The not-so-new Boogeyman

I got some interesting comments on my essay about fear and human behavior in modern society. They brought up some follow-up thoughts.

Name: Susan

This “fear of missing something” that you describe so well is probably
firmwired (i.e. not quite hardwired, but definitely present when the hardware
comes out of the box.) It’s not optional software.

<snip>

Human behavior has to be learned. One very unfortunate aspect of capitalism
is that it thrives on our worst (most animalistic) reactions. Part of why
capitalism works is because it builds on what is most ‘natural’ in us. It is
in the interest of capitalist type ventures to nurture these tendencies
(which don’t need much help as it is) – and probably to undermine the
alternatives. Now that is a really scary thought.

And this from Matt

Name: Matt

URL: http://crammed-cranium.blogspot.com

“Firmwired?” Yeah, I think Susan might be onto something.
These are the things we’re all afraid of, albeit to varying degrees. What I
wonder about are the things that only some of us are afraid of, even as
others embrace them. “Alternative” sexuality, for instance — I wonder where
those fears come from.

I don’t think they’re a evolutionary fear, per se — how does the existence
of a homosexual man undermine my survival? (You could argue — and I think it
has been argued — that it perhaps theoretically undermines the continuation
of the species, but I think that’s a weak argument, atleast by numbers.) Is
it just our differing experiences, the nurture part of life, as opposed to
nature? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.

Some very interesting questions, and I have thoughts on both of them and they are related so bear with me.

I can see where there is at least one thing that comes built in with to us as a species, but to a certain extent that one thing is common to all living beings on the planet. That would be the instinct to survive. How that manifests varies, I suppose, but it manifests none the less. Look at the grass that pushes its way up through the tarmac in a parking lot; it’s just trying to survive. I do think Susan has a point, though, in that some of the behavior mechanisms that humans are still using after years of evolution (namely the push to conform) don’t make any sense in the changed face of society. We no longer need fear that alienating the group will threaten survival at least not on a base level anyway.

I think a lot of the fears, particularly the one Matt points out about “alternative sexuality,” that don’t make any sense are directly related to that evolutionary impulse, when being different meant being ostracized from the group, which often meant death by starvation or from the elements.

Except…except…many so-called primative people (such as most Native American tribes) had no problems with homosexuality (specifically) until the introduction of Christianity. Where do those fears of alternative sexuality come from? I found a very interesting essay, which I find credible not just because I happen to agree with it, but also because there are footnotes (never underestimate the power of footnotes, or of saving your receipts, but that’s another essay) titled Saint Aelred the Queer: The Surprising History of Homosexuality and Homophobia.

Basically what it boils down to is that early Christians came to associate homosexuality with particular animals they found to have disgusting habits. That disgust then became associated with homosexuality generically and divorced from its natural, animal-behavior observed origins.

The reason, I think, that many people fear homosexuality doesn’t really have anything to do with the weak evolutionary objections. I think the reason that many people fear homosexuality is simply because it exists, or used to anyway, in a rarified atmosphere hence making it forbidden and interesting. But, at the same time, our society tells us in an incalculable number of ways that homosexual acts, and by extension homosexuals, are disgusting and that curiousity then becomes frightening. I mean, lets face it, American society in particular doesn’t have a long history of curiousity for curiousity’s sake: we’re a very black and white people. If you try something you’re branded nigh on for life, with some things you don’t even have to try them to be so branded.

I’m not entirely sure that I agree that capitalism builds on our most naturalistic tendencies because I think that gets more into the nature of man than it does to how we behave. True, capitalism, like any other societal system or system of government, works off humanity’s basic urge to survive, but so does socialism which, generally, is more oriented to maintaining the health of the whole for the good of all rather than the health of the individual. I also don’t think you can explain away the whole of human behavior with biological impulse.

Lots of these shows on Discovery and the National Geographic channel that talk about modern mating rituals and how people choose partners try to boil everything down to biology: we choose our mate for some instinctually perceived qualities that make him or her likely to produce offspring that will survive. Except…how do homosexual people who generally didn’t produce offspring, at least up until the last 15 years or so, choose a mate? Yes, there’s some biology involved, but it’s a lot more complicated than that.

There are a lot of elements that go into human behavior: fear, previously learned experiences, secret desires, averice, kindness (try explaining that with a biologically based theory), hope, and joy among others all combine to push us around and determine how we behave. Maybe fear is less of a motivating factor than I think. Or maybe I’m right and we’re simply reacting to the stimuli around us. Or maybe it’s both. The only thing I know for sure is that there is a lot more free-floating anxiety in American society today than there was even a decade ago, and people sure seem to be acting like scared animals.

Reading:

• Saint Aelred the Queer: The Surprising History of Homosexuality and Homophobia, Scott Bidstrup
• Homophobia: The Fear Behind The Hatred, Scott Bidstrup