Systems and Voice

My friend was talking to me about authoritarian systems and about the voice of the people. In most systems, the minions are unable and/or unwilling to speak out. This is especially true when the minions are a part of a minority. The voice of a minority is invariably softer than that of the majority, and the voice of the minions are individually softer than the united cry of the dominant.

It is, therefore, simplest that the dominants keep the minions from uniting, for in unity, the voice of the minions will easily drown out those of their keepers. The simplest way to do this is to have a self-perpetuating system whereby the minions learn to become dependent on the dominants i.e. they need "experts" to make decisions for them, causing a state of learned helplessness.

This can easily be combined with an education that teaches the minions to respect the points of authority. Helplessness and the despair that accompanies the unqualified respect for authority are great ways for the minions to never gather enough gut to get their act together and speak out.

Better yet, the human propensity for conformity will make minions even more uncertain about turning on the dominants when fellow minions kindly try to talk dissenting minions out of their "foolish ways".

The true voice of the minions exists, and that voice takes the form of the internet. It is a place where every commoner has, to a large extent, license to say what she wants. Be it seditious or plain insightful, the voice can exist, and people can hear when they wish to. Why would anyone let this space of the minions be taken over by the dominants?

What Is Honour

Honour isn't just about violence. It is about fighting for what you feel is right. How can fighting not be violent? Well, "fighting" is basically standing up for your personal code of ethics, or "honour". It is not about calling a duel over every imagined slight. When there appears to be injustice, speaking out is an honourable act. When a promise is made, honour dictates that it be kept. However, honour turns into foolishness when one tries to uphold an impossible promise.

The Child Within

When people grow up, they grow out of childhood and into adulthood. I think people suppress their childlike natures and take on adultlike natures when they grow up. Adults essentially are crippled children who will express only the parts of their true natures that are acceptable to the societies they are in. Children know no such inhibitions and are often allowed to do things which adults would not dream of doing. Such double standards are unusual, and somewhat imply the limits adults are placing on themselves just because they believe in their "right place". Adults must be responsible, bear themsleves with dignity and so on. Now, besides the law and order and productive society argument, how is it that even adults occasionally wish to let their inner child out? They want places where they can cut loose and all that. If all adults could agree that they're allowed to cut loose in a non-destructive manner anywhere they please, I figure they would jump at the suggestion. Strangely enough, this has never occured to people.

Yeasty

There can be few things more disgusting than yeast infections. They itch, they smell and they make funny looking messy things. Yuck. And that's not to mention that they seem to pop up as and when they like, often regardless of your personal hygeine. I'm so going to need something to clear that up.

Dad's on a holiday up north. What's disturbing is that I feel a sort of relief that he's not around, and almost wish that he wouldn't come back. I do not think I actually hate him that much. Maybe it's just a desire to be alone and kinda independent once in a bit, eh?

Saying No To Yourself

There is no greater disempowerment than saying no to oneself before someone else can do it. It is strange how many things are passed by on the grounds that "That's impossible" and "That won't work out". How does one know without trying! It is far better to try requesting a known impossiblility and being told "No" (which is the expected answer) than to not try at all and hazard losing the possible "Yes" that may come (all to gain, nothing to lose).
Also, why would one wish to accept the first "No"? Everyone is entitled to ask "Why?" in response to any negative answer. Too many people submit themselves to authority figures and discipline themselves before they are even sure that they are crossing a true out-of-bounds marker. Say "yes" to yourself for a change, and watch things really start to happen!

Stay Alive

I just watched Stay Alive with a friend today. I would call it an average to poor movie in terms of horror rating. It is singularly unoriginal in its presentation of its horror content, with liberal use of tension tracks and in-your-face goriness. I liked the concept, though, about a game that somehow becomes real. It reminds me of Phantoma from Serial Experiments Lain, and Penultimate, the computer program/virus that addicts users to the system itself. In Phantoma, the players become so involved in the game that they become unable to distinguish between the game and real world. Penultimate simply addicts users so deeply that they starve to death.

I like the way they used the vibration of the gamepads to signal that something "weird" is coming. It's reminiscent of Silent Hill, where the crackle of the broken radio tells you that monsters are arriving. Interestingly enough, I hear similar vibration sounds in my place, and I can kinda relate to how creepy the overall effect really is.

As for the overall content, I'm most impressed by their implementation of in-game items somehow affecting the real world. That's the one original idea they had, especially given the teamwork possible where the real world and game world are so intertwined.

After watching the whole show, I figured one thing: The players logged in and never logged out. Is it any surprise that the game kept running and players died simply because they weren't playing?

Feelings of Helplessness

I had weird feelings of helplessness through most of the previous week. I really felt like doing nothing because I was ineffectual. Now that's unusual since I usually feel rather up and ready to take on just about any ogre, giant or some other monstrosity that comes my way. Sometimes I wonder if it's because of the cycles, or because I'm picking up weird vibes from people around me. It does happen from time to time when I feel precisely what people do. Shields up!

The Past, A Present And The Future

Still standing at the crossroads, I am. Too many what-if's , really. I mean it's like what if I did this, or did not do that. But one never knows for sure unless one has trodden the path. The problem being that the path I have chosen may have been a result of foolish choices. However, what seems foolish now may prove to be the best darned thing possible in the future. *sigh* Hindsight is 20/20, after all.

Anyway, I find it strange that I feel bogged down by work yet still find time to chat online and write random stuff. Guess it's an issue of stress and a feeling of a lack of control. How can one have control when control isn't really possible most of the time?

Tweezers And Money

Strange dream, that one. I was at a challenge of sorts, and there was a box with a glass top. Under the top was a narrow slot. Within the box were compartments filled with money. The guy offered me a pair of tweezers and said that I could keep whatever money I could pick out with the tweezers. I found that I could easily reach the fattest wads at the furthest ends of the box. Getting all that money, the guy took a cut and said that I couldn't have the bunch. I was naturally unhappy, but kinda amused that I could beat the challenge so easily. Flexi fingers. heh.

Prayer And Crisis

People like to pray in times of crisis. Strangely enough, they never seem to deign it necessary to pray at other times. So I guess prayer doesn't really have a use for most people on "normal" days. Sounds a tad ungrateful and demanding, but then again, we're dealing with mortals. Most mortal creatures have so little power that they can't help but keep asking for assistance.

What Is Fate?

I do not believe in fate. Yes, maybe I'm fated to believe that. If fate were true and irrevocable, then people have no real choice. If they are born evil, there is nothing that change their evil nature except if fate wills it. That is bad, since people can basically sit back and let fate run their lives. Why do they even bother living? I think "fate" is only for the people too lazy or cowardly to take control of their lives. If you're poor, must you stay poor? If you're rich, can you improve your quality of life and/or improve others' lives? Fate is a nice thing to believe in because it can probably never be proven. But if that were the case, then religion is truly the opiate of the masses because its tenets can probably never be proven, and people believe in it regardless of its "real" truth.