TW/CW I refer to violence against minorities generally and historically.
I hope to do a
series of posts considering the basics that we're taught as a child.
We're sure black is
black and white is white. Everything can be put into one of these
boxes, good or bad – right or left – correct incorrect – true
or false – fact or fiction, you get the idea. As much as we'd like
everything to be placed neatly into a box and better still into two
simple boxes. In my experience, I've not found that to be the case.
Good v Bad
All rise for the
honourable power of your brain.
Kind people of the
readership, I will present both of these words to you. Good and Bad.
I will use the Oxford English Dictionary (online version) for
definitions. I will try to demonstrate to you that perhaps your
believes in a good or bad 'thing' is flawed and that you should
consider situations more in-depth before making a judgement.
In a criminal case
you'd be asked to decide based on 'reasonable doubt'. Meaning: would
a reasonable person be moved to a guilty verdict beyond all doubt.
Or, something like that – I'm not a lawyer – I'd be financially
better off if I were. I want you to use a similar idea, 'fair enough'
– if you feel my argument is fair enough then perhaps you should
move to consider things in greater detail before calling on it.
Good
is bad.
The OED offers 7
adjectives; 3 nouns and 1 adverb. Some of these offer
sub-definitions:
Adj
1. To be desired or
approved of.
Murdering queer
people. Good?
It's approved of by
many. All queer people being murdered is also desired by many people.
So that meets the criteria of Good by those people's belief system.
However not everyones.
1.1 Pleasing and
welcome.
A drugs gang being
eliminated. Good?
What, who would
argue that this is a bad thing!?! I will :) A known entity is better
than the unknown one which will surely move in afterwards. Not to
mention, 'illegal' industries do add money to the visible economy. So
to do they give people employment. There is likely to be a level of
violence from rival gangs who want to take over the patch now
available.
1.2 Showing
approval.
Adolph Hitler's
political believes. Good?
In 1938, a large
number of people turned out to celebrate Hitler's politics at the
Nuremberg Rally. Showing their approval for his politics. Even today
nearly 80 years on, there are still people that would show approval
for Hitler if they could do so.
2. Having the
qualities of a high standard.
VW diesel car as an
environmentally safe car. Good?
Sure, the CO2 output
might not be at the level that it was advertised at but what about
particular matter. Even the damage required to get the fuel to fuel
the ships and equipment to get the fuel to fuel any car.
2.1 Skilled at doing
or dealing with a specified thing.
I am a construction
material expert, and I approve this material. Good?
This is the person
who approved the Grenfell tower cladding.
2.2 Healthy, strong
or well.
She's out of
hospital. Good?
Perhaps but why is
it good that a terminally ill person isn't being helped to die as
they wish. Instead they've been 'made comfortable' and now they are
in a place with less care…
2.3 Useful,
advantageous, or beneficial in effect
Unlimited guns.
Good?
Useful, advantageous
and beneficial if you're in a world where you have to fight to get to
the shops for some food. Less so in a world of humans with poor
judgement and psychological issues maybe. The latter may feel they
already live in a world like the former.
2.4 Appropriate to a
particular purpose.
We should tell
someone that this girl is pregnant… Good?
Only problem is her
parents are extremely religious and will force her to keep the birth
going dispite of her body not being capable of supporting it.
2.5 of language -
with correct grammar and pronunciation.
Blow winds and
crack your cheeks. Good?
It's missing a full
stop at the end. Otherwise it's fine, isn't it? No, it's from King
Lear and should be “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks.” The
comma before 'and' probably isn't quite right for today's rules of
use in everyday writing. The comma was used to signal a breath I'd
imagine. How far we've come since ancient Greek where they didn't
even put spaces between their words. How ever did they spend their
days on social media… They got out more :D
2.6 Strictly
adhering to or fulfilling all the principles of a particular religion
or cause.
Heaven's Gate –
Good?
They all killed
themselves as instructed by their leader and a few even made sure
that there were no survivors before killing themselves.
3. Possessing or
displaying moral virtue.
He reported his
neighbour to the police for breaking the law. Good?
Sure, if your
neighbour has murdered someone and asked for a spade to bury the
body. Less so if your neighbour was hiding a jewish family, earning a
little cash to help them buy food their welfare doesn't cover or
growing a little weed to help with their chronic pain problem.
3.1 Showing
Kindness.
They were hungry
and were offered all the food they could eat. Good?
This they, is the
singular they and this they is a morbidly obese person with serious
health issues. Killing someone with kindness…
3.2 Obedient to
rules or conventions.
See number three.
Good
I think this is a
great example to stop on. There is often times in everyone's life
that following rules could have caused something to have happened
that wasn't what they would of wanted to. Choosing too spell words
wrongly isn't gonna cause a deaf noar is it bad. It's difficult and
annoying but if you still understood what I wrote, I was 'good' at
communicating my point.
Bad is Good, do I
need to re-explain how someone choosing to do sex work is good if
they are free to make that decision? Or, how punching Natzi is good
despite assault and violence being bad?
Next time in, the
queer questions – Truth! If I remember to write it or perhaps I'm
not intending to ever, who knows…