Feminism - the good and the bad

[glencor63]

“I think it’s just a bit of a culture shock to actually SEE smoking and drinking in office”.

When I was growing up the teachers lounge would be filled with smokers, likewise hospitals, airplanes, homes, basically everywhere. Ash trays overflowed with used cigarette buds. College applications asked if you were a smoker or non-smoker. Smoking was commonplace. Someone that died as recently as 1990 would be shocked at the extent of our anti-smoking laws. An ad executive pre-1971 would be stunned that smoking commercials for television are actually illegal.

 

[Peeps]

When I first started working in the hospital lab (as an intern and then as a tech), people smoked while working! Techs would be reading differentials at the microscope (part of a CBC), and smoking at the same time! Or doing blood typing, or running one of the big chemistry analyzers–and smoking!!

It makes me wonder if one reason why so many of us 50- and 60- somethings get cancer in spite of living fairly-healthy lives is exposure to such things when we young. (Not just smoking, but asbestos in buildings, pollutants from cars, additives in food, etc.).

 

[Angel_Gabriel]

Oh definitely! I can remember when restaurants used to have smoking and non smoking sections and when bowling alleys reeked of it. My city also doens’t allow it in bars anymore which is nice, although I rarely frequent the bar scene these days haha!

It makes me wonder if one reason why so many of us 50- and 60- somethings get cancer in spite of living fairly-healthy lives is exposure to such things when we young. (Not just smoking, but asbestos in buildings, pollutants from cars, additives in food, etc.).

I’m convinced that there’s a link for sure…same with the exposure to lead (gasoline and paint) and how it gets in the system and takes FOREVER to leave…meanwhile it could be doing who knows what to the structure of our dna…

 

[Peeps]

I agree with you.

But…in all fairness, there are things that people are doing today (2019) that are terribly dangerous and unhealthy. E.g., many of us are almost completely sedentary. My husband and I both have some joint issues that make even taking a walk impossible (or at best, extremely painful), but even if we didn’t have the joint issues, we don’t do that much. We hire our lawn mowed (it’s a big lawn) and we don’t do any yard work because everything green we touch dies. And we don’t have any “active” activities that we enjoy doing. I wouldn’t ride a bike in my city these days if you paid me a year’s salary–it’s just too dangerous, and roads are so full of potholes that it’s a wonder we still allow bike-riding on our streets!

And of course, there’s the overeating culture–restaurants don’t advertise the “Modest Burger,” but push their “MONSTER BURGER”–a half pound of succulent meat topped by not one, not two, but THREE different cheeses, along with a fried egg, french fries, fried onion rings, condiments and a half loaf of beer-battered BREAD!

And I’ll admit, I’m guilty–if I take a car trip, I’m munching on chips or crackers during much of the drive!

And then there are the awful driving habits that many people have–eating crackers (!), fiddling with their GPS or radios or in-car display screens while they are driving, texting, etc. I don’t have a big problem with talking on a phone–people have done that for years. But when people aren’t even looking at the road while they drive, and they aren’t driving a self-driving car, our lives are in danger!

And sleep–although more doctors are urging longer sleep periods, most people I know are still woefully short of sleep. One of my co-workers (full time lab) has two toddlers, and she routinely goes to bed at 11:00 p.m. and gets up at 3:00 a.m.–sorry, folks, but that’s simply not enough sleep. And it’s a rare night when I get more than 6 hours of sleep (often because of joint pain–I’m allergic to NSAIDS and so wimpy Tylenol is my only recourse, and I don’t take it often because it destroys the liver).

I could go on, but it’s too depressing!

I was a teen in the 1970s, and I loved it!

 

[Angel_Gabriel]

But…in all fairness, there are things that people are doing today (2019) that are terribly dangerous and unhealthy.

For sure…and add to that all the conflicting “studies” and “research” that come out all the time and just end up confusing most of us. "Eggs are good!..nope eggs are bad! coffee is good…coffee is horrible for you! more cardio…no, wait, less is more! all the different “diets”, the whole mindset that everyone has food intolerences etc etc etc… We live in information overload!

I don’t have a big problem with talking on a phone–people have done that for years. But when people aren’t even looking at the road while they drive, and they aren’t driving a self-driving car, our lives are in danger!

Yes cell phones and texting (mainly texting) can be dangerous…as much as I love both, I will admit that a lot of people simply don’t know how to use them responsibly

 

[glencor63]

I strongly encourage you to read Hugh Hefner’s own words describing his early life and how he ended up on the fateful path of producing pornography. It’s eye opening. His fiancee, later first wife had a pre-marital sexual relationship, while he was in WWII. Upon returning from the war, he discovered her betrayal. It was extremely traumatic and left him with a cynicism about relationships for the rest of his life. He married her anyway, but the marriage was a failure, in part because he felt like a cuckold. His anger created an empire whereby what was expected, ie., casual sex with no strings attached was understood up front. He hated hypocrisy and felt that American sexual mores fostered deceit. Ironically, Hugh Hefner was a virgin on his wedding night. I’m not excusing Hugh Hefner, but his early life is worth exploring if only to understand why he chose the path of hedonism and not virtue.

 

[Lea101]

his early life is worth exploring if only to understand why he chose the path of hedonism and not virtue.

Definitely. We should acknowledge that a rigid, puritanical view of sexuality is a huge factor in the ‘sexual revolution’. It’s easy to blame a group of people, instead of realizing that the people who raised them have an impact on our society today.

I much prefer JPII’s approach to it (TOB)