"Hate is not a natural emotion - it is a learned emotion. It is a socially dependent emotion. WHY does society teach it?"
You've got me on my hobby horse now - this thing about whether something is natural or not. Some things that are natural are good, and some are horrible, so I don't get why people alwyas have to go on about things being "natural" or "unnatural" as though that was equivalent to "good" and "bad".
If it's true that hate is unnatural (and I'm not sure it is) then its taught at a very young age. Everyone learns to fear the "other" whether it's the next-door neighbours, the next classroom, the people from the next village, the next island, the other continent... people with ways that are not their ways. It's part of learning who your friends are - a basic survival skill, but it gets taken to extremes. Even sheep recognise individual faces of other sheep. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean its something we want to encourage. Its natural for males to try to inseminate the youngest female they can, to ensure that its their genes that are carried forward, but its not nice and its not fair.
"If we kick someone while they're down, that makes us superior? If we take the control away from them, if we make them beg, if we make them bleed, if we make them die - we're better. What is wrong with us? What is wrong with all of us?"
If we kick someone when they're down, they can't kick us. What's wrong with us is fear. Then once someone is down, I think there's some kind of hard-wired sadistic impulse that takes over. Orangutan A seems to be motivated to attack Orangutan B more ferociously if B shows fear.
"Maybe I'm naive and maybe I'm a simple minded person, but maybe that's the way we should all be."
We should all be trying to be better, but it takes so long, its frustrating I know. I can't believe how primitive people are in their reactions sometimes, and how small their circle of concern is. It bugs the hell out of me, when news items reporting a disaster tell you how many people from your country were harmed - what difference does it make what nationality the victims were? I'm a vegetarian, and want all animals to have a right to not be interfered with by humans - ie. an end to hunting, meat-eating, vivisection... think how long I'm going to have to wait... but at least I'm not the one at the sharp end - no one's trying to eat me.
There is nothing wrong with you. Its a crazy world.
no subject
You've got me on my hobby horse now - this thing about whether something is natural or not. Some things that are natural are good, and some are horrible, so I don't get why people alwyas have to go on about things being "natural" or "unnatural" as though that was equivalent to "good" and "bad".
If it's true that hate is unnatural (and I'm not sure it is) then its taught at a very young age. Everyone learns to fear the "other" whether it's the next-door neighbours, the next classroom, the people from the next village, the next island, the other continent... people with ways that are not their ways. It's part of learning who your friends are - a basic survival skill, but it gets taken to extremes. Even sheep recognise individual faces of other sheep. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean its something we want to encourage. Its natural for males to try to inseminate the youngest female they can, to ensure that its their genes that are carried forward, but its not nice and its not fair.
"If we kick someone while they're down, that makes us superior? If we take the control away from them, if we make them beg, if we make them bleed, if we make them die - we're better. What is wrong with us? What is wrong with all of us?"
If we kick someone when they're down, they can't kick us. What's wrong with us is fear. Then once someone is down, I think there's some kind of hard-wired sadistic impulse that takes over. Orangutan A seems to be motivated to attack Orangutan B more ferociously if B shows fear.
"Maybe I'm naive and maybe I'm a simple minded person, but maybe that's the way we should all be."
We should all be trying to be better, but it takes so long, its frustrating I know. I can't believe how primitive people are in their reactions sometimes, and how small their circle of concern is. It bugs the hell out of me, when news items reporting a disaster tell you how many people from your country were harmed - what difference does it make what nationality the victims were?
I'm a vegetarian, and want all animals to have a right to not be interfered with by humans - ie. an end to hunting, meat-eating, vivisection... think how long I'm going to have to wait... but at least I'm not the one at the sharp end - no one's trying to eat me.
There is nothing wrong with you. Its a crazy world.