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Earthling
Posts: 22
(3/24/06 20:53)
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No, Virginia, It Ain't a Philosophy
It’s as simple as this: There is no such thing as a Gorean philosophy. There are many philosophies—Christianity as explained by Küng, the communism detailed by Marx and Engels, Rand’s Objectivism, Camus’ existentialism, among a plethora of others—that hold at their center issues of honor and loyalty, just as that crazy little thing called Gor does. The so-called Gorean philosophy does not turn on these matters; honor and loyalty and bravery are the linchpins of nearly every other major philosophical system—religious, political, social, and what not—that has ever come down the pike, despite what the deluded Gorean may think. (He seems to believe that these things are unique to Gor.) No, the Gorean philosophy instead turns on the issue of dominance and submission, or simple BDSM. It’s little more than a sex game, though most Goreans will go out of their way to deny it.
And the "natural order" that Marcus tirelessly carps on about? It’s a myth. There are many instances in nature wherein the female of the species exerts dominance over the male. Within our own species, taking into account BDSM practices, many more men than women characterize themselves as submissive. Even if there was a coherent "natural order," applicable to all species across the board, we must remember that humans are significantly different than lower animals: Humans possess intellect and self-awareness, unicameral consciousness. Humans are endowed with the ability to correct basic behavior, to break outside any mold leveled by nature. We are more than the sum of our parts, unlike the mountain gorilla or simple tapeworm who simply, reactively fulfills nature’s mandate; we own the capacity to transcend our limitations, to improve upon the thoughts of our ancestors, to subvert, if we’re willing, "nature, red in tooth and claw." We are animals, yes—but we are of a special kind, those who can reflect on our shortcomings and undertake changes to behavior.
I’m bigger than my wife. I can, for example, benchpress a great deal more weight than she. I’m the primary breadwinner; her job is certainly respectable, but she works part-time. Do I dominate her? Good God, no; she’s a thoroughly liberated woman capable of out-intellectualizing me any day of the week. Perhaps, in days of yore—in ancient Greece, perhaps, or the medieval Arabian region—she might’ve been my slave. (Anything’s possible; hell, I could’ve wound up as someone’s slave without ever wanting to, as happened to a great many unfortunate men in the classical era and beyond.) But, in this life, after thirty years of marriage, I wish her to be my equal, my teammate in all things from raising our daughter to paying bills. I have enormous respect for her, never mind an abiding love that has sustained me through some very difficult times. If I were to dominate her successfully, it’s probable that I would necessarily suppress her unique creativity and value as a productive member of this society.
After years of reading public forums and perusing websites, I understand Gorean men to be those who have little direct control over their daily lives and seek to regain something in the way of power through their Gorean fantasies; I understand Gorean women to be those who’d rather not take responsibility for themselves and escape the pitfalls of decision-making. Fine, but keep it in the bedroom; it doesn’t constitute a philosophy. For a coherent philosophy, go back to the classics or the Bible or Qu’ran or time-honored Buddhist sutras or the Federalist Papers or anything other than a series of poorly-crafted out-of-print fantasy novels. Good grief! How can a bunch of seemingly intelligent Westerners possibly think the Chronicles of Gor comprise a coherent treatise on ethics? Your philosophy is ultimately your own business. But Goreans seemingly have no idea about how ridiculous they look to the rest of the world—at least that part of it which has deigned to notice. Simply put, they look like imbeciles, basing their entire pitiful little lives on works of second-rate fiction. If Goreans want to immerse themselves in a cute little paraphilia, that’s fine; just don’t hold the "source texts" up as some kind of authority, the last word in human behavior.
I was walking down the street, Ana caught my eye...and dragged it fifteen feet. |
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