anthropomorphized

I have been accused of anthropomorphizing pets, trees, dolls, toys, wild animals, stuffed animals and food sources.  It is always stated as if I am silly and ridiculous but sweet, and probably crazy.

The way I understand this fine word, is that we silly folk are giving animals, etc,etc, human traits, feelings, beliefs, needs, thoughts and behaviors that they can't possibly have because they are not human. (Circular, isn't it)

I get what they are saying.  I understand that I can't read the mind of a goat.  But I do know that those naturalists (not the naked ones) that watch a species for a long time, frequently find behaviors that seem  both caring and meaningful.  There seem to be attachments to other individuals.  There seems to be education of their young, and protection of their young and...playing.

But I'm probably just anthropomorphizing.

The real question is, did we anthropomorphize ourselves?

Have we been separating ourselves  from other species based on facts, or wishful thinking, or did we just make it up from whole cloth to explain why our destructiveness, selfishness and greed is not a problem--we deserve to act like that---because we aren't animals, we are human.  At one time, we even argued about whether women were human vs just anthropomorphized, or the actual possibility that other races were human--and too many argued against on that one also.

We use language to separate ourselves from others, but we don't all speak one language or even all speak with our mouths and tongues.  And some of our language skills are pretty rudimentary.  So perhaps what we do is communicate--only every species communicates, even plants.

We use our problem-solving abilities as proof of our humanness, while calling beaver dams and chimp tools and wasp nests instinct.  (are we also using instinct, but too arrogant to admit the possibility?)

We say only we can remember the past-but recent internet videos document animals reuniting after years and obviously recognizing each other and seeming excited, even joyful to see each other.

We can empathize, (use that seldom enough) but every depressed person with a pet knows the comfort of their furry or feathered friend becoming more emotionally demonstrative at that time.

We claim we are heroic, self-sacrificing, altruistic, but truly, has anyone NOT heard of an animal giving its life to save another?

And Mourning?  Mourning seems universal, though they seem better at moving on unless their loss was the last one in their family--no matter what species.  Nothing sadder than a spouse dying within the year their mate dies, if not, perhaps the dog or cat or swan that suddenly is alone and can't move on--at least not on this plane,  is at least as significant a sign of mourning a terrible loss.

Perhaps we need to quit trying so hard to separate the human species from the rest of life.  Wouldn't we all be better off if we found a new word to describe those traits that make us all better--make all life better, make all species better?

So many words to describe our best selves; loving, kind, compassionate, caring, open, honest, thoughtful, capable, joyful, purposeful, meaningful, curious, empathetic, determined, energetic, excited, happy, sad, mournful, comforting, comfortable, demonstrative, heroic, self-sacrificing, relaxed, sleepy, beautiful, soulful, and on and on and on.

And all of those words we feel---and all of them describe other forms of life.

So do we need to lose the word "anthropomorphize".

Should we maybe just accept we are alive and full of meaning and purpose because we are alive.

Is life what makes us special?

Is that the only word we need?

Stereotypical Thinking.

If you consider yourself to be smart or thoughtful or a free-thinker, you might have noticed the canned responses that occur frequently in some situations.
Take--the burqa or burka or--spell it how you will--the western response is usually a put-down of the women wearing it because they are "being controlled by men", "giving away their power as women" "not liberated" etc, etc,.
If those same women were walking down the same street in bikini's, they would be called "sluts", "exhibitionists" " only interested in the attention of men" and "superficial".
The problem is not the women, whether veiled from head to toe or naked as a jaybird in time square.
The problem is the way we humans like to judge each other based on as few facts as possible.
Judgement, while necessary to survival can be overused.
Not every situation, person, idea or thought requires us to make a judgement--and as night follows day--pronounce sentence.
For one thing, if personal choice is actually considered a good thing, what anyone else thinks about that choice is totally unconcerning.
Blue hair, sleeve tattoos, primer-only cars, wild prairie lawns, tomatoes in the rose garden--choice--if you don't care for it, don't do it.  And shut-up about how unnatural, gaudy, low-class, undignified, or unsophisticated they are.
There really is more than one way to skin a cat (don't even look at my cats with this in mind)

We were all raised to learn the difference between right and wrong.  My mother was the first to tell you there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything.  How to boil an egg, how to sew a hem, how to frost a cake, how to plant corn---and fashion?  No white shoes after labor day.  No cowboy boots with dresses.  No jeans at church.  No bra straps showing---ever, ever, ever.  Always wear socks or if over 12, always wear hose.  Never put black and brown together.  Red and pink clash.  Match the color of metal of your jewelry.  Match the color of your shoes and purse.

My father was more of a no rules man.  He solved the fashion dilemma by just wearing nothing but work uniforms--to everything.  In the world of right way and wrong way, that was wrong.  And he was ok with that.  But if something was broken--he could fix it, though often not in my mother's "right" way.

