Slavoj is amazing, met him once in Waitrose lol. I relied on him quite a bit to get a solid grasp of ideologies for my assignments.
On the topic at hand. I went to London zoo recently and the meerkats made me ponder for far longer than they should have. You see there is always at least 1 meerkat on guard duty to watch for birds of prey. This made me think, since it was a closed enclosure the threat is actually 0. However, if they let go of their instinctual habits then their society becomes reliant on the security of the cage.
Same thing with our modern society but we don't have complete security only the faint illusion of it. Being on guard against your own, and especially so against members of 'other' cultural/racial/economic groupings (so the woman would likely have the same reaction vs a chav) is perfectly reasonable and logical. Now this obviously goes against the national narratives of Liberal Democracies in the west about equality and fairness. We are expected by our hypocrite neighbours to hold our hand out to (i.e trust) to a random dog and hope that it ain't the starving type prone to bite others for the hope of personal gain.
Her defence mechanism kicked in that implored her to turn. Upon getting visual confirmation of a possible threat she moved to protect what was assumed would be the threat's target (i.e her bag). The only insult I see coming from this is that the big black dude must've thought it was a pathetic attempt as if he really wanted her bag he could still take it with ease.
So do we really want to do away (I don't think people can be coerced or forced to give it up though) with how we perceive others as possible threats and thus open ourselves up to be punished for presuming that the 'other' isn't looking at us as gullible prey.
tSar-Ivor said:Her defence mechanism kicked in that implored her to turn. Upon getting visual confirmation of a possible threat she moved to protect what was assumed would be the threat's target (i.e her bag). The only insult I see coming from this is that the big black dude must've thought it was a pathetic attempt as if he really wanted her bag he could still take it with ease.
So do we really want to do away (I don't think people can be coerced or forced to give it up though) with how we perceive others as possible threats and thus open ourselves up to be punished for presuming that the 'other' isn't looking at us as gullible prey.
That would be stupid. It's not only a natural instinct (and a good one too if I may add), filter it through reason and it still stands because it's in line with the notion of self-preservation. Being wary of an unknown person who also appears physically intimidating is not something someone should fight off out of some flimsy feeling of being considerate. In fact, claiming that someone should abandon their defenses on the off chance that it could be perceived as rude (or racist, if someone wants to go there) is the more disagreeable between the options. I would personally be perfectly fine if a stranger thought I'd be such a threat that they'd need to be on guard around me. In fact, it might tickle my ego to make me feel better about myself or superior, because being feared can work that way as well.
____________ Guide to a Great Heroes Game The Young Traveler
But does it have anything to do with race? I have to disagree with Slavoj here, in this example it was the black dude that jumped the gun and made it about race (her reaction was logical if rude, there was no evidence in his example of it being motivated solely by race, perhaps aggravated by it, still a stretch to argue).
It's the ideological narrative of it that bothers me, when the Realist school of thought actually makes logical sense.
Stevie said:In fact, claiming that someone should abandon their defenses on the off chance that it could be perceived as rude (or racist, if someone wants to go there) is the more disagreeable between the options. I would personally be perfectly fine if a stranger thought I'd be such a threat that they'd need to be on guard around me. In fact, it might tickle my ego to make me feel better about myself or superior, because being feared can work that way as well.
This, I add that when alone in the streets at night, I sometimes slow down or cross the street, to meet a woman in a lighter place or not meet her at all, cause I'm aware she is probably more afraid then excited about the encounter.
And yes, I get a chemical reward for that.
@Blizz I recall the other day you asked how I looked or something. Well, it's like looking at some aging mirror... I'm even thinking about sending this image to a friend that wanted to know how I looked at a much younger age.
bloodsucker said:This, I add that when alone in the streets at night, I sometimes slow down or cross the street, to meet a woman in a lighter place or not meet her at all, cause I'm aware she is probably more afraid then excited about the encounter.
And yes, I get a chemical reward for that.
Yea, I don't usually do that. I prefer to think she's both afraid and excited about the encounter and that she's the one getting a chemical reward for it.
But seriously, I wouldn't try to adjust my behavior that way, don't feel the need to. I'm not going out of my way to put someone at ease like that. It would only be me overthinking or assuming what that person thought or felt, which is a realm I wouldn't want to base my decisions on. If she were visibly frightened and acting on it, sure, maybe I'd try to calm her down. But if she's fearful and dealing with it well, why should think there's a problem? What if she's not fearful at all and it's only me thinking that she is? Wouldn't that be just silly? So I just walk the road in front of me and call it two people passing by in the night, so far it never went wrong.
____________ Guide to a Great Heroes Game The Young Traveler
I guess I'm taller then you...
But seriously, it's not like I'm doing it all the time but where I live there are certain alleys I often have to cross during the night, where a person could in fact be victim of an attack. If it happens I see a woman walking alone that will meet me in the darker parts of those alleys, I try to avoid it. And believe me, it's not cause I have a problem with my self-image.
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posted August 01, 2020 09:35 PM
