This is love?

[Golden Dragon Shining]

Edit.

Originally images of a gay pride parade with children observing adult males crawling on the ground in bondage attire, dressed like animals. Too distasteful to share I feel. Apparently publicly acceptable. Anyone else would be arrested for indecent exposure. Came across this image on a friends profile. It is bewildering to me that such is acceptable. It would be interesting to see how others outside contemporary western culture perceive this phenomenon.

I was watching an interview with a Japanese woman about the decline of American culture and how it was embarrassing being Japanese having been defeated by want now she considers I recall a weak, grotesque culture. Previously they could have some pride in being defeated by a world super power with high culture. Now you've males half naked dressed as animals crawling around the dirt as representative of the most "progressive" aspects of society today.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Sionnach

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Edited for the last time.

 

My perspective was that this was a beautiful piece and I somehow cheapened it by agreeing with it using sarcasm.

 

I am not a hateful person.  Yet I still agree the situation is wrong.

Edited October 21, 2016 by TheWhiteRabbit

[Marblehead]

Ah!  Right and Wrong.  Again dualistic thinking.

 

Oh, sure, I can understand that many can be upset by such behavior.  But really, these are exceptions, not the rule.  One could say that they are lost souls but that is judgmental and therefore of dualistic subjective thinking.

 

Nature (the processes of the universe) doesn't always function the way our logical brain thinks it should function.

[Karl]

Edit.

Originally images of a gay pride parade with children observing adult males crawling on the ground in bondage attire, dressed like animals. Too distasteful to share I feel. Apparently publicly acceptable. Anyone else would be arrested for indecent exposure. Came across this image on a friends profile. It is bewildering to me that such is acceptable. It would be interesting to see how others outside contemporary western culture perceive this phenomenon.

I was watching an interview with a Japanese woman about the decline of American culture and how it was embarrassing being Japanese having been defeated by want now she considers I recall a weak, grotesque culture. Previously they could have some pride in being defeated by a world super power with high culture. Now you've males half naked dressed as animals crawling around the dirt as representative of the most "progressive" aspects of society today.

As a clear sign that the West has given up. Look around any art gallery, or read the stuff that passes as contemporary classic literature. It's all utter crap. Toohey won.

[Marblehead]

Hasn't won yet.  I'm still here.

[Karl]

Hasn't won yet.  I'm still here.

It's a democracy, so mob rule. The majority oppresses the majority and does so legally. We can live our own lives within the parameters of the restrictions that are applied to us. There are always cracks in the pavement, but the road has most definitely been laid. It began in earnest in the 60s with events such as Woodstock.

[joeblast]

Edit.

 

Originally images of a gay pride parade with children observing adult males crawling on the ground in bondage attire, dressed like animals. Too distasteful to share I feel. Apparently publicly acceptable. Anyone else would be arrested for indecent exposure. Came across this image on a friends profile. It is bewildering to me that such is acceptable. It would be interesting to see how others outside contemporary western culture perceive this phenomenon.

 

I was watching an interview with a Japanese woman about the decline of American culture and how it was embarrassing being Japanese having been defeated by want now she considers I recall a weak, grotesque culture. Previously they could have some pride in being defeated by a world super power with high culture. Now you've males half naked dressed as animals crawling around the dirt as representative of the most "progressive" aspects of society today.

but you already know why

[Stosh]

Well, she should recognize that not every person in any culture shares the same values as every other person , and could then laugh off or take pride in , Japanese underpants vending machines , as a sign of tolerance. 

[Andrei]

Edit.

 

Originally images of a gay pride parade with children observing adult males crawling on the ground in bondage attire, dressed like animals. Too distasteful to share I feel. Apparently publicly acceptable. Anyone else would be arrested for indecent exposure. Came across this image on a friends profile. It is bewildering to me that such is acceptable. It would be interesting to see how others outside contemporary western culture perceive this phenomenon.

 

I was watching an interview with a Japanese woman about the decline of American culture and how it was embarrassing being Japanese having been defeated by want now she considers I recall a weak, grotesque culture. Previously they could have some pride in being defeated by a world super power with high culture. Now you've males half naked dressed as animals crawling around the dirt as representative of the most "progressive" aspects of society today.