I think, maybe the right and wrong we need to worry about is whether our action actually took something away from someone else.  Taking from another--whether their life or their time or their belonging or their opportunity is harm.  No harming for personal gain.      (That covers my right and wrong rather well.)

Most of the judgements we make about things come from stereotypical thinking.  That is easy thinking--dependent, not on actual reasons but upon truth by popular vote.

This type of thinking, with no objective research as given us such gems of knowledge as:

• Red heads have hot tempers.
• All blonde women are dumb.
• All red heads are sluts.
• Christians are homophobic. They are blinded by God and will recruit you if you go near them.
• All politicians are philanders and think only of personal gain and benefit.
• If I wear Goth clothing I'm a part of a rock band, depressed, or do drugs-but probably all three.
• Girls are only concerned about physical appearance.
• Guys are messy and unclean.
• Men who spend too much time on the computer or read are geeks.
• Men who are not into sports are 'gay.
• All librarians are women who are old, wear glasses, tie a high bun, and have a perpetual frown on their face.
• Girls are not good at sports.
• All teenagers are rebels.
• All children don't enjoy healthy food.
• Only anorexic women can become models.
• Women who smoke and drink do not have morals.
• Men who like pink are effeminate.
• All Blacks are great basketball players.
• All Asians are geniuses.
• All Indians are deeply spiritual.
• All Latinos dance well.
• All Whites are successful.
• Asians have high IQs. They are smarter than most in Math and Science. These people are more likely to succeed in school.
• African Americans can dance.
• All Canadians are exceptionally polite.
• French are romantic.
• All Asians know kung fu.
• All African American men are well endowed.
• Italians are good lovers.
• All Muslims are terrorists.
• All white people don't have rhythm.
• All Blacks are lazy.
• All Asians are sneaky.
• All Hispanics don't speak English very well or not at all.
• All Jewish people are greedy, selfish money hungry people.
• Caucasians can't dance.
• Russians are violent.
• All Americans are cowboys.
• All Italians are stylish and sophisticated. They are usually painters, sculptors or fashion designers.
• Germans are Nazis or fascists.
• All Asians are Chinese.
• All Asians speak Pidgin English.
• All Native Americans love to gamble.
• All Middle easterners hate America.
• All Italians are good cooks.
• The people of Netherlands are all promiscuous and drug addicts.
• All Italians are mobsters or have links to the mob.
• All white people are racist.
• Chinese will eat anything.
• All Asians are Communists.
• All Australians are bullies, racists, drinkers and constantly uses swear words. They are also portrayed as lazy and stupid morons.
• People from the Indian subcontinent are generally portrayed as shopkeepers and motel owners.
• All Egyptian women are belly dancers.
• The Japanese are engineering geniuses.
• All South Koreans are gaming nerds.
• Irish are alcoholics.
• All Hispanics are illegal aliens.
• All Indians and Chinese are cheap and live a frugal life.
• All Latinos are on welfare.
• In the US all South Koreans are stereotyped as dry cleaners.  
• All Mexicans as gardeners.
• Women always smell good.
• Women take forever to do anything.
• Women are more brilliant than men.
• Women are always moody.
• Women try to work out problems while men take immediate action.
• All women like the color pink.
• All women like dolls.
• Women become cheerleaders.
• Women take 2 hours to shower.
• Women hog the bathroom.
• Women love mirrors.
• Women like make-up.
• Women are fussy about their hair.
• Women work in department stores.
• Women like fashion magazines.
• Women are discrete about intimacy.
• Women do not drive well.
• Women never take chances.
• Women always talk too much on the phone.
• Women actually use only 5% of what's in their purse. Everything else is junk.
• Only women can be nurses.
• Only men can be doctors.
• Men are stronger and more aggressive.
• Men are better at sports.
• Men hate reading.
• Men always have an "I don't care" attitude.
• Men don't get grossed out by scrapes and bruises.
• Men are tough.
• Men are thickheaded.
• Men like cars.
• Men become jocks in high school.
• Men take 2 seconds to shower.
• Men like hats.
• Men could care less if they become bald.
• Men wear whatever is clean.
• Men usually work in messy places.
• Men like car or porn magazines.
• Men brag about intimacy.
• Men take too many chances.
• Men always lose all arguments against girls.
 
 If none of those offended you--I'm amazed.  If you have never heard any of them--these days most of us know "all" or "none" statements are usually false, but if you eliminate all or add most, well, I've heard many of statements used like the speaker had just pronounced truth.


Stereotypes are used most by those that think least.  Not people with actual neurological problems, but by those individuals who have spent a lifetime relying on their physical attractiveness, class standing or personal opinions spoken loudly with conviction to give them an audience of listeners if not followers.  


