buckybit (Level 9)

Watching #glee (which is a much more clever show than you might think, if you don't watch it) - will there ever be a time on this planet, when people (incl. parents) don't care what your sexual preference or interest is?

Religion and (tribal) culture - "accomplishments", thinking in historic dimensions - equally are responsible for intolerance and exclusion. They kept the 'group' safe from influences that could damage the integrity of a group, but the price was bloody(1)(2). Sexual politics(3) play a huge part in defining "social" space. Controlling the behavior, controlling the bodies. Denying personal, individual choices.

One might think, in the 21. Century, we would have put these patterns behind us; we could define us - as individuals - without degrading the 'other'(4). But in the end, in many parts of the world, people still live in the Middle Ages - only now, with cell-phones & Internet. And the concept of "individualism"(5) is still pretty 'young' in 'their' view(6).

1. René Girard: La Violence et le Sacré (1972) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Girard

2. René Girard: 40 min video Interview about his general concepts http://fora.tv/2009/12/01/Uncommon_Knowledge_Ren_Girard

3. Kate Millett: Sexual Politics (1970) http://www.marxists.org/subject/women/authors/millett-kate/sexual-politics.htm

4. Emmanuel Levinas http://171.67.193.20/entries/levinas/#TraOthSam

5. Aaron Gurevich: The Origins of European Individualism (1995) http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0631179631.html

6. Peter Gabriel "Not One Of Us" http://youtu.be/_ECYi-tgWps