RE: META: Watch the subject lines, people!

From: Neal Marin (shikarivivasi@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Feb 11 2000 - 21:18:25 MST


--- Sasha Chislenko <sasha1@netcom.com> wrote:
>
> I woudn't have to hide this subject line from my
> kid...
>
> If we have to hide such mundane topic as s*x in our
> _internal_
> correspondence because it brings a _possibility_ of
> _mild_
> inconvenience (instead of just facing the reality
> with some
> openness and whatever tiny bit of courage is needed
> here),
> then how can we deal with the *outside world* on
> much risker
> issues?
>
> You are big boys and girls already, you should not
> hide from
> parents anymore with printed word "sex".

*ahem* I don't know about everyone else on this list,
but I'm fourteen and five feet short.

>And you
> should have
> brought up your own kids to be free (otherwise, why
> the hell
> did you produce them?).
I didn't know people produced children; I thought they
gave birth to them.
> And you should program the
> mail
> filter to recognize the extropian list.
>
> And prepare to exhibit a lot more courage than this
> if you
> ever want to get anywhere.
> Will you hide all the hedonic body mods, uploading,
> and all
> the other stuff, from your conservative moms, kids,
> and neighbors?
> Or do you expect that someone else will work to flex
> their
> worldviews? Who exactly do you think it should be?
> Or you want your parents (and kids?) to die before
> you can
> speak freely? And are you sure that your *kids*
> can't handle
> the topic of sex? Or maybe, it's you?
>
You do have a point; however, I think perhaps that you
haven't seen all sides of the argument before stating
your opinion, and your method of stating it was more
than a little accusatory.

It is pretty much naturally engrained into parents
that they need to protect their children from certain
things, sex being one of them. It is a social thing
more than a natural thing, I think, but one that is
none the less very present. I know; often enough I see
my parents hastily switching channels when my little
sister enters the room.

Sex is a fact of life. Not everybody does it, but
everybody has one (or more!). It is inescapeable in
society because of procreation being the one of the
main drives of our species. However, many adults, and
teenagers, feel that it is being introduced far too
early. I admit I'm one of them; I know
fifteen-year-olds who know more about copulation then
some adults. It is understandable why many parents
seek to shield their children from that situation for
as long as possible, although it doesn't always work
and kids generally realise what its all about by the
time they're twelve, although they don't always
generate an interest in it then.

In some societies sex is perfectly acceptable when
introduced to the younger generations, and is indeed
an important part of culture; however, there are many
societies where that is not so, and it is generally
deemed unhealthy for the younger generations to be
introduced to the concepts. people also seem afraid
that teenagers will overeact to any kind of sexual
stuff and attempt to gorge on it. Their opinion may be
right on some accounts, but it is also wrong on
others; I've seen naked people before (on tv), the
majority of my sex education coming from Monty
Python's the Life of Bryan....and my general reaction
is comparable to this:
"oh, is that what a naked male looks like? Hm. Ah! I
have a book on black holes in from the library...I
should go check it out...I wonder if there's anything
good on philosophy...hm...have I called Skye yet
today? We should probably get together this weekend
and work on the computer...or write something...oh, I
have a book plot..." Only much more complex. And
jumbled.

But that's just me; I can't derive the entire
population from myself and a few friends. Continuing
onward...I seem to have lost the brunt of my rant.
Which is probably as well, considering that I'm mostly
repeating myself. So, before I add another six or
seven hundred words to this, good night, or good
morning, or somewhat inbetween, whatever the case may
be.

-Neal

>
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