"At first, police said, the boy said he was 18. Later at the hospital, though, he admitted being 13 but claimed he and the PTA mom were only kissing."-- Jennifer McLogan, who - if she and the other citizens of this nation still had the stuff - would be ready to lead a conga line all the way to the courthouse (to a chorus of "Hulk Smash!") instead of just reporting and reacting to this NewAge mayhem, from WCBSTV.com.
And yea - women were always caught in cars with little boys - before NewAge, right?
Riiiiiight.
And yea - women were always caught in cars with little boys - before NewAge, right?
ReplyDeleteIn the old days, women woke up at dawn and engaged in back-breaking labor until sunset. They could rely on their sisters, aunts, grandmothers etc to help with childcare. They had no phone, no TV, no internet, no car, no birth control, no cell phone. They did not work away from home and rarely came into contact with people they weren't related too.
Our species' relatively recent transition from hunter gatherer -> agriculture -> industry -> space age -> information age has of course completely disrupted this ancient pattern:
- the destruction of the traditional family, extended family and most rural communities
- the end of organized religion
- urban sprawl, advertising and high-speed information transmission
- high mobility and rootlessness, disconnection from community, etc.
New Age is a byproduct of these changes to human civilization just like many other things.
To blame the disease on the symptom here is really missing the big picture.
Steve Burke,
ReplyDeleteNewAge is not a byproduct, a disease or a symptom. It's a fog generated to shield the defiant immature from facing accountability, responsibility, reason and personal integrity.
Because those things are no fun.
While your list of pattern changes is certainly valid, it does not explain, or explain away, poor character and self-absorbed personal behavior (pathological narcissism).
The woman caught in the car very simply decided her impulse was more important than her own integrity and the boy’s well being. An ultimate act of selfishness. And of course, her choice wasn’t her fault.
I bet she voted for Obama.
While your list of pattern changes is certainly valid, it does not explain, or explain away, poor character and self-absorbed personal behavior (pathological narcissism).
ReplyDeleteThe woman caught in the car very simply decided her impulse was more important than her own integrity and the boy’s well being. An ultimate act of selfishness. And of course, her choice wasn’t her fault.
I bet she voted for Obama.
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Thanks for your response JRN.
Apparently I missed the section of this report where new age stuff is mentioned - was she on her way to yoga class when this happened, for example? If you could kindly highlight that part of the story for me, I surely would appreciate it.
On a related not, I'm pleased to hear that your intuition / connection to the collective unconscious / whatever has lead you to believe that this woman was an Obama voter.
I am not so psychically gifted as you so I can only base my reaction on the stated facts of dull ol' empirical reality - unfortunately this story doesn't state what her party identification was.
It’s simple, Steve Burke,
ReplyDeleteI was profiling.
My view of NewAge has more to do with a mentality, rather than a particular act like going to a yoga class (now you’re profiling). While an observation of mentality cannot predict a specific behavior, a behavior can fit a certain range of mentality. For all I (or you) know she was on her way to an STD clinic for a pap smear.
I see NewAge prone types as impulsively impulsive, immaturely narcissistic at the level of a 4 year old, unconcerned with social conventions or even decency, susceptible to delusional beliefs, embracing of an angry toddler’s defiance of reality, and as dismissive as a human can get towards the well-being and trust of the people around them. And the cherry on top is arrogance. I could go on.
That there was no section in the article for you that mentioned she liked to sit in a circle of rocks and chant to prairie dogs with an enema bag on her head is, to me, irrelevant. She may not do any of those things, but I’m betting she can be led to that with minimal effort. Narcissists, while adept at deceiving and taking advantage of others, are very easy to fool. It is ironic.
Speaking of betting, I didn’t state she voted for Obama, I BET she did. This is not a reflection of Obama himself, but an observation of the type. There are certainly responsible and thoughtful Obama supporters, but for reasons of “charisma” and “feelings” I’m betting she is not one of them, and I believe I have the house odds on all of this.
Finally, if I were you I’d abandon any idea of a collective conscience or unconscious.
My view of NewAge has more to do with a mentality, rather than a particular act like going to a yoga class
ReplyDeleteOK, thanks, that makes sense. You are using this term to tell us how you feel about certain things rather than what you have objectively observed to be true.
I guess in much the same way I could use this same trick to discuss atheists, for example:
"My view of Jews has more to do with a mentality, then with specific activity such as attending a synogogue or actually being Jewish..."
