I married a Jewish woman, but she’s not religious in any way. After we had a son, the amount of people who thought it was ok to ask us about the status of our child’s penis was alarming.
I didn’t mince words with them either. If you’re gonna ask me, I’m gonna tell you why I think it’s fucked and I won’t allow anyone to mutilate my child, I don’t care how much it offends your religion.
Idk I don’t find it very alarming that they asked about it. I guess it would be messed up if there wasn’t this cultural and religious thing but it is a thing. If people started pushing for it then that’s fucked up.
I think what OP means is that when you’ve been immersed in rationality for a while then suddenly in a situation where you’re surrounded by religious people again, the things that are “normal” to them can be jarring to you. It’s quite an “emperor has no clothes” moment.
Sometimes I attend 12-step meetings again for social reasons or friendly support or job hunting and even the boilerplate texts will still make me be like “What in the tarnation?” Like literal tarnation.
You’re fine with fucked up things, as long as people aren’t bothered by them? So you don’t have any personal morals at all, you just do what you think other people think should be done?
I wasn’t describing any of my personal sentiments though. I was just explaining to you how often societal things that might seem fucked up to an outsider might seem normal and mundane to those within that culture.
Yes, the point here being that it will SEEM normal. Stress on “seem”. Not “be”.
Normalising something like genital mutilation doesn’t make it okay, does it? That’s the point. We all know that a lot of the time we do learn what is right and what is wrong from the behaviour of others, but the point I’m making it is that even when we know that, we know that morals don’t stem from those norms, but from somewhere else.
Just like what we understand that laws aren’t morals. They’re not far from each other, clearly related concepts. But very clearly not the same thing.
Thus we know that norms don’t make morals, but we’ve a hard time saying what exactly does. With blatant examples though, it should be easily recognisable. The controversy in this subject I feel stems a lot from the fact that people like me who are from societies which don’t have this practice, are reacting to it strongly, because it’s genital mutilation, and for one, the “weird” society is the one which usually is the default normative one, so… there’s controversy.
Americans aren’t used to being criticised as “barbaric” imo.
It’s very rare where I live. We don’t practice genital mutilation. So it makes one raise one’s eyebrows somewhat when people consider it… “pretty mundane.”
I feared Trump a lot less after Bush broke me. I fear another Trump less even. Younger, more idealistic me would vomit with disappointment in my shrugging and sighing instead of seething and yelling.
I married a Jewish woman, but she’s not religious in any way. After we had a son, the amount of people who thought it was ok to ask us about the status of our child’s penis was alarming. I didn’t mince words with them either. If you’re gonna ask me, I’m gonna tell you why I think it’s fucked and I won’t allow anyone to mutilate my child, I don’t care how much it offends your religion.
How’s your kid’s penis doing otherwise?
Found the GOP candidate
Idk I don’t find it very alarming that they asked about it. I guess it would be messed up if there wasn’t this cultural and religious thing but it is a thing. If people started pushing for it then that’s fucked up.
I think what OP means is that when you’ve been immersed in rationality for a while then suddenly in a situation where you’re surrounded by religious people again, the things that are “normal” to them can be jarring to you. It’s quite an “emperor has no clothes” moment.
Sometimes I attend 12-step meetings again for social reasons or friendly support or job hunting and even the boilerplate texts will still make me be like “What in the tarnation?” Like literal tarnation.
I do get that, but it’s still a very present and well known thing so it seems surprising that they’d be so surprised by it
“This fucked up thing is fine, because we’re used to it”
That’s how things culturally work, yeah
You’re fine with fucked up things, as long as people aren’t bothered by them? So you don’t have any personal morals at all, you just do what you think other people think should be done?
Well… to each their own, I guess.
I wasn’t describing any of my personal sentiments though. I was just explaining to you how often societal things that might seem fucked up to an outsider might seem normal and mundane to those within that culture.
Lemmy is incapable of dealing with abstract thoughts, your comment made sense to me
Yes, the point here being that it will SEEM normal. Stress on “seem”. Not “be”.
Normalising something like genital mutilation doesn’t make it okay, does it? That’s the point. We all know that a lot of the time we do learn what is right and what is wrong from the behaviour of others, but the point I’m making it is that even when we know that, we know that morals don’t stem from those norms, but from somewhere else.
Just like what we understand that laws aren’t morals. They’re not far from each other, clearly related concepts. But very clearly not the same thing.
Thus we know that norms don’t make morals, but we’ve a hard time saying what exactly does. With blatant examples though, it should be easily recognisable. The controversy in this subject I feel stems a lot from the fact that people like me who are from societies which don’t have this practice, are reacting to it strongly, because it’s genital mutilation, and for one, the “weird” society is the one which usually is the default normative one, so… there’s controversy.
Americans aren’t used to being criticised as “barbaric” imo.
Talking about it is pretty normal as in it’s not very rare or distinct thing, pretty mundane. That’s why being alarmed by it seems strange.
I think most of the world does that to them already.
“Pretty mundane.”
For… you.
It’s very rare where I live. We don’t practice genital mutilation. So it makes one raise one’s eyebrows somewhat when people consider it… “pretty mundane.”
I feared Trump a lot less after Bush broke me. I fear another Trump less even. Younger, more idealistic me would vomit with disappointment in my shrugging and sighing instead of seething and yelling.