No! Please! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know!” the man yelled.
“Really?” said Vimes. “What’s the orbital velocity of the moon?”
“What?”
“Oh, you’d like something simpler?”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch
There are societies, ancient societies, where feeding on fellow human beings was no frowned upon. If they went to war and had prisoners, they would roast one of them and eat not really as a regular source of nourishment but to show their revenge. In 1972 after the Andes flight disaster, survivors had to eat their dead colleagues to survive or die. The question then here is, why do we are we so appalled at the thought of eating one of us?
Why do we wear clothes. I mean, we leave some of the most delicate parts of our bodies, like the eyes, ears, nose exposed?
Have all societies across all ages been monogamous? Why has custom/ tradition put us in a cage where divorce lawyers seem to be doing booming business?
This post has been unnecessarily long, the only question I wanted to ask, is why do we continue to fight against our natures most times living very frustrated lives?
Random thoughts 
That kind of night, eh, Mak?
To answer your question: socialization. Everyone around us does it, we aren’t given other options, and most lack either the creativity or will to follow their own nature.
Which might be for the best, given all those Christians kept from their murdering, thieving natures by the thin veneer of morality that Christ has endowed them with. ;P
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Yes, that kind of night when my mind goes on wild tour 😛
Is it Christ or Paul who has taught them? Methinks it is Paul.
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Shh! You’ll break through their moral veneer with talk like that!
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That was for your eyes only
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Traditions suck Mak and so do beliefs. We cause our own suffering, not because life is so big and unpredictable, but because we are attached to our desires and expectations.
Have a great day friend. 😀 ♥
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Have a great day friend. It is great to see you blogging again.
Custom and beliefs all suck and they do so big time
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Thanks Mak and you too. Glad to hear that. I missed all of you too. 😀
They do indeed. ♥
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But are inevitable and ubiquitous, no? Has there ever been a society, or an individual, dependent only upon “rationality” and “reality”? Would such a society even be better or even tolerable? I mean, thanks to custom and belief I can leave my home worrying only about robbery or (perhaps) murder. It would be far worse to worry about being my neighbors’ dinner?
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BJ, indeed, it would be a bigger problem worrying about being your neighbour’s meal now. For the societies that did it, maybe it wasn’t such a big deal
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All this talk of cannibalism has made me hungry. Well, have a good day. I’m off to poison some christian wells and munch on a few of their babies, bye now.
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I thought christian babies were your staple diet ie main source of animal protein
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Indeed they are.
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Just don’t eat Muslim babes. They may explode in your belly
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Ah, that explains why I get gas every time I eat one.
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As Madalyn suggests OM, societies and their individual participants live by a codified behavioural consensus, which itself is both conditioned and imposed by historical precedent, and which adapts only slowly, it rarely coming under question even though it may serve few of its adherents well. An interesting example of one such consensus currently operating is the demonstrable failure of Free Market Capitalism, or Neoliberalism.
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You raise an important thing in your comment. How is it such rarely come under question?
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Because in our societies we appoint leaders, and those leaders create laws and co-opt vested interests so as to perpetuate a self-serving impetus within all of those same who hold power. They then between them own, regulate and control the media, which in turn largely dictates public perception. What is there for us to question when we are told we live in the best of all possible worlds by our faux-Panglossian masters?
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I look at the society I live in. Dowry/ bride-price is such a common practice and I ask myself how did this begin and why has it lasted so long if the goals it satisfied then may have been surpassed. Such things keep me awake
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It is the same effect at play really is it not OM? We find an allure in tradition and outmoded norms too here in England. We identify with what already presents culturally: ‘this is our way’, ‘respect our tradition’, ‘be true to your culture’; or in other words, ‘do not think about it under any circumstances’.
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It is this this is our way puts the rebel in a worse position than the thief. Almost every other society opposes the rebel and may forgive the thief but treat the rebel harshly. He/ she is seen as a disturber of the peace
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re: cannibalism – combination of special snowflake syndrome and disease transmission. I was about 8 years old when I read Alive! the book about the Andean crash. That may explain my psyche now 🙂
re: leaving the face bits exposed, need to see expression to be social. And it’s damn hot in most environments to cover up.
monogamy always has made me curious on why. I have no desire at all to be with anyone but my husband but I do wonder why that is?
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Muslim women in some countries go with face covered and a veil over their eyes.
I would like to know really why the tendency towards monogamy
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Jealousy?
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Hard to tell. I have never been able to understand it
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Avoid it at all cost. It’s a useless emotion.
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soory, “came out as…”
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Male animals always try to control access to mating opportunities in most animal societies.
