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Are you kidding me?

Are you kidding me?

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C

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My English teacher recently gave the class a list of statements that we were supposed to either Agree or Disagree with.

Here is one:
Girls should act like girls, and boys should act like boys.

I agreed, contrary to my teachers opinion.
What do you think?

G

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How else can they act? If a girl (or boy) doesn't act like a girl (or boy - etc.) then how is she acting? I don't think she has any choice in the matter.

Maybe your teacher meant - Girls should act like society thinks girls should act like, and boys should act like society thinks boys should act like. That statement is more interesting. Logically, the other statement is crap (that's a boolean term).

Wajoma
Die Cheeseburger

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Originally posted by Gastel
How else can they act? If a girl (or boy) doesn't act like a girl (or boy - etc.) then how is she acting? I don't think she has any choice in the matter.

Maybe your teacher meant - Girls should act like society thinks girls should act like, and boys should act like society thinks boys should act like. That statement is more interesting. Logically, the other statement is crap (that's a boolean term).
Not so interresting because "society" dosen't "think". A number of individuals in a society may think in a certain way on a certain subject but society is not an entity with that ability.

bvb
Callisto Fan

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Originally posted by Wajoma
Not so interresting because "society" dosen't "think". A number of individuals in a society may think in a certain way on a certain subject but society is not an entity with that ability.
Well stated Wajoma.

s

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Originally posted by Gastel
How else can they act? If a girl (or boy) doesn't act like a girl (or boy - etc.) then how is she acting? I don't think she has any choice in the matter.
Good point there. If I'm a man and I act, it will be a man acting, and therefore I act like a man.

People in general has some ideas about how men and women should act based on their sexuality. Crazy. Just another example of wanting to label people so it's easy to tell which ones you like and which ones you don't (without actually getting to know them).

That is certainly not a good thing. In that sense, I definitely don't think a girl/boy should act like a girl/boy is expected to act, but act like they are. So easy, really. I just wasted three or four minutes typing this. 😞

D
Mr. Bombastic

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Originally posted by Codfish
My English teacher recently gave the class a list of statements that we were supposed to either Agree or Disagree with.

Here is one:
Girls should act like girls, and boys should act like boys.

I agreed, contrary to my teachers opinion.
What do you think?
It was your teacher's anti-intellectual way of trying to convert you to her way of thinking. She believes (wrongly) that it is her job to make everyone feel better about tomboys and effeminate men.

In reality, we are smart enough to make our own decisions about that.

s

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Originally posted by Draxus
She believes (wrongly) that it is her job to make everyone feel better about tomboys and effeminate men.
You mean to say that if I'm a man and I act, I'm not acting like a man?

a
Andrew Mannion

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Originally posted by stocken
You mean to say that if I'm a man and I act, I'm not acting like a man?
No, you're acting like you.

N

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Originally posted by Draxus
It was your teacher's anti-intellectual way of trying to convert you to her way of thinking. She believes (wrongly) that it is her job to make everyone feel better about tomboys and effeminate men.

In reality, we are smart enough to make our own decisions about that.
I think you have 'hit the nail on the head', That is just the sort of barmy question on the part of the PC brigade which is meant to confuse normal kids.

s

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Originally posted by amannion
No, you're acting like you.
And I'm a man, so there. 😛 You really can't win this logically, ama, so give it up.

s

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Originally posted by Nargaguna
I think you have 'hit the nail on the head', That is just the sort of barmy question on the part of the PC brigade which is meant to confuse normal kids.
Confuse the kids? Now, you are kidding. It's called diversive education, and it has the single purpose of allowing the children to feel ok about themselves no matter what their sexual inclination or religious view later turns out to be. As opposed to a narrow education where they're simply told this and that is unnatural and wrong because that's the way it is. If, later in life (usually around the teenage years), they discover they are those "unnatural" and "wrong" things, they will be judged as such no matter how many other qualities they may possess.

