More Zodiac Fail

[sekiharatae]

Warning:  This post is brought to you by the word FRUSTRATION, which has been exacerbated by STUPIDITY.  It's entirely likely that there is a severe absence of tact ahead.

 

I'm going to be blunt:  there is no new zodiac.    In fact, the 'new' zodiac being quoted everywhere was invented (for lack of a better word) in 1995 by Walter Berg.  (It's caught on quick, hasn't it?)

Further, since there is no new zodiac, there isn't any rule about who it affects.  Anyone who is claiming it only applies to people born now and in the future is even more full of it than those up in arms about their sign changing.  ETA:  This statement is somewhat true in the sense that the dates given for the 'new' signs are only correct for this year.  That doesn't mean a 13-sign zodiac would not apply to someone born a hundred years ago; it means that to correctly assign a sign you'd have to check a star chart for that year.  Also, variation from one year to the next will be very slight.

Who is it that you think is trying to change your sign?  Who is trying to put a new zodiac in place?  Who is the Great Zodiac Enforcer?

Is it Professor Kunkle?  To quote an article in the Houston Chronicle:

Later in the day Kunkle, an astronomy professor, acknowledged he proposed the reordering and reinterpreting of the zodiac as a class project, nothing more. In fact, he said he has so little interest in horoscopes, he doesn't know his own sign. (emphasis mine)

Kunkle doesn't give a flying leap about his own sign; he sure doesn't care about yours.  

Every astrologist anyone can find to ask adamantly states that nothing is going to change, so it's not them, either.  (And if there was a movement to change the zodiac, surely it would start with the astrologists?)

It's definitely not the government.

So who, exactly, is taking your sign away? 

I think it's you.  You're the one who set such store in it, and you're the one who is having issues with learning it's not, in fact, based on the positions of the stars today, but rather on their positions at the birth of astrology thousands of years ago.

Whereas if you'd bothered to actually learn a little about the zodiac, you'd already know that.  

(Personally, if I was going to base my life decisions on any sort of mysticism, I'd learn something about it, first.  Maybe that's just me.)

In any event:  you are upset because you think your sign needs to change, and the only reason you think your sign needs to change is because you don't know how your sign was ever determined in the first place.    

(This is the part in the program where I use an analogy to drive my point home.)

Let's say you have a leather coat you love and are happy wearing.  You get compliments on it.  It's flattering.  It works for you.  Then one day you learn that naugahyde is not, as you've always thought, made from the skin of a naugabeast, but is in fact a synthetic leather.  All this time -- all those days you were happy and content and flattered -- you've been wearing a plastic coat, not a leather one.   Your perception of your coat and your fashion sense takes a beating, and you're upset. Realistically, however, nothing has changed:  the coat is still a good coat, one that fits and is flattering and looks good on you.  One you get complimented on when you wear it.  You look just as sophisticated in it as you did when you thought it was real leather.  Only your understanding has changed, and if you can't cope with that, it's your own fault for being an ignorant dope.

Get it? 

Nobody is trying to make you change your coat.  They've just told you it's made of plastic, not leather.  A smart person would reply, 'I know' and go about their business.  An idiot would have a fit and complain that they're being forced to buy a new one.

There is no new zodiac. 

Can we stop freaking out about it? Or at least try being a bit rational?  Just a teentsy bit?

ETA:  If there's one thing I hate and am passionate about, it's when people refuse to think.  A lot of the world's ills are the result of people just not using their brains.  People are inconsiderate because they don't pause to think how their actions will affect another.  People jump to conclusions and make bad decisions because they don't think things through.  To me, this zodiac fiasco is a great big massive example of people being stupid -- people not thinking and then blowing things out of proportion on an incredible scale.  That... irks me in a way I don't think I can properly explain.  Maybe it will suffice to say that I'm a mathematician by training, and while ignorance was an option, refusing to use my brain was not.  I can't understand it.  I can't understand how people 'think' without actually seeming to engage in thought.

Comments

[kitsune13-tam.livejournal.com]

hey, I've had other Christians ask me why I celebrate Passover and Rosh Hashanah as well as Easter and Christmas. In fact, I've heard the quote 'Jesus was one of the first Christians'. So I KNOW there are some ignorant people out there and if we want to go back, Constantine was the one that started the division between the Jewish and Christian traditions to make it more acceptable as a state religion so the break's been in place for a loooong time. When you get back to the basics, it's really very beautiful how completely many of the OT Jewish celebrations line up so neatly with the NT Christian ones right down to the traditions involved and the empty chair. The Jews were the first Christians after all. Though, considering even Islam is younger than Christianity I wouldn't exactly call it the 'baby' of the family. Which is why, as a Christian I think it's necessary to understand other religions and know why you came to the one you did. Most Christians can't talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Council of Nicaea, what's up with the King James version of the Bible, etc - which is sad. But just as detrimental(in my eyes at least) is their inability to talk about why the Sunnis and Shiites are so emotionally at odds with each other, what the goal of Buddhism is, or about what the lost tribe of Israel means to the Mormons. Sadly though, I think that's going to be the same for just about any religion. Or political structure. Or diet plan. Because it's made up of people and so you'll always have the ones that thought it out, listened to the different angles and came to their own conclusions for themselves and the people who just do it because it's a comfortable spot to fill. Christians are made up of humans just the same way every other grouping of people on the planet is and you're going to get a mix. Some will be intelligent but most won't. I just thought I'd raise my hand and wave from the 'I paid attention' section of the human race.

I'm sorry you got jumped though. I thought it was a pass the time board game, not a 'tackle you over the dinner table' situation. Out of the blue, I had well meaning relatives tackle my family over Christmas dinner one year because they thought they needed to pray for us and whatever it was they thought we were doing wrong. Yeah, way to ruin any chance for an open, friendly time right off the bat like that. I'll happily talk about religion, Christianity or otherwise, any day if asked but I'm a firm believer in the idea that forcing anything down someone's throat is just a good way to make them sick (and possible get bitten) (have you ever heard me bring up politics for instance?). Some people just seem to be the type to go at something over and over and over again no matter how hard the wall they're running into seems though. So I'll happily sit in your 'I said no' corner with you on that one. And we won't talk about how many times I've been tempted to tell someone 'would you just shut up about being a Christian. You're giving the rest of us a bad name'.

[windrider1.livejournal.com]

I...I think I love you. LOL.

My biggest peeve is when people refuse--REFUSE-- to acknowledge that religion is not only a choice, but a result of circumstance. I ask: "Would you still be Christian if born in India?"

I have NO problem with faith--in all and any beliefs. Organized religion--pretty much all of them--I can't stand. So I avoid discussions. It's politicized and polarized and flat out lies behind the facade of faith and Gods.

I've talked about this with Laura before. I think faith--that ability to let go and believe with your whole being in something greater than yourself is something I, at times, envy and would never, ever dream of taking that away from someone. I am not the type of athiest that sets out to prove that God doesn't exist. That's just cruel and mean spirited. Just as it's cruel to try and conform someone into religion. Force breeds contempt, basically.

This was a good discussion. YAY, Tae for poking the subject!

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

I've been reading and thinking: I have such smart friends! <3