The habits of old are worth dirt

[riskllama]

*vein*
your ingrish is week, missus...

[muy_thaiguy]

I take it mrswdk despises anything that makes a culture interesting? Well, considering what the CCP considers "traditional", I can hardly blame her. Shame she may not see real traditional Chinese culture.

[mrswdk]

I don't see why something has to be old to be interesting. Or why it being interesting makes it inherently worth preserving as a way of life.

[riskllama]

be sure to remind your grandparents to give you a good beating next time you see them, mrs...

[mrswdk]

be sure to remind your grandparents to give you a good beating next time you see them, mrs...

Typical Western, using violence to force people to behave his way

[riskllama]

violence is universal, sweets...

[PLAYER57832]

The short version is that neither those links nor your commentary on them provide any kind of argument in favor of upholding native traditions or customs.

The even shorter version is that you run from any serious discourse. You like to attack, but hide from returns.

[muy_thaiguy]

Old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits are a brake on society and on individuals, keeping people's mentality and outlook trapped in a century that no longer exists. They leave people unable to change, unable to adapt, and blinkered by a world view that insists on interpreting everything through the lens of a time gone by.

The world changes and evolves, and those who want to succeed need to learn how to change with it. The tools of the past will not help you do that.

Destroy the old, embrace the new.

The irony of this post? mrswdk's other posts about how the South China Sea is "historically China's". Same with Tibet and other territories really. An old idea, from a very old culture, with older habits, and ancient customs. Unless it is rather inconvenient for her talking points.

[macbone]

I don't see why something has to be old to be interesting. Or why it being interesting makes it inherently worth preserving as a way of life.

Of course it doesn't have to be old to be interesting. There are so many new writers and artists today that are contributing good art, literature, and music.

However, opposite is not true, that something must be new to be interesting. There is so much beauty in the art and poetry of the past. Our ancestors were wise, and to fail to learn from them as many advocate is to me the height of folly.

Even in China now, they are attempting to move back to traditional Marxism rather than coming up with new ideas and new philosophies. Your very image in the OP is 50 years old, perhaps relatively new in the vast concourse of culture that preceded it, but far behind current thought.

It amuses me that you're arguing for smashing tradition but supporting traditional concepts of Chinese filial piety (which I find great wisdom in, by the way).

[/]

Trying to gradually improve on the old is better than discarding it outright in some cases. Sure it would be great if the whole world spoke Esperanto or whatever, but it's not viable to convert every written word and mind in the world. Sure Dvorak is more efficient than QWERTY, but would your efficiency improve if someone took away your keyboard this second and traded it for the "better" layout? By changing we sacrifice the time invested in what we already know as well as further time, resources, and efficiency in relearning from square one.

Sometimes the result doesn't work out either. Despite billions invested, the Obamacare system has been buggy and unreliable for years. Hospitals have been trying to convert physical files into digital databases for some time, and despite looking good on paper from a financial and organizational perspective, it has opened the floodgates to electronic fraud, medical mix-ups, and system crashes.

Humans just aren't capable of seeing the entirety of their actions on a wide scale. That's why when someone claims they found a totally visionary way of keeping everyone fed it occasionally ends in millions dead, like in the Irish Potato famine, the Great Leap Forward, or the Soviet famine of 1932–33. Sometimes tired cliches are true; it's better not to keep all of one's eggs in one basket.

[mrswdk]

Old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits are a brake on society and on individuals, keeping people's mentality and outlook trapped in a century that no longer exists. They leave people unable to change, unable to adapt, and blinkered by a world view that insists on interpreting everything through the lens of a time gone by.

The world changes and evolves, and those who want to succeed need to learn how to change with it. The tools of the past will not help you do that.

Destroy the old, embrace the new.

The irony of this post? mrswdk's other posts about how the South China Sea is "historically China's". Same with Tibet and other territories really. An old idea, from a very old culture, with older habits, and ancient customs. Unless it is rather inconvenient for her talking points.

That's not ironic at all.

[mrswdk]

I don't see why something has to be old to be interesting. Or why it being interesting makes it inherently worth preserving as a way of life.

Of course it doesn't have to be old to be interesting. There are so many new writers and artists today that are contributing good art, literature, and music.

