Several flights were disrupted today because of hoax bomb threats made against them, including a few from Finland. Later, it appears that "Fighters of the Male State" have claimed responsibility for the threats, which is a far-right, ultra-nationalist, misogynistic group or movement that started in Russia a decade ago. I don't know about you, but I find these groups pathetic.
I haven't spent much time or energy learning about the "manosphere", but this has been happening for longer than there was a term for it. The movements are of course centred around groups of like-minded men and I always wonder, what kinds of women would find their ideology and activity attractive. Yet, it does seem there are women who embrace it, perhaps like a beaten housewife who has chosen to believe her husband acts out of love.
A couple months ago I was writing about how someone in Finland politics said that immigrants should adjust cultural practices that are incompatible with general Finnish culture. I agree. I also think that Finns should adjust their cultural practices that are incompatible with developing a successful country going forward. Conditions are always changing, therefore traditions have to change also.
Traditions aren't held because they are important, but they were first created because they were important for the time. They had meaning due to the context of the conditions, which could be for practical reasons or belief reasons, built on the tools, understanding, and available information of the moment. The practice works for some reason, so it is repeated until it is habit, then passed on down the generations. But this doesn't mean that the practise is still suitable for the conditions of today, or tomorrow, or in ten years from now.
With the information we have available to us today, if all cultural tradition was wiped clean and we were starting from a blank slate, how many of the current traditions would be reintroduced? Would we still be celebrating midsummer by dancing around a Maypole in Sweden? Would women have to cover their hair and ankles in Arab countries? Would we still encourage identity-based bigotry?
While it is easy to consider a lot of the various silly traditions we see from other cultures, we also have many traditions that we probably wouldn't build again if starting from scratch, knowing what we do now. Would we keep the same political and financial traditions that have created massive gaps in equity and opportunity? Would we rebuild the tradition of unsustainable industries that have polluted our environment? Would we spend our time and energy on arguing over the past, when there is a future ahead?
I don't know.
I just think that these internet-driven movements are pretty much all harmful, because they focus on narrow problems that a handful of individuals face, but never address the real issues that we need solutions for. For a moment, let's say that all women stayed in the kitchen and didn't work or if all women covered their hair and ankles?
Would nature be fixed? Would income disparity disappear? Would we have a sustainable clean energy solution?
I suspect not.
Sure, there are lot of problems we can spend our time on, nut most of our energy s going to problems that we are making up so that we don't have to do anything that actually matters. In my opinion, the "culture" that people fight over should pretty much all disappear, because it is no longer suitable for advancing human development and wellbeing, which is the only thing we should be focusing our energy on, because it encompasses everything that is important to us.
We aren't all the same, but we can all be a part of the improvement process.
Unless we choose to hold ourselves and others back.
It is bad to hold ourselves back as we never reach our potential. But those who hold others back from being their best, well - what kind of person are they?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Be part of the Hive discussion.
- Comment on the topics of the article, and add your perspectives and experiences.
- Read and discuss with others who comment and build your personal network
- Engage well with me and others and put in effort
And you may be rewarded.