Outdated daily things we take for granted

[KiBa]

Please clarify criticism by providing examples of civilizations without noble families and virginity cults.

[mue 26]

^ Please clarify the link your trying to make between circumcision and moderation of sexual activities. That's a nonsense. Not to diss anyone who has been circumcised, but as far as I'm concerned we're born with a foreskin for a reason. If someone grows up and decides "hey I like the idea of having no foreskin, it will help with hygiene" then by all means go for it. But is it really necessary to force it on an unwitting baby? Because lets face it, most parents aren't making that call due to the supposed argument of hygiene, it comes down to ridiculous religious dogma. It's exactly like when dog breeders say "I should allowed to dock my Boxer dog's tail, otherwise he might bash it against the wall and hurt himself", piss off, you just want to dock the dog's tail because you think that's how Boxers are supposed to look. I truly hate all this dogmatic idiocy. Which brings me nicely onto this:

This is also why many young western men become fans of anime and east Asian games, culture, etc. For example, Japanese culture has not been subjected to as much arbitrary alteration as in the west, so western males find eastern females to be more natural, more feminine, and, quite frankly, therefore, less abrasive.

I disagree with nearly everything you have written here. Firstly Japan has been subject to vast influence and alteration from the west, what planet are you living on? Secondly, the things I dislike most about Japan are the dogmatic aspects of it's society. I sometimes think that Japan, in a way, got the worst of both worlds. The modernising influence the west has caused modern Japan to lose connection with or just forget much of the truly beneficial ancient knowledge that was inherent over there, but frustratingly, at the same time Japan has insisted on clinging on to many completely pointless dogmatic practises which serve no helpful purpose. OK, so this isn't entirely fair of me, as there are some examples of the opposite being true too, and I'm certainly being a tad judgemental. But still.

I don't like dogma. Yet I also don't like losing sight of the beneficial knowledge and practices that originate from the worlds ancient cultures. We just need to be discerning, and be able to separate the helpful from the unhelpful. Unfortunately it seems most people can only go to one extreme or the other, and the result is that we often end up losing on both fronts.

[St. Elmo's Fire]

Yep KiBa, enough escalation for now, plz.

[St. Elmo's Fire]

that's how Boxers are supposed to look. I truly hate all this dogmatic idiocy.

Ha!


OMG TEH DUBEL POST
Better post some on-topic stuff.

This laptop is now pretty outdated, but still works and is fast enough for what I do with it, so have no real desire to get a new one yet.
This is a totally PISH example, 'cos anything that can connect to the web and browse in a modern fashion isn't really truly "outdated".

I do still like books and magazines in paper hardcopy format, even though that transition to tablet/Kindle seems to be well underway. The concept of chopping trees down/burning a comparatively large amount of energy to make the paper and then print and bind it for something I may only ever pick up a handful of times is a bit un-eco in this day and age (IMO), but, I don't care, I like them how they are (plus not everyone has access to the internets).

The house of my mum and dad's (and also both the sheds/outbuildings, parts of which used to be really old houses also) is hundreds of years old and interior design-wise is pretty rubbish and outdated, and it costs a lot to heat, too, but I'm glad they live there, 'cos it is built in an intelligent place (it'd be nearly impossible, barring some horrific biblical type of rain storm, for it to ever flood there) and all the buildings are built and roofed in quite heavy handed old fashioned way, which cost them a lot to extend/renovate, but it results in unbelievable strength (not even the 80+ mph winds can do much to it) and a sturdy feel inside. Makes the place I stay look truly shit and flimsy.

[Rakim]

This is also why many young western men become fans of anime and east Asian games, culture, etc. For example, Japanese culture has not been subjected to as much arbitrary alteration as in the west, so western males find eastern females to be more natural, more feminine, and, quite frankly, therefore, less abrasive.

I disagree with nearly everything you have written here. Firstly Japan has been subject to vast influence and alteration from the west, what planet are you living on? Secondly, the things I dislike most about Japan are the dogmatic aspects of it's society. I sometimes think that Japan, in a way, got the worst of both worlds. The modernising influence the west has caused modern Japan to lose connection with or just forget much of the truly beneficial ancient knowledge that was inherent over there, but frustratingly, at the same time Japan has insisted on clinging on to many completely pointless dogmatic practises which serve no helpful purpose. OK, so this isn't entirely fair of me, as there are some examples of the opposite being true too, and I'm certainly being a tad judgemental. But still.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by the dogmatic aspects of Japanese society? I'm lost trying to think of examples for that one.

[OL]

Because lets face it, most parents aren't making that call due to the supposed argument of hygiene, it comes down to ridiculous religious dogma.

