Swedish couple decide not to use gender as a definition applied to their young child, opening the possibility to a human being raised without such a pressure upon themself.
http://www.thelocal.se/20232/20090623/
This is an interesting case. in theory i agree with everything these folks are doing. i mean really, this is some solid stuff. taking a child and saying, "hey, lets not get them dolled up, lets not teach them about boy and girl, isntead, lets let them be free of such constraints." to me this is enlightened living. why must me force down the throats of our children all this bullshit that we do. in artciles comdemning this i hear such things as how they shouldnt be trying to shove down idological vioewpoints down their childrens throats but what a hypocritical thing that is to say when children are faced with religious coersion all the time, go to church / temple / gurudwara etc. learn your bible/torah/quran/guru grath sahib. this is some real fuckign forcing of children when it comes to all this religion bullshit. children are too young to fight anything off, so anything you give htem will have an impact on years to come, maybe it will be cast aside as an adult but what a painful casting off and digging out it can be when something is unwanted. like thinking to yourself, "what if my folks never introduced sex to me." to me the real what if is, "what if my folks never introduced religion to me".
religion & children
this's something i've written a bout a few times now and i think children are too young to learn about very adult oriented terminilogy and circumstances. the concept of god and the otherworldy are things that a child can't hope to understand, except in impossibly grandiouse ways. perhaps some people never grow out of that, but i did. these concepts although large intheir art are actually in practice very small. most of these notions are more likely forged by men than perhaps the word spoken to them from some imaginary god. i don't know if i think no god exists, when confronted with the question do i think it certainly doesnt, i can't necesssarily say i do. there's no proof either way. why would i be the fool to declare something unproven to be absolutely true. this goes both ways, for athiests and believers. in between there's breathing room, rgound where you decide not to get involved. if you ask me what deignation i would accept for myself i would say perhaps religiously involved
but as a child, i dont think i should have beenf aced with all that i was. putkas, tightly tied, strict weekly visits to the local temple, forced training in particularly entwined cultural/historical/religious instruments & history as well as language. all of this to basicallyf uel what amounted to a counter-culture before my eyes. it opened my eyes, because whilst perhaps other kids are educated in communism or whatever else by their mothers and fathers, my cultural education, my counter-cultural educaiton, was that of sikhism. now in concept i think its brilliant to have such a thing as a cultural challenge posed to a child @ a young age. it'd be even better to have no challenge whatsoever. but still, what a crazy situation.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
reading about sikhs
so i went through some old ww1 and ww2 photographs of sikhs, and it struck me how amazing it was that these people resembled those that i'd seen at gurudwaras, photos taken at least 60 years ago, and in some cases more alike 90, resembled people whom i knew to be in their 20s and 30s today. this is amazing because its striking how similar the sikhs really look.
i see these photographs and i see young strong sikhs then when i look to the photographs of gurudwaras today i see humble hobbles of humanity huddled together hiding away from the outside world. to me its a strange thing that the community isn't extending like it should. people seem more interested in silently worshiping anonymously rather than doing anything else besides that. it's absolutely rediculous and crazy that these things are the case, but they are. i don't understand how these people have managed to do all that they have but it's just insane that there's been so much persecution of sikhs over the years. i mean i would not have expected to see so much, not nearly as much asi've read about, from the british taking over the sikh raj, to the survey of those that could decipher the sikh guru granth sahib falling under 30 within the entire country of india, to the partition of india severing the punjab in half, to the '84 attacks on the golden temple itself prompting an assasination which then prompted a massacre of sikhs, the '01 terrorist attacks in america which then prompted years of xenophobia, and racism, death and injury both mentally and bodily... and then the crushing conservatism of today's folk-view filled midwest, considering those "brown-skinned devils" to be little more than scourges of god.
not to mention the years where sikhs were not allowed to immigrate to america, from 1925 to 1945. its crazy. but these are the facts of our society, of our people. some would wish our history to be forgotten, i say some but i really mean most all.. because these people just literally would not raise a finger to the injustice they know all to well about in america, india, and in the world at large. just willing to "go with the flow" all teh way to their grave, they are the people that are eating away at what it is to be sikh - a strong resistance can compel a people to achieve great feats but isntead of doing so we've allowed ourselves to become consumed by that which as come our way - you could say these early events in our religions history are things that perhaps will define us in years to follow, allthis century's trials and tribulations may be remembered as well as the christians seem to recant the adventures of jesus and his nerdy gang of devotees.