None of the above statements accurately describe any group of people-and any of those statements might describe individuals from any group.  
Stereotyping--some may call it profiling in the name of legitimizing what they do, has only one purpose--to categorize and label people.  The cultures of the world have a long history of this to identify us and them, "our tribe" and "other".  It was to protect ourselves and our children from people that might eat us or wear us or enslave us.


These days--its more about hierarchy and class-placement and keeping the underdog under.
The problem with using stereotypes is that is stops both the stereotyper and the stereotypee from actually having a meaningful relationship or even communicating.
Once you turn someone into a label--they stop being a person. 
They are no longer an individual with their own past full of memories both happy and sad.  
They are no longer an individual with hopes and dreams for their future or their family's future.
They become 2-dimensional--flat, cookie-cutters of their group members.
They become "them".
They become "other".
If this country is to survive, If this world of humans is to survive--we have to all become "US".


Namaste to all of us!




http://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html

How do we compare.

In the USA, with a population of 321,368,864 people (including men, women and children) we produce $55,854 per person.
In Russia, with 142,423,773 people, they produce $22,105 per person.
In China, with 1,367,485,388 people, they produce $14,179 per person.

In Finland with 5,476,922 people, they produce $41,081 per person.

For 2016, the Federal poverty guideline is an annual income of $24,300 for a family of four.  That is four people living at under 1/2 of the GDP per person--per ONE person.  (Yes, I get that kids don't produce, but they are part of the population, they eat, they wear clothes, and they get sick, so they don't live free---AND I included them in the $55,854 per person)
 The 2013 poverty rate (most recent data available) was 14.5%, down from 15% in 2012, and the first decline since 2006. However, it was still higher than the 12.5% living in poverty in 2007, before the recession. Nearly 1 in 5 children live in poverty (19.9%), while nearly 1 in 10 seniors do (9.5%) and that is WITH social security. (Source:U.S. Census, Highlights, Poverty Thresholds. The next report will be released in September 2016.)
That is at least 46 million people that are not sharing in the wealth of this countries production.
Russia has 16% of its population living below poverty level.
China has a 14.7% poverty rate.
 Finland, on the other-hand, while its per person product is less than the USA, has fewer than 5.6% of its population living below the poverty level.
In Norway--that number is even smaller.

We can no longer remind our children to eat their food because there "are starving children in china".  These days, we can merely threaten to move them to Detroit--with a 58% child poverty rate, or Tampa--with 32% of its children living below the poverty threshold.

Shoot, with 20% of our children living in poverty--there is a 1 in 5 chance they are already living there and wishing they had more food, not griping about their peanut butter sandwiches.

Of course we can always threaten them with worse conditions like Somalia or Syria, but the condition  across town or over the state border may also scare them into compliance.

If you are one of the lucky 4/5th of US children, there are worse places to be a child.

Half the world lives below the poverty level.  About 45% of children in the world live in poverty.  Thousands die day daily from starvation.

(That might include our 20%--but that only makes the news when they are found in a dog kennel in the garage).

Ok, if you only compare those amazing countries we like to consider ourselves #1 amongst, we were number 2 for child poverty rates.  Only Romania beat us with 23% child poverty.  Iceland was at the bottom with only slightly over 4%.

http://www.communitychange.org/page/study-ranks-us-second-highest-in-child-poverty-among-35-developed-countries/

So----you can threaten those ungrateful kids with Somalia.  (You can threaten me with Somalia--a country down in the horn of Africa that is slightly smaller than Texas.  It is a  country with drought, civil war, anarchy, terrorist splinter groups and pirates).  It has human trafficking, forced child labor, child soldiers, no birth control, no condoms so that HIV is endemic, it has no free education system--and few schools outside of urban areas.  And girls don't go to school.

And it's only the sixth poorest country in the world.

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/world/poorest-countries-in-the-world/

What do most poor countries have in common?
  They have something a rich country wanted--and it isn't their residents as neighbors.

• natural resources like gold/diamonds/silver/waterways/ivory/furs/coffee/chocolate/spices/
• cheap labor/slaves
• land to get rid of their own criminals and poor and undesireables.

They also have civil unrest, unstable governments, recent wars on their lands, poor or no public education system, poor or no women's rights, endemic diseases that lower life expectancy drastically, corruption at all levels of government, criminal enterprises--usually involving human trafficking, endangered animal/animal product export, narcotics, etc.  Throw in a recent natural disaster--hurricane, earthquake, drought that they couldn't bounce back from--and you get the makings of a very bad place to live and a very good place to immigrate from.

Seventeen of the 20 poorest countries are in Africa.  There but for the grace of God go the America's and Australia. The other three--Afghanistan, Comoros and Haiti have similar issues.