Not at all. It generally happens because of the hygiene issue, in the US at least. I'd say most American males do get circumcised, and most American males aren't even part of a religion that requires it.
It's not as if it's a barbaric practice anyway. Most doctors will tell you that the baby can't even feel it. And even if they can, pain is only detrimental if the person will remember it. It's not like anyone is being emotionally scarred by being circumcised.
I see absolutely no reason how any of this is harmful or unfair toward the child.
It's not like later in life they're going to longingly miss their foreskin.

...and having typed that last sentence, I now see how ridiculous this conversation is to begin with.
Bye!

[Strikeout]

Because lets face it, most parents aren't making that call due to the supposed argument of hygiene, it comes down to ridiculous religious dogma.

Not at all. It generally happens because of the hygiene issue, in the US at least. I'd say most American males do get circumcised, and most American males aren't even part of a religion that requires it.
It's not as if it's a barbaric practice anyway. Most doctors will tell you that the baby can't even feel it. And even if they can, pain is only detrimental if the person will remember it. It's not like anyone is being emotional scarred by being circumcised.
I see absolutely no reason how any of this is harmful or unfair toward the child.
It's not like later in life they're going to longingly miss their foreskin.

...and having typed that last sentence, I now see how ridiculous this conversation is to begin with.
Bye!

maybe you are right, the fact is there is this Right to bodily integrity ... think about it

[Bluecast]

It's a health risk for Urinary infections and HIV so it's recommended that it be done for less risk for those and other major infections diseases.

Yeah I would want the best health possible for my child and have it done by doctors.

[Absentia]

With that kind of argument, why is it so wrong to do this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue2S_wEjra4[/youtube]

EDIT: OL's argument, that is

[mue 26]

I'm with you Strikeout!

@ Elmo

Err..Yes, yes, my wordplay was quite very deliberate there... like totally. Good to see some people pick up on my mastery of the English language aha. Sharp eyes young Elmo, sharp eyes.

@Rakim

For example, the incredible amount of pressure and expectation that is put on young people to go out a get "respectable" jobs. In fact, the intense expectation that is also put on Japanese students too, the education institutions over there don't give them enough down time. The huge expectation placed on women to marry before they "get past it". The frankly often silly etiquette and attitude of reverence that employees must show their seniors in many establishments. The practice of often working employees to death (quite literally in some cases). The sexist treatment of women is quite a problem, it's a very male dominated society. Yes any of these can be found over here in UK too, but to a far lesser degree. There's no way you can ignore the general rigidity and conformity of the society. This mainstream conformity does give rise to the gluttony of subversive sub cultures found over there, and wild creativity (and probably the more "shocking" aspects that people love to talk about too). So it's a quite a paradoxical place really. I usually hear people defend the rigidity of Japan by arguing that it's just a less individualistic society..fair enough I guess..but it also has one of the worlds highest suicide rates, so something is out of whack to an extent.

Still, there are plenty of good aspects too. Like for example, from what I've seen and experienced, I think the more reserved nature of Japanese society allows more freely for introverted people to flourish at what they do, unlike over here in the UK, where if your not an extrovert you basically get abused until you just pretend you are one. So I'm not just trying to bash Japan at all. There are two sides to every coin of course, it's just that the rigidity of the society can frustrate me.

[OL]

With that kind of argument, why is it so wrong to do this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue2S_wEjra4[/youtube]

EDIT: OL's argument, that is

^^That kid is easily a year old, at the very least. Maybe almost two years.
Circumcision happens within days of being born, more often than not.
Doesn't sound like much to us, but in the grand scheme of physical, emotional, and intellectual development for a child, there's a huge gap there. A newborn is practically unaware of their surroundings. There's a very big difference.

Aside from that, outwardly marking a child with ink is a far cry from removing a bit of skin for health purposes.

[Riku Rose]

Was shocked how common circumcision is in America. At school I knew one kid who was circumcised and he got the piss taken out of him for it. Then again I didn't go around checking so people may have kept it quiet after they see the abuse he got.

[Bluecast]

We also don't worry about smegma

[south carmain]

It's a health risk for Urinary infections and HIV so it's recommended that it be done for less risk for those and other major infections diseases.

Yeah I would want the best health possible for my child and have it done by doctors.

but HIV rates are still much higher in the US than in western Europe

We also don't worry about smegma

neither do we if we're not slobs

[mue 26]

I don't know about you SC, but sometimes I do tire of pulling back my foreskin on a daily basis, and imagine what a life without one would be like

Alas, kramer was around at my Bris and wasn't haven't it

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwfFzjJCFiw[/youtube]

3.35