then there's this whole conversion thing, these people trying to supplant religion in the mindsof the religious, why bother trying to have this new form of warfare take place, what good is it to destroy all other beliefs, why does this honor your own, certainly honoring your fellow man includes honoring his beliefs... it is possible that a man can live a life in a world with many beliefs without it coming into conflict with what more or less he's found to be what he feels is right in the world. religion is a poetic form of verse which gives physical form through literary inference to the divinely unseen. there is no proving and there is no disproving. it is not something that can be scientifically tested since it is nowhere at all scientifically rooted. religion has more to do with philosophy & art than anything else, as these things give life to the unknown, that faceless and nameless expanse that exists beyond our cranium can then be thought of with much though in the direction of critical thinking. there is no critical doing, there is no physical act which shall illuminate your religious beliefs.
and then another bone to pick, the initiation of children into religion, how is this right in any way whatsoever, this is an adult pursuit through and through and children have no place in its halls, children can't even imagine themselves in the universe let alone question the universe's makeup. these religions are postulations into artful specultion as to why and what and to give answers to the otherwise unanswerable, its mankinds greatest gift in some ways to itself by making sense of of the senseless and then giving man the true ability to excersize his influence across the universe. our ability to thikn and imagine is a pwoerful one but a child has no concept of such things and perhaps should not be made ot live an as orthodox member of such a religion or sect. to do so is to shut the mind off from any other stimulation and to remove the choice from teh child which is then to disengenously make the assertation of specific devotion of said child to parent-introduced dogma. these things should be outlawed, children should be educated of the worlds many philosophies and ways, and should be made to choose, to find within themselves which one speaks most to them. to me this is what essentially is the college process today in that we go to pick a major try it out and eventually find something we specialize in - in the spritual sense it is much the same, finding a religion within which to specialize, something that we can indeed go and do a great deal of good within. thats what exactly we need to do and these are the things that people should eshew in their lives amongst their community members and families.
but then there's the silent majority, the sikhs who go to the temple, wear the turban, grow the beard, who gasp when a sikh shears his hair, who mindlessly utter words whose meaning is unknown to them, these are the people who kill religion, who destroy immensely powerful gestures and gut them to their ritualistic core, and that's all that remains, blind ignorance and repetition, and those of us that do seek deeper meaning are left bankrupt and alone for the majority of sikhs just don't give a damn about their religion. it's turban-social club and little else, more like little india. these people jabbering with their social partners and gossiping about the lastest seen mishap or mystery in the community, the chilren scurrying about, elderly men and women sitting silently perhaps enjoying the chaos, adolescents outside playing basketball or handing the food out in the living out of their parents ways, the introduction of children to the life which they're asked to live, yet without any deep meaning, nor any real scholarship on the religion, people are left searching for intelligence and find there way out of the gurudwara and into the streets. because education especially within the sikh community is not prized and intelligence is so absurdly rare. this is not something im pleased with, i'd've rathered it be the other way where we had at least some who understood exactly what they were trying to do as well as some sort of an appropriate history of the religion.
and that's another thing, the history. we're emphasized the religious - folklore of the guru's but we're not given the battles, the life of those that came after the gurus, a clear timeline, no it's all garbled and almost impossible to follow along, these are people who are almost entirely lost in detail, who completely forget the big picture, and by doiing so lose those that perhaps need such a big one. the big picture is often the most satisfying, the most profound, and the most juicy, and yet in our schools our teachers just didn't make the grade, whilst we were just left there scratching our heads why we were even doing what we were, that these people going through their motions failed to teach us what was most important, the why, the big picture, and thereby depriving us of the reason those that followed the guru in the first place began their plight. whyd id they bother with the rantings and ravings of a most likely commonly percieved lunatic. because there wsa likely some promise in his words, some meaning and some truth, some profoundity and ultimately soemthing compelling that had people thinking to themselves this is a proper man with a proper message strong enough so that im going to abandon what ive got and pick up with what this man has.
and of course in the end there's the whole idea that we're following the words of one man who lived 600 years ago. do i really seem the type to be of that persuation? no i don't believe so. i was reading about the description of sociology earlier on, and it mentioned the phrase, "healty skepticism". to me i have a healthy skepticism and this in turn gives me the empowering sort of point of view that any man is capable of what the guru's came to, that we can be anything, that we can do anything, if only we practice, if only we try and force ourselves to bring ourself to greater heights. these pursuits take time, and time is something we don't have much of in life. the problem i often find myself faced with is the question of what seems most worthwhile to fill my own time. and this essentially is what makes a man, not the ability to do something, but the committement to doing so. and in that, we have very little difference in intelligence, but moreso importance on specialization and pursuit... how much hardcore training has someone had in something, and how hardcore are they about their topic. do they seem like they give a shit about it and are they really passionate about it to the point of exploring every rock nook and cranny, that they are pushing the boundary and letting it get woven into the fabric of their lives, are they able to take a step back, realize that even their pursuit has its place, that in the grand scheme all these things are basically just part of a larger human conscienceness that spans many views, theories, ideas, concepts, inventions, and social-states.
