Meanwhile, over at the monkey house

October 14, 2006

At theotherindia, Tejal leaves the following comment:

Her list of class disadvantages is however, an elitist peception in my opinion. i wouldnt count “not being able to enter pubs, bars etc” as a disadvantage or a deprivation in terms of class, becuase the very existence of such gated institutions is the proof and perptration of existence of class categories and a divide between the haves and the have nots. If you do not objetct to the existence of elitist institutions then the objection to them providing access to only a previledged few is superficial as this consequence is inevitable. The debate then should be at a much more fundamental level (about what the existence of such elite, patriarchal institutions/systems means and not about who gets access to them and not).

Since, dear reader, your eyes will have glazed over reading that pile of opaque language, here’s a summary: Tejal thinks that if you don’t allow some people in to an institution, you create eliltism and a divide between the haves and have-nots. I get the feeling that she thinks this is a bad thing.

I think Tejal should set an example for the rest of us in ‘depreviledging’ systems by opening access to her arsehole. Everyone from Thakurs to Dalits to whites to blacks to barnyard animals to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants should be able to enter it at will. I see no reason why everyone should be a have-not when it comes to anal sex with Tejal, especially when she herself has the ability to make everyone a have.

Update: People, please read this post for an explanation of why I’m being so disgusting, and this post for the reason I think this comment is worth making so much of a fuss over.

Further Update, from Later: I stand by my criticism, but now realise that this analogy is hurtful and disrespectful to people who actually have suffered rape. I regret using it, and apologise to anybody it’s hurt. I’m putting up this apology rather than deleting the post, because I feel that keeping the post around is an important reminder to me not to be an idiot again.

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Posted by Aadisht

The Carnival of Idiots

June 30, 2006

Attention all people who are going to go up in arms over the Sabarimala issue:

If your belief system is so accomodating that you’re comfortable with a god who was born  out of the union of two other gods (one of whom was cross dressing), then how difficult is it to make a further leap of faith? Once you’ve started believing in gods, believing that one of them will be defiled if he sees a woman is easy.

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Posted by Aadisht

Indie Rock and Homeopathy

June 26, 2006

This comic strip reminds me of homeopathy: just as homeopathic medicines are supposedly most effective when they’re infinitely diluted, indie bands are most credible when they’re infinitely unknown.

While we’re on the two subjects, Questionable Content has become one of my favourite comic strips, and I strongly recommend you go read it right from the beginning. And where homeopathy is concerned, this article by Professor Richard Dawkins is excellent reading. Of course I recommend you read that too.

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Posted by Aadisht

The Deepak Chopra School of Thought

May 18, 2006

It runs like this:

  1. Quantum particles are conscious.
  2. Human beings are conscious.
  3. Thus, human beings can be treated like quantum particles.
  4. No statement of a quantum particle’s position is ever accurate, it it only a probabilistic guess.
  5. Therefore, no view held by a human being is ever right or wrong. Everyone is correct to some extent.

You don’t even need to marvel at the jump from Statement 4 to Statement 5. The process breaks down at Statement 3 itself. Just because all A is C, and all B is C, does not mean that all B is A.

Incidentally, even Statement 1 is a metaphor and does not imply that an electron has the sort of emergent consciousness that a human being has. If an electron is conscious, than so is a rubber band.

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Posted by Aadisht

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