It’s a self-deception, where we tell ourselves one thing while doing quite another, Boston Strangler style, or just a matter of the situation deconstructualism has described, that we only think things the mind can see, ideas that we have a line to, like sight, and many thoughts are out of reach behind something or over the horizon and never come into view – but it’s not as clear as it seems: our rules aren’t the point.
The point is simply that we have them. Not in the usual, conservative headmaster speech sort of a way; I’m agin’ them, but we have them and like it or not, that is a point, specifically, my point, today.
The Ten Commandments really weren’t the point. It wasn’t the rules that were codified that way, so much as the penalties, and more so, the idea of penalties. Doesn’t “codified” have an aspect of hiding the message, of code? Well, the rules themselves, they are not coded, they are explicit. What is coded, perhaps, is the rule behind the rule, that the rule is a reason to hurt someone. Punishment is assumed. We may debate the rules, change them from time to time, explicit modifications of discrete wordings.
“What should the rule be?” is open for debate sometimes.
“What should the penalty be?” is also a debatable, adjustable thing, a topic for talk.
But these questions require specific, concrete answers, and one answer, “nothing,” seems to be behind something or over the horizon. It’s a rule, that we have rules and penalties. That’s what you codify, the rules that are not up for debate or modification.
So it’s a rule that penalties are levied, while the rules themselves are somewhat fluid . . . so no rule is “hard,” even “Thou shalt not kill,” is suspended when said killing is now a penalty and not an offence. But that penalties are levied, this is “hard,” this is unquestionable. Anybody feeling this? Feeling what is the constant in this equation? The punishment is unquestionable, no-one debates, “punishment, yes or no?” – this rule is unwritten and therefore un-editable. Almost no-one, anyways. It’s visible, if you look. I hope I just made you look – you see it now, right?
Unfortunately, if a couple of big, musky hominids like you and I can see it, there is probably more to it than that too. At this level it’s still the headmaster’s bastions of civilization speech, right, rules sort of are civilization? The very best sort of lie is a “hidden truth,” by way of some Tom Sawyer-style duplicitousness, and the only essential part of this rule is that somebody gets hurt. I’m sure there is another layer to this onion, but this layer is novel to us. Let’s stop and have a look around, we don’t even know where the next layer after this is yet. We need to spend some time, get oriented and acclimatized to a world where everything they told us we do to control our animal selves controls our animal selves in exactly the wrong direction.
Rules, those are written down explicitly, and litigated endlessly.
Abuse is what has been encoded in our sacred texts and our lives, and what we are thus unable to litigate. Hmmm. In lieu of an actual objective, maybe short and sweet is the best thing I can add at this point.
Cheers,
Jeff,
Jan. 19th., 2019
Abuse with an Excuse 
Pretty good rant. Thought out and well written. You have made me think about things with new perspective.
Tim
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flattery will get you everywhere! Thanks.
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Funny I used to use that line, can’t do that as a physicist tho, they get a bit – who’s the bimbo?
I recently cried my way out of a loss of licence and into a medium fine and a loss of 3 demerit points for coming around a corner at 130kph in the wet on a windy country road. The cop said he would have waived it but it was in the wet and it did look at though I was both sideways and grinning so that my repentance didn’t look that sincere. He did let me off in a way though.
Trying the same thing at uni gets me no where as I said, it’s pointed out to me when I try and lean on my genetic attributes rather than my scienceful ones. Still it does work when I need something, which brings me to this, there is an amount of behaviour that I wonder if it’s genetic or not. Attractiveness gets you things that unattractive people have far less chance of. So there are ways to subvert the civilised order, and abuse is one of as well.
It’s a byline, a veto, an anachronistic loophole that an elite have access to so it (or they) are legitimate – sorta. But that sorta is there, and how to get rid of it?
It’s surprising how someone – how appears not so big, not so musky will in times of frustration slap you and tell you to shut your bitch mouth, which of course you do if you know what’s good for you.
The world does move forward slowly but these days I wonder if it’s fast enough. I am, as you might know obsessed with the Fermi Paradox, my take on it is that no life form is smart enough to listen to peps like you.
x
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from the bottom – yes, I imagine you go outside and make back inside alive half a dozen times down there in God’s maximum security zoo, you start to feel Chosen or something. God must have a purpose for you. Ha.
