Meanwhile, dominant society prefers to understand such oppressive harm as aesthetic taste, entertainment, or freedom–and not deal with the harm of it at all, except, perhaps, in psychotherapy or on talk show which will never deal with the harm as structural, political, and institutionalized.
First up, Meanwhile is a fun way to begin a post.
Anyway, Real is talking about Violent (ie all) pornography there. But that’s not my direct focus here. That sentence just kind of woke me up, and made me realise that I wanted to talk about the individual and society and other grand concepts kinda beyond my capabilities of summarising in a few pithy remarks.
Yup, time for a ramble.
It bothers me you see. It bothers me that so many of societies ills (including literal ills) are treated on an individual basis. We see people going crazy and being institutionalised, or falling ill and seeking doctors, we see people being scarred and needing help….but we almost never look at how society creates and shapes these people, and their struggles.
The fact is, that anyone who takes the time to think about it knows that there’s something off with the way the world works today. Quite a lot of energy seems to be pumped into stopping us thinking about that. Our focus becomes increasingly inward.
I always find motorways strange. You see these streams of cars, each containing a tiny unit, often just one person entirely focussed on their own goal. I personally think cars are horrible.They create this isolated selfishness. It becomes all about speed and hurry and rush. Walking is lovely, because you can smile at passers by, stop and say hello to friends, and take some time to look around you. You’re still engaged with the world.
You switch off even on public transport. If you forget to bring an ipod and a book, then you have to find places to look that aren’t at the other people sharing the space. Try to spark up conversation and you end up looking like the crazy.
You don’t fit in if you want to reach out.
And I think I live in a fairly welcoming city full of friendly people.
The crazy thing gets me.
I feel like a lot of people are pressured into certain states of mind, certain types of focus, and sometimes peoples minds don’t work like that, so they get squeezed and squeezed until they pop and don’t fit. Then everyone tries to find ways to make them fit into the world. It’s all about shaping people to some normative state. Never about helping adapting and looking at what the real problem is.
Everyone’s goals, dreams and desires are different. Yet we all need to fit into the giant economic machine that keeps the country running. Degrees and education is measured and thought of in terms of economic benefit, health services are increasingly cut down and stripped (assuming you’re lucky enough to have them…..whatever people may say about it’s quality of service….I’m glad I won’t be left to die if I don’t have a valid credit card on my person) to make them as cost effective as possible.
The economy is king and in order for that particular status quo to remain is for everybody to be focussed on money. This means we must all want want want and never be satisfied. We must strive for more, faster and quicker in everything.
Well that’s not me.
And that’s only looking at one particular thread through society. There are similarly institutionalised models directing us, as individuals towards selfish and backwards defined activities and misogyny and violence and hate and all that rather unpleasant jazz.
Gah, I’m nonsense today…shouldn’t be writing.
Individual.
Unique is good. But personal gain leads to shutting out people. Certain people become unnacceptable and outside of your world view. You ignore people, dehumanising them by remaining concerned only with your own needs.
We all do it. We all trample where we shouldn’t.
So open your eyes to the world outside you, notice how things work and the strangeness of it all. Pay attention to those you walk past, the stories you don’t notice because you’re only looking at yours. Look people in the eyes and remember that they are looking back at you. They have all their own sense perceptions and beliefs and experiences and are their own people.
The world is rich in people with perspectives. Look for them and you’ll learn more than you might imagine possible.
What was I saying?
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There’s some real wisdom in there, but I’d like to make the point that although individualist societies have their flaws, so do collectivism or communitarian ones. If you look at the levels of conformity and marginalisation of the abnormal in East Asian societies, for example, or at some of the stronger brands of nationalism where individual identity is subsumed in the national collective.
And as for the focus on money, I think things are slowly changing. Our generation seems far more focused on free time and time for the self, than on getting money with which to accumulate crap.
Oh, and how goes the ScriptFrenzy?
You’re right. I love how you shine a light in on things that become obscured in the day to day blur of it all. I often want more when you do that.
Well written, Alaby.
What you wrote here is very true, Alabaster. Thanks for the reminder about remember the plight of other people. It’s always nice to do, as we can be of help in some way or another.
Bah, once when I was on a train looking into space, someone thought I was staring at them and came over and starting bashing my face. When I went home, my father made remarks about the person’s race.
I haven’t felt particularly patriotic about Australian society for a while actually. There are a few good things (no death sentence for being of a different opinion is always fun), but there is so much overwhelming pessimism. The govt whines about education and health care slacking so bad, but don’t actively do anything to fix it; oh, apart from all those promises the weeks before elections.
Yes, must construct better complaining when I’m feeling more awake….
Big fat daisies and fluffy hugs!
Woo, comments.
Cynic:
I think communal living always has to be on a small scale, and with a lot of attention paid to outside. Grander forms of communism tend to screw over people. I think community is an incredibly important ideal though. And nationalism for me always = bad bad bad. I’m a no borders type. Script frenzy = 320 words, and I don’t know what comes next. I need to make time but my time is hard to build. You’re not starting til the tenth right???
Whabbit:
Thankee, I thought this post was rubbish, but everybody likes it….just goes to show how my brain works maybe.
Kenzie:
Thankee thankee thankee
Elehzya:
Bashing is bad. I’ve always heard that aussie’s full of big old racists and backwards views….which makes me sad, because everyone I’ve met from there is wonderful.
As for patriotism, like I say…there’s no need for it. Governments are generally rubbish and useless and self serving. They are pessimistic, and it makes people pessimistic about them. The loop gets to the point where nobody really expects change. Empty promises are the most you get. National pride always struck me as strange. Nation states are such arbitrary divisions. You often get bundles of completely disparate people lumped together and told they are the same.
The fact is that people are different, but when they try to strive towards some arbitrary sense of national identity they start seeing things as us vs them, and it promotes that kind of selfish mindset….this time on a national level more than a personal one. Patriotism and nationalism are bumph exactly because of this. They lead to this grand selfish, isolationist ideals on the macro rather than mircro scale.
Anyway,
Don’t worry about constructing things well round here. Coherency is unimportant and ramshackle is fun.
Or something.
Thanks for the flowers.
I’ve somehow managed to gain 795 words of exposition. And, suprisingly, it’s not half bad. It should be about now that the plot kicks in, though, and I’m not sure what to have happen…