International Thievery

Not quite, you're right.

But, I didn't post the paragraphs of prejudice I was tempted to, so I did overcome a little bit.

However, it did occur to me that I met you far less than halfway. Sorry. I'll try harder.

 

If we met halfway that would be somewhere in Mexico or India, so I'm quite happy not to meet you halfway.

 

Hahaa. It's funny because foreigners are unhygienic.

Actually, Muslim moguls and leprosy aside, Indian culture is appealing to me precisely because it does represent the fulcrum between eastern and western cultures. Not only that, but northern and southern as well; that is, southeast Asian and northwest European.

Linguistically, and philosophically, ancient India is the common denominator and it helps my autistic brain to reconcile the contradictions in Australian culture in the same terms.

For the sake of balance, I should qualify that I find modern Indians to be just as two faced and class conscious as English. Japanese and Chinese as well, for that matter. I guess that's what you call Civilised.

 

Do you think that there was some idyllic time in the past when people weren't two-faced and obsessed with status?

 

That's right, Smuel, sincerity and humility are just myths.

Pff...

English!

 

The question is - do you think that the ratio of sincerity to two-facedness has changed recently? I'm inclined to think it's the same as it ever was.

 

I respect your opinion smuel.

 

I don't.

 

And you are?

 

I have no idea how sincere people have been, on account of their pretence. Duh.

I agree that it is a function of human nature.

Chimpanzees have been observed to act as though they haven't seen bananas when other chimps are watching, so that they can then sneak off and have them all to themselves.

In fact most of recent human evolution of mind as been about politics rather than hunting or gathering strategies. That's why we tend to personify natural forces, because we've evolved to predict human behaviour first and foremost.

The human mind is filled to excess with thoughts of what we think they think we think, and so on. It's not really an accurate model of reality so much as an evolved layering of pretence and politics for the sake of manipulating other monkeys out of their bananas. It's sad, really. Poor little monkeys, they don't know how tiny they are.

However, the fact that upright apes are programmed to fool themselves and each other, does not recommend it to me.

 

Agreed, but you were waxing lyrical about ancient India, and then mentioned your disdain for modern Indians, as though you think that the ones in past times were somehow superior.

If you agree that ancient Indians were also two-faced, status-obsessed, superficial morons, then I have no argument with you, sir.

 

You truly are a technological marvel Smuel.

 

As you are an unholy hole.

 

I guess I can agree with that general statement, broadly speaking. It was a very stratified and formal society.

The difference would be on the cusp of the ancient and classical ages, around 500bc, when the hierarchical priesthood lost a lot of status and renunciation became all the rage.

Didn't take long for human nature to reassert itself, of course. But it was a good example of how enlightened self interest can overcome ordinary ignorant selfishness.

You don't have to look very far to find clever and confident people of all nationalities who agree on things like honesty, humility and equality. It not instinctive, but that's no excuse.

 

I know it's fashionable to decry that things are getting worse, but really, by historical standards, modern Western society is doing pretty well on these fronts.

 

Yes?
Well, the changes must be invisible, because in most of the "western" world, those are all but a reality, it is a small amount of people that actually place a value on those, and as time goes by, it would seem that they're actually decreasing, replaced by the urges of matter.

 

Matter is actually fairly important, so I can understand why people have an urge for it.

 

Werozzi's opinions are so hot right now.

 

Once upon a time the English peasant could hunt geese in the commons and fish eels in the Thames.

Nowadays the land is all owned by aristocrats and the water is way too toxic. You are well and truly caged in. It's civilisation or death, with little room to run wild, pandemic binge drinking notwithstanding.

No wonder you invented cricket, only a culture where children have literally nowhere to run would consider that fun. I count the whole stratified, starched society to be oppressive and claustrophobic by my standards, but I concede that courtesy and formality help grease the wheels in big populations, and I would be generally considered dysfunctional in England, being both too sensitive and too blunt.

I'd very quickly step in front of a bus or look at someone the wrong way, or say something offensive, or walk down the wrong street, or all of the above.

 

And... cut to yztk apologizing for the above post...