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We make a lot of jokes about the wildlife here – but mostly if you don’t tred on it – you’ll be fine – mostly. The sea-life is way more venomous and harder to see, but you don’t go in the sea at dark I guess.
We don’t have anything big in the outback that’ll eat you, not like bears or lions. It’s mostly the climate which you have to look out for.
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actually, yes, Africa is absolutely the Maximum Security Zoo. I’m watching a fishing show, and just to get to the river our guy is dodging everything, elephants, buffalo – and then of course he gets there it’s crocs and hippos . . . I can’t imagine how humans managed there – except with the same strategy as rabbits, breeding to overcome the losses.
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I think I’d rather be eaten than squeeze out a litter… It’s paradise here compared to africa and anyway most of us never leave the safety of cities unless it’s by plane to another safe place.
I decided to drive from Perth to where I am stationed and I got a flat about 500km away but my evolutionary skill of looking weak helped out as a big truckie did the changing, lucky I’m not a hooker any more – I’d have ended up in the ground there – different kind of predator that.
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Oops forgot to say – how thee hell are you?
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Hey, M. I could be better, I just keep learning more and more about how my happy married life and parenting was a joke and a lie. Hope fully this last bit of info about that will be the last one. I’ve finally quit talking to the ex, and as long as the kids are with her, I’m going to be avoiding them too, for awhile, try to insure I don’t hear anymore for a bit.
Laughed my ass off at your speeding ticket, Jesus.
I’ll think about the heavy stuff before I answer, not quite sure I’m getting it yet.
How you doing?
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I’m sorry about your horrible time with your family, I’m working diligently to avoid ever having one, so far so good!
A few years ago I sold my porker and mini, I decided to be a good little citizen and not break the law every time I got into a car. My version of a sensible car was a Golf R, and for ages I stayed within 10kph of the speed limit. But it was a lovely windy road, cool after a monstrously hot week and a half of +40c days and I was like, fuck it – I haven’t done this in ages.
What a bad idea! Luckily most cops are easily dealt with by crying a lot and looking pathetic. Hopefully that’ll last a few more years as I am 28 now I guess I can pull it off for at least 5 more years.
Don’t worry about a sensible answer I was just rambling, I had a tough year last year and this one looks to be about the same but I should have expected that, I did choose a difficult course.
I’m good, still feeling pretty ok, I rarely freak out or feel horrible any more, unless I think about how very little time this world has to do an about face on the climate. We’ve had a record hot year – for the fourth time in a row, and our government like Trump is trying to say that’s normal – though when it gets to 50c it’s hard for them to sound convincing. I’m actually pretty glad the USA is freezing to death, maybe all those conservatives will finally die off and we can get some peace in before we are turned into a larger but none-the-less Venusish planet.
In my state – Victoria – the conservatives had a record loss, hopefully that means the end of the Australian Liberal party federally too.
I’m headed off to work at an array in the middle of the desert next week, the last time I was there I’d go out at after 9pm when it was cool, I’m wondering if it’ll be cool ever out there now. Though in Feb it should only be melting lead out there! I think the average over 40c temp is about 10 days?
Anyway besides lots of boob sweat – which is pretty dank – I’m good, somewhere I stopped worrying and it’s made me happier. Though now I worry about the world. Sometimes. Between G&T’s.
x
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sounds to me like you are going to be pulling that off when your hair turns white too, you’ll be one of those silver beauties I’m looking at these days.
Good Lord, good luck out there, sounds like literal Hell. Yes, I worry, that all this is noise and fury, signifying the usual, that we are already way past the tipping point. Judging by the Trump admin, the billionaires aren’t worried, they have another plan. Have you heard THIS crap – that the North American – and Australian, I guess – genocides caused a reforestation that caused the mini-ice age? I worry that is the billionaires’ plan again.
But yes, if the fight is lost, we can relax and find some joy here and there.
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Gawd! I’m an old maid! Actually I don’t really care any more. I have my diversions/obsessions and that’s more than enough for me. I had this dream a while back where I had come up with this formula and it was both neat and foolproof but it was a dream and didn’t work outside bed.
