What’s the appeal of that podcast again?

  • _else [she/her,they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    so its not vocal fry you hate, but literally anything that goes up to the frequencies that cis women typically hit at the high points of speaking in vocal fry? so its just the bodies of, like, whatever % of the population?

    and you didn't think to maybe be pissed about the frequency response on your headphones, and how they don't handle high frequencies well?

    or are we back to the problem being (mostly) cis women?

    oh, wait, no, because you hate when men do it too, right? so it's clearly not just a matter of frequencies, because both cis and trans guys tend to have deeper speaking voices than cis women we assumed you might have been having a problem with earlier and....

    oh hey we're back at this being a completely cultural thing with absolutely no connection to material condition! and what are the associations of vocal fry in your culture?

    • RedArmor [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I’m not attacking woman. What is your issue here? That I’m not using a dialectic approach to why I don’t like high frequencies? Why jump into this struggle session?

      • _else [she/her,they/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        its a big red flag for misogynistic shit, you're the one who raised it. its part of huge systemic biases and the underlying machinery of bigotry that grinds people the fuck down every fucking day. this isn't "which is the best way", this is "you're being part of so very many problems" its a diff kind of struggle session, and not jumping in to this kind would be shitty.

        fuck it when I sober up I won't even respect you (collectively, to just however many billion of you aren't reading this) enough to tell you you're wrong, and we can go back to pretending that's my approval of all your fucked up shit, because I'll know you can't and won't do better and there's no point in trying to explain it to you. leave this unresponded to and I can just let you blend into the bigoted awful shitty capitalist tyranny that's just kind o f everything.

        but for now: fuck you do better.

        • RedArmor [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Oh spare me please. I fucking forgot I’m not allowed to voice my opinion since I’m not a targeted in anyway in society. But whatever. I’m not a good enough communist because I am a misogynist for saying vocal fry hurts my ears. Absolutely ridiculous and just keeps making me wonder why I even come to this place anymore.

          • _else [she/her,they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 years ago

            its not voicing your opinion, it's the fact that you're unwilling to examine it and where it comes from, that we know it comes from this shitty place, and you're saying it sprang forth ex fucking nihilo. that you're so resistant to fucking introspection and the very idea that you might not be perfect already, that you put all this effort into preserving the ways you suck.

            if you're that fucking perfect, why even fucking try? its all already done, right? just waiting for the world to fall in line and... worship you? give you whatever you think you fucking deserve just by virtue of being you? fuck, why not wear a crown while you're at it?

            but again, in a few hours I won't respect you enough to think you can or would ever want to do better and I'll look at all this trying to ask someone to be better, to want a better self and a better world and just anything better than this, and think "wtf did I take?"

                • RedArmor [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  What? No? I’m a product of my environment and I’m only who I am because of intense pressure from forces outside of my conception, the material conditions I was raised in, etc.

                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    4 years ago

                    great! now, are you going to argue that you're not currently in/definitely from a deeeeeeeply misogynist shit hole that uses the gender divide to extract free labor and dehumanize both classes of people to one another in that weird freaky fetishizing way that keeps reproduction going but still keeps people of differing genders alienated from one another that capitalists do so love to build on the bones of any haunted (traditional (deeply problematic in varying ways from culture to culture depending on previous system of oppression) gender hierarchies) burial ground they can get their hands on?

                    • RedArmor [he/him]
                      ·
                      4 years ago

                      If it gets you to stop harassing me at this point sure. I’ll say whatever you want. You don’t have to explain stuff is such a demeaning way. I mean if you really want me to understand instead of just using me a a lightning rod for your revolutionary passions.

                      • _else [she/her,they/them]
                        ·
                        edit-2
                        4 years ago

                        dude. read your responses here, from this whole conversation, back to yourself. look at the way you phrased them. look at the arguments you're making. ask yourself, be honest (you not me, dont even tell me the answer you come to) where and who you think talks like that?

                        and why?

                        • RedArmor [he/him]
                          ·
                          4 years ago

                          Look, I’ve already told the mods to ban me and remove my comments. I won’t make another account and I’ll just fuck off like you and everyone else in this thread wants.

