Decadent
Among the things people shouldn’t waste their time doing: fretting about festivals and celebrations that come from other cultures and therefore are not local and Authentic. That’s especially true for government officials, and even more so when their fretting intensifies into forbidding.
The president of Pakistan for instance:
Pakistan’s president has denounced St Valentine’s Day, saying the festival has no connection with Pakistani culture and should be avoided.
President Mamnoon Hussain told students that it was a Western tradition and conflicted with Muslim culture.
So what? We can learn from each other’s cultures. I find over-the-top commercial Valentine stuff rather silly, but that’s just me. Let’s have celebrations of everything. It was Darwin day yesterday; maybe today could be birdwatching day or daffodil day.
His remarks came after a district in north-western Pakistan banned Valentine’s Day celebrations.
Valentine’s Day is popular in many cities in Pakistan, but religious groups have denounced it as decadent.
Religious groups specialize in forbidding things that are completely harmless, simply because humans enjoy them. God the Massive Grouch, taking away all our ice cream.
In past years, conservative social groups, who view the day as a festival of immorality detrimental to traditional marriage, have declared the day to be “shameless”.
Renowned civil society activist Sabeen Mahmud once set up a demonstration with slogans including “Karachi says Yes to Love”. (Last April, she was killed in a drive-by shooting, although not necessarily for that particular issue.)
In neighbouring India, Valentine’s Day also garners opposition, usually from Hindu conservatives who say it is alien to Indian culture and – as argued by Pakistani Muslims – contrary to traditions such as arranged marriages.
Ah yes, well it would be, wouldn’t it – and a good thing too. Oddly enough it’s not a particularly brilliant idea to force people to live in intimate proximity for life regardless of whether or not they can stand each other. Humans aren’t machines for the production of more human machines for the production of more human machines ad infinitum. Why should we be made to live with people we don’t like and didn’t choose?
Knock yourselves out, Valentine people.
I guessed that the underlying problem was fear it would undermine arranged/forced marriage. After all, if society seems to think love is important, they might start listening to 10 year old girls who say their 57 year old betrothed actually scares them.
Should we not condemn the Cultural Appropriation inherent in having Valentine’s Day celebrated by people who have just imported the part about hearts and flowers and chocolates without properly understanding its true meaning and cultural significance?
Bite your colonialist tongue.
I just saw someone claim that “as fuck” is appropriation.
You’ll pry “as fuck” out of my cold dead hands.
Shameless is one of those words that has become untethered from its meaning, and thus can be used as a generalized term of moral opprobrium. If you consider its meaning, the usage is very odd: almost always, the scold who says shameless really means shameful.
The person who is truly shameless doesn’t understand what the scold is going on about. Yes, I bought this card/flowers/chocolate/gift for my love; what of it?
Or perhaps we should take the scold at their word: Valentine’s day is bad because it is shameless; by extension, nothing is acceptable unless it is filled with shame.
I wish I could say “like” as strongly as I feel, for your use of “as fuck”, above :)
Who is “as fuck” appropriated from? I don’t recall when I first heard it. It’s one of many examples of a sexual swearword replacing a blasphemous one. Saying “as Hell” just isn’t shocking enough these days.
I’m now imagining the reaction if David Cameron was to stand up and declare that no-one must celebrate Chinese New Year because it’s not British and we have our own New Year. I think the result would be a vast boom in business for Chinese restaurants this month.
Re: ‘Who is “as fuck” appropriated from?’
(Blinks…)
Some fuckers, presumably.
Islamists go into convulsions every year with the approach of Valentines Day. Halloween is even worse. They denounce it to the point where you’d think their heads were going to explode. Activities involving nothing but fun and frivolity are not really condoned by Islam because they distract from Allah. And Allah, as we all know, is a most jealous and self-centered little pecker-head, one who cannot broker being ignored.
On a cultural appropriation note I went to a belated Burns night. There was a singer doing a great job of Scottish folk songs. His name is Chung, and he was born in Scotland of immigrant parents. He was trying to get away at a reasonable time to celebrate Chinese New Year with his folks.
Also I have the usual objections to Valentine’s Day about forced romance, commercial racket, can’t get a booking in a restaurant etc but now I’d like to send a bunch of red roses to the President of Pakistan.
… the festival has no connection with Pakistani culture …
Uh, President Hussain, Islam did not come from Pakistan either.