Month: July 2025

A Prime Choice

~ MKW Publishing ~ 1 Comment

Being in your prime. Said of certain ages along the way as you grow up. I guess it changes with requirement depending on what part of your life you’re going through, and whether society has deemed a need for that. The prime of youth, of being work ready, of being mature, of being ‘at the right time’ often in the eyes of others.

But as child brides and marriage take more of a centre stage in the news and certain cultures that are now prevalent in Britain and Europe, I couldn’t help but to give it more thought. Because it’s not new, and it does seem to be across the board in varying degrees.

Amish – although there are many things to admire about the Amish, this wasn’t one of them. Hearing that the much older male members of the groups, will marry the young women, and the young men often get thrown out. So, they don’t take the young women as wives. Apparently, there are thousands of young men from those groups who no longer have a community because of sexual jealousy.

And that is probably the motivation across the board. Competition, jealousy, desire, and extreme selfishness for personal gratification. All neatly protected by that veil of various religions, or cult mentality, or systematic conditions needed to facilitate it and condition the up-and-coming generations to perpetuate it.

In Britain, we currently have a rather large issue of children being inducted into a system of abuse that spans decades. Not just because of foreign religions or cultures, but they are alongside our very own homegrown abusers. Now we have added a hefty number to that with more people of a twisted mindset and archaic attitude. But it was already here, so embedded that most didn’t even notice, or thought it was rare, a one-off when you did get to hear about it in the news. I thought Jimmy Savile might have opened people’s eyes and minds a bit to the scale and level of it. And now we know how selective the ‘news’ is about what and who they report, it’s not hard to see why so many get away with so much.

In Britain, the age of consent was 12, between 1275 and 1875. That’s quite a long time in my view. And although it always seemed a bit much to have a family by 17 back in the day, if you’ve been ‘available’ for 5 years by then, it makes more sense. It didn’t sit well with me, but it made sense. And if we believe the high infant mortality rates and lower age of death than we are used to today, then it makes more sense.

So, I wonder. What was the real motivation for changing it in 1875. As nothing is ever really for safety or for the good of the people, or because people protest, so my cynical mind sees it as a power move. Like with the Amish strategy, to remove their competition or threaten them with punishment for going near their ‘stock’. You still couldn’t get married, though, until aged 21, up until 1823, so there is quite a big gap between being sexually mature at 12 apparently, yet your deemed not emotionally mature until 21. But after 1823, it dropped to 14 for girls to be able to be married without parental consent.

Perhaps that was because a change in attitudes towards unwed mothers took over, and stigma and shame were put in place to make people ashamed of breeding. Also giving a very handy pool of ‘resources’ they might have use for, maybe leading in to that Rather Dark Enterprise that was around at the time…

(c) MKW Publishing

A Way to Communicate

~ MKW Publishing ~ Leave a comment

It’s not all about words. How we use them, convey them and understand them, there is also much more that goes into it. Facial expressions, energy, intention and approach. We already know just words can be and are used for purpose, as discussed in Words and Meaning and Crafty, but as a general tool needed in everyday life, it seems many overlook their potential, and power when it comes to society.

People with charisma, often noted as being able to say almost anything at all, if you do it in a charismatic way. So, it is their presence that gives words something extra, their delivery and timing. Often to great effect.

Passive aggressive comments and actions – for people who don’t know how to approach a conversation, situation or because they are trying to control the atmosphere and want people to either respond, or be dominated by their words. The ones who sigh under their breath, make comments to thin air, but expect anyone within earshot to say something or ask about their plight. Who clatter around in a rageful way, but act surprised when questioned what their problem might be. In fact, not just surprised, but offended. Look at me, don’t look at me kind of thing.

Shouting at people, not quite as effective as some people think. You may indeed get your basic point across, but often it is invalidated by the approach. Trying to let someone know how you feel, by making them feel bad, isn’t a good approach, and shouting is a good way to let them know a few things as well. Firstly, that you are not in control of your emotions, and once someone has lost control and started down that route, unfortunately trying to talk to them normally doesn’t work. So, you get dragged into shouting back in order to even be able to ‘talk’ to them. And secondly, they are being disrespectful towards you by raising their voice and using aggressive tactics.

How to Win Friends and Influence People – a book by Dale Carnegie. And one I was recommended to read many years ago. I enjoyed it very much, but already worked out certain things along the way just through paying attention. Being aware of the ways in which you approach things and people, you can end up getting the best out of people and situations, as I thought you were meant to. Yet some people get so very stuck in their ways, and believe others are the issue, or the obstacle holding them back. Not quite realising that it is they who are the obstruction, to their own life running a bit more smoothly. The internet having much to look at when it comes to interactions and how people decide to conduct themselves in a somewhat public setting, looked at in the article Putting Your Best Foot Forward. Where you do get to see the best and the worst of people, but only in words and in a well thought out and packaged format. And occassionally with a video and a face to emote what they want to, but not the full package of expressions you would expect when in person. Where you can see for yourself, and you can also feel for yourself. That skill we have of reading energy is stronger in person, and maybe part of the reason online is encouraged so much. For dating, education, finance, emotions, health, work, friendships and more. It diminishes part of our abilities to evaluate people properly, which for many is already impaired or non-existent.

When it comes to understanding people though, I have found certain quotes along the way have also been of great help, just to know that others have observed and encountered the same thing. And then went on to so eloquently explain the problem or lack or reasoning occurring in the conversational counterpart.

“She had lost the art of conversation but not, unfortunately, the power of speech.” ~George Bernard Shaw~

“I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” ~Alan Greenspan~

And it’s easy to get confused, with different meanings, intentions and interpretations of things. Which is why I think it is so important to be able to discuss, in a constructive way, what those differences or misunderstanding are. And if not, then just stop talking, and go your own merry way…

(c) MKW Publishing