How would you like to live in a world where you are considered a sexual freak and no matter how much you contribute to society as a whole (through whatever proffession you choose) it all comes down to that simple fact of sexuality when people decide if they like you or not? Or if you grow up slowly starting to realise that the christian bible makes absolutely no sense to you, and no matter how valid arguments you present you get the response that all the "seemingly" contraditory facts of this world is all just part of the "bigger plan" (which you as a mere human have no way of comprehending)? You're an outcast and considered a fool for not standing in line and blindly accepting whatever some other human tells you about the beyond-human-comprehension world. How would you feel then? Wouldn't it be better if people learned to accept each other's differences and be allowed to feel good about themselves, so long as they don't go about hurting others? If they do have the desire to hurt others (pedophiles, sadists, capitalists), wouldn't it be better if the rest of us were there to help them feel it's ok to talk about it; allow them to learn how to lead as fullfilling a life as they can without acting on their desires in a way that's harmful to others? Wouldn't that make for a better society? Would you honestly want to continue working with and for people whom constantly falls back to the fact that you're "different" from them, "unnatural" and "wrong" about the bigger issues? Would you be able to respect yourself in such a society? Would you respect those who judge you exclusively on such an irrelevant and petty fact as your sexuality and/or religious beliefs?

If, while growing up, you're taught that people not like you are unnatural and wrong, you'll end up in a tiny little world where just about everything in the big world (where all those "unnatural" things happen) scare or disgust you (often both I'd suspect).

What a bitter existence that must be for you. 😕

Edit: Or, to stick with the issue at hand a little better, how would you feel if you are being yourself and people automatically assume you are something you're not (something you may even inherently dislike)? Having to "act" to be accepted by people is hardly a nice existence, is it?

j

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....................................................................................................
Or, to stick with the issue at hand a little better, how would you feel if you are being yourself and people automatically assume you are something you're not (something you may even inherently dislike)?
....................................................................................................


Happens to me most everyday and all I feel is that those people don't know me and are wrong. Stupid.
What the kids need to be taught is that the world is full of stupid people ... don't be one of them.


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Having to "act" to be accepted by people is hardly a nice existence, is it?
...................................................................................................


This only matters if you're stupid enough to think your self-worth is based on what other people think of you.
We have to "act" all the time, everyday.


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If, while growing up, you're taught that people not like you are unnatural and wrong, you'll end up in a tiny little world where just about everything in the big world (where all those "unnatural" things happen) scare or disgust you (often both I'd suspect).
....................................................................................................

That's life, we're all taught a bunch of BS by parents, church, teachers and friends. Somewhere along the line you realize you're pretty much all alone in this world ... deal with it or lay down and get kicked to death. Don't matter if you're straight, gay, trans, bi or whatever .. the world will occasionally kick your ass ... just because.

I prefer the school ststem stick to teaching reading, writing and arithmatic. This so called "diversive education" is just another form of PC indoctrination BS, a waste of my tax$


from the original post
...................................................................................................
Girls should act like girls, and boys should act like boys.
...................................................................................................

The answer to this (trick)question is that girls and boys shouldn't "act" like anything ... girls and boys should simply "be" without some 2nd level teacher telling them they are wrong and should "act" the way the teacher thinks.
For chists sake! teach 'em how to THINK not how to act.

N

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Originally posted by stocken
Confuse the kids? Now, you are kidding. It's called diversive education, and it has the single purpose of allowing the children to feel ok about themselves no matter what their sexual inclination or religious view later turns out to be. As opposed to a narrow education where they're simply told this and that is unnatural and wrong because that's the w ...[text shortened]... t" to be accepted by people is hardly a nice existence, is it?
You must be joking.

s

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Originally posted by jammer
The answer to this (trick)question is that girls and boys shouldn't "act" like anything ... girls and boys should simply "be"
This and the think for themselves part is part what I tried to say. How could you read the entire post and miss that? I must come across really bad. 😞

Education is not only about mathematics, reading and writing, though. It's about teaching children about the world at large. How things are. How they've been. How they could be. Giving the kids a fair chance to think for themselves, figure things out on their own with all the facts, and not biased by the possibly prejudiced views of the parents. That's a good thing, the way I see it.

s

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Originally posted by Nargaguna
You must be joking.
A very elaborate, obviously thought through argument you put forth there. Yes, I shall have to think about it hard before I can respond.

Phew! You're an excellent debater, my friend.

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