Babel

Author: Sonia Andras

  • On standard sentences, political correctness and reciting poems dictated by Scaraotsky

    Wooden Chair
    Image by epSos.de via Flickr

    This is not a new idea, nor is it new as compared to other posts I’ve made in this blog (here, or here for example) or in other places, but I never addressed this issue in its own blog post.

    Romanian has an expression that can be literally translated in English as wooden language. I am not sure about the equivalent in English, but this wooden language represents the words, sentences and phrases used in official/professional environments in order to express standard ideas or qualities using key concepts (such as the “turning any obstacle into an opportunity”, or even professional jargon when talking about notion blocks inserted into every-day or official conversation.

    This wooden language is very common. Even though it may take different forms, according to each context and political, social and/or religious situation, it can reach a point of crisis: when it’s emptied of its original – positive? – sense, like a fly is empty after the spider has feasted with its insides.

    This type of language can be particularly dangerous when it’s repetition is pushed towards the subconscious. That is, when it’s more than just background noise, it is a message that is being transmitted on invisible waves. In any case, this becomes something like radio waves: we don’t see them, but we are perfectly aware of their existence and effect. In other words, the worst threat is the one that you don’t even know of.

    One of the most common standardized wooden language (in the West, at least) is the one related to political correctness and with anything that deals with or contains the word “sustainable.” The expressions were created to replace other notions that are now considered rude or insulting (such as fat, short, skinny, etc.), but have already surpassed their original positive intention and have become utterly ridiculous. I am not saying political correctness is ridiculous, I am referring strictly to the terms used.

    Human beings are a very interesting species. We like to think we’re individuals, but the things we are most proud is our association with external entities (from bands to companies) and our very original ideas were planted in our heads through different methods. Such methods include as diverse sources as: repetition in school lessons, commercials, movies, music. From this point on, the notions are somewhere we can’t see, but every time we are confronted with a situation similar or identical to our trigger, the bomb sets off out of nowhere.

    So… Wooden or golden, language can be quite tricky, especially when trying to express something original, or when trying (and succeeding) to brainwash somebody by means of word-repetition.

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • How Different Are We, Really?

    LYS89girl
    Image via Wikipedia

    I was thinking this while seeing different families with small children.

    Don’t we all have the same problems as children?

    -I want something but adults say I can’t so I behave badly.

    -I don’t want something but adults say I have to so I behave badly.

    Don’t we all have the same problems as parents?

    -I’m ashamed my child is behaving badly.

    -I don’t know what to do to make my child shut up/behave.

    -Some people smile or react when they see my child. Why? Should I worry?

    -Some people are bothered by my child. What should I do?

    And so on…

    Just thinking about these problems… It doesn’t matter the colour, the ethnicity, etc… when it comes to problems with children and such… Or… does it?

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • Things We Never Like To Admit

    Avoidance of naming taboo: Example of omitting...
    Image via Wikipedia

    Humans have this innate tendency to think, create and… shift the blame.  In other words, since we got created – or evolved -, we have perfected this incredibly cynical skill to make “I didn’t do this” sound almost plausible.
    We have also created the legal system to supposedly make our lives less unfair. But this system, like anything human-made, is anything but unbreakable … or unsinkable for that matter (pun intended). That is, the courts resemble more a Samson or an Achilles than an almighty God.
    Like in a recent case everybody can be undoubtedly convinced of somebody’s guilt, but unless a jury sees that too, without getting tangled in legal details that may or may not support the truth, the accused walks free.
    On the other hand, like l for one believe happened in another recent case, the system can very well be used for political purposes. Here the truth doesn’t matter much. Power, on the other hand, does.
    This word – power – is a very sensitive notion. I can be powerful with money, relations or I can simply be backed by a strong, numerous or influential group.
    In another, more recent and tragical case, power was exercited under the umbrela of the extreme right movement(s) which appeared as a surprise, it seems. The terrorist was shockingly arian, not at all middle-eastern as first thought. This is even scarier for the average Western European and not only, as one is confronted with the fact that evil is not something unnamed from far-far away, but it lurks within its very core. This attack was an anti-victory: it did not slay the multicultural dragon, it actually gave it more power.
    But will this solve our cultural an racial issues? Most probably not, we just have the bugbear a new name and exiled it from our world. In other words, nothing really changed. The blame was shifted to another ethereal, collective entity of which we know almost nothing – nor do we want to… right?

