Indoctrination of the young

[I_Kicked_Kennedy]

My girls watch a lot of cartoons on Netflix. I've noticed in a bunch of them there's a villain associated with Discord. Only examples I can think of off the top of my head are My Little Pony (the character's name is simply Discord) and Grim Adventures of Bill and Mandy (where the villain is Eris herself,  complete with golden K apple). There's a couple others but I'm on day 3 of no nicotine, and my brain is absolute shit, today.

So,  I guess the powers that be decided discord is a bad thing.  In fairness,  one episode of the latter Mandy says destroying the Golden apple will end existence,  since order cannot exist without disorder, etc. Which I guess is nice.

I mean,  I have enough to deal with,  having a mother who tells my kids daddy's "witchcraft" will result in damnation (not into Wicca, that's just what my turboCatholic mom considers Discordianism). Now cartoons are teaching my kids this shit? Now I have to be a responsible parent and actually monitor their media intake...? Screw+that.

[Telarus]

Lol. Yo Gabba Gabba even has a Sub-Genius on the writing staff, & a member of Devo is their concept sketch artist!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

But Eris IS a villain.

It's just that the world needs that kind of villain.

[Left]

But Eris IS a villain.

It's just that the world needs that kind of villain.

I wouldn't call it villainy.
...But then again, no villain ever thinks they are evil, do they? 
The worst villains are always fighting for Truth and Justice.

Needed, whatever it is.

[President Television]

But Eris IS a villain.

It's just that the world needs that kind of villain.

I wouldn't call it villainy.
...But then again, no villain ever thinks they are evil, do they? 
The worst villains are always fighting for Truth and Justice.

Needed, whatever it is.

I dunno, starting wars for the lulz is kind of a dick move.

[Left]

But Eris IS a villain.

It's just that the world needs that kind of villain.

I wouldn't call it villainy.
...But then again, no villain ever thinks they are evil, do they? 
The worst villains are always fighting for Truth and Justice.

Needed, whatever it is.

I dunno, starting wars for the lulz is kind of a dick move.

True that...I was thinking of it less anthropomorphically, I guess.  No chaos=stasis.

[hooplala]

Forest fires clear away dense underbrush and bring rich nutrients back to the soil... its all relative.

[LMNO]

Yes, but arsonists are generally considered bad people.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Yes, but arsonists are generally considered bad people.

By the establishment.

[EK WAFFLR]

Yes, but arsonists are generally considered bad people.

NOT AROUND HERE THEY AREN'T.

http://kirkebrann.com/

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

But Eris IS a villain.

It's just that the world needs that kind of villain.

I wouldn't call it villainy.
...But then again, no villain ever thinks they are evil, do they? 
The worst villains are always fighting for Truth and Justice.

Needed, whatever it is.

I dunno, starting wars for the lulz is kind of a dick move.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Let me put it this way.

I really enjoy making people uncomfortable. I particularly enjoy making them uncomfortable with their own ideas and beliefs. Of course, when you come right down to it, it isn't really that I make people uncomfortable, as much as that I draw attention to inconsistencies within their own behavior or belief systems, which causes cognitive dissonance, which causes discomfort. They're really making themselves uncomfortable, I'm just manipulating conversations in a way that highlights those contradictions so they can't be ignored.

Is that a bad thing? Well, no, not necessarily.

Am I kind of a dick? Yeah probably.

Eris is the kind of villain I identify with. She doesn't so much cause wars, as manipulate situations in such a way that human desire and and greed causes wars, unless the humans involve really examine what's happening and decide not to.

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily.

Is Eris a villain? Yeah, pretty much. She is the instigator of strife, the catalyst for conflict.

Once tempers have flared it takes very mature people to step back from an incendiary situation or conversation and go "Hold on a sec... what's really happening here?" and in general, humanity lacks that maturity. In a sense, then, every occurrence of strife is also an opportunity for growth, albeit one that seems to be rarely exploited.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Let me put it this way.

I really enjoy making people uncomfortable. I particularly enjoy making them uncomfortable with their own ideas and beliefs. Of course, when you come right down to it, it isn't really that I make people uncomfortable, as much as that I draw attention to inconsistencies within their own behavior or belief systems, which causes cognitive dissonance, which causes discomfort. They're really making themselves uncomfortable, I'm just manipulating conversations in a way that highlights those contradictions so they can't be ignored.

Is that a bad thing? Well, no, not necessarily.

Am I kind of a dick? Yeah probably.

Eris is the kind of villain I identify with. She doesn't so much cause wars, as manipulate situations in such a way that human desire and and greed causes wars, unless the humans involve really examine what's happening and decide not to.

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily.

Is Eris a villain? Yeah, pretty much. She is the instigator of strife, the catalyst for conflict.

Once tempers have flared it takes very mature people to step back from an incendiary situation or conversation and go "Hold on a sec... what's really happening here?" and in general, humanity lacks that maturity. In a sense, then, every occurrence of strife is also an opportunity for growth, albeit one that seems to be rarely exploited.

This is true.  Eris may have started some shit, but Paris used that as an excuse to grab some lady and cart her off, and a million petty kings used that as an excuse to DESTROY CIVILIZATION.

Eris didn't do all that shit.  People did.

[Cain]

Interestingly, one myth of the Trojan War says that Zeus feared he would be overthrown by his children, much like he overthrew his father, and his father overthrew his.  So the Trojan War was a big old "house-cleaning" of most of the potential challengers, especially demigods.  According to the same myth, Hermes gave Eris the Apple on Zeus' orders/

Also, it's not like Eris made the gods squabble over the Apple of Discord.  Athena at the very least should have known better.  And the goddesses didn't need to bribe Paris.  And Paris didn't need to think with his dick when choosing what bribe to accept.

[I_Kicked_Kennedy]

I think there's some good discussion here. The fact is, she showed the seeds of discord,  but it was the actions of the others that subjected the cities and the people to their disagreement.

If I were to go to some influential capital, and slip a little extra booze into the punch bowl, should two leaders start mouthing off at each other over who's wife is hotter,  is it my fault when they start bombing each other? I could see taking a part of the blame if they got into a squabble and someone hit the other, but there were deliberate actions that led to disastrous events (again,  this is mythology).

My concern is that a bit of discord is a necessary ingredient in many situations. Remember, "Even the sacred barley drink disintegrates if not stirred." I just feel these shows,  for the most part,  focus on the deleterious effects of this. Most Discordians, I believe,  aren't simply purveyors of chaos, they're just the most willing to dispense it when they feel things are out of balance. They're the ones you need to shake things up from time to time,  and I'm not sure that point gets across.

Rather than "Things desperately needed a change, then this [discordian] helped us see a different way to do so," It's "Everything was hunky dory until someone sent the whole thing to shit."