It’s kind of wondrous out there, the creatures and the temperature are hellish that’s for sure but it’s also very beautiful Especially at night, lying on a table and watching the stars, so the scorpions and centipedes and snakes can’t eat you. There’s no light pollution out there and it’s just – well hard to describe, you can see the milky way quite easily.
Inside there are lots of nice clean well air-conditioned labs, a nice canteen with decent coffee and plenty of interesting people to chat to. There was a French lot last time that I got on with really well and we’d drink and play cards some nights that was cool.
No never heard of that genocide ice-age thing, don’t worry the environment is on the edge of a collapse that is waaaaaaay worse than the Permian extinction – you know that’s one of those words like alpaca I can’t pronounce or spell, weird. I always want to say Prime-ian. Anyway at the rate of which we are producing C02 and the acidification of the ocean along with all that methane being released from the deep oceans as well as Siberia its time to smoke your stash.
The billionaires will die, there isn’t a bunker option if we turn into Venus. Mars is an option but it’ll take 100,000 years to terraform if it’s possible at all and good luck with our tech even getting there is laughably far off.
But don’t worry Jesus will fix it hahaha.
Sorry that’s pretty depressing, I’ve given up worrying about it I’m more fixated on the ‘we told you so’ smug period.
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OK, that does sound beautiful. I haven’t had a good look at the stars since I was . . . younger than you. I didn’t even get a look in Fiji in 2012, clouds. And yes, smart company sounds great too. Good on ya.
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good on ya in a friendly, Aussie way, I hope. Not in a “know what would look good on her?” sorta way. 😉
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Fiji probably wouldn’t have been good – Canada on the other hand yes, less moisture in the air.
I spend as little time in doors these days as I can, I get tired of typing and reading so I try to escape as much as possible. I think the outdoors are actually more than 50% responsible for my good mood.
I got what you mean’t I was being cheeky :p
cheers x
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I had a great look from the Fraser canyon once as a kid, Milky Way clear as anything, and we used to see it almost anywhere, I think, but I don’t think there’s anywhere along The Road for that anymore, you still have to do what you do, travel hours or days into nowhere. Yes, that’s been the positive thing for me lately, walking and barefoot running. I have a great park and a mountain really close.
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although mostly I just run down and walk up the mountain this subdivision I live in is on, until the rainforest dries up again in summer. Slippery when wet in there and on that rocky mountain.
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At home in Melbourne I rarely see anything but the brightest of stars, the light pollution is extreme. Though as a kid my dad had a decent telescope and we could see things with that, planets, nebulae and so on.
Nature is a good healer, it was better for me than the pills, maybe not the therapist but more than anything for me it helped to feel a part of the planet not something horrible that had grown on it like a boil.
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LOL – going back to the top, it’s getting skinny
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Sorry I haven’t kept up with reading your stuff but my mind is already melting with the work I have and doing so much writing for it. The last year was a blur except for the few times I got to force my brain to be quiet – like staring at the sky.
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wait – you mean you’ve been following this train of thought I’m on, really? I mean, I know, we’ve been talking through all of it . . . I just never quite realized you maintain a continuous existence when we’re not talking or something, never put it together, of course you have . . . thanks. Previous comment still applies, it’s all the same at this point, I’ll look you up if there are any breakthroughs.
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Hahaha no really I am alive, just only when my owner pulls me out of the basement and switches me on so I can make him a sandwich. I’ve noticed with this course that sometimes I’m utterly lit and other times it feels like I have the flu and any more thinking will cause a haemorrhage. At the moment its the latter, I had to get an editor to decyper a couple of my significant assignments, initially I was pissy but now – having read what he gave me back I was humbled.
It’s a hard thing to take a concept and go from thesis to theory – or anywhere near that. I admire your tenacity and understand in a better way now after several years of uni than I did when I was a punkarse blogger.
I was mentioning you in a discussion with a friend of mine and at first she was dismissive but yesterday she said that it makes sense – when you think about it. hahaha
Let me know when you are there 🙂
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whaaat. No worries, at all. It’s all the same. If I ever break through to the next thing, I’ll tell you explicitly.
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