in genera i find it difficult to commit myself to a religion i was raised upon as a child. my natural state is to reject whatever iw as spoon fed as religion is something that essentially is only acceptable to an adult mind and that children are hardly in the state to be able to really make any sense of it at all. religion is something that should be left to adults, much like smoking sex and alcohol, because of its powerfully warping perceptions and potential to create violence and other undesirable outcomes. children should be allowed to frolic in fantasy, in the stories of the past, those that are more fanciful and even pagan, for these are the more ancient views of the world, and they are far more rich and old than even the oldest religious text. we should be encouraged to laern about all, and to remain impartial, to develop a personal sprituality, but not necessarily do it because of the prompting of ones mom or dad. thse things are generated by inner potential and drive, not necessarily by outward forces, and those who seek to convert by introducing thought-pollution into new minds only serve to confuse and destroy. the damage dealt by europeans advancing in the americas rings true to present day, and these are the results of transformative movements. there is nothing noble in them. to convert is to kill, and manslaughter is frowned upon. the killing of thought should similarly be considered criminal, especially when the supplanted thought is rich, rewarding, benign, benevolent, and contributory to happiness and peace of mind. destruction ,warping of views, these do not equate goodness. conversion is a blight upon humanity.
i see these photographs and i see young strong sikhs then when i look to the photographs of gurudwaras today i see humble hobbles of humanity huddled together hiding away from the outside world. to me its a strange thing that the community isn't extending like it should. people seem more interested in silently worshiping anonymously rather than doing anything else besides that. it's absolutely rediculous and crazy that these things are the case, but they are. i don't understand how these people have managed to do all that they have but it's just insane that there's been so much persecution of sikhs over the years. i mean i would not have expected to see so much, not nearly as much asi've read about, from the british taking over the sikh raj, to the survey of those that could decipher the sikh guru granth sahib falling under 30 within the entire country of india, to the partition of india severing the punjab in half, to the '84 attacks on the golden temple itself prompting an assasination which then prompted a massacre of sikhs, the '01 terrorist attacks in america which then prompted years of xenophobia, and racism, death and injury both mentally and bodily... and then the crushing conservatism of today's folk-view filled midwest, considering those "brown-skinned devils" to be little more than scourges of god.
not to mention the years where sikhs were not allowed to immigrate to america, from 1925 to 1945. its crazy. but these are the facts of our society, of our people. some would wish our history to be forgotten, i say some but i really mean most all.. because these people just literally would not raise a finger to the injustice they know all to well about in america, india, and in the world at large. just willing to "go with the flow" all teh way to their grave, they are the people that are eating away at what it is to be sikh - a strong resistance can compel a people to achieve great feats but isntead of doing so we've allowed ourselves to become consumed by that which as come our way - you could say these early events in our religions history are things that perhaps will define us in years to follow, allthis century's trials and tribulations may be remembered as well as the christians seem to recant the adventures of jesus and his nerdy gang of devotees.
then there's this whole conversion thing, these people trying to supplant religion in the mindsof the religious, why bother trying to have this new form of warfare take place, what good is it to destroy all other beliefs, why does this honor your own, certainly honoring your fellow man includes honoring his beliefs... it is possible that a man can live a life in a world with many beliefs without it coming into conflict with what more or less he's found to be what he feels is right in the world. religion is a poetic form of verse which gives physical form through literary inference to the divinely unseen. there is no proving and there is no disproving. it is not something that can be scientifically tested since it is nowhere at all scientifically rooted. religion has more to do with philosophy & art than anything else, as these things give life to the unknown, that faceless and nameless expanse that exists beyond our cranium can then be thought of with much though in the direction of critical thinking. there is no critical doing, there is no physical act which shall illuminate your religious beliefs.
