Webupon

It all started when I decided to join StumbleUpon a few nights ago, just to see what it was like and to be able to put up some of my work. (It seemed like a good idea at the time) I can’t tell you what I think now as I censor my language. Like everything with me nothing seems to be straight forward.

After the usual stumbling mistakes I managed to join it properly, fix the fact that I was a female and not a male and that I was not from England. It seems to be inherent in me that if there is a clumsy way to do things online or off I will do it that way and then waste time and energy trying to sort it out.

Tonight off I went to stumble. I wanted to add some of my work to my page and maybe find some other things that I could add because I want to be the good stumbler not just a shameless self promoter. (Now, the fact that I have only managed to acquire one friend since I have joined may be a bit of a drawback but do I worry? No off course not)!

I was happily surfing and came across Diva Creative Writing a lesbian site. I thumbed it up because there were some pretty good poems, the stories I didn’t check out (they were too long). I went happily on my way stumbling

Before I decided to turn off my laptop for the night I rechecked my home page to see what it was like and there it was ‘Diva creative writing’ in porn.

‘WHAT?’ I thought. My first reaction was to try and delete it but I couldn’t figure out how to, I right clicked and left click but couldn’t find delete. An image of people I have just met pictureing me in a dirty  grey raincoat looking at filthy images really upset me.  I was ranting and raving ‘I’m not into Porn’ I shouted at the screen. ‘I have kids!’ (Luckily no one’s around at this time of the night). I also felt a sense of outrage for nothing I read was remotely close to pornographic.

Are lesbian stories and poems their expressions of love regarded as pornographic? You’d think in this day and age they’d have parity of esteem with any stories about love. Well wouldn’t you. That sent me off on one of my self righteous helter skelter rants (that no-one is ever around to hear which in itself is a blessing) and Peter Singer came to mind.

Singer is one of those ‘Uber’ minds, now I don’t know whether that is grossly overestimating his intelligence or insulting it. He is a smart guy who you couldn’t have a discussion with because he follows his logic to its logical conclusion and some of his conclusions are not to my mind very compatible.  (I think this is called logical consequestialism or something longwinded lke that).

Singer argues against Speciem this is a term he made up in arguing for animal rights. He argues that in some cases animals have as much self awareness as some people (he is talking specifically about mentally disabled people). So in this instance animals should receive the same rights and protection as these people.  Not to protect them is speciest.  You can see the logic of this argument and when you add that to the knowledge that some animals are treated  badly you can even accept it to a point. Why shouldn’t animals have the right to protection from cruelty? It seems sensible to my mind.

He takes it a step further and argues that it may one day be acceptable to accept bestiality as part of normal behaviour (in a nonspeciest world). He argues that homosexuality was once regarded as abnormal behaviour and it is now widely accepted.  He argues that as long as the animal is not being harmed and is a willing participant (like the sheep in Ballymena are all jumping up and down shouting ‘pick me pick me’) that there should be no moral grounds to object. He constantly uses the argument of how society has come to look differently on homosexuality, is there a justifiable comparison between these two acts? I think his use of the historical documented story of how hard it was and still is to be homosexual is insulting and degrading.

Do I imagine that there is a suggestion that homosexuals are some sort of subspecies of man, a step up from animals? Or perhaps I am being sensitive. I think perhaps I find it extremely distasteful that when any discussion regarding the more disgusting or unacceptable aspects of humanity comes up people use the ‘but once homosexuality was looked at in a similar way’ argument as though the fact that society has become enlightened (or more enlightened) regarding homosexuality justifies making things like bestiality acceptable. Don’t start me about what he says about paedophilia (he uses the homosexual argument again)!

I couldn’t argue with someone like Singer because I would revert to child and scream ‘You talk Shite’!  I am also unashamedly speicist , if there was a burning building and there was a choice between rescuing the pet or the severely disabled child I’d opt for the child. Rescuing both would be the nicer option but given that only one can be rescued in my mind it would have to be the child. I wouldn’t have a moral dilemma; some arguments no matter how logically they are presented reach stupid conclusions and present us with more baffling and distasteful scenarios.  This was the extent of my rant. I get classed as a lover of porn and Peter Singer gets it in the neck. Poor Peter! It makes perfect sense, to me!

This is just a little insight into the workings of my mind and how sometimes I rant to the bare walls in my home and all because I am now classed as a lover of porn on StumbleUpon.  Then, I thought ‘Maybe it was in the way I described the site maybe I did something wrong in the way I selected the page. Maybe this is my fault.  I groan and think that it probably is my entire fault if there is a stupid way of doing something you can trust me to do it that way.

I know it’s only a matter of pressing buttons something I was once quite able to do but now, now I just seem to press all the wrong buttons! And if any of my friends are reading this.  Yes, I know, I need to get out more often!