Why is there no looting in Japan?

me-skywalker

Dudess wrote: »

Knew it! And speak for yerself there dude...
Also read about Naanking - not much respect and dignity there!

Pah!

I am speaking for myself and my experiences. You can sit on your chair and judge from a million miles. You can tar a whole nation with the same brush from a single period in a nation's history.

We Irish have ourselves our own similar values of un-written 'laws' with our out-going friendly nature, but now I see our brash, un-dignified self righteousness that seems to be oozing our of most children in the country in their make-up nuture of our society. If you understood Bushido you would'nt be bringing such a ridiculous point into the discussion.

Dudess

It's ridiculous cus you disagree with it?

Naanking is a bit more than a moment in history and I'm just making the point that Japanese society isn't as honorable as some say it is, nor is any society, including that of Ireland - all the self-flagellating for one. :pac:
Nah I'm not sure the self-righteousness you speak of is that commonplace, but maybe you're right. Irish society to me though is not wonderful, but overall ok, as most people are ok - anywhere.

Poor Craythur

Dudess wrote: »

all the self-flagellating for one. :pac:

Self-flagellation. Thank you. That is just the phrase I was trying to think of to refer to all the anti-Irish guff one sees on this forum.

And there are unsavoury aspects to Japanese culture nowadays just like any society.

Star Bingo

just glad our nation isn't producing copious amounts of porn its hardly one for the tourism board; only reflects a corrupted nation. especially when depicting submissive women a lot - its a porn war. two nations in particular competing, japan and Usa i only know of one in circulation from here; ironically some english guys 'fúcking in ireland'. "fúck meee ya english baaasturd" - slightly contradictory to what im preaching but i'd like to see those girl's heads roll. and the fellas of course

me-skywalker

Well if you keep looking to past demeanours for every race and then individualise it to a common level of a society then it will always be hard to over-look that and get under the skin and into the soul of the people of that nation to see what drives them or what makes them so instinctively different.

I can agree on some part with the honor as I think its mostly a red-herring in some respects. That honor is placed on such a high pedestal in society yet very few people will be on seen to be honorable because they don't do anything great to earn it. But I feel that its not what you do aone which is honorable also more what you don't do can be seen to be honorable.

Not abusing somebody whether its physically or mentally in your whole life would be considered honorable. But some people would never know that because it doesn't stand out like say saving a women from getting a beat down by her boyfriend.

Anyway I only mentioned it because I can relate to Japanese society in some respects while my love and tolerance for Irish people (some) just gets whittled away everytime I see something hateful, which is more often than not in these last few years.

Seaneh

jackiebaron wrote: »

Obviously a gobshïte US soldier, smashed out of his head and under the usual illusion that American law applies everywhere outside of the US. In Amsterdam I encountered a handful of these dicks who had gotten into a barfight and were raising hell in the street and one of them was screaming "call 911" because his buddy had been battered. Call "911"??? Tool!

He was laughed at. Call 911.....!!!!!! Can you imagine being in a scrap in Manhattan and yelling "call 999....get the Gardai!!"

****!

Dial 911 on your phone... It works. As does 999 and 112. They all work on all phones.

So pull your head out of your arses there ted.

me-skywalker

Star Bingo wrote: »

just glad our nation isn't producing copious amounts of porn its hardly one for the tourism board; only reflects a corrupted nation. especially when depicting submissive women a lot - its a porn war. two nations in particular competing, japan and Usa i only know of one in circulation from here; ironically some english guys 'fúcking in ireland'. "fúck meee ya english baaasturd" - slightly contradictory to what im preaching but i'd like to see those girl's heads roll. and the fellas of course

You seem to be caught up on the whole porn thing? Porn by its very nature and by its actual content will always be the bottom spetrum of a society. The people who are employed in the business will always be the lower ends of society as a huge demand for porn creates an easy way for poor, uneducated and disadvantaged women to earn money.