 

I wouldn't be so judgmental about western culture and praise the holiness of Japanese culture.

Just make a search on google about the Japanese art of shibari / kinbaku and you'll see where bondage is coming from.

And let's not forget where Pikachu was invented.

By the way did you know that manga and anime later, appeared in Japan after WWII as a mixture between classical Japanese painting and Disney cartoons characters?

[dust]

The way you describe the photo, it does sound disturbing. And yes, some gay people force themselves to stand out for what I would agree are the wrong reasons. And involving children in some of it would be nasty.

 

On the other hand, perhaps you're simply not sharing the photo because it's not as bad as you describe? Maybe they're just dressed as animals for fun, like people do sometimes -- Hallowe'en, birthdays, parades, etc. It is quite common to dress up.

 

And let's not pretend that what you describe -- if it's true -- is the norm. Google image "gay pride parade" and I find very few images of children at all, let alone in the situation you describe. Lots of colour and topless people, sure, but I see no problem with topless people.

[Marblehead]

... but I see no problem with topless people.

Unless it's their brains that are missing.

[thelerner]

My guess, such pictures are less about love then a screw you, to uptight homophobes.  Its probably a pretty small subgroup that's going out its way to shock the puritans among us.  I know gay people who are also offended by the more outlandish displays but its part of the culture of gay parades in the U.S.  and shouldn't be seen as an indictment on the whole of gay culture.

 

As I get older, I'm going to more Burns (ie Burning Man), my tolerance for colorful dress and undress, all things counter culture has gone way up.  Not that its my cup of tea, but by rubbing elbows, you find out not only are they fascinating but they're things to learn from them. 

 

It's possible the half naked man in chains is your accountant, coworker or boss.  I hope we don't think those dressed up as witches worship Satan or the zombies are hoping to be zombified in real life.  There are times and places where an element of play is allowed.  I find that a good thing.  Matter of fact I'd like to see more of it in society.. the Mardi Gras the Burning Men, Halloweens, color, pageantry, celebration of being both different and yourself. 

[Karl]

Hmmmm. Are you part of the Silicon Valley tech scene Lerner ? Do you take 'persuasives' or just hanging out ?

[silent thunder]

hmm, isn't that something?

some folks are into things that other folks aren't...

 

selfishness isn't living my life the way I want.

it's expecting and forcing others to live their life the way I want.

[Kar3n]

How loving is it to sit in judgment of aspects of society, progressive or not?

[liminal_luke]

Oh my, Sionnach....you do love play the provocateur, don´t you?  Many folks find the outlandish dress (or lack thereof) and in-your-face kinkiness of a small subset of the gay community upsetting.  An argument can be made that some of that doesn´t represent the best of gay culture.  But I find it distasteful when people try to use such images to smear the gay community as a whole.  It´s misleading, destructive, and, quite frankly, hateful. 

 

I could post pictures of heterosexual prostitution and swing clubs and all manner of shocking hetero lasciviousness.  If we´re slinging pictures there´s plenty of that to go around.  For better or worse people see those things and they don´t think that all of heterosexuality is wrong.  Show pictures of the same people in a gay context and, well, homosexuality itself takes the blame.  But then I think maybe that´s your point.

[Aetherous]

How loving is it to sit in judgment of aspects of society, progressive or not?

It's incredibly easy...so easy that literally every person does it almost constantly, often without realizing it.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

It's incredibly easy...so easy that literally every person does it almost constantly, often without realizing it.

+Kar3n

 

It is time to remember what virtues are.

 

This time what I said is not a promise, is not shocking... But it is a threat hidden by deep wounds.

Wounds caused by laziness of thought, waking me up to the reality that confusing people and making them codependant has not just a negative but a deteriorating entropic effect on society.

[Karl]

hmm, isn't that something?

some folks are into things that other folks aren't...

 

selfishness isn't living my life the way I want.

it's expecting and forcing others to live their life the way I want.

