Shadows, who's afraid of shadows? I, for one, am. Hugely intimidated by the shadows of the past (and also, in the back alley... under my window... something's lurking in there). Memories can be terrifying, sure. Yes, I know they are relative; and, yes, I know they are part of who we, as individuals, are... Why would I be scared if they weren't?
But! I am even more intimidated by the idea that shadows from the past rise too often to haunt the present and the future, binary shadows rising from the digital veil of the discworld. Whoever said the world is getting smaller was damn right. Moreover, time is getting shorter; past is past no more and future never existed anyway. Past and present become one and unfortunately people are not only products of their past... We come with full-blooded public access resumes.
Technology is merely feeding the paranoya. Awesome as it is. The paranoya...
*This piece is an example of witch trial logic, see Monty Pithon and the Holy Grail for more info.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
Stereotype: n. a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing: the stereotype of the woman as the carer | sexual and racial stereotypes.
Stereotypes, I am full of them. Stereotypes about countries and peoples, the sexes, professions, whatever. Traveling around this multi-dimentional country makes me realize how strong a foundation they have in my mind and how obtuse I am for giving in to them. It's easy, of course. Way easier than thinking. And it makes for a good joke.
Only when I am treated as a stereotype do I understand fully how painful and humiliating that can be. We laugh most of the time, right? We have to keep the good humour. But what if it's not a joke? What if it's a mean, bitter, even angry remark. A remark you don't feel you have provoked with your personal behaviour... A remark based on a stereotype about your gender, hair colour, political views, education... anything... that you see as fundamentally wrong and not relating to your personality even a tiny little bit. I cannot laugh.
It is possible that I care too much. But ignorance and closed-mindedness piss me off. And then I look into my head and see what a wealth of these traits I possess.
I'm not going anywhere with that.
Stereotypes, I am full of them. Stereotypes about countries and peoples, the sexes, professions, whatever. Traveling around this multi-dimentional country makes me realize how strong a foundation they have in my mind and how obtuse I am for giving in to them. It's easy, of course. Way easier than thinking. And it makes for a good joke.
Only when I am treated as a stereotype do I understand fully how painful and humiliating that can be. We laugh most of the time, right? We have to keep the good humour. But what if it's not a joke? What if it's a mean, bitter, even angry remark. A remark you don't feel you have provoked with your personal behaviour... A remark based on a stereotype about your gender, hair colour, political views, education... anything... that you see as fundamentally wrong and not relating to your personality even a tiny little bit. I cannot laugh.
It is possible that I care too much. But ignorance and closed-mindedness piss me off. And then I look into my head and see what a wealth of these traits I possess.
I'm not going anywhere with that.
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