                          • _else [she/her,they/them]
                            ·
                            edit-2
                            4 years ago

                            the request is to be better. why is THIS THING something you can't examine? something that can't have seeped in and be a product of the bullshit misogyny all around you?

                            did you feel this strongly yesterday? that's usually a good indicator of whether an emotion has a reactionary component. again; the answer is for you, not for me.

                            • RedArmor [he/him]
                              ·
                              4 years ago

                              All I was saying that I didn’t think it was necessary to have called out people for being misogynists since they said they don’t like vocal fry. Was never trying to hate on women or get into some philosophical argument about why I am a misogynist secretly and have only ever done no-growths.

                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                ·
                                4 years ago

                                maybe, but a lot of your responses here were very reactionary, and your original arguments were inconsistent. bigotry isn't something you get up in the morning to do , and put on your "ima murder some black people" mask and... okay bad example. it's usually not that. like, nobody has wifebeating gloves (except cops), that they change into like some creepy supervillain bullshit

                                its little things, little jabs that people get from a thousand different directions over and over again. and the request here is to not be one of them. its your reactions that are the most worrying thing here. it's fine though. by my material measurement, this argument has cost you nothing, not even a surrendered bit of ego, and im probably gonna end up spending like a hundred dollars getting some asshole a pair of boots.

                                • RedArmor [he/him]
                                  ·
                                  4 years ago

                                  Yes and you’re drunk replies weren’t at all reactionary since you have held onto them since before yesterday. I get it too, you’re smarter than me and can find inconsistencies in my arguments. Congratulations. You are correct again and I am wrong once more.

                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                    ·
                                    4 years ago

                                    before yesterday? okay i may have crossed midnight with some funny chemistry upstairs, but if theres anything from serious yesterday here it isn't me

                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                ·
                                4 years ago

                                my point at least isn't "you're hating on" it was "youre contributing to a structure of devaluation and shittiness that has poisoned your mind, and is using you to propagandize diminish and colonize others"

                                • RedArmor [he/him]
                                  ·
                                  4 years ago

                                  Oh well it did not come off that way in any single comment until just now. Thanks for that.

                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                    ·
                                    4 years ago

                                    nobody here suspected you of having a special pair of wife beating gloves and a special cat calling whistle. that's not how this shit (usually) works. its more like viruses. this is a contact telling you "hey, um, dude? did you send me this email asking if I want to buy viagra from a nigerian prince so he can affort his dick extension?"

                                    • RedArmor [he/him]
                                      ·
                                      4 years ago

                                      You guys have painted a pretty good picture that makes it seem like I hate women.

                                      • Spores [she/her]
                                        ·
                                        edit-2
                                        4 years ago

                                        I don't think that's what it seems like. I've read most of the exchange and I don't think you hate women but you probably are unwilling to do a bit of self examination. As you acknowledge we do live in a sexist society and nobody is immune to their surroundings.

                                        Like even I as someone who reads feminist theory/has experienced sexism will have moments where I instinctively find certain womanly traits annoying and I have to stop myself and question if that annoyance comes from a place of sexism or not (and honestly, sometimes it does). I AM A FEMINIST I STILL THINK I HAVE MY SEXIST MOMENTS. No one is immune from doing sexist things and we have to constantly be open to unlearning/rethinking things. Most instances of sexism are very subtle and unintentional. The important thing is willingness to listen/improve.

                                        Also even if you find it annoying from a completely neutral place, you don't have to point it out. There are a million reasons to dislike the pod, there isn't a need to point out their voices especially if someone is telling you that it contributes to sexist dialogue around women. It's not like pointing out the voice thing is some deep or insightful thing, you're not losing anything by deleting or editing the comment.

                                        • Coca_Cola_but_Commie [he/him]
                                          ·
                                          4 years ago

                                          you don’t have to point it out. There are a million reasons to dislike the pod, there isn’t a need to point out their voices especially if someone is telling you that it contributes to sexist dialogue around women.