Plus you don't seem to mind Japanese women yourself.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71155143&postcount=2282

Star Bingo

Russia, Germany, France doesn't put out nearly as much porn. France's in particular is a lot more decent nature than anabolic cocks, 'family incest' etc those nations are demonstrating how far they can push it. so i have yellow fever; whats that got to do with it?! tell you i respect beauty a lot more than they don't seem to in a lot of content

Seaneh

people keep harping on about crime rates being low.

Crime rates in japan are artificially low. There is a massive facade across all of Japanese society. The police and the government sweep crime and corruption under the carpet to keep figures impressive as they have to be seen to be in control and doing a good job. It's the same in almost all aspects of Japanese life. The system is seen as more important than the reality.

That said, I am sure your average Japanese person is lovely and has a lot of honour and actually does still try apply bushido to their lives as best they can, but this idea that Japan suffers any less from theft or murder or anti-social behaviour than other developed countries is a myth.

Japan isn't perfect, infant, there is a lot of major flaws. Any country with a suicide problem as bad as Japan's really needs to take a step back and reassess what it is doing.



There is no doubt in my mind that where the opportunity exists (lack of policy/army presence etc) looting has and is happening, it's just not being reported because it doesn't suit Japan to embrace it's own reality.

me-skywalker

Star Bingo wrote: »

Russia, Germany, France doesn't put out nearly as much porn. France's in particular is a lot more decent nature than anabolic cocks, 'family incest' etc those nations are demonstrating how far they can push it. so i have yellow fever; whats that got to do with it?! tell you i respect beauty a lot more than they don't seem to in a lot of content

Fair enough, but I mean that pornography itself is a lowest common denominator so its not really a great barometer to judge a whole nation on?
Like trying to judge a country on who has the worst mass murderers? (ok maybe hyperbolic much) but might highlight the essence of my point.

There are plenty of beautiful photo/video art produced in Japan. I would advised you to expand your horizons abit and not just pornographically.

Star Bingo

there is a decent nature about japanese. n they're very intelligent. however.. hip-hop culture is rife there too :pac: but seriously don't get carried away some of the places i've seen em put cameras you probably wouldn't stand a hope of escaping prosecution anyhow :pac:

Star Bingo

me-skywalker wrote: »

Fair enough, but I mean that pornography itself is a lowest common denominator so its not really a great barometer to judge a whole nation on?
Like trying to judge a country on who has the worst mass murderers? (ok maybe hyperbolic much) but might highlight the essence of my point.

There are plenty of beautiful photo/video art produced in Japan. I would advised you to expand your horizons abit and not just pornographically.

brother what.. have you come over all zen i love japan. Yu's a friend, Kato was a trusty companion as was Kana from Wakayama. but if its a lowest common denominator why aren't the many impoverished ogres here producing porn. what i'm saying is maybe their 'deviant' energies are channeled elsewhere; should maybe level it out is a bit - lopsided. not saying its because they're too busy fapping just maybe a bit.. preoccupied with perversions. but sure aren't we all. to an extent

Jesus Wept

It's great that Japan has a low crime rate and seemingly docile people.
However, in some respects they may be too reserved, they have one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Chen21

1. You have a very homogenous (98% japanese) population with strong cultural bonds.

2. The population has relatively high average cognitive ability (see research by Rindermann & Vanhannen).

3. Cochran & Harpending discuss a gene associated with ADD & impulsive behaviour in 'The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution':

"The polymorphism is found at varying but significant levels in many parts of the world, but is almost entirely absent from East Asia...

The Japanese say that the nail that sticks out is hammered down, but in China it may have been pulled out and thrown away.

Selection for submission to authority sounds unnervingly like domestication..."
(page 112)

http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=IaflsA4MyFQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+10,000+year+explosion&source=bl&ots=uoUj7vaWH1&sig=jJEdRPlf14sjPj33Qu7X_Fca1ww&hl=en#v=onepage&q=domestication&f=false

enfant terrible

RichieC wrote: »

I wouldn't watch a film about Iran made by the yanks.

Ya its like that Palestinian film in the news now, why would anyone take that seriously?