However, opposite is not true, that something must be new to be interesting. There is so much beauty in the art and poetry of the past. Our ancestors were wise, and to fail to learn from them as many advocate is to me the height of folly.

I agree that old art and poetry can be interesting.

Even in China now, they are attempting to move back to traditional Marxism rather than coming up with new ideas and new philosophies.

lolwat. Is that what the HK media is saying these days?

It amuses me that you're arguing for smashing tradition but supporting traditional concepts of Chinese filial piety (which I find great wisdom in, by the way).

Am I? I'm pretty sure I referred to them as 'blind obedience' earlier in this thread.

[muy_thaiguy]

Old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits are a brake on society and on individuals, keeping people's mentality and outlook trapped in a century that no longer exists. They leave people unable to change, unable to adapt, and blinkered by a world view that insists on interpreting everything through the lens of a time gone by.

The world changes and evolves, and those who want to succeed need to learn how to change with it. The tools of the past will not help you do that.

Destroy the old, embrace the new.

The irony of this post? mrswdk's other posts about how the South China Sea is "historically China's". Same with Tibet and other territories really. An old idea, from a very old culture, with older habits, and ancient customs. Unless it is rather inconvenient for her talking points.

That's not ironic at all.

Ah, my bad. It's contradictory.

Somehow, that doesn't sound any better though.

[mrswdk]

I don't think it's contradictory either. A country establishing a claim over a piece of land and then retaining that claim for a long time is not the same thing as maintaining customs and traditions in place for a long time.

[muy_thaiguy]

Except a large portion of it hasn't been claimed by China in a very long time. All of China's "claims" are from very old (and possibly quite suspect) maps. Now a good portion of the area is claimed by several other countries in the region. And note, while the other countries have a little overlap along the edges, China's "claims" go through all of them quite a bit, with a lot of that coming from man made islands, which are not recognized by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China not only signed but ratified itself.



And look at Article 60 of the UNCLS which deals with artificial islands8. Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands.
http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_ ... /part5.htm

8. Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf.

Inside already established and legally recognized exclusive economic zones, artificial islands can be created, but do not extend the economic zones.

1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have the exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation and use of:

(a) artificial islands;

(b) installations and structures for the purposes provided for in article 56 and other economic purposes;

(c) installations and structures which may interfere with the exercise of the rights of the coastal State in the zone.

China has been shown to be building artificial islands and using those at parts of its claim in what has already been recognized as either international waters or waters already belonging to other countries. In other words, China signed this Convention, but are now breaking it with their current actions. It is also why the Philippines' claim against China is now in the Hague and will be further looked into, while China's dubious claims about "territorial sovereignty" were rejected out right.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/ ... 6320151030

[PLAYER57832]

Anyone who doubts that China has imperialistic intentions must be blind or not paying attention to reality or history.

[PLAYER57832]

In other words, China signed this Convention, but are now breaking it with their current actions. It is also why the Philippines' claim against China is now in the Hague and will be further looked into, while China's dubious claims about "territorial sovereignty" were rejected out right.

Good luck to the Philippines. Maybe they will have better luck than the Palastinians.

[Thorthoth]

There are many, many wonderful things from ancient times....

But sure, Mr. swdk, in the case of trash culture like China, I can see why Mao would want to culturally revolutionize all that foul old nastiness.

Try googling (yes, googling) 'Death by 10000 cuts'.

[KoolBak]

How bored are you SoreSloth??? Maybe play some risk?

[Thorthoth]

Haven't played Risk recently, DroolSac.
But I've been winning at CC, if that counts.

[2dimes]

Soresloth, Droolsac. Not bad.

What's the story on vegetable lasagna?

[riskllama]

Soresloth, Droolsac. Not bad.

What's the story on vegetable lasagna?

I dubbed him that after realizing he lacked meaningful substance.

[2dimes]

Ah, soresloth sure has a nice ring though.

[Thorthoth]

vegetable lasagna/llamsagna is an obscure and unfunny reference from an old teevee show that llamo adores.
I researched it though it was a waste of time to do so.
Since llamo is the Seinfelching groupie, the name rightly applies to him.

[riskllama]

Ah, soresloth sure has a nice ring though.

he'll always be vegetable lasagne to me.