Racial Emojis

It’s interesting. The idea of what a society would look like if it catered to every individual’s feelings or needs. Would it be sustainable or would it be some kind of burdensome? I’m quite intrigued by the answer.

Recently it was announced that a new set of emoji’s would be released that could be considered as ‘racially diverse’ as it will be catering to those who feel the standard emoji doesn’t fully represent their ethnic race or whatnot. I can’t help but stare at these new emoji and wonder, are they necessary in this day and age? And why does it both entertain and bother me that they have come into existence?

Looking at these new emoji I have to wonder how far has humanity come from learning from their past mistakes in terms of classification in such subtle forms. Before, an emoji was just a cute and playful tool to be used to express a multitude of things in instant or lengthy messages to close acquaintances or loved ones through social media and other forms of messaging. Now we watch as this playful tool becomes the subtle hammer that bashes away at very hard earned views on equality and respect as it promotes certain stereotypes and colour classification. It’s a subtle change, but a change none the less that plays on the subconscious of those who use the tool.

It really astounds me how these ‘racially diverse’ emoji were able to come into existence in today’s time. One has to ask if our society has really become so racially sensitive, or is it that people have really just simply become so obsessed with defining the different races that it has leaked into such neutral areas of expression.

But isn’t that just confusing, or is it just me who finds the need to separate race in even simple play tools just a bit racist? Also, is that kind of racism then catering to the individual need of being recognised as a special individual?

I’m very confused. Society, what is it that you want? Clearly equality is something you preach about but when it comes to the things that almost perfectly represent us in neutral existence you fly off in the opposite direction and do the chicken dance…

The Does and The Don'ts

There are things you do and there are things you don’t do. A few things I can think of that fit this are for instance paying you’re electricity bill, despite the ever increasing power outages it never hurts to avoid the unnecessary headache of going to the water and lights department and arguing your case.

You will not win and if, by some miracle you do win, it will be after much wasted time and energy. Then there’s also obeying the rules of the road and not drinking and driving which is a general concern for everyday individuals on the road.

But my favourite example of what one must never do is by far from this recent article I read concerning a man who had thought it a great idea to film him and his then high school girlfriend having sex, without her knowledge.

The man then claims to be ignorant of how the footage of their lovemaking made it onto social media as he had ‘not shown it to anyone’. The man also claims there was no intention on his part to show the footage to anyone.

Why then film it? Surely the act between two lovers in private should have been enough to live on in their memories alone?

But the story doesn’t end there as the jilted lover who clearly didn’t appreciate being made a social media trend took to some serious level of crazy and attacked her new ex-boyfriend’s genitals with battery acid.

What shocks me is that he says he didn’t see this coming, and I wonder how many other guys like him exist out there thinking the same?

It’s a sad state of affairs when a man thinks it is okay to film such intimate activities without the other party’s consent and just ‘accidently’ leave it to the interweb’s claws.

Of course, our current offender didn’t even press charges against his ex-girlfriend for the damage of his manly goods and I wonder is it because he knows the damage he’s done or because he’s that ignorant of the actual situation in general?

That’s a scary thought, are people becoming that ignorant of what they film and share on social media or is the idea of what is private and personal sorely lacking in our current society?



Source:

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2015/02/02/girl-destroys-boyfriends-penis-in-acid-attack-after-video-of-them-having-sex-goes-viral

The Modern Detachment

As the modern world moves on bringing us new ways of living, playing and eating we find ourselves more and more removed from certain things that are common placed. For examples instead of labouring away to build our own homes to live in we now have specialized individuals with their various machinery to do the work for us. Instead of simply running around pretending to be pirates, cops and robbers in our back yards as the children in the old days used to do, we now have virtual reality where the experience is almost as real as if one were to live in the actual game, never mind the countless other gaming consoles and internet itself. Then there is of course the process of feeding ourselves that has evolved from us having to go hunting for our own food to it being brought to our very door step, if we wished.

But with all this advancement, surely there must be something lost in the process of such detachment?

Looking at a recent video made by Buzzfeed we see how a few people from the city are tasked with killing their own food for the first time and eating it. Now while it isn't a new concept, I'm sure, it’s an interesting experiment that allows us to see how a few individuals accustomed to the modern way of life, like many of us generally are, take to the simple act of ‘harvesting’ their food directly.

While observing them we see quite a few emotional moments as the city folk realise that these adorable creatures that hatch from eggs and are quite cuddle-worthy are in line for one single fate. 

The reality that they, these fluffy feathered birds, are living beings that move and run, gives a few of our amateur farmers pause as the time comes for them to pick their chosen meals.

Honestly, as a negative human being, I find this revelation quite refreshing. The mere fact that some of our species can hurt, if only slightly and briefly at the idea of harming another creature gives hope for our species in general. Doesn't that mean the same feeling can be transferred to humanity?

What was even more interesting to see was that neither of the amateur farmers could watch as the chicken bled out without some form of melancholy. It was as if the act of killing the animal numbed them slightly. Needless to say they were more than glad once the deed was done and the process finished off. Though the experience didn't turn any of them against eating the animal, it’s clear that more respect was given to its consumption as the gap was closed between their modern lives and the reality of our food’s origins.

So I wonder, is advancement really all that good if sometimes things like this are lost, the respect one gains for the food they harvest for themselves knowing where it comes from and why it’s so precious?

Of course, it isn't always the advancement that is at fault but the perception of those who only look at where something is going and not where it comes from.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFW5gPlSJcE