tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post3619475163234662307..comments2023-10-06T06:29:02.689-04:00Comments on A Bright Cape: Why be poly?Skyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10723733406348223879noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-66012554348469960352014-10-14T16:04:12.646-04:002014-10-14T16:04:12.646-04:00Do you mean polygamy, or polyamory? They are pret...Do you mean polygamy, or polyamory? They are pretty different, though obviously easily confused. Polygamy specifically refers to plural marriages.Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723733406348223879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-10628576485739692582014-10-14T15:24:30.481-04:002014-10-14T15:24:30.481-04:00On drugs: Regular runners report feeling a high fr...On drugs: Regular runners report feeling a high from running, and may describe it in similar terms. Just because people have positive things to say about the way they live their lives doesn't mean there is anything similar about those different ways of living lives.<br /><br />But I don't want to dismiss drugs as a valid choice either. I'm sure there are huge swaths of people who are living happier, better lives for the fact that they sometimes use drugs of various sorts to alleviate pain, improve their mood, and do all kinds of other things. There are certainly some people who are ruining their lives trying to use drugs to alleviate pain that drugs can't fully deal with and having no success.<br /><br />The truth about drug use is that most people who use drugs, even hard drugs, do not become lifelong junkies. And even those who develop a dependence on them may be self-medicating a condition that they can't cope with otherwise and that they have no other tools to deal with.<br /><br />Right now the important differences between polygamy and illegal drugs include the fact that in the current system illegal drugs put you in legal danger, financially support dangerous criminal organizations, are generally fairly toxic, are in some cases physically addictive, and probably tend to be socially isolating.<br /><br />If anyone was in a situation where they had to choose between cocaine and polygamy, knowing that each would be equally effective for them in making them feel happier, I would definitely recommend polygamy. Of course literally no one is making that choice.Sthennohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429676469805661834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-36611648430818622132014-10-12T10:04:02.881-04:002014-10-12T10:04:02.881-04:00I don't know about the same justifications app...I don't know about the same justifications applying to cocaine or other drugs but I certainly feel that all drugs should be legalized. Making them illegal doesn't stop people using them, it increases the danger, it costs the state a fortune, and it makes treatment far more difficult.<br /><br />As far as monogamy as the norm, it is clear from the historical record that monogamy is one of many options practiced widely by humans. Universal lifelong monogamy was a thing that was spread along with Christianity as European nations founded empires. It existed other places certainly but until it was spread forcibly it was just one of many systems. Humans had and have a huge variety of other types of relationships, some of which are similar to polyamory, some of which are not. I recommend Sex At Dawn as a good read about this topic.<br /><br />I think you are right in that culture changes more rapidly when people aren't as exposed to a variety of age groups. The thing is, people have this idea of the wisdom of the elders that isn't true. Some older folks have plenty of wisdom to impart, and nearly all have skills and experiences that people could benefit from learning, but they also tend to be very much stuck in old mindsets and ways of understanding. Just look at statistics about marriage equality and who supports it and you can see that the wisdom of the elders often leads us down the wrong path. We should listen to the ideas of seniors, just as we should listen to anyone's ideas, and judge the ideas on the idea, not on the source. I think our culture of living apart from other generations is definitely causing us to change cultural norms more rapidly, and by and large I think that is a good thing. It does have plenty of other problematic elements, but I personally don't see a lot of value in maintaining cultural norms from past eras.Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723733406348223879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-22661472037699760252014-10-12T09:03:25.632-04:002014-10-12T09:03:25.632-04:00More Sunday morning thinking on this topic.
Sky ...More Sunday morning thinking on this topic. <br />Sky - you really have me thinking about both cultural anthropology and biological behaviourism. <br />When it comes to sexuality, humans, in general, are not locked in to any one thing. I believe only dolphins and bonobos share our propensity for having sex for pleasure and social intimacy - not just reproduction. But then there are the questions of cultural norms. Tibetan women have sex with, and often marry, pairs of brothers, for example. There are so many different forms of culturally accepted pair bond or free sexual relationships within our species - this alone makes us unique in the animal kingdom. Anything goes with our species - but there are many clearcut cultural norms. While polyamory seems clear of the bounds of any cultural norm, as soon as I read your references to "rules", I started to wonder whether this is in fact a cultural phenomenon - not necessarily a biological one. The line between the two is very fuzzy - and we could explore this for hours, days... years. <br />But with regards to culture, I got to thinking this. Mono vs. Poly - is what you have been exploring. With regards to sexuality. But what about mono vs. poly with regards to age? My broad question is this: are we in the process of losing our cultural bounds and norms by virtue of the fact that age classes in our society interact much, much less than they did historically? And if so, do we risk (culturally) losing the "wisdom of the elders"? Ask yourself how much you interact with or exchange ideas with people in their fifties, or seventies, or eighties? I'm not talking about the fifty year old grocer, or seventy year old lady you say hi to on the park bench. I'm talking about meaningful interactions/discussions. And I'm not just talking about YOU. I have concerns that we (in N. American society, esp. urban settings) don't have adequate cross generation pollination going on, and as a result, cultural norms and bounds are being lost (for better or for worse???). <br />I could go on and on about this, but not here. <br />MZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12383104430983584311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-61548916835193655552014-10-12T07:55:04.205-04:002014-10-12T07:55:04.205-04:00I just wonder whether the same rationalizations an...I just wonder whether the same rationalizations and justifications apply to cocaine, or other mind-altering substances. There is the difference that one has a monetary cost, but beyond that...????MZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12383104430983584311noreply@blogger.com