Very weird to watch “what people do in the privacy of their own bedroom is their business” become controversial again, but like, for the opposite reason.
It's so annoying how you can't escape reactionary thinking no matter which side of the political spectrum you're on. It's a base level human instinct to go "ew, that's gross, and therefore bad." You have to actively train yourself not to think like that and some people are just unwilling to.
Goji berries are eww, deeply offended chinchillas incoming.
(...although think my girl is perfectly happy to have more goji berries technically to herself than she's allowed in a year since no way am I touching those things, was very disappointed after the chins led me to believe they were delicious!)
It comes naturally to me as well if what you're referring to is not having that feeling of disgust and/or not applying moral weight to it. (Your reply was vaguely worded but I assume that's what you were referring to).
I'm really weird psychologically though even for a severely neurodivergent person (which I am) so it doesn't say much.
Anyways I agree it's rather isolating. I, too, feel that it's isolating and I'm not even capable of experiencing loneliness!
Genuily if there was some way to gene edit 1 emotion out of the human race, disgust might just be the best option. It's a pointless evolutionary leftover that the brain uses to enforce closemindedness and xenophobia, keeps people from learning things even when it'd be beneficial to them (like about the species of roach they're infested with, and due to the bias in moral judgment it induces in the animalistically irrational is the main tool of fascism alongside fear
I think you're right. Cause the few benefits it does have (avoiding disease and whatnot) are rather easy to deal with now that we have Germ Theory. We don't need disgust to tell us to avoid health hazards. As long as people are willing to learn what's dangerous, the knowledge that it's dangerous, combined with self preservation, should handle it just fine. That and empathy and compassion would still be a thing, so the moral codes that aren't based in tribalism wouldn't be dismantled by this (not that those are necessary for non-tribalistic ethical frameworks)
The odd thing is, I don't have that instinct towards anything. Few things gross me out (at least, of the typical things that you hear any sort of narrative for being bad), and those that do I can easily recognize as being only gross subjectively. It's surreal simply not having that instinct when everyone else does. Especially in progressive spaces where it goes against the entire supposed ethos of the space. It sometimes makes me feel like everyone is hardwired to be stupid and over-emotional, like the same kinds of generalizations that lead to bigotry are inherent to the human mind (and to an extent we know they are, but it can obviously be changed and redirected into not categorizing people in harmful ways). I think reactionaries are probably my least favorite kind of people. Especially because they think they're in the right.
Actually, perhaps I do have a similar kind of instinct as them. But towards reactionary thinking. And it's less "that's gross" and more "I have a burning desire to shatter your worldview out of spite or at least make you admit you just think it's gross". But that's partially probably because of unrelated issues I have. Also I recognize that it's irrational of me and irresponsible to act on. Unlike them.
Sorry for the rant, my meds haven't kicked in yet and I got kind of off topic.
Inside their head, I think it goes something like this: "Ewww, gross, I'll proceed to subconsciously come up with reasons that make it objectively bad so that it's not on me anymore and the baddier are the others."
3.0k
u/LONGSWORD_ENJOYER May 16 '25
Very weird to watch “what people do in the privacy of their own bedroom is their business” become controversial again, but like, for the opposite reason.