MyDoorsAreOpen
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2003
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Yesterday I read Wikipedia's article on culture of honor, and this really tied together a whole lot of scattered thoughts and memories I've been having over the past few years.
A culture of honor (CoH) is a society in which rule of law is weak or frowned upon, and the benefits of directly violating others outweigh the risks. Therefore, men take it upon themselves to defend what's theirs, and will retaliate brutally against anyone who tries to violate him or his property.
There may be relatively little actual violence in a culture of honor, simply because everyone is scared of everyone else. Looking weak is the number one thing to avoid in a CoH -- One looks weak by failing to respond to even the slightest insult. A CoH often has elaborate protocols for ensuring no accidental offenses or insults happen. In cultures of law, people gain respect by projecting an image of trustworthiness. In cultures of honor, people gain respect by project an image of 'don't fuck with me'.
I've had a perverse fascination with cultures of honor for some time now. I love a good mafia or Wild West film, or a medieval Chinese knight-errant story, as featured in a lot of kung fu movies. My fascination, though, is based on the fact that I am completely and totally NOT CUT OUT to survive in a CoH! I'm a staunch pacifist. I think having to come off to the world as 'hard' is an unnecessary burden. I hate when other men decide they're better than me, just because I'm not quick with a comeback. I think the whole point of society is to create a place where people shouldn't have to spend every minute on guard, watching their backs, so that they have time and mental energy to devote to higher pursuits. I actively work to make society more of that kind of place. Yeah, I'm an idealist -- be the change you want to see, and all that.
This is especially pertinent to me as a drug user. I've posted many times that I hate dealers; if it were up to me, I'd manufacture everything I chose to put in my brain (and not tell a soul). The reason, I see now, is because I don't want to find myself in a de facto culture of honor just because I enjoy drugs. I accept now that as long as drugs are illegal, I couldn't SELL them without being ready to violently defend myself. But as a simple user who happens to be male, I don't appreciate being sized up, tested, subtly threatened, or conned, just because I come off as a law-abiding citizen who ISN'T ready to bring the violence. I don't typically like giving monetary support to people and their ways that I don't support.
I digress.
What do you all think about the whole Culture of Honor thing? Is it the default state of [male] human relations -- our past and our likely future? In this case, do you feel it behooves any and all adult males to be able, if need be, to survive and defend their property under such a culture? Or is the Culture of Honor something we're evolving away from as a species, in favor of other systems that allow men to channel their testosterone-fueled whims into more constructive pursuits?
What gets me most about this topic, though, is how little it's discussed, relative to how real and relevant it is. I hear strong undertones of Libertarian/Survivalist leanings here on BL, and the Stop Snitching Movement seems pretty well supported here.
A culture of honor (CoH) is a society in which rule of law is weak or frowned upon, and the benefits of directly violating others outweigh the risks. Therefore, men take it upon themselves to defend what's theirs, and will retaliate brutally against anyone who tries to violate him or his property.
There may be relatively little actual violence in a culture of honor, simply because everyone is scared of everyone else. Looking weak is the number one thing to avoid in a CoH -- One looks weak by failing to respond to even the slightest insult. A CoH often has elaborate protocols for ensuring no accidental offenses or insults happen. In cultures of law, people gain respect by projecting an image of trustworthiness. In cultures of honor, people gain respect by project an image of 'don't fuck with me'.
I've had a perverse fascination with cultures of honor for some time now. I love a good mafia or Wild West film, or a medieval Chinese knight-errant story, as featured in a lot of kung fu movies. My fascination, though, is based on the fact that I am completely and totally NOT CUT OUT to survive in a CoH! I'm a staunch pacifist. I think having to come off to the world as 'hard' is an unnecessary burden. I hate when other men decide they're better than me, just because I'm not quick with a comeback. I think the whole point of society is to create a place where people shouldn't have to spend every minute on guard, watching their backs, so that they have time and mental energy to devote to higher pursuits. I actively work to make society more of that kind of place. Yeah, I'm an idealist -- be the change you want to see, and all that.
This is especially pertinent to me as a drug user. I've posted many times that I hate dealers; if it were up to me, I'd manufacture everything I chose to put in my brain (and not tell a soul). The reason, I see now, is because I don't want to find myself in a de facto culture of honor just because I enjoy drugs. I accept now that as long as drugs are illegal, I couldn't SELL them without being ready to violently defend myself. But as a simple user who happens to be male, I don't appreciate being sized up, tested, subtly threatened, or conned, just because I come off as a law-abiding citizen who ISN'T ready to bring the violence. I don't typically like giving monetary support to people and their ways that I don't support.
I digress.
What do you all think about the whole Culture of Honor thing? Is it the default state of [male] human relations -- our past and our likely future? In this case, do you feel it behooves any and all adult males to be able, if need be, to survive and defend their property under such a culture? Or is the Culture of Honor something we're evolving away from as a species, in favor of other systems that allow men to channel their testosterone-fueled whims into more constructive pursuits?
What gets me most about this topic, though, is how little it's discussed, relative to how real and relevant it is. I hear strong undertones of Libertarian/Survivalist leanings here on BL, and the Stop Snitching Movement seems pretty well supported here.