Date: Wed, 08 Apr 1998 13:14:49 -0400
From: "Robert G. Grimes" <grimes@fcol.com>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Re: The sex-death continuum
christopher_l._turner@hud.gov wrote:
> snip
>
> Do you suppose this ties in with the apparent compulsive tendency in
> our culture to render the showing of any forms of explicit sexual
> activity in 'popular' entertainment 'ok' by closely associating it
> with some form of violent behavior or result (similar to the way
> 'illicit drugs' are treated in movies, etc.) i.e. to ensure that
> 'our children' get the 'right' message that 'sex is bad' ('immoral',
> 'sinful', etc.)?
>
> Very interested in the issue and its effects on our society,
>
Chris,
A great deal of my early study of General Semantics was
associated with
the identification reaction Sex=Sin and dealt with the
cultural effects of
how this "meme" was implanted into children from infancy
both by tactile
sensations, activity events and later, language. The most
recent
repository for this IR inhibition was primarily religion
(when Religion
was Government) and controls on behavior (food laws,
hygiene, taboos,
etc.) were religious rules. Earlier it is presumed that the
chattel value
of women was maintained at a higher level if virginity was
preserved (one
virgin = 14 head of cattle, etc.) and thus rules on sexual
activity were
inculcated in the group for both behavioral purposes (to
keep down
disorder, maintain the position of the Alpha Males, control
descent and
distribution of property, i.e., usually the eldest son
inherited
valuables, etc.). To facilitate the imposition of
behavioral controls it
is presumed such rules were ascribed to a deity for
permanence, i.e., one
could kill the big chief but the "Gods" would still enforce
the "rules."
Not only was the sexual act ascribed "great power" but the
identification
was also transferred to the sexual organs, hence later
resulting in
covering them, etc. Mothers washing their infants would
deal with the
sexual organs in a different manner than with the feet, not
only because
of avoiding injury but because of the "power" ascribed to
viewing the
organs, etc. Women could not come into the temple when
menstruating,
etc. Later on in life, when the young naked child ran into
a room of
elders they sent them back to put on their "pants," not
their hats! This
is very quick and dirty but you get the idea.
After eons of conditioning associated with such things is it
any wonder
that "guilt complexes," etc., arose and were strongly
associated with not
only the sexual act but in the "thinking about the sexual
act." Thus,
humans could carry their on Signal/Response equipment around
with them in
their minds and "reinforce" such strictures themselves,
i.e., when
"thoughts" are "bad or evil," one's thoughts associated with
a
physiological drive (an adient drive at that) would
constantly reinforce
the equation Sex=Sin or something similar. One did not have
to be
religious to have this IR, only be raised in the society.
Couple this IR
with the conscious reinforcement and the necessity of
responding to a
physiological drive and one has the perfect "built in
stimulus" for a
neurosis or psychosis. "Thy shall not covet thy neighbor's
wife," etc. It
is no wonder that when one talks to disturbed mentally ill
folk their main
focus usually involves sex in some fashion.
Thus, again, "quick and dirty," that is it in a nutshell and
the
subsequent reprogramming (re-education, psychotherapy, etc.)
necessary to
"rewire" the associative network into a more healthy and
wholesome
supportive network as the fundamental identifications were
replaced, I
used to equate with teaching someone who had spoken English
all their life
to "dream in Spanish."
Still, I have seen many folks brought back into healthy,
happy lives after
being mighty sick and continually denying any such
identifications at
all. In fact, we would not even talk about those
relationships in the
beginning but simple use exercises to slowly defuse the old
reflex arcs
iand establish new ones. It was essential to replace the
older
inhibitions with newer, more wholesome ones or one might
release an
uninhibited (behaviorally) person into some real trouble.
Anyway, I would call that type of operation "memetic
engineering" even
thought the word was not existent at the time. Functioning
psychotherapy
or psychiatry today must use something similar to achieve
similar
results. You can imagine what electro convulsive shock
therapy would do
to certain reflexive associations. They not only might not
awake without
those negative associations but without a great deal of
positive ones,
including memories, too. I used to compare it to those
cartoons where the
agonized patient "withdraws into a small box, knees doubled
up under their
chins, in a fetal position," and then the therapist would
throw a stick of
dynamite in and "bring them back to reality!" That could be
quite a jolt
as compared to the patient and skillful scientific rewiring
of those
identification reactions into a functional and lasting
whole.
Yes, I think "memetic engineering" would be a good name for
that....
Cordially,
Bob
-- Bob Grimeshttp://members.aol.com/bob5266/ http://www.hotwired.com/members/profile/bobinjax/ http://www.phonefree.com/Scripts/cgiParse.exe?sID=28788 Jacksonville, Florida Bob5266@aol.com robert.grimes@mailexcite.com
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore....."
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