                                          This was what I was thinking. We all have preferences, and maybe those preferences come from a harmful place sometimes, and maybe they don't, but when one is then motivated to publicly criticize another person based on one's personal preferences that's crossing a line.

                                          Though following this thread did bring up a question: what does good self-crit look like in this scenario? After you've recognized that a preference or belief or what-have-you is problematic, how would one reshape their thinking?

                                          • Spores [she/her]
                                            ·
                                            edit-2
                                            4 years ago

                                            I think firstly, its important to remember that a lot of ideas are informed by the world around you and it doesn't necessarily make you a bad person just because you realized or someone has pointed out that your ideas might be associated with bigotry. If someone has, try not to make it about yourself (like even if someone isn't being super nice about it, think about why you're more concerned with how you're being criticized rather than how your words affect others. Focus on WHY you are being critized vs. how . not saying you do this but I see it a lot here

                                            As for next steps its really hard to say because it can be different for everyone. Maybe try and think about how you dismantle capitalist poisoned ideas and apply it to other areas?

                                            For example: Feeling less worthy because of your income. It's very normal to feel this way because in capitalist hellworld everyone around you has either explicitly or subtly reinforced ideas around money based meritocracy. Its OK to have this feeling but also recognize that it comes from a shiity and unfair world and its not some objective sentiment or one that comes from thin air. Its a constant battle and it sucks but it does get easier over time. As I learned more leftist ideas, I got better at catching myself for feeling bad about doing things that "weren't productive".

                                            Another thing is that your sense of normalcy is completely constructed and sometimes things that are out of your control can still be problematic And it's ok to not like things but really think about how you enage with others about it. Like if you dislike a certain style of music its ok to not force yourself to like it but also recognize that maybe one of the reasons you don't is because you haven't been exposed to it (i think studies have found that people tastes in music tend to be mostly formed during their teens). If a style of music has not been supported due to racism during that time, then your tastes are shaped by racism even if it is out of your control or doesn't seem like it at first. Its ok to admit that and work towards supporting and not putting down certain marginalized styles even if its not your cup of tea.

                                      • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                        ·
                                        4 years ago

                                        thanks; I've always wanted to get into the visual arts. im glad the effort is paying off.

                                        • RedArmor [he/him]
                                          ·
                                          4 years ago

                                          Why are you trying to spark the fire to this again? This was 12 hours ago.

                                          • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                            ·
                                            edit-2
                                            4 years ago

                                            just saw it, and im not 'trying to spark' anything, you complimented my artistic ability, and it's something I have a lot of insecurity about and like... i really treasure those kinds of praise. I was thanking you, asshole.

                                            this is why I don't accept fucking compliments, fucking shit.

                                            • RedArmor [he/him]
                                              ·
                                              4 years ago

                                              It was a sarcastic remark to you and others about framing me as a sexist. The context of the comment is everything.

                                              Now I’m an asshole for saying I don’t want another struggle started? How am I not supposed to read yours as sarcastic and trying to instigate something with a 12 hour later reply after everyone has moved on?

                                              No one told you to not accept compliments. Fucking hell. Literally victimizing yourself at this point.

                                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                ·
                                                edit-2
                                                4 years ago

                                                so now you're shitting on my ability to paint. wonderful. thanks. that was fucking necessary. I literally just told you im fucking insecure about this shit. what the fuck is wrong with you?

                                                YOU GAVE ME A COMPLIMENT AND THEN SHIT ON ME WHEN I ACCEPTED IT EARNESTLY what the fuck else am I supposed to do to protect myself from that shit emotionally? you didn't just tell me, you SHOWED me, which, from my old lit classes, I seem to remember is MUCH FUCKING STRONGER.

                                                go fuck yourself and your gaslighting bullshit.

                                                • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                  ·
                                                  4 years ago

                                                  What the fuck?

                                                  Are you okay, comrade? Like sincerely, is everything alright?

                                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                    ·
                                                    4 years ago

                                                    fuck you don't call me comrade after that shit. fucking scroll the fuck up and take responsibility for your shitty behavior. I'm upset BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR WORDS and you tricking me into accepting a compliment about a thing im super insecure about, then telling me im an idiot for doing so. go fuck yourself you delusional proto-reactionary piece of shit.