I see NewAge prone types as impulsively impulsive, immaturely narcissistic at the level of a 4 year old, unconcerned with social conventions or even decency, susceptible to delusional beliefs, embracing of an angry toddler’s defiance of reality, and as dismissive as a human can get towards the well-being and trust of the people around them. And the cherry on top is arrogance. I could go on.
Well I see Fundamentalist Christain types as being judgemental, parochial and authoritarian in their thinking, unimaginately, largely incurious and overly prone to literalism...
But does actually have anything to do with Christianity itself? Or just the mental model I have in my head of a certain ill-defined "type" which may or may not have anything to do with reality?
If you're just using terms as some sort of private mental shorthand that's groovy but you should define that in order to avoid confusing others who will probably instead assume (as I did) that you are using the commonly agreed-upon meanings of words.
If I were to say "When I say "atheists" I am referring to mentality rather than to a specific disbelief in deities... I see atheist-types as immoral, child molestors, etc" this would be confusing to people, no?
That there was no section in the article for you that mentioned she liked to sit in a circle of rocks and chant to prairie dogs with an enema bag on her head is, to me, irrelevant. She may not do any of those things, but I’m betting she can be led to that with minimal effort. Narcissists, while adept at deceiving and taking advantage of others, are very easy to fool. It is ironic.
This may be a bit before your time but it wasn't very long ago that it seemed as though every other week in the US brought news of some new televangelsit sex or money scandal of some sort.
Does this imply narcisissism, entitlement, poor impulse control, etc? Sure. "New Age"? Probably only if you are using that term not in its commonly accepted sense to denote a set of beliefs and practices but only if you are using it instead as a symbolic stand-in for "narcisissism, entitlement, poor impulse control," etc.
Speaking of betting, I didn’t state she voted for Obama, I BET she did. This is not a reflection of Obama himself, but an observation of the type. There are certainly responsible and thoughtful Obama supporters, but for reasons of “charisma” and “feelings” I’m betting she is not one of them, and I believe I have the house odds on all of this.
You're certainly entitled to "believe" whatever you want but based on the available data (in this article - none) there is nothing to surmise one way or another.
Finally, if I were you I’d abandon any idea of a collective conscience or unconscious.
I was being facetious - sorry about the misunderstanding.
Steve, you ignorant slut.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding. Remember that from the old SNL?
First, I used the words view and see, not feel. View and see are directly indicative of observing, aren’t they?
And, since I’m not Luke Skywalker, I have no idea how to “feel” someone is a narcissist or a Jew or an Atheist. However, an observation may elicit feelings, but always after the observation, even if the observation is below the level of awareness.
If your example refers to the Jewish religion, mentality is required to keep the individual engaged, and specific activities are subject to whim.
Devout Jews can and do skip attending synagogue, non-Jews can and do attend synagogue. I have no idea what you mean by “actually being Jewish...". If you’re referring to a genetic Jew, “being” does not require a mentality or activity.
In your next example you have compared the narrow (Fundamentalist Christian) to the broad (Christianity itself). Believers have a mentality (belief in a supreme being) and then splinter into more narrow ritualistic groups, such as Fundamental Christianity.
Though I wouldn’t think a Mormon would tolerate hanging around a Fundamentalist church for very long, they share a mentality, and don’t share many rituals.
Atheists – “a specific disbelief in deities” IS a mentality. The answer is in your question, just take out “rather”.
And have you really observed that Atheists have a higher incidence of immorality and child molestation (activities, by the way)? That’s outside of my own experience. Do you mean to imply that Catholic priests that have committed this crime are actually Atheists?
A bit before my time? What is my time? You stepped on your own crank here, as “there is nothing to surmise one way or another”, but thanks for the compliment.
I think a major miss-fire in this discussion is a seeming assertion that like organized religions, NewAge is a certain set of beliefs. Not even close. There is no organization behind it, no particular rituals and no set of beliefs. It’s all over the map, anything goes chaos. It has no leadership, thought-out philosophy or rules of conduct. It is “Lord of the Flies” on steroids. It is a shared mentality of pathological narcissism.
Bonus Question: The constructive part of NewAge? In the modern incarnation, they get to toss around nifty words like “quantum”. That’s all I can think of.
Those are some of my observations.