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/15/entertainment-un-un-israel-palestinians-movie_8356556.html

BlaasForRafa

Star Bingo wrote: »

Russia, Germany, France doesn't put out nearly as much porn. France's in particular is a lot more decent nature than anabolic cocks, 'family incest' etc those nations are demonstrating how far they can push it. so i have yellow fever; whats that got to do with it?! tell you i respect beauty a lot more than they don't seem to in a lot of content

There is plenty of mainstream porn produced by the Japanese and its by and large FAR better than american porn as it isn't full of women with fake tits and bodybuilding blokes.

BlaasForRafa

Seaneh wrote: »

people keep harping on about crime rates being low.

Crime rates in japan are artificially low. There is a massive facade across all of Japanese society. The police and the government sweep crime and corruption under the carpet to keep figures impressive as they have to be seen to be in control and doing a good job. It's the same in almost all aspects of Japanese life. The system is seen as more important than the reality.

That said, I am sure your average Japanese person is lovely and has a lot of honour and actually does still try apply bushido to their lives as best they can, but this idea that Japan suffers any less from theft or murder or anti-social behaviour than other developed countries is a myth.

Have you a source for this theory of yours or is it just conjecture?

Star Bingo

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

There is plenty of mainstream porn produced by the Japanese and its by and large FAR better than american porn as it isn't full of women with fake tits and bodybuilding blokes.

i know.

you can't beat a good stacked bloke in there though; to give u something to aspire to. but i digress!! into.. pornography. what became of this thread

iamstop

I visited Japan 3 years ago. Tokyo to be exact. Loved it there. Anyway, my cousin who lives there was telling me people use their mobile phones to mind their seat when they go to the jax in a restaurant or bar. There is virtually no petty crime. I guess it's a pride/culture/shame thing.
The main crime that does happen is way up at the mob/business/extortion/protection racket type level.

Star Bingo

Chris Desjardins did an encyclopedia of Japanese cult film Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film a lot of the old Yakuza films are covered in there, they love all that mafia racketeering

faw1tytowers

fontanalis wrote: »

It's a strange one; they treated POW's in World War 2 almost better when they were dead than when they were alive.

Its true in there society it was better to take your own life than bring shame. They do have some unusual traditions but some good ones to like any country.

gargleblaster

Star Bingo wrote: »

i know.

you can't beat a good stacked bloke in there though; to give u something to aspire to. but i digress!! into.. pornography. what became of this thread

what became of it is people were saying stuff about their 'amazing dignity' and then when someone pointed out how that dignity stops short of allowing women to ride trains unmolested, nobody had anything to say about it. so a few others also provided examples of how claiming that the entire nation of japan is somehow more dignified than any other nation on earth is just stupid. somehow that has led to people talking about their tastes in porn.

Oranage2

so we've established that Japanese don't loot because they're the ultimate race.

but would Irish people loot in similar circumstances?

i think yes

R P McMurphy

Are we talking about people coming in from outside the affected areas and stealing from shops or what? If it is people from the area what would they do with a water damaged tv, leave it in the place where their house used to be? I would say people are taking necessary supplies, if not then that would be silly to go without in case you would offend the shop keeper who is propably missing

tampopo

I left me weddiing ring in this hotel, last window on the right, second from the top floor


http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/okarn-renaissance-okinawa-resort/

they posted it back to me.

Another time I was at the Blue Wave in Yokohama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQiDpkgf2DY

and outside there was a boy and a girl with a couple of tables with gifty things on them. They said, "pick a ticket, win a prize!"
So I did, and said, "I'll have the mobile phone"

Well, they came up with every excuse not to give it to me. I believe, it was because if my race.

And in a supermarket in Matsumoto....ah forget it...they don't loot much, but there is racism and prejudice and bigotry if you look for it.

Also, in the USA, there is an honour system too, you put your quarter in the newspaper machine and only take one. That would never take off here!!!

walshb

I general, their people are decent and respectable. Can't say that about some other countries.

Cybertron85

JupiterKid wrote: »

What a disgusting, utterly racist statment.:mad::( Do you have any evidence to back your racist theory up?

Name me one invention by a black person, go ahead :pac:.