                                                    • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                      ·
                                                      4 years ago

                                                      I didn’t trick you into accepting anything.

                                                      Your replied to a comment from 12 hours ago that was a sarcastic remark regarding the framing of me being a sexist due to disagreements with other comrades about the nature of their criticisms. (Not the criticism itself, but about the time/place for defending it which I was told was tone policing.)

                                                      I never mentioned anything about your paintings. I never said you were a bad artist or that you should quit. I literally was saying you are taking a comment from half a day ago out of context. Then when I say what I meant by that comment during the time, you tell me I’m an asshole and to fuck myself because I’m actually insulting you, and not complimenting you?

                                                      • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                        ·
                                                        edit-2
                                                        4 years ago

                                                        you literally did! you said I had painted a great picture of you as a sexist asshole!

                                                        and then you took it back when I accepted!

                                                        you fucking lying piece of shit gaslighting monster! there's a fucking log, archive.org has records, and I took screenshots because I was so proud of someone saying I was a good painter. I just assumed I'd broken out the paints while I was in the drugs. ITS PROVABLE don't even try to edit this shit.

                                                        • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                          ·
                                                          edit-2
                                                          4 years ago

                                                          Yes. Figuratively painting a picture of me as a sexist online. On the internet. Not a physical painting of me being a sexist?

                                                          Like come on lol what is this now? You do not actually believe I was complimenting your personal hobby of painting when we were in a heated discussion of misogyny, sexism, vocal fry, and Red Scare.

                                                          The context is everything. As I have said. You can check archive.org for what I said about it even.

                                                          • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                            ·
                                                            edit-2
                                                            4 years ago

                                                            hey, wow, good dodge you lying gaslighting emotionally abusive piece of shit, but I have links and screenshots and I will always know the truth. fuck you you reactionary fucking shit scanner.

                                                            im so sorry for believing somebody could actually like my art, I should have fucking known better, is that what you're fucking saying? I should BE FUCKING SORRY for ever believing that someone thought I made pretty lines or had good use of color in a limited palette?

                                                            eat. every. possible. dick.

                                                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                ·
                                                                4 years ago

                                                                fuck you posting images is really hard on this operating system and its honestly not worth the effort to "prove" something to a disingenuous reactionary who will just move the fucking goal posts. because you ARE a reactionary under there, whatever armor you might wear.

                                                                • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                                  ·
                                                                  4 years ago

                                                                  Honestly I would love to see your art and paintings. I wish I was able to artistically express myself. You don’t have to prove anything to me or anyone, especially if it is something you care about Ike you seem to about art/painting. No part of me is trying to shit on or hate on that part of you. Simply was clarifying that the comment from 12 hours ago was in the context of the whole argument, not complimenting a hobby of yours that I had no idea about.

                                                                  I’m sure parts of me are still reactionary. It’s not easy to break out of liberalism, and we live in a liberal democracy after all.

                                                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                    ·
                                                                    4 years ago

                                                                    this isn't about you, you piece of shit. I have a policy of not wasting effort trying to prove shit to people who are not and can not be anything other than dishonest reactionaries. I only even read the first six words of your post. eat shit fascist. your entire psychology is pure fucking fasc, literally everything you've said.

                                                                    and stop calling yourself a fucking communist. you're not. you never will be. stop fucking lying to yourself and everybody else, you give my statist comrades a bad name.

                                                                      • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                        ·
                                                                        4 years ago

                                                                        this is objective fucking fact. you act exactly like a disingenuous reactionary. literally everything you say, with the exception of the barest vineer of communist aesthetic, is straight up reactionary bullshit. I may as well be in r/conservative for this comment.

                                                                        • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                                          ·
                                                                          4 years ago

                                                                          You’re just being openly hostile to comrades online now.