and then another bone to pick, the initiation of children into religion, how is this right in any way whatsoever, this is an adult pursuit through and through and children have no place in its halls, children can't even imagine themselves in the universe let alone question the universe's makeup. these religions are postulations into artful specultion as to why and what and to give answers to the otherwise unanswerable, its mankinds greatest gift in some ways to itself by making sense of of the senseless and then giving man the true ability to excersize his influence across the universe. our ability to thikn and imagine is a pwoerful one but a child has no concept of such things and perhaps should not be made ot live an as orthodox member of such a religion or sect. to do so is to shut the mind off from any other stimulation and to remove the choice from teh child which is then to disengenously make the assertation of specific devotion of said child to parent-introduced dogma. these things should be outlawed, children should be educated of the worlds many philosophies and ways, and should be made to choose, to find within themselves which one speaks most to them. to me this is what essentially is the college process today in that we go to pick a major try it out and eventually find something we specialize in - in the spritual sense it is much the same, finding a religion within which to specialize, something that we can indeed go and do a great deal of good within. thats what exactly we need to do and these are the things that people should eshew in their lives amongst their community members and families.
but then there's the silent majority, the sikhs who go to the temple, wear the turban, grow the beard, who gasp when a sikh shears his hair, who mindlessly utter words whose meaning is unknown to them, these are the people who kill religion, who destroy immensely powerful gestures and gut them to their ritualistic core, and that's all that remains, blind ignorance and repetition, and those of us that do seek deeper meaning are left bankrupt and alone for the majority of sikhs just don't give a damn about their religion. it's turban-social club and little else, more like little india. these people jabbering with their social partners and gossiping about the lastest seen mishap or mystery in the community, the chilren scurrying about, elderly men and women sitting silently perhaps enjoying the chaos, adolescents outside playing basketball or handing the food out in the living out of their parents ways, the introduction of children to the life which they're asked to live, yet without any deep meaning, nor any real scholarship on the religion, people are left searching for intelligence and find there way out of the gurudwara and into the streets. because education especially within the sikh community is not prized and intelligence is so absurdly rare. this is not something im pleased with, i'd've rathered it be the other way where we had at least some who understood exactly what they were trying to do as well as some sort of an appropriate history of the religion.
and that's another thing, the history. we're emphasized the religious - folklore of the guru's but we're not given the battles, the life of those that came after the gurus, a clear timeline, no it's all garbled and almost impossible to follow along, these are people who are almost entirely lost in detail, who completely forget the big picture, and by doiing so lose those that perhaps need such a big one. the big picture is often the most satisfying, the most profound, and the most juicy, and yet in our schools our teachers just didn't make the grade, whilst we were just left there scratching our heads why we were even doing what we were, that these people going through their motions failed to teach us what was most important, the why, the big picture, and thereby depriving us of the reason those that followed the guru in the first place began their plight. whyd id they bother with the rantings and ravings of a most likely commonly percieved lunatic. because there wsa likely some promise in his words, some meaning and some truth, some profoundity and ultimately soemthing compelling that had people thinking to themselves this is a proper man with a proper message strong enough so that im going to abandon what ive got and pick up with what this man has.
and of course in the end there's the whole idea that we're following the words of one man who lived 600 years ago. do i really seem the type to be of that persuation? no i don't believe so. i was reading about the description of sociology earlier on, and it mentioned the phrase, "healty skepticism". to me i have a healthy skepticism and this in turn gives me the empowering sort of point of view that any man is capable of what the guru's came to, that we can be anything, that we can do anything, if only we practice, if only we try and force ourselves to bring ourself to greater heights. these pursuits take time, and time is something we don't have much of in life. the problem i often find myself faced with is the question of what seems most worthwhile to fill my own time. and this essentially is what makes a man, not the ability to do something, but the committement to doing so. and in that, we have very little difference in intelligence, but moreso importance on specialization and pursuit... how much hardcore training has someone had in something, and how hardcore are they about their topic. do they seem like they give a shit about it and are they really passionate about it to the point of exploring every rock nook and cranny, that they are pushing the boundary and letting it get woven into the fabric of their lives, are they able to take a step back, realize that even their pursuit has its place, that in the grand scheme all these things are basically just part of a larger human conscienceness that spans many views, theories, ideas, concepts, inventions, and social-states.
in genera i find it difficult to commit myself to a religion i was raised upon as a child. my natural state is to reject whatever iw as spoon fed as religion is something that essentially is only acceptable to an adult mind and that children are hardly in the state to be able to really make any sense of it at all. religion is something that should be left to adults, much like smoking sex and alcohol, because of its powerfully warping perceptions and potential to create violence and other undesirable outcomes. children should be allowed to frolic in fantasy, in the stories of the past, those that are more fanciful and even pagan, for these are the more ancient views of the world, and they are far more rich and old than even the oldest religious text. we should be encouraged to laern about all, and to remain impartial, to develop a personal sprituality, but not necessarily do it because of the prompting of ones mom or dad. thse things are generated by inner potential and drive, not necessarily by outward forces, and those who seek to convert by introducing thought-pollution into new minds only serve to confuse and destroy. the damage dealt by europeans advancing in the americas rings true to present day, and these are the results of transformative movements. there is nothing noble in them. to convert is to kill, and manslaughter is frowned upon. the killing of thought should similarly be considered criminal, especially when the supplanted thought is rich, rewarding, benign, benevolent, and contributory to happiness and peace of mind. destruction ,warping of views, these do not equate goodness. conversion is a blight upon humanity.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
my take on sikhs
it just seems like sikhs have been fucked over numerous times throughout history, yet refuse to stand up for themselves. yeah there have been momentary generals and the like, but where has there been anything truely established and powerful. and how about the fact that back in 1900 when they wanted to do a translation of the guru granth sahib they couldnt find more than like 20 people who could even read the damn thing. there was a period, and im not sure its still the case today, but there was a period during sikh history where they were some of the most uneducated people out there in india.