Mod note: user banned

suitseir

tiger55 wrote: »

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/

http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/03/14/why-there-no-looting-japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp-dJ1k_DbI

Disciplined folk! It's all in the training and culture!

gargleblaster

Cybertron85 wrote: »

Name me one invention by a black person, go ahead :pac:.

are you seriously that ****ing ignorant, or are you just trolling?

educate yourself, i doubt forum postings will succeed where your parents and teachers have failed

Manic Moran

bornsf82 wrote: »

See what I mean. Japan dosent even have any army anymore. They have defense force.

True. The Ground Self Defence Force is pretty much an army in all but name, mind. They did, indeed, send a battalion-sized unit to Iraq.

They even put all the downed pilots in same internment camp (no segragation lol) till the war was over and they were released

Ireland did much the same thing. Both allies and axis were interned in the same camp in the Curragh. Granted, their accomodations were separated by a fence. However, prisoners were allowed out of the camp on day passes, and they could intermingle freely. Seriously.

An excellent book on the subject is "Grounded in Eire" (Ralph Keefer). A pretty horrible movie on the subject is "The Bryllcreem Boys", but the general premise of the movie and the details of the prison camp are about accurate.

NTM

Oranage2

Cybertron85 wrote: »

Name me one invention by a black person, go ahead :pac:.

take your racism to stormfront potato head cause its not welcome here

major bill

Cybertron85 wrote: »

Name me one invention by a black person, go ahead :pac:.

The super soaker.... possibly the best watergun ever invented.



heres a list for good measure http://creativebrother.freehosting.net/invent.html

Hazys

Soren Whining Bargain wrote: »

Nobody knows the full stories of either caption. The first one may have entered a store and looted, the second pair may have come accross items outside the store, but don't let other possibilities or lack of fact get in the way of a good rant.

Just bringing back the conversation back to we i was last involved where we are talking about the difference in captions below: (anyway i presume the conversation hasnt cahnged that much since)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firewall/38725768/

People are totally nieve to the amount of racism there is in the US against blacks and latinos whether the racism is on purpose or completely subconciously.

I found this study on the members of the dating site OKCupid. What i find shocking is when people msg a person who is black or latino they write down to them and when talking to an asian or white person they talk upto them. I'm guess because that person wants to date that person the racism is subconciously.

It seems that generally, people of all races writedown to blacks and Latinos and up to Asians and whites. This is a pretty crazy result: proof that race not only affects the quantity of the contacts between people, but the quality as well. For example, the average black person writes at a level almost one full grade-level higher when writing to a white person than when writing to another black person.

http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/what-if-there-were-not-so-many-white-people/

So if people can sub-conciously be racist to people they like...what makes you believe there was no racism (even if just sub-conciously) in the reporting of Hurrican Katrina?

Oranage2

major bill wrote: »

The super soaker.... possibly the best watergun ever invented.



heres a list for good measure http://creativebrother.freehosting.net/invent.html

My personal favourite that puts the other myth that women more stupider than men to bed!

ironing board: Sarah Boone; December 30, 1887

Feeona

Seaneh wrote: »

people keep harping on about crime rates being low.

Crime rates in japan are artificially low. There is a massive facade across all of Japanese society. The police and the government sweep crime and corruption under the carpet to keep figures impressive as they have to be seen to be in control and doing a good job. It's the same in almost all aspects of Japanese life. The system is seen as more important than the reality.

That said, I am sure your average Japanese person is lovely and has a lot of honour and actually does still try apply bushido to their lives as best they can, but this idea that Japan suffers any less from theft or murder or anti-social behaviour than other developed countries is a myth.

Japan isn't perfect, infant, there is a lot of major flaws. Any country with a suicide problem as bad as Japan's really needs to take a step back and reassess what it is doing.



There is no doubt in my mind that where the opportunity exists (lack of policy/army presence etc) looting has and is happening, it's just not being reported because it doesn't suit Japan to embrace it's own reality.

I remember reading some failry bizarre news articles alright when I was there. There was a highly publicised case of a lodger killing his landlord's children (he lived in with the landlord and his family). The newspaper reported it in a very factual manner ie the lodger had issues with his landlord's children making noise, and this is why he killed them. It's as if the paper was trying to imply that the lodger had a valid reason for killing the children! In other words, nothing out of the ordinary to see here, move along.