                                                                          • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                            ·
                                                                            4 years ago

                                                                            not a comrade. as I've stated. your speech and rhetorical maneuvers are exactly what a reactionary would do. if he walks like a reactionary, and talks like a reactionary, maybe someone should ask: why the fuck is he pretending to be a communist? he obviously doesn't believe in anything. he's just out for himself and his own privilege. so what's the actual point here?

                                                                            what is the actual point of pretending to be a communist? why do that?

                                                                            • RedArmor [he/him]
                                                                              ·
                                                                              4 years ago

                                                                              Yes I am pretending to be a communist. I have not been radicalized by anything in my personal life experience, the US I’m general, or the world at large. All because I made fun of you on chapo.chat. That’s what this whole op has been about.

                                                                              “ You are the only creature in the entire Universe who has free will. You are the only one who has to figure out what to do next - and why.”

                                                                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                                ·
                                                                                4 years ago

                                                                                im not questioning that you've been radicalized. im calling you a self centered delusional fascist wearing a communist mask to feel like a good person, and you're not either thing. you';d know it if you were capable of being honest about yourself. fuck you for existing, you're the reason humanity is a lost cause.

                                                                                  • keki_ya [none/use name]
                                                                                    ·
                                                                                    4 years ago

                                                                                    some dude said he didn't like vocal fry and people jumped on him for being sexist, even though he stated that he dislikes vocal fry in men too

                                                                                      • keki_ya [none/use name]
                                                                                        ·
                                                                                        4 years ago

                                                                                        Must be all those craaazy females

                                                                                        and the crazy men that argued with him, too! They're equally to blame for the escalation that led to this horrid comment:

                                                                                        im not questioning that you’ve been radicalized. im calling you a self centered delusional fascist wearing a communist mask to feel like a good person, and you’re not either thing. you’;d know it if you were capable of being honest about yourself. fuck you for existing, you’re the reason humanity is a lost cause.

                                                                                          • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
                                                                                            ·
                                                                                            4 years ago

                                                                                            maybe you can help me follow but i literally cant see where he complimented her artistic ability

                                                                                              • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
                                                                                                ·
                                                                                                4 years ago

                                                                                                She comes back, sober, and takes his sarcastic comment genuinely, explaining

                                                                                                It wasnt even sarcastic it was just a turn of phrase. It's an idiom. I legit don't see why she blew up on him for saying "she's a shitty artist" unless they actually don't know what that idiom means which is possible but unlikely. The rest is all fine but that part in particular confused the fuck outta me.

                                                                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                                                                    ·
                                                                                    4 years ago

                                                                                    look at the underlying logic in their statements, look at the structure of the things they say, they ways they use identity as a bludgeon, the persecution complex (used to attack discredit and gas light), the way they straight up say something like 'how dare I be a straight cis white man im so persecuted' somewhere on there in a way im pretty sure was unironic; almost everything they said was a dog whistle or a tell, and everything looped back to a persecution-entitlement narrative.

                                                                                    sober me was half curious how far they would take it, half just pissed because of life stuff and saw a fascist as an acceptable target who'd been gaslighting earlier to type-shout at when he popped up in my 'new'. mostly not proud of that.

                          • _else [she/her,they/them]
                            ·
                            edit-2
                            4 years ago

                            so you're a product of your environment. but you can't be misogynist. because...???

                            your environment wasn't one that would have nurtured that? slipped it into every crack and crevice in midly homoerotic ways you wouldn't find so damn offensive or scary or gross if it didn't al so link them to homophobia and transphobia and entitlement and the whole shit-show of race and the idea that if someone touches ur butt ur less,(and you know queer people are fine and whatever but it still scares you and makes you think you might be less when someone things you might be one, so you gotta clarify) and also why is it HOMOerotic for your god damn environment to be doing this? does that maybe say something about who fucking created the conditions of society at present and the associations in your head about power?

                            im not trying to prove this to an audience; I don't think anybody's fucking reading this but you and me and the mods who will obviously show up at your house at 2 AM (wait what time zone are you? shit, whatever, next one) and take you off to the fucking gulag. had a nice CHUD-wank to the auto-snuff persecution fantasy yet? want me to add in some more detail? maybe "the grit of their boots as they cross the threshhold to your home grinds against the doorframe in a grim foreshadowing of..."?