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • If King Michael is a traitor … then what is Basescu?

    Romanian President Traian Basescu called HMS King Michael of Romania a traitor…. How far can a *supposedly* democratic president go when expressing personal opinions and such in public?

    ActMedia Romanian News Agency:http://www.actmedia.eu/2011/06/24/top+story/royal+house+will+not+comment+on+p…
    Yahoo News:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110623/ap_on_re_eu/eu_romania_basescu_king
    The Kansas City Star:http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/23/2969149/romanian-president-launches-atta…
    Romania Report Blog: http://romania-rep.blogspot.com/2008/02/president-basescu-in-timisoara-i-will…
    Find out more: http://www.google.ro/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=basescu+about+…

    I didn’t plan to take on this subject at the beginning. But, at the same time, a so-called democratic president … sings the tunes of the Securitate & co? (Securitate was the Romanian secret police during the belle epoque – for the unitiated, before 1989, when it was a Communist dictatourship under Nicolae Ceausescu) Bashing the Royal Family was en vogue then, for obvious reasons. But what does this prove?

    Going beyond the obvious insult (recited a la carte from the How to Be a Good Boy – girls are obviously left out, they are supposed to stay at home and breed a future glorious generation for the Party and for the country –  handbook printed in the brains of so many people…), this is an intriguing – and terrifying – Freudian (Stalinist?) slip from a person who is supposed to promote a certain set of morals, convictions and act as the representative of the many. What is even more disturbing is the thought that, even though he has lost a whole bucket o’ points in the hearts of his *cough* subjects, Basescu still shows no sign of stopping his destructive ways. He’s like on a bloody rampage with nothing to lose!

    Well, anyway, this is from the point of view of an insider who can pledge alliance to the King at any time. How does this appear from the outside? I’m really interested to see if this little slip will hurt Basescu (and Romania?)’s international image. My question is … is a president supposed to recite such offensive poems?

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • 12th and Delaware: A Documentary About Abortion & CO, Raising Disturbing Feelings…

    (video taken from here – see the film, its description and comments in the link)

    This documentary is difficult to put in categories. It does follow the pro-life side, but at the same time, I can’t be sure of any bias because there isn’t any literal comment on what’s being filmed. Long story short, 8 years after an abortion clinic was opened in Fort Pierce, Florida, across the street, a pro-life group opened their own version of a pregnancy/counseling clinic. See the description here:

    The two sides of the abortion debate in America literally face one another in this documentary from filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. In Fort Pierce, Florida, a women’s heath care center is located at the corner of 12th and Delaware. On the same corner, across the street, is another women’s heath care center. However, the two centers are not in the same business; one provides abortions along with a variety of other health services, while the other primarily offers counseling to women considering abortion, urging them to keep their babies. In 12th and Delaware, Ewing and Grady offer a look inside both offices, as pro-life counselors give women a mixture of concern and disinformation about terminating their pregnancies and the pro-choice medical staff struggles to work under the frequent threat of violence against them. The film also examines the handful of protesters who stand outside the abortion clinic, confronting both patients and staff as they enter and exit.

    My problem is not with the film itself. My problem is with the context and the whole situation. Somebody who is level-headed and can think from more than one point of view, can see where the aggression lies and who is the victim in this issue. I’m not going to barge in the debate myself… Well, not completely. I’ve learnt to be careful about expressing an opinion (especially when we’re dealing with absolutes like “pro” and “con”) when I don’t know what I’m talking about. I pray to God that I won’t be put in that situation. I’ve passed the hard part (adolescence) without such *cough* accidents and I consider myself lucky to have learned through other people’s experience and not from mine. But here lies the catch. I can’t say I’m in either side.

