Memento
I refuse to succumb
- Apr 6, 2023
- 408
In my life I never really made my own choices—I was indoctrinated by the religious beliefs of my parents, and I was expected to follow them and live my life by them. But sooner or later I would find that my values and beliefs differed from my family; that I couldn't live my life like this forever. And when you live in a cult like Jehovah Witnesses—where free thought and expression are suppressed—and a hive mind mentality that is crucial to its control and hierarchy, it's hell trying to escape it.
That's my experience with indoctrination, my struggle to choose how I want to live my life. But I also wanted to touch on how indoctrination leads to prejudice—and that prejudice leads to discrimination—and that discrimination tries to invalidate personal autonomy.
I strongly believe in body and personal autonomy—a person should be able to live their lives according to personal motivations, beliefs, and comfort, while also having complete control on what they want to do with their body. No other external forces should influence and restrict someone's autonomy. But in a lot of cases that's far from the truth: Depending on upbringing and the dominant social and political values in certain communities, indoctrination and prejudice against people based on their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion becomes more prevalent. It's not like they had the choice growing up in unsafe and hateful environments that demonize them based on illogical and generalized stereotypes. A choice to worry about hate crimes and threats because they simply are living their lives as themselves. That is the core to indoctrination—it creates an "us vs. them" mentality. A feeling of superiority and disgust justified by a lack of critical thinking and deemed "evidence" that validates their attitude.
Society oppresses freedom of choice, to truly express oneself to the fullest is challenging when people are indoctrinated to despise you for just existing. It's what I hate most about the world, it's so unforgiving and cruel in its an idolization of suffering and pain. And the idea that suicide—a natural right that someone should have—an escape from the hellish reality they had no choice living—is so hard and difficult to do: truly disgusts me.
That's my experience with indoctrination, my struggle to choose how I want to live my life. But I also wanted to touch on how indoctrination leads to prejudice—and that prejudice leads to discrimination—and that discrimination tries to invalidate personal autonomy.
I strongly believe in body and personal autonomy—a person should be able to live their lives according to personal motivations, beliefs, and comfort, while also having complete control on what they want to do with their body. No other external forces should influence and restrict someone's autonomy. But in a lot of cases that's far from the truth: Depending on upbringing and the dominant social and political values in certain communities, indoctrination and prejudice against people based on their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion becomes more prevalent. It's not like they had the choice growing up in unsafe and hateful environments that demonize them based on illogical and generalized stereotypes. A choice to worry about hate crimes and threats because they simply are living their lives as themselves. That is the core to indoctrination—it creates an "us vs. them" mentality. A feeling of superiority and disgust justified by a lack of critical thinking and deemed "evidence" that validates their attitude.
Society oppresses freedom of choice, to truly express oneself to the fullest is challenging when people are indoctrinated to despise you for just existing. It's what I hate most about the world, it's so unforgiving and cruel in its an idolization of suffering and pain. And the idea that suicide—a natural right that someone should have—an escape from the hellish reality they had no choice living—is so hard and difficult to do: truly disgusts me.