                            okay I fucking hate the idea of mods and cops but if it helps get you off, I will, no shit, buy someone a pair of heavy boots. this is a joke, but im dead serious. give me a shipping address and a shoe size. sober me is gonna be pissed but knows she would have spent it on wire and junk electronic components anyway.

                            • RedArmor [he/him]
                              ·
                              edit-2
                              4 years ago

                              Just stay drunk and come over here and shoot me. Or use those boots to stomp my head in. Idc at this point.

                              I’ll even load the gun for you and you can make it look like a suicide if you want. That’s the sort of leftist unity we want and need on this side apparently.

                              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                ·
                                4 years ago

                                I HAVEN"T EVEN BOUGHT THOSE BOOTS YET AND THEY'RE NOT FOR ME DAMMIT! I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA; I DON'T EVEN HAVE A PAIR OF BOOTS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SANDALS ARE GENERALLY MORE PRACTICAL IN THIS WEATHER AND SNEAKERS WILL DO IN ALL OTHER OCCASIONS IM LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER!

                                as to the other thing:

                                look, im an anarchist. i was trying for leftist unity here, with boots and gulags and everything. there was all this pageantry and you would've been okay with A FUCKING GUN?

                                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                                    ·
                                    edit-2
                                    4 years ago

                                    FUCK YOU I BUILT THIS GULAG FOR NOTHING!?

                                    seriously there was no scrap lumber, this did not come pre-distressed. this is all work.

          • _else [she/her,they/them]
            ·
            4 years ago

            hey back to that argument I made way too much at length:

            does it hurt your ears? or is it both men and women doing it that bugs you?

            because if its both, then its entirely psychosemantic. its a group fucking hallucination bullshit of misogyny and capitalist media. this is a PSA that you've been fucked. that they got you. and you're fighting against it. why?

            • RedArmor [he/him]
              ·
              4 years ago

              Because I’m a counter revolutionary apparently.

              • _else [she/her,they/them]
                ·
                4 years ago

                you're not gonna examine it any more than that self pitying defensive bullshit? really? again; i won't care about this in a few hours. ill think I was stupid for arguing any of this. im the closest thing to some sort of platonic idea of a stupid thought experiment ghost that exists only for the conversation that you're gonna find. so why the defensiveness?

                • RedArmor [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  Because I’m a dumb lib and only like the idea of politics and revolutionary action while using opportunistic language to coop leftists for my own personal gain.

                  • _else [she/her,they/them]
                    ·
                    4 years ago

                    well im unironically glad you could have this moment of impressive growth as a person. im very happy for you. a few more like you around, and, fuck, the future doesn't look so dark. what heights you all might reach!

    • ziper1221 [none/use name,comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      up to the frequencies that cis women typically hit at the high points of speaking in vocal fry

      except vocal fry is in lower frequencies?

      • _else [she/her,they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        am i mixing it up with the other thing? the shit we're policing peoples voices for and the current fashions are so hard to follow

        • ziper1221 [none/use name,comrade/them]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Yeah I think you are thinking of uptalk. It doesn't happen to me, but there is some conceivable basis for vocal fry causing discomfort. For example (unrelated to fry or uptalk) some youtube videos that I watch cause physical discomfort in my ears-- kind of like a milder form of when you hear something really loud and your ear shuts off. Something about the way the voice is mixed is just physically grating. Even turning the audio down to barely perceptible levels doesn't solve it.

          Uptalk is a purely prescpitivist social thing, like you said.

          • _else [she/her,they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 years ago

            i think a lot of people get them mixed up

            and the criticism is still bullshit and anyone complaining about frequency here is literally just saying bigoted bullshit and blaming cis women for adjusting voices to their culture to gain respect. its a no-win situation and you're perpetuating it. so yes, oops, wrong thing, but also I think some other people were talking about the wrong thing, and shitting on either is bullshit. you do not find those frequencies annoying from a material perspective, this is cultural and cultural biases should always be interrogated..