioustolerance.org/medical.htm Scores of preventable deaths have apparently occurred because medical attention has been denied. It is fair to mention that there probably isn't an explicit maliscious intent; simply an intense belief in the ability of prayer alone to heal their loved ones, in this case you have to sympathise with the levels of denial and possibly ignorance. In the case of Jehovah's they refuse blood transfusions because Biblical text talks about "not eating the blood", which they have translated to include recieving blood from others; where most other religions interpret the writings in regard to dietary rules. This in my view is an abuse of power and neglect for the child, i cannot concieve of sitting by and watching my child die screaming in agony when doctors could save their life. I have to admit it seems like madness to me. But, each to their own, i won't condemn their beliefs but i do question their rationale. For example Jehovah's see us as sinners and feel we should commit ourselves to their cause. By sacrificing worldly goods on earth we stand the chance of being granted eternal life in the second coming. But isn't this the ultimate in selfishness? Aren't they making sacrifices now, only to gain even better in the future?

Another thing i didn't like was the manipulation involved in some sects. For example Jehovah's indoctrinate followers to believe that Jehove is "the father figure" and the group is "the Mother figure" clever!! Therefore all comfort and reassurance can be sought from "the family". This is a psychoanalytical construct developed from Melanie Klien's Object Relations Theory. In her theories the child experiences extreme anxiety when it realises it can not control the mother and that the mother is capable of both good and bad acts. Rather than see the mother as bad, the child retroflects these feelings, ie they turn the feelings against themselves, believing they must be bad.

This makes it very difficult to get the follower to hear anything bad about the sect, because anything bad is seen as an attack on the mother figure, who must be defended at all cost- so any criticism only serves to strengthen the belief that "the family " is right and outsiders are just trying to turn them against their group. It might be worthwhile pointing out that a similar tactic is seen in cases of domestic violence and abuse...enough said!

Religion is a personal choice and i don't believe it should be imposed on others. It has it's uses, a source of guidance and comfort perhaps. My overall view though, and this may be cynical but, Religion is for those who are intelligent enough to want to search for answers but too scared to face the idea that there may not be any.