From: Van oost Kenneth (kennethvanoost@belgacom.net)
Date: Sun 27 Oct 2002 - 10:51:02 GMT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Grant Callaghan" <grantc4@hotmail.com>
> Here's another look at the phenomena. This writer lumps it in with crimes
> and gangs, but gives some reasons for the cause of the phenomena. I take
it
> you've heard about the high rate of suicide among kids who are bullied at
> school. Hikikomori might be an alternative in the minds of some to
thoughts
> of suicide.
Yes Grant, this came to my mind too !
If this would be true, and why not, than we have to deal with some aspects
of our immune- system.
I always suspected that the system has to work upon a more memetic level
of existence, in a way this would mean that it blocks out and let through
information, memes thus in order to stenghten, defend or weaken us in
order to let propagate the info/ memes concerned.
In the case of hikikomori, memesplexes would not allow the self- destruc-
tion of the host because that would mean they would die with him/ her.
This alternative to suicide is quite interesting if we take the Japanese
habit of harakiri into account.
Committing suicide is well respected in Japan, of course, some can
argue that committing suicide means not taking responsibility, but any-
way, what has been changed in the mind of those kids !?
What changed memetically !?
That suicide won 't resolve their problems !? That is IMO just another
stance of standing political correct and thus bull... !
If the altenative is memetically inspired so to speak, than we deal here
with an opposite pathomeme(plex)_ instead of making us all sick it
prefends us to do ourselves harm ! What reason could there be if not
its own propagation troughout Japanese society !?
Keeping those kids alive means that the hikikomori- meme survives
and not disintegrates into the meme of suicide !
A lot to think about !
Regards,
Kenneth
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sun 27 Oct 2002 - 10:38:53 GMT