But we in the USA have done an unfortunately great job of keeping the English Class system alive and well.

I've been reading

"White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America "

It's interesting, and my dive into genealogy definitely hinted at this--I'm fairly sure that those elite societies like the DAR weren't seeking the descendants of those that arrived as bond-servants or on penal ships.  

Those African nations that were held in thrall by European countries until the last half of the 20th century were left without education to function in the current world and little memory of how they functioned successfully 500 years before that.  And now, they are floundering, trying to survive in a time that is both complex and unforgiving.  And there are still people out there trying to use them for their natural resources and living resources--working with those people native to those places that have lost their souls in their search for power and riches.  AND there are rich and powerful people in each of those countries.

But what about the USA?  Why do we have the one of the highest per person GDP AND  one of the highest rates of poverty without putting "third world" in front of our nation?

Because we were settled by the same nations that created those third world nations.  We revolted and have had over 200 years to decide who we would be when we grew up.  

Apparently, we decided to follow in the footsteps of the motherland--feudal all the way.

Too bad we didn't learn from the people that were already here.
Too bad we didn't assimilate more than food from all those immigrants that brought their knowledge.
Too bad we didn't make a new and better government in which the words implied by the constitution were meant to reach everyone--everyone--all races, all religions, genders, ethnicities---the real meaning of "everyone".

Maybe it would be easier if we could convince all those delusional folks that are afraid we are going to fix the inequality right before they got theirs that they weren't ever going to get theirs until everyone could do better.  
After all, how many kids and their parents encourage their children to focus completely on sports, getting into an Ivy league college, compete in gymnastics, dance, sing, play an instrument, become a Doctor or Lawyer or Politician because they want them "rich".  Most children pushed hard in those directions don't make it to the top 1% or even above the position of their parents.  

Maybe we could work on narrowing the wealth divide; make it possible to be a successful plumber, kindergarten teacher, artist, office worker, food service worker, retail clerk and have time and money to enjoy our avocations like softball and piano or volunteering.  

Maybe we could all enjoy our lives like we are rich with opportunity and options, a little free time and a financial pad beyond food and rent.

It's not 1500 anymore---we can reshape the future so we all have a good life.

Omens and portents.

I have this continuous feeling of expectation these days.  Its not excitement so much as a lump in my throat just waiting to turn into mourning.  I feel like something bad is about to happen.

When my parents were in their last year on earth, a huge owl flew almost into my windshield while I was driving to see them.  Huge--like wings covering the entire windshield, at me, as in full frontal with me hitting the brakes just as it changed the pitch of its flight to miss hitting the car--missed colliding by less than 12 inches.
It was ominous.  My brain returned to that moment many times after that.  I don't know that I had ever seen an owl outside of a zoo until that night.

These days, that lump in the throat, mourning is coming, feeling is almost constant.

I feel it when another unarmed person is shot.
I feel it when a sniper is hunting police officers.
I feel it when our congress cares only for their party's concerns.
I feel it when the whole election process--from the rigging primaries to gerrymandering to voter ID laws make it obvious that most of us are not part of the political process--we have been systematically shut out.
I feel it when children are fed lead in their water via a crumbling infrastructure--while families (think fortune 400)  possess more wealth than countries like Bangladesh or Somalia or even Russia, and they are getting tax-breaks.
I feel it when glacier ice that has been continuously frozen for at least 30,000 years, thaws and causes landslides and outbreaks of anthrax and loss of animal habitat.
I feel it when a person running for president of a country with a lot of nuclear weapons asks "why can't we just nuke 'em".
I feel it when 1000 acres of trees burn and the animals that lived in those trees burned because someone threw their lit cigarette butt out of their car window because they didn't want to dirty their ashtray.
I feel it when 400 year old cities are destroyed by weather--for the first time.
I feel it when people driving  $30,000 cars complain about homeless people being given $30,000 houses to live in.
I feel it when young people go to prison for life for nonviolent crimes but wealthy people that hurt people are given community service and second and third chances.

Are all these things omens?  Do they portend our future?  Maybe.

A lot of people hope for the end of days.  They want to go to heaven.  They want peace and plenty.

How can people be so awful to each other, so greedy, so acquisitive at the expense of others--both human and nonhuman and then think that they want the world to end so they can live a better life.

Everyone needs to take their foot off the neck of whoever or whatever life form they see as less important than themselves and ask themselves "how are we alike".

I think that these people that hate everyone and everything that is not like them in appearance and belief are really delusional if think that hoping for the end so they can get their reward is ever going to take them to heaven.

If they want to live in a place of peace and plenty, they need to work toward that here.

Start with the golden rule--and consider the other species when you do.

Me--I'm already missing the bees.