and then there's the whole islamic massacres of sikh peoples and leaders. they'd cut people in half, pay people for the heads of sikhs, more or less try their best to convert & or kill those who opposed them. in a way you could call this one of the great tests of the religion, as more or less every fledgeling religion seems to have, where there's religion it seems, there's competition, competing for peoples souls and shit, and that sort of shit is just hard to really kinda ... hard to reconcile and shit.
and of course the whole 84 thing. years have passed and many government officials still havent been brought to justice. in some cases they still hold their incumbant positions. the massacre and invasion of the holiest sikh shrine, and the current sikh leader, plus the numerous killed sikhs in the rioting and such. this was incited by government people and those people do deserve justice brought to their case. if you incite people to kill, a crime has been committed. its not a war, it was a murder of many people. but i can see how hte government might try and weasel out of it saying it was a wartime thing, that under the terms of war, the state gives the government right to kill & maim in the name of the state. its a terrible thing, and war no matter how its looked upon causes much destruction. but given the right political spin, a country can feel justified in murder, whislt the invaded force can feel very compromised.
and then there's the whole islamic massacres of sikh peoples and leaders. they'd cut people in half, pay people for the heads of sikhs, more or less try their best to convert & or kill those who opposed them. in a way you could call this one of the great tests of the religion, as more or less every fledgeling religion seems to have, where there's religion it seems, there's competition, competing for peoples souls and shit, and that sort of shit is just hard to really kinda ... hard to reconcile and shit.
and of course the whole 84 thing. years have passed and many government officials still havent been brought to justice. in some cases they still hold their incumbant positions. the massacre and invasion of the holiest sikh shrine, and the current sikh leader, plus the numerous killed sikhs in the rioting and such. this was incited by government people and those people do deserve justice brought to their case. if you incite people to kill, a crime has been committed. its not a war, it was a murder of many people. but i can see how hte government might try and weasel out of it saying it was a wartime thing, that under the terms of war, the state gives the government right to kill & maim in the name of the state. its a terrible thing, and war no matter how its looked upon causes much destruction. but given the right political spin, a country can feel justified in murder, whislt the invaded force can feel very compromised.
i was readin 'bout the last sikh ruler
the lion of punjab, that's what the last GREAT ruler of the punjab was called. however his son, aged 9 was taken from his post and carted off to england. he in turn had his own children, and they too had theirs, and a man has been found as being a potential living survivor of the bloodline today. british, tax-collector, not even mildly interested in his lineage, significantly father of two, there is a living survivor of the dynasty of leaders that once ruled the kingdom of the punjab.
ive read things such as the son's forced conversion into christianity, and his disallowance from visiting india more than twice in his nearly 60 years of life. nor was he allowed to be returned for cremation following his death. the return of the son of the great lion of punjab in funeral was thought to potentially stir up things in a way that wouldn't bode well for the british. so, insultingly, he was buried as a christian in the united kingdom.
it's just a terrible thing, and i can imagine how he felt, as i've also immigrated & been taken from my own home. i can see how my parents potentially didn't feel welcome in england, the land where their leader was carted to and their prized jewel taken from them. its now in the crown jewels. why it hasn't been returned, i don't know.
ive read things such as the son's forced conversion into christianity, and his disallowance from visiting india more than twice in his nearly 60 years of life. nor was he allowed to be returned for cremation following his death. the return of the son of the great lion of punjab in funeral was thought to potentially stir up things in a way that wouldn't bode well for the british. so, insultingly, he was buried as a christian in the united kingdom.
it's just a terrible thing, and i can imagine how he felt, as i've also immigrated & been taken from my own home. i can see how my parents potentially didn't feel welcome in england, the land where their leader was carted to and their prized jewel taken from them. its now in the crown jewels. why it hasn't been returned, i don't know.
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