Over on Aurini's blog I happened to read a bit of Genesis, specifically where man is cast from the Garden of Eden.
I mention this because it goes back to one of my recent posts regarding the tendency of some Men's Rights Activists to seek to repeat the Feminist Folly of denying inherent biological facts, or rather it reminded me of that post.
See, while I certainly don't think the bible is the inerrant word of God, and in fact I view that particular branch of faith to be particularly unhinged, it is still a great old book containing a lot of distilled wisdom from the ancient past. I think it is perfectly possible to reinterpret various injunctions in more modern language and still find wisdom in them. Take, for example, the injunction against witches.
How can one find wisdom in a book of superstitious nonsense warning you not to truck with other superstitious nonsense, you may ask?
You mean: aside from the fact that dealing with Wiccans is generally an exercise in futility and mental anguish as the sheer density of their stupidity gives even biblical literalists a run for their money?
I mean, since Wiccans DO seem to believe the bible was referring to their faith, even as they talk out both sides of their mouths on the subject of witchcraft in Wicca.
Right: the bible was definitely not talking about Wiccans, though I can imagine some ancient semite pondering their ilk from the distant path and deciding to pen a particularly insulting injunction from god regarding them... had he only known.
In fact, the bible talks about soothsayers, card readers, telephone psychics and spiritualists of all sorts.
You know: Con Artists.
Now, God can't out and say: Don't give these people your hard earned shekels, they're all liars and thieves... no, God has to say they do the work of EVIL, because... you know... God and stuff.
Pretty much like the dietary injunctions that look pretty silly nowadays but back in the bad old days of dirt and yurt were probably pretty fucking lifesaving. Would you want to eat shellfish in ancient Egypt? Man, I wouldn't eat shellfish in Egypt TODAY!!! Reminds me of a funny story actually...
Anyway, where was I?
Oh, yeah: Genesis.
See, God curses the serpent, Eve and then Adam. We can pretty much dismiss the Serpent's curse as pure poetical description of snakes in general, and Eve's curse is pretty much 'have a bunch of kids, obey your husband'... not terribly earth shaking. I'm guessing some Feminist has already dismissed it as typical patriarchy in action, and were into that who christian game scene, I guess I'd be pointing out that a good christian woman is submissive to her husband or something...
None of that is particularly relevant.
Well, maybe a little. See, God doesn't really tell Eve her life is gonna suck. I mean he SAYS something about multiplying her Sorrow, but then he explains that means she's gonna have kids and lust after her husband.
But when it comes to Adam, boy howdy does shit get real. See, Adam's life is gonna be all 'Thorns and Thistles', the very ground is his enemy, he eats his own sweat until he is buried.
Get it? God is saying that 'Adam, you are a man now, and that means life is gonna suck for you from here on out. You're gonna fucking ENVY Eve her child birthing by the time you die. See, you gonna have to work until you are fucking DEAD. Every day, in and out, getting cuts and scratches and all sorts of shit, like the world itself has it fucking in for you, man. Because, reasons.'
Now, like I said earlier, I don't buy one moment that this is the word of 'God', but of a bunch of men who claimed to be speaking for God, wether or not they actually bought into the whole 'god' thing or were just some seriously smooth operators. They weren't explaining so much that men had it hard because they were cursed by god, but that this is what it means to be a man. Women have the babies, men do all the shit work and that's the fucking way it is.
Six thousand or so years ago, people got it. They dressed it up in holy talk, but they got it, and their spiritual decedents built this glorious modern world that so many useful idiots seem to want to destroy. Now, following traditions for its own sake is only fine up to a limited point, but then so too is throwing out old and hoary traditions just because they are old and hoary.
So back from religion to biology:
One day Science!!! may find a way to create little human beings without women... and ergo, without men. On that day we might truly look for a new paradigm for gender relations.... or we me learn to our dismay that without biological attraction, producing new humans is a little too much like work. I'm betting on the latter. Until that day comes, however, trying to ignore something that has been true from the dawn of time is pretty fucking silly. At best its putting the cart before the horse.
Women can't be men. They can't toil the fields and suffer the pricks of the thorns and thistles and work until they die to put food on the table in the face of a cruel and savage world. They can try, but they will do a miserable fucking job of it, and they'll put of having kids until too late.
Men can't be women. They can't ignore the fact that their lot is to suffer the thorns and thistles and to do the hard, shit work that puts food on the table. They can try, but civilization crumbles, walls fall, and you wind up eating rotten vegetables and hoping to make it through the winter without starving.
Winter is coming, you better fucking believe it.
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