While living there, I got the impressoin thst living as a true, honourable, respectable Japanese person was very difficult. There are many rules imposed on you from a very young age, far more than are imposed in Ireland at any rate! It can often be the case that Japanese people don't want to go back to Japan after they've had a chance to spend some time abroad. Sometimes it ends in suicide.

Wibbs

major bill wrote: »

heres a list for good measure http://creativebrother.freehosting.net/invent.html

In fairness that's a pretty daft list. They credit the door knob for feck sake. In 1878... eh no. An awful lot of that list makes the author look a bit speshul neeeds TBH. It's up there with the Black Athena nonsense. IMHO it's usually best to avoid anything American when it comes to matters on "race". The water of their history has been too muddied by it for too long.

Wibbs

Hazys wrote: »

Just bringing back the conversation back to we i was last involved where we are talking about the difference in captions below: (anyway i presume the conversation hasnt cahnged that much since)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firewall/38725768/

People are totally nieve to the amount of racism there is in the US against blacks and latinos whether the racism is on purpose or completely subconciously.

I found this study on the members of the dating site OKCupid. What i find shocking is when people msg a person who is black or latino they write down to them and when talking to an asian or white person they talk upto them. I'm guess because that person wants to date that person the racism is subconciously.


http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/what-if-there-were-not-so-many-white-people/

So if people can sub-conciously be racist to people they like...what makes you believe there was no racism (even if just sub-conciously) in the reporting of Hurrican Katrina?

Oh +1 on this. It's mad. It would be my belief that most people of all populations have at least a built in suspicion of "those that are not us". It's a variable thing and depends on size of population and even gender. 10 black/white/yellow men in a population and that's fine, 100 and it gets twitchy. If they're women not so much of an issue. Even so like I say you kinda have to avoid the US for a lot of this race stuff. It's so political and emotive and even worse unscientific.

Sugarfree

Spunge wrote: »

African-americans

Mod note, user banned for this remark

The poster should not of been banned for this comments. There is an fundamental difference in culture between Japanese and African Americans as evident from this disaster.

DublinWriter

Cybertron85 wrote: »

Name me one invention by a black person, go ahead :pac:.

Black Inventors include:

George Alcorn - Nathaniel Alexander - Virgie Ammons - Benjamin Banneker - Janet Emerson Bashen - Patricia Bath - Andrew Jackson Beard - Miriam E. Benjamin - Edmond Berger - Henry Blair - Bessie Blount - Sarah Boone - Otis Boykin - Charles Brooks - Phil Brooks - Henry Brown - Marie Brown - Robert Bryant - John Albert Burr - George Washington Carver - George Carruthers - Benjamin S. Carson - Emmett W. Chappelle - John Christian - Donald Cotton - David Crosthwait - Mark Dean - Ronald Demon - Joseph Hunter Dickinson - Clatonia Joaquin Dorticus - Charles Richard Drew -Thomas Elkins - Philip Emeagwali - Sarah E. Goode - Meredith C. Gourdine - George Grant - Lloyd Augustus Hall - Joycelyn Harrison - Augustus Jackson - Thomas L. Jennings - Jack Johnson - Lonnie Johnson - Willis Johnson Frederick Jones - Marjorie Stewart Joyner - Percy Lavon Julian - Everett Just - Roscoe Koontz - Lewis Howard Latimer - Joseph Lee -John Lee Love - Jan Ernst Matzeliger - Elijah McCoy - Alexander Miles - Ruth Miro - Garrett Morgan - Lyda Newman - Alice Parker - Traverse Benjamin Pinn - Willam Purvis - Lloyd P Ray - Cordell Reed - Louis Roberts - Norbert Rillieux - Walter Sammons - Henry Sampson - Jerry Shelby - Richard Spikes - John Standard - Thomas Stewart - Rufus Stokes - Lewis Temple Valerie Thomas -John Henry Thompson - Madame Walker - James Edward West -John Thomas White - Doctor Daniel Hale Williams - Paul E. Williams - Joseph Winters - Granville Woods - Stanley Woodard - Kevin Woolfolk

...to name but a few.

southsiderosie

Sugarfree wrote: »

The poster should not of been banned for this comments. There is an fundamental difference in culture between Japanese and African Americans as evident from this disaster.