Plus, is monogamy as dominant as we are assuming? How many concubines did the mythical Alpha Male Soloman control? Mormons? Muslims?
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Monogamy- marriage to one partner is quite prevalent in many forms including serial monogamy. But that doesn’t tell us anything about the extra pair copulation which I think happens a lot.
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This is the second post I have encountered a fact or thought on cannibalism – scary! Lol 😣 to me- there is a natural tendency to NOT want to eat meat of any variety- and ever since I was a kid I was and still terrified of harming or hurting any living things (except bugs lol). I read about how hot dogs were made when I was 12- and I haven’t ate another hot dog since. My mind is my biggest enemy when it comes to food. I’m super picky- I would starve if strange meats were my only option for survival! So I can’t even fathom that humans still eat humans in the 21st century (as a regular practice- unless they’re like Jeffrey Dahmer and just muy loco en la cabeza) 😢
On monogamy- I think keeping the amount of sexual partners one has to a minimum is best for disease prevention. Don’t really care if they’re married- I used to work for doctors and I saw what being über promiscuous (being inflicted with disease as a result) does to people and it’s truly not pretty and devastating to the individuals on many levels obviously. I would say- finding someone who shares the same passions and desires and being committed to that person is key for survival really…not anything to do with religion.
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Linden, no thought should be scary :-P. You are safe for now, but if I know where you live, it may not be for long. I may want to eat you alive or dead.
I am working towards cutting on my meat consumption. I have always loved my steak.
If there was no risk or low risk of disease, what would you say about monogamy?
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😂😂 ok I feel safe knowing I am not an option on the dinner plate lol
As far as monogamy- even if there was little risk for disease I still am a very obsessive compulsive person about germs- I would still be just as paranoid lol
But if there was no risk- reasons for monogamy could be stability, security, fidelity. Some people need and crave these in their life- I personally am a creature of routine- and I enjoy having the same people around me (especially ones I love like my hubs). I don’t judge those who are not in a monogamous relationship- I just strongly urge them to be safe and go to the doctor for checks for themselves and others frequently. No orgasm is worth a lifetime (or even death) of misery from a stupid disease is my thinking. I have seen people suffer the consequences and it’s heartbreaking. I guess that’s why I feel so strongly about that. 😔😕
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Maybe, just maybe. And the reasons you give are valid
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Thanks 😊 and thank you for having such an open and open minded forum for discussion! Your blog is fun!
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No topic should be beyond limits and if we can achieve it here, my work is done
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Have all societies across all ages been monogamous?
In Robert Reed’s Great Ship books people (in the far future) just fuck around a lot. Sex is a pastime, a tension reliever, and friendships are more important than relationships.
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There has always been the appearance of monogamy with a lot of sex going on behind the scenes as far as I can tell
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This is true… But in that scenario you have to be sneaky. Richard Carrier recently came out as polyamorous, and he appears to be having a whale of a time now 🙂
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I have read of a culture where in the days gone by on the wedding night, the bride would sleep with as many men as were willing and remain chaste thereafter.
And in some where until recently, your brothers could sleep with your wife and it was not an offense. It was always consensual and I think they were all happy
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A fine balancing act, I’d suspect.
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Although I don’t like monogamy, I’ve gotten involved with “polyamorous” men twice and for me it was terrible and I’d never do it again. I’ve only ever been the “secondary” and never the “primary” and it’s just as awful and lonely as being the “other” woman with a married man. What makes it worse is that the people who are “polyamorous” are really full of themselves about it. They have elaborate codes about what to do and not do. If you don’t like it, they pull this “I’m a superior being who’s more evolved than you.” It’s really annoying and weirdly manipulative.
In the end, it’s just as restrictive as monogamy. It’s strange. When I was young, I was highly promiscuous and I avoided committed relationships and everything was fine. The two times I felt “used” was with self-consciously polyamorous men. What’s even more annoying, is whenever I complained about it, people talk to me as if I’m a prude or too conventional or something. Since I’m anything but, especially on a sexual level, it comes across as more of the dishonest, manipulative behavior.
I’d rather be a prostitute than the secondary in a polyamorous relationship. At least in that situation everyone is honest about what’s going on and the man doesn’t want to be complimented on how enlightened he is.
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Well said. I think you’ve summarised exactly the thoughts i had about the certain pitfalls of entering a polyamorous affair.
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To me, the biggest thing has always been to be honest about what you want. If you want a relationship, say so. If you don’t, say so. That’s the best way to avoid people feeling screwed over.
I’ve had so many situations that just didn’t fit into a category, and quite a few of them have been good even if unconventional.
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I think those pitfalls, in my view, may also plague monogamous relationships e.g an overbearing partner
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Or we just stay single.
