Does normality exist?

It's like how these days there are so many 'recognised' personality disorders for people who don't fit the mould of 'normal' behaviour, if you think about it could just be seen as a control mechanism to make people strive to behave 'normally' to avoid being labelled as mentally ill. Conformity versus Individualism.

Another example is how today's left treat everyone as a group identity rather than individuals and anyone who breaks out of the predefined mould is attacked relentlessly, it's all about control.
 
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mmj_uk said:
It's like how these days there are so many 'recognised' personality disorders for people who don't fit the mould of 'normal' behaviour, if you think about it could just be seen as a control mechanism to make people strive to behave 'normally' to avoid being labelled as mentally ill. Conformity versus Individualism.

Another example is how today's left treat everyone as a group identity rather than individuals and anyone who breaks out of the predefined mould is attacked relentlessly, it's all about control.
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I was with you (I wasn't) until Left jumped up, like a 13 year old boy looking at his first Littlewoods catalogue.

You need some new material, my dude.
 
[FnG]magnolia said:
I was with you (I wasn't) until Left jumped up, like a 13 year old boy looking at his first Littlewoods catalogue.

You need some new material, my dude.
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You struggle with the concept that people who are on the left wing of the political spectrum seem to be focusing on group identities as of late? Do you think that's not true, or do you just dislike his use of the word left?
 
Roar87 said:
You struggle with the concept that people who are on the left wing of the political spectrum seem to be focusing on group identities as of late? Do you think that's not true, or do you just dislike his use of the word left?
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What up, babes :fist bump:

I'm not struggling with anything, just pointing out that it's an unusual thing to bring up in a thread where it doesn't seem ... required. I mean, I don't really care, do your thing, whatever.

And yes, I know what irony means.
 
Tuppy_Glossop said:
Mags: "Do you want to play the rape game, Tuppy?"

Tuppy: "No."

Mags: "Great, get in the van."

Etc.
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“Tuppy, did you ever love me?"
I'm studying a billboard and say that I didn't hear what he said.
"I asked if you ever loved me?"
On the terrace the sun bursts into my eyes and for one blinding moment I see myself clearly. I remember the first time we made love, in the house in Palm Springs, his body tan and wet, lying against cool, white sheets.
"Don't do this, Tuppy," I tell him.
"Just tell me."
I don't say anything.
"Is it such a hard question to answer?"
I look at him straight on.
"Yes or no?"
"Why?"
"Damnit, mags," he sighs.
"Yeah, sure, I guess."
"Don't lie to me."
"What in the *bleep* do you want to hear?"
"Just tell me," he says, his voice rising.
"No," I almost shout. "I never did." I almost start to laugh.
He draws in a breath and says, "Thank you. That's all I wanted to know." He sips his wine.

*

Rock 'n Roll. Deal with it. No one ever likes the right person. We buy balloons, we let them go.
 
[FnG]magnolia said:
“Tuppy, did you ever love me?"
I'm studying a billboard and say that I didn't hear what he said.
"I asked if you ever loved me?"
On the terrace the sun bursts into my eyes and for one blinding moment I see myself clearly. I remember the first time we made love, in the house in Palm Springs, his body tan and wet, lying against cool, white sheets.
"Don't do this, Tuppy," I tell him.
"Just tell me."
I don't say anything.
"Is it such a hard question to answer?"
I look at him straight on.
"Yes or no?"
"Why?"
"Damnit, mags," he sighs.
"Yeah, sure, I guess."
"Don't lie to me."
"What in the *bleep* do you want to hear?"
"Just tell me," he says, his voice rising.
"No," I almost shout. "I never did." I almost start to laugh.
He draws in a breath and says, "Thank you. That's all I wanted to know." He sips his wine.
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If someone told me this was Bukowski, I'd believe them.

E:
Oh, it's Brett Easton Ellis. Not a bad punt, really :D
 
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[FnG]magnolia said:
What up, babes :fist bump:

I'm not struggling with anything, just pointing out that it's an unusual thing to bring up in a thread where it doesn't seem ... required. I mean, I don't really care, do your thing, whatever.

And yes, I know what irony means.
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If we're talking about what is normal then it would seem natural that the discussion could move on to how the focus is on dividing people into groups and making everyone who isn't a heterosexual white male feel not normal.
 
Roar87 said:
If we're talking about what is normal then it would seem natural that the discussion could move on to how the focus is on dividing people into groups and making everyone who isn't a heterosexual white male feel not normal.
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You've lost me but that's okay, my fault. Do you, as a heterosexual white male, feel not normal? I'm not sure that was in the OP but let's pivot to whatever your fresh life challenge is.

Group share or lose me forever :mad:
 
[FnG]magnolia said:
You've lost me but that's okay, my fault. Do you, as a heterosexual white male, feel not normal? I'm not sure that was in the OP but let's pivot to whatever your fresh life challenge is.

Group share or lose me forever :mad:
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I feel normal yes, anything outside of being a straight white male could be considered as a "minority group" (i.e. not normal); I literally heard women described as a minority group on the news (the presenter said "Women and other minority groups...") even though they make up 51% of the population.
 
Roar87 said:
I feel normal yes, anything outside of being a straight white male could be considered as a "minority group" (i.e. not normal); I literally heard women described as a minority group on the news (the presenter said "Women and other minority groups...") even though they make up 51% of the population.
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I'm just going to empty quote you on this one.

Thanks for playing.
 
Efour said:
[..]
Am I using the word normal wrong or does the word normal just offend people?

Average and normality is there a absolute definition of normal or is it just utterly subjective ?

Discuss. I haven't lit any bongs yet, just bored.
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My position is that the word "normal" is widely used with a completely incorrect meaning. "Normal" simply means "what usually happens" or at least "what happens more often than anything else". The problem is when it's used to mean both that and "what is morally right". Those are completely different things and should be treated as such.

So in the context of a large enough and random enough sample of humans it's normal to be heterosexual. In the context of birds in general, it's normal to be able to fly but in the context of ostriches it's normal to not be able to fly. In the context of humans it's normal to have trichromatic vision but in the context of dogs it's normal to have dichromatic vision. Normality says nothing about morality, nothing about what should be, only about what usually is. "Normal" should be treated as nothing more than a statistical thing, relevant only in some contexts and only on a group level, e.g. if most people in a specific group are between 5'8" and 6' tall then a clothing company could reasonably take that into account when manufacturing clothes to sell to that specific group. It's normal for it to rain in England. That doesn't mean it's wrong for it to be sunny in England. Etc, etc. In short, the problem is the idea that normal is right. It's only right if there are good reasons why a particular thing must be within a specific range, e.g. temperatures in a nuclear reactor.
 
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