No, that's referred to as the initiation of force. Judging someone's behaviour as irrational isn't the initiation of force. We are all selfish whether we accept it or not, we are either rationally or irrationally selfish.

[Michael Sternbach]

Edit.

Originally images of a gay pride parade with children observing adult males crawling on the ground in bondage attire, dressed like animals. Too distasteful to share I feel. Apparently publicly acceptable. Anyone else would be arrested for indecent exposure. Came across this image on a friends profile. It is bewildering to me that such is acceptable. It would be interesting to see how others outside contemporary western culture perceive this phenomenon.

I was watching an interview with a Japanese woman about the decline of American culture and how it was embarrassing being Japanese having been defeated by want now she considers I recall a weak, grotesque culture. Previously they could have some pride in being defeated by a world super power with high culture. Now you've males half naked dressed as animals crawling around the dirt as representative of the most "progressive" aspects of society today.

A culture in which school girls in uniforms are commonly considered very arousing can hardly be considered any loftier.

[Golden Dragon Shining]

Ah!  Right and Wrong.  Again dualistic thinking.

 

Oh, sure, I can understand that many can be upset by such behavior.  But really, these are exceptions, not the rule.  One could say that they are lost souls but that is judgmental and therefore of dualistic subjective thinking.

 

Nature (the processes of the universe) doesn't always function the way our logical brain thinks it should function.

 

What is the origin of non-dual thinking? does it mean there is no right and wrong?

 

What is wrong with judgement? and do you see the inconsistency in that?

 

I consider myself somewhat of a Taoist observing Nature to find what is true and what isn't.

 

There is Nature then there are things which fall out of harmony with it.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Sionnach

[Golden Dragon Shining]

Japanese are not practicing hibari/kinbaku publicly

Pikachu?

 

[Marblehead]

What is the origin of non-dual thinking?

 

That is a difficult question for me to respond to.  I think that there really is no "origin" but rather it is an evolution of thought.  In fact, I might even say that it is an evolution to "no thought".  Observe, acknowledge, let it go. 

 

does it mean there is no right and wrong?

 

From the "no thought" perspective that would be correct:  there is no right and wrong.  But I doubt we can hold that perspective in our every day life.  We will always return to dualistic thinking, that is, acceptable and unacceptable, useful and useless.  But we should at least acknowledge the "what is".  Anything else would be illusion and delusion.  After acknowledging the "what is" we can then place our subjective valuations upon or observations.

 

What is wrong with judgement?

 

Nothing really.  I have a number of times stated that I judge.  Chuang Tzu even gave us a story about judging a man's worth.  But our judgments should always be based on reality and not our learned prejudices.

 

and do you see the inconsistency in that?

 

There's no inconsistency, really.  In the situation above we can judge it to be strange.  If we go any further than that we would be placing our learned prejudices and values on others.  I think that would be something we should not do as long as there is no harm being done to others.

 

I consider myself somewhat of a Taoist observing Nature to find what is true and what isn't.

 

Yes.  The truth.  For us, the individual.  The truth will allow for the possibility of peace and contentment to enter our inner-most essence.

 

There is Nature then there are things which fall out of harmony with it.

 

Yep.  Taoism speaks to that repetitiously.  This is actually a very deep concept but I won't speak further to it at this time. 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by Marblehead

[mvingon]

Nah. That's a pretty weak justification. Worry about your life, not others'. If who someone loves or how they dress or undress is a problem for you, it is your problem. You can still let people know that dress/behavior is unwelcome in your home, but how would you like it if I said you have to wear shiner plastic, ball gags and fishhook piercings? Look away, if it bothers you that much.

 

I once knew am older lady who dyed her hair. I wanted to warn her, but it wasn't my place. She died of brain cancer. I know women who think I'm stupid, for spending more to eat less, and let me know it. They spend more for garbage food, and chemicals for their hair, faces, bodies to "look good." When they lecture me, I just lol, and tell them I don't dictate how they spend their money, nor do they get to dictate how I spend mine. Makes them angry, but they're free to go away and leave me alone, any time. It's not like I seek company, anymore.