What happens here a lot is for married people to keep mistresses or misters( is that a word?). And life goes on
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Here’s his announcement article. It’s worth the read:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/6737
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Thanks. Will read it in a bit
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I’ve come out as polyoctopusius. I only date octopus.
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That is good for your height
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Indeed.
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The massages must be wonderful!
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They are. 🙂
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Octopi! Heretic! LOL
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Octipedes actually. Octopus is a Greek word which we give a Latin spelling to incorrectly when pluralizing it. I know this because I only date octopi. 🙂
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How is your relationship coming along?
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It’s tough. She lives in the Atlantic ocean; me in Chicago. Long distance relationships are hard.
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That is a tough one friend
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That was an interesting read, John.
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Cannibalism… it tastes like chicken!
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I’ve heard we taste like particularly rancid pork. Hence the awful term “Long Pig” 🙂
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Yuck!
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Hahaha. That person I guess didn’t cook very well
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Or so I have heard
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inspired: I had no idea. here I was being a smart ass Grammar Nazi and I made a completely wrong assumption!
Cheers!
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Few know that little tidbit of info. I took several linguistics classes in college. Me likey language and wurds. 😀
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At least, this is one thing I know 😛
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I do get why people don’t eat people. I think because we’re social animals and need to cooperate to survive, if you thought every hungry stranger might eat you, you’d have to be on your guard. Especially children. We’d never have made it. Why wouldn’t a hungry mother eat her kids? It really doesn’t surprise me that cannibalism has only occurred in either extreme circumstances, like the Donner Party, or under highly ritualized, and therefore restricted, situations.
As far as clothes go, lots of people have gone unclothed. It seems to me, that the first thing that gets covered is the genitalia. I don’t know about men, but for purely hygienic reasons, I wouldn’t want to sit on the ground completely naked. I also once accidentally dropped a pot of boiling water on myself when I was naked and also had sort of shaved off everything and I wouldn’t have minded a little more protection in that area. I no longer cook naked. (Warning: Stop reading if the idea of bodily fluids makes you queasy.) Also, if I’m naked around other people in a non-sexual situation I get very self-conscious about leaving a wet spot if I sit on anything. In the steam room at the gym, I’ll sit on a towel. So does every other woman. I guess men don’t have this issue. Related – I’ve tried not wearing underpants and I don’t know what to say except that women who don’t must have a lower libido than I do.
As far as monogamy goes, I don’t think it’s been the major form of relationships for most of human history. Generally, I think most of the restrictions on sexuality come from the fact that someone has to take care of any children that may result from sex. It’s really only been in the modern era since we have control of that that we’ve been able to seriously consider sex purely for fun without any consequence. I’m sort of surprised that so many people have mentioned venereal disease and not pregnancy. I think the big point, whether someone had one wife or several, is that he would be committed to help raise any children.
You might be interested in the culture of the Algonquian tribes. Since they were on the east coast and were the first group to have contact with Europeans it’s hard to be certain exactly what their culture was like prior to any European contact, but if the writings of the early colonizers is any indication, marriage was a somewhat fluid state. Most people it seems were in monogamous relationships, but occasionally some men had more than one wife and there were a couple of accounts of women with more than one husband. I can’t help wondering if because people were living in small bands that it perhaps wasn’t necessary to have a marriage and a legal framework to make sure the children were taken care of.
Also, they didn’t wear much in hot weather if seventeenth century illustrations are any indication.
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/556459871-native-american-ceremony-16th-century-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=9tVT7GcA%2Bc4VHSgka8ZRmva6qqS77OC55vOT7nsJyd%2FEaqZrPITzaBJL2q69JahW
Are you sure you’re not part Narragansett?
As far as cannibalism goes, they might not have had much opportunity. Roger Williams wrote that they could have a war for seven years and not kill seven men, or something like that. That’s almost certainly an exaggeration, but the eastern tribes were not especially violent, a rather significant handicap when confronted with Europeans.
On the other hand, another early colonist speculated that their skin color came from dyeing their babies at birth, so early colonists are not exactly reliable sources of anything.
In one of the comments, someone mentioned veiled women, but is that traditional? Did it exist before Islam. The highly covered black outfits that we associate with Saudi Arabia are twentieth century.
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I don’t want to imagine being burnt anywhere, more especially near both the entertainment and sewage centres. That is a good reason to wear clothes.
As to eating people, as far as I can tell, even those who practiced it, it wasn’t a regular thing. There was no need to be on guard. In fact in one community, it was part of a sex orgy.
I think there has always been a mix monogamous and polygamous relationships.
The veil doesn’t seem to be ancient. There are photos on the net of 1970s Iran and the women didn’t have veils.
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