FYP

Star Bingo

i'll admit there is a higher level of dignity, grace, decency about the japanese on the whole without suggesting where else it may be channeled its all the more apparent when you see folk here trying their damndest to stamp their individual 'personality', 'character', ego often in as obnoxious a manner as possible .. every caucasian is distinctly different; heck often not even entirely caucasian whatever that is precisely n its only becoming rarer maybe if we were say an entirely ginger nation we'd be more likely to see similarities/ think similarities n adhere to the one code of conduct?!

- the japs are almost a mirror image of ireland in regional terms and seem to mastered the art of strict border control and immigration, which we probably should too but what would we be protecting? no one code of honour as such; too many individuals with no such common bloodline. maybe the japanese are the ultimate dignified 'racist' pervs!! that takes some doing. but what do we learn, like their dependance on so many nuclear plants some evils are necessary?!

get in there marseille.

Dermighty

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Honour is huge in their society. We would do well to take a leaf out of their book.

funny you mentioned it, a japanese library just floated past me as I walked to work ^^

K-9

Classy thread.

Dudess

me-skywalker wrote: »

Well if you keep looking to past demeanours for every race and then individualise it to a common level of a society then it will always be hard to over-look that and get under the skin and into the soul of the people of that nation to see what drives them or what makes them so instinctively different.

I would never subscribe to that at all - I think it's a silly take on things. It's like people saying we Irish should hang our heads in shame because of the industrial schools, or that Austrians are sadistic weirdos because of Hitler and Fritzl. It's a scary kind of thinking IMO. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to suggest that no society is without, or ever has been without, its horrible element - and to a certain degree, society and culture (not meaning individuals) facilitates such horrors, if often not knowingly.

Wibbs

DublinWriter wrote: »

Black Inventors include:

George Alcorn - Nathaniel Alexander - Virgie Ammons - Benjamin Banneker - Janet Emerson Bashen - Patricia Bath - Andrew Jackson Beard - Miriam E. Benjamin - Edmond Berger - Henry Blair - Bessie Blount - Sarah Boone - Otis Boykin - Charles Brooks - Phil Brooks - Henry Brown - Marie Brown - Robert Bryant - John Albert Burr - George Washington Carver - George Carruthers - Benjamin S. Carson - Emmett W. Chappelle - John Christian - Donald Cotton - David Crosthwait - Mark Dean - Ronald Demon - Joseph Hunter Dickinson - Clatonia Joaquin Dorticus - Charles Richard Drew -Thomas Elkins - Philip Emeagwali - Sarah E. Goode - Meredith C. Gourdine - George Grant - Lloyd Augustus Hall - Joycelyn Harrison - Augustus Jackson - Thomas L. Jennings - Jack Johnson - Lonnie Johnson - Willis Johnson Frederick Jones - Marjorie Stewart Joyner - Percy Lavon Julian - Everett Just - Roscoe Koontz - Lewis Howard Latimer - Joseph Lee -John Lee Love - Jan Ernst Matzeliger - Elijah McCoy - Alexander Miles - Ruth Miro - Garrett Morgan - Lyda Newman - Alice Parker - Traverse Benjamin Pinn - Willam Purvis - Lloyd P Ray - Cordell Reed - Louis Roberts - Norbert Rillieux - Walter Sammons - Henry Sampson - Jerry Shelby - Richard Spikes - John Standard - Thomas Stewart - Rufus Stokes - Lewis Temple Valerie Thomas -John Henry Thompson - Madame Walker - James Edward West -John Thomas White - Doctor Daniel Hale Williams - Paul E. Williams - Joseph Winters - Granville Woods - Stanley Woodard - Kevin Woolfolk

...to name but a few.

If that list is a copypasta from the same silly source as major bill's then I would go back to the drawing board TBH.

