Shame: A Force For Good

Recently, I wrote an article about my experience with Taiwan and the invasion prospects. On a lighter note, a local I’d met explained to me about how Taiwanese can take each other to civil court for insults. The penalties for each specific insult are codified in the law. For example, if you called a man the “son of a whore” he could be awarded several hundred dollars even if, in fact, this was his mother’s profession. My favorite was the term “shameless stinky bitch.”

That part of the world is pervaded by a deep shame culture. In one of these countries, my endeavor was hit with a substantial fine. I had to pay the government through an in-person bank transaction. While I was sitting at the clerk’s desk, she saw the paperwork, got wide-eyed and walked to the manager’s desk behind her. As she whispered in his ear, he looked over at me with a dim stare and nodded his head.

By the time she returned with the documents to sign, everyone else in the back was staring at me and whispering to each other. I could literally feel the shame. If politicians and celebrities are hit with scandal over there, they have to do slow, solemn-faced bows in front of a horde of clicking cameras to demonstrate their contrition. It’s a real thing that works on people from all walks of life. The North Koreans take it pretty far, but that’s the nature of them. I wouldn’t recommend sending your kid on a school trip.

Probably a significant reason China isn’t doing the pride stuff is the CCP understands that without shame, not enough people would be restrained by their conscience to keep society from falling apart. This would also explain why they’ve developed a social credit system to punish city dwellers for things a villager would be ashamed of, like not caring for elderly parents. In the anonymity of a big city, the shame just doesn’t stick anymore. That’s led to a lot of problems for them.

In a Western context, it’s closer to the force from that original Star Wars movie. A primordial energy from a more civilized age that’s now been forgotten. The reason we have the pride movement incorporated into everything here is that the subject matter is unholy, abusive, disgusting, and spreads diseases. It’s a perverted sexual impulse, not an organic identity like your race or nationality. One can simply not participate in these activities, and shame provided a pretty big incentive to desist.

I also think that shame instills a sort of collective consciousness which influences people who lack self-awareness. I wasn’t around for the 1950s, but I’ve seen plenty of photographs. When shopping at my local Walmart, I can’t help but notice the weight and appalling standards of dress featured by many customers. My suspicion is that if they were plopped down in a retail situation back in those days, they’d see everybody else and feel ashamed of themselves. This would lead to an attempt to do better.

Shame is something that might have evolved into a more gentle enforcement mechanism than brutal punishments. In ancient times, they sure didn’t take kindly to a man interacting in certain ways with another man. It was dealt with severely. If they’d have seen men dressed as demons dancing in front of kids, one suspects burning at the stake would’ve been the remedy.

I’m certainly not advocating any of these methods for maintaining order. My point is that just as the truth shall set you free, shame can save you from transgressions you’ll regret later. Therefore, many problems have gentle solutions, like truth and shame, to guide our conduct in a sustainable society. I still think the collapse and cannibalism stage will come first, but the survivors could really have it better if they keep that in mind. Have a great day.