Opinion Not wishing to wear clothing once owned by a serial killer may be due to a taboo, but does not prove that superstition is involved. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127011.800-review-supersense-by-bruce-m-hood.html
– Lee J Haywood, 2009-04-03 at 08:19:13 (16 comments)
That article (book) has some interesting ideas, but I'm not convinced by it. Actually, a better way to put that is that I dislike the idea, so it would take a fair bit to convince me of it :P The serial killer thing I would only assume is a taboo thing, I don't think I've ever considered it to be 'spiritual'. I will confess to liking the idea of having stuff from bands I like that they used (I was very happy at getting one of Math's drum sticks at a Dodgy gig), but it's not for any feeling of getting 'magics' from them, it's either a cool sovenir, or a way to support/show my love of the artist. I would avoid a jumper BRANDED as a serial killer's, as that would seem to show support for their actions, but if it's just a second hand jumper in a charity shop that happens to be from a serial killer, where's the harm? Indeed, in that case you would be supporting a charity in buying it, so it's a good act. Not sure where I'm going with this any more, so I'll leave it there! :-)
My view is that people generally wouldn't want to wear any (potentially) unwashed item previously owned by another person. Having the psychologist simply label it as having been owned by a killer makes it so that people would think that you want to be associated with the killer, which is going to be frowned upon. The idea that it's down to superstition is thus preposterous - it's simply a part of the normal social contract that we avoid unwanted labels.
On 2009-04-04 at 06:30:36, BorgClown wrote...
What about wearing it only to sleep, in the privacy of your home? That discards the social pressure factor.
Well exactly. The psychologist is ignoring the social pressure and saying that we all think the clothing has a supernatural aspect. How ridiculous is that?
Ooooh, spooky clothings...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8084936.stm
Oh, come on. They let them choose among many donors, even I wouldn't like a criminal's organ in my body. Tell them it's the only choice, and 99% will accept it.
On 2009-06-06 at 08:00:32, Baslisks wrote...
Don't fucking tell them where it came from then. An organs an organ.
We're sorry Baslisks, but the only tongue available came from Jena Jameson...
don't worry I've tasted semen, its all coool.
You killed my joke.
Let us have a moments silence for Borg's joke.
don't worry I've tasted borg joke, its cool.
Oh dear. I see a meme begin to appear... :P
oraly?
Hourly?