Sugarfree wrote: »

The poster should not of have been banned for this comments. There is an fundamental difference in culture between Japanese and African Americans as evident from this disaster.

FYP. If you're gonna be reactionary at least do so using proper grammar.

FYI culture encompasses many things and has many external factors. Not so long ago the Irish were represented as having a derelict culture and nature, not much above the simian. Do you agree with that? Do you utterly reject that? Do you look at the overall picture? Delete as applicable and as your mind permits.

Wibbs

Dudess wrote: »

I would never subscribe to that at all - I think it's a silly take on things. It's like people saying we Irish should hang our heads in shame because of the industrial schools, or that Austrians are sadistic weirdos because of Hitler and Fritzl. It's a scary kind of thinking IMO. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to suggest that no society is without, or ever has been without, its horrible element - and to a certain degree, society and culture (not meaning individuals) facilitates such horrors, if often not knowingly.

If populations* show local adaptations to evolutionary pressures and differences in other areas such as disease resistance, ability to digest novel foods, stature, endocrine system, amount of skin capillaries to name but a tiny amount, then why are local emotional/intellectual adaptations off the map? Which would influence culture and culture would influence the adaptations.







*not "races". Scientifically that's nonsense. A Congo Pygmy is as different to a Black lad from Chicago as I am.

Star Bingo

K-9 wrote: »

Classy thread.

only since you graced it brother.

a little too much classyfied information. tc;dr

Dermighty wrote: »

funny you mentioned it, a japanese library just floated past me as I walked to work ^^

.. thats bottom wrung. let K-9 show you the top tier

Poor Craythur

Wibbs wrote: »

If populations* show local adaptations to evolutionary pressures and differences in other areas such as disease resistance, ability to digest novel foods, stature, endocrine system, amount of skin capillaries to name but a tiny amount, then why are local emotional/intellectual adaptations off the map? Which would influence culture and culture would influence the adaptations.

Those things you describe are nature, not nurture. So little is known about the brain and thought processes still so they can't be equated to purely genetic things like you describe above. For example, an ability to digest novels food. People with mutations in genes that make them better able to digest these foods will have better chance of surviving and reproducing. Thoughts aren't genetic, culture isn't genetic. People are far too keen to lazily explain everything away with genetics.

Capt'n Midnight

Dudess wrote: »

Men Behind The Sun, about Unit 731, is a Chinese film. One can only hope it's exaggerated for the purposes of propaganda...

The tales of canibalism of civilians and troops in China and other areas where supplies were short are far too common

Wibbs

Poor Craythur wrote: »

Those things you describe are nature, not nurture.

Ah but then we're back to that old argument.

So little is known about the brain and thought processes still so they can't be equated to purely genetic things like you describe above. For example, an ability to digest novels food. People with mutations in genes that make them better able to digest these foods will have better chance of surviving and reproducing.

And those who are more intelligent also increase their chances(depending on environment) of reproducing. Those with better planning and with better impulse control will also increase their chances of reproduction. Otherwise how did we get this big brain?

Thoughts aren't genetic, culture isn't genetic. People are far too keen to lazily explain everything away with genetics.

Oh I agree 100% PC, hence I said evolution not genes. I also realise that's an overused explanation too, but you can observe cultures evolving over time, often following trajectories with remarkable commonality.

The brain is just another physical part of our body. It has evolved, there are genes responsible for it's growth and evolutionary development and clearly it has influenced culture. The culture of Homo Erectus was very different to ours. The Neanderthal culture, while much closer was also different. While I suspect the latter would fit into a modern culture far far better than the former, both their evolutionary/genetic heritage would mark them out. Culture is not some magic thing that springs from nowhere. Indeed many animals have a rudimentary culture. You could imagine how culture can also influence evolution. In a culture with many resources and little strife, women would not be under as much pressure to select for physical strength and political cunning. Though I suspect these pressures are very subtle as cultures tend not to last long enough to create major differences. So a "barbarian" would have feck all difference to a Roman. A couple of centuries wouldn't be enough.

Like I said we have no great issue with exploring other evolutionary/genetic changes in populations, so why are local emotional/intellectual adaptations off the map?