    Why? I remember when I was little – 7 or 8 I think, I accidentally stumbled upon a documentary on abortion on TV (I was for some reason alone at that particular moment, and being curious I watched it – at that point I knew my parents wouldn’t let me watch it, so I only told them years later). It was pretty shocking, it was my first image of an abortion post-3 months and that image got stuck into my head. At that point I realized how fragile life is and perhaps unconsciously made the decision not to get into that situation. Never ever! I’m selfish too. I want to make myself a decent living and perhaps even marry before I’ll even think about pregnancy. That should be normal. I mean, I don’t necessarily consider myself as an example (well, for me, I narcisistically do, but that’s just human), but people shouldn’t even think about having babies before they’re prepared: in mind, social standing and possibility to give that child a good life. How many tragedies could have been prevented if people thought before rushing into *cough* baby-making activities?

    Coming from a country where abortion was illegal until 1989 (well, until some ten years ago you would also go to jail for being gay…), knowing the stories of these women who – sometimes – even lost their lives in underground, un-sanitary abortions, or the stories of women who could barely put a slice of bread on the table but had to accept a new life in their homes… There’s no wonder the orphanages are full and constantly renewing their numbers… Romanian women are still barely conscious (excluding some educated young women, maybe) about such things as contraception – they simply didn’t have mothers, sisters, grandmothers, friends to teach them. The subject is very much a tabu, even though magazines and TV shows promote the pleassant parts of sex (like everywhere else in the World), while leaving out a little detail that could save everybody a little trouble: responsibility. And not responsibility after you’ve found out you’re pregnant! Responsibility before even thinking of having unprotected sex. Thinking twice before rushing in with a boy (I’m talking about teenage girls) that may or may not take responsibility if things go awry…

    And then, there is the question of rape. I know about myself, that if I were in that situation (God forbid, again!), I wouldn’t want a constant reminder of that awful moment. I’d probably hate that child so much that I’d make my and his/her life a living hell. Well, I’m selling the skin of the bear from the forest, so I’d better not get there. In any case, women have gained the right to hate the men who harass, assault, rape or abuse them. By hate I mean acknowledging your own value and power and standing against anybody telling you otherwise.

    I was looking at these girls, these children… How easily you can manipulate them! How easily you can destroy their future! I’ve always hated any kind of aggressive propaganda. And that is what these pro-life organizations are doing. They don’t represent God, they don’t even represent man (pun intended), they represent their own narrow-minded bubbles. They have the same behavior inquisitors had back in the day. They have the same behavior as any rapacious sect members have when (s)he’s out and about forcibly feeding anybody coming their way with their porkies. They’re so pro-life they wouldn’t hesitate to lynch the gynecologist and everybody around (involved or not with the clinic) from across the street, given the chance.

    That’s why I’m sorry to say I’m a bit afraid of sects and para-religious organizations that think they have the law of man and God in their hands. They don’t do anything else but harass people who would have never bothered them (I mean, who opened the second “clinic”?), would have gone their own way, doing their own thing as the human rights of any democratic country dictate. Who is aggressive here? These people can’t but annoy and scare me. I only have one question: Who can make decisions for my personal affairs that happen inside my private space? What right does anybody else but me have in deciding what I do with my body? Of course, not everybody agrees with everybody, but disagreeing with my choice – does that give you the right to harass me? Is there a reason why we’re stormed with pro-life articles, pictures, manifestations and the kind – doesn’t it remind you of those annoying door-to-door or telephon sails-people who nag you about buying the new nuclear pillow that cures any existing disease and they nag you, they nag you, they nag you until you say “The hell with it!”? Wouldn’t sex education (and better education in general) and teaching responsibility to our youth be more effective (and cheap!) than all the stunts they’re pulling to harass us?

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta