Indeed Don it was exactly this instinctive fear of the unknown that I was getting at.
On 28 July, 05:06, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > I think you are both right. It's the genetic/environment debate all > over again. Our instinct is to distrust the different; fear the > unknown. In several dialects of the American Indians the word for > 'stranger' was the same as for 'enemy.' However, the tribes that > overcame this prejudice and recognized that the European conquerors > weren't going away and couldn't all be killed lasted the longest. It > really is sad how badly we as a country ended up treating these > Nations. The Cherokee(of which I'm a descendant) and Iroquois come to > mind. The more militant tribes like the Comanche and Apache have > pretty much been wiped out. > > Your example of kids not being racist is a good one. There was a > documentary done years ago interviewing and intermingling > Palestinian/Muslim kids with Israeli/Jewish kids. All done with > permission from parents of course. They were good buddies while kids > but when interviewed years later as young adults they both sang a > different tune. Affected, of course, by the environment they were > raised in. > > Speaking of race it probably deserves it's own thread but many people > refuse to talk about it for fear of being labeled racist. In today's > world it is a huge insult. The threat of being seen as 'racist' has > become a weapon wielded ever more frequently by some. It really seems > ironic to me in many ways because policies such as affirmative action > seem to assume that certain minorities are incapable of achieving > without preferential treatment. So just because they are Latino or > Black or women they are somehow less able to succeed. I find this > horribly condescending and see no evidence of this stereo-typing in > the real world I live in. I agree it is different for women but not > necessarily more difficult. There are advantages along with the > disadvantages. > > Of course, not being a minority, I really don't know their > difficulties. I base my opinion on what I see. When I read about > hardships certain minorities find themselves in it's almost always > easy for me too see how they SHOULD have acted or prepared to bring > about a better result. Sadly, in too many cases, they are seen as a > victim and rather then them changing their MO they spend their energy > crying racism. This hardly seems beneficial. That's my two cents > anyway. > > dj > > > > On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 7:47 AM, deripsni<[email protected]> wrote: > > > I believe most people are racist because of environmental conditioning > > rather than something inherent. Black and white children have no > > problem playing with each other, until they are torn from their > > unbiased existance and injected into a racial one. I love instinct, > > and I guess I was reflecting that the requirements to use them seem to > > have dimminished as we become more advanced as a society. > > > In my life, most events have been predictable, or at least > > foreseeable. Most of my reactions are based on human conditioning > > factors rather than pure instinct, implemented as it is in the face of > > something entirely new. Sure this happens, but many potential events, > > such as getting mugged, have been considered and therefore some pre- > > determined plan of action is considered. Media saturation has removed > > a lot of the shock value that many would normally feel when witnessing > > something threatening or bizarre for the first time. Today, all one > > has to do is turn on CNN to review a wide range of horrific and > > outlandish events that we need to somehow prepare for, or at least > > accept in some way. > > > Nonetheless, viva istinto! > > > On Jul 27, 7:27 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > >> Loads there are loads of them. > > >> It is instinctive to be racist. That is it is normal to fear thoes > >> fellow from the other valley with their weird ways and be on guard > >> whenever you encounter them. > > >> All good stuff, perhaps 500 -600 hundered years ago, nowadays not of > >> much use, and should certianly be done away with. And yet, well we > >> still have them out there, and when you listen to their concerns(read > >> excuses) you'll see that they are not reasonable. > > >> People that are racist are not reasonble, thier thoughts re: those > >> fellows from the other valley, are purely instincive ones. > > >> On 27 July, 12:04, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > I accept your opinion but could you give me an example of a common use > >> > of instinct by humans? > > >> > On Jul 27, 6:50 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > >> > wrote: > > >> > > Opps don't know what happend there but I'll try again. > > >> > > I would say tha the opposite is true, that the majority of us act not > >> > > on reasonable well thought out grounds but on instinct. > > >> > > On 26 July, 13:54, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > I enjoy instinct for sure, and think of it as an inherent human > >> > > > attribute that is not used any where near to the extent of its > >> > > > capabilities. The molding of our lives through strict admonition & > >> > > > pre- > >> > > > determined activity, combined with a visual bombastment of stimulii, > >> > > > has led to an existance mostly void of instinctive requirements. > >> > > > Smart > >> > > > aren't we? > > >> > > > On Jul 26, 8:46 am, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > Mind if I check your incisors before I accept that handman job? > > >> > > > > On Jul 26, 8:23 am, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > Excellent! The instinctual approach to life makes it all worth > >> > > > > > while- > >> > > > > > unobstructed by regimens, locked-up thoughts, dead > >> > > > > > relationships, etc. > >> > > > > > Both science and the arts have high expectations and their > >> > > > > > followers > >> > > > > > can be- but not always- quite stuffy and boring- each group > >> > > > > > maintaining order by agreeing with one another on matters of > >> > > > > > procedure, taste, etc.//I always warn a new dentist that I bit > >> > > > > > the > >> > > > > > finger of my dentist quite hard when I was 15- it didn't draw > >> > > > > > blood, > >> > > > > > however! :-) > > >> > > > > > On Jul 26, 6:13 am, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > Do we need to "settle" all issues? I do not know how I get > >> > > > > > > goosebumps > >> > > > > > > from a mere thought, but does that mean I should not relate > >> > > > > > > the event > >> > > > > > > that led to the little critters spreading like army ants up my > >> > > > > > > back > >> > > > > > > and down my arms and legs? The cause of the event may be a > >> > > > > > > nature > >> > > > > > > rush, the sharing of love, or some other spine tingling > >> > > > > > > emotional > >> > > > > > > occurance. Although many debates are "science versus religion" > >> > > > > > > where > >> > > > > > > finding the 'truth' is the holy grail, I feel our main goal as > >> > > > > > > human > >> > > > > > > ants should be emotional bliss. Expressions of Joy have their > >> > > > > > > own > >> > > > > > > language. They don't require ratification, explanation, or > >> > > > > > > resolution, > >> > > > > > > and ants are not invited. > > >> > > > > > > Ants are the perfect example of evolution with it's head on > >> > > > > > > straight. > >> > > > > > > The problem is, an ants head is used for collecting and eating > >> > > > > > > food, > >> > > > > > > PERIOD. Ants activity is instinctive, as you have pointed out. > >> > > > > > > Would > >> > > > > > > you trade in your imagination and joy of conversing for the > >> > > > > > > sake of > >> > > > > > > it, for a perfectly organized and structured society where you > >> > > > > > > have > >> > > > > > > one defined role? When you build your cities there would be no > >> > > > > > > need > >> > > > > > > for pools, playgrounds, or psychiatrists? I'd take the > >> > > > > > > disorganized > >> > > > > > > rubble of human life, with all of its ups and downs, over the > >> > > > > > > predictable repetition of ant life. Of course, there is always > >> > > > > > > the > >> > > > > > > dentists office that makes one wish that they were born an > >> > > > > > > ant. ;-] > > >> > > > > > > On Jul 25, 12:09 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > In a study released online on July 22 in the journal > >> > > > > > > > Proceedings of > >> > > > > > > > the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, researchers at > >> > > > > > > > Arizona State > >> > > > > > > > University and Princeton University show that ants can > >> > > > > > > > accomplish a > >> > > > > > > > task more rationally than our – multimodal, egg-headed, > >> > > > > > > > tool-using, > >> > > > > > > > bipedal, opposing-thumbed – selves. The key in this > >> > > > > > > > 'rationality' is > >> > > > > > > > that ants don't know much and thus achieve rather speedy > >> > > > > > > > collective > >> > > > > > > > decisions. We distract ourselves with all kinds of dross > >> > > > > > > > like > >> > > > > > > > religion outside science and endlessly discuss irrelevance in > >> > > > > > > > rationalisation long after we have decided to ignore > >> > > > > > > > evidence that > >> > > > > > > > doesn't suit us. In the science versus religion debates we > >> > > > > > > > should > >> > > > > > > > have noticed long ago that some people make money out of the > >> > > > > > > > activity > >> > > > > > > > and that if we engaged ourselves in creating peaceful > >> > > > > > > > societies > >> > > > > > > > something else would matter rather than talking about stuff > >> > > > > > > > we can't > >> > > > > > > > settle. > > >> > > > > > > > On 25 July, 15:09, deripsni <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > > No spirit energy then? > > >> > > > > > > > > On Jul 24, 3:42 am, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > > > I'd say we are worm food but I learned from watching CSI > >> > > > > > > > > > it is more > >> > > > > > > > > > accurate to say we are beetle food. That show used to > >> > > > > > > > > > be pretty good. > > >> > > > > > > > > > dj > > >> > > > > > > > > > On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 1:39 PM, <[email protected]> > >> > > > > > > > > > wrote: > >> > > > > > > > > > > There is Science ad Culture. But, as you believe in > >> > > > > > > > > > > only one or the other, > >> > > > > > > > > > > every culture has the belief of a higher being, that > >> > > > > > > > > > > is unless you believe > >> > > > > > > > > > > nothing, and we return to dust or whatever. I'm > >> > > > > > > > > > > simply saying, there used > >> > > > > > > > > > > to be a very big division in what scientists and the > >> > > > > > > > > > > "religious" (don't like > >> > > > > > > > > > > that word, > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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