Showing posts with label psychosocialspiritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psychosocialspiritual. Show all posts

Wednesday, 7 January 2015

Misogyny, Dental Students & "the Good People"

     "Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, denigration of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women. Misogyny can be found within many mythologies of the ancient world as well as various religions. In addition, various influential Western philosophers have been described as misogynistic." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny

     Bruce MacKinnon's cartoon in the Jan 6, 2015 Chronicle Herald newspaper shows a female dentist and her male patient, wearing a Dal Dentistry 2015 shirt. They're both looking at his X-ray, while she tells him "No cavities, but we did find significant moral decay."

     Those of us who call for quick, severe punishment for these foolish men's online behavior are, like fundamentalist extremists, unable to self-regulate - unable to see, accept and appropriately manage our own deficiencies & emotional problems. At this level of hysteria, it's just a power struggle between "perps" who've been caught and "self-righteous" who've not yet been caught. It has nothing to do with morals, ethics, justice etc. and everything to do with widespread psychosocialspiritual immaturity.
     When we do mature out of adolescent / emerging-adult black-or-white thinking, we no longer see others as "evil" (or sexual objects) and ourselves as "good" (or 'gentlemen') ie no longer project our own shadow onto scapegoats. We see how all of us are both flawed and wise, in need of understanding, kindness, boundaries, and yes, at times corrective measures. But how should we discipline our own beloved children - no matter how terribly they've messed up? Our own children are not disposable sacrificial lambs. We'd want our own loved ones rehabilitated to become decent, mature, productive members of society. Treating each other like this actually models "morality."
     Colonialism in India, communism in Europe and apartheid in South Africa, with their millions of tortured murdered victims, were all dismantled without bloodshed. Dalhousie university will deal with these 13 emerging adults' online stupidity in a mature civilized manner.


Saturday, 3 January 2015

Ready for Wisdom?

     Our society openly admires and amply rewards:

          • the "lone wolf" going beyond societal conventions
          • fame, regardless of how it's achieved
          • bending & breaking rules "to win"
          • a "winner" 
 
     At the same time, the US - the poster child for this ethos - incarcerates more people per capita than any other country. We energetically punish "losers" - those who failed to evade our law enforcement and judicial systems. Convicted criminals embarrass us, not because they caused individuals and society to suffer, nor because we / society failed them, but because they spotlight our society's, and our own personal, psychosocialspiritual poverty. "The one who dies with the most toys wins" is the tragicomedic philosophy of life for too many of us.
     Big business has successfully converted society into a global feedlot of deadheads mindlessly "consuming" ever greater quantities of mass-produced garbage. Mary Jo Leddy, author of "Radical Gratitude", on CBC radio's Tapestry (10/13/02), pointed out the relationship between inherent, endemic dissatisfaction in consumer societies, and a deep sense of emptiness, inadequacy, powerlessness.

     How low must we sink before our schools and universities responsibly graduate decent, caring, wise human beings? Robert J. Sternberg PhD spent much of his career trying to move this agenda forward: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2014/01/teaching-for-wisdom-urgently-